text:
In an age when publishing houses are bought and sold by conglomerates and best-sellers marketed like beachfront property, it's no surprise that big business is muscling America's corner bookstores into extinction.
What is most astonishing is the velocity of the takeover. A decade ago the four largest retail book companies in the United States controlled a meager 11 percent of the market. Only one of those retailers had over 100 stores. By last year, however, two bookstore chains alone, Waldenbooks and B. Dalton Company, accounted for some 30 percent of the retail bookstore business.
Each does about $250 million a year in business, twice that of Bantam, the nation's largest mass-market paperback publisher. Together, Walden and Dalton control more than 1,300 stores nationwide. Over the next five years, each chain plans to open 90 to 100 new outlets annually.
Sounds like the story of the mom-and-pop grocery store battling the supermarket chains, this time in book form? Not quite, says a group of corner bibliophiles now quixotically jousting with the book chains: This fight is not over the price of turnips and fish sticks, but over the availability of ideas.
The rapid expansion of the chains influences not only where Americans buy their books but what they buy. Many independent booksellers fear that when books are ordered by computers and not by crotchety old literary gents in cardigans, Flaubert and Hemingway won't stand a chance against paperbacks on preppies and Rubik's Cubes.
Andy Ross, president of the Northern California Booksellers Association and owner of Cody's Books in Berkeley, is one bookman who finds the supermarket approach to literature not only distasteful but unlawful. He and the NCBA recently filed an anti-trust suit against Avon Books - and threatened to take the rest of the publishing industry to court - for giving what they call ''secret'' and ''illegal'' discounts to chain bookstores. The windfall profits generated by the publishers' preferential pricing are, he says, responsible for bankrolling the chains' elephantine growth. This, in turn, puts the squeeze on small owner-run stores, who weren't making much money to begin with.
The NCBA suit, filed here in federal district court, has the support of the fledgling National Writers' Union, as well as independent booksellers from Detroit to Oklahoma City. If the booksellers get a favorable ruling, say antitrust experts like Earl Kintner, former chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, its legal precedent could send significant ripples, if not waves, of reform throughout the industry.
Cody's Books crouches on the corner of Telegraph Avenue and Haste Street in Berkeley, a stone's throw from People's Park and the University of California's Sproule Plaza. In Cody's front window is a tribute to the late beat poet, ''Kenneth Rexroth, 1906-1982.'' Across one wall of the glass-front bookstore, old graffiti still whisper in fading red spray paint: ''Free the SLA (Symbionese Liberation Army).''
Inside, a plaid blur moves through the stacks. It is Andy Ross, the proprietor, making his rounds. He wears tortoise-shell glasses, blue jeans, and a dark plaid shirt. He is amiable, intelligent, and restless to the point of being fidgety. He has owned Cody's since 1977, and is proud of his store. ''We hired a UC professor to give us an annotated list of books to develop our European History section,'' says Ross, striding into his favorite corner of the store. ''These don't sell real fast, but we think it's important to carry them. In a chain store all you'd find is John Reed's 'Ten Days that Shook the World' for six months, or until the movie (Warren Beatty's ''Reds'') fades from memory. . . .
''Here's our philosophy section with the complete works of Kierkegaard.'' He breezes into the next aisle. ''In the chains you may find (the writings of) Billy Graham, but you won't see Hegel, Hume, and Kant, the most important philosophers in the Western modern age.''
He turns and pirouettes into ''Poetry.'' ''The chains are weak here. You'll find Rod McKuen, Kahlil Gibran, and maybe T. S. Eliot, but you won't find Ferlinghetti, Philip Levine, or Czeslaw Milosz. . . . In fiction, name an author and we've got it. The chains have mostly mysteries and science fiction. You won't find many of the classics.''
He surveys the store with his outstretched arm. ''These books need personal salesmanship. How can you get that in the chains, which pay minimum wage and have inexperienced clerks, not booksellers? They central order their books by formula and computer from some place 3,000 miles away. The stores are homogeneous in character. You can walk into one in San Francisco and one in Dallas, Texas, and they look identical.''
Back in his small, windowless office on the second floor above the ''Environment'' section, Ross doodles while explaining why he and the NCBA filed the antitrust suit last April 13 and took on Avon (a division of the Hearst Corporation), which in 1979 had sales of $55 million.
''In the 1970s we didn't feel the pressure because chains opened up in the suburbs and regional malls. There weren't any independent bookstores there, because they couldn't afford the rent. But now no one is building malls, and the chains are moving in down the block from us.''
Just when independents were scraping by with a scant 1 percent profit, Ross says, they discovered most publishers were charging them up to 10 percent more for their books than they were charging the chain stores down the street. On mass-market paperbacks, Avon, like most other publishers, offers every bookseller a flat 40 percent discount off the list price on orders of at least 25 mass-market paperbacks and a 43 percent discount on orders of at least 15 trade and 20 mass-market paperbacks.
Ross charges that since the early 1970s, Avon has maintained a discriminatory two-tiered pricing structure, granting larger discounts to Dalton, Walden, and other leading chains - regardless of the volume of books purchased - than to Cody's and other members of the NCBA. He has invoices showing Avon has given the chains 44 percent discounts on mass-market books and 48 percent off on trade paperbacks. This translates into Cody's and other independents' paying 7.1 percent more for mass-market paperbacks and 9.6 percent more for trade paperbacks than the chains. Every point of discount is a matter of survival for the independent bookseller. An economic profile commissioned by the American Booksellers Association (ABA), showed an average after-tax profit of less than 1 percent among independent booksellers. In contrast, Dalton reported in 1980 an after-tax profit of percent. The chains' larger profits, Ross contends, are a result of their competitive advantage from the discounts.
Ross believes the publishers' discrimination extends beyond discounts to return policies and cooperative advertising, which favor the chains. The NCBA chose to focus its suit on the ''most blatant violations,'' Avon's discount policies, he says. Avon openly admits to granting preferential discounts to chains. It claims, however, that the discounts are not only ''cost justified,'' but that they are ''meeting the competition.'' Thus what Ross sees as ''censorship of the marketplace,'' Avon and the chains view as nothing more nefarious than red-blooded capitalism.
According to Avon's attorney, Royce Schulz, ''any discount Hearst ever granted was only to meet discounts of competing publishers.'' The discounts are ''cost justified,'' he says, because Avon ''has to give far less services to the chains, and in some cases, no service at all.'' Furthermore, ''in court, their 'David and Goliath' argument will carry no weight. They must deal in real, legal issues.''
The NCBA's legal counsel is William Petrocelli, a San Francisco attorney who, with his wife Elaine, owns Lark Creek Books in Larkspur, Calif. He says he hopes to persuade the judge that the standard ''meeting the competition'' defense may work for interchangeable products like bread and gasoline, but that it doesn't apply to books - first, because they are ''unique products,'' and second, because bookstores ''carry all lines of all publishers.''
''Our case is very different,'' says Petrocelli, ''from that of two gasoline suppliers like Mobil and Texaco fighting to get their products into the same gas station.'' Adds Ross: ''If you're selling steel ingots, and your competition offers the product for less, you are allowed to meet that price. But books can't be treated like steel ingots. 'Gorky Park' is not interchangeable with 'A Hundred Years of Solitude.'
''Recently, Crown Books, one of the fastest-growing book chains in the country, opened an outlet on Telegraph Avenue, just a block away from Cody's.
The Berkeley store is unlike any other bookstore on the avenue. In contrast to Shakespeare & Company Books across the street, where well-thumbed volumes are crammed higgledy-piggledy into unreachable nooks and crannies, Crown's books are not so much shelved as showcased. Fluorescent panel lights and a lowered ceiling give it the feel of a cross between an airport lounge and a discount drugstore. Flashy placards beside the cash register announce the month's best-selling paperbacks: ''Tron,'' ''Blade Runner,'' and ''White Hotel.'' Near a display of remaindered art books dotted with day-glo orange discount price tags, hangs a plastic sign proclaiming: ''If you paid full price you didn't buy it at Crown.''
Behind the counter stands a mop-haired young man in blue jeans. He introduced himself as the store manager, and stated straight off: ''I'll talk to you, but you can't use my name. This is a chain.'' He said he had worked for a year in one of Crown's stores in Los Angeles, and had just come north to open the Berkeley outlet. ''Yup, Crown is moving up,'' he said. ''The company is run by a guy who's 29 years old and full of energy. We just went into Chicago and Houston , and have plans for 10 more stores in the Bay Area. We do mostly high-turnover books. When they're on the New York Times bestseller list, we give 35 percent off hardbacks, 25 percent off paperback.''
The issue of the NCBA suit comes up.
''I don't know what Andy Ross is complaining about,'' continued the store manager. ''Nobody goes to Cody's to buy bestsellers anyway. They come to a place like Crown. . . .
''We don't force people to buy our books. They come in here because they save money. The publishers and booksellers may be mad at us, but the customers love us.'' His sidekick adds, ''The remainder houses love us too, because we take all the garbage off their hands.''
''Ross says the people working in the chain stores are all just clerks,'' the manager continues. ''But we have degrees. We're not morons. Sure, they've got some pretty sharp guys in Cody's. But they're the kind of people that, if you ask them for 'Gone with the Wind,' they'll laugh at you.''
Vital to the chains' success formula is the no-frills service. ''I've been in the book business for nine years, and this is the easiest job I've had. The customers are happier because they're getting a deal; we have fewer returns, don't do any special ordering or gift wrappings. We are permitted to do some book ordering.''
Vital to Andy Ross is his vocation: ''When books are no longer treated as ideas to be read and valued,'' he said, ''but merely objects to be consumed; when bookselling ceases to be a vocation, but is only a business; when the range and quality of books is subordinated to abstract ratios of turnover and return on investment; then is when our culture will be threatened with censorship of the marketplace, then is when our pool of ideas will be reduced to the lowest common denominator of the public's taste, then is when we are in serious trouble. And I suspect we are already there.''


