text:
The most important promotional event for all participants in furniture industry in the Southeast Europe, the 56th International Fair of Furniture, Equipment and Interior Decoration is a unique opportunity to see at one place all innovations of the interior design, complete production of the local manufacturers, as well as renowned global companies.
Among numerous exhibitors, MERCIS will attend with its own presentation of the latest fabric collections. Visit us between 6th and 11th November 2018 at the Belgrade Fair. Hall 4, Stand: 4041


text:
Total War: Rome II Gameplay Trailer
The Creative Assembly has just released today the first gameplay trailer for Total War: Rome II. The trailer doesn't show how the player will be commanding their massive armies, but it does show off the insane scale of the battles you will be fighting, amazing graphics and gives you a better idea of what siege battles will look like in the game.
From the looks of the trailer alone your computer is going to need to be top-tier quality to run it on max graphics. Let us know what you think about Total War: Rome II in the comment section below and if you think your rig can run this beast.

subset: commoncrawl


text: From the lush spice gardens across Sri Lanka, sweeping down from the misty central hill country to the sun kissed lowlands come a variety of spices such as cinnamon, pepper, coriander, fennel, turmeric and chillies. Incorporating our heritage of traditional methods of farming with modern techniques of harvesting, Sri Lanka is able to produce some of the world's leading aromatics and spices encapsulating the romance of its landscapes and the fire of its history. Today, you can taste the spices that inspired such ardent desires and passions without the troubles of conquest. Enjoy the best the East has to offer, as we bring you the finest blends of spices from Sri Lanka.


text:
Drone-Days 2019: the European drone fair.
Come and meet all the European players in the drone market (resellers, manufacturers, training centers, professional pilots, insurers ...), attend conferences, flight demonstrations, admire photo shooting with drones . You will also be able to discover the new technologies relating to equipment embedded by drones (scanner, camera, ...)
Drone-Days 2019 is a place for exchanges and meetings open to professionals in the drone market, pilots, high-tech enthusiasts ...
As the shooting sector is an important player in the drone market, we collaborate with Photo-Days, the photo-video fair.


text:
By BBC – Uganda is the most physically active nation in the world, according to a recent report by the World Health Organization.
The World Health Organization report on physical activity, which categorized Uganda as one of the most active countries in the world, probably had people like them in mind.
Changing lifestyles
The study, tracking the level of physical activity around the world, found that only 5.5 percent of Ugandans had an insufficient level of activity.
Mozambique, Tanzania, Lesotho and Togo too are also doing quite well.
In comparison, people in Kuwait, American Samoa, Saudi Arabia and Iraq seem to be living highly sedentary lives. About a quarter of the world's population don't get enough exercise. Most inactive nation is Kuwait – 67 percent of adults are not active at all.
The research findings note that, generally, people in low-income countries seem to integrate a sufficient amount of physical activity in their lifestyles, unlike those in wealthier countries.
Poor and walking
The poorer people are, the more likely they are to use modes of transport, or be in an occupation, that involve physical work.
However, the study, an analysis of self-reported national data, doesn't explain why Ugandans are more active than other countries with a similar level of income.
Even in low-income countries, more people are getting into formal employment, spending long hours at the office, buying cars and eating more fast food, meaning Uganda might become less healthy as they become wealthier.
An estimated 70 percent of the population work in agriculture, the study findings ring very true and a hoe is the ultimately weight management machine.
Kampala is not a fitness-friendly city. There are hardly any green parks, most roads have no pavements, and many cars emit the same amount of fumes as a grass hut on fire.
Walking or jogging demands some bravery. If you are lucky to find a walkway, you have to watch out for open manholes, and boda bodas (motorcycle taxis), which will push you off the pavement and top it off with insults.
Motorists will not be shy to drive you into the storm-drain, in which you have to jump over plastic bags that look very suspiciously like "flying toilets".
Still, over the last couple of years, joggers, mostly the urban elite, have increasingly appeared on the streets
Uganda's first cycle lane
On 7 July, President Yoweri Museveni launched the National Day of Physical Activity, which will be marked annually. But it will take more than a presidential gesture to keep Uganda active.
The country may be celebrating the WHO study, but Uganda is rapidly urbanising.
In the next couple of decades, there are likely to be fewer 67-year-olds still fit to till the land, and more people behind the wheel in traffic snarl-ups.
Roy William Mayega of the Makerere School of Public Health did a study in the peri-urban areas of Iganga district, east of the capital, in 2013. He found that Ugandan lifestyles are changing.
"We found that 85 percent of the participants were physically active. We assessed blood sugar and weight as well. The 15 percent who were not sufficiently active were twice as likely to have diabetes and high blood pressure as those who were active," he says.
For now though, most Ugandans are keeping fit without fancy gadgets to count their daily steps and monitor their calorie count. But the country will need a national consciousness and the right infrastructure, to retain its top-shape position.


text:
Just moved from St. Louis, MO to the Cool Springs area for work. I just recently graduated from Logan Chiropractic College and am opening my own practice off of Cool Springs Blvd.
In St. Louis I rode alot of single track mostly by myself simply because I couldn't find enough people to ride with. I currently ride a Redline Monocog 29er and I am curious how the singlespeed will hold up on some of these Tennessee hills. Always looking for a ride and ready to try out some of the trails down here. Shoot me a line if your ever looking for another rider in your group.


text:
day eleven // i wasn't ready to leave la, but ptl i was headed here. the ace hotel + swim club in palm springs.
i feel like this place holds everything that i love in its pretty hands. ace does things with excellence, and i will support them wherever i go.
spent most the day either in my robe by the fire on my porch, or at the pool getting totally burnt.
headed to friends in pasedena for the next night on my trek to santa barbara. love.


text:
KNOW students and their parents keep raising their own - our own - bar of excellence. Mostly by having the willingness to take on the difficult challenge of showing up, speaking the truth, continuing with the process even when it's really hard, and having fun in the midst of all this stretching.
If you think there are things teenagers and parents can't talk about, you haven't visited a KNOW class.


text:
Obituary: Hirsch Bressler
Hirsch Bressler, age 79, Atlanta, died peacefully on Wednesday August 10, 2016.
Hirsch was the son of Frances and Jake Bressler, and is survived by his loving wife of 53 years, Sharon Bressler; daughter and son-in-law, Jennifer and Andreas Schmidt, Berlin, Germany; son and daughter-in-law, Alan and Diane Bressler, Atlanta; grandsons: Aaron Schmidt Bressler and Jake Bressler; sister, Ellen Mills, Atlanta; brother and sister-in-law, Richard and Linda Bressler, Atlanta, and his many loving nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews.
Born and raised in Atlanta, Hirsch graduated from Grady High School, went on to the University of North Carolina, and traveled the world during his service in the US Navy. Respected across the business community for his integrity, Hirsch enjoyed a long and prosperous career in the insurance field and later in real estate. He was committed to his community, serving on the board of Ahavath Achim synagogue, as President of B'nai Brith and as a longtime baseball coach and commissioner at Northside Youth Organization.
He realized his passion for all things outdoors living out his final years in the North Georgia mountains, where he also continued to make a difference in the local Blue Ridge community actively supporting theatre and arts, serving as a regional library board member and as Fannin County's first water commissioner.
Rest in peace beloved son, brother, husband, father, grandfather, uncle and friend.
Sign on line guest book at www.edressler.com. In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made to the Chabad of Georgia Education Fund and or the Alzheimer's Foundation of America.
A graveside service was held Thursday, August 11 at Arlington Memorial Park with Rabbi Yossi New officiating. Arrangements by Dressler's Jewish Funeral Care, Atlanta (770) 451-4999


text:
Colonial Challenge!
If you participated in the "no-electronics" challenge, please blog about it here! How did you feel? What did you do instead? Do you think life is better now, or in the 1700s?
5/2/2013 08:45:09 pm
This week instead of watching tv I played outside alot and spent more time with my family. I felt very anxious because I wanted to watch tv on friday. On wednesday night I played outside until seven fifty pm. After that I was really tired I fell right to sleep but almost did not get up in the morning. That afternoon I went to my brothers baseball game.This week it was really different to force myself not to watch tv until friday but I had more time for other things like playing outside and spending more time with my family.
5/4/2013 03:43:35 am
Very detailed kayla! I liked your response:)
5/2/2013 09:32:48 pm
This week I did not play video games or watch tv. Instead of that I played basketball out side. I also had baseball games and baseball practices. And that is what I did this week.
5/2/2013 09:40:55 pm
I think it was better now there is electronics now and there was no Xbox's,Wii or tv. I would not like the 1700's.
5/4/2013 03:51:48 am
Having no electronics was very challenging for me. I felt my mom and I were very close. Instead of watching TV, went to my brothers baseball game. I also did gymnastics with kept me occupied. I think life the 1700s teaches kids how to keep themselves occupied and disciplined. In these days kids don't spend enough time with family or play outside. They just play on electronics.
5/4/2013 03:54:49 am
Sorry, spell checks
5/4/2013 05:30:22 am
Having know electronics was hard because my little sister did not even do the challenge for a secound the as soon as we got home my little sister started watching TV and playing on my dads phone so I wanted to watch TV too. But I didn't. I think I did a lot more reading and got play outside a lot more too. I also think I got to use my imagination a lot more too.
Mrs. Polansky
5/6/2013 02:04:21 am
These entries are all WONDERFUL! Great job to those who participated. I'm sure it was challenging, but I see that many of you found other ways (and maybe better ways!) to entertain yourselves. Good for you! And thank you for participating! :)
Leave a Reply.
Write something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview.
June 2013


