text:
Are you in need of carpet or upholstery cleaning? If you are, and you don't know who to call, we suggest you call Heaven's Best. Here are just 5 Reasons why Heaven's Best Carpet & Rug Cleaners is the Best Carpet Cleaner in Birmingham, AL.
1. Veteran-owned & Family-run
Heaven's Best Carpet & Rug Cleaners was opened several years ago by Stephen Mobley. Heaven's Best is a veteran owned and locally operated family business. Stephen Mobley decided to open a carpet and floor cleaning company after he got his new puppy, named Lil' Bolt. Lil' Bolt was a great addition to the family, but not to his carpets or upholstery. He did finally train him to go outside, but not after many accidents on the carpets. So, we blame Lil' Bolt partly for our decision to start cleaning carpets. The other reason had to do with our incessant cleaning habits. After spending 18 years in the US Marine Corps, Stephen retired, but he didn't leave behind his ability to clean. In the Marine Corps, he learned how to "field day" any room to precise standards. This came in quite handy for our carpet cleaning business. Along with his wife Ann Mobley, they decided to open up a Heaven's Best Carpet Cleaning Franchise.
Stephen was impressed by how well Heaven's Best cleaning products worked, as well as how the franchise conducted business. They exhibited the same values that he had in the Marine Corp; honesty, integrity and dedication. Heaven's Best is committed to providing an excellent service as well as supporting our local community. Our objective is to live and work by the golden rule of doing unto others as we would like them to treat us. This is why when you invite us into your home to clean; we treat you, your home, your children and your pets with respect and courtesy. We also strive to provide superior service every time we clean. Our goal is to live up to our name "Heaven's Best" every time we clean.
2. Low-moisture Cleaning Process
Heaven's Best Carpet & Rug Cleaners use less water to clean your carpets, so most carpets are DRY IN ONE HOUR! You don't have to wait hours or even days for your carpets to dry. This means you can get on with your day and your life in no time after a Heaven's Best carpet cleaning. And, with Heaven's Best unique low-moisture process, you will not have to worry about a moist carpet all day or mold or mildew developing in your carpet pad.
3. Great Low Rates
Because we are a small family run company, with low overhead, we are able to provide great low rates. You will find that our superior service plus our low rates make us the best value for your money throughout the Birmingham, Al metro area. But, don't take our word for it; check out our 5 Star Google reviews.
One of the perks we provide our customers with is FREE Citrus Deodorizer. Instead of charging extra, we just include it in with our multi-step cleaning process. We believe you want you carpets to look and smell clean, so we give you FREE CITRUS DEODORIZER with every cleaning.
5. Guarantee
If all this is not enough, you can rest assured "we put our money where our mouth is." We don't just say it, we guarantee our work. If a spot or stain that we cleaned comes back within 30 days, we will come back and clean it again, no questions asked! Heaven's Best stands behind our work, because we want you to have a "Heaven's Best" Cleaning as well.
These are just 5 reasons why Heaven's Best Carpet & Rug Cleaners is the Best Carpet Cleaner in Birmingham, AL. Check out our website to see even more reasons to call Heaven's Best. Why not call us today to schedule a Carpet, Upholstery or Floor Cleaning at (205) 739-1880? We believe you will be so pleased, you will tell all your friends and family about Heaven's Best. Along with a great value for your money, we also have excellent customer service. Heaven's Best Carpet & Rug Cleaners is a professional carpet, upholstery and floor cleaning company serving the Birmingham, AL metro area. Call Heaven's Best now at (205) 739-1880, or fill out the form below to contact us.


text:
Didier Drogba: The Soccer Player Who Stopped a Civil War
Didier Drogba is famous for his skills on the soccer field. However, the player's biggest achievement will always be stopping an ongoing civil war. Who would have thought the power of sports could put an end to the mass bloodshed.
Ivory Coast's first ever president passed away in 1993. The country burst into civil war as a result of being left without a leader. Clashes were occurring between the predominantly Muslim north and Christian south lead to the death of thousands as well as the displacement of millions. The civil war carried on for five years. Ivorians felt the fight would know no end, up until a soccer player changed the country's course of history.
Although criticized for his self-absorption, Didier Drogba is famous for the legacy he created for himself while playing for Chelsea. He's also the top scorer and former captain of his country, Ivory Coast's, soccer team. Drogba proved to be impressive on the soccer field, however, his influence on the fate of his county tops anything he's ever done with a ball.
In 2002 the Ivory Coast soccer team flew to Sudan to play a match. The winner of the team would qualify to play in the 2006 World Cup, Germany. The game took place during a devastating time. Elections for new leaders were soon to be held. Tensions among Ivorians were peaking, and the lives of its people were at stake. Despite the horrors taking place back home, Drogba and his team won the match. For the first time, the team would be playing in the World Cup. What happened in the locker room, post-win would be an even greater win for the country.
The media barged in on the Ivory Coast's soccer team celebrating their win. Drogba found a camera and addressed the leaders of Ivory Coast, pleading for peace.
"We proved today that Ivorians can coexist and play together with an objective to qualify for the World Cup. We promised you that the celebration would unite the people. Today we beg you please, on our knees. Forgive, forgive forgive. The one country in Africa with so many riches should not descent into war like this. Please lay down all weapons. Hold elections, organize elections and all will be better."
Drogba's courage to directly address leaders of his country lead to peace. Thanks to the country's star soccer player, elections were held shortly after his speech, and they happened without bloodshed. The team arrived in Germany two years later in 2006, to lay their first ever World Cup match. The civil war had ended by this time. The once disputing leaders of Ivory Coast stood together as their anthem rang. Drogba defines this moment as being his most significant accomplishment of all time. "Seeing opposing leaders from the Muslim north and Christian south, singing the Ivorian national anthem together was like seeing ivory coast born again."

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Americo Febbraio (b.1985) is a professional photographer based in Caserta.
He has devoted last 10 years studying photography and documentary photography.
In the last 2 years he started a personal project and he hopes to print his first book in the 2019.
He is interesting in Wedding and Commercial Photography.


text:
OPOSSUM: a literary marsupial
"All That Beauty," inspired by this clip!
Purchase Fall 2016 & 2017 issue here
Best Gay Stories 2017
Selected by Lambda-Literary Nominee & author of Jazz Moon Joe Okonwko
Chicken Soup for the Soul
"Lord Knows"
Available on Amazon
Worn in New York
Stories told to New York Times style reporter Emily Spivack. Contributions from Adam Horovitz, Anna Sui, Aubrey Plaza, Catherine Opie, Dick Cavett, Eileen Myles, Gay Talese, Jenji Kohan, Kyp Malone, Lena Dunham, Pee Wee Kirkland, Thelma Golden, Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, et al.
Available on Amazon
Poetry & fiction
"The Hat You Save May Be Your Own" Cirque Winter 2018
"Etta James," Best Emerging Poets, April 2018
"How do you say a word," Understory, May 2014


text:
Earlier this month, there were whispers that HTC was gearing up to launch a new flagship phone and now it looks like we have some visual receipts to add to the rumor mill. The soon-to-be released smartphone is called the HTC Bolt and is slated for a U.S. release date sometime in the near future.
As PhoneArena reports, thanks to a tweet from Evan Blass, the king of smartphone image leaks, we now have a sneak preview of the HTC Bolt's design specs. Posing for the camera wearing a silver finish, the HTC Bolt features similar aesthetics to the HTC 10 phone. Its construction has the same elegant beveled edges and rounded corners as seen on its elder sibling.
Upon deeper scrutiny of the image, there are some differences between the two handsets in terms of hardware design. For one, the front facing camera on the HTC Bolt is embedded on the left side of the bezel and on the HTC 10, the selfie camera is integrated to the right. Secondly, the flash placement on the HTC Bolt and HTC 10 differ. On the HTC Bolt, it sits just above the camera lens and on the HTC 10 it's located on the right side of the shooter's sensor.
Brazenly borrowing a page out of the Apple iPhone 7 book of innovation, the HTC Bolt is seemingly missing a 3.5mm headphone jack. If so, that means it's likely to employ USB-C type charging and feature Bluetooth wireless connectivity. HTC managed to keep us in the dark about the HTC Bolt's core features as well as its release date. If the phone's wallpaper logo in the photo leak is any indication, the device may be headed to Sprint on October 18.
The Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer is on a roll right now, having just announced two new mid-range 5.5-inch phones this week, the HTC Desire 10 Lifestyle and the HTC Desire 10 Pro.


text:
Iuengliss "Physics"
There will surely be a day when the current generation of beat makers will sit on their high horse, relishing in the memory of the painstaking hours spent writing the automation for filter sweeps, tweaking delay times, and, in the case of "Physics," manipulating the flanger effect parameters with a keyboard and mouse instead of just having the computer simply read your mind or whatever we'll be able to do in 40 or 50 years time. But for now, making borderline-ADD, detail-oriented electronic music takes time, time most likely spent sitting alone staring at your computer. That's where we find Denver-based producer Iuengliss, who appears to have undergone quite the effort to craft his brand of constantly moving electro beats for a new LP entitled Blank Matter (artwork above). "Physics" is just one example, with its triumphant chord progression and glistening melodies being constantly thrown through some sort of sonic manipulator every few bars while simultaneously being decorated with sporadic auditory glimpses that appear as quickly as they return into the ether. Furthermore, Iuengliss has even gone so far as to create an audio/visual microsite where you can stream and download the entire album, and check out a video for every single song that appears on Blank Matter. You can check out the microsite here after giving "Physics" a spin below.


