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Story highlights
- Adam Montoya, 27, earns a surprisingly good living posting his video-gaming commentary online
- Montoya plays a wide variety of games ranging from very competitive to humorous
- Montoya: "That's kind of what life's all about. Trying to constantly hit the high score"
- Xbox suggested the gamer tag SeaNanners after "Nanners", a slang for bananas, was taken
Adam Montoya is cool, collected and on a mission to annihilate his enemies.
Armed with a small arsenal of guns, the 27-year-old races through a bombed-out Middle Eastern city, firing at adversaries who dart out of doorways and emerge around corners. As he eludes gunfire and switches nimbly between assault rifles and handguns, Montoya keeps up a running commentary.
"Trader Joe's has the best frozen chicken," he says. "I got some chicken with some mushrooms, some baby tomatoes. I got some paprika, some cumin in there. I do believe we have some green onion, some olive oil ... some thyme in there, some nutmeg. It's pretty good."
Welcome to the singular world of Montoya -- better known to the Internet as SeaNanners -- one of the few people in the world who can earn a living combining "Call of Duty" with chatter about what he's cooking for dinner. Montoya lives in West Los Angeles, California, and is a star in the exploding field of video-game commentary. Those who love video games and YouTube might argue he has the dream job.
In short, game-play commentary involves recording yourself playing a video game and uploading the footage to the Web, along with your remarks on the game as you're playing. But Montoya doesn't always talk about video gaming.
"For the most part I just want to chat about games and life ... and for the sake of this commentary, I suppose, food," he says later in the same clip, which has more than 1 million views on YouTube. "I'm a very strange person. I'm a very unique snowflake. I don't know too many people who do what I do ... cook, and skateboard, and make art. I'm like a confused Renaissance man."
He's also a very popular one. Montoya holds a remarkable presence in the gaming community. His YouTube channel has more than a million subscribers, while his game-play clips have been viewed more than 130 million times. He is reluctant to talk about his finances but after some prodding reveals that his gaming commentary and related work earns him a six-figure annual income.
Just don't call him a gamer.
"Gaming has always been a part of my life and I love it, but I ironically wouldn't consider myself a 'gamer.' Just because I'm good at video games doesn't mean it defines me," he told CNN. "I'm a guy who happens to play games from time to time. I'm making a really good living out of it, which is amazing. But it happened by accident. It wasn't planned."
From a hobby to a career
A decade ago, Montoya was on his way to crafting a very different future for himself. Rather than games and controllers taking over his desk, it was business and calculus textbooks.
"I originally went to San Diego State to pursue business because I heard it was a good business school," he said. "Then I took a couple of courses in calculus and I thought, wow this is not the life I want."
Instead, Montoya studied filmmaking. But after earning a degree in television, film and new media production, Montoya said he found himself discouraged with trying to find a job.
"I tried a variety of things initially. I did a lot of freelance gigs, shot weddings and tried to start a production company. It gets tough when you're unemployed and don't know what you're doing," he said. "It was depressing because I didn't know where my life was going and I didn't know what to do. I was just filling time. I wasn't happy."
Montoya loved playing video games. But little did he know that one of his favorite pastimes would eventually power-up his career.
"There were a couple of guys doing game-play commentary on YouTube already and I thought it was something I wanted to try," Montoya said. "I never told myself, 'Oh I want to make this a career.' It was just something I started because it was fun and over time it kind of developed into what it is now. It was a random coincidence."
His gamer handle was sort of an accident. "Nanners" (slang for bananas) was already taken, so Xbox auto-suggested "SeaNanners." It stuck.
It wasn't a coincidence that 100,000 YouTube subscribers later, Machinima, an entertainment network for gamers, approached him to join their directors program. Montoya quickly became a segment producer at Machinima but left earlier this year to focus on his own channel.
"When I first heard someone was able to earn money playing video games, I was like 'holy crap!' Mainly because I didn't even know that was possible. But it has never been about the money for me," Montoya said. "You can't plan for something like this, but I'm glad it happened. I am totally happy."
Family and fans
However, embracing a career in video gaming was difficult at first -- especially for his parents. His mother, Mat Montoya, was apprehensive that her son wouldn't be able to make a viable living.
"As a parent you want your kid to be a dentist or be a lawyer, to have a secure profession. So to think that your son is going to play video games for a living was hard to imagine," she said. " It's not a traditional type of job, and as a parent you want the best and the most secure thing for your child. So you could say I was worried."
Ultimately, his parents agreed to support his career choice no matter what.
"You always want your son to find success in what is important to him and what he's passionate about," Mat Montoya said. "The fact that all these people are interested and wanting to be a part of his life in that way is so great. I love that."
Perhaps surprisingly, many of Montoya's fans don't tune in to his channel to watch him play or hear his tricks of the trade. Instead, they see him as a role model, a comedian and an inspiration.
"I've subscribed to him for almost two years now, and even though I'm always blown away with how good he is at games, I think a lot of people enjoy his videos because of his conversations and random banter," said 25-year-old Carla Mah, a technical artist and gamer from Vancouver, Canada.
"I don't see any YouTubers or gaming personalities quite like him and I just find him really inspirational," Mah said. "His words are kind of therapeutic and moving, but at the same time hilarious."
"Therapeutic" and "moving" are not words most would associate with someone who goes on online killing sprees. Or with someone who plays games like "No Luca No," in which a player's objective is to keep a cat from eating one's cereal.
But for fans, that's what makes Montoya accessible.
Alex Barnes, 20, initially clicked on one of Montoya's videos to see if he wanted to buy a game, but has been following him ever since. To him, Montoya talks about things he can relate to.
"He's just a lot different than most video game commentators. I would consider him a very monumental guy in the game commentary industry and I think the big thing for him is he doesn't do it for the money. You can totally tell he does it because he loves it," said Barnes, of Nova Scotia, Canada.
"I usually have a hard time watching game play cause it's a lot of showing off. But he does it in a modest and very entertaining way. I usually have a better day after hearing him talk."
Random acts of commentary
When Montoya started his game-play commentary, he usually gave advice on how to get better at a game. But soon he found himself sharing his life in a more intimate fashion. For his videos, Montoya delves into scores of idiosyncratic topics that often invite viewers to pause and think.
"It's not solely about game-play because over time as you make more of these videos, your personality gets infused into them. My videos are kind of like a podcast with random game stuff in the background," he said, breaking into laughter. "Most of my commentary is random. It's like hey, I'm going to drink some wine, I'm eating this nice dinner I cooked and oh, I just shot someone in the face."
With several blogs and Facebook fan pages dedicated to him, Montoya is well-enough known that fans have stopped him in the street and asked for photos. But his modest fame, and the attention that comes with it, seems to make him a little uncomfortable.
"I try not to think about it because it gets weird. The trouble is thinking you're more important than you really are. I'm just me. I don't think of myself as a celebrity. Society is so accustomed to elevating and putting people on a pedestal in the entertainment space and that's stupid. It shouldn't be that way," he said.
"Typically when people approach me it's always a gasp, followed by 'SeaNanners' and a question mark. It's always an inquisitive approach because the face kind of looks familiar. ... It's like, maybe you're 'SeaNanners,' or maybe you're an ugly Ryan Gosling."
As someone with a long list of interests -- from gaming and art to skateboarding and cooking -- Montoya doesn't like to be pigeonholed. But it's clear that gaming will always have a lasting mark on his life.
"If there's something that gaming have taught me, it's that it gives you the ability to get accustomed to not giving up." Montoya said. "Let's say if you play 'Angry Birds' -- you find yourself wanting to get that high score. And that's kind of what life's all about. Trying to constantly hit the high score."
Montoya knows he is fortunate to have a career and a life that reflects his passions. When asked what his plans are for the future, he pauses before answering.
"I definitely see myself going above and beyond just my YouTube channel. There's a lot of endeavors I'd like to pursue, and it might be cool to try game development," he said.
"But I'm going to be on YouTube whether I have a huge audience or not. I'm interested in making content that I believe in. I don't care about money or the business side of it. It's never been about that. It's just something I really enjoy doing, and this is a hobby that can last indefinitely."


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30 Day Favorite Female Characters
Thanks so much for browsing my art today! If you think my style is just what you were looking for and would like to chat about custom work, please CONTACT ME.
All artwork and designs on this page and website are © Jessica Weible Illustrations. Please do not copy or reproduce anything without permission.
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subset: commoncrawl


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Why Strategic Planning isn't Just for the Boardroom
As the summer training season heats up, a wealth management pro and age group IRONMAN explains how he stays present for work, training and family.
by Jordan Waxman
The weather in the Northeast is heating up, with the sun now rising well before six a.m. At the same time, the end of school means more pool parties, doctors' appointments and weekend activities for the family. So while most age group athletes are thinking about ramping up the hours of training to prepare for summer racing, the magnetic pull of family responsibility adds stress to an already hectic schedule and high expectations.
Like many of you I have a demanding full-time job and a busy lifestyle. At work I manage a large integrated private wealth management practice. At home, my loving wife of 16 years and three wonderful middle school-age children need their husband and dad for projects, activities, guidance, coaching, fun and love. But my personal "alter ego" is an endurance athlete who loves to train, race and swim channels. With all these competing claims on my time, summertime can sometimes be the opposite of easy!
Having competed in numerous races over the years, I have had many pointed conversations with both my wife and my coach about how to make these priorities work together, while remaining a competitive athlete. I have also learned many lessons from my work as a private wealth advisor, and have come to realize that achieving balance is all about strategic planning.
I treat the IRONMAN and other endurance races in the same way I do the wealth management process—that is to say, holistically. In my business, we integrate cash-flow, retirement, tax, estate and philanthropic planning with asset allocation risk management and the fiduciary mandate of always doing what is in the best interest of my clients. As an athlete, my goal is to integrate training and competing with my personal and professional responsibilities, while always keeping my family's best interests at the forefront.
Make race time family time
Every year, I sit down with my wife and coach and we compare school and triathlon schedules. This year I raced in IRONMAN Los Cabos, traveling four days before the race with my coach. Our families arrived the day before the race and afterwards we recovered with them, spending a week enjoying sun, surf and great food. I will do the same in Mont Tremblant in August, after the kids' summer camps let out. Synchronizing my racing with my family's schedule not only maximizes our time together, but also helps to motivate me during the toughest parts of the IRONMAN.
Don't skimp on sleep
My coach tells me I need nine hours of sleep per night to properly assimilate the training stress. That means an 8 p.m. bedtime on Saturday night to answer the 5 a.m. alarm bell for a summer Sunday's long morning ride. For a pro athlete, that might work. For the rest of us – not so much. Like the title to the film, "Something's Gotta Give," and that might be your health, relationships or business.
There are, however, a few simple adjustments that improve the chances for a deep, restful sleep: 1) train in the morning. Working out at night or in the dark just winds you up and is less safe; 2) ingest carbs before bed. This helps recovery and gives you glycogen for morning workouts; and 3) disconnect from your TV, phone and computer well before hitting the sack. Read a book or a magazine instead, or talk to your spouse!
Always be present
Aside from selecting races that coincide with vacations and training harder in the winter—when my urge is to hibernate—the two major changes I have made to balance out my life are remembering that I am choosing to compete because I enjoy it (so smile!) and being more present when I am present. In other words, when I train, I am all-in, focusing on the goals of the session. When I meet clients, I focus on their needs, issues and even body language. When I am home, whether I'm helping my kids with homework or my wife with dinner, I try to display the kindest, best part of myself.
After all, the best part of a triathlon is to be supported along the way, and to be able to share triumphs and defeats with those you love. Even though I am an overworked, stressed and ambitious private banker/husband/dad/athlete, I do what I love and love what I do.
Jordan Waxman is a partner of at an independent, private wealth advisory group serving high-net-worth and institutional clients. He has raced eight IRONMAN races.