text:
Planetary scientist Klaus Keil to be honored at international meetingUniversity of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
SOEST Outreach Coordinator, SOEST
Dr. Klaus Keil, who has been an extraordinarily productive researcher and an outstanding administrator for 50 years, will be honored for his unique qualities as a scientist, leader and mentor on November 8 at an international meeting on the "Formation of the First Solids in the Solar System" on Kaua'i.
Keil, a planetary scientist at the Hawaiʻi Institute of Geophysics and Planetology (HIGP) at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa's School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST), pioneered the use of the electron microprobe to determine the chemical composition of minerals in meteorites," noted SOEST Dean Brian Taylor. He is one of the co-inventors of the energy-dispersive x-ray spectrometer used on electron microprobes and microscopes to analyze small samples.
In 1988, Keil won the Leonard Medal, which is the highest honor of the Meteoritical Society for his outstanding research on meteorites characterized by careful observations and analyses, perceptive interpretations, and remarkable range. In 2006, Keil won the J. Lawrence Smith Medal, which is awarded by the National Academy of Sciences. These awards are for Keil's pioneering quantitative studies of minerals in meteorites and important contributions to understanding the nature, origin, and evolution of their parent bodies. Asteroid 5054 Keil and the mineral keilite are named after Keil. Additionally, he served as Interim Director and Director of HIGP during 1994-2003 and Interim Dean of SOEST during 2003-2006.
Besides working on virtually all types of meteorites and on Apollo lunar samples, Keil made significant geological analyses of potential sites for the disposal of radioactive waste. He also analyzed the minerals in many thousands of kidney stones to enable doctors to prescribe appropriate dietary changes to patients.
Keil will be celebrating his 77th birthday soon after the workshop and will retire next summer from UH Mānoa.
"This interdisciplinary meeting is an important opportunity for astronomers, astrophysicists and cosmochemists to address what can be learned from meteorites about the earliest stages in the conversion of a disk of gas and dust around the early sun into a fully formed disk of planets, asteroids and comets," said Edward Scott, HIGP Scientist and meeting co-convener. Primitive meteorites are full of extraordinarily diverse particles that formed during the period of five million years that the gas and dust existed 4,500 million years ago, as well as rare grains that formed around stars that predated our Sun. Meteorites help scientists uncover mysteries of how and when significant events took place in the history of our solar system.
Some of the scientific questions that will be discussed at the meeting include: "What do meteorites tell us about the origins of our planetary system?" "Was the formation of our solar system like that of newly discovered systems of planets around other stars, or is our system unusual or unique?" "Did our disk of gas and dust resemble those observed by astronomers in stellar nurseries around newly forming stars?" In addition, a new theory will be presented next week to address why a planet did not form between Mars and Jupiter. Scientists hypothesize that this region of the solar system was emptied when proto-Jupiter migrated inwards as far as Mars' current orbit before being yanked back into the outer solar system by newly formed Saturn.
The HIGP, SOEST, the NASA Astrobiology Institute, and the Institute for Astronomy at UH Mānoa are co-hosting the workshop, which will be the fourth in a series of workshops on Kauaʻi.
For more information, visit the workshop website: http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/solids2011/.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Skip to Main Content
Doing Business
How Do I...
County Council
How to Get Involved
How to Testify
How to Comment
How to Provide Comment on Council Legislation
The County Council encourages comments on pending legislation. You have several options for making your voice heard:
Comment electronically through the Council's Comment on
option available on each legislative item scheduled.
Contact the Council with the
online comment form
Attend a Council or Committee meeting where the proposal is on the agenda as an action item (see
), and speak to the proposal when open for testimony. The Chair will usually limit testimony to 3 minutes per person.
Provide written comments at the Council or Committee meeting. If possible, bring 10 copies of any written testimony and hand it to the Clerk for the meeting.
Provide written comments via postal mail or email. See Contact Us bar for postal mail address. To be effective, these comments need to arrive for Council consideration before the final hearing.
Call your
Tips for effective testimony:
Give your name for the record
Reference the Ordinance or Resolution number, and the topic of the proposal
Be clear about what you support or oppose in the legislation
Provide an email address on written testimony or on the sign-up sheet outside the Council Chambers if you would like to be notified of any possible future actions on this proposal. You can also sign up for notification of hearings by topic using the Notify Me icon on the left.
How to Testify
Where We Are
Outdoor Sports and Recreation Council
Agriculture Advisory Committee
Tacoma Pierce County Opioid Task Force
Our Plan to address the Opioid Crisis
Initiatives and Grant Awards
Get Involved!
Information and Timeline
Puget Sound Taxpayer Accountability Account Stakeholder Group
Arrow Left
Arrow Right
Slideshow Left Arrow
Slideshow Right Arrow


text:
Inspired by Bob McGinn's Sunday column in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that lamented the Packers' lack of speed on defense and similar criticisms of the team's relative lack of size and bulk in columns from February and April, my tongue-in-cheek response is that the Green Bay defense doesn't suffer from a dearth of size or speed––it's deficient in talent.
But that's not entirely true. The players that make up the Packers defense generally have one god-given talent, a solitary trait that makes them among the best in the NFL in that single unique facet of the game.
Think about Ryan Pickett and his ability to stuff the run or Sam Shields and his speed. It's qualities such as these that makes the player stand out in a crowd and very likely drew the attention of general manager Ted Thompson when he first acquired these players.
One problem with the Packers defense, however, is that it has an abundance of these one-note type of players on their roster, those who offer one above-average characteristic but too many below-average attributes.
That's not to say players like Pickett and Shields don't have their value or can't play a role on this Packers defense. The issue is that the entire defense is constructed of too many of this type of player.
I'm reminded of watching the Packers take on the San Francisco 49ers back during Week 1 of the season and being in awe of inside linebackers Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman. On display were a pair of damn-near prototypical inside linebackers needed for a 3-4 defense.
These are the type of players that have elite all-around athletic ability that allows them to make plays from sideline to sideline against both the run and the pass.
The Packers are missing players like Willis and Bowman on their roster, not just at the linebacker position but at every level of the defense.
It's fine to have role players like Pickett and Shields on the Packers defense, but they need to be surrounded by several three-down playmakers in the trenches, at the second level and in the defensive backfield.
Clay Matthews is a rare talent. There's no doubt about that. He's arguably the one complete player on the Packers defense and a building block around which to construct.
But this Packers defense needs a few more Clay Matthews, Pro Bowl type players on this defense if they want to get back to the promised land. And the onus falls on Thompson and the player procurement process.
What follows is a breakdown of several players, their "one-note quality" and an analysis of their incomplete game.
Defensive Lineman Ryan Pickett, run stuffer
The poster-child for this column, the wide-bodied Pickett has made a living out of stuffing the run for the better part of his 13 professional seasons. Thankfully for the Packers, there's enough depth on the defensive line that they don't need him on passing downs any more. That's good, because he doesn't have a sack since 2010.
Defensive Lineman B.J. Raji, run stuffer
Raji has become the next incarnation of Pickett, which is disappointing because there was a time he could rush the passer. Save the excuses that he isn't asked to rush the passer in Dom Capers' defensive scheme. Raji had 7.5 sacks (!) in 2010 (including playoffs) in the same system. It's now been two years and counting since Raji's last sack.
C.J. Wilson, run stuffer
Wilson's ability to play the run has been admirable, but what happened to the player that had 45.5 sacks in college?
Jerel Worthy, quick-twitch
In his limited time, Worthy has given almost no indication that he can be trusted to be in the game in favorable run situations, whether it's first downs, short-yardage or on the goal line. Worthy has shown to be almost exclusively a player that relies on quickness and little else.
Datone Jones, upfield rusher
In a first round draft choice, you want a three-down player. The book on Jones has yet to be written, but in his rookie year, he's been strictly a subpackage player on passing downs, not able to play in the base 3-4. He needs core strength that will help him anchor and be on the field more often.
Mike Neal, phonebooth player
Neal's conversion to outside linebacker has been remarkable, but he still has an incomplete game. He's fine when asked to pin back his ears and rush the passer or hold his ground against the run. But the moment he has to drop into coverage or use his lateral agility to chase a stretch play to the sideline, fuhgettaboutit.
A.J. Hawk, smarts/leadership
Maybe Hawk has two outstanding qualities, along with an ability to somehow stay remarkably healthy. He's has missed just two games in eight seasons, providing the Packers with admirable level of consistency. Unfortunately, none of his superlative characteristics have to do with athleticism. If paired with a playmaking linebacker beside him, like Desmond Bishop circa 2010, Hawk would look a lot better.
Brad Jones, leverage
At 6-3, Jones has plus-length at the inside linebacker position. But that's all I've got.
Sam Shields, speed
While his willingness to tackle has improved, Shields will never be Charles Woodson. Shields is also good for three or four interceptions per season, but he's not the type that's going to come up with seven, eight or more you might expect from one of the top seven paid cornerbacks in the NFL, which appears to the range he's seeking in his next contract.
Morgan Burnett, straight-line mobility
Burnett came into the NFL with a reputation as a ball hawk with 14 career college interceptions. He's done better than anticipated in the NFL in his ability to come up and fill running lanes, but he seems to only do good things when he's flying forward. He's been less than adequate when moving backwards or toward the sideline, especially in 2013, which certainly isn't good for the last line of defense. Burnett sure looked a whole lot better in a secondary that also featured Nick Collins and Charles Woodson.
M.D. Jennings, competitiveness
No one can ever blame Jennings for not trying hard. He's a willing tackler, but he just gets run over. And did you see Dez Bryant toss him like a ragdoll on his touchdown in Dallas? Jennings' talent is on par with players in the Canadian Football League, not the NFL.
Obviously not every player on the Packers defense was included in this list.
For example, Tramon Williams was a complete player in 2010 before a shoulder injury set him back. Based on his play the past month or so, he may finally be getting some of that ability back.
But at 30 years old, how much time does Williams have left? With top-notch play the past several games, Williams may have avoided the indignity of a restructured contract in the offseason, the last year of his deal. The Packers will be lucky if they can get one more good year out of Williams.
Players like Casey Hayward and Nick Perry also show the potential to be well-rounded players, but through two seasons, they've been too injured to get a good gauge on their ceilings as football players.
And as for the rookies, it's just too early to tell.
Now it's up to Thompson, the personnel department and the Packers scouts to identify players with better all-around talent, complement the players with outstanding one-trait characteristics, build around Clay Matthews and force out those with marginal faculty.
Brian Carriveau is the author of the book "It's Just a Game: Big League Drama in Small Town America," and editor of Cheesehead TV's "Pro Football Draft Preview." To contact Brian, email [email protected].
- Like Like
- 0 points