text:
Hello God, it's me again. Hannah, that is. Are you listening? Would it be too much to ask for a little empathy?
Aside from that (slightly) melodramatic spiel, hello again. It's been a rough Lunar New Year and well, things are about to get busy. At the time of writing, it's approximately 12 hours until my next Skype interview and I have a) two family events this week, b) a doctor's appointment and c) stress. In fact I was so stressed my period came early and I was pissed off. I thought birth control was supposed to regulate that, but cortisol is a magical hormone.
Needless to say, I kind of hate everything.
It just feels like there's zero empathy around me. I keep getting into arguments, I keep feeling this fear or existential dread, I don't know. I've been ill, my skin's been sucky and trying to talk to people has been met with what feels like emotional slaps to the face. I can't even.
Below, I've written a piece for Anything Lah!. In any case, read it and leave some feedback?
Update: 21/2 – it's been published and you can also read it here.
are we genuine?
empathy |ˈɛmpəθi/
the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.
Having a skewed sense of empathy means your social skills are somewhat stunted. You can't read a room so everything is based on experience. You can't really find sense in social cues, so you have to really learn and find a method to the madness that is human communication.
When you're me, you have a harder time with empathy because being borderline means that your internal emotional intensity has no middle ground. It's always at the extremes of the spectrum, like if a shower only had scalding or freezing water.
In the digital age, that becomes more difficult because reading the nuances of a text message is infinitely more difficult than reading that of a human face. You have to really know a person in order to understand their text messaging style, but that's just a peril of living in a millennial age. Trying to figure out what an emoji means to one person is one thing, but a series of emojis with no context is just plain confusing.
Is this piece about communication or empathy? Maybe both. We're all so self-absorbed that it's difficult to say that we can empathise with others. It's all about me, we're all given a voice, a say, the right to free speech – but apparently, that's dehumanised us to an extent as well. We're so obsessed with me me me and championing causes that make us look good on social media, that there comes a question: do we really care?
Empathy always has to be genuine and always has to come from a place of understanding. Saying "I'm sorry, is there anything I can do for you?" is different from "Oh, I'm so sorry". Claims to sympathy are interesting because some people seem to want to bring the topic back to them at the end. So they're not genuine. I've met a lot of disingenuous people in the last 24 years of my life, and heard about a lot more of them so I've become somewhat misanthropic.
That being said, with my skewered empathic senses – does that make me more genuine?


text:
Oh no...
Find 1 075 618 Samples and Loops From $1
I'm looking for
Welcome visitor, can you Log in or Create an account
Support 24h: email@example.com
'RnBass' contains five touching, radio ready RnB & Trapsoul style beats. These beats are inspired by artists like Beyonce, The Weeknd, Drake, Rihanna, Bryson Tiller, Justin Bieber, NAV & Travis Scott just to name a few.
Share this:
Oh no...
How does it work?
Type your email address below and you will receive download link.
Create an account to receive exclusive offers and the latest news on our free products – it takes you only 30 seconds! If you're already logged in, you can download free products directly from our website.
If you find a better price, simply contact us at email@example.com.
Be sure to provide the details of what you've found and include a link to it.
We'll take a quick look and do whatever we can to match or beat anyone's price. It's as simple as that!


text:
Pornography, the First Amendment, and Lolita,---it all comes round again...
On October 17, Joan E. Bertin, in a Los Angeles Times op-ed piece discussed the Child Pornography Prevention Act of 1996 in its relation to Adrian Lyne's as of then famously unreleased film version of Lolita. Bertin denounces the Childhood Pornography Prevention Act stating that this will not effectively stop sexual abuse and exploitation. She complains that:
...even if a movie like "Lolita" was filmed with an adult body double, it apparently would be prohibited if it contains simulated sexual conduct that appears to involve a minor. If you recall, that's what "Lolita" is about: a man's sexual obsession with a pubescent girl.Seconding this viewpoint, The Economist ran an anonymous article called "Self-appointed Censors" in the October 11, issue. The author uses "Lolita's" distribution woes to frame a discussion about censorship.
IN MOST western democracies, state censorship of publishing and the arts has, thankfully, more or less disappeared. But there is a subtler threat to freedom of artistic expression that liberals, in the old fashioned sense, ought to be worried about. This is the claim heard more and more from shocked or offended groups to a special say, even a veto, over what books are published or what art is shown.On the other side of the argument, a December 30, New York Times article reported that a German group that campaigns against pedophilia called for a ban on screenings of the new film version of ''Lolita". The group, Kim Initiative, denounced the film as ''an attempt to promote pedophilia."
Norman Podhoretz , an early protege of Lionel Trilling, and a champion of neo-conservativism in his long tenure as editor of Commentary, in and April 1997 Commentary article entitled "Lolita, My mother-in-law, the Marquis de Sade, and Larry Flint" blames Nabokov for positioning Lolita at the precipice of unbridled pederasty. Excerpts from this article appear below. Full text can be found at: http://www.commentarymagazine.com/9704/norman.html
NOT LONG ago, the Library of America put out a beautiful new three-volume edition of the novels and memoirs of Vladimir Nabokov, and I decided to seize upon it as a convenient occasion for reacquainting myself with his work. Which explains why I happened to be reading Lolita on the very day a story by Nina Bernstein appeared on the front page of the New York Times that cast a horrifying new light on Nabokov's masterpiece. It also brought memories to the surface that had long been buried, and simultaneously forced me into rethinking a number of questions I had up till then considered fairly well resolved. As I was going through this difficult process, I was given a few more pushes by Milos Forman's movie, The People vs. Larry Flynt, and two recently published books, Roger Shattuck's Forbidden Knowledge and Rochelle Gurstein's The Repeal of Reticence. By the time I was through, my peace of mind had been so disturbed that I was left wishing that those old memories and those settled questions had been allowed to remain in their contentedly slumberous state.Podhertz makes comments such as these:
But as I have now come to understand on rereading Nabokov in the new Library of America edition, there was something less admirable that went along with his linguistic genius and that he also had in common with Joyce: a contempt for his audience. I realize this is a very harsh charge, but how else can one honestly describe the attitude implicit in a style so in love with itself that it often loses sight of what it is supposed to be conveying, and so aesthetically narcissistic that it intransigently refuses to make any concessions whatsoever to the reader, even to the point of often requiring an editor's footnotes to decipher the pyrotechnical wordplay in which it so mischievously indulges?However preposterous Podhoretz's accusations, many in the film industry may be afraid that release of Lyne's film in the US will trigger a wave of pedophilia for which they or their interests will be considered responsible. And who can say this is not true? A casual search on the internet for "Lolita" delivers two index screens of hard-core porn sites before ever a mention of Nabokov or his novel appears. The subtle indictment of the "Lolita" mentality that is a part of the book's complexity is lost on the non-readers who traffic these sites.
In the November 1996 interview I conducted with Stephen Schiff, the sceenwriter for Lyne's "Lolita", we did not discuss the current difficulties in finding a distributor. When I recently asked him about the above situation, he commented,
What, precisely, do the fears of a movie's causing a "wave of pedophilia" amount to? Does someone really believe that a viewer of "Lolita" might sit in the movie theatre, watching the deterioration of Humbert's life, and say to himself, "Huh! Pedophilia! Never thought of that! Think I'll try it!"?In the meantime, many articles discussing the film from both "first amendment" and "artistic" viewpoints have surfaced. Below is a quick list of some of the most notable appearing after 9/1/97 (recent articles mentioned on NABOKV-L not included).
Richard Covington, "Lolita Makes The European Rounds" Los Angeles Times, January 20, 1998, p. 1.Sergei and Homosexuality
In Berlin, Charting Gay Art's Struggle to Emerge
An August 3, 1997 article in the New York Times by Michael Ratcliffe describes an exhibit held in Berlin at the Academy of Arts to celebrate 100 years of the international gay movement. Comprised of 1,000 paintings, drawings, photographs, documents and books the exhibit sought to express the exuberance of "...a homosexual culture that has become global in the last years of this century."
Vladimir Nabokov's gay brother, Sergei, about whom he writes with bewildered remorse in his memoirs, died of exhaustion in the concentration camp at Neuengamme. We look with new eyes at the 1918 photograph of five Nabokov siblings: not first, as before, at the supercool, pale-browed genius of 19 on the left, but at Sergei, an intense, owlish adolescent in Yalta school uniform and pince-nez. They don't even look related. (Their father had been a leading liberal campaigner for sexual reforms in St. Petersburg in the 1890's.) The Gestapo warrant for Sergei's arrest is also here; the Nazis kept everything.Jakob and Jewel: VN and Popular Culture
Two musicians, Jewel and Jakob Dylan have recently been characterized in the popular press by their taste for Nabokov. Gerri Hirshey in a June 12, 1997 article called "Jakob's Ladder" describes this scenario,
"Disco sucks!" bellows a husky partisan in a Bruins jersey. A lacy, burgundy-colored bra floats onstage. Then - thunk! - a yellowed, dogeared paperback of Lolita lands at the scuffed toes of Jakob's black brogans. He looks puzzled, a bit concerned. How could anyone out there guess his fondness for Nabokov ? Could they possibly know that he can read a page of the old reprobate's lush prose and see a half-dozen songs fly out of it? Round midnight, sitting in the darkened back lounge of the Wallflowers' rolling bus, Jakob Dylan will wonder aloud: "Where are they getting their information? How?"In "The Shaping of Jewel" which appeared on July 21,1997, in Time, Howard Chua-Eoan depicts the rock singer as,
The street-smart optimism of pop's new goddess rises from a life of near poverty in Alaska and San Diego. Her metaphors can be equine. She has said she is not a workhorse, not a racehorse, but a show horse. She brings up a fictional character who looked "impossibly sad, like a horse's eyes." It is a quote, she says, from Nabokov, and she pronounces the novelist's name correctly, with the stress on the second syllable, exactly as exacting old Vladimir used to instruct his readers. He might have been able to appreciate this latest of pop goddesses, this star of the Lilith Fair. After all, it was a Nabokov character who said that while he was capable of loving Eve, "it was Lilith he longed for." Jewel's is a fey, insidious charm, equal parts worldly and naive, where flaws--the crooked nose and crooked teeth she is so proud of--only betray an uncommon beauty. Then there is the improbable match of slender youth and that voice--an astonishingly versatile instrument ranging from soul-shattering yodels to the most eloquent of whispers to arch Cole Porter-ish recitative.Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut, recently in the news due to the novel commonly publicized as his last, is compared to Nabokov in this excerpt from an article "Vonnegut's last laugh: A talk with America's greatest living Saab dealer" in the October 7, Village Voice.
However unlikely it sounds-plenty, right?-I also think Vonnegut and Nabokov have things in common. No, not everything: Vonnegut, I love. Nabokov, I revere. But they're both the products of lost paradises, which reverberate in their work with a nostalgia unmarred by self-pity. Nabokov's idyllic, cushy Russian youth has the advantage of sounding like paradise; Vonnegut's was prewar Indianapolis, which doesn't. His parents didn't have a happy adulthood: his mother finally killed herself not long before Kurt was captured in the Battle of the Bulge. Even so, he's one of the few American writers to have had a happy childhood, which was also a privileged one, until his prosperous family went bust in the Depression.Stolen Books
As reported in the December 7, 1997 New York Times p. 3, in order to protect books that are regularly stolen, Tower Records created a behind-the-counter placard that reads : ''Tower's Most Wanted,'' and features sinister-looking photos and the names of the authors of these books. Hot authors are Jack Keruoac, Charles Bukowski, Albert Camus, Paul Auster, Raymond Carver, Cormac McCarthy, Henry Miller and Jim Thompson. Keeping this good company is, of course, Vladimir Nabokov.
Citywide, the hottest books are, Junkie by William S. Burroughs, On the Road by Jack Kerouac and Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov . In addition, anything by Charles Bukowski has to be nailed down.The article, far from denouncing thievery decides,
Perhaps people shouldn't be so concerned by all this theft. There are those who say that the taste reflected by the thieves is the taste not of Americans in general, but simply of those who steal. And there is some good news. At least there are people left who still want to read.Young Girls
In the March 1997 Los Angeles Magazine, Lawrence Weschler makes an interesting comparison between Gidget and Lolita in an article called "From Hitler to Hollywood". The article traces the fortunes and fates of German emigres who landed in Hollywood after WWII.
IN THE MID 1950s, A GERMAN emigre writer named Frederick Kohner watched, mystified, as his Americanized teenage daughter learned to surf on Malibu Beach. Kohner decided to write a fictionalized account of his daughter's exploits, deploying as the book's title the nickname she had acquired at the beach: Gidget. Around the same time, a Russian emigre named Nabokov living in Ithaca, New York, published astory about another American teenager called Lolita. Both books concerned girls coming of age, both were quintessentially American, and both were by émigrés.Psoriasis
In the December 20 -27th British Medical Journal Frans Meulenberg profiles literary incidents of psoriasis along with the true life occurences that inspired them. He discusses in detail John Updike's bouts with the disease and the manifestation of them in several of his works. He also states,
Vladimir Nabokov concealed his psoriasis. For example, in the collection of interviews with Nabokov the term psoriasis is never used. In February 1937 Nabokov suffered a bad attack. On 15 May of that year he somewhat pathetically wrote to his wife, Vera: "I continue with the radiation treatments every day and am pretty much cured. You know-now I can tell you frankly-the indescribable torments I endured in February, before these treatments, drove me to the border of suicide-a border I was not authorised to cross because I had you in my luggage." His biographer mentions only one more exacerbation of psoriasis after that, which occurred in the late 1960s when the strain of writing the novel Ada fell from Nabokov's shoulders.The article concludes with this insight:
Psoriasis functions as a metaphor for the creative process. Psoriasis is the result of the implosion of the artist, and the novels on psoriasis cultivate the idea that the psoriasis plaque is the Achilles heel of the introvert individualist, the artist who looks upon the world as a guardsman from the ivory tower of his psoriasis. His salvation is a make believe world or an entirely private world: the imagined past or the world of art.Letters to the Editor
Two books of interest to Nabokophiles but not likely to be noted in the usual channels of communication are abstracted below.
Between Heaven and Hell: A Thousand Years of Russia's Artistic Experience. W. Bruce Lincoln. Viking, $34.95 (544p) ISBN 0-679-87568-6
Lincoln investigates the psychological and aesthetic tensions in artists like composer Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915), whom he views as suspended between East and West. Relying heavily on primary sources, he gauges the impact of émigrés like Tsvetaeva, Nabokov , Brodsky and Solzhenitsyn, who developed new forms that merged with artistic currents long suppressed in the Soviet Union to create a new force in Russian life of the post-Soviet era.Darwin's Orchestra: An Almanac of Nature in History and the Arts. Michael Sims. Henry Holt 1997 (508p) ISBN 0-8050-4220-2
This book is a series of essays drawn from the literature of Natural History and Popular Culture and adhering to a daybook format --one essay for each day of the year. 12, June 1948 is entitled "Nabokov's Butterflies" because of the fact that Nabokov's own account of his lifelong fascination with butterflies appeared in the June 12, 1948 issue of the New Yorker. Nabokov also figures in the 17, November 1912 essay, "The Metamorphosis of Franz K". On this day Kafka began writing Die Verwandlung. Darwin's Orchestra is a quirky book of facts and dates, well researched and a lot of fun.
Zembla depends on frames for navigation. If you have been referred to this page without the surrounding frame, click here.