text:
The weeks are whizzing by so quickly — I've still not really caught up after holiday and it's Home Etc day yet again!!
HomeEtc Favourites
We had a lovely lot of blogs linking in to last week's Home Etc — the little blog linky for home and garden obsessed folk — hosted by me and my good friend Jess.
Favourites came from Kara who writes at Innocent Charms Chats. She shared a couple of corners of her brother's lovely home.
Particular notes of interest for me was the gorgeous open shelving in the kitchen and also the fact that the DVDs were colour coded.
That always gets my seal of approval ;)
Secondly, Jess and I were both totally taken with Steph's (Life At 139a) GORGEOUS new chairs.
We've seen similar chairs on Home Etc before (I'm thinking Elfa's gorgeous mid-century inspired kitchen post back in June on Home Etc 55) but these are the real deal.
Proper Eames chairs, by Vitra. Absolutely gorgeous.
Well done to both of you! You're both now in the running to win next month's voucher from our lovely sponsor, HomeSense.
The winner will be announced next week. Thanks so much everyone, for linking in!
All we ask is that you follow these 3 little rules:
1) Please include our lovely #HomeEtc badge at the bottom of your post.
2) You may link up to two posts — new or old (sometimes the old posts are forgotten about, so please dust them down and show them off; we'd love to read them!) — but no more than two posts each week please.
3) Please be kind enough to comment on your HOSTS' POSTS which will always be the first two entries in the link up — plus a couple of others. Blog hops only work if you're as generous with your comments as you are at sharing your posts.
Be sure to tweet —@twinklediaries or @soot1978 — with the url to your post, using the hashtag #HomeEtc and Jess or I will always retweet (sometimes both of us if you're lucky)! ;)
Finally, Jess and I will pick one favourite post each week then at the end of the month we'll choose an overall winner. This lucky blogger will receive a £20 voucher from our fabulous sponsor!
Psst… as well as HomeSense the voucher can also be spent in TK Maxx!
Thanks so much for linking up all your lovely posts. We look forward to reading more of the same this week! The linky portal is open until midday on Friday.
#HomeEtc the hashtag
Finally, Jess and I are delighted to see so many of you lovelies using the #HomeEtc hashtag on Instagram!
If you are on Instagram and post anything home, interiors, DIY, craft & garden related please do use the #HomeEtc hashtag. I've found some really fab IG feeds to follow over the last few weeks, through folk tagging us in! :)
Lots of love,
Caro & Jess x


text:
Samba | File Names | Umlaut Characters with strange encodings
Problem: You have a lot of files with strange encoded names like: Your filesystem, transfered from older samba servers, contains files with windows-1252 encoded characters ibn their names, who won't be displayed by samba. Solution: Use the magic convmv tool: # convmv –notest -r -f windows-1252 -t utf-8 /path/to/your/data Thank you, Bjoern JACKE! Advertisements


text: Probably about 2 years ago I went for a walk down the local Yarra river and stumbled over a branch. I literally picked it up to throw it away from the walking path but ended up carrying it all the way home because it was such a perfect branch! It has been hanging over our dining table ever since and it has seen lots of different decorations. It has had christmas ornaments, easter feathers, candle lights and paper tassels. Right now it has cute cotton pom poms hanging on it but I haven't taken a picture just yet. So here is some with the homemade tassels that I made with a hand powered paper shredder. A branch over a table is such an easy and decorative way to make every day dining a bit more special. xo Camilla


text:
Nanaimo Coding Club 2019
Winter 2019 | Wednesdays 5:30-7:30 pm at Vancouver Island University
Nanaimo Coding Club
We are please to announce a new season of Coding Club held in Nanaimo at VIU in collaboration with the Department of Computing Science.
Wednesdays | 6:000-8:00 pm | 6 weeks
January 23, 30
February 6, 13, 27 (no class Feb 20)
March 6
For students in grade 5, 6, 7
Thanks to Actua and their supporters we are able to provide this club for $60.
Each week students will learn a new computer science concept. Starting with an unplugged activity, then followed by a an exploration using micro:bits. Projects will include: creating a digital rock paper scissor game with flashing LEDs; building a soccer goal and programming a digital score counter; and much more! Delivered by VIU Computer Science Students.
Vancouver Island University, Nanaimo BC
Building 356, Room 340
Parking Lot N
Step 1: Set up an account at https://svreg.engr.uvic.ca/login/
Step 2: Choose program from Register Tab
Step 3: Pay by credit card or cheque. Cheques must be received within 5 working days.
Club Info Package
All the information you need including map, parking pass, and sign-in/out procedure.


text:
Putty is one of the four primary resources of Backyard Monsters. It's harvested from Putty Squishers.
- Upgrading, building, and fortifying of some structures.
- Unlocking, upgrading and researching monsters and their abilites.
- Building an Outpost.
- Enraging Monsters with a level 3 or above Catapult.
- Relocating your main yard.
- Transferring monsters into your Monster Bunkers.
Other Information
- The General Store can provide you more Putty at a certain shiny cost. The cost depends on the amount of resources refilled.
- Sulfur is the Putty of Inferno.
- Korath likes putty.
- The Putty and the Goo resembles the much
Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.


text:
Refine your search
Search availability for The Old School
A beautiful Victorian school in a peaceful, rural setting on Glyndwrs Way. Large and welcoming ensuite rooms. The lounge is exclusively for guests and enjoy views of the large garden and unspoilt countryside beyond. It also has a welcoming log burner in guest lounge for cooler evenings and winter days. We offer hearty breakfasts, home-made cakes and home cooked evening meals by prior arrangement and a very warm welcome. An ideal place to relax, unwind and be spoilt.
Property Adjacent to Glyndwr's Way - ideal walking country. Large enclosed garden ideal for children Children welcome from any age.
Leave Welshpool on the A490 North for Llanfyllin. Take left turn onto B4392 sign posted Llanfair caereinion and Maesmawr. Old school 2 1/2 miles on left.
Bus: D76 Tanat Valley Welshpool and Llanfyllin. Stop: At Guilsfield-No through bus route
- Children welcome
- Radio
- Television
- Tea/coffee making in bedrooms
- Unlicensed
- Packed lunches provided
- Special diets available
- Laundry/valet service
- Ironing facilities
- Snacks/afternoon tea
- Private parking
- Garden
- Totally non-smoking
- Dogs/pets NOT accepted
- Building of historical interest
- Central heating
- Electric shaver points
- Golf available (onsite or nearby)
- Visa/Mastercard/Switch accepted
- Vegetarian diet available
- WiFi or internet access
- Single sex groups welcomed
- Evening meals
- Hairdryer
- High chairs available
- Cots available
- Real log/coal fires
Property Adjacent to Glyndwr's Way - ideal walking country. Large enclosed garden ideal for children Children welcome from any age.
Self-Assessed Accessibility Details
- Surface of the car park and pathway leading to entrance is
- Gravel
- Route from the parking area to the entrance:
- Has steps and no ramp
Public Areas
- Level access (no steps/thresholds) or access by ramp or lift to:
- Entrance to reception
- One or more bedrooms
- Lounge
- Good contrast between the floor and wall
- Guest information available in large print (14pt and over)
- Bedroom furniture can be re-arranged if requested by guest
- Bedroom with non-allergenic bedding available
- Bedroom without fitted carpets available
- Bathrooms available with:
- Separate shower unit
- Steps to the main entrance
- 4Number of steps to entrance
- Entrance well lit
- Bell at main entrance
- Level access (no steps/thresholds) or access by ramp or lift
- Good contrast between the floor and walls
- Menus available in large print (14pt and over)
- Meals for guests with special dietary requirements can be provided:
- Sugar free (diabetic)
- Gluten free (coeliac)
- Lactose free (dairy free)
- Additive free
- Organic
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Proprietors/staff available 24-hours
Large car park with surface of large loose gravel. Gentle slope of 15 yards to two steps. Further 5 yards on level surface of same gravel to two steps into main enterance/reception. Entrance has wide double doors fully opening. Once inside all guest areas are on ground floor and level including bathrooms. Reception very well lit and guest info in rooms in 16 point print


text:
Lindsay Amanda
Lindsay Amanda, born and raised on the East Coast, was gifted with her talent from her Grandfather. " I will never forget the first time I saw him in the Darkroom in Rye.. I've never seen anything like it, and It was magical. I saw a photogram sink into developer for the first time, and since then...I've been hooked. I started digital. I literally did my time, clocked in, clocked out. I surrendered to Photoshop." Since recently, her love for photography has blossomed into a beautiful relationship.
"it's my addiction, and I love nothing more than sharing these places with people. They're not just pictures, I have made a place for them." - Lindsay Amanda.
for contact
please e-mail
- Photography


text:
Great Eastern is your neighbourhood and your opinions are important in helping shape its future. Your views help us to understand what parts of your new home work well for you and your family and which could be improved. This will inform future regeneration and development of the borough.
Please take a moment to complete this short survey to help us ensure we provide residents with the best possible homes, both now and in the future.


text:
- My Video List -
Sean "Puffy" Combs aka Diddy on Wendy Williams/
The reason I put this here is because I can tell that Diddy is in a reallllly good place in his heart right now. It sounded as though he's been through a soul-searching journey as well. In the past, I wasn't able to "connect" with him on that level. I laugh because it's as if I know him personally... not yet I don't. But...just watch the video you'll understand haha...
Jeff Weiner (CEO of LinkedIn) Interview/
Oprah interviews the Jeff Weiner (CEO of LinkedIn) to discuss compassionate leadership. However, the interview is soooo much more than that. ::hands up emoji:: ;-)


text:
Beautiful town home with a 2 car garage in Morrisville ready to move in! hardwoods all main level. Large open living room with entrance to formal dining. kitchen with ample storage and granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances. Large master w/ trey ceiling & bath with dual vanity, huge walk in shower, walk in closet. laundry upstairs. Patio space with outdoor storage. New paint and new carpet. comes with Pre-wired BOSE home theater system, ** Verify schools with wake county
Seller Representative Keller Williams Realty Cary
Seller Representative Keller Williams Realty Cary
Listings provided courtesy of Triangle MLS, Inc. of NC, Internet Data Exchange Database. Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. © 2019 Triangle MLS, Inc. of North Carolina. Data last updated .