text:
Personal finance guru Dave Ramsey went on a rant Tuesday afternoon against Twitter users who assailed him for promising consumers they could become millionaires by saving $100 per month.
It's a formula Ramsey has touted for years, but he kicked off his morning by tweeting this nugget of wisdom out to more than 300,000 followers:
"Saving only $100 per month from age 25 to age 65 at 12% growth = $1,176,000. Everyone should retire a millionaire!"
The backlash was instant and people had one main question: How can you promise a 12 percent return on investment over a 40-year period?
Ramsey defended himself during his live show Wednesday, calling the theory "inspirational" and "instructional." But for the legion of fans who eat up his every word each day, it could be the last kind of advice they need.
Here's where we take issue with Ramsey's defense:
Ramsey: "[I use this formula] to encourage you to save. That's why I would say it, to encourage you to be an investor. It wasn't a political statement, although I'm not above those. It wasn't a spiritual statement, although I'm not above those. It was a mathematical formula showing that if you save money over time, you'll have some."
Our take: It's noble to want people to save. But, of course, anyone would be inspired to save if you tell them they could make a million bucks just by tucking away a small amount of cash for 40 years. The fact of the matter is that his formula relies on a 12 percent rate of investment return -- something no one in their right minds would promise for that long a time frame.
An August report by S&P Indices found more than 80 percent of actively managed U.S. stock funds underperformed the market.
Yes, Ramsey went on to say that he "didn't bring up a guarantee," later, but there no was no such clarification in the original tweet.
Why? The way Ramsey suggests earning that return is to invest in mutual funds (of course, he suggests listeners call his hotline for his personally-endorsed funds, but we'll get to that later). He says his team can point people to funds that have "lifetime track records of" 12 percent returns. We'd love to see the numbers to prove that.
According to a study published in the Journal of investing, 75% of investment funds under-perform the stock market averages over the long term. The reason? High fees, taxes and trading commissions that eat up all the profit, not that most mutual fund advisors will factor those costs into their annual return estimates. The average mutual fund charges up to 3 percent of annual returns for the privilege of divvying up your investments, according to Forbes.
That's the reason more conservative experts like U.S. News & World Report's Kimberly Palmer use a 7 percent ROI when calculating a millionaire retirement goal:
"If you start saving for retirement at age 25, you only have to save about $4,830 annually to reach $1 million by age 65, assuming an annual return of 7 percent after fees. If you wait until age 40 to start saving, you'll need to tuck away much more: $15,240 per year, assuming the same retirement age and annual return."
Note: That's a monthly savings goal of $400/month, a far cry from the "coffee a day" $100 Ramsey estimates.
Ramsey: "Who could save $100 a month? People who work and stay out of debt and live on a budget. ... You would have $100 if you would cut your freaking cable bill back, stay out of the coffee shop and quit spending money you don't have on a bunch of junk."
Our take: Certainly, it is possible for a lot of people to tuck away that much cash per month by rejiggering their expenditures. But what about the 132 million Americans who don't even have enough saved for emergencies?
We doubt they can afford luxuries like lattes and cable, let alone investing $100 in a costly mutual fund, especially given the fact that U.S. households saw their income decrease by $49,000 between 2007 and 2010, according to the NY Fed.
And the sarcastic, finger-wagging tone Ramsey uses to blast people who say they can't save is insulting and a little hypocritical -- Ramsey himself declared personal bankruptcy before building his personal finance empire.
Ramsey: "It's simple concept in a culture that has the savings rate and financial maturity of a two-year-old. To simply put out there that maybe if you save some money you would have some blows people away. This is why I have a job for as long as I want one. I will never be unemployed. Just teaching people to save money and get a bunch of money and get out of debt. Me and Jenny Craig, we got a lock for life, baby. We got enough work forever."
Our take: Apart from being completely condescending, Ramsey is basically admitting here that his entire financial empire is based on the fact that people STAY in debt and need help figuring out how to make their money last longer. Why else would they need his advice?
Here's where some financial reform would come in handy -- much handier than letting Ramsey pick your mutual funds for you, we would guess. If enough consumers truly understood financial products like 401(k)s, Roth IRAs, and investment funds, chances are they could debunk Ramsey's advice all on their own. Unfortunately, deciphering the literature is not only difficult, time consuming labor, but it's difficult for most people to even know where to start.
In an interview with CBS MoneyWatch, personal finance writer Helaine Olen, hit the nail on the head:
"We're nuts when it comes to money and all we want is someone to tell us what to do. Most of us don't want to engage with our money even though we need it, and so the idea is, hey, I'll just follow this person and they'll tell me what to do. We also, in this country, have a huge attraction to this sort of tough thinking about money -- where anybody can make it and it's your fault if you don't."
If you need proof this is the kind of product Ramsey is selling, take this quote from his radio show today: "I'm just reading facts to you. I've been getting 12% on my money on average for many years. ... If you don't want to save or invest because you think the future is caving in ... then don't do it. But I'm gonna go get rich and you guys can all go gripe about it."
And lastly, this:
Ramsey: "If you can wander onto the internet and go buy an S&P 500 index fund, which you should be able to do if you can buy your potato chips over the internet, then you can. It has an average of slightly under 12% but that's an idiot-proof fund."
Our take: This is about the only thing Ramsey gets right. Low-cost index funds have been proven to be the financially sound choice for most investors, given the fact that they don't come with all the high fees that typically eat up returns for mutual fund investors. But then we wonder why Ramsey is trying to sell people on his endorsed mutual funds if he basically admits here that low-cost, index funds are the way to go?
We asked Mark Herber, President of Index Funds Advisors, Inc. for his take:
"We have never seen any client that earned these returns over the 40 years, but our simulated index portfolios, adding $100/month, starting with high risk and reducing the equity exposure by 1% per year actually came close to his calculation. But without passive funds, he would not even had data to make such a claim."
We reached out to Ramsey's rep for comment but haven't heard back since this afternoon.


text:
14 December 2017
The concept of having an optimal equity structure, including debt instruments, is being slowly shredded by tax perceptions and legislation, imposing additional cash costs for this historic and sound economic position, writes Keith Brockman.
The article you are trying to view is locked content, available only to subscribers and current trialists.
The material on this site is for financial institutions, professional investors and their professional advisers.
It is for information only. Please read our
Terms and Conditions
Privacy Policy
before using the site.
All material subject to strictly enforced copyright laws. ©2019
Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC.
For help please see our FAQ.


text:
Indonesia's forests received a boost when the nation's government announced plans to double the size of the country's first forest for "ecosystem restoration", according to a joint press release issued by the RSPB.
It says that Indonesian Forest Minister Zulkifli Hasan has announced that he will expand the 52,000 hectare concession held by Burung Indonesia, the RSPB (UK) and BirdLife International in central Sumatra to a total area of 98,000 hectares.
According to the RSPB, the restoration area now equals two-thirds the size of greater London and is greater than the size of Singapore.
The bird conservation group welcomed the news, adding that other applications for 'forest restoration' licences are being submitted to the nation's forestry ministry.
In 2009, the ministry is reported to have received as many applications for forest restoration licences as it did for logging concessions.
Applications for forest restoration totalled a further two million hectares, and are now being assessed.
The 98,000 hectares where the minister announced he would grant "ecosystem restoration" is within Harapan Rainforest, one of the last remaining areas of dry lowland Sumatran forest and is one of the most threatened rainforests in the world.
It is home to a host of rare animal and plant species, including the critically endangered Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae), of which fewer than 300 remain in the wild.
It supports an amazing 55 mammal species, including the globally-threatened Asian elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus) and Malayan tapir (Tapirus indicus), as well as the world's rarest stork – the Storm's stork (Ciconia stormi) – and a rich diversity of other wildlife.
An initial licence of 52,000 hectares was granted to the environmental consortium in 2008, allowing them to protect, nurture and restore the forest in a former logging concession.
Illegal logging has been significantly decreased and forest fires, which once released significant carbon dioxide emissions, have been all but stamped out. Not only is the forest an important carbon store, but the tree planting programme in Harapan Rainforest is capturing more carbon from the atmosphere.
Botanic experts from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in the UK have identified a plant growing in the forest, Emblemantha urnulata B. C. Stone, that is unique to the area and had only been recorded twice before.
Agus B. Utomo, the Executive Director of Burung Indonesia, said: "The Ministry of Forestry had the foresight to create a new form of forest management in 2004 with the 'ecosystem restoration' licence.
"We're delighted that ecosystem restoration is now an integral part of forest management strategies in Indonesia. As a result, Burung Indonesia is already planning to expand our portfolio of ecosystem restoration concessions."
Source : RSPB press release
Date: 18/06/2010
Filed under: biodiversity, conservation, rainforest | Tagged: biodiversity, birdlife international, burung indonesia, conservation, ecology, environment, forest, government, indonesia, kew, rainforest, royal botanic gardens, rspb, trees | Leave a comment »