text:
Emerald Bird Pin
Emerald Bird Pin
Style: Bird Pin
Inspiration: nature, bird
Material: amethyst, emerald, 18k gold-plated brass
4.5" x 5"
Style #: BDP-12
Delicately handmade in the heart of Manhattan, these brooches were constructed on an 18 karat gold-plated brass construct. Each gem was handset and chosen from the finest provenance.
- May be available as a pendant
- Customization Available
* Pewter / brass / steel / gold
* Nickel-free, lead-free, cadmium-free


text:
Five Exceptional Art House Films Shot in New York
New York is one of the greatest cities in the world with its diverse population, rich history, and also the breaking ground for many great filmmakers. The city has played host to countless movies that have become the most memorable and artistic achievements of many directors' careers . These movies have gone on to be not only redefining but has also become synonymous for New York. With that being said, here are 5 exceptional art house films made in New York.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Director Michel Gondry teams up with screenwriter Charlie Kaufman for one of the most imaginative and original films ever made. This movie stars Jim Carrey, in a career defining role, as a man who has discovered that his ex-girlfriend has had her memory erased in order to forget him. He also decides to have his memory erased, however, everything becomes topsy turvy as he finds himself falling in love with her again.
Requiem for a Dream
Darren Aronofsky's controversial and brilliant film stars Jared Leto, Marlon Wayans, and Jennifer Connelly as three drug addictsthat constantly scheme and plot in order to get their next fix. The movie traces the inevitable tragic spiral of their lives as they chase their desperate need to get high.
Jonathan Glazer's films are always uneasy and thought provoking, as they attempt to have the viewer completely emerged in the cinematic world he creates. "Birth" stars Nicole Kidman as a widow who is engaged to be married and encounters a young boy who claims to be the reincarnation of her dead husband.
This 2014 film directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu helped to revitalize Michael Keaton's career, while also pushing the boundaries of the arthouse genre. "Birdman" is about a washed up actor who was famous for playing a superhero named Birdman. In order to achieve critical success, the actor attempts to stage a play that begins to hilariously unravel as he and his cast run amok in the theatre house.
Black Swan
Darren Aronofsky makes the list again with this disturbing film. "Black Swan" stars Natalie Portman as a ballet dancer who has obtained the lead role in "Swan Lake," but slowly begins to lose her mind. She begins to question what exactly is real or fabricated from her deteriorating mind.