text:
The ballad of Evelyn Butterhoff
Above: Piano woman: Evelyn Butterhoff first played with Frank Skalski and his Silver Eagle Orchestra at the Polish Home Club in Fells Point.
The woman behind the piano was wild, gifted and fearless.
Music was in Evelyn Butterhoff and it had to come out, whether in gin mills, Holy Roller churches or events at which someone had already been hired to play the piano.
"At my 40th birthday party on a [boat] in the harbor, Mom asks if she can play a song or two. She's the mother of the birthday girl, so what's the guy going to say?" laughed her daughter, Mary Carol Ambrose of Parkville.
"She sits down at this electric pi-annah and RIPPED it up! The band didn't know she could play. Everybody's screaming for more, and the regular keyboard player didn't want to follow her."
Evelyn Butterhoff – who gave virtually all of her 86 years to music – died last month at the Hamilton Center nursing home on Harford Rd. from complications of dementia and a stroke suffered in 2005.
Evelyn could do more with one hand on a set of 88s than many musicians can do with two. But that never translated into fame or fortune.
"That girl … plays for a few lousy dollars [in saloons]," lamented the pianist's mother – Agnes Beck – not long before her own death in 1990. "It breaks my heart to see these other people with no talent who have two or three homes and cars."
Eveyln's last performance was more an act of bravery than entertainment.
"Mom's sister [Dorothy] was visiting not long before she died and took her downstairs to see if she could play the piano," said Ambrose. "My mother played 'Auld Lang Syne' and 'Goodnight Sweetheart' with her one good hand."
Live from East Baltimore
The former Evelyn Anna Beck was born at the height of the Jazz Age to an East Baltimore factory worker named John Charles Beck and his wife, Agnes Smrha.
The couple belonged to St. Wenceslaus Roman Catholic Church in the days when the parish was strictly Bohemian and Czech. It is where Eveyln and her three siblings were baptized.
The Beck family lived at 443 North Curley St., just around the corner from Butterhoff's Grocery where Evelyn's future husband was born.
"Mom's father was a natural musician," said Ambrose. "He played piano, violin, drums and mandolin. Never took lessons."
Evelyn attended St. Elizabeth of Hungary parochial school adjacent to Patterson Park and began 50 cents an hour piano lessons with a neighborhood woman her mother described as an "old maid."
At age 12, Evelyn began studying with Jack Rohr at the Hammann Music Co. in the 200 block of North Liberty St. downtown. Those lessons cost $2 each.
"Jack really socked it to me," said Evelyn in a 1986 interview, recalling Rohr as the biggest influence on her playing, particularly in regard to keeping time. "He taught me sonatas, Beethoven, how to change keys, improvise and fake it."
First Professional Gig at 17
In 1940, Evelyn graduated from St. Elizabeth's business school. Her first professional job came when she was 17, a gig with Frank Skalski and his Silver Eagle Orchestra at the Polish Home Club on South Broadway in Fells Point.
In those pre-Elvis Presley days – when pianos were as common in bars as shuffleboard tables – she played a wide range of Baltimore taverns, restaurants and social clubs, many of them long-gone.
And kept at it deep into the dark epochs of disco, grunge and gangster rap.
A quick sampling of the houses rocked by Evelyn Butterhoff includes Meushaw's Restaurant on Frederick Rd., the old Finnish Hall in what is now Greektown, various Democratic clubs and Odd Fellows halls, the fabled Emerson Hotel downtown, dance halls at Moose and Elks clubs, and nightclubs from Essex to Pasadena.
"Mom had to deal with crappy pianos in bars and hated it," said Ambrose. "She played many a crappy piano."
Toward the end of her career, Evelyn's regular gigs were at Rickter's on Belair Rd. near Herring Run Park, a job behind the organ at Winston Ave. Baptist Church on East 39th St., and the Glenmore Tavern on Harford Rd.
"I never hired her," said Cal Bitner, who owned the Glenmore at the time. "She'd just come in and play the piano."
A pass of the hat might be enough for Evelyn to get a sandwich and cab fare home with a few nickels left over.
All-Girl Band
In 1950, Evelyn joined the Queens of Rhythm, an all-female band that played in the mid-Atlantic area. A surviving band member – Viola Stelmack of Essex, still playing music – was one of the mourners at Evelyn's funeral, a Mass of Christian burial held at St. Pius X church in Towson.
A year or so before joining the "Queens," Evelyn had married John Frederick Butterhoff, Jr. Family legend holds that John, a drummer who graduated from Mt. St. Joseph High School, was smitten by Evelyn's talent as well as her beauty.
The attraction set in motion a conflict – the life of a musician versus the more mundane obligations of a wife and mother – that dogged the couple to the end of their days.
"Mom had no interest in domestic things," said Ambrose, noting that her mother was a loving parent whose interests lay outside the home. "She absolutely did not want to be a homemaker. She wanted to play music."
Ambrose said that when she turned 18 in 1968 her mother "ran away from home," leaving Mr. Butterhoff with her and her brothers. "We didn't even know where she was at first," she said.
Mr. Butterhoff died in 2004 and was buried at the Garrison Forest Veterans Cemetery in Owings Mills. Although he hadn't lived with his wife for the last 40 years of his life, Ambrose put Evelyn right next to him.
"In life they were too hard-headed to sit down and have a sane conversation, so now that they can't talk anymore, I put them in the ground together," she laughed.
Whoop, Holler and a Smack
I met Evelyn Butterhoff in the mid-1980s when I was living on Kentucky Ave. in Mayfield and she regularly played at Rickter's (now Slim's Ace of Club) nearby.
I was thrilled by her Keith Moon approach to the piano – she would whoop and holler and smack a hanging plant while playing.
Legend holds that Rickter's installed a steel plate under the piano because she had stomped a hole in the floor.
A lifelong Roman Catholic and always a woman of faith – sanctity and the rollicking fun of a good-timer living side-by-side in the same heart – Evelyn attended services with a brand of Catholicism known as the "charismatics."
Her faith was tested – and faltered, according to her daughter – when she began encountering health problems.
"Mom had breast cancer and a mastectomy in 1994 and she was never the same after that," said Ambrose. "It shook her faith. And after the chemo she was less lively. Never the same."
Evelyn Butterhoff is survived by sons, John J. Butterhoff of North Charles St. and Robert W. Butterhoff – a drummer in a 1970s local band called "Fresh" – who lives in Manchester.
Other survivors include her sisters, Dorothy Beck Hutchins, wife of the retired Sunpapers photographer Paul Hutchins, and sister Marie Kohl, as well as three grandsons.
Evelyn also leaves behind her piano, an upright made by the Meissner Co. of Milwaukee. She bought it used on Joppa Rd. in 1975 for $250 and paid it off by installments.
The piano – faithfully tuned over the years by Evelyn's cousin, Bernard Hauser – is "safe and sound," according to Ambrose, in the home of good friends in Fork, Md.


text:
I'm plagued by thoughts on sleepiness. With some shame, I reluctantly admit I can be a sleepy boy. Pop open a bottle of cheap Cabernet Sauvignon, turn the heat on, sit me down on a comfy couch and I am most easily seduced by sweet, sexy slumber. I should be grateful for my ability to glide somewhat gracefully to rest. However, I have effortlessly fallen asleep in many bizarre and laughable, wonderful and compromising situations, abducted from waking consciousness.
The weather in London seems just cold enough to keep me awake. We've been very fortunate with the English winter weather we've had thus far. Today was a beautiful and balmy 52 degrees, far from the polar vortex frigidity of Boston. It's as if the season, like many cultural curiosities I'm tickled to discover, is defined by different terms across the pond.
My day began with a walk through Hyde Park, located a remarkable ten minutes from the Sorbonne House dorms. Sans morning cup of coffee, I was immediately awoken, eyes wide open, by the breathtaking beauty of every little thing. There is a graceful solemnity about this old city. I realize winter in London feels more to me like perpetual fall, its primary colors greyblustery skies and green verdant earth accented by supportive shades of rich brick red and dignified mustard yellow. Populating the landscape are all sorts of well-composed Britons dressed in Barbour raincoats with corduroy collars, always prepared for the sun to, once again, retreat behind a thick of clouds and give way to a steady sheet of rain-showers.
At the onset of last summer, I was unemployed for quite some time. Every day, I'd wake up—perhaps hungover, definitely sad—and I'd begin to synthesize a day out of nothing. I had several friends working at Boston Harbor Cruises, and I would often plan to meet my best friend Ben when his shift giving tours was over. Boston Harbor lies opposite Boston University and the surrounding student-filled suburbs, so now I had a trek to exhaust some of my surplus time. I'd walk something like four miles from one side of Boston to the other—often in gross, sticky summer heat—cutting through the Boston Common and Boston Public Garden at the heart of town. I'd stop, sit, and people watch to a soundtrack of Vampire Weekend. Occasionally I'd halfheartedly scribble in my journal some ideas I had for plays I had convinced myself I was writing.
It was a most indulgent time in my little life, and it revealed to me a self-truth I hold very dear: I fall in love in parks, for the unbridled vitality of such a place. Exhilarated by the commingled nature of man, flora, and fauna, I am transfixed and transported into a silly state of being that well suits my "romantic" self-identification. I feel the pressure of time lighten its burden on me. I spoil myself on thought and venture down fantastical rabbit holes of reason that I rarely feel brave or inspired enough to even approach under other, less luxurious circumstances.
Perhaps this predilection is the most like Walt Whitman I will ever be.
James, one of my remarkable acting tutors at LAMDA, recently encouraged us to really take our time as we worked on our speeches. "We should not rush our speeches and we should not rush our lives. Be gentle. Take—your—time," he persisted. This advice lodged itself in my consciousness and found great company in encouragement once given to me by my sorely missed BU professor Christine: "connect to your sense of plenty of time."
As last semester in Boston came to an end, I found myself naturally battling assorted stresses and anxieties. During a regular weekday, I hadn't the time between classes, deadlines, or rehearsals to channel my unemployed summer zen in the Boston Common, so I found a retreat in a beautiful bit of green in nearby Brookline called Amory Park. Romance would find me on the boardwalk over Hall's Pond. The crisp air would catch me, the quiet would subdue me, and I would embrace the certain sense of relief that followed. I would connect to my sense of plenty of time.
I'm humbled to know I can trust the outside world to give me such a momentary experience of transcendence. James, the aforementioned LAMDA tutor, warns against 'experience,' saying it's "for those who want to suffer." Perhaps I do not yet know enough experience to agree or disagree, but regardless, I desire the kind of presence I find when I walk through a beautiful park.
Today, in Hyde Park, London felt like home for the first time. It felt like it was mine for the first time. I carry with me many preoccupations that often tense my shoulders and upset my stomach, but I find release and religion in a park's flourishing of life.
Out on the other side of Hyde Park, I stand at a very confusing intersection to Marble Arch and the Oxford Circus shopping district. I trust I won't get hit by a big red double decker bus or a black cab, and I see my reflection flash in their windows as they rush past. I pretend to be stately, self-possessed, and stiff-upper-lipped in my black, TJ Maxx-bought peacoat and plaid scarf. But I know, deep down, I'm just a sleepy boy trying to stay awake long enough to fall in love. And I'm so obviously American.