text:
Gum Disease (One of the Major Causes of Bad Breath) Myths
By Dr. Harold Katz – Bad Breath Expert
Posted: March 16, 2010
Posted: March 16, 2010
Many people fail to treat gum disease, even though it can cause severe damage if left untreated. This is probably because most people fail to understand how serious gum/periodontal disease can be. Statistics say that around 75%-80% of people have a for of gum disease, ranging from mild to severe. Here are some common MYTHS that you need to discard: 1. Bleeding gums are not a big deal. FALSE! Many gum symptoms (i.e. bleeding/receding/red/swollen gums/bad breath) are all key signs that you might have periodontal disease. If you notice that certain foods, flossing, and/or brushing can cause your gums to bleed, it's best that you go to the dentist and get a diagnosis. Gum disease not only can lead to tooth decay and loss, but it may help instigate disease in the heart, diabetes, and so on. It may also be a sign of other serious issues in your body! 2. Flossing every day is not important. FALSE! A good oral hygiene regimen requires that you floss on a daily basis as one of the main ways, besides brushing, to prevent gum disease. Allegedly, only 13.5% of Americans floss that often. Not a good sign! 3. Periodontist visits are intimidating, and they'll pull your teeth if you go in for treatment. FALSE! Experts on gum disease have received specialized training to help with your dental problems-- everything from the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of gum disease. Also, technology and treatments are always improving, so visits are becoming more and more comfortable. If you avoid gum disease treatment, the gums will continue to recede and you'll lose your tooth naturally. 4. Once a tooth is lost from gum disease, you can't get it back. FALSE! Gum disease may be one of the main causes of tooth loss in people over age 18, but periodontists are extremely knowledgeable in placing dental implants. These are artificial tooth roots that are inserted into the jaw to hold a replacement tooth. Dental implants have a 98% success rate, and according to surveys, over 70% of people are extremely satisfied with the results of their dental implants. 5. Practicing poor oral care is the only way to get gum problems. FALSE! Neglecting your oral hygiene can definitely be a reason for gum disease progression, but other important factors need to be acknowledged. Tobacco use, stress, a poor diet, and even genetics can alter how your body reacts to bacteria in the oral cavity. 6. Gum disease gets better on its own. FALSE! With the right care, it may clear up eventually, but it is an infection that needs immediate attention. Just imagine if you had these open sores on your skin--just because it is in your mouth doesn't mean you can ignore it. 7. Bleeding gums are normal. FALSE! There is a reason as to why your gums are bleeding. It does happen to almost everyone, but there has to be an actual injury to the gums causing them to bleed. So, all in all, these statements are NOT true, and gum disease is something that you need to treat ASAP. Source: The Mouth Doctor, Perio
Win $100 in Products! Enter Here


text:
Mi SciELO
Servicios Personalizados
- Citado por SciELO
- Accesos
Interface - Comunicação, Saúde, Educação
versión impresa ISSN 1414-3283
ZUCCO, Luciana Patrícia y MINAYO, Maria Cecília de Souza. Female sexuality in magazines. Interface (Botucatu) [online]. 2010, vol.5Selected edition, pp. 0-0. ISSN 1414-3283.
This paper results from an investigation on the discourse of female sexuality carried by women's magazines in the years 2005 and 2006. 'Claudia' and 'Mulher dia-a-dia' were the documents analyzed through a qualitative investigative approach. The data construction was undertaken through critical discourse analysis, and female sexuality was approached from a constructivist perspective. The main results showed that the discursive conventions present in the reports gave shape to dual positions on contemporary Western sexual dynamics, such as: adoption of symmetrical sexual practices versus continuation of asymmetrical sexual practices; female sexual autonomy versus female sexual dependency; activeness versus passiveness; female pleasure versus male pleasure. Thus, we argue that sexuality remains doubly informed by hegemonic standards in force within society.
Palabras clave : Female sexuality; Media; Discourse; Periodicals.


text:
Monday, Oct 18, 2010, 12:57 pm
Kohler's New Demands Bring to Mind Company's History of Labor Struggle
American consumers aren't spending much these days, given the widespread insecurity and the drop in family income that comes with a 9.6% unemployment rate. Nonetheless, Corporate America has amassed a huge reserve of $1.6 trillion to $1.8 trillion in cash, and profits are rising strongly. What accounts for this astonishing success despite the lean times?
The trick turns out to be based less on financial wizardry than brutal arm-twisting. Major corporations have learned how to squeeze more work from shrunken workforces, creating what Robert Reich calls a "decoupling of profits from jobs." They have engaged in the biggest wave of wage-cutting since the 1930's, with pay reductions often extorted by threatening to close plants and relocate jobs.
The Kohler Co., a the Wisconsin-based maker of plumbing, bathroom, kitchen, and other product lines, is the most recent corporation to launch a campaign for lower wages, as reported here recently.
Although Kohler's style has softened in recent years, Local 833 members and the local community vividly recall Kohler's history of ruthlessness—including the murder of workers by company guards in 1934 and a nine-year strike, the longest in U.S. history.
Negotiations continued this week with United Auto Workers Local 833 on a new contract covering some 2,300 workers at Kohler's two plants in Sheboygan County, reported Dave Strohschein, Local 833 union's head trustee. The old contract expired September 1.
Kohler is pushing hard for lower wage costs and "flexibility," a concept much applauded by the corporate world and business professors (and detailed here and here).
This version of "flexibility" calls for unions to surrender hard-won rights and stand by passively to allow the workforce to be divided into two classes of union members with a 35% differential in pay, and a third segment of easily-disposable non-union permanent temporary workers--"perma-temps"--who also earn lower wages.
- Tier A—composed of currently employed workers—would face a five-year wage freeze, with current wages averaging $22.54 an hour..
- Tier B—new hires and those on layoff for more than 90 days—would earn 35% less (about $14.70 an hour) and be burdened with a high-deductible healthcare plan offering minimal coverage.
- The "perma-temps" in the lowest caste could work up to 25% of total
hours in the plant under the company's demands. They would also
receive $14.70. Ineligible for union membership, they could be discarded at any time.
Retirees would also be ravaged under the Kohler proposal. They would
face increases in healthcare payments, with costs for "a typical
retiree with 30 years seniority rising from "approximately $250 per person to $700 per person," The Shboygan Press reported.
Such sacrifices by workers are essential for "economic competitiveness," the business professors, CEOs, and editorial writers argue. Wage cuts and multi-tier structures are good for the economy, by which they of course mean maximized profits for major stockholders.
This call for one-sided sacrifices by working people raises profound questions about the very purpose of our economy. Is the economy being shaped to meet human needs for meaningful, secure work at decent wages where workers have a voice? Or are workers' lives being bent and contorted around the demands of their economic masters, with no economic rights and no security?
The business philosophy embraced by the Kohler Co. has long been obvious. The Kohler family started its business`137 years ago, running its operation in a highly paternalistic but overbearing fashion, building a company town for its workers.
But the workers eventually rebelled against the constant management presence in their lives, coupled with wage cuts, much like the Pullman Palace Car Company workers did in Chicago in 1894 while living in a another company-built community.
When Kohler workers began to organize a union in the 1930s, company
president Herbert Kohler I was no more welcoming than the Pullman
Co. Kohler responded by hiring a 400-member security squad. With Kohler resisting the union, the workers were forced to stage a strike to win recognition from Kohler.
On July 27, 1934, members of the Kohler para-military squad fired into a crowd of strikers, workers, family members—including women and children—and other union supporters. Two workers were killed, and 43 others were wounded.
The United Auto Workers eventually won a contract, but faced
continual battles with a management unable to live with a situation
where it could not exercise its customary dictatorial powers. This
situation heated up in the mid-1950s, as Kohler executives ordered
the stockpiling of weapons—despite the tragic outcome of its 1934 use of force—to stave off an imagined union assault on the company.
Kohler Co.'s intransigence forced the longest strike in U.S. history,
running an incredible 9 years, mainly because of its unwillingness
to accept the principle of seniority. While the union sought compromise, the Kohler Co. provoked conflict. As even conservative Time magazine reported,
Faced with Herbert Kohler's granitic resistance, the U.A.W. trimmed its demands. But he kept on balking at even a seniority rule, and U.A.W. called a strike. Kohler laid in an arsenal of submachine guns, shotguns, clubs and tear-gas bombs, settled down for a long siege.
Apparently, tough-fibered Herbert Kohler welcomed the strike as an opportunity to shake off Reuther & Co. [President Walter Reuther and the UAW] A high Kohler official predicted that the strike would bring the company 20 years of peace, as had the broken 1934 strike.
The corporation hired a huge army of strikebreakers, and the area broke into a local civil war with widespread violence between strikers and scabs. But the UAW dug in its heels for the long haul, patiently executng a massive national boycott of Kohler products and gained support from numerous city councils.
Eventually, the UAW's never-say-die tenacity paid off and the union finally won a new agreement nearly a decade later.
Kohler has long remained one of the most dynastic firms in Wisconsin, operating as a family-owned corporation that possess vast wealth. (As a non-stock corporation, executive pay and profits are not required to be disclosed). Two of the Kohler scions became governors of Wisconsin.
A third family heir, Terry Kohler, ran unsuccessfully for governor during the 1982 recession on a program of "jobs, jobs, jobs." Part of his defeat may be attributed to my old and now departed labor weekly, Racine Labor, which beat the state's big daily newspapers in uncovering more and more information about Terry Kohler's firm, the Vollrath Co., which hypocritically relocated "jobs, jobs, jobs" from Wisconsin to low-wage plants in Tennessee and Mexico.
The Kohler Co. has similarly dispersed production. It has built over 50
plants around the world, including low-wage factories in China and
Mexico. Only 43% of its workforce is employed in the U.S.
In the current round of negotiations, Kohler maintains that it is not threatening to relocate manufacturing from the Shebogyan area. Kohler appears confident that it will eventually get its way, sweetly announcing that it is not threatening to close the plant, as have a couple other Wisconsin firms that successfully extorted major
But a spokesman added in a not-too- subtle statement: "The company is not threatening to relocate. We are trying to avoid getting to that point by seeking solutions during these negotiations." In other words, the implicit Kohler message still amounts to: "Don't push us to 'that point' so that we don't have to pull out our big gun and threaten to blow you away."
But the strategy of Kohler and so many other corporations will lead
to a much more prolonged recession, with all its far-reaching social
While wringing more profits out of workers creates impressive quarterly retruns for individual corporations, this pattern of driving down wages further reduces domestic buying power and demand for the products of Kohler and the rest of Corporate America.
As United Electrical workers Western District President Carl Rosen remarked about the broader economic situation, "This economy is failing because workers cannot buy back what they are making."
What do you want to see from our coverage of the 2020 presidential candidates?
As our editorial team maps our plan for how to cover the 2020 Democratic primary, we want to hear from you:
What do you want to see from our campaign coverage in the months ahead, and which candidates are you most interested in?
It only takes a minute to answer this short, three-question survey, but your input will help shape our coverage for months to come. That's why we want to make sure you have a chance to share your thoughts.
Roger Bybee
Roger Bybee is a Milwaukee-based freelance writer and University of Illinois visiting professor in Labor Education. Roger's work has appeared in numerous national publications, including Z magazine, Dollars & Sense, The Progressive, Progressive Populist, Huffington Post, The American Prospect, Yes! and Foreign Policy in Focus. More of his work can be found at zcommunications.org/zspace/rogerdbybee.
More by Roger Bybee
- Is Gov. Scott Walker Preparing to Push for Right to Work in Wisconsin?
- With Election in a Dead Heat, Union-Busting Gov. Scott Walker Attacks the Unemployed
- Scott Walker's Offshoring Flip-flop
- Can Scott Walker Be Defeated?
- Boeing Holds Jobs Hostage in Two-Pronged Fight With State Government and Machinists