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|Version 5 (modified by 12 years ago) (diff),
Multi-Column Primary Key support
Currently Django models only support single column primary keys. Support for multi-column primary keys would allow Django to better integrate with legacy databases (whose schema cannot be changed and have multi-column primary keys). There are a lot of details to get right here, but done right, it would allow for more flexibility in data modeling.
Current Status
Ticket 373: Add support for multiple-column primary keys Progress is stalled as there has been insufficient design discussion as to how this might be implemented.
Major Issues
Taken from Jacob's comment on Ticket 373 There are three basic problems in dealing with composite primary keys in Django.
- A number of APIs use "obj._meta.pk" to access the primary key field (for example, to do "pk=whatever" lookups). A composite PK implementation would need to emulate this in some way to avoid breaking everything.
- A number of things use (content_type_id, object_pk) tuples to refer to some object -- look at the comment framework, or the admin log API. Again, a composite PK system would need to somehow not break this.
- Admin URLs; they're of the form "/app_label/module_name/pk/"; there would need to be a way to map URLs to objects in the absence of a primary key.
mjm: I'm not very familiar with Django's internals, but I suspect the first point's answer lies somewhere near the observation that a CK needs a compound data structure. In Python the obvious choices are a tuple (or list, probably interchangeably) or a dictionary. I've actually used sequences; the obvious drawback is that they require an agreed-upon convention as to the order of the components. If I were doing it over again I would give very serious thought to using mappings, at least for things that hold key values.
Hmmm, that handwaving seems to much of what I have to say about the second point as well. Not sure just how that can not break some code, though. In my work using sequences I chose - not without some pain - to make all keys be sequences (and all keys' names were sequences, too). This is at least consistent, and the changes were straightforward. The fact that strings are themselves sequences actually made it more difficult, since overlooked cases would (often) misbehave rather than tossing an exception immediately - a point in favor of using mappings, maybe.
As for the last item, obviously a choice has to be made, and some existing cases will change. I wouldn't call the result "broken", since only hand-generated admin URLs would have a problem (well, bookmarked ones, it occurs to me, if anyone actually does that). Is anyone really concerned about making admin URLs slightly less easily hand-generatable?
Proposed Solutions
Proposed solutions for the admin URL issue: "/app_label/module/pk1,pk2/" -- does not support text primary keys which include a comma. "/app_label/module/pk1/pk2/" -- With support for a generic view on just "/pk1/" (like the date based generic view)
mjm: From Adrian's remark about how greedy the admin URL matching is, I take it that the entire tail is taken to be the key matter. This wouldn't change: the admin code decides how it will recognize key part boundaries, and it generates URLs that conform to that. The discussion about allowing a partial key spec to select a set (rather than a single record) seems to me a diversion at this level. It does point out a [some?] non-unique selection criteria that might be especially useful to have supported automatically. I would expect a selection based on matching one (or some) of a CK's columns to look the same as if that selection were configured for non-PK column(s), I think.
Alternative methods
Currently, you can "fake" it by declaring one of the keys to be primary in Django and adding a unique constraint to the model. (needs more info...examples?)
mjm: This only works when there is a non-compound unique key to use, if I understand what's being proposed here. As such, it may be workable as a way to squeeze a design that naturally has CKs into Django, but it's of no use for working with an existing schema that has only the CK.
Links / Notes
http://code.djangoproject.com/ticket/373 Rails/ActiveRecord doesn't support this natively, but http://compositekeys.rubyforge.org/ is an add-on which does


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SAN RAMON, CA -- Butterfly Life President and CEO Mark Golob says that his company has moved offices and is rebranding itself.
Rumors have been swirling the past few days that Butterfly Life, a women-only express club chain, had ceased operations after its Web site was shut down and the phone line to its corporate office in San Ramon, CA, was disconnected.
Golob says the company moved to a smaller office in San Ramon. He declined to give a reason for the move, other than that the company downsized.
The Web site will be back up in the next 24 to 48 hours, Golob said this afternoon.
"We are nowhere close to closing our doors or being out of business," Golob says.
Butterfly Life is transitioning from a 30-minute club model to a neighborhood women's fitness center, Golob says, testing the new model with personal training and live classes. Instead of being known as Butterfly Life Healthy Living Solutions for Women, the company is changing its full name to Butterfly Life Women's Fitness Centers. The company is currently not selling franchises, although once it does, the goal is for the clubs to produce more revenue from personal training and live classes, Golob says.
"Basically, what we've done is re-invent ourselves," Golob says. "We didn't want to sell franchises for something where people weren't doing as well as they should. We'll come out once this testing is done, and we'll be selling franchises. I see a great need for a neighborhood women's club with great classes, great equipment, low pricing."
Golob would not comment about pending litigation against Butterfly Life involving past Butterfly Life franchisees.


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Hey everyone
I hope you have all been well!
So, even though it might not seem like it due to little updates, I am very much alive... Been so busy with commercial work in the past years that I had little art that I could actually share online. However, as my New Year's resolution for 2014, this is bound to change.
Have a question?
If you'd like to connect outside DA, both in business and non business matters, feel free to drop me a line via FACEBOOK or, alternatively, send an e-mail to firstname.lastname@example.com


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This new, regular feature on NHLNumbers will share interesting stats-related posts from around the web almost every day.
Welcome. In this space you will be able to find the best analytical hockey writing from around the internet on a close-to-daily basis. Subject matter will include statistical evaluation, financial analysis, contractual issues, and (sometimes) closely-related tangential works. If you have something you would like to submit for a future edition (your writing or that of someone else) feel free to send it to me via Twitter @JoshL1220 or leave a comment.
Jeff Bell of Columbus Biz Insider writes that the Blue Jackets season ticket base is down to an alarmingly low 7,000 people. He spoke with Blue Jackets president Mike Priest, who had this to say:
"Our product has to deliver," Priest said. "It needs to be competitive and deliver the value commiserative with what you're asking people to spend with you."
It's amazing to me that a franchise with one playoff appearance in their history is having trouble attracting fans after dealing away their best player and missing half of a season of games. I think I can speak for many of us when I say that today I am thankful that I don't work for the Blue Jackets sales department. That must be a really depressing place.
A weeks worth of other, hopefully, less depressing links await you.
*Hockey Prospectus rolled out their 2013 season preview posts over the past week. Rob Vollman discussed the top 10 projected points leaders. Ryan Wagman had the projected top ten goal leaders. And, finally, Matthew Coller wrote about their projected top ten goalies.
* Corey Pronman, also of Hockey Prospectus, rolled out his midseason top 50 prospects.
* Patrick D. of Fear The Fin went in depth discussing the power of chance on this years playoff race.
* Several sites have begun speculating about their respective teams signing Wade Redden or Scott Gomez. Fear The Fin asks about Scott Gomez. Silver Seven considers the possibility of a Wade Redden reunion in Ottawa, and Broad Street Hockey wondered if he could be an option for the Flyers. Jonathan Willis asked if the Oilers should look into Redden. Cam Charron put the Gomez and Redden through the Canucks lens.
* Cam has been busy. He also looked into the impact of Ron Wilson on goalies under his supervision. He then made the case for Roberto Luongo as the Canucks #1 goalie this year for Canucks Army.
* Tyler Dellow posted part three in his series investigating whether or not the Oilers are a playoff team. He also attacked the question of whether or not third pairing defensemen develop after age 25 in the wake of the Oilers trading for Mark Fistric.
* At Defending Big D I discussed the possible ways for Glen Gulutzan to use his new players in Dallas, and for WFAA.com I discussed reasons why Jamie Benn might be waiting to sign an extension in Dallas.
The statistical articles are finally coming around! Thank you to those of you who have begun writing to make this that much more entertaining.
Follow Josh and NHLNumbers on Twitter.


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Here is an easy to make ancient yet modern device that hurls spears at up to 100mph.
Thanks go to Daryl Hrdlicka for the original article in MAKE, Volume 12.
View the PDF of this project. and then subscribe to MAKE Magazine for other great projects
you can do over the weekend.