text:
Estimated dispatch within 1 working day.
Wahl have developed an animal ear cleaner that is gentle but effective. The solution can be applied to the ear then wiped away, taking the dirt and wax with it.
Wahl Easy Ear Cleaner is a free flowing cleansing fluid, based on natural ingredients, which contains no harmful detergents or cleansers.
The perfectly balanced formula effectively removes dust, dirt and ear wax with little or no rubbing.
Active ingredients include Aloe Vera Gel and Menthol to soothe the ear and cool irritation, plus Camphor to assist in reducing inflammation and Eucalyptus to discourage ear mites and fleas.
Suitable for use on most animal ears, including dogs, cats, horses, cattle, goats, llama, alpaca, rabbits and ferrets, Easy Ear Cleaner effectively eliminates grease and wax and, used regularly, can reduce and control ear odour.
Gentle cleansing and soothing agents act without any drying effect and can assist in reducing tenderness and non-specific irritation and infections. Easy Ear is a natural, non-foam, cleaning and therapeutic treatment that may be used as often as necessary.
Wahl Easy Ear Cleaner is a free flowing cleansing fluid, based on natural ingredients, which contains no harmful detergents or cleansers. The Perfectly balanced formula effectively removes dust, dirt and ear wax with little or no rubbing.
All prices include VAT where applicable.
Under almost all products on our website is an Estimated dispatch time, check this for a delivery prediction specific to the item you are looking to purchase. These badges are updated live based on the stock levels we have and also those of our suppliers - so are usually very accurate, but cannot be guaranteed. In more general terms, we aim to dispatch all orders within 1 working day of receiving payment (and a prescription if required). If we cannot do so within 3 working days we will contact you by email.
For UK delivery, we charge the following:
|Order Total
|Under 2kg
|Under 2kg
|Under 2kg
Prices quoted are for delivery to all parts of mainland UK except certain Scottish postcodes (where the price is higher for items sent by courier. Delivery of food abroad (including Channel Islands, N. Ireland and other islands around the UK) is charged at a higher price and free delivery is not available. Temperature controlled products, such as Insulin, are also not always subject to the standard and/or free delivery options.
For full information on our delivery charges, including prices on heavy deliveries to Scotland and abroad, see our delivery information page.
We can deliver most items to all around the world, but prices do vary. The majority of light weight orders (less than 1.5kg) can be delivered for a flat rate of £10. For an accurate estimate of the delivery charge, please put the items you require in your basket and use the "Estimate Delivery" system on the shopping basket page (you only need to enter your country and postal/zip code) for a quick quote. For deliveries to the USA you may need to go to the checkout page and enter your full address to get a quote (as some services need your state in order to quote too). For more information on international deliveries, please see our delivery information page.
Due to restrictions aerosols can't be sent by Royal Mail. We appreciate your understanding.
Some products, such as insulin and frozen food, need to be delivered in insulated packaging to prevent them from getting too warm (or too cold) during transit from us to you. Purchasing any of these items in your order will result in a £1.99 charge being added to the total to cover the high cost of the insulated packaging materials. You only pay the £1.99 once per order, regardless of how many temperature controlled items you purchase in that order.
Please call us as soon as possible if you need to amend or cancel an order on 01582 842096. If your order has been processed for dispatch we will be unable to cancel or amend the order. You will however be able to return your product for a full refund*.
To return an item, you must contact us by phone or email to arrange this BEFORE posting any product back to us. We will explain the process at this stage for you.
*For full details on returns, see our terms and conditions page.
Below are some recent questions we've received regarding Wahl Easy Ear Cleaner, including answers from our team.
Please can you help I have a black Labrador who has had issues with her ears from day one, they get really inflamed and she's always shaking her head etc, I've had her to vets everytime but her ear is perfectly clear inside no infections no mites nothing, she also had a haemotoma that got drained and then operated on so now it's just a case of trying to keep her ears as clean and not get inflamed on the outside, but she ain't daft and hates you saying even the word ears as she knows she's going to get them cleaned, I've bought this product but not sure it can be put into the ear canal and massaged as with other cleansers, I think sometimes other cleansers are to harsh and cause her ear to be nipping cause it's inflamed. Your input to this problem would be very much appreciated thanks.
Have you tried an exclusion diet for this problem? Many dogs with this sort of history have a dietary allergy and so avoiding the possible triggers in her food can make a huge difference. I suggest talking to your vet about this, but I would try a specific allergen-free diet (such as Purina HA) for at least 6 weeks and see if your dogs ears are better. There is quite a good chance that this will be a big help, possibly a complete cure. You need to give the HA and nothing else at all, other than water. If it works, you then need to stay on this (or a similar diet) for ever.
The Wahl Ear Cleaner is fine to use as required. It will help to keep infections at bay, but will not cure an underlying problem.It is intended to be used inside the ear canal and should be safe to be applied here.


text:
Many homeowners in Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Fujian provinces have stopped paying their mortgages and abandoned their new homes amid plunging property prices, the 21st Century Business Herald reported on Thursday.
Data from E-house China's R&D institute showed that the average selling price of new homes declined 0.8 percent in the first half from a year ago. But in Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang province, the price in the three months to June plunged 12.2 percent year or year to 15,389 yuan (US$2,500) per square meter.
Cases of homeowners abandoning their mortgage payments are not widespread, the report said, but regulators have warned of a potential crisis.
In May, Shang Fulin, chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, told lenders to be very much concerned about credit risks in third- and fourth-tier cities as well as small and medium-sized developers as cases of mortgage abandonment have been seen in some regions.
An unnamed source in a commercial bank in Hangzhou said such cases are rare, although many homebuyers are complaining about the falling property prices.
Some developers were forced to give some compensation to clients who bought at peak prices, such as a free parking lot or cash for decorating their homes, the report said.
– Contact us at [email protected]


text:
We use cookies for statistical analysis, for improving user-friendliness and usability of our website, and for personalizing content and ads. By visiting our website, you consent to our and third party use of cookies as described in our Cookie Policy.
Imported from FLSmidth
ROTAX-2® Kiln
The ROTAX-2® kiln is the culmination of over 100 years of experience designing and building kilns. As reliable as it is cost-effective, it's second to none. View the animation showing our two-support rotary kiln system.
Read more about the ROTAX-2 Kiln here: http://www.flsmidth.com/en-US/Products/Product+Index/All+Products/Cement+Burning/ROTAX-2+Kiln/ROTAX-2+Kiln


text:
Ivybridge is set to get its own fully fledged cinema this summer after months of fundraising.
The Watermark venue will be upgraded so that the facility operates like a regular cinema, showing films when they are released.
It will also now cater for audience members with hearing or sight problems, enabling them to enjoy films alongside the rest of the audience, through a new assisted listening and audio description system.
The Watermark, has always showed films, but they were often screened months after release, whereas the upgrade will mean that they can show films on the day of release as well as bringing a much wider selection to the venue.
These new changes have been funded by the residents of Ivybridge through a crowdfunding campaign and South Hams District Council, through their community project reinvestment scheme.
Local family business Ivor Jones and Co Ltd also sponsored the project as well as the Crowdfunder and local councillors Mike Saltern, Karen Pringle and Kathy Cuthbert added to the pot from their Sustainable Community Locality Funds.
Cllr Roger Croad was also able to support the project through the Devon County Council 'invest in Devon' fund.
Along with many other cash donations and the balance being funded by Ivybridge Town Council, the project can now begin and the new cinema will be up and running later in the summer.
Jonathan Parsons, Business Manager for the Town Council said: "We are really pleased to be bringing a much requested facility to Ivybridge.
"Our research and the support from the community has cemented our belief that this will be a much used service, particularly by younger people under 30, as our research showed nearly all that responded would start using the cinema, or use it more, if we were able to show more recent blockbuster releases.
"We are also pleased to be able to improve the accessibility of the system for all."
More information about The Watermark can be found on their website, here.
Download the Plymouth Live app
We have launched our very own app for Android and Apple devices which can be tailored to deliver the news and sport that you're interested in.
It means you can get the news which matters to you faster than ever before.
Discover breaking news online from the area including the latest on Argyle, sport, business, news where you live, weather and what's on.
Just one quick download and you can read our content on the move without being online.
Find out more about the app here.


text:
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- Expedia topped financial targets, announced a stock split and approved a repurchase plan, but shares still fell in busy after-hours action Wednesday.
Agilent was another evening victim as shares plunged after the test equipment maker issued an earnings warning.
The Nasdaq-100 After Hours Indicator, which tracks the evening action of the index's leading technology stocks, rose nominally.
Earlier, stocks lost their grip on green territory as the Nasdaq Composite finished down 5 points at 1,301 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 28 points to close at 7,985. See Market Snapshot.
Expedia travels south
Shares of Expedia EXPE, -2.49% dropped nearly 2 percent after the online travel agent posted a fourth-quarter profit, excluding charges, of $31 million, or 48 cents a share, well above the 41-cent average estimate of analysts polled by Multex.
Expedia also authorized a $200 million stock repurchase and approved a 2-for-1 stock split.
President, CEO and founder Richard Barton announced his resignation as of March 31. North America President Erik Blachford will succeed Barton. See full story.
Cendant, American Eagle report
Shares of Cendant CD, +0.00% nudged higher on very light volume after the travel and real estate services firm turned a fourth-quarter profit and met analyst estimates.
In other earnings news, American Eagle Outfitters AEOS reported that same-stores sales rose more than 3 percent and total sales for month jumped almost 15 percent. The company also backed Wall Street's fourth-quarter earnings estimates. Shares gained more than 2 percent.
Late spotlight
Cisco Systems CSCO, -3.26%, basically unchanged, was runner-up to Expedia in terms of after-hours volume. The networking giant reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings but said sales for the current quarter were likely to be flat to down 3 percent. See full story.
One of the evening's hardest hit issues, Agilent A, -3.05% warned its first quarter results will come up shy of prior estimates as customers defer "big ticket capital expenditures." The stock fell more than 5 percent on sparse volume. See full story.
In the chip sector, Intel INTC, -3.89% and equipment maker Applied Materials AMAT, -4.06% rounded out the most actives, both basically holding the flatline


text:
Turkish delight: The revival of Henry Onyekuru
How fitting that it was Henry Onyekuru who headed home the winning goal for Galatsaray against rivals Basaksehir, to win the Turkish Cup and claim a domestic double on the weekend.
It was a satisfying conclusion not only to a remarkable game -- which saw the Super Eagles forward denied what seemed an excellent goal on a marginal offside call -- but also to a season that was, for all intents and purposes, a comeback campaign for the young striker.
He is not the biggest of forwards, but Onyekuru's...