text:
R.E.M. - Collapse Into Now (2011) | ★★★☆☆
Since drummer Bill Berry's departure in 1997, R.E.M. has fought to maintain its record of producing consistently successful and provoking albums.
Beginning with Up (1998) and continuing through Accelerate (2008), R.E.M. has for the past ten years delivered sub-par, dissatisfying and underdeveloped albums. The band's 15th studio album, Collapse Into Now, delivers a glimpse of the progression fans have been waiting for since Berry's departure.
While Collapse offers nothing of the glory achieved by R.E.M.'s groundbreaking releases like Out of Time and Automatic for the People in the early '90s, it is a step away from the band's strange pseudo-electronic and punk divergences heard throughout the past decade. Collapse offers a combination of older, classic R.E.M. and the newer, refined sound the band has been searching for since 1996.
The album shows off the band's ability to continuously deliver daring lyrics and powerful guitar riffs, but sometimes becomes too much of a throwback to older R.E.M. sounds. The delayed opening in "Hey" and twang of the acoustic guitar intro on "Überlin," the second single off the album, is reminiscent of "Drive," the lead single from 1992's Automatic for the People. The similarity almost ruins one of the most memorable and satisfying choruses of the new album.
These annoying similarities also surface in other songs on the album: "Blue" seems like a dull re-imagination of 1996's "E-bow the Letter," and "Oh My Heart" carries an acoustic tempo similar to that of 1991's "Country Feedback" and 1996's "New Test Leper."
While the return to past albums remains somewhat detrimental to Collapse, many songs shine through as original and progressive compositions. The thumping power-chords on "Mine Smell Like Honey" show off guitarist Peter Buck's unending ability to create complex, majestic melodies that tower over the entire song. "Walk It Back" is a nostalgic song in which singer Michael Stipe's still-sharp voice overshadows the instrumentals, enveloping the listener in the song's story of regret as it laments saying what's on your heart only to trip over your words and be misunderstood.
The album features many guest appearances. Eddie Vedder performs howling backing vocals on "It Happened Today;" proto-punker Patti Smith lends her voice to both "Blue" and "Discoverer" as she did previously on "E-bow the Letter;" and Lenny Kaye plays guitar solos on both "Alligator_Aviator_Autopilot_Antimatter" and "Blue." A look through the album's complete personnel listing reveals the collaboration of many more musicians.
The record as a whole is a combination of classic R.E.M. sounds and something new that is trying to break out. While the album is the most complex and fulfilling since 1996's New Adventures in Hi-Fi, it does not show the new R.E.M. that fans have been waiting for, but rather a brief preview of the band to come.


text:
Ben Farinazzo and the spirit of the Invictus Games
As a rower and powerlifter, Benjamin Farinazzo is the picture of strength. But as he raises the barbell at this year's Invictus Games in Sydney, spare a thought for the weight that he's carried on his shoulders since he served in the military.
Ben, a UNSW Canberra graduate, describes his service in East Timor as the highlight of his military career, but it also left him with psychological scars.
"I had the very fortunate opportunity to work closely with the East Timorese people," Ben says.
"It was such a deep human connection I had with those people."
Ben was in East Timor in 1999, when the Suai Church massacre occurred. Up to 200 people, seeking refuge in the church were killed by the militia. Ben had the heart-wrenching task of helping locals, many of them children, find the bodies of their loved ones.
"That had a deep emotional impact on me," Ben says.
"I knew it did at the time, but I didn't realise the extent to which it had an impact on me. Of course, I came back and bottled it away and got on with my life, but over time that wound continued to fester, to the point where I tried so hard to block those emotions.
"At the same time, you tend to block the other emotions such as joy and happiness, so you don't feel anything anymore. That led me to a point where I started to consider what life was all about."
Eventually, the sleep difficulties, nightmares, mood swings and irritability caught up with him.
"You have all these different strategies that you put in place, but unless you address the root cause of it and seek professional help, it can tear away at you," Ben says.
Ben visited an empathetic doctor, who had her own experience as a veteran in Rwanda. He remained stoic even after the post-traumatic stress disorder diagnosis.
"I was like: 'alright, what is the three-step strategy that I need to get on top of this thing?'" he recalls.
"And she said: 'Well, it's a bit more complicated than that'.
"I said: 'Well, I guess I'll just see it as a broken arm or something, I'll just look after it and get on with life.'
"She said 'Ben, stop. It's not like that. It's more like cancer. If you don't address this thing properly, you will die from it.'"
"And that was pretty hard."
Ben sought help, but he was far from out of the woods. While he was being treated, he had a mountain bike accident and broke his neck and back in several places.
"So, I was walking through the valley of the shadow of death and then I well and truly hit rock bottom."
Through treatment, Ben learnt that his vulnerability could be his saving grace. His first step to recovery was learning to open himself up to people.
Once he opened up about his battle with mental illness, he learnt that he wasn't alone. He discovered friends and colleagues who were facing their own battles with PTSD, anxiety and depression.
"It's amazing that once you start becoming open about it, when you start expressing how you're genuinely feeling, it gives people the confidence and the courage themselves to be open and to be authentic about how they're feeling, their emotions and the impact it's having on their lives," Ben says.
As part of his recovery, Ben turned to rowing. When he heard about the Invictus Games, it gave him something to aspire to. He decided once he was capable of being out of hospital for at least 12 months he would submit an expression of interest.
He achieved that milestone at the end of last year.
"Then the world changed," he says.
"As soon as I found out that I was part of the potential selection squad, a fantastic opportunity opened up to then join other potential competitors and to compete at the various selection camps."
Ben was selected to represent Australia in rowing and powerlifting at this year's Invictus Games, which start on October 20 in Sydney.
The word 'Invictus' is Latin for 'unconquered', reflecting the story and the spirit of competitors such as Ben.
"In my experience connecting through the healing power of sport has been invaluable," Ben says.
Ben's renewed strength means the weight on his shoulders no longer feels so heavy.
"The spirit of invictus is about celebrating the unconquerable human spirit and to me that means being able to stand up authentically, being vulnerable and saying 'this is who I am – faults, smiles and all'," Ben says.
"It's that wonderful feeling of being inspired by such a great community of competitors around you from around Australia, around the world and everyone in the stands. I can't wait."
Although Ben's story is inspiring and moving, we appreciate that it too could present as a trigger for readers. If you are faced with challenging thoughts, feelings, or memories, please contact one of the below services:
Lifeline on 13 11 14
Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800
MensLine Australia on 1300 789 978
Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467
Beyond Blue on 1300 22 46 36
Headspace on 1800 650 890
QLife on 1800 184 527


text:
Jared Carnie
Watch this name, read this book, Jared A.Carnie can write.
(Peter Urpeth, author of Far Inland)
About Jared Carnie
Jared A. Carnie is originally from Essex. He has since lived in Bath, Sheffield and the Outer Hebrides. His writing frequently appears in various journals, zines and anthologies. He has read at numerous events including the Inverness Book Festival and was awarded a New North Poets Award at the Northern Writers Awards 2015.


text:
Our faucets will be the centerpiece of your beautiful new kitchen. With drip-free performance, tough finishes to resist scratching and tarnishing and hundreds of styles to choose from us can help turn even the most casual cook into a master chef. American Standard kitchen faucets are available in a variety of styles and feature levels including the all new kitchen faucets. Why settle for a beautiful faucet when you can have a Huahong faucet that's beautiful and has more spray patterns .Visit Store >
GBP £30.16 - 34.29 / Piece
(US $30.16 - 34.29 / Piece)
Quantity: 1
Shipping Cost: Free Shipping
To United States Via ePacket Est.Delivery Sep 7 and Sep 29
Material: Metal
Finish: Brass
Contemporary design Tower ring ,Wall mount / Europe style. For commercial, home, bar etc. use.Easy to install ,Come with all necessary fittings.
Tower ring ,Wall mount / Europe style. For commercial, home, bar etc. use.Easy to install ,Come with all necessary fittings
There are many payment methods available on DHgate.com such as credit cards, realtime bank transfers, offline payments (bank transfers and Western Union). You can choose a method which is the most convenient for you. To protect your interests, your payment will be temporarily held by DHgate, and will not be released to us until you receive your order and are satisfied with it.
1. Shipping cost: Click "Shipping and payment" tab on the product detail page, and you will see the delivery details. You can calculate shipping cost by inputting the required information.
2. ·Please pay more attention to your order addresses which MUST MATCH your Shipping address.
·Items will be shipped within 4 business days after cleared payment.
·Shipping will be worldwide via UPS/FEDEX/DHL/EMS, and please tell us which one will be the most suitable for you ·Remote area may cause extra shipping fee.
·You should check item when item delivered,if damaged, please kindly accept it and contact us immediately, we will resend you a new one if necessary, this is much appreciated.
3. Time in transit: Transit time varies with different shipping methods.
4. Item Processing Time: The processing time for a specific order varies with the product type and stock status. Mostly, processing time can be 3 to 15 working days.
If you want to exchange the items received, you must contact us within 3 days of the receipt of your order. And you should pay the additional shipping fees incurred and the items returned should be kept in their original status.
·We describe items as well as I can. If I have missed something, please let me know;
·Please e-mail me before leaving feedback if you are unhappy with your item, so we can work it out;
Since your feedback is very important to our business`s development, we sincerely invite you to leave positive feedback for us if you are satisfied with our product and service. It`ll just take you 1 minute. Thank you!
Seller: huahongsanitary
291 Transactions, 100% Positive Feedback


text:
Enjoy a girls night out filled with food, wine & dessert tastings, boutique style shopping and fashion show. Cabana Guys will be roaming the crowds with purses & shoes and our furry friends from the Placer SPCA will be hanging out in their private cabana - awaiting their turn to walk the red carpet. Don't miss out on this fabulous event!
Thunder Valley Casino Resort | Poolside
1200 Athens Ave.
Lincoln, CA 95648
For more info and to purchase tickets, click here.


text:
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are moving out of the Kensington Palace and getting a new home!
According to People, the couple is moving into the 10-bedroom Frogmore Cottage on the grounds of Windsor Castle, given to them by the Queen.
The residence, which has space for a nursery, a personal gym, and a yoga studio, is already family to the royals as that's where they held their wedding and shot their engagement photos.
Sally Bedell Smith, who writes about the Royal Family, told People:
The arrival of Meghan has changed the dynamic of the relationship in a fairly significant way. It is inevitable and practical because it gives Harry and Meghan some freedom to build up their own collection of interests and charities.
Meghan has very strong views on what she is interested in and that may be what Harry shares, but not what William and Kate share.
Photo Credit: Getty Images


text: Some buddies and I shot this band Tortoise recently for a record company. The band was about to go on an international tour and needed some promotional tour to send to cities before they came to play. This shoot was done on a shoestring budget and I really feel like we were able to get some nice stuff regardless!