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Sheet music downloads have become the preferred method of acquiring classical music repertoire. Created by professional musicians, EveryNote.com presents classical sheet music download of over 20.000 popular and hard-to-find music scores over 1000 composers. A major Internet provider of classical sheet music files download online, EveryNote.com offers the largest and most complete digital sheet music download library on the Web in the world. Instantly download, view and print your favorite classical music score. Everynote.com currently offers thousands of classical music compositions for Piano, Violin, Cello, Flute, Clarinet, Classical Guitar, Voice, Chamber and Choral music.Many more instruments, composers, genres added every day! EveryNote.com has been featured in The New York Times, Globe and Mail, Musical America and many other publications.
Giulio Briccialdi
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Giulio Briccialdi short biography
Giulio Briccialdi was a very important Italian flutist and composer. Briccialdi made significant technical improvements to the flute. In 1870 Briccialdi was appointed Professor at the Florence Conservatory. Briccialdi's major compositions are for the flute, including pedagogical works and concertos.
More Flute sheet music download on EveryNote.com
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Web design by Web design SEO & Hosting Company - iGenii inc


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August 24, 2011
Michael Daems
Theme: FACE Bookends — Each theme answer begins with FA and ends with CE so, in each case, the word FACE is a "bookend."
Theme answers:
- 20A: *Miss (FAIL TO NOTICE).
- 28A: *Simulated living room feature (FAUX FIREPLACE).
- 45A: *Feature of many Bee Gees songs (FALSETTO VOICE).
- 51A: Headline that would shock the Internet community (or put another way, hint to the divided word in each of the answers to the divided word in each of the answers to starred clues) (FACEBOOK ENDS).
Okay, good stuff. I said there was some, right? The clue for TAYLOR is deliciously vague (6D: Five-time Grammy winner James). Is James a first name or last name? Is it our good friend Etta? My mind was flitting all over the place before finally landing on James.
The long downs mostly just sit there doing nothing (CITIZENSHIP, EVIDEZzzzzzz). GIRAFFE is pretty good (5D: Long-necked mammal) and then — bam! — we get FUDGE FACTOR (25D: Arbitrary allowance for error). Definitely the highlight of the puzzle for me.
- 10A: Shady plan (SCAM). Interesting how we were just talking about plan vs. plot the other day. Change plan to plot in this clue and it could mean something totally different!
- 39A: Dan Patrick's channel, formerly (ESPN). What is Dan Patrick up to these days?
- 50A: Some 12-yd. soccer shots (PKS). I have no idea what this means.
- 63A: More-than-disappointing crowd? (NO ONE). I don't understand the question mark in this clue. Is there another meaning of "disappointing crowd" that I'm not thinking of?
- 1D: The Tanners' adoptee, on TV (ALF). Okay, this is embarrassing. I was thinking of Danny Tanner from "Full House" and thought, "Michelle was adopted?"
- 35D: Logical character (SPOCK). He offered a lot of very logical advice about babies and childcare.
- 42D: Diffused through a membrane (OSMOSED). Ugh.
- 47D: Aftershock (TREMOR). Timely! Yep, we sure as heck did have an earthquake here yesterday. I was shopping at Target when it hit. If it had been any stronger or lasted any longer I'm pretty sure various heavy objects would have been coming down on my head so I'm glad it was a small one. (Although, out of the five earthquakes I've felt in my life, it was by far the biggest!)
- 53D: Curly cabbage (KALE).
- 14A: Hilo veranda (LANAI).
- 38A: Ottoman officer (AGA).
- 1D: The Tanners' adoptee, on TV (ALF).
- 39D: Command for DDE (ETO).
- 46D: Carol opening (ADESTE).
Everything — 1A: Cellar process (AGING); 6A: Incline (TILT); 10A: Shady plan (SCAM); 14A: Hilo veranda (LANAI); 15A: Freshly (ANEW); 16A: Scrabble piece (TILE); 17A: Panache (FLAIR); 18A: He caught Don's 1956 World Series perfect game (YOGI); 19A: Bickering (AT IT); 20A: *Miss (FAIL TO NOTICE); 23A: Tolkien's Elrond, e.g. (ELF); 26A: One way to pace (FRO); 27A: Hold dear (PRIZE); 28A: *Simulated living room feature (FAUX FIREPLACE); 32A: Confounds (ADDLES); 33A: Poem of the countryside (IDYL); 34A: Fort Meade-based govt. org. (NSA); 37A: Standards, briefly (REGS); 38A: Ottoman officer (AGA); 39A: Dan Patrick's channel, formerly (ESPN); 40A: Portland-to-Boise dir. (ESE); 41A: Frosh, next year (SOPH); 43A: Scientific __ (METHOD); 45A: *Feature of many Bee Gees songs (FALSETTO VOICE); 48A: Respectful address (MADAM); 49A: Louis XIV, par exemple (ROI); 50A: Some 12-yd. soccer shots (PKS); 51A: Headline that would shock the Internet community (or put another way, hint to the divided word in each of the answers to starred clues) (FACEBOOK ENDS); 55A: Takes steps (ACTS); 56A: Land of Rama I (SIAM); 57A: Poke (ELBOW); 61A: Gait slower than a canter (TROT); 62A: 'Enry's greeting ('ELLO); 63A: More-than-disappointing crowd? (NO ONE); 64A: Miffed (SORE); 65A: Textile worker (DYER); 66A: Amarillo's home (TEXAS); 1D: The Tanners' adoptee, on TV (ALF); 2D: Lass (GAL); 3D: Garten of the Food Network (INA); 4D: Newbie (NAIF); 5D: Long-necked mammal (GIRAFFE); 6D: Five-time Grammy winner James (TAYLOR); 7D: Playing a fifth qtr., say (IN O.T.); 8D: Kid's building block (LEGO); 9D: Reinforced, as some dust bags (TWIN-PLY); 10D: Radio interference (STATIC); 11D: Immigrant test taker's goal (CITIZENSHIP); 12D: Rocker Cooper (ALICE); 13D: Dole (out) (METE); 21D: Pupil's place (IRIS); 22D: Uttered (ORAL); 23D: Online airline deal (E-FARE); 24D: Fills with cargo (LADES); 25D: Arbitrary allowance for error (FUDGE FACTOR); 29D: T-shirt sizes, for short (XL'S); 30D: Black ball (EIGHT); 31D: BlackBerry Bold, e.g. (PDA); 35D: Logical character (SPOCK); 36D: Aconcagua is its highest peak (ANDES); 38D: Mimic (APE); 39D: Command for DDE (ETO); 41D: Generous slice (SLAB); 42D: Diffused through a membrane (OSMOSED); 43D: Night light (MOON); 44D: Clear (EVIDENT); 46D: Carol opening (ADESTE); 47D: Aftershock (TREMOR); 48D: Computer shortcut (MACRO); 51D: Domino's nickname (FATS); 52D: Slick (OILY); 53D: Curly cabbage (KALE); 54D: Gin flavoring (SLOE); 58D: Spar in the ring (BOX); 59D: Stop __ dime (ON A); 60D: Filmmaker Craven (WES).


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Dear Professional Writers,
Do you remember being unpublished? The struggles? The hopes and dreams? The lottery-win feeling when you finally broke through?
Hold onto that feeling. Don't let it go. And beware:
A sense of entitlement.
Jealousy and envy of those who have more.
A feeling of superiority over those who have less.
Worry over the future, when you're lucky to be here in the present.
Getting bogged down in the details.
Focusing on the negative.
Also, remember to give back.
This is becoming harder the busier I become, but I'm still trying to help others get to where I'm at. To this end I teach writing at a local community college, I read manuscripts that people send me, I recommend writers to my agent, I hold writing contests, I buy other authors' books, I write reviews, I give blurbs, I always answer questions, I offer advice in person, in email, and on my blog and website, and most of all, I try to be patient and understanding with those who know less about this profession than I do, and gracious and thankful to those who know more than I do and share that knowledge.
The further you get into this business, the more idealism you lose. The same can probably be said of life.
One way to hold onto that idealism is to never forget where you came from.
Stay humble.
Sunday, July 03, 2005
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Let the adventure begin! Icenhower Intermediate School will host its Ice Camp on Thursday, August 2, 2018 from 9am to 12pm.
All incoming 5th grade students are invited to attend.
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Our stores are full of value and unbelievably low prices... and that's good because kids outgrow their clothes SO fast. As a parent, why buy new when gently used will do? Why pay full price for clothes that will only be worn a few months? Come into our stores and experience our WOW factor! You'll never go back to buying new full price clothes again.
Store Hours:
Mon-Sat: 9:30AM-8:00PM
Sun: 11:00AM-6:00PM
The Crest Hill store, 2108 Plainfield Rd, is over 7,000 sq ft, very spacious and offers customers a huge selection of quality gently used clothes, baby gear, furniture and toys. In addition, choose from more than 5 styles of new cribs in about every color or finish you can imagine. We also carry crib bedding and mattresses all at competitive prices.
The Orland Park store, 9520 W 159th St, is 15,000 sq ft, huge location full of the top children's brands and is the largest Once Upon A Child in the United States! This means more room for great deals!
The Crest Hill and Orland Park stores are about 20 minutes apart and are both worth visiting due to their uniqueness. They are both located down the street from our Plato's Closet stores. Make a day of it and visit both!
We carry newborn to a children's size 16. If you have teenagers... you'll want to visit our Plato's Closet locations, www.platosclosetcresthill.com.