text:
Debt Consolidation: Doaktown 💰 offers the best Doaktown NB debt consolidation services that are available to anyone in New Brunswick. If you are worried about the impact of consolidating your Doaktown New Brunswick debt you may be curious what impact that will have on your Doaktown credit score. In particular, if you go through a credit relief loans program, or DMP, your New Brunswick credit rating is more likely to go up while your Doaktown NB debt amounts will shrink much faster. You can also consider a Doaktown NB consolidation loans service, which offers a secured credit relief, to improve your credit in the long term, but this option come with risks, talk to an consolidating loans advisor for debt consolidation: Doaktown programs first.
Consolidate Debt Doaktown NB - Apply Here!
The first thing to think about when deciding to go through a Doaktown debt relief loans program is deciding what New Brunswick credit card relief agency you want to go through. If you go through an unreputable Doaktown New Brunswick debt consolidation source you will likely damage your credit, rather than helping it. While you may be a person who wants to give credit settlement a chance to prove themselves, this is not a wise approach. We offer you absolutely free debt relief Doaktown NB advice, quotes & debt consolidation options.
In many extreeme cases, if an individual residing in Doaktown is deeply in debt, whether through New Brunswick department store credit cards, Doaktown unsecure fast loan, mortgages or even other types of hard earned dollar owed to Doaktown NB lenders, relief loans services may be the only way to avoid bankruptcy. This is especially true for those in Doaktown with high interest and extreeme high monthly payment Doaktown debt settlement bills. In fact, Doaktown credit consolidation services can pool together all of your Doaktown debts under one lump credit card relief loans program with one full balance, allowing for greatly reduced rates of interest, zero in many cases, much lower monthly installments and alternative comfortable and manageable consolidation loans repayment period lengths. However, not all Doaktown consolidating loans services can help or are affordable because some require collateral to get Doaktown NB debt consolidation loans and in some cases, bad credit in Doaktown can hamper the ability to get lower rates of interest. Contact us today for the best Doaktown credit settlement solutions. Absolutely free, no obligation credit consolidation quotes from Doaktown bill professionals.
Local Doaktown Resources
New Brunswick Locations
Norton Hampstead Bouctouche Millville Rothesay Salisbury Upper Blackville Dorchester Plaster Rock Upper Woodstock Allardville Baker Brook Meductic Campbellton Bathurst Richibucto Riverside-Albert
Canadian Locations


text:
My Fav Apps Of The Moment
Thanks to smartphones and tablets, tasks have become a lot easier. You need a food delivery? No problem. There's an app for that! On-demand dry-cleaning? Yep. Another app for that. The list goes on and on! With so many different options out there (and new ones popping up daily) it's hard to know which ones work or what's offered.
I'm kind of an app hoarder. If I hear of a new app, I immediately download it just to try it out. While this may be bad for my phone data, it sure makes me an app expert. I've realized it all comes down to which types suit your personality and lifestyle.
For me, it's all about what makes me feel more productive and organized (aka what helps me get shit done!) Convenience is key when it comes to my apps. Here are my top finds with some serious benefits:
Okay, we've all been here. We go to the store, get all the ingredients on our list, start cooking, and THEN realize we forget something major. Well, my friends, that's where Postmates is a lifesaver. The app is a messenger on-demand delivery service at your fingertips in most major cities. I'm serious, people. Anything! As a momma of two, this comes in handy all too often.
The Glam App
I've mentioned this app before but I'm so OB-SESSED that I have to include it again. This beauty-on-demand service, (created by my makeup artist, Joey Maalouf along with actress and fashion blogger, Cara Santana) delivers beauty experts to your front door, office, or photo shoot in a matter of minutes. Whether you need a blow dry, makeup application, manicure…The Glam App has you covered.
This service is the epitome of convenience. This on-demand service allows you to outsource your laundry and dry cleaning…on your schedule! All you have to do is go to the app, select a 30-minute window where your clothes will be picked up, and they will arrive back within 24-36 hours! It's basically the Uber (another great app!) for clothing, in my opinion. The rates are reasonable too! $1.60 per pound of laundry, $6 per dry-clean and delivery is free with a $20 minimum.
Baby Connect
SUPERMOMMA ALERT! Being away from your baby if necessary during the first year is especially hard. This app is everything when it comes to tracking daily information about your baby's accomplishments and activities even when you're not there. Your baby's caretaker or nanny can effectively and easily communicate with you through the app! My baby nurse, Grace Leverenz, turned me onto it. I have been using this everyday since my Scarlett was born! I can track everything from feeding, diapers, sleep, mood, activities, and photos all from the app even when I need to be away for work. It's completely changed my life.
Class Pass
One of the tough parts about traveling is making sure you don't fall out of your fitness routine. Personally, I love fitness classes. They are interactive, never boring, and they push me to that next level. Class Pass is an app that allows you to go to hundreds of classes in all different cities with just ONE membership. From spin to yoga, they have classes of any interest or skill level. This app is absolutely perfect for people who travel. Even if you aren't a jet setter, it's still a great opportunity to try out different classes in your own city. Like I've said before, you've got to mix it up to keep it up!
My Fitness Pal
Okay, this one is a serious game changer. My Fitness Pal helps you lose weight and stay in shape with it's fast and easy calorie counter. There are endless options of foods listed in their food database and even an option to add your own. Even if you eat out, My Fitness Pal has an extremely large restaurant database with all the calorie counts as well. My Fitness Pal app also lets you track your workouts and will deduct calories burned from calories consumed. There are over 350 exercises stored in their database. You can also connect My Fitness Pal to an activity tracker such as a Fitbit. This app is perfect to hold yourself accountable on your road to wellness!
Hotel Tonight
Oh, wow. I can't even begin to tell you how often this app has completely saved my life. There are times when either my plane is delayed, I have a last minute event, or some other minor emergency and Hotel Tonight has been the easiest way to find a room fast! This is especially true when you need it just for one night. This app allows you to book last minute reservations, which usually have a discount. There are also reviews, professional photos, and app user photos to get a true feel for what the hotel is like before you book. This app is in most cities and is always a comfort to have just in case!
This is the epitome of productivity. Evernote helps me collect my random thoughts, lists, and bookmarked articles into one place. When linked to my internet browser, whenever I Google something (if that keyword was mentioned in a prior note), it will pop up on the side of my screen. I normally find myself putting just a keyword into my Evernote because I know it will be something easy to come back to later! No more losing random post-it notes. I mean, that's seriously something to celebrate!


text:
Ever wonder what it might look like if I got married?
I reckon you can use Holly and Anton's vow renewal as a pretty solid template.
It was low on stress and high on sweetness. Filled with personal touches and sentimental details. Bursting with color and camaraderie. Plus there were sparklers, confetti bombs, and Blucys. YES, BLUCYS.
And you know what else? It was fun. The I-don't-want-to-leave-yet, can-we-rewind-please kind of day where everyone is in such high spirits, that you can't help but be completely buoyed by the love and joy that Anton and Holly inspire. And while rewinding is only gonna happen now through what's below (OMG, IT'S BELOW) I can oooonly hope that maaaaybe an I Do: Vol III might materialize. But then again: I don't think you could ever top the celebrations below.
so good!
go look! >>>
+Vendor roll call!
Venue: Gardens of Castle Rock
Coordinator: Rocket Science Events and Planning
Bridal bodysuit: Linyage
Groom's attire: Macy's
Earrings: Rent the Runway
Makeup: Makeup by Mindie
Lips: Holly's Lipsense
Hair: Kaylee Buffalo
Floral: BLOMMÖNSTER
Officiant: Eric Westlake
Catering: Blue Door Pub
Bar: Leos Sports Bar
Wine: Gary Hinsch, father of the bride
Linens: Linen Effects
Tableware: Avant Decor
Custom cookies: Kendra's Cookie's
DJ: Instant Request


text:
Chapter 203
"So far it looks like ten or so people in total, all of them from around the end of when we were still having the public meetings. None of them were entirely sure what to make of it, some thought it was their friends playing a weird prank, and a few figured it was a kind of glitch after the message vanished." Tad finished his report, sitting back down at his place in the circle.
There were fewer faces at this gathering of Take Back Lander, their already diminished numbers shrinking further. Despite Kennedy's impressive speech at the last meeting, it seemed some members had decided this extra-curricular activity was no longer worth the risk. While that was the ultimate effect Will was shooting for, he hoped the numbers wouldn't fall too much more before the whole organization collapsed in on itself. The fewer the bodies, the harder it was for him to hide in plain sight among them.
"Then whoever did this is either working off old information, or just wants us to think they're working off old information." Kennedy, unsurprisingly, didn't miss a beat as Tad unpacked his findings for the group. She was a truly dangerous opponent, although Will found that part of him was actually enjoying the challenge. As good as the Blonk was at simulating these sorts of high-stakes ventures, there was something about playing the game for real that virtual versions could never capture. "Either way, this means we have to decide whether the ones we cut loose are now potential allies, or liabilities."
"Why would our friends be liabilities?" A demure woman wearing earrings that cost more than Will's first car asked the question, showing impressive composure despite the circumstances.
"Because one of them may not be a friend at all," Kennedy explained. "While it is possible, and likely, that the Supers are the cause of this headache, there is another possibility. When I chose the best, most dedicated members to form this smaller circle, it's possible I alienated one of our old members. We could be seeing a personal retribution that has nothing to do with our actual goals. Now that is the less likely of our options mind you, but it does need to be made clear before we discuss whether to bring the old members into the new fold. There is a chance, albeit a small one, that we will be inviting our own enemy into the flock."
Will found himself quite glad he hadn't come to this meeting with a concrete agenda. If he'd been set on getting Camille back in, he might have needed to push the group in one direction over the other, and that would be extremely dangerous. Kennedy was the one in control, and if things didn't go whatever way she wanted then he had no doubt she'd take note of the cause. The way she commanded the room, it was obvious everything had been going her way since the start. If one of her followers suddenly started making trouble, steering the group to different ends, it would be a huge flashing sign about where the threats were coming from.
"Wait, why would one of our former members send all that stuff to get back at us, then send it to themselves as well?" Tad asked, proving yet again that money couldn't buy intelligence.
"Have you never heard of the Trojan Horse? The best tool an enemy possesses is the guise of friendship. Frankly, if whoever is doing this didn't send themselves some threats, or at least lie about it, I'd be sorely disappointed in them. They could walk right in here, claiming to be in the same boat as us, and use the insider knowledge they gained to do more damage." Kennedy took a slight pause to scan the room briefly, making everyone keenly aware of how little they really knew about each other. "However, if we forgo bringing in the old members then we lose out on potential allies, cutting ourselves off from reinforcements. That too could be playing into the hands of whoever sent those messages."
Confused looks filled the room, with Will tossing out a few of his own so as to blend in. For him, this level of uncertainty was part of daily life, but to the others it had to be bewildering. Life had right choices and wrong choices; it wasn't supposed to give options that were so complex and risky. These poor souls, if not for their leader it really would have been child's play to sweep their whole movement off the game board.
"So… what should we do?" The question came from one of the men seated along the edges of the circle, a nervous fellow who seemed one bit of bad news from bolting out the door.
"That is up to the group to decide. I've pointed out the potential pitfalls and gains from asking our old members to join us. What we do from here impacts us all, so we should each have a say in the choice that gets made. I say we hold a ten minute discussion on the matter, followed by a vote. We'll raise our hands for or against letting the old members back in, and whatever the group decides is what we shall do. It's the fairest method possible since we all share in the risk equally, don't you think?" Even though she'd phrased the last bit as a question, it was clear that Kennedy didn't actually expect anyone to disagree.
Will had come in with a hunch that this wouldn't be too easy, and it had turned out to be right. Kennedy was forcing everyone to pick a side, to publicly commit to whichever option they thought would serve the group best. Whatever they picked, Kennedy was going to remember who had been on each side. If they chose an option that helped the group, then she'd likely consider those who voted for it as loyal, whereas if they picked a choice that hurt them then she would lean toward those who'd voted against it. All in all, it was a solid way to narrow down her list of suspects for the traitor, but it had one fatal flaw. No matter what the group chose, their troubles were going to get worse. There was no right option in the first place.
For the most part, Will kept his silence during the ten minute talk, only chiming in with small, inconsequential details that painted him as needing to be right more than concerned with the group's well-being. He took careful stock of everyone's positions, and when the time for voting came Will made sure to put himself on the losing side. Ideally, when more trouble came it would make Kennedy think he was trustworthy, but at the very least it should make him seem less suspicious than other members. That was all he had to do, just fly under the radar long enough until the job was done. For a guy who'd always seemed aggressively mundane in a world of extraordinary individuals, it was the best job he could have asked for.
"And it looks like…" Kennedy ticked off a few more numbers as she finished counting the last of the raised hands. "It looks like we have a consensus. Tad, tell the others you talked to the message was some sort of mix-up, or come up with a more believable lie. Whatever you do, don't give them the full story. By group decision, it seems we're going to press on without them. From here on, the only people we can trust are the other members of this circle."
Will didn't grin, or even so much as smirk, although it took a touch more effort that he would have admitted.