text:
This 10 Minute Perfect Broiled Lobster Tails Recipe is one of the absolute best ways to cook lobster. We're giving it a slightly smoky flavor with a touch of paprika, as well as a sweet and salty hit of butter.
Like most seafood, when overcooked, lobster is just a mess. Its really a shame because it's so expensive- it ought to always taste fabulous! This method to prepare lobster tails won't leave you with gummy, fishy flavor.
This recipe is lightning quick- and gets you the most flavorful, succulent, and juicy lobster. No gummy, dry, or fishy meat here! This would be really fun for a romantic meal or dinner party- you can prep the tails and place in the refrigerator (I'd cover them to keep the lobster meat from absorbing fridge flavors) and pop them in the oven when it is time to eat.
2 Lobster tails
1½ tbsp butter, divided
celtic sea salt
a pinch of smoked paprika per lobster tail
- Step 1
Preheat broiler to high.
- Step 2
Set lobster tails on a baking sheet or in an oven safe dish.
- Step 3
With sharp kitchen scissors or a knife, carefully cut the top of the lobster tail shell down to the tip of the tail, avoiding the meat. Devein if needed.
- Step 4
Carefully pull shell down, so meat looks like it is sitting on top of shell and open.
- Step 5
Sprinkle with salt and paprika.
- Step 6
Add small pats of butter along the lobster tail.
- Step 7
Place in oven on a middle rack.
- Step 8
Let cook until meat is opaque and white, about 8-10 minutes.
- Step 9
Remove and serve immediately with drawn butter.


text:
Every year, the Sickle Cell Disease Research, Surveillance, Prevention, and Treatment Act must be renewed, and on July 25, 2018, the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) approved bill S. 2465 to go to the full Senate for consideration...read more
Music Therapy Pilot Study Gives More Evidence to Music's Pain-Relieving Abilities
There's been clinically based evidence of music therapy benefiting sickle cell warriors for a little while now, but just recently, a pilot study on the subject went a bit further, showing that even just one session can help lessen a patient's pain and boost their...read more
Phi Beta Sigma and the SCDAA Have Partnered to Raise Awareness and Funds for Sickle Cell Disease
A couple of months ago, The Links Foundation, Inc. donated $1 million specifically for sickle cell research to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. And just 10 days ago, another prominent Black nonprofit -- this time a Greek organization -- announced its partnership...read more
Opioids, Sickle Cell, and the Latest Win on the Issue
Instead of improving over the years, the stigma associated with sickle cell warriors and pain medications has only gotten worse -- especially with the onset of this administration's focus on what they term the "opioid epidemic." Warriors are often dismissed as addicts...read more
5 Summer Reads for When It's Too Hot to Actually be at the Beach
Even when the weather makes it too unbearable -- and too much of a crisis risk -- to bask in a chair seaside, you can still enjoy all the latest beach reads from the comfort of your air conditioning. Put your meditation app on calming beach waves, and settle in with a...read more
There's Finally a Podcast Dedicated to Sickle Cell
PRESS PLAY ▶ We have to preserve ourselves for the cure! Listen now to our very first episode, we are launched today on #WorldSickleCellDay. We are talking about the current state of #sicklecell. You can listen to The Sickle Cell Podcast on iTunes, Google Play,...read more
How to Raise Sickle Cell Awareness 365 by Starting a Book Club
Tomorrow is World Sickle Cell Day, but the only way to truly make an impact on SCD awareness is to make the efforts ongoing. We've shared a lot of ideas over the past few years about how to do just that, and in celebration of WSCD 2018, we're comin' at you with...read more
The FDA Wants to Hear from You. Here's How to Make That Happen.
Last month, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it would be holding a public meeting all about chronic pain, in hopes of learning, directly from people living with chronic pain, more about what patients go through and how treatment is given. As the date...read more
World Sickle Cell Day 2018 Awareness Campaigns You Can Start Now
June 19 is World Sickle Cell Day, but you don't have to wait until then to show your support and help raise awareness. Here are a few examples of what others are already doing leading up to World Sickle Cell Day 2018 to inspire you. 1. SHARE CREATIVE FUNDRAISING...read more
Sickle Cell Warriors in Cameroon Still Face Dangerous Prejudices and Labeling
We talk about the stigmatization of sickle cell here in the U.S., especially when it comes to doctors using biased language in their patient notes, which can affect the quality of a person's healthcare long-term. But in some countries, such as Cameroon, such stigma...read more
This Week in Sickle Cell News: Awareness, Perseverance, and Anti-Stigmatization
We're always scouring the internet and social media to find sickle cell questions that need answering, products that have recently been released, and topics that require more discussion -- all of which fuel our own article ideas. This week, we'd like to share our top...read more
Houston Teen Starts Nonprofit to Raise Awareness for Sickle Cell Disease
Hailey Fields is more proof that when it comes to making a difference in the world, it doesn't matter how old you are. Only 13, this eighth grader already has a multitude of accomplishments under her belt -- model, actress, beauty entrepreneur, and nonprofit CEO. The...read more
The Links, Inc. Donates $1 Million to St. Jude for Sickle Cell Research
Most of us know St. Jude Children's Research Hospital as the place that treats pediatric cancer patients at no charge to the family. But did you know the doctors at this hospital also treat kids with sickle cell (and other life-threatening diseases)? And they do it...read more
There's a New Stem Cell Method That Has Cured Patients of Sickle Cell
Seven adult sickle cell warriors have officially been cured of the disease. And yes, it was done through the use of stem cells -- just not in the way you may think. Typically, in order for a person to undergo a stem cell transplant, their donor must be a family...read more
5 Ways to Unwind When Your Only Have a Few Minutes
You already know how much we believe in self-care and relaxation. It helps reduce stress, which in turn can lessen the occurrence of a crisis and the complications that come with it. But what if you don't have an entire day -- or even an hour -- to devote to such...read more


text:
SeaWorld San Antonio opens November 18, 2017, for the Christmas season. I'll either be 'in the chair' or be performing in the Dinner Theater, "Dinner With Santa and Mrs. Claus."
How do you like the suit? SeaWorld San Antonio says "We're in Texas and We Own It!"
SeaWorld Santa gets involved in lots of things. Like the cold winter day when Santa delivered the pieces for the new Wave Breaker Roller Coaster. What a 'big boy Lego set'!
We checked out the parts and left the experts to have it ready by summer '17.
Click the image to check out the video:
Just because Santa is 1,777 years old doesn't mean he can't appreciate being surrounded by beautiful elves!


text:
House of Business Cards Season 2
(Please forgive the corny titles. I just can't help myself.)
So now you have ten to twenty boxes of business cards and you are ready to hand them out to every warm body you come across. First, I hope you are planning on keeping your number, email, and website for as long as it takes you to go through all those cards. Just throwing that out there.
Next, you will probably want be careful about peppering those puppies all over the place. Think of how it is portrayed in entertainment. If a character walks up to another character and goes, "Hi, nice to meetcha my name's Sam Vee I'm in (some business), here's my card." What is your knee-jerk reaction to this character? Sleazy, slimy, and smarmy. I'm sure you don't want to come across that way. Or even worse, desperate.
The better way to do it is to have a conversation. Connect with the person you are speaking with. Be sure to talk about what you do but don't "sell" them. I like to tell a funny story about a gig I worked on or a technical snafu I once had. By the time the conversation is over half of the time the person is asking for my business card. The other half of the time I make a judgement call. Sometimes I ask if they want it, and sometimes when I get the vibe they have no interest I say my goodbyes and that's that.
I know I may get some flak about that, but frankly there are some people who will not need your services. Someone who lives in an apartment complex will probably never need to call a plumber. When their toilet needs snaked they will call their landlord who will call a plumber. It's a just a fact of life. Some folks work under the belief that everyone is a potential customer. That isn't wrong. But once you start to get to know somebody that potential may dwindle. Yes, every person I meet I work under the assumption that they will need my services. But I'm not going to cling to that assumption despite mountains of evidence to the contrary. Not smart to fool yourself. It's a waste of their time and yours. (Note: I would err on the side of asking anyway. I would say it's a 80/20 split. Most of the time I ask.)
One final note here, always ASK if they want your business card. Never say, "Here's my card" unsolicited. Granted if they ask for your number or email address or have specifically asked for a card then knock yourself out. But if you get to a point where they haven't asked for your information and the conversation is about to end and you want to hand one out just throw out a polite, "You mind if I give you my card, just in case you have any questions about 'so and so?'"
NOTE for VO Artists: This is ESPECIALLY true when you are meeting other folks in "The Business." If you are meeting a top tier performer, director, casting agent, you keep that damn business card in your pocket until they ask or you feel comfortable asking if they want it. The truth of the matter is if you go in guns blazing with your card right out of the gate, then it will be accepted with a smile, then tossed in a trash bin as soon as your are out of sight. If your lucky it may make it back to the hotel room or in a wallet for 6 months before it makes it to the trash bin. I've heard this from multiple big names that they toss business cards of folks who are that brazen. Why? Because it comes across as desperate. And they don't know you from Adam. If they are going to go to bat for someone it's going to be for a person who they know and trust. Not some guy who shoved their card into the hand with a, "HEY! I LOVE your work. Here's my card. Why didn't you do that voice in the movie too? I thought you....."
Again, hope you guys liked this weeks entry and hoped it was informative. As always give me a holler at email@example.com.
Take Care!