text:
Hours: Monday - Saturday: 10am - 5pm Store: 713 523-3100
Rachel Riley
Sold Out
Best Selling Products,
Blankets / Swaddles / Lovies,
Classic Traditional Style,
European Collections,
New Arrivals,
Rachel Riley
Sign up to get the latest on sales, new releases and more …
Itsy Bitsy's focus is to make everyone feel special when they walk in the door. We especially love when our Itsy Bitsy customers are here to where they can play with our toys on the floor or you might find Susan and her AMAZING TEAM holding babies while moms and grandmothers shop. Our boutique is an easy going and fun place to find something special or even easy soft play clothes you can't find just anywhere.
2813 Westheimer Road,
Houston TX 77098
Tel: 713 523 - 3100
Store Hours:
Monday - Saturday
10am - 5pm
© 2019 The Itsy Bitsy Boutique.
Powered by Shopify
Designed by Veronica Jeans & Out of the Sandbox.
Steps how to decide what you want.
Allow an additional 5 business days for monogramming. And then we will ship your products per your shipping requirements when you bought your products.


text:
8th January 2013, 08:58 PM
Has anyone had a dramatic premium increase recently? Daily Telegraph are looking for case histories for a story. Need stories ASAP to email@example.com. Anyone claiming on a cover for life seen the premiums go so high they just couldn't continue - any provider.
Please share your story if you can.
Please share your story if you can.


text:
ACTAfacts? ACTAfiction? Or Just Unsourced Pro-ACTA Propaganda Purporting To Be Objective?
from the take-your-pick dept
actafacts.com, a new pro-ACTA website, made the rounds earlier this month, along with a new report claiming ACTA would create billions of euros in growth and hundreds of thousands of new jobs. Glyn Moody was quick to pull the facts apart. FSF called it "3rd-rate astroturfing" and EDRI suspected "parody." This week actafacts.com resurfaced on fliers at the European Parliament and on the entrance door to the EU Trade committee, prior to an important vote on whether to recommend the European Parliament to reject or accept ACTA on July 4th. The flyer, displaying a majestic container ship plowing through a quiet sea, was as clear in its advocacy -- "A vote against ACTA would be a vote against Europe's economy. Get the facts at actafacts.com" -- as it was unclear about its origins (potentially violating EU rules). Oh, and the container ship image? Yeah, it's infringing according to Jeremie Zimmermann. This, and other last-minute-lobbying-attempts, seem to have had little impact. The trade committee voted down ACTA. However, it's interesting to analyze who's actually behind this now that the monster has reared it's head.
The registration info of actafacts.com is anonymized, but the the HTML source of the page points, rather clumsily, to the c: drive of a Mr. Jeff Hardy.
Jeff Hardy happens to be director of BASCAP, Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy, which is a subdivision of the International Chamber of Commerce. The ICC describes itself as "the voice of world business," and is an immensely powerful lobbying group, promoting the specific interests of large member companies.
It's no surprise that American pro-ACTA lobbyists would pull thinly veiled stunts like these, though one would expect them to be able to hire better web designers (and check the HTML code for origin clues). What IS surprising is that the European Commission treats the group's "facts" as such.
One of the problems with the astronomical figures Trade Commissioner De Gucht has been using in defense of ACTA, is that they cover both supposed losses due to counterfeiting of tangible (physical) goods, and non-tangibles, ie. digital / Internet piracy all conflated together. While he can lean on credible, reasonably well-sourced numbers on physical counterfeiting from the OECD, there are none on Internet piracy. That's because, as OECD economist Danny Scorpecci explained to me, the data is simply too unreliable; too many factors need to be considered.
So, I repeatedly asked De Gucht's office to provide numbers backing the claim that internet piracy hurts the EU economy, and causes job losses in the creative sector. His team returned with one report: Building a Digital Economy: The Importance of Saving Jobs in the EU's Creative Industries from TERA consultants, commissioned by -- you guessed it -- BASCAP, Jeff Hardy's team. The report "predicts losses due to [digital] piracy to reach as much as 1.2 million jobs and €240 billion in retail revenue by 2015 (...) assuming no significant policy changes." I asked whether the commissioner had taken into account the clearly biased and, according to the SSRC, misrepresentative nature of the report's claims.
John Clancy, EU Trade Spokesperson, rejected that criticism offhand, without actually responding to it: "such analysis does not suddenly make the report invalid and the information contained in it unfounded". Well, that depends. Joe Karaganis of the Social Science Research Council dismissed the TERA report entirely because of its use of "a methodology developed by Stephen Siwek in a series of papers commissioned by the MPA, RIAA, and ESA [aiming to] expand the debate about piracy beyond claims of losses to specific industries to losses to national economies, including especially lost jobs". Karaganis argues that the contrary may well be the case, and that the EU may well "realize a strong net welfare benefit from audiovisual and software piracy" because money is spent elsewhere, not lost, and because the supposed job losses would happen in the US, thus affecting the trade balance positively for the EU. Siwek's analysis does not even take into account this possibility.
When I spoke to Jeff Hardy in April about the report he defended the methodology and the use of Stephen Siwek as an advisor: "Our mission is to paint a picture with numbers. We try to be conservative, even though the numbers are gigantic. This is an illegal business. This is black market. We don't have all the numbers, but someone has to step up. We need to have an understanding of the magnitude of the problem, that this is a real, economic loss." And, apparently, the way to do so is not to address the facts, but to just make up numbers.
Hardy told me that the ICC hired TERA after their HADOPI report, which concluded that France would lose 10,000 jobs in the creative industry by 2012 unless France adopted the "3 strikes" law. This report uses the same methodology, dubbed "copyright math" by Rob Reid in his $8 billion iPod TED Talk. So, why, when everyone else -- even the US Government -- admits these inflated piracy numbers are bogus, does the EU Commission keep repeating them? This must be a successful turn of events, I asked Jeff Hardy? "Well, assuming our number is big enough, it's successful", he replied.
Yes, that's right, in a refreshing moment of candor, Hardy appears to be admitting that all he cared about was making sure the number was "big enough," not particularly "accurate." That seems like a "fact" worth keeping in mind when you judge these "actafacts."