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BANGKOK—Thailand's powerful army chief on Friday issued his strongest call yet for the nation's political rivals to overcome their bitter divide, refusing to rule out the possibility of a military coup as long as the conflict threatens to tear the country apart.
Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha made the comments one day after protesters trying to stop February elections battled with police in Bangkok in clashes that left two people dead and injured more than 140, one of the most violent days since the conflict began two months ago.
The crisis has seen Thailand wracked by political tensions in which demonstrators have sought to overthrow the democratically elected government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. The army has staged 11 successful coups in the country's history — the last against Yingluck's brother in 2006 — so Prayuth's words carry great weight.
Asked whether a military takeover was possible, Prayuth said simply, "That door is neither open nor closed . . . it will be determined by the situation."
Protesters have lobbied for the army to intervene in the crisis, and their leader, Suthep Thaugsuban, has called on the military to take sides. Late last month, they forced their way onto the grounds of army headquarters to deliver a letter asking the military to support their campaign. Prayuth responded by insisting that the army would not take sides.
On Friday, he reiterated that stance, saying, "Please don't bring the army into the centre of this conflict."
The deepening crisis took a turn for the worse Thursday after protesters tried to overrun a Bangkok sports stadium where election candidates were gathering to draw lots for their positions on ballots. Masked protesters fired rocks from slingshots as they tried to break into the building to halt the process, while police fired tear gas and rubber bullets.
Two people, including a police officer, were shot dead. Four election commissioners left the stadium by helicopter to escape the violence, some of the sharpest since a long-running dispute between Thailand's bitterly divided political factions intensified anew in November.
As the violence unfolded Thursday, Thailand's election commission called for the Feb. 2 polls to be delayed. That was a blow to Yingluck, whose ruling party won a landslide during the last vote in 2011 and would likely dominate any new election, thanks to her overwhelming support in the country's north and northeast. The government rejected the call for the ballot to be delayed.
Deputy Prime Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul said Friday that he would ask the military to provide security for the elections.
Prayuth said the army had shown "red traffic lights to both sides, so things will calm down," and called for an end to street violence. "You ask, 'Who wins?' Who wins?' No one," he said.
Still responding to the question of possible military intervention, he said, "Whether it is going to happen, time will tell."
But he also said: "We don't want to overstep the bounds of our authority. We don't want to use force. We try to use peaceful means, talks and meetings to solve the problem."
Thailand has been plagued by political turmoil since the army toppled Yingluck's brother, then-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, in a 2006 coup. In broad terms, the conflict pits the Thai elite and the educated middle-class against Thaksin's power base in the countryside, which benefited from his populist policies designed to win over the rural poor.
The protesters accuse Yingluck of being a proxy for Thaksin, who lives in self-imposed exile to avoid jail time for a corruption conviction but still wields influence in the country.
An ill-advised bid by Yingluck's ruling Pheu Thai party to push an amnesty law through Parliament that would have allowed Thaksin's return from exile sparked the latest wave of protests.
Thaksin or his allies have won every election since 2001. His supporters say he is disliked by Bangkok's elite because he has shifted power away from the traditional ruling class, which is represented in the current protest movement.
Since taking office two years ago, Yingluck has walked a careful tightrope with the army, and during the latest crisis she has gone out of her way to avoid violence for fear of worsening the conflict or provoking a coup.
Authorities have issued an arrest warrant for Suthep, the protest leader, on charges of insurrection. But police have made no move to arrest him for fear of worsening the crisis.
Suthep is calling for an unelected "people's council" to replace Yingluck's administration, and he has vowed that the protesters will thwart the February polls through civil disobedience.


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SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Sophomore forward Erica Shelton (Bakersfield, Calif./Stockdale HS) was named Big West Offensive Player of the Week after scoring both goals in UC Santa Barbara's matches against San Diego State and Cal State Bakersfield.
Shelton's goals were her first of the season and both came in second halves and allowed the Gauchos to extend their unbeaten streak to three game in a row.
On Sept. 21 at San Diego State, her penalty kick in the 56th minute was the only goal in UCSB's 1-0 victory and then, on Sunday, she scored on a direct free kick in the 77th minute to help the Gauchos forge a 1-1 double overtime tie at Cal State Bakersfield.
"Erica has worked very hard and has a high soccer I.Q.," said UCSB head coach Paul Stumpf. "She understands the opportunity that she has been given to play soccer and go to college, and she is not letting it pass her by."
Shelton is the first Santa Barbara player to earn Player of the Week honors in 2011.
UCSB hosts Long Beach State to open Big West Conference play on Friday, Sept. 30. The Gauchos and 49ers, who went to the NCAA Tournament in 2010, will kickoff at 7:00 p.m. at Meredith Field at Harder Stadium.
Tickets for all Gaucho soccer games can be purchased from the Ticket Office in the Intercollegiate Building on campus, by calling 805-893-UCSB or online by clicking here.


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Beach Bistro
The Beach Bistro has consistently been awarded the highest ZAGAT scores in the state of Florida for "best food" and has been honored with inclusion in ZAGAT's "Top Restaurants in America". The Bistro also boasts a long-standing Wine Spectator Award and is enthroned in Florida Trend's "Golden Spoon Hall of Fame".
The Bistro's beachfront location on the beautiful white sand beaches of Anna Maria Island, overlooking the blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico has earned Bon Appétit's acclaim for being one of Florida's "Most Romantic Restaurants". Food and Wine magazine acclaimed the Bistro's waterfront perch as "almost like being at sea".
The Beach Bistro's commitment to providing the very best locally sourced farm products, Prime American beef, domestic lamb and fresh, line-caught seafood is complemented by one of the best chef teams in the country.


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Grades 9-12
Opportunity Cost
With so many innovative and exciting products and services, you are faced with tough choices. Equally as challenging are the concurrent marketing efforts of a billion dollar industry that understands how to attract consumers. Couple this with an innate desire to want more than you can have, and it is evident why so many people make irresponsible spending decisions. Therefore, ingraining a decision making process that includes considering the opportunity cost of any spending decision is necessary to form responsible money management habits.
Task List
- Develop a list of products or services that you currently buy, and place them on either the "In" or "Out" side. If it is on the "Out" side, that means that based on opportunity cost or your own values, you regret your original choice because you feel that your money could be best spent elsewhere.
- The teacher will demonstrate a financial calculator www.planningtips.com/cgi-bin/roth.p and you will use it in your "In" and "Out" list to illustrate the opportunity cost of the "Out" list if each month is added up and multiplied by 12 months then by 30 years, and invested in the market assuming the market return is 8%. Be sure to project the results of each calculation.
- Class will begin with a short video .
- The teacher will share a story or two that he or she prepared consistent with his or her values. The teacher will review the opportunity cost of each choice as well by using a financial calculator www.planningtips.com/cgi-bin/roth.pl to illustrate the opportunity cost of the choice over a period of time.
- The teacher will provide terms and definitions so be ready for note taking.
- The teacher will discuss with you obstacles people face when they make spending choices.
- The teacher will assign a task.
The teacher has provided you with tools you need to make your own financial choices consistent with your values. Responsible spending behavior is consistent with those who (1) consider the opportunity cost before making a purchase, (2) are capable of delaying gratification to make choices, and (3) make spending choices consistent with their values.
Assessment Activity
You will prepare a budget based on your own current allowance/compensation from part time jobs with three categories: "Saving," "Sharing," and "Spending," and sub-categories determined by the individual teacher. When you have finished with your budget write a paragraph or two on why you made the different saving/spending choices and how they relate to your future plans. (Note – if you have no income, the teacher will generate a fictitious but appropriate amount of income for you to use in the preparation of your budget.)
Extension Activity
Visit www.mint.com and familiarize yourself with the site. This is just one of many programs/ways that you can track your spending so you can better reach your goals. Other methods will be discussed in the future.
Related Resources
Grades 6-8, 9-12
Saving and Investing Video
Grades K-2
The Little Red Hen is a Producer and a Consumer
Grades 9-12


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Round Gloss Vinyl Stickers 10x10cm
Our round stickers are digitally printed onto heavyweight gloss vinyl using UV stable, weatherproof inks.
100 microns thick monomeric white gloss vinyl with a clear permanent acrylic adhesive with residue free removal. Suitable for indoor and outdoor use with up to 4 years outdoor durability.
Add additional sticker designs to your order using the options above.
Samples - We highly recommend purchasing a sample of your stickers before placing a full order. Purchasing samples will give you the opportunity to check your sticker designs and make any amends if required. Contact us to find out more.
Re-orders - We store your sticker artwork for 6 months, which helps us to provide you with consistent results. Simply quote your previous order number when placing your new order and we'll use the artwork that we have for you on file.
Simply use the 'Upload Artwork' button above to upload the artwork, image, photograph, etc. that you would like turning into a custom sticker, let us know if you would like your sticker cutting out along the edge of your design or if you would like a border and let us do the rest.
We'll set up your artwork and send you a digital proof. Once you're happy with your proof, let us know and we'll print your custom stickers and send them out to you.
Please make sure that any artwork that you submit is AT LEAST the same size as the sticker that you have ordered and meets the following criteria…
File format - PSD, JPEG, AI, TIFF, EPS
Colour Format - CMYK
Image Resolution - 300dpi
If you're unsure of what any of this means or you need help meeting these requirements, please get in touch by clicking here and we'll happily guide you through the process.
Advanced Artwork Submission
Our advanced artwork submission option is for customers that want more control over their artwork set up, have some knowledge of design software and would like their stickers to include additional features such as....
- Internal cut lines
- Specific border widths
Click on the links below to set your sticker artwork using Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator...
Click here for our Photoshop tutorial and templates.
Click here for our Illustrator tutorial and templates.
The current production times for our custom sticker printing service is 10 to 15 working days*
Production begins once we have received your order and artwork. If we encounter any problems with your artwork we will notify you during working hours and production will begin once we have received your corrected designs.
Our manufacturing hours are 8.30am to 5pm GMT Monday to Friday. Any orders received after 9am will be processed the following morning.
*Working days are Monday to Friday excluding Bank Holidays and major national holidays. We will always notify our customers of any closures in advance via our email newsletter and social media channels.
To check on the status of your order visit our 'Order Lookup' tool.


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Story highlights
- Tow truck driver saw vehicle stopped on a New Jersey interstate, police say
- They say Goodson was a passenger, and drugs and a gun were in the vehicle
- Goodson and the driver are in jail after their arrests
- Goodson, from Spring, Texas, signed a three-year, $6.9 million contract with the Jets, NFL says
New York Jets running back Mike Goodson was arrested on drug and gun charges in New Jersey early Friday morning, New Jersey State Police said.
According to the NFL, Goodson, from Spring, Texas, signed a three-year, $6.9 million contract with the Jets this offseason.
A tow truck driver called police at 3:15 a.m. Friday when he saw a vehicle stopped in the left lane on the westbound side of Interstate 80 in Denville, police said. Goodson, 25, was the passenger in the GMC Yukon. Police found a loaded handgun, hollow-point ammunition, drug paraphernalia and a small amount of marijuana in the vehicle, said Lt. Stephen Jones, a state police spokesman.
Goodson appeared to be intoxicated, Jones said, and was taken to St. Clare's Hospital in Boonton Township, where he was evaluated and treated. He was sent to state police custody upon his release, Jones said.
The driver, Garant Evans of Roselle, was arrested at the scene and faces the same charges, in addition to a DWI allegation and motor vehicle tickets. Evans, 31, was a convicted felon before Friday's arrest, Jones said.
Jones said Goodson and Evans are being held on full-cash bail at the Morris County Jail. Goodson's bail was set at $50,000, and Evans' was set at $150,000.