text:
AccorHotels to expand its premium brands in India
Monday, April 17, 2017, 7:30 AM
Hotel chain Accor-Hotels which owns brands like Ibis, Novotel and Pullman in India said its primary focus is to expand the luxury segment in emerging markets like India. Accor-Hotels acquired luxury brands Fairmont and Raffles in a $2.7 billion deal last year and luxury is over one-third of Accor's hotel revenues globally. Accor is looking at expanding the Fairmont brand in India.Read More


text:
An object representing a constraint on task placement in the task definition.
If you are using the Fargate launch type, task placement constraints are not supported.
For more information, see Task Placement Constraints in the Amazon Elastic Container Service Developer Guide.
- expression
A cluster query language expression to apply to the constraint. For more information, see Cluster Query Language in the Amazon Elastic Container Service Developer Guide.
Type: String
Required: No
- type
The type of constraint. The
DistinctInstanceconstraint ensures that each task in a particular group is running on a different container instance. The
MemberOfconstraint restricts selection to be from a group of valid candidates.
Type: String
Valid Values:
Required: No
See Also
For more information about using this API in one of the language-specific AWS SDKs, see the following:


text:
Posted by gabbyv on 9/26/2012, 1:17 pm
http://www.gabbysbostonterriers.com May your friends respect you, your troubles neglect you, your family protect you, and negativity not affect you!567
Re: Holly, Tootie, Frootie, Oj New toy! - npsheehan 9/27/2012, 2:09 pm
« Back to index
Post a Response
Please Log in or Register.
Optional Image URL:
Optional Link Title:Optional Link URL:
By posting, you confirm that you have read and agree to the board's usage terms.


text:
The year 2010 wasn't a very productive blogging year for me. It saw me transform from a personal blogger to a more 'general' blogger influenced by things that were happening around me. Although i cherish each post that i wrote, the following list take the cake.
Perks For Code Monkeys, How Much Is "Enough?"
Fresh Out Of A Secret Lab, I Give You…..
A Nation United…. For Pr0n
LHC : The New Hero In Town
20th May: Identify The Retards Day.
First Ever Off Saturday: My Thoughts
Valentines Mubarak
HK-101: Slacking Techniques For Programmers


text:
Little, Brown & Co, £10.99, ISBN 0-316-85539-1
Fantasy, 2001
Don't be fooled by the "sassy werewolf chick" hype on the cover. Bitten, Kelley Armstrong's debut, is a violent werewolf novel in the grand bandwagon-hopping tradition of Laurell K Hamilton, but the werewolf heroine Elena Michaels is anything but sassy and strong. She is weak, sometimes pathetically so. If I am not expecting a wisecracking werewolf sassy bitch heroine the way the hype leads me to believe, I may not feel so cheated and hence enjoy Bitten more than I actually did.
Elena is a werewolf who has left her pack. Or so she believes. She lives with a human, Phillip, in her attempt to be human and normal. Unlike most werewolves who are born that way, Elena is bitten and transformed when she was in early twenties by the man she loves, Clay, who turns out to be a psycho werewolf with a capital P. Elena rejects the wolf part of her. Also, Elena is special. Werewolf genes are passed on from father to son. Female "transformed" werewolves rarely survive the first Change. Hence Elena is the only female werewolf known in existence.
Until the Alpha head of her Pack, Jeremy calls. Rogue werewolves – "mutts" – are killing humans and drawing humans' attention to the existence of werewolves. Elena, who is expert in tracking mutts, is called to help and she reluctantly does. This brings her in close contact with Clay again, as they work side by side. Clay wants her. He has never stopped wanting her. And he will kill anyone who is in his way to possessing her.
My thought is one of a loud dismayed "Why?" Indeed, why Elena? Why do all those gorgeously psychotic and mad, bad, rabid, and oh-so-bad werewolf lunatics want Elena? She is such a weak creature. She keeps saying oh, she doesn't want to do this or that, but she does them anyway. Throughout the whole story, she is an observer, never an initiator or a doer. Even at the end, her grand actions are compelled by Clay in trouble. Everything she does has to revolve around a man. Sad.
The author isn't above using the stereotype that all strong women must have some screwed-up childhood, ie women are by nature sweet and jolly. Elena's past is really screwed-up and she has experienced everything from sexual abuse to even being imprisoned in a cage. Nice. Perhaps Elena's weak and passive behavior stems from the fact that she is a female in a pack, but still, that's no excuse for her then to pretend that she's strong and hence insult my intelligence. Also, Ms Armstrong isn't above using Elena to preach about the evil of humanity in a most unsubtle and preachy way. After a while I just wish Elena will die and leave me alone to enjoy the rabid bad werewolf boys.
And those werewolf boys! Unlike Laurell K Hamilton's hedonistically bisexual werewolves, these doggies here are strictly macho and dominant. Both are fun in different ways. If someone wants me as bad as Clay wants Elena, I will die happy, I tell you. That guy is obsessed and devoted, ooh, yummy. Likewise, the evil bad werewolves have their moments too, and plus, they get what little of the fun lines present in this surprisingly dour story.
Do be warned that this book is violent. Dogs die. Puppies die. Cute furry animals die. People die. This ain't no Disney cartoon, buddy. They die with their heads clawed off and their guts disemboweled. Their throats get slit almost all the way through. This is prime time gory fun.
If this is going to be the start of the series, I hope Elena will get a spine in the next book. Seriously – without a wisecracking tough heroine, what's left to savor? The violence, maybe. But there is little humor, too little sex, and worse, when the violence-induced high is gone, there is very little for me to chew on. Bitten doesn't bite much, and that's a big pity.


text:
The 2019 Halloween and Party Expo with Hauntcon is happening this weekend in New Orleans January 25-27, 2019. This show features everything you can image Halloween and party retail.
Hauntcon is a small haunted house convention, with vendors, seminars and some tours. If you own or want to sell Halloween retail get yourself to New Orleans for the show!
Learn more about the Halloween and Party Expo by visiting their website www.HalloweenPartyExpo.com
The biggest Halloween, Escape and Christmas Attraction tradeshow happens in March located in St Louis. Learn more about that show at www.haashow.com