text:
Our Publications
- Aspen
- Atlanta
- Boston
- Chicago
- Dallas
- The Hamptons
- Hawai'i
- Houston
- Las Vegas
- Los Angeles
- Miami
- New York
- Orange County
- Palm Beach
- Philadelphia
- San Diego
- San Francisco
- Scottsdale
- Silicon Valley
- Washington, D.C.
Next Stop, Peru!
Rima Suqi | Photo: Courtesy Images | October 8, 2012
Luxury on the rails leads to fully restored respite at a new Orient Express hotel.
Steaming from Machu Picchu en route to Cusco, the train turns into one big party. Not just any train, mind you: the Hiram Bingham, a grand Orient Express locomotive (orient-express.com). Most of us on the three-hour rail journey expect what we've all seen in Orient Express ads —white tablecloth-clad tables; an elegant, wood-paneled dining car; natty waiters; monogrammed everything. We get all this, plus a Pisco-fueled singing and dancing fiesta in a bar car filled with Peruvians, Cubans, Puerto Ricans, Colombians and a handful of Americans. It's the proverbial party train—rocking in the middle of rural Peru. Arriving in Cusco, tipsy and sated (and well before we know what's happening), we're spirited off to a convent. Correction: former convent.
Passing under a Spanish coat of arms through oversized glass doors, we enter Palacio Nazarenas (palacionazarenas.com), the newest boutique property in the Orient Express portfolio. The 55-room Peruvian hotel—a palace at one point, too—occupies a 16th century building in a charming square in a UNESCO World Heritage city. Once the center of the Incan empire, it's here that Incas conquered Spaniards and Jesuit priests. It's also the survivor of at least two massive earthquakes, which toppled much of the town, before it was eventually bestowed to the Beatas of the Order of Barefoot Nazarenes, a group of uncloistered religious women (who, though not officially nuns, lived like ones). Together they operated an orphanage and school for about 250 years.
When Orient Express officially took hold of the property—a designated national landmark—in 1999, it had been vacated for about 30 years. Admits General Manager Stephan Post, "We got it in a bad state." It was in such poor condition, it took more than seven years to secure permits and get renovation plans approved, and another four to actually complete it. Tapped to spearhead the ambitious overhaul, Lima-based architect Enrique Palacio—boasting an involvement in the renovation of the Hotel Monasterio, another Orient Express property situated next door to Palacio Nazarenas—knew the drill. "We had to keep most of the original architecture of the building, and the architecture of the new building had to be kept within that context as well," he explains. "Daily inspections [with] authorities from the Instituto Nacional de Cultura and the Municipality [ensured] we were complying, especially when we started to find artifacts during the excavation process."
This collection of rarities—about 80,000 in total, unearthed and cataloged by six on-site archaeologists still being registered with authorities—range from tiny ceramic fragments and ancient water channels to colonial fountains and pre-Hispanic walls (painstakingly removed brick by brick, then numbered, cleaned and re-sited in the same place). Incan foundations made of mud, stone and eucalyptus beams were reinforced in similar fashion.
Likewise, hotel suites in four categories benefit from meticulous attention to detail but are far less complicated. One assumes that living quarters for the cloistered, like the property's former residents, will be small. Surprisingly, the opposite is true. At Palacio Nazarenas, rooms are positioned nearly the same as they were when the property was acquired, save for interior walls built to separate spacious bathrooms from main sleeping and sitting areas. Falling under the purview of Janna Rapaport, interiors are less modern than initially envisioned. "Originally I took some traditional furniture designs and cleaned them up, got rid of a lot of the detail," recalls the Santa Fe-based architect and interior designer, who has experience designing other Peruvian properties. "But some of [the] rooms are really big, and where we ended up was probably a better place. I brought in Oriental carpets and more carved furniture, so the rooms are more what people [expect to find in] Peru, and the furniture fills the space a little better."
Complementing the mostly locally sourced furnishings—Oriental rugs and bedside lamps being two of the only exceptions—is Rapaport-designed embroidery on silky-smooth Pima cotton sheets (a gold-embellished religious cape at Lima's Pedro de Osman museum inspired the motif). Add to this an elegantly contemporary take on traditional Peruvian pottery, used to contain various items in the bathrooms, by well-known Lima ceramicist Tater Vera. Praising the woodworkers at her disposal, Rapaport says, "You could wave your hands and just say, 'Do this,' and they would." Vanities, closets and, in some cases, bathtub bases are evidence of their on-site artisanship. So too is ornate decorative painting in the bathrooms from Julio Ninantay ("a master," remarks Rapaport). "I love the organic, voluptuous floral designs," she adds. "Many churches and historic homes in the region are covered in [the] folkloric style of painting."
Embellishments continue at Senzo, the hotel restaurant, helmed by chef Virgilio Martinez. Diners enjoy culinary indulgences served with custom-designed Christofle flatware, engraved with an all-over floral pattern. At Hypnoze spa, two of the five treatment rooms boast glass floors exposing Incanera walls beneath—the perfect porthole to the hotel's rich past. Ultimately, these details combine to achieve Rapaport's vision to create "an elegance of simplicity" that still feels luxurious.
Providing perhaps the best of all summations, Post says, "As a hotelier it's important to be able to offer a living museum." With that, Palacio Nazarenas takes its place in history.


text:
Anna Sui Spring 2013 | Pictures
Anna Sui Spring 2013
Anna Sui Spring 2013
Let it be known: you really can't go wrong with Karlie Kloss — clad in a leopard-print bikini top to start, and a gold embellished blue ball gown to finish — as your show opener and closer. With that, Anna Sui set the tone, full-force ahead, for a rock 'n' roll-meets-party down by the Seine kind of Spring. We're talking vintage-inspired slipdresses, lace overlays, zipper-enhanced jumpsuits, '90s plaid, and fierce minidresses paired with ripped fishnet tights — a veritable mashup of everything you would ever want to find at the back of your mom's closet and "borrow" as your own. Get your first look at Anna Sui's Spring '13 collection here; then, be sure to come back soon for our full review.


text:
BienfangTracingPaper Rolls
BlickMega GoldenTaklon Brushes
SpeedballProfessionalRelief Ink
BlickPencil Case
10% Off Orders of $45 or More + Free Shipping
Available Offers
Today's Deal
Free Shipping
On Orders of $35 or More**
10% Off
Orders of $45 or More*
Use Code: CEWP *Exclusions apply**After discounts taken
On Orders of $45 or More**
**After discounts taken
Browse more:
Tri-Art's Finest Quality Artist Acrylics are premium quality artist paints designed to satisfy the most discerning artists. Their unique consistency allows for bold impasto effects that are normally associated only with oil colors.
Color Swatches created using heavy application/medium application/50% tint and were applied on acrylic primed canvas (7 oz) material.
organic synthetic, quinacridone
Quinacridone Red is a high performance, transparent pigment with an average drying time and uneven dispersal. It is another name for Quinacridone Violet (PV19) and Quinacridone Red (PR192). Quinacridone pigments have relatively low tinting strength in general. For this reason, quinacridone colors are often expensive, because more pigment is required in the formulation.
Quinacridone Violet has excellent lightfastness and is considered the most lightfast organic pigment in this shade range.
Quinacridone Violet has no known acute hazards. Overexposure to quinacridone pigments may cause skin irritation. Quinicridone pigments contain a compound found to be a skin, eye, and respiratory irritant.
Although quinacridone compounds became known in the late 19th century, methods of manufacturing so as to make them practical for use as commercial pigments did not begin until the 1950s. Quinacridone pigments were first developed as coatings for the automotive industry, but were quickly adopted by artists.
Quinacridone Red (PR192), Quinacridone Red (PR19).
Your cart is currently empty.
Your cart currently contains N item.
™ Tri-Art is a trademark.


text:
Friday Video – Scissor Sisters, "Any Which Way"
We will admit that it may seem odd for the "guy's portal to the web," as we once fashioned ourselves, to highlight a video by a group as unabashedly gay as the Scissor Sisters, but we'd prefer to look at it this way: real men have the guts to admit they like bands like the Scissor Sisters. Since, you know, they're fucking awesome.
Singer Jake Shears never pretended to be anything but the openly gay man that he is, but with the band's new album Night Work, Shears has let it all hang out in ways that would make the band's first two albums blush. They even recruited master thespian (and gay icon) Sir Ian McKellen to do a spoken word bit on the excellent album closer "Invisible Light," and in the process created a track that would bring Frankie Goes to Hollywood to its knees. Their new single, "Any Which Way," is much more indicative of the album's sound than the first single "Fire with Fire," which found the band trying to out-Killer the Killers. (That's not what anyone wants from the Scissor Sisters, guys. Play to your strengths.) With a big ol' funk bass line and Shears' trademark falsetto, the song is vintage new disco, in the best way possible. Plus, in the break, female singer Ana Matronic (she's straight, by the way) tells someone to take her in front of her parents. Kinky.
So yes, this video is really, really fabulous, if you know what we mean, but as well-adjusted straight men, the band's overt sexuality does not threaten us in the slightest. Plus, it's a gorgeous clip, regardless of how many shirtless men are in it. And above all else, remember this: your girlfriend will probably love it, so show her how open-minded you are by playing this when she comes over. You just never know what may come your way when you do something with her in mind. Just a thought.
Related Posts
You can follow us on Twitter and Facebook for content updates. Also, sign up for our email list for weekly updates and check us out on Google+ as well.
Tags: Any Which Way, Friday Videos, Happy Hour, Jake Shears, Night Work, Scissor Sisters, video of the week


text:
Yahoo to get up close and personal
Some good blog fodder from today's Yahoo 2009 preview with developments centred on relevancy, open internet and social media.
What does it mean? The search giant is taking those cornerstones and applying them across its new homepage, search, mobile and mail.
The result is consumers being able to aggregate search, mail, social networking sites and anything else targeted and relevant to them in one place.
The new homepage (currently in beta) enables users to plug in applications such as eBay and flickr from a library. Search developments include much richer, relevant results as well as anticipating what consumers are trying to find. The search service is also being opened up so developers and other companies can use it within their sites. And mobile developments include quicker access from the phone's menu and providing users with relevant answers and valuable information.
The thinking behind the developments is the consumer quest for 'return on attention' - a higher return on the time we invest - here's wikipedia says.
Yahoo research shows 68% of us feel it is getting more difficult to to balance life and work, 89% of us have information fatigue syndrome and 63% are worried that if we switch off we will miss something.
So, according to Yahoo Europe marketing man Kristof Fahy the search giant has to continue to do the basics really well and think about new areas such as personalisation, relevance, being open...
The developments look slick so watch this space as releases are slated for end of the year/early next year.
Linda Fox, lead reporter, Travolution


text:
Wild Arugula Salad with Garlic Croutons, Shaved Parmesam, and Lemon
Jacob Bailey
From Bon Appétit
- 1 8-ounce piece ciabatta with crust (preferably day-old)
- 1 large garlic clove, peeled
- 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 6 ounces arugula (preferably wild; about 10 cups packed)
- 2 tablespoons (or more) fresh lemon juice
- 3 ounces Parmesan cheese, shaved into strips with vegetable peeler
Preheat oven to 400°F. Rub crust of bread with garlic clove. Tear bread into 1-inch pieces and place in large bowl; toss with 1/4 cup olive oil. Sprinkle bread lightly with salt; arrange in single layer on rimmed baking sheet. Bake until golden and crisp around edges, about 10 minutes. Cool. DO AHEAD: Can be made 4 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.
Place arugula in large bowl. Drizzle with 3 tablespoons olive oil and 2 tablespoons lemon juice, adding more lemon juice, if desired. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add 2/3 of croutons and half of Parmesan cheese and toss. Transfer to serving bowl; scatter remaining croutons and Parmesan cheese over and serve. Makes 6 servings
Ingredient tip: Wild arugula is dark green with spiky leaves. It has a more intense flavor than that of regular arugula. You'll find wild arugula at farmers' markets and at some supermarkets.