text:
Séamus McGuire
Great River, NY
Séamus McGuire is a young filmmaker from Long Island, NY, who has studied film at SVA in NYC and in Galway, Ireland. Influenced by David Lynch, Wes Anderson, Stanely Kubrick and Devo, among others, Séamus concentrates largely on short films and music videos. In 2010 he directed the winning 30 second promo for Tim & Eric's Season Cinco promo contest on Adult Swim, and is currently a contributor to the monthly arts showcase Church At Legion Bar in Brooklyn, NY.
Click to view work contributed to Glasschord Magazine by this artist


text:
The Marlins, Reds, Major League Baseball and the Miami police agree on one thing. There is no dispute about who is the rightful owner of Ken Griffey Jr.'s 600th home run ball.
"Joe" is about to win the baseball fan lottery.
The mystery fan who snared Ken Griffey Jr.'s 600th home run ball Monday night still isn't talking, but seems to be organizing a plan to profit from his stroke of good fortune. He also seems to have had a plan in mind from the very beginning.
Miami police and officials from the Florida Marlins organization spent part of Tuesday reviewing videotape of the flight of the historic homer and kept coming to the same conclusion. It was indeed the 40-something Marlins' fan who caught the ball on the fly.
That tape watching session was prompted by claims of 25 year-old Justin Kimball who insisted he was the one who caught the potentially valuable souvenir, but had it wrestled from the 'wool cap' he had placed around it. It's possible Kimball was one of the handful of fans duped by "Joe" who caught the ball, then dropped another in the vicinity to distract the others while he made a safe getaway with the real ball.
"The video was reviewed numerous times with the same conclusion," read a statement issued Tuesday by the Miami-Dade police. "The claim of Mr. Kimball is in direct conflict with the video replays and observations of officers on the scene."
Marlins president David Samson said there was no question the fan in the Sergio Mitre jersey was indeed the owner. "The ball he caught was authenticated by Major League Baseball, and anybody who has any information to the contrary is misinformed and dishonest. … He caught the ball on a fly. It never left his glove."
Samson spoke with Joe on Tuesday, reviewing possible options and learning more about the fan who wound up with a ball that could be worth $50,000 or more.
Samson told reporters Joe would speak with the media once a determination had been made on the ball's fate. "He's not trying to be famous. He's just trying to help himself, his family and the game of baseball all at once, and I'm trying to see if that's possible."
"In the free market, things are worth what people will pay for it," Samson said. "But as far as Joe is concerned, his desire would be to do what's best for him, his family and for the game. He has a huge respect for the game, he's a huge Marlins fan, he respects Ken Griffey, and he respects what I'm doing in this process, and he's been amazing to talk to."
Peter Siegel, owner of Gotta Have It! Collectibles in New York, which also runs auctions, told the Palm Beach Post he'd rather have Griffey's 600th than Barry Bonds' 700th home run ball, which was sold at auction for $804,129.
"Griffey is held as being one of the true ball players with no asterisks next to his name," Siegel said. "I think the ball has a lot more importance than a lot of people think."
Marlins players had differing views on Joe's likely decision to sell. "The fan has every right to keep it and do whatever he wants," first baseman Mike Jacobs said. "Why wouldn't you want to keep it and see what you can get?"
Marlins outfielder Cody Ross, who got Griffey's autograph during the series against the Reds, may be a little out of touch with the level of financial security fans have compared to players.
"Just give it to the Hall of Fame, get to meet him, get an autograph, whatever," Ross said. "But people get greedy. They want to make some money."
Game Used Memorabilia on eBay


text:
Kenny Jumpsuit
Special Price $0.00
Final sale No Returns or Exchanges
Cut in a textured stripe cotton and accented with playful embroidery, this unique jumpsuit is designed with a wide leg silhouette and lace-trimmed straps.
About d.RA:
d.RA is for every girl who likes to dress up without feeling overdressed. Created by designer and founder Diana Ra, the designs are soft, sunny and fluid. For the girl who knows that sexy and sophisticated are not mutually exclusive.
Need Help?
Contact SOS through Live Chat or 877.765.3009
Q&A: and get answers from customers and experts.
Customer Reviews
3.0 / 5.0
1 Review
Not as pictured
This was very cute but, strangely the shoulder straps were not crossed as shown in the photo. As a result the straps were too long. The style is cute, trendy and comfy and the embroidery on the front was nice. I ripped the straps off and sewed them back on in a criss cross and it fit much better.
- Was this review helpful? Yes (0) No (0)
- Flag as Inappropriate
May 18, 2018
1 year ago
1 year ago
- Was this review helpful? Yes (0) No (0)
- Flag as Inappropriate
Questions & Answers


text:
- Lakeville Journal
- Millerton News
- Compass A&E
- Obituaries
- Classifieds
- Regional
- Special Sections
- TriCorner Real Estate
Where everybody knows the name of your favorite Bordeaux
SHARON — Sharon may have many wine cellars, but only the new couple in town is offering to invite you in and pour you a glass every weekend, no R.S.V.P. or hostess gift needed.
Brian and Tracey Abut are still working full-time in New York City. He's a global accounts manager for BlackBerry, she's an HR executive, but every Thursday night they're the outgoing hosts welcoming you to The Porchlight on West Main Street.