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USA's Rio Gold Rush | Popovich takes over Team USA | Gasol not ready to end international career | Wall continues making an impact off the court
No. 1: USA's Rio gold rush — With an experienced coaching staff and roster stuffed with NBA All-Stars, the United States Men's Basketball Team entered the 2016 Rio Olympics as heavy favorites to win the gold medal. And with yesterday's 96-66 blowout win over Serbia, Team USA did in fact win gold, although the journey may have been bumpier than many expected. As our own John Schuhmann writes from Rio, several lessons were apparent along the way:
This team had some bad defenders, and too many of them were in the starting lineup together until head coach Mike Krzyzewski changed things up before the quarterfinals. On this team and in years past, we've learned how important it is to have an Andre Iguodala or a Paul George to complement the guys who can put the ball in the bucket. Kawhi Leonard, you have a 2020 roster spot if you want it.
This team also fell victim to an exhibition schedule that was too easy. That wasn't necessarily a mistake, because they were only able to play teams that traveled through the U.S. on their way to Rio. But it was clear that the Americans weren't prepared for a step-up in competition after cruising through the exhibitions and their first two pool play games.
And as much talent as the U.S. has, it's impossible to make the most of it over the course of five weeks. The national team is made up of stars who aren't used to playing with one another, and they were playing their first elimination game less than a month after they began training camp.
Other teams don't train for much longer than that, but almost all of them have more roster continuity than the U.S. does. The U.S. had just two players back from its last Olympic Team, as well as four from the team that won the World Cup of Basketball in 2014. Serbia, meanwhile, returned nine players from the team that lost to the U.S. in '14.
And that's concern No. 1 for USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo. He knows that it's always going to be difficult for the U.S. to flow freely offensively and play on a string defensively when they only have three weeks to prepare a brand new roster.
"Basketball is the ultimate team game," Colangelo said. "And when you have 10 new people and you only have them for a few weeks, it's not enough time. For me, I'm glad we're past this. It's justification for all that we've done. But it also says to me we need to continue with the continuity. We can't go back again with 10 new players. It's not going to happen."
This year, the Americans were fortunate to have the two Olympic vets that they did. Durant put the team on his back in the gold medal game. Carmelo Anthony, who retired from the national team after Sunday's game as the only player with three Olympic gold medals in Men's Basketball, turned into a leader for the younger players to rally around.
Those younger guys will be asked to keep coming back. And continuity will become even more important down the line, because the rest of the world is continually getting better. While this tournament saw the final games of Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker in their national-team uniforms, there is more talent coming up behind them.
The 46 NBA players in these Olympics was an all-time high. Australia took a big step forward, put itself on the second tier of national teams, and has the No. 1 pick in this year's draft in its pipeline. Serbia isn't going anywhere, France has good, under-30 players in the backcourt and on the frontline, Croatia and Lithuania have young NBA talent, and it's just a matter of time (and participation) before Canada breaks though.
The United States' winning streak in international tournaments, which now stands at 53 games, will come to an end at some point. But this group of 12 didn't let it happen on its watch.
There were close calls, but they still went 8-0, played their best game with gold on the line, and stood on the top step of the podium on Sunday afternoon. Lessons were learned, but gold was earned.
No. 2: Popovich takes over Team USA — After 11 years at the helm and a perfect record in the Olympics, Coach Mike Krzyzewski now hands over Team USA to San Antonio's Gregg Popovich, who will be Team USA's new man on the sideline. As ESPN's Jackie MacMullan writes, to truly understand Pop, you have to understand where he comes from and the disappointments that have helped shape him…
Gregg Popovich graduated with a degree in Soviet Studies in 1970 and joined the U.S. Armed Forces basketball team, touring Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, using his fluent Russian to brief his coach on helpful buzzwords.
His team won the AAU championship in 1972, and when he returned to the U.S., he learned the Olympic basketball trials would be held at the Academy. Jack Herron Jr., who was named to the 1972 U.S. Olympic selection committee, made it his charge to make certain Popovich received an invitation.
Herron, whose father Jack Sr. played for Olympic coach Hank Iba at Oklahoma A&M (later Oklahoma State), had just spent a year as an Air Force basketball assistant and recruiting coordinator. Popovich had earned rave reviews for his overseas performances, but they were neither televised nor publicized.
"It was a fight just to get him there," says Herron. Back then the Olympic team was selected from a pool of players representing AAU, the NAIA, junior colleges, the Armed Forces, and both the university and college divisions of the NCAA. Players were split into groups of 10 to 12 and assigned a coach. Popovich played for Indiana coach Bobby Knight; one of his teammates was forward Bobby Jones.
Jones remembers that Popovich was in his group but could not recall particulars of his game, even though Popovich led all players with a .577 shooting percentage. What Jones recalls with clarity, though, was how, before the last scrimmage of the trials, Knight informed the group that only two of them had a shot at making the final Olympic squad and the rest should pass them the ball to enhance their chances.
"The two guys were Kevin Joyce and me," says Jones. "I had never heard a coach be so honest. I don't know how Gregg and the other players felt about it."
Herron suspects the subtleties of Popovich's game were lost among the other candidates who were jacking up shots and looking to put points on the board. "Gregg could have been more showy," Herron says, "but he played the way Mr. Iba told him to play. It probably hurt him in the end."
Herron says he attended every single Olympic selection committee meeting and that Popovich was among the top 14-16 players in each of those discussions. But as the committee began to vote on the final roster, members who hadn't showed up at any of the previous meetings suddenly surfaced. When Herron asked why they were there, he says they told him, "We're here to get our guys on the team."
The process, Herron says, quickly dissolved into factions fighting for representation instead of choosing the top performers. When the final roster was announced, Popovich was left off.
"I've been aggravated about this for almost 50 years," Herron says. "Gregg belonged on that team."
Larry Brown was invited by Iba to attend the tryouts and was suitably impressed by Popovich's moxie, so much so that he invited him to try out for his ABA team in Denver later that fall (Popovich was among the final cuts).
"Pop was real tough and tenacious, like [Cavs guard Matthew] Dellavedova, although a little more athletic," Brown says. "But there were so many talented players there."
No. 3: Gasol not ready to end international career — In other Olympic basketball action yesterday, Spain defeated Australia, 89-88, to win the bronze medal, behind 31 points from Pau Gasol. And while Gasol will be 40 years old by the time of the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, he's not ready to say he'll be finished with his international career by then:
Gasol, who will spend this upcoming NBA season in San Antonio and hasn't committed to playing at Tokyo in 2020, and his teammates celebrated by piling on top of each other near center court. This wasn't the medal they wanted, but after losing their first two games in Brazil, it beats nothing.
"Unbelievable," forward Rudy Fernandez said. "It's an amazing feeling."
It is a feeling Gasol wishes could last. He isn't ready to shed his Espana jersey.
"I'm getting older and at some point I'm not going to be able to play," said the 36-year-old. "So when that day comes, I'll accept it. It'll be hard, but I had an incredible run. I can't ask for anything else. Everything I gave, everything I lived as a basketball player, it's a plus. It's a gift.
"I'm just enjoying the ride."
No. 4: Wall continues making an impact off the court — Washington's John Wall wasn't able to participate with USA Basketball this summer because of offseason knee surgery, but his rehab from the injury hasn't kept him from being involved off the court in D.C. As the Washington Post's Candace Buckner writes, Wall recently gave out backpacks at a local elementary school, his latest attempt to make a difference in his community…
John Wall remembers how as a child he had to strap on the same backpack from elementary age until seventh grade. It's one of the reasons why Wall showed up in Southeast Washington on a blazing hot afternoon to give away 250 backpacks.
On Saturday at Malcolm X Elementary School, the John Wall Family Foundation hosted its third annual Back to School Block Party. The event featured local organizations that donated back-to-school items, a DJ blasting up-tempo tunes, a bouncy house, face painting and free food. However, the main attraction was Wall, who personally placed backpacks on children and posed for photographs.
"I didn't have an opportunity to meet my favorite player or an NBA player [when] I was growing up," Wall said. "But [now] I can see the smiles that I put on these kids' faces."
Wall arrived at the event with little fanfare — though the DJ dropped the beat to welcome the guest of honor with "Teach Me How To Dougie." Wall then walked the perimeter of the parking lot and basketball court to shake hands with every volunteer.
Following his gratitude lap, Wall took the microphone and addressed the crowd.
"I'm excited to be at Malcolm X Elementary school to give back to the community," Wall said. "Like I told a lot of people before, we're not forced to do this. I do it because I want to. I do it to be involved and be involved with the kids."
School Principal Zara Berry-Young said Wall's foundation reached out to her school because it specifically wanted to help in the Southeast Washington community. Wall echoed this sentiment, saying he picked an area "where people and the kids are going through tough times. . . . It's kind of easy because it's kind of over here by where our practice [facility] is going to be. I'm going to be over here a lot and seeing these people."
SOME RANDOM HEADLINES: In an emotional interview following the gold medal game, Carmelo Anthony announced his retirement from Team USA … Catching up with Brazilian hoops icon Oscar Schmidt … Yao Ming reflects on his Olympic experiences … Allen Iverson picks his top five players of all-time … The Heat and Chris Bosh are reportedly still discussing his return … Kobe Bryant today will announce a venture capital fund for investing in technology, media and data companies …