text:
Advanced Search
Active Topics
Recent Posts
Quick Search:
My Cookies Utility
Frequently Asked Questions
Forum Rules
Login Name:
Remember me.
I forgot my password!
Main Index
Forum Index
Convention Discussion
Article Discussion
» Convention Attendee Holiday Gift Guide
Article by
With the holiday season upon us,
AnimeCons TV
has put together a list of gift suggestions for your friends and family members who may be regular convention attendees. You may even use this list as your own guide when people ask what you would like as a present for a holiday or birthday.
The most obvious idea is to buy a badge for a convention. A lot of conventions will let you purchase a badge for someone else and so this is a perfect time to do that. If you know someone who is planning to go to a convention but hasn't bought their badge yet, get a badge for yourself
someone else. Not only do they get a great gift, but you get a companion for the convention! You could even make up a certificate on your own to make the presentation more meaningful than just a printed e-mail receipt.
Gift cards are another obvious choice. A gas gift card, airline gift card, or hotel gift card would help cover some of the expenses of getting to and staying at the convention. You may also be able to find a gift card for a restaurant located near the convention so they can have a nice meal there. You can find gift cards for a wide variety of these places at your local supermarket.
It's important to keep hydrated at conventions and beverages at hotel and convention center prices can be priced rather high. A
collapsable water bottle
wouldn't take up much room in luggage, but could be filled up in a bathroom after arrival and carried around the convention.
What about luggage? A bag or suitcase could be a good gift if your friend's bags are wearing a bit thin or are never big enough to carry everything they need. Do they have too many large bags and need a smaller one? Maybe they could use a special kind of bag like one for suits or dresses to keep their cosplay nice while traveling.
In this digital age, everyone has a cell phone, but between photos, texting, apps, and social media, the battery can run down fast when you're at a convention. An external battery can be a very welcome gift for your high-tech friends. We recommend the
for iPhone, Android, and Windows Phone which can recharge most USB devices. It comes in a variety of sizes (and prices) which can recharge more often and larger devices.
Of course, how are they running down the batteries on these devices? Games! While waiting in line, who hasn't killed time with a game on their phone or handheld device? Gift cards for their phone's app store could be a good idea or maybe a game for their Nintendo DS or PS Vita. As an alternative to video games, you could try some analog favorites among con attendees such as
Apples to Apples
Channel A
, or
Cards Against Humanity
Our own
recommends a
luggage scale
. You can use this to make sure your luggage isn't overweight before you get to the airport. (Check with your airline to see their limits.) This can save you overweight baggage fees or, at the very least, the embarrassment of having to re-pack your bags at the ticket counter. (Although some normal bathroom scales may also work for this purpose.)
are an option for an inexpensive gift. Not every convention gives one out with badges, but you could provide a better option even for the ones that do. You might be able to find one with images from their favorite show or movie or video game or maybe one with a nice badge holder.
Cosplayer Gift Ideas
For cosplayers, not only is everything above still an option, but there are some other things they may enjoy...
The most obvious idea for them is a gift card to a fabric store, online wig shop, or cosmetic store. If they do a lot of props, they may enjoy a gift card from a home improvement store.
Art books can be handy reference for characters. They often have many detailed drawings of characters and can be incredibly useful when designing a costume.
Figures can also be helpful as a reference because they're in 3D and you can hold them and rotate them to any view you desire. When creating a costume, this is absolutely invaluable. Plus, the figure is a nice reminder of the character and the costume to keep on a shelf.
Garment bags
are wonderful for cosplayers so that they can store the costume together, keep it safe, and make it harder to lose pieces. When traveling, all they have to do is grab the bag and go!
Comic Convention Attendees
Attendees to comic conventions are likely to be comic collectors in some way.
Comic sleeves
would help keep their individual comic issues in mint condition. There are also storage books which allow comics to be stored together safely.
If your friend regularly shops in artists' alley, they may like to have a portfolio of some kind to display their purchases. If there are any they're particularly proud of, maybe you could get them a frame for it. Often people plan to frame it "eventually" and you can help push that process forward.
Artists' Alley Sellers
In order to help your friends who sell in artists' alley look their best, you could get a nice tablecloth to cover their artists' alley table. (Most tables are 8'x2.5', but check with your local convention.) They may also like a large banner to hang in front of or behind their table. We've ordered our FanCons.com, AnimeCons.com, and AnimeCons TV banners through
Anime or Fan Music Video Creators
For people that create AMVs (or FMVs), they could always use more source material.
discs of some hot new shows would certainly be welcome.
Once they've decided to start working on their hot new video project, they'll need a place to store their clips. Why not get an
external hard drive
? Really, who couldn't use more disk space?
People who wander conventions taking photos of cosplayers never have enough of two things:
memory cards
. Find out what kind of camera they use and you should easily be able to find more memory cards or batteries.
Convention Staff
Staff, particularly those in management positions, often have many papers they have to keep organized and have to keep with them at the convention. Look for a nice portfolio to hold a notepad, miscellaneous papers, a schedule, pens, and other miscellaneous documents. Ideally, it should zip or snap shut so that things don't go flying if it gets dropped. If they use an iPad or other tablet, you may even be able to find one that could fit that as well!
Convention staff usually do a lot of walking.
can be fun to track the amount of walking and compare with other staff members. It can even come in handy in the off season for regular fitness tracking.
Your Ideas!
Do you have ideas? Leave them in the forums...
Report Topic
Obsessed with robots
Posts: 1468
Reg: 02-25-09
In response to
Something that I should've put on my list;
As con staffer / press / person who frequents Artists' Alley I'm frequently giving and receiving business cards. A nice case to keep them in would be really handy.
There's lots to choose, from very formal looking ones that you can get inscribed to much more casual ones from various geeky media like
The Han Solo in Carbonite Business Card Case
. If the person you're buying for is an Otaku, find out his/her favorite anime titles because business cards are a big part of Japanese culture and they make tons of different anime themed ones.
Another tip, look for ones that have two sections so it's easy to divide cards to give and cards received.
-Doug Wilder
Resident Mecha fanboy of AnimeCons TV!
Email Post
Report Topic
Ryan Kopf
Posts: 10
Reg: 11-09-09
In response to
What about luggage? A bag or suitcase could be a good gift if your friend's bags are wearing a bit thin or are never big enough to carry everything they need. Do they have too many large bags and need a smaller one? Maybe they could use a special kind of bag like one for suits or dresses to keep their cosplay nice while traveling.
I second luggage! I was using duffle bags and a backpack for a long time, until I finally got a hard plastic shell case with wheels (airline luggage stuff). It was a heck of a lot better to roll cameras, clothes, etc, compared to carrying them... I had more fun at the con as a result of not being exhausted just from carrying 50 pounds of stuff to the hotel. XD
Email Post
Report Topic
Back to Forum
Icon Legend
Topic Options
Report Topic
Report Post
Quote Post
Quick Reply
Print Topic
Print Topic
Email Topic
15675 Views
Recent Topics
Puchi Con 9/21/19 Brooklyn NYC
Experience With TX Cons & Recommendations
Looking for how to email/contact manager of AnimeCons.com
Any Artists/Exhibitors been to Wizard World Austin?
Florida Conventions 2019
Main Index
Forum Index
Convention Discussion
Article Discussion
» Convention Attendee Holiday Gift Guide
©2018 -
| AnimeCons, AnimeCons.com, and FanCons.com are trademarks of Adequate.com
™ Version 2.2 | ©2003-2007
InteractivePHP, Inc.
Execution time: 0.185 seconds. Total Queries: 31
All times are (GMT -0500) Eastern. Current time is 10:32 AM


text:
- Welcome -
Welcome to Iconic: Stevie Nicks your fan source for singer-songwriter Stevie Nicks. Stevie is well known as one of the lead singers of British/American band Fleetwood Mac. You may also know her from her solo work from such hits as Edge of Seventeen and Stand Back. In 1998 she was given the honor of being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Fleetwood Mac. She made her TV debut in 2013 in American Horror Story: Coven & recently returned for Apocalypse. In 2019 she was inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame for the 2nd time for her solo work, the first woman to do so.
- Concerts/Events -
An Evening With Fleetwood Mac 2018-201910/28/2019-11/12/2019North American Tour (Rescheduled Dates)
An Evening With Fleetwood Mac 201908/09/2019-09/21/2019Australia/New Zealand Tour
Fleetwood Mac performs The Chain on The Ellen Show
- Added on: December 31, 2018
- Viewed: 148 times
- Categories: Public Appearances