text:
from The Magazine ANTIQUES, July/August 2013.
For generations of Virginia musicians, dulcimer (or dulcimore) has described a family of instruments with three characteristics: a long, hollow neckless wooden soundbox (with curved or straight sides); multiple wire strings (usually just three or four today) about the same length as the soundbox; and wire frets (usually fifteen) laid out to play the diatonic musical scale. In its early boxy, straight-sided, un-fretboarded form (today referred to as the "scheitholt" form by collectors and academics), the dulcimer-or at least experience with the instrument-came to North America with eighteenth-century German immigrants, primarily through the ports of Baltimore and Philadelphia. Historically a commoner's instrument, the dulcimer (or variants) was also played in Norway, Sweden, Holland, France, Denmark, and Iceland. In the early 1600s the German composer and musicologist Michael Praetorius published an image of a straight-sided dulcimer-family instrument that he labeled a Scheidtholtt, which translates as "firewood," and noted that it had been a part of folk culture for centuries (Fig. 2). Perhaps his choice of names was intended as a comment on the instrument's simple construction and place in German "peasant" life. Judging from wills and inventories, however, "dulcimer" was the only common-speech name Virginians historically used for the instrument.1
Fig. 6. Scheitholt, probably Pennsylvania, late eighteenth or early nineteenth century, found in Shenandoah County, Virginia. Pine with red stain, wrought iron; overall length 40 ½ inches. Found in the Woodstock community, this instrument was probably brought into Virginia when settlers migrated from southeastern Pennsylvania. One undated mate was found in Alleghany County, Virginia, and a Pennsylvania mate, dated 1788, is in the Bucks County Historical Society in Pennsylvania. The elongated, shaped peghead shows up on other scheitholts from southeastern Pennsylvania. Private collection; photograph by Leila Cartier.
Fig. 5. Scheitholt and case, late eighteenth or early nineteenth century, found in western Maryland. Case: walnut, overall length 35 inches; instrument: walnut, wrought iron; length 33 inches. A bow, quills, and a handmade tuning wrench were found with this instrument and case. The maker was clearly a skilled woodworker. Collection of Tom Queen; Brooks photograph.
Fig. 7. Scheitholt, probably Franklin County, Virginia, nineteenth century. Walnut, wrought iron; length 33 inches. Members of the Durham family from the Brown Hill area of Franklin County took this instrument to Covington, Ohio, in 1940. The wrought-iron rosette in the lower sound hole is a unique decorative touch, and it was probably made by a local blacksmith or other metalworker. There are signs that the upper sound hole also had a rosette. Private collection; Brooks photograph.
Fig. 8. Dulcimer made by Jacob Michael Neff (1834-1916), Wythe County, Virginia, 1897. Inscribed "J. M. Neff maker/Rural Retreat, Virginia/March 9, 1897/Raining" on the back. Walnut, yellow pine; length 34 ½ inches. Neff, a farmer, always included the weather when he signed the backs of his instruments. Five dulcimers by him are known (one survives with a bow), but according to family history, he made one for each of his thirteen children. Collection of Ed and Becky Bordett; Brooks photograph.
Fig. 10. Dulcimer made by John Scales Jr. (1808-1892), Floyd County, Virginia, 1832. Inscribed "Floyd County, Virginia, made by John Scales, Jr. August 28, 1832" on one side. Curly maple, walnut, tuning pegs replaced with metal factory-made mechanical peg tuners; length 33 ½ inches. This is the earliest documented signed-and-dated dulcimer in the United States. Its teardrop shape is known as the Virginia form. Scales was born in Patrick County, the county below Floyd County. He died in Sandy Ridge, Stokes County, North Carolina, just a mile from his Virginia birthplace. Collection of P. Holbrook; Brooks photograph.
Fig. 9. Dulcimer made by Levi Pitman (1807-1892), Mt. Olive, Shenandoah County, Virginia, 1849. Inscribed "Made by L. Pitman, June 26, 1849 Shenandoah County, Va." on a paper label glued inside, and in pencil "For Miss F. Copp" on the back. Pine, walnut, black paint, wrought iron; length 25 ½ inches. Levi Pitman's seventeen-volume diary (1845-1892) covering his life as a clock repairman, instrument maker, carpenter, and inventor, is in the Library of Virginia in Richmond. Miss Copp was probably Frances Copp (1831-1921). Collection of Ralph Lee Smith; Brooks photograph.
Fig. 11. Dulcimer, Alleghany County, Virginia, nineteenth century. Poplar, red paint, with turned feet on the bottom; length 40 inches. Two dulcimers by this maker have turned up in Covington in Alleghany County. Both are painted red. On the other example the raised fingerboard is moved to one side, suggestive of the older scheitholt tradition. Blue Ridge Institute and Museum of Ferrum College; Brooks photograph.
Fig. 13. Dulcimer, Knox County, Tennessee, early nineteenth century. Walnut, pine, wrought iron; length 39 ½ inches. The heart has been a popular decorative motif among dulcimer makers, and the artisan who built this instrument carried the decoration to the tuning pegs and the tailpiece. Skillfully made in the teardrop Virginia shape with a dovetailed back and a carved scroll peghead, it came from the Pilleaux family in the Knoxville area. The open tailpiece relates to those on dulcimers made in Carroll, Grayson, Wythe, and Smyth Counties, Virginia. The workmanship and wood in this instrument are of the finest quality. Private collection; Brooks photograph.
Fig. 17. Dulcimer, twentieth century, found in Surry County, North Carolina. Curly maple, pine; length 39 inches. This dulcimer is of the style made in Carroll County, just across the Virginia state line from Surry County. Its "closed D" tailpiece is one of three tailpiece designs seen only on Virginia-made or Virginia-influenced dulcimers. (The other two are the "open D" and the "tongue"-a short down-curved ledge with tapered edges.) This dulcimer always had mechanical tuners, which were readily available in the late nineteenth century. Such tuners hold strings in tune much better than wooden friction pegs. Collection of Ralph Lee Smith; Cartier photograph.
Fig. 16. Dulcimer, nineteenth century, found in Monroe County, West Virginia. Stenciled "J. B. Shue" in red paint on the bottom. Curly maple, pine; length 41 inches. This instrument was in the Ballard family of Monroe County before 1900. Its "open O" tailpiece is similar to the "open D" tailpieces found on dulcimers from the Virginia counties bordering Monroe County (see Fig. 18). A number of early Virginia settlers went west through the Monroe County area, which, before the Civil War was part of Virginia. Shue may have been the maker, or he may have been the person for whom the dulcimer was made. No record of him has yet been found. Private collection; Brooks photograph.
Fig. 4. Raymond Melton (1915-1985) at a fiddlers' convention in Carroll County, Virginia, in a photograph by Scott Odell, 1978. Raymond was a second-generation maker and a third-generation player. He performed with the Melton Brothers Band (which included his brothers Daniel and Ellis), the Blue Sky Ramblers, and the Dunevant Family. Smithsonian Center for Folk Life and Cultural Heritage, Washington, D. C., Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections.
Fig. 18. Dulcimer made by Sam Russell, Marion, Virginia, 1939. Typed on a paper label inside is "Made by S. F. Russell/July 15, 1939." Rosewood, walnut; length 36 inches. Collection of Marc King; Brooks photograph.
Fig. 20. Scheitholt probably made by Curtis Bowman (1893-1968), Lewis Radford (1895- 1971), or William Madison Light (1884- 1957), Carroll County or Patrick County, Virginia, c. 1950-1970. Pine, red paint; length 32 ½ inches. This twentieth-century scheitholt was found in the mountaintop community of Vesta in Patrick County, an area where the tradition of building scheitholts continued long after it had faded elsewhere in Virginia. Makers Curtis Bowman of Patrick County and Lewis Radford of Carroll County both lived within ten miles of Vesta. Both learned to make scheitholts from their brother-in-law William Madison Light, who used patterns from his father Joseph T. Light (1853-1929). Blue Ridge Institute and Museum of Ferrum College; Cartier photograph.
Fig. 15. Loraine Wyman (1885-1937) holding an hourglass-shape Appalachian dulcimer in Vogue, May 1, 1917, in an article she and Howard Brockway (1870-1951) wrote on folksong collecting in eastern Kentucky.
Fig. 14. James Edward "Uncle Ed" Thomas (1850–1933) of Knott County, Kentucky, in a photograph of c. 1900–1925. No one knows where Thomas learned to make dulcimers, but his hourglass shape instruments influenced many Kentucky artisans of the Appalachian crafts revival. A farmer and a carpenter, Thomas started making dulcimers in 1871. He signed, dated, and numbered his instruments and was clearly a prolific maker: Ralph Lee Smith noted in Appalachian Dulcimer Traditions (Scarecrow Press, Lanham, Md., and London, 2002) that a Thomas dulcimer numbered 1,465 and dated February 1931 turned up in 1995. Berea College, Southern Appalachian Photo Archives, Berea, Kentucky.
Fig. 12. Sam Russell with one of his dulcimers at the White Top Folk Festival, Grayson County, Virginia, in a photograph of c. 1931- 1932. The photograph was used in a promotional pamphlet for the festival in 1933. Blue Ridge Institute and Museum of Ferrum College, Blue Ridge Heritage Archives.
Fig. 1. Dulcimer, Lee County, Virginia, early twentieth century. Poplar, pine; length 37 inches. This dulcimer features far more decoration than any other known in Virginia: leaf and vine patterns etched, penciled, or painted on the sides, top, tailpiece, and pegheads; and notching on the tailpiece and pegheads. It is one of eight known dulcimers from the Blackwater community of Lee County. Over the span of these instruments, the maker-or makers-combined decorative and construction elements, such as elaborate painted ornament, chip carving, incised carving, protruding tongue tailpieces, carved scroll pegheads, and nails with heads chiseled to look like screws. One of the eight dulcimers has a history of being made by Billy "Cat" Robinette while another has the initials "W.K.R." on one side. Private collection; photograph by Barry Brooks.
Fig. 2. Plate XXI from Michael Praetorius, Syntagma Musicum (1619). He labeled the dulcimer-family instrument (no. 8) a Scheidtholtt, which appears to be the first published use of that term to describe the instrument that evolved into the dulcimer.
Fig. 3. Detail of a photograph of the Russell Family Band c. 1935. Samuel F. Russell (1860-1946) plays the dulcimer; Worley Rolling (Sam's son-in-law), the banjo; and Joe Russell (Sam's son), the fiddle. Robert Russell (Joe's son) played the guitar in the band. Sam is pressing down the string with a noter and strumming with a quill. Blue Ridge Institute and Museum of Ferrum College, Blue Ridge Heritage Archives, Ferrum, Virginia.
Fig. 19. J. Winton Testerman (b. 1867) demonstrating to John Powell how to play the dulcimer with a bow at the White Top Folk Festival in a photograph of 1932-1939. Powell, a classical composer from Richmond, was one of the organizers of the White Top event. He believed Appalachia held America's uncorrupted Anglo-Saxon musical traditions, and he screened the musicians and their repertoires accordingly. The dulcimer fit in with Powell's concept of "pure" Appalachian folk music. Library of Virginia, Richmond.
A member of the zither family (stringed instruments without necks), the dulcimer was carried along major migration routes in this country, making its way not only into Pennsylvania and Virginia but also into New Jersey, Maryland, North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana, then further south and west to Alabama, Missouri, and Texas.
Virginia's chapter in the saga began in the first quarter of the eighteenth century as German immigrants and their American-born offspring funneled through southeastern Pennsylvania into the Valley of Virginia, the Virginia Blue Ridge, and southwestern portions of the state. Dozens of largely German communities sprang up along the Great Wagon Road, the Carolina Road, and the Wilderness Road. Not surprisingly, early evidence of dulcimer-making and ownership in the Virginia Commonwealth centers around those counties where Germans settled.
The first known written reference to a dulcimer in Virginia appears in the Shenandoah County will book for 1812. There, documents related to the estate of Godfrey Wilkins, a gunsmith, list one dulcimer, which was purchased by a Conrad Garrett at Wilkins's estate sale in 1813.2 The next two Virginia references to dulcimers appear in wills and inventories of 1818, this time further south on the east side of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Bedford County and Franklin County.3 Both areas attracted a substantial number of German settlers. Curiously, however, while dulcimer-family instruments were not part of the folk tradition of the British Isles, the two 1818 instruments were owned by families with English surnames; how they acquired the dulcimers and what types of music were being played on them has yet to be determined. After 1818, at least one listing of a dulcimer appears in western Virginia court documents every year through 1850.