text:
Tagged: Brian McCann
Walks and Errors Kill the Phils in Atlanta
The Phillies win streak has ended at 4 games after an awful 6-1 loss to the Braves in Atlanta last night. After a lead-off single from Jimmy Rollins in the 1st inning, the Phillies scored their only run of the game. It all went downhill from there.
Pitcher Cole Hamels had one of the worst starts of his career immediately after signing a huge $144 million contract. He walked a career high 6 batters, 3 of which came in the 2nd inning and led to 2 runs for the Braves.
Of course, those 2 runs could have been avoided if Mike Fontenot had not made a gigantic error at 3rd base. He missed a routine ground ball that would have ended the inning without a run scored. Third base has been a total nightmare for the Phillies with Placido Polanco's constant back issues over the past 2 seasons. Polly is on the DL again and neither Fontenot nor Ty Wigginton are able to handle the hot corner. 20% off all Phillies errors this year have happened at 3rd base.
The Phillies have had many 3rd base troubles over the years since after Scott Rolen departed. Think about this: David Bell, Pedro Feliz and Polanco. What do they all have in common? You guessed it…back problems. And if next year the Phillies decide to try Freddy Galvis at 3rd, he and his back fracture will fit right in:
So the troubles at 3rd continue as do the trouble with playing error-free baseball, starting pitching woes and a sluggish offense. The other problem the Phillies are facing? How about Brian McCann. This guy is a 1-man Phillies wrecking crew.
In 6 games against the Phillies just this year, McCann has hit a home run in EVERY single game, including 1 grand slam. He has 16 RBI against the Phillies in 2012…so far. So my question then is, why are the Phillies still pitching to this guy? Walk him! Hit him with a pitch! Throw darts at him! I don't care…just please stop pitching to the guy!
Tune in tonight at 7:10pm to see if the McCann curse continues…ugh.
"LIKE" us on Facebookfor more updates & photos!
Phillies photos by Jenn Zambri Photography; McCann photo courtesy of MLB.com
Phillies Stumble Into All-Star Break With Little Hope to Save Their Season
The Phillies were swept by the Braves today in a depressing 4-3 loss. There was not even a little comic relief, as in Saturday's loss when Hunter Pence bowled over 3rd base coach Juan Samuel while rounding the bases towards home. That bit had everyone except Samuel laughing to the point of tears.
The only laughs today came before the game started:
After that, absolutely nothing was funny. Even the presentation of All-Star jersey's to Carlos Ruiz, Jonathan Papelbon and Cole Hamels was somehow lacking in enthusiasm.
And then fans learned that Shane Victorino was pulled from the line-up at the last moment, prompting rumors of a possible trade or injury. But what actually happened, according to Charlie Manuel, was that Shane was feeling "down" and had "a lot on his mind…" And so, Charlie took him out in favor of Jason Pridie.
That turned out to be the only good move of the day. Pridie hit a 2-run homer and a double, which accounted for all 3 Phillies runs in the game.
Vance Worley battled through 6 innings, allowing 3 runs, which was a nice improvement over his last start where he have up 6 runs in 4 innings. But despite the quality start, not much was going the way of the Phillies.
There were some nice defensive plays:
But the offense was lackluster, despite having both Chase Utley and Ryan Howard in the line-up. The top 4 in the line-up went 1-for-16 collectively, although Jimmy Rollins did go 3-for-3 in pop-fly outs. I am not sure that is a stat to be proud of, but at least he is consistent (note my sarcasm, in case you missed it).
Ultimately, Raul Valdes gave up a solo homer to who else, but Brian McCann, giving the Braves a 1-run lead that the Phillies failed to overcome.
So the Braves had a nice visit to Philly, complete with attempts to steal young Phillies fans. Here is ex-Phil Chad Durbin and Dan Uggla before the game playing nice with one of the kids chosen for the traditional Sunday Starting 9:
Actually, it was very sweet. But Durbin was always that kind of guy; his presence is still missed on this ballclub.
So the Phillies go into the All-Star break in the midst of a complete disaster. They have won only 1 of their last 12 games and sit in dead last in the NL East, 14 games out of first. Get ready fans; I am afraid change is coming, and not the good kind.
For a pleasant distraction, check out my Photo Album from the game; just pretend they win and the photos look even better!
"LIKE" us on Facebook for more updates & photos!
Photos by Jenn Zambri Photography
Howard's Return Spoiled in Loss to Braves
We all waited through 84 dreadful games to finally see the Phillies line-up back together again. Chase Utley came back and now, Ryan Howard is back. But game #85 with Howard, Utley and the old gang together was fun for about 2 or 3 innings. And then, reality set in.
Howard started off his 2012 season with a monster double to center field. Cheer rang out among fans excited to see the big man back again. But by the 3rd inning, we all began to wonder why the offense was still not getting it done.
The Phillies sprinkled 5 hits here and there, two of which were from Howard. The Braves did not have many hits either as Kyle Kendrick finally found his groove after his last regular start spot in the rotation was pushed back a few days. Maybe getting skipped finally gave Kendrick the incentive he needed to step up his game.
And he did just that; Kendrick was great through 7 innings. He allowed only 4 hits and did not give up a single run, even after getting into a tight spot in the 7th inning. But he did not get any run support from his teammates and then was pulled in the 8th in favor of Antonio Bastardo.
Bastardo was awful; he had no command and walked 3 batters, even walking a run home with the bases loaded and 2 outs. If I was managing this team, I'd have pulled him after the first 2 batters based on the season he has had so far and his obvious lack of control at that moment. But you know Charlie Manuel; he is going to stick with "his guy" until he gives up 5 runs, including a grand slam to Brian McCann.
And this exactly what happened. I am so tired of people going on about "roles" in the bullpen. This is my 8th inning guy, this is my middle-relief guy, etc… Because in the same breath, they will tell you that these guys are only human, not robots. That is correct. However, it totally contradicts the theory of bullpen roles.
If they are in fact human, then they are prone to having good days and bad days. If a guy is having a bad day, like Bastardo, then you use someone else, regardless of their "role!" Not to do so is counterproductive, detrimental to your team and gives the impression that the 8th inning guy (or whatever-inning guy) HAS to be a robot in order to succeed. And yet you have just stated he is NOT a robot. See my frustration with this?
Human beings are NOT made of metal; they are flexible. And as such, they should be flexible in their "roles." Charlie also loves to talk about showing confidence in "his guys." Well how much confidence do you think Bastardo has now after that disastrous outing?
Sometimes, you need to step in and save someone from themselves. Tell him, "Today is not your day. You'll get them the next time." That disappointment HAS to be better than the one that comes with allowing 5 runs in the 8th inning of a previously scoreless game, followed by getting chewed out on the bench by your pitching coach in front of everyone.
I have a lot of respect for Manuel and the way he manages. When things are going good, his style works very, very well. You can afford to let a guy go a little further. But when times are bad, like they are now, you have to adapt. And in my humble opinion, that is the part he is getting wrong right now. And this team, 13 games back in the NL East, cannot afford ANY wrong moves.
I still love ya, Charlie. But seriously, do "your guys" a favor and show some tough love. This team needs a swift kick in the rear, on all sides of the ball. And now we can only pray that it is not already too late.
"LIKE" us on Facebook for more updates & photos!
Player photos by Jenn Zambri Photography
Chooch Leads Phillies to a Big Win
If someone had told me that by the end of June this season, Carlos Ruiz would be leading all of baseball in batting average, I may have checked to see if that person was running a fever. Chooch has always been a good player; but he has never been .361 with 10 home runs-good. The 10 homers, including one in last night's 5-4 win over the Pirates, is a career high. And it is only June…
So yes, Chooch leads everyone in batting average with .361. That is better than past MVP's Joey Votto and Josh Hamilton. Ruiz has also outhit fellow catchers and All-Star voting leaders Yadier Molina and Brian McCann. Soooooo….VOTE FOR CHOOCH! We have until Thursday to get him to the All-Star game!
But even if that fails, manager Charlie Manuel told reporters yesterday that he plans on calling Tony La Russa, the NL All-Star team manager, to plead the case for Chooch. Manuel always sticks up for his players, but especially in this case, Ruiz really deserves the honor.
Chooch put his stamp all over last night's win. He went 3-for-4 with a homer and 2 RBI. And while catching, Ruiz saved two runs from scoring by blocking the plate and tagging out the runners.
The biggest of those plays came in the 7th inning after starter Vance Worley got into a real jam. With no outs, 2 runners on base and 1 run already across, Worley was removed and rookie Michael Schwimer took over. Schwimer coaxed a ground out and then a short fly ball to left. One the fly ball, John Mayberry Jr. made a great throw home, which Ruiz caught and tagged the runner for an inning-ending double play.
That play kept the Phillies lead intact and Chooch's subsequent homer added to that lead. The home run he hit in the 8th turned out to be a game saver as closer Jonathan Papelbon struggled in the 9th, allowing a solo homer. But the Ruiz blast made the difference in the 5-4 win.
The Phillies have now won 2 of the first 4 games against the Pirates, which is great news; because tonight's 7:05pm game is going to be started and finished by the Phillies bullpen. The rainout on Friday forced a juggling of the pitching staff, leaving them 1 starter short this week. So Raul Valdes will start the game and likely pitch 3 innings, passing the ball on to the rest of the pen after that.
And while you are watching the game, do not forget to VOTE FOR CHOOCH!
"LIKE" us on Facebook for more updates & photos!
Photo by Jenn Zambri Photography
National League Wins All-Star Game, Ending The American League Streak
The National League entered today's All-Star Game not having won against the American League since 1996. That win took place in Philadelphia. Manager Charlie Manuel and the Phillies coaching staff had a huge task on their hands for the second consecutive year, trying to win World Series home field advantage for the NL.
Two Phillies took part in the game today; Chase Utley stayed home as he is recovering from surgery on his thumb. Ryan Howard served as the DH and went 0 for 2; but hits were difficult to come by in this game. Through 6 innings, the both teams had only 4 hits each. Two of the hits for the AL came off Phillie Roy Halladay, although one hit was a pop-up that landed in the middle of nowhere and ex-Phillie Marlon Byrd could not quite get to it.
The AL struck first in the 5th as Dodger's pitcher Hong-Chih Kuo allowed an unearned run after a costly error where he overthrew 1st base on an easy grounder. He had already walked a batter, then the error gave the AL two runners and a sac fly scored Evan Longoria.
But the NL fought back in the 7th. Another ex-Phillie, Scott Rolen, singled followed by a Matt Holliday single. Rolen's aggressive base running put him on third base. Byrd walked with 2 outs and then Braves catcher, Brian McCann, hit a bases-clearing double to give the NL the lead. Two runs were charged to Yankee Phil Hughes and another to White Sox Matt Thornton.
In the bottom of the 7th, Holliday took a bad route to a ball in left and it went off his glove, giving Blue Jay John Buck a double instead of an out. Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals was pitching but Holliday could not help out his teammate. Shane Victorino could have caught that ball from either left or center…just saying ;o)
So it would come down to the 9th inning. The NL did not score and Manuel brought in another Dodger, Jonathan Broxton, to try and nail down the save and the win for the NL. Broxton gave up a hit right away to the Home Run Derby champ, David Ortiz. He struck out the next batter but gave up a single to Buck. However, with Big Papi Ortiz running, Byrd was able to throw him out at second from right field. That was an amazing, heads-up play by Byrd! The next batter flew out and the National League won it!! FINALLY! A win for the NL! Way to go, Charlie! Now, let see if the Phillies can actually use the home field advantage this year; that, of course, would require a third straight trip to the World Series. Photos by Jenn Zambri Photography *Read more about the Phillies at my other home page, Phightin' Phils Phorum in the My Team Rivals network*
But to Wainwright's credit, he worked out of the inning without allowing a run. Whew! So the NL went into the 8th inning with a 3-1 lead. The NL did not score in the 8th and Giants closer, Brian Wilson, erased the AL batters in the bottom of the inning. Personally, I think the mohawk is his secret weapon.
So it would come down to the 9th inning. The NL did not score and Manuel brought in another Dodger, Jonathan Broxton, to try and nail down the save and the win for the NL. Broxton gave up a hit right away to the Home Run Derby champ, David Ortiz. He struck out the next batter but gave up a single to Buck. However, with Big Papi Ortiz running, Byrd was able to throw him out at second from right field. That was an amazing, heads-up play by Byrd!
The next batter flew out and the National League won it!! FINALLY! A win for the NL! Way to go, Charlie! Now, let see if the Phillies can actually use the home field advantage this year; that, of course, would require a third straight trip to the World Series.
Photos by Jenn Zambri Photography
*Read more about the Phillies at my other home page, Phightin' Phils Phorum in the My Team Rivals network*
Series Win Gives Phillies 8 Game Lead
With a 3-2 victory over the Braves last night to win the series 2 game to 1, the Phillies will have an 8-game lead in the NL East over both the Braves and the Marlins going into September. Joe Blanton pitched another beautiful game and got through 7 innings of one run ball; the only run came off a solo homer from Martin Prado in the first inning. Blanton looked a bit shaky through those first few innings, but settled in well and only gave up 3 hits.
And for the 2nd night in a row, Chase Utley went yard; his solo shot to right field in the 4th was the only run for the Phillies until Carlos Ruiz stepped up in the 7th. In honor of the Ruiz backpack night, a giveaway for kids 14 and under, Ruiz smacked a double to left to score Raul Ibanez and Pedro Feliz. Ruiz went 3 for 3 on the night; it was his 5th 3-hit game of the year. Maybe the Phillies should give away a Ruiz bobble head next?
In the not-so-great offensive category, the Phillies are still struggling with runners in scoring position. They left 14 men on base and again, had the bases loaded with no outs and failed to score. Blanton hit a line-drive to first base and Ruiz was double off after the catch. Jimmy Rollins then hit a weak grounder to end the inning. The offensive outage is concerning, but thanks to great pitching, they came out on top.
Defense was a big part of the win as well. Ryan Madson, who is entering Brad Lidge-bad territory, got into a huge jam in the 8th inning again. He hit the first batter he faced and then gave up back-to-back singles which scored a run for the Braves. Without recording an out, he was removed from the game and Scott Eyre took over.
Brain McCann then hit a sharp grounder to Utley, who fielded it perfectly and flipped to Rollins who threw to Feliz at third; Feliz tagged Chipper Jones for the unusual 4-6-5 double play. Having eliminated the lead runner, Eyre saved the Phillies from disaster and gave Lidge a 3-2 lead to work with. Amazingly, Lidge nailed down the save with relative ease; it was his second save in a row. Whew!
By the way, did anyone see the actor, Paul Rudd (movies: "I Love You, Man"; "Anchorman"; "Knocked Up"), sitting in the 10th row behind home plate last night? He was just a few sections over from me so I took a few photos. The woman next to him (right side, dark brown hair) is none other than Jen Utley, Chase's wife.
A very welcome off-day is upon us as the Phillies offense needs to rest and charge up for the September charge. Watch for September call-up's which may include pitchers Kyle Kendrick, Jack Taschner and Rodrigo Lopez; infielders Mike Cervenak and Andy Tracy; outfielders John Mayberry Jr. and Jason Ellison; and we will likely see a catcher added – maybe Paul Hoover. Those are my guesses anyway.
A lot of moves will be made as the Phillies are also anticipating the return of Brett Myers, JC Romero and Clay Condrey to the bullpen plus Greg Dobbs. All four have been on the DL and are very close to coming back.
And finally, here is the complete Photo Album from last night's Phillies – Braves game. Tomorrow, the San Francisco Giants come to town for 3 games and some serious pitching battles will ensue. You may remember the Phillies were stomped in San Fran back in July, losing 3 out of 4 games. The Giants are tied for a wildcard spot right now so this will be a very tough match match-up. Cole Hamels starts it off tomorrow at 7:05pm.
Photos by Jenn
*Read more about the Phillies at my other home page, Phightin' Phils Phorum in the My Team Rivals network*
Big Trouble
For a change, the Phillies got a great outing from a starting pitcher; JA Happ went 7 innings and only allowed 2 runs. However, Ryan Madson, who has been nothing short of awful lately, was still sent out to pitch the 8th inning, despite his troubles. Madson gave up 3 runs and threw away any possibility of a win for the Phillies. Madson has made a habit out of blowing games in the past month and manager Charlie Manuel is doing him no favors by continuing to put him on the mound. Clearly, Madson has issues to straighten out and during tight games is not the time for him to "work" on his pitches. Manuel cannot keep putting the same guys out there and expect different results; especially when the team is on the verge of being swept and coming off a horrible road trip.
Well, they got swept alright, and it was ugly. Not only that, but as I predicted, they are now nearly out of 1st place (tied with Marlins) and quickly plummeting down the ranks of the NL East. Manuel needs to deal with the players that are not producing and dealing with them should not include putting blind faith in players when things have gotten this bad.
Jimmy Rollins did attempt to turn his season around tonight; he went 2 for 4, but it was all for nothing. The entire game, the entire road trip, has been an exercise in futility as the Phillies cannot seem to win a game. The only real entertainment tonight was watching Chase Utley impersonate a charging bull, as he slammed into the Braves catcher, Brian McCann, to score the first of only 2 runs for the team on the day. Greg Dobbs had a nice day as well, but again, it did not matter.
The Phillies struggled in the first half of last season, and they still won the World Series. However, the struggles this year are a completely different animal. Mental errors, lapses in judgment and very bad pitching have thrown 2009 into a much different level of awful. It is officially time to be worried, Phillies fans. This team has let a potentially big lead in the division wander on by and now, nothing is going right.
Injury Update
Raul Ibanez was supposed to play in a rehab game yesterday in Reading, but the start was pushed back to today. Then, today's appearance was pushed back as well… Is this reason for concern or are the Phillies just playing it really safe? Ibanez has been sorely missed in the line-up and everyone is anxious to get him back. Of course, the Phillies need him back healthy. And so we wait…
One Last Time – Vote!
Only a few hours left! Please ignore how bad this team has gotten and keep VOTING for your Phillies All-Stars! (I need something to look forward to) VOTE up to 25 times. Voting ends at 11:59 PM ET tonight! Utley & Ibanez should be locks for a spot, but Howard, Victorino and Rollins are still teetering on the brink…so, keep on voting!
Utley Photo by Jenn
*Read more about the Phillies at my other home page, Phightin' Phils Phorum in the My Team Rivals network*