text:
I should know how to crack an egg. Let's look at approximately how many eggs I have cracked just making cupcakes for this blog:
|Approximate years of blogging
|* Number of weeks per year
|= Approximate number of weeks of blogging
|Approximate cupcake recipes baked per week
|* Average number of eggs per cupcake recipe
|= Approximate number of eggs used per week
|Approximate number of cupcakes used for weekly blogging (approximate number of eggs used per week * number of weeks blogging)
|Number of weddings for which I have baked cupcakes
|* Average number of eggs used per wedding
|= Approximate number of eggs used for all weddings
|Approximate number of eggs used for cupcakes on this blog (approximate number of eggs used for weekly blogging + approximate number of eggs used for weddings)
I know that all of that math was a bit geeky. But, it only seems appropriate since my free review copy of Cooking for Geeks is where I learned how to crack an egg.
It turns out that I cracked all 462 of those eggs incorrectly – my skills with eggs weren't all they were cracked up to be. Way too often, I found myself playing the game of "Try to remove the eggshell bit from the cracked egg" (the baking version of the kid's game Operation).
So what's the trick to the perfect crack?
Direct from Cooking For Geeks:
Tap it (the egg) on the counter, not the edge of a bowl. The shell of an egg cracked on a flat surface will have larger pieces that aren't pushed into the egg. Eggs cracked on a sharp lip are much more likely to have little shards of shell poked into them that then end up in the bowl and have to be fetched out.
I had to try it myself:
|Here's how I have always cracked eggs – against the edge of a bowl.
|Look at the crack. See how there are lots of tiny pieces.
|Here's me cracking an egg against the counter.
|Look how clean the crack is – no tiny bits!!
I can't believe what a huge difference the counter method makes. I am never going back!!
More on Cooking For Geeks
While Cooking for Geeks, by Jeff Potter, does have its share of recipes, it's more of a book for people (geeks, specifically) who want to understand the whys, not just the how tos. All of the recipes in the book include explanations about why they work, and Potter always starts with the very basics. He even teaches you how to test for doneness with a toothpick – for brownies, insert the toothpick 1″; for cakes, push the toothpick in all the way.
Other than learning how to crack an egg, I loved the section that talked about leaveners. It has one of the best explanations that I've seen on the difference between baking powder and baking soda and when to use one over the other. I also liked the section on sugar caramelization and how it relates to oven temperature – fascinating stuff for baking geeks. It's a book that you could easily sit down and read from cover to cover (I just read the baking sections, but I'll come back to the others should I ever decide to actually cook).
How to Win a Copy of Cooking for Geeks
Potter is offering two copies of Cooking for Geeks to Cupcake Project readers. Here's how to enter:
- Leave a comment on this post with a story of a lesson you learned that changed the way you do something forever (like my egg cracking story). It could be anything – maybe you learned a better way to fold a shirt or to keep track of coupons. I'm sure we'll all learn a lot from each other! Leave your email address in the comment so that I can contact you if you win.
- Become a Facebook fan and leave a comment on this post on Facebook (it must be a comment on this post, not just a comment on my Wall) and tell me what makes you a geek in the kitchen.
Fine Print
- All entries must be in by Aug. 31, 11:59 PM CDT.
- Only two entries are allowed per person (one on Facebook and one on this blog).
- I will randomly draw one blog winner and one Facebook winner and post the winners on this post on Sept. 1.
- If I do not hear back from a winner within one week, I will draw a new winner.
- Winners will have a choice of a print or eBook. International winners are only eligible to receive the eBook.
One Parting Tip About Eggs
While I was working on this post and talking about fishing around for the little bits of cracked eggs, Jonathan told me that he always uses a big piece of cracked egg shell to scoop out any little pieces of egg shell. The little pieces stick to the big piece and come right out. I tried it and it works! I can't believe that he was holding out on me with that knowledge!


text:
Coffee Chats
Also known as "Office Hours," are meetings with students in small groups in an informal on-campus setting. These give you an opportunity to listen to students' interests and talk to them about your company.
We encourage companies to manage office hours with students directly. We are happy to get the word out to students by promoting your activities to specific target populations within the school.


text:
Home » Classic in Field » ROSE, JON: The Fence
ROSE, JON: The Fence
2 excellent pieces - The Fence, about borders and fences all over the world, using very long amplified strings and documentary voices; a serious and substantial work. Bagni di Dolabella, "a violinists guide to the treatments and political intrigues of an ancient roman bath" - featuring the orchestra of ancient guts. Both originally made for radio.
|Listen to a sample of this release
Code: ReRJR5
Price: £12.50


text:
by Mark Jagord, sports information assistant
GREENWOOD, S.C. – The No. 20 Georgia College golf team won the 2014 Bearcat Invitational Golf Classic by eight strokes with an 873-team three-round total Sunday at the Patriot at Grand Harbor Golf Course. Senior Bryan Fox (Roswell, Ga.) finished tied-second overall and freshman Nicolas Falkinhoff (Buenos Aires, Argentina) finished fourth overall with a 212 and 214, respectively.
The Bobcats entered the second day of the contest in first place, scoring 682 after the first two rounds Saturday. Georgia College's 290-team score was the best of the field of 17 Sunday, and its 288 score from the second round Saturday was also the best.
"It's been a work in progress," said Georgia College head coach Jimmy Wilson. "We know we have a good team and we've seen glimpses of it up to now, but hopefully it's just now all coming together and at the right time."
Overall, the Bobcats had three players in the top-20 out of a field of 90, with one of those not factoring into the team scoring.
Fox finished four-under-par, saving his best round for last. The senior, who has finished second overall three times this season, shot a four-under 68 Sunday. Only Josh Clay of Coker College had a round better in the tournament than Fox with a 66, and Fox was only one of two golfers in the tournament to shoot two rounds in the 60s.
Falkinhoff got progressively better every round in finishing fourth overall with a two-under-par 214-total. The freshman was one of three to score in the 60s Sunday with a three-under-par 69. He improved from his first round 73 and second round 72.
Another freshman, Conner Albright (Macon, Ga.) finished tied-24th overall after shooting a four-over-par 76 Sunday. It was Albright's highest round after shooting a 74 and 75 Saturday, respectively.
Senior Victor Monte (Chantilly, Va.) finished tied-39th overall with a five-over-par 77 Sunday. Monte started strong, tying Falkinhoff with the best Bobcat round early Saturday, but couldn't maintain that pace the last two rounds. His second round 79 score didn't figure in the Bobcat scoring as junior Ryan Trocchio's (Norcross, Ga.) second-round 72 did. Trocchio's 72 was the second-best Bobcat second round score, tied with Falkinhoff but both trailing Fox. Trocchio's other non-scoring rounds included an eight-over-par 80 Sunday, and a seven-over-par 79 in the first round.
Sophomore David Sullivan (Woodstock, Ga.) played the course as an individual with good results. Sullivan's scores were good enough for a tied-17th overall finish. Of all the Bobcat golfers, he was the most consistent with three two-over-par 74s for a 222 total. He was the only player in the field to shoot the same score all three rounds of those shooting under an average of 80.
Eight strokes behind the Bobcats was No. 9 Columbus State University (881), followed by the University of Montevallo at 12 strokes behind Georgia College, with an 885. Rounding out the top-five were Erskine College (889) and Clayton State University at 19 strokes back with an 892.
The Bobcats look to take the momentum from this win into the 2014 Peach Belt Conference (PBC) Championship April 18-19 in Callaway Gardens, Ga. The PBC Championship is hosted by Columbus State University.
The Georgia College Department of Athletics, two-time winners of the PBC Commissioner's Cup, sponsors 11 varsity athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level. As a Division II program, Bobcat Athletics prides itself on balancing the life of the student-athlete, evidenced by the teams' multiple appearances in post-season competition as well as documented academic success and community-service involvement. Sign up at @GCBobcats on Twitter and Facebook for up-to-the-minute reports, and visit GCBobcats.PhotoReflect.com to purchase photo prints from home athletic contests.


text:
The basic effect is the standard. Borrow a ring, coin or key and wrap it in a handkerchief and cause it to vanish. You then introduce a 2" square Walnut box that is locked with a hasp and small padlock. Spectator unlocks the box to find their ring inside.
Do you own this product? Write a review.


text:
Student leaders gather at retreat to for intensive development experience
Monday, March 11, 2013
MANHATTAN -- Developing leaders at Kansas State University challenged their skills this month with a retreat at Rock Springs 4-H camp near Junction City.
Wildcat Leadership Challenge was a four-day intensive leadership development experience sponsored by the School of Leadership Studies, Student Governing Association and Payless ShoeSource. The students -- who hail from across the state, the country and around the world -- met in both large and small groups to discuss issues of personal strengths, diversity and inclusion, and adaptive leadership. The students created action plans for exercising leadership through positive social change on the Kansas State University campus and in the community. Students also created focus groups around the areas of student engagement, Greek life, academic advising, diversity, sustainability, and communications and marketing.
Participating students included:
Kimberly Gerstner, junior in hotel and restaurant management, and Austin Scheideman, sophomore in mechanical engineering; both from Colby; Beth Reichenberger, junior in political science, De Soto; Magen Witcher, junior in pre-professional elementary education, Elkhart.
From Greater Kansas City: Morgan Denton, freshman in environmental design, Leawood; Shai Washington, freshman in political science, Lenexa; Austin Bergeron, junior in milling science and management, Nicholas Rohrbaugh, sophomore in management, and John Rosa, sophomore in chemistry, all of Olathe; James Geary, senior in management; and Felicia Walker, sophomore in animal sciences and industry; both from Overland Park; and Alyne Roemerman, sophomore in dietetics, Shawnee.
Kristen Graham, sophomore in pre-psychology, Junction City.
From Manhattan: Samantha Cox, junior in pre-professional elementary education; Corey Kidd, sophomore in arts and sciences-open option; and Pedro Miller, master's student in counseling and student development.
Landon Leiker, sophomore in pre-professional secondary education, Marion; Jared Marcuson, senior in pre-professional secondary education, Oberlin; Drew Ewing, freshman in industrial engineering, Spring Hill; Jodi Roberts, junior in milling science and management, Topeka; John Tyler Seitz, sophomore in life sciences, Winfield; and Nicole Armbrister, junior in animal sciences and industry, Zurich.
From out of state: Kaley Oldani, master's student in civil engineering, Dublin, Calif.; Adrienne Besler, junior in elementary education, Evergreen, Colo.; Sara Joyce, freshman in chemistry, Land O' Lakes, Fla.;Taylor Poindexter, junior in kinesiology, Chicago, Ill.; and Brett Herder, freshman in biology, Lee's Summit, Mo.
From out of country: Qingling "Kelly" Li, junior in food science and industry, and Yuming Li, senior in marketing, both from China; Prakarsh Tiwari, master's student in industrial engineering, India; Belema Iyo, junior in pre-journalism and mass communications, Nigeria; and Gerald Mashange, sophomore in mathematics, Zimbabwe.