The earliest documented dulcimer maker in Virginia was gunsmith Jacob Hanshew of Wythe (now Bland) County. His 1834 estate included "1 set of dulcimore tools" (the only historical reference to such items discovered so far), along with blacksmithing and coopering tools.4 Not surprisingly, his surname is German, as were those of other Wythe County dulcimer owners between 1827 and the 1850s: local potters Felix and Abraham Buck owned dulcimers; cabinet- and dower chest makers Jacob Spangler, John Huddle, Peter Huddle, and Gideon Huddle did too; and so did a number of families with ties to "Wild Turkey" fraktur and relief-carved headstones in German-affiliated burying yards.5
The old-world dulcimer was destined to change in the vibrant English-Scots-Irish-German mix of western Virginia. Though dates and names are difficult to determine, two sparks gave the instrument an American identity. The first was the addition of American and British songs and tunes to the types of music played on dulcimers, and the second was the addition of a raised fingerboard and curved sides-forming either a teardrop or an hourglass shape-to the earlier straight-sided design.
Fed by local customs, family traditions, or sometimes just the influence of one or two makers, a multigenerational dulcimer-making tradition flourished in pockets of Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Of those areas, the western Virginia Blue Ridge can make some claim to being the birthplace of the "American" dulcimer with curved sides and a raised fretboard.
Estate records from 1780 to 1860 in Virginia's Roanoke and New River valleys list more dulcimers (39) than any other instrument except the fiddle (103). Equally significant, the records point to the rapid adaptation of the instrument by non-Germans in the region.6 Nearly two-thirds of the dulcimers identified were owned by families whose surnames reflect British ancestry. It is reasonable to assume that these non-German owners were playing some, if not mostly, English-language songs and tunes with American and British origins.
In 1832 in Floyd County, Virginia-amid farmers of German, English, and Scots-Irish descent- John Scales, a cabinetmaker of British ancestry, built a curve-sided dulcimer with a raised fretboard (Fig. 10). The Scales instrument is the oldest signed-and-dated "American" style dulcimer currently known, and thus, also the earliest in the teardrop shape that came to be identified as the Virginia dulcimer. It is possible that Scales was the first to make such a dulcimer, but it is also possible that he copied one or more instruments he had seen and that an Americanized dulcimer form had developed earlier than 1832. Unlike the straight sides of the scheitholt, each side of the Virginia dulcimer follows a long curve from head to tailpiece. The Virginia form eventually carried over into Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, West Virginia, Ohio, and perhaps further west, but it is found more often in Virginia than in any other state. A few old but undated hybrid instruments have also been found in Virginia with features somewhere between the scheitholt and the Virginia dulcimer. Regardless, in multiple designs the dulcimer was definitely spicing up the nation's growing musical melting pot in Virginia by the 1830s.
The steady production of Virginia dulcimers centered around a few families. Four generations of the Melton family of Carroll County, for example, built larger teardrop-shape dulcimers capable of competing in volume with fiddles and banjos in string band settings (see Fig. 4). When Stephen B. Melton moved to Lee County in the 1930s, he expanded the tradition to his new home. In Marion (Smyth County), Virginia, cabinetmaker Samuel F. Russell (Figs. 3, 12) and his employees made hundreds of dulcimers in the late 1920s and into the 1930s, most of which went to New York and Florida, according to family history.7 Even the vintage scheitholt design held its place among a handful of Virginia makers; the Radford, Bowman, and Light families of Patrick and Carroll Counties used it into the 1950s (see Fig. 20).
Though the Virginia dulcimer was for many decades the favorite of makers in the Common¬wealth-and several traditional Southwest Virginia makers still build instruments with the teardrop design-the hourglass shape is the dulcimer form commonly made in Virginia and America today. In the late nineteenth century social and religious activists looked to the craft traditions in the mountains-especially needlework and wood-work-as a means for Appalachian people to generate income. As a result, an Appalachian crafts revival began in the early 1900s and ran until World War II. Dulcimer making-using the hourglass form-was taught in a few Kentucky mission schools and North Carolina arts and crafts centers (though not at similar institutions in Virginia). A handful of Virginia makers sold dulcimers through the crafts revival network, but extensive marketing by the Southern Highland Handicraft Guild and other agencies turned the hourglass design into the most recognized form of the instrument nationwide.8 Called the "Kentucky dulcimer" in print as early as 1917,9 the same year Vogue magazine published a photograph of musician and song collector Loraine Wyman holding one (Fig. 15), "Appalachian dulcimer" and "mountain dulcimer" became the popular names for the instrument regardless of form.
The marketing of Appalachian crafts in the name of social activism sent dulcimers across the country. Along with the Virginia makers, craftsmen such as West Virginia's Charles N. Prichard and Kentucky's J. Edward Thomas and Jethro Amburgey produced hundreds of instruments for a nationwide market.
Not surprisingly, Virginia dulcimer players and their instruments took part in the national folk music revival of the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. Commercial records, radio, movies, and electric instruments dramatically expanded American tastes between the two World Wars, and older forms of rural music suddenly found new fans. By 1928 the dulcimer popularly symbolized Appalachian music and served as a prop in promotional graphics for Appalachian festivals (see Fig. 12). At Grayson County's White Top Folk Festival in 1933, Sam Russell performed with one of his instruments for Eleanor Roosevelt. White Top ran through most of the 1930s, and Russell was part of a lineup of musicians playing what the event's founders felt was untainted Anglo-Saxon music. Abingdon, Virginia, lawyer Andrew Rowan Summers reportedly first heard a dulcimer at White Top. Like Jean Ritchie from Kentucky, he became one of the first to play the instrument on the urban folk revival circuit nationally, and he performed at the American Folk Music Concert at the 1940 World's Fair in New York.
In 1935, just down the mountain from the White Top Folk Festival, the Old Fiddlers' Convention in Galax added dulcimer playing to its slate of contest categories. For years a member of the famed dulcimer playing/making Melton family took first place in that category. The Old Fiddlers' Convention, described as the world's oldest fiddlers' convention, continues to attract thirty to forty dulcimer entrants each year.
In a second folk music revival, dozens of young people journeyed to western Virginia in the 1950s and 1960s, where old-time fiddlers and banjo players were the main attraction, but the dulcimer drew followers as well. Massachusetts-born folk singer Paul Clayton Worthington collected and learned Virginia material while a student at the University of Virginia and played the dulcimer on some of his albums.
A number of dulcimer makers are active in Virginia today. Few, however, are part of a longstanding, multigenerational family or community tradition, and nearly all are dedicated to the hourglass form of the instrument. On the antique side many vintage Virginia dulcimers have gravitated, not surprisingly, toward a handful of institutional and private collectors. Still, now and then someone brings an exceptional older dulcimer, usually by an unknown hand, into our museum. Each sheds a bit more light on the dulcimer's remarkable legacy in Virginia history.
Special thanks to researchers and collectors L. Allen Smith, Ralph Lee Smith, John Rice Irwin, Marc King, Tom Queen, and Ed Bordett.
The Virginia Dulcimer: 200 Years of Bowing, Strumming and Picking, organized by the authors, is on view at the William King Museum in Abingdon, Virginia, until August 11.
1 Alissa Ann Teresa Pesavento, "Concert Zither in America: Its History, Performance, Practice, and Repertory" (M.A. thesis, Kent State University, 1994). 2 Estate and sale of Godfrey Wilkins, Shenandoah County will books,1812 and 1813, Clerk's Office, Shenandoah County Circuit Court Building, Woodstock, Virginia. 3 See, respectively, estate of Obediah Hogan, Bedford County will book, 1818, Clerk's Office, Bedford County Courthouse, Bedford, Virginia; and estate of Josiah Harrison, Franklin County will book, 1818, Clerk's Office, Franklin County Courthouse, Rocky Mount, Virginia. 4 Estate of Jacob Hanshew, Wythe County will book, 1834, Clerk's Office, Wythe County Courthouse, Wytheville, Virginia. 5 Estate sale of Jonas Blessing, Wythe County will book, 1827; estate of Peter Huddle, ibid., 1828; estate sale of Elinor Pool (purchased by Abraham Buck), ibid., 1836; estate of John Huddle, ibid., 1839; estate sale of Christian Phillippi (purchased by Felix Buck), ibid., 1843; estate of Peter Spangler, ibid., 1848. 6 Kimberly Burnette-Dean, "The Dulcimer in Southwestern Virginia," monograph, 2005, Explore Park, Roanoke, Virginia. 7 Woodrow Russell, interview by L. Allen Smith, Marion, Virginia, February 11, 1975, transcript, Blue Ridge Heritage Archives, Ferrum College, Ferrum, Virginia. 8 Allen H. Eaton, Handicrafts of the Southern Highland (1937; reprint Dover Publications, New York, 1973). 9 Josephine McGill, "The Kentucky Mountain Dulcimer," The Musician, vol. 22 (January 1917).
RODDY MOORE is the director of the Blue Ridge Institute and Museum of Ferrum College in Ferrum, Virginia. VAUGHAN WEBB is the assistant director. They have worked together for thirty-two years exploring the folk culture of southwestern Virginia, including organizing The Virginia Dulcimer: 200 Years of Bowing, Strumming and Picking.
Playing techniques
Just as the dulcimer has changed physically, so have the techniques musicians use to play it. Typically, today's basic three-string instrument is played resting across the player's lap or on a table. The open (unfretted) second and third strings add a rich drone behind the melody created by pressing the first string onto the frets with the fingers of the left hand or a wooden rod (called a noter). Using the right-hand fingers, a quill, or some other pick, the musician usually strums across all the strings at once. Skilled players may choose to fingerpick rather than strum the strings and/or to create chords by fretting more than just the first string. Nineteenth-century straight-sided dulcimer-family instruments have been found with as many as ten strings in Virginia.
Historically, Virginia (and surrounding states) had an active tradition of bowing the dulcimer like a fiddle. J. Winton Testerman (see Fig. 19), a Grayson County, Virginia, musician, reportedly played hymns with a bow but used a quill for faster numbers. Vintage Virginia photographs show musicians bowing dulcimers in their laps, but old-timers in other states also recall the instrument being held upright from lap to shoulder for bowing. Bowing seems to have faded out of Virginia's dulcimer tradition by the middle of the twentieth century for reasons still unknown.
Tuned in various ways, the dulcimer adds its sound to several styles of Virginia folk music. Its gentle tone has long made it a favorite of vocalists singing ballads, hymns, and sentimental songs. Fast-paced fiddle-and-banjo dance tunes are also popular among dulcimer players, but the instrument has had less of a place in old-time string bands. Today's innovative musicians are taking the dulcimer well beyond traditional tunes and songs. Many examples of dulcimer music are available online. Search youtube.com for videos of Jean Ritchie or Ralph Lee Smith.


text:
So I got Thief yesterday and have only played the intro and the first portion of lockdown. So far I am enjoying the atmosphere and the stealth gameplay. I am currently playing the game as it came but without focus mode on.
I got to Garrett's tower and got my score of mostly Ghost and some opportunist. I am not sure what opportunist covers in way of gameplay but I have enjoyed ghosting an area and not getting caught. I have decided to just play initially for the story and experience and then for the ghosting challenge applying all mods in the custom menu at a later date.
So far I am enjoying it and it just goes to show that even if the reviews are not great that you can still enjoy a game based on your own personal opinions. It is fun and tense as you try to steal a guards purse only to get caught mid way through. Further opinions to follow based on the story.
Good game thus far!