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"Dad needs to feed the baby so he can bond."
We've all heard that, right? What the misleading misnomer, but more importantly, such an emotional Booby Trap, since it leads Babes to feel the need to supplement or pump, and if it's not something she's already doing, it can open the window to such an onslaught of struggles — but it can feel like not doing it is denying the father the opportunity to bond with his babe.
Fortunately, there are so, so many other ways that dads can be engaged in their babe's lives, that we can tuck this certain idea away back in the archives of "unnecessary advice." Feeding is only one tiny portion of a babe's life and by no means one that anyone else has to take over to be a special, integral part of the babe's life. If you're looking for ways to help your baby's father* to feel connected, or even just want a list of things he does with your baby to squash some well-meaning family or friends who keep suggesting that you're hogging your baby by not busting out the bottles, I'm your go-to girl.
(*If 'father' isn't the appropriate term for your relationship/situation, please feel free to insert your chosen term in it's place as you read.)
- Take over bath time. Well, assuming your baby enjoys baths, that is. Otherwise it might be more comforting to be the one to dry baby off and dress him or her afterwards.
- Sing songs. Not only helps with language development, but I guarantee your heart will melt watching the baby's father singing to their tiny love.
- Play with the baby, with toys or even just simple hand games. For more physically-oriented dads, infant play can involve helping baby learn how to track with his or her eyes, or holding a toy for the wee one to bat at.
- Babywear! Dad's time with the babe is only limited to feeds, so strap that little person onto their father for a walk around the block, or even just while sitting on the couch. Bare-chest it for some beneficial skin-to-skin (or skin-to-hair, as it may be — tactical learning?).
- Tend to other needs. Diapers may not be exciting, but involving dad in diaper changes, dressing the babe, or anything else needed helps enforce that he isn't merely a bystander.
- Attend any doctor visits or be involved and educated in any/all choices and discussions about the babe's health.
- Learn body language, and help teach signs and of course verbal language as well. A dad who understands his baby's requests through body language or otherwise will enjoy responding to early communication as well.
- Give baby massages. Not only can this help relieve tension (in dad as well as the babe) but it has a lot of health benefits as well.
- Read to the babe. It doesn't matter what it is. Spoken language, versus recorded language, teaches language skills no matter if you're reading the Wall Street Journal or Twilight (okay, that last one's a "maybe").
- Fetch and tuck in the babe at night. If you're not bed-sharing, dad can wake up to the babe's call and also help settle them back in. During the day at naptime, he can help send the little one to dreamland.
- Do the Daddy-Gas-Dance. Many men instinctively hold a baby belly-down across their arm, the head near the crook of the arm with the supporting hand generally around the infant's belly. This is a fantastic position to help relieve tummy problems.
- Make 'em laugh. Dads are often masters of inciting infant laughter, whether it's through weird voices, faces, or some other silly trick. If they manage to encourage that first laugh, they'll remember that forever (and likely brag about it as well).
- Cuddle up for nap time. If bed-sharing, older babies can take naps with Daddy, or even sleep on his chest while he reads a book or watches TV. (Snuggling a sleeping baby is one of my favorite times!)
- Have him advocate for your breastfeeding. A dad who understands the importance of breastfeeding is less likely to feel that it takes anything away from him.
I'm sure there are many other things dads can do. What else do YOU do with your baby when not breastfeeding? Everything except feeding is something the father can do, especially if given the opportunity. Give him plenty of quality time, and let him really learn his baby too. Feeding time, while a great bonding time for Babes, is only a tiny part of the baby's needs. I'm sure there are many things I missed as well that you all can tell us about. How do your babes' fathers spend quality time with them, outside of meal time?
Brought to you by A Mother's Boutique!
Image credit: Laura Slomkowski via Matt Phoenix Photography
Christie Haskell is a coffee and tea-addicted wife to Kyle and mother of two wee beasties — Rowan (7) and Aurora the Destroyer (2). She's a true geek at heart and spends too much time playing video games and reading fantasy novels when she's not typing her fingers off for CafeMom's The Stir or her personal blog-love, DailyMomtra.


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Moderators: Three Stars, dagny, pfim, netwolf
Idoit40fans wrote:I thought there was a tennis thread, but couldn't find it. I have determined that there should be one now that we're entering the second week of the last slam of the year . Obviously the US Open is going. Last couple of years I wasn't really following tennis as much as I used to, mostly because Hewitt, my favorite player is largely irrelevent internationally anymore. I'm liking Donald Young a lot this in this tournament so far, he may be my next favorite. I don't really know who my favorite women's player is, probably Petkovic just because she is awesomely funny.
What prompted this though, is a question that just came to me: Does anyone still use a one handed backhand? Federer is the only one I can think of that sometimes uses it, but it seems to basically be gone. I can't even use a two handed backhand when I play, it feels both weaker and less controlled...and when I backhand i want to put slice on it and I don't even know how I would do that with a two handed shot. Is there anyone else that actually uses it other than Federer? Is it something thats mostly dead because wooden rackets are gone?
pens2005 wrote:I normally get the Tennis Channel but none of tonights matches are playing on that channel. In fact, on my guide it even says programming is not available at this time.
llipgh2 wrote:Nadal collapsed during his post match presser...
Idoit40fans wrote:Rain stopped! Clearing the courts.
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 5 guests


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Drugs & Medications - Arranon intravenous
Arranon intravenous
Common Brand Name(s): Arranon
Arranon intravenous Warnings
Infrequently, serious nervous system problems have occurred with the use of this medication. The risk may be increased if you have previously received chemotherapy injection into a certain part of the spine (intrathecal) or radiation treatment to the head/spine area. Tell your doctor right away if you notice any symptoms of nervous system problems including: extreme sleepiness, confusion, numbness/tingling in hands/feet, loss of coordination, muscle weakness, or unsteadiness while walking. Seek immediate medical attention if any of the following symptoms occur: inability to move (paralysis), seizure. These symptoms may not go away completely even when treatment with nelarabine is stopped. Consult your doctor for details.
Arranon intravenous Uses
This medication is used to treat certain cancers (leukemia, lymphoma). Nelarabine is a chemotherapy drug that works by slowing or stopping the growth of cancer cells.How to use Arranon intravenous
Read the Patient Information Leaflet provided by your pharmacist before you start using nelarabine and each time you get a refill. If you have any questions, consult your doctor or pharmacist.
This medication is given by slow injection into a vein, usually by a health care professional. Each treatment period is called a cycle. In adults, it is usually given on days 1, 3, and 5 of each treatment cycle or as directed by your doctor. In children, it is usually given daily for 5 days in a row during each treatment cycle or as directed by the doctor.
The dosage is based on your medical condition, age, body size, and response to treatment. Your doctor will check your blood counts to make sure you can receive your next cycle. Keep all medical and laboratory appointments.
Arranon intravenous Side Effects
See also Warning section.
Headache, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, constipation, diarrhea, cough, shortness of breath, dizziness, drowsiness, and tiredness may occur. In some cases, your doctor may prescribe medication to prevent or relieve nausea and vomiting. Eating several small meals, not eating before treatment, or limiting activity may help lessen some of these effects. If any of these effects persist or worsen, tell your doctor or pharmacist promptly.
Many people using this medication have serious side effects. However, your doctor has prescribed this drug because he or she has judged that the benefit to you is greater than the risk of side effects. Careful monitoring by your doctor may decrease your risk.
Tell your doctor right away if you have any serious side effects, including: easy bruising/bleeding, swelling ankles/feet.
This medication can lower the body's ability to fight an infection. Tell your doctor promptly if you develop any signs of an infection such as fever, chills, or persistent sore throat.
Nelarabine sometimes causes side effects due to the rapid destruction of cancer cells (tumor lysis syndrome). To lower your risk, your doctor may add a medication and tell you to drink plenty of fluids. Tell your doctor right away if you have symptoms such as: low back/side pain (flank pain), signs of kidney problems (such as painful urination, pink/bloody urine, change in the amount of urine), muscle spasms/weakness.
A very serious allergic reaction to this drug is rare. However, get medical help right away if you notice any of the following symptoms of a serious allergic reaction: rash, itching/swelling (especially of the face/tongue/throat), severe dizziness, trouble breathing.
This is not a complete list of possible side effects. If you notice other effects not listed above, contact your doctor or pharmacist.
In the US -
Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or at www.fda.gov/medwatch.
In Canada - Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to Health Canada at 1-866-234-2345.
Arranon intravenous Precautions
Before using nelarabine, tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are allergic to it; or if you have any other allergies. This product may contain inactive ingredients, which can cause allergic reactions or other problems. Talk to your pharmacist for more details.
Before using this medication, tell your doctor or pharmacist your medical history, especially of: blood/bleeding disorders (e.g., anemia, low blood cell counts), kidney problems, liver disease, numbness/tingling in hands/feet (peripheral neuropathy), seizure.
Do not have immunizations/vaccinations without the consent of your doctor, and avoid contact with people who have recently received oral polio vaccine or flu vaccine inhaled through the nose. Wash your hands well to prevent the spread of infections.
Avoid contact with people who have illnesses that may spread to others (e.g., flu, chickenpox).
To lower your risk of getting cut, bruised, or injured, use caution with sharp objects like razors and nail cutters, and avoid activities such as contact sports.
Before having surgery, tell your doctor or dentist that you are using this medication.
This drug may make you dizzy or drowsy. Do not drive, use machinery, or do any activity that requires alertness until you are sure you can perform such activities safely. Limit alcoholic beverages and other drugs that may cause drowsiness. (See also Drug Interactions.)
Caution is advised when using this drug in older adults because they may be more sensitive to the effects of the drug, especially nervous system problems (e.g., numbness/tingling in hands/feet).
This drug is not recommended for use during pregnancy. It may harm the unborn baby. Consult your doctor for details and to discuss the use of reliable forms of birth control while using this medication. If you become pregnant or think you may be pregnant, contact your doctor right away.
It is not known whether this drug passes into breast milk. Because of the possible risk to the infant, breast-feeding while using this drug is not recommended. Consult your doctor before breast-feeding.
Arranon intravenous Interactions
Drug interactions may change how your medications work or increase your risk for serious side effects. This document does not contain all possible drug interactions. Keep a list of all the products you use (including prescription/nonprescription drugs and herbal products) and share it with your doctor and pharmacist. Do not start, stop, or change the dosage of any medicines without your doctor's approval.
Some products that may interact with this drug include: other anti-cancer drugs (especially pentostatin).
Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you also take drugs that cause drowsiness such as: certain antihistamines (e.g., diphenhydramine), anti-seizure drugs (e.g., carbamazepine), medicine for sleep or anxiety (e.g., alprazolam, diazepam, zolpidem), muscle relaxants, narcotic pain relievers (e.g., codeine), psychiatric medicines (e.g., chlorpromazine, risperidone, trazodone). Check the labels on all your medicines (e.g., cough-and-cold products) because they may contain ingredients that cause drowsiness. Ask your pharmacist about using those products safely.
Arranon intravenous Overdose
If someone has overdosed and has serious symptoms such as passing out or trouble breathing, call 911. Otherwise, call a poison control center right away. US residents can call their local poison control center at 1-800-222-1222. Canada residents can call a provincial poison control center.NOTES:
Laboratory and/or medical tests (e.g., complete blood count) should be performed periodically to monitor your progress or check for side effects. Consult your doctor for more details.MISSED DOSE:
For the best possible benefit, it is important to receive each scheduled dose of this medication as directed. If you miss a dose, contact your doctor to establish a new dosing schedule. Do not double the dose to catch up.STORAGE:
Not applicable. This medication is given in a clinic and will not be stored at home.
MEDICAL ALERT: Your condition can cause complications in a medical emergency. For information about enrolling in MedicAlert, call 1-888-633-4298 (US) or 1-800-668-1507 (Canada).
Information last revised July 2016. Copyright(c) 2016 First Databank, Inc.
Report Problems to the Food and Drug Administration
You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.FDA.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
IMPORTANT: About User Reviews on RxList
RxList is part of the WebMD Health Network. The opinions expressed in the WebMD User Reviews are solely those of the User, who may or may not have medical or scientific training, and do not represent the opinions of WebMD. These member reviews have not been reviewed by a WebMD physician or any member of the WebMD editorial staff for accuracy, balance, objectivity, or any other purpose except for compliance with our Terms and Conditions. Some of these opinions may contain information about uses of the drug products that have not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. WebMD does not endorse any specific product, service or treatment.
WebMD User Reviews should not be considered as medical advice and are not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Never delay or disregard seeking professional medical advice from your physician or other qualified healthcare provider because of something you have read on WebMD. You should always speak with your doctor before you start, stop, or change any prescribed part of your care plan or treatment. WebMD understands that reading individual, real-life experiences may be a helpful health information resource but they are never a substitute for professional medical advice from a qualified healthcare provider.


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Vote Smart Just The Facts
"Experts nearly all recommend Vote Smart."
"Vote Smart is a bright light in an often desultory civic culture."
- Bill Moyers
"We think so highly of Vote Smart that we are distributing their materials to all of our affiliates."
Key Votes
S Amdt 2898 - Iraq Troop Reduction Amendment - National Key Vote
Related Legislation
- S Amdt 2087 - Iraq Troop Reduction
- H Amdt 197 - Guantanamo Transfer Plan
- S Amdt 2909 - Time Between Troop Deployments
- S Amdt 2022 - Habeas Corpus for Detainees of the United States
- S Amdt 2934 - Expressing Support for General Petraeus and All Members of the Armed Forces
- S Amdt 2947 - Expressing Support for All Men and Women in the U.S. Armed Forces
- S Amdt 2997 - Expressing the Sense of Congress Regarding Federalism in Iraq
- S Amdt 3017 - Expressing the Sense of Congress Regarding Iran and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
Issues Related to S Amdt 2898
Stage Details
Amendment -
Amendment Rejected
(47-47) -
Sept. 21, 2007(Key vote)
See How Your Politicians Voted
Title: Iraq Troop Reduction Amendment
Vote Result
Yea Votes
Nay Votes
Vote Smart's Synopsis:
Vote to adopt an amendment to begin reducing the number of U.S. forces in Iraq within 90 days of the enactment of this bill, with the exception of a limited number of U.S. forces to be engaged in targeted counterterrorism, the training of Iraqi forces, and the protection of U.S. personnel and infrastructure.
- Requires the Secretary of Defense to begin reducing the number of U.S. forces in Iraq within 90 days of the enactment of the bill and to complete the transition to a more limited presence within nine months of the enactment of the bill.
- Requires that the missions of U.S. forces remaining in Iraq be limited to:
- Protecting U.S. and Coalition personnel and infrastructure;
- Training, equipping, and providing logistic support to the Iraqi Security Forces; and
- Engaging in targeted counterterrorism operations against al Qaeda, al Qaeda-affiliated groups, and other international terrorist organizations.
- Encourages the appointment of an international mediator in Iraq, under the authority of the United Nations Security Council, to engage political, religious, ethnic, and tribal leaders in Iraq in a political process, in conjunction with "sustained engagement" with the international community to bring stability to Iraq.
Amendment - Introduced (Senate) - Sept. 20, 2007
Title: Iraq Troop Reduction Amendment
- Carl Levin (MI - D) (Out Of Office)
- Hillary Rodham Clinton (NY - D) (Out Of Office)
- Richard J. 'Dick' Durbin (IL - D)
- Charles T. 'Chuck' Hagel (NE - R) (Out Of Office)
- John Francis 'Jack' Reed (RI - D)
- Gordon Harold Smith (OR - R) (Out Of Office)
- Olympia Jean Snowe (ME - R) (Out Of Office)


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The 2nd Annual Tech Career Expo is coming up on Sept. 12, with dozens of local companies coming out to show you what their organizations have to offer your careers.
The event begins at 2.pm. and lasts until 7, and is located at the University at Albany's SEFCU Arena.
Registration is free and the event features two panel discussions, both a career development roundtable and a panel of local tech employees speaking about the Capitol Region's technology landscape. In addition to the discussions, exhibitors will be spread across the show floor, ready to speak with you about how to get a head-start in your field, and how to find a job in the burgeoning tech industry.
Pre-register now and attend the show to be entered in a drawing for a free iPad!
From the Sept. 4th Times Union article about the event:
Times Union Vice President and Editor Rex Smith will lead a panel discussion on "The Capital Region's Technology Landscape," featuring the winners of the Center for Economic Growth 2013 Technology Innovation Awards, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Sept. 12 as part of the Technology Career Expo at the SEFCU Arena at the University at Albany's uptown campus, 1400 Washington Ave., Albany.
Here's a list of vendors currently registered to attend the exposition:
- Albany County Veterans Association
- Bespoke Software
- Capital Accent, LLC
- Center for Economic Growth
- Davis Vision
- Ducommun AeroStructures
- Ecovative Design
- Ellis Medicine
- Excelsior College
- Functional Communication
- Fusco Personnel
- GlobalFoundries
- ITT Technical Institute
- Institute for Traffic Safety Management and Research
- M+W Group
- nfrastructure
- Rational Retention
- NYS Department of Labor
- SONOCO Plastics
- Tailwind Associates
- Transfinder
- Tyler Technologies
- Virtusa
- Walrath Recruiting, Inc.
Keep up with event updates at the main page for the show here.


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The Good Soldier: Schweik
Doubleday, Doran, Incorporated, 1930 - World War, 1914-1918 - 445 pages
What people are saying - Write a review
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LibraryThing ReviewUser Review - madepercy - LibraryThing
This is quite a tome. It is really four books in one or three and a half, as the author expired before the final book was completed. This is my first reading of a Czech author. I understand that the ... Read full review
LibraryThing ReviewUser Review - amerynth - LibraryThing
It was hard to pick a rating for Jaroslav Hasek's novel "The Good Soldier Svejk." I liked the concept of the book much more than its actual execution -- it quickly got too repetitive and even the ... Read full review
Schweik at the Police Headquarters Page
Schweik before the Medical Authorities Page
Schweik Is Ejected from the Lunatic Asylum Page
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ain't army asked Schweik Austrian Baloun batman battalion bayonets Beg to report began bottle brandy Bretschneider brigade Budejovice Cadet Biegler Captain Sagner chap Chaplain Colonel Schroder corporal court-martial crowns Czech damned door draft drink Emperor enemy extreme unction eyes fellow fetch five crowns front Galicia gazed gentleman hand hang head heard keep lady Lieutenant Dub Lieutenant Lukash look Ludwig Ganghofer Magyar military never night once orderly room orders Palivec papers Pisek police sergeant Prague prisoners Protivin Putim Quartermaster-sergeant Vanek railway rations regiment replied Schweik right-hand round Sanok Sarajevo sent Serbia sergeant sergeant-major shouted shoved sleep smile soldier Schweik sort staff carriage station talk telephone tell there's thing thought to-day told took train troops truck turned Voditchka voice volunteer officer What's whereupon whole word yelled


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Here are five rising stars of the alt-comedy scene.
Ansari started doing stand-up while still a business student at New York University. He and veteran Upright Citizens Brigade New York regulars Paul Scheer and Rob Huebel in 2005 formed the sketch group Human Giant, which debuted as an MTV series in 2007. This year, Ansari appears in Judd Apatow's "Funny People" and costars in UCB founder Amy Poehler's NBC sitcom "Parks and Recreation." Next year, he'll costar in Apatow Productions' summer release "Get Him to the Greek," with Jonah Hill and Russell Brand. See his blog at azizisbored.tumblr.com/.
Paul Rust
Rust left Iowa in 2004 and moved to L.A. with a film degree and a couple of short films. He signed up for classes at UCB L.A. when it opened in late 2005 and started performing sketch comedy there. When FunnyorDie.com launched, Rust posted a video every two weeks. By 2008, he had landed a starring role in 20th Century Fox's comedy "I Love You, Beth Cooper," and a small part in Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds." Rust's now writing two features, one for Will Ferrell and Adam McKay and another (with Charlyne Yi) for Judd Apatow. See his blog at paulrust.com/.
Ben Schwartz
Schwartz left college in 2003 and spent four years studying at UCB N.Y. He used the Internet to raise his profile, posting sketches on YouTube and launching RejectedJokes.com, a blog of jokes he submitted as a freelance writer to David Letterman and "Weekend Update" on "Saturday Night Live." By 2007, he got his first staff writing job on "Robot Chicken" on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim and a book deal with HarperCollins. By 2008, he'd been hired by Hugh Jackman to co-write the 81st Academy Awards opening number (a bit that earned an Emmy nod), and was cast in two feature films ("Peep World" and "Everybody's Fine") and a network TV pilot created by "Arrested Development's" Mitch Hurwitz (though it didn't get picked up).
Wyatt Cenac
Cenac came to Los Angeles about eight years ago and got a job as a writer on "King of the Hill." He spent three years there, then left to spend the next four years soul-searching and doing sketch and stand-up comedy at UCB L.A. Posted on YouTube, his impersonation of then-Sen. Barack Obama got him some attention during the presidential campaign and led to an audition for "Saturday Night Live." But he was passed over for Fred Armisen. Last summer, Cenac was broke and panicked. Then he nailed an audition for "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart," earning a correspondent gig. Earlier this year, he starred in a well-received indie feature, "Medicine for Melancholy." Check him out at wyattcenac.com/
Aubrey Plaza
Plaza moved to New York largely to be close to UCB. She got to intern at "Saturday Night Live" and page at NBC, all the while posting online videos, including her dead-on Sarah Silverman impersonation. But it wasn't until she auditioned in L.A. that her career launched. In one week last summer, Plaza landed three major roles: Seth Rogen's love interest in Judd Apatow's "Funny People," Amy Poehler's intern on NBC's "Parks and Recreation" and a part in next summer's "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World." See her site here: aubreyplaza.com/.


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Inspired by Jan Weisss Yellow Liquid Flower
Classic Cardstock: Autumn Ice
Watery Wings Brushes and Stamps
Distressed ToolSet No. 03 BrushSet
AASPN_ArtPlayPalette4_ Brush6
GThomas_ArtistryNo3 paper
Flower drawn by me using Wacom pen tablet.
"Just living is not enough," said the butterfly, "one must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower." ~Hans Christian Anderson
TFL, Rifa


text:
Microsoft buys InRelease for app building toolbox
Shows off impending Visual Studio, Team Foundation releases
TechEd Not entirely satisfied with its application lifecycle management (ALM) tools, Microsoft has paid an undisclosed sum to buy software deployment tools from InCycle Software.
The announcement was made at the TechEd 2013 customer and partner event that Microsoft is hosting in New Orleans this week. Redmond also teased a bit about updates due later this year for Visual Studio and Team Foundation Server.
The acquisition of the InRelease release-management tool from InCycle Software is a bit of a no-brainer, technically speaking. The InRelease tool is a continuous-delivery tool for programmers developing in .NET to automate the release and deployment process in conjunction with Microsoft's Visual Studio Team Foundation Server programmer collaborative development extensions to the Visual Studio app development tool.
If you're trying to do continuous releases – as many IT shops are attempting to do – then automating the deployment of the apps leaves programmers more time to focus on development and testing. And hence, Microsoft wants to add this functionality directly to its toolbox.
Microsoft is not buying all of InCycle Software, but rather just the InRelease ALM tool. The financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. InCycle Software is based in Laval, Quebec and was founded in 2002 by Claude Remillard, Martin Rajotte, and Leo Vildosola as a consultancy and became a certified partner for Visual Studio Team System three years later. Its first product, Team Release, came out un 2009 and was followed by the rebranded InRelease 2.0 a year later. In 2011, the company put out a freebie agile development tool called InCycle BluePrint, which Microsoft is not acquiring.
Microsoft was not specific about how it will integrate InRelease into the Visual Studio tools, but odds are that it will have more to say about it at the Build Developer Conference in San Francisco at the end of June, when the code for many of the R2 updates to Windows Server 2012, Systems Center 2012, and Visual Studio 2012 will become available in tech preview.
Brian Harry, a technical fellow (that's a title, not just an observation) at Microsoft who is also product manager of Team Foundation, said during the TechEd opening keynote on Monday that Microsoft has had over over 4 million downloads of Visual Studio 2012 since it debuted last fall. Visual Studio 2013 and team Foundation Server 2013 will come out later this year, with more information available at the Build conference in four weeks.
Harry showed off a few new features for the Microsoft development tools that will come in the 2013 releases. The first is called Team Room, and it is "a durable record of everything that happens with your team," as Harry put it. It is a timelime of all of the activity of the team, so that if you are away for a day, you can quickly get up to speed on what everyone has done while you are away.
Visual Studio is also going to get a "heads up display" of sorts, so that as you are coding away on apps, it shows the results of tests running on that code (where it passes and fails) as well as where the code snippet is being used in other applications, and a change indicator to show the last time a chunk of code changed and who tweaked it.
Microsoft will also roll out a cloudy load-testing service that will let developers push their apps out to the Team Foundation Service running out on the Windows Azure cloud instead of pushing out to their own iron.
At the moment, Team Foundation Service is available for free for up to five users spanning an unlimited number of projects. The build and test parts of the services are still in preview. Microsoft said that certain subscribers to the Microsoft Software Developer Network (MSDN) will get access to the Team Foundation Service for free once Microsoft shifts to additional pricing and plans later this year. ®


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Zara Talk is cancelled.
Pub have just phoned to say they've given priority to their skittles team.
Nice of them to let me know so far in advance!!!!
*** Zara Davis talk Cancelled *****
Anything not covered elsewhere that you'd like to ask/tell about.
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Get DVD Talk Feeds
Instead of making movies, nowadays, Hollywood just seems to REMAKE them, or they hire some cybergeeks to slap on a new coat of digital whatever. Someone punch George Lucas in his fuzzy jaw for planting this cockamamy idea in the minds of those Evian guzzlers out West. This new-found inability to LEAVE 'EM BE is evidenced in the recent retooling of the creep-classic The Exorcist: The Version You've Never Seen (1973/2000, 132 minutes). Fortunately, it ain't quite as lame as its title. Someone found the infamous "spider walk" scene in an old shoe box, or something, so they stuck that back in -- and also got all touchy feely with the ending. They splattered some CGI blood around, and put some ghoulies here and there, and turned up the Dark Lord's microphone for the new, fancy dancy soundtrack. And that's just the SHORT list.
The movie: While her mom is off being a movie star, young Regan (Linda Blair) roots around in a closet and comes out with a Ouija board that she somehow manages to summon the devil with -- except she calls him Captain Howdy. Soon after, Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn) wakes one morning to find her daughter sleeping beside her because her "bed was shaking" all night. Regan begins to act more and more strangely, culminating when she crashes her mom's cocktail party by declaring one of the guests will DIE soon, then whizzes on the carpet. Naturally, Chris becomes a bit more concerned, and a team of doctors torture the frightened girl with a barrage of tests to figure out what her damage is. The more they probe her, the more pronounced her wild-child condition becomes. She screams vulgarities. Writhes around as if she's being tossed about by unseen teamsters. Finally, one of the more perplexed physicians says something like, "Hey, um, maybe she's POSSESSED!!!" Bingo! The flick was followed by two dubious sequels. Ms. Blair was joined by Richard Burton for Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) in which he's sent to check-up on a now teenaged Regan. Original Exorcist novelist and screenwriter William Peter Blatty does his best to make up for the previous disaster with the chatty Exorcist III: Legion (1990) starring George C. Scott. There's even talk of a fourth installment (a prequel) that would chronicle Father Merrin's original encounter with ol' Scratch in the wilds of Africa. Linda has, of course, gone on to become one of our more prolific B-actresses, with her talents best showcased in the immortal women-in-prison classic Chained Heat.
Notables: No breasts. Two corpses. THE beast. One dog fight. Candle fireball. Multiple hypodermic close-ups. Gratuitous urination. Pie-zest bed. Stair tumbling. Gratuitous dream sequence. Loogie spitting. Hypnosis. Scrotum twisting. Flying picture frame. Sal Mineo humor. Head spinning. Self-gratification with crucifix. Projectile puking. Levitation.
Quotables: Father Karras (Jason Miller) is at a spiritual crossroads, "I think I've lost my faith." Burke Dennings (Jack MacGowran), the drunken director, updates an old joke, "There seems to be an alien pubic hair in my drink." The docs just can't help Regan, "The problem with your daughter is not her bed. It's her brain." Regan's demon cherishes its personal space, "Keep away! The sow is mine!" And later mocks the priests, "What an excellent day for an exorcism." Merrin and Karras then open the can of spiritual whup-ass, "THE POWER OF CHRIST COMPELS YOU!!!"
Time codes: Iraqi with crazy eye (5:52). Introduction of the classic "Tubular Bells" theme (15:23). Key to hell by Parker Brothers (22:30). The Virgin Mary defaced (32:08). An evil spirit appears (32:48). The first demonic manifestation (53:15). The famed spider walk (1:00:40). Max von Sydow arrives for the movie-poster photo shoot (1:40:44).
Audio/Video: Beautiful widescreen (1.85:1) transfer, with only the slightest bit of digital shimmering toward the middle to end of the film. Audio remastered (again) for Dolby Digital 5.1 EX and Dolby Digital 2.0 mono. Probably THE scariest aspect of The Exorcist is its soundtrack -- the satanic speech and backward masking whip around the room quite a bit, making for an even more unsettling experience.
Extras: This is where the 25th Anniversary Edition (and its companion Limited Edition) chuck this latest incarnation out of the second-story window. There's merely a lackluster commentary by director William Friedkin in which he narrates what's all ready apparent on the screen. He DOES point out the various additions, but only speaks briefly and broadly about WHY the changes were made. Also included are some glorified on-screen liner notes. Four TV commercials, two radio ads and 2 theatrical trailers for this version. Static menus with spooky audio.
Final thought: Some folks like to add cheese and bacon to their burger, others like it just fine the way it is. The same is true for the Exorcist discs. The new cut doesn't necessarily sour the meal, and some ways it juices it up. In fact, some fans will want BOTH burgers, ahem, DVDs. Highly Recommended.
G. Noel Gross is a Dallas graphic designer and avowed Drive-In Mutant who specializes in scribbling B-movie reviews. Noel is inspired by Joe Bob Briggs and his gospel of blood, breasts and beasts.


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- Rosieprimrose
- helper
Hello all!
|30 Oct '14 1:01 pm
I did have in Wellington a small garden I opened to the public for fund raisers, but really struggle here in Australia with the heat, humidly and lack of rain, still have a cottage garden full of roses which I love. I am lucky to live next to a public walkway, spending at least an hour each day in may garden, I love talking to the people as they walk past the garden, many have never seen a cottage garden outside of photos before!
looking forward to meeting you all on the forum