text:
Currently, I'm focusing on managerial and sound leadership frameworks. Some time ago I shared with you my list of the 10 books that all manager-leaders should read immediately to become instantly more efficient, which was a big hit on social media. There are also a handful of articles out there that are worth gold, but in the ocean of articles available, it's really difficult to find ones that stick and really impact your management style.
So, I want to share some of my secrets with you: the top 10 of the articles I've used repeatedly to coach managers and senior executives over the years. My goal is to impact their posture first and then complete their management toolbox. I want to make the latter as powerful as possible. Most of these articles are not free; you'll need to buy them from Harvard Business Review or search for a free version online.
The first 3 articles are about creating time immediately and creating focus above and below. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of those first 3 articles.
Management Time: Who's Got The Monkey?
by W. Oncken and D. Wass, Harvard Business Review - www.hbr.org
This article is my clients' all-time favorite. Why is it that managers typically run out of time while their subordinates typically run out of work? Here we explore the meaning of management time as it relates to the interaction between managers and their bosses, peers, and subordinates. This is a must-read.
Managing Your Boss
by J. Gabarro and J. Kotter, Harvard Business Review - www.hbr.org
As I work with managers to find out why they're appreciated by their staff but poorly evaluated by their superiors, I suggest they consider reinventing the way they relate with their boss. This article has saved many jobs—and may save yours!
In this article, first published in 1980, Gabarro and Kotter advise readers to devote time and energy to managing their relationships with their bosses. The authors aren't talking about showering supervisors with flattery; rather, they ask readers to understand that the manager–boss relationship is one of mutual dependence.
A Personal Approach To Organizational Time Management
by P. Bregman, McKinsey Quarterly - www.mckinsey.com/quarterly
The biggest and most destructive myth in time management is that you can get everything done if only you follow the right system, use the right to-do list, or process your tasks in the right way. That's a mistake.
We live in a time when the uninterrupted stream of information and communication, combined with our unceasing accessibility, means that we could work every single hour of the day and night and still not keep up. For that reason, choosing what to ignore may well represent the most important, most strategic time-management decision of all.
The next 3 articles are very insightful when it comes to understanding the key elements of a leader's posture and how to develop it.
Why You Didn't Get That Promotion
by J. Beeson, Harvard Business Review - www.hbr.org
You've been passed over for a key promotion despite stellar results and glowing reviews. You've asked where you're falling short, but the responses have been vague and unsatisfying, leaving you angry, frustrated, and unsure of how to get ahead. Promotion decisions seem arbitrary and political. What's going on?
What Makes A Leader?
by D. Goleman, Harvard Business Review - www.hbr.org
Goleman's article remains the definitive reference on emotional intelligence, with a detailed discussion of each of its components, how to recognize it in potential leaders, how and why it connects to performance, and how it can be learned.
Why Should Anyone Be Led By You?
by R. Goffee and G. Jones, Harvard Business Review - www.hbr.org
Great leaders share 4 unexpected qualities. The first is that they selectively reveal their weaknesses (weaknesses—not fatal flaws). It builds an atmosphere of trust and helps galvanize commitment. The second quality is that exceptional leaders are good "situation sensors"—they can sense what's going on.
Managing employees with "tough empathy" is the third quality. Tough empathy means giving people what they need, not what they want. Leaders must empathize passionately and realistically with employees, care intensely about the work they do and be straightforward with them. The fourth quality of top-notch leaders is that they capitalize on their differences. They use what's unique about themselves to create a social distance and to signal separateness.
The last 4 articles are about creating a sound leadership framework.
Ferguson's Formula
by A. Elberse, Harvard Business Review - www.hbr.org
This article lists Sir Alex's eight core concepts when building Manchester United into a world powerhouse.
When he became manager in 1986, Man U hadn't won the league in 20 years. He spent six seasons building the team from scratch, and won his first title in 1993. By the time he retired in 2013, he had won 13 league titles and built a club that's now worth $3.1 billion. It's much more than a list of things to do; it presents a fundamental posture to long-term success: focus on building a club, not winning games. Here are his 8 secrets to success.
1. Start with the foundation
2. Dare to rebuild your team
3. Set high standards — and hold everyone to them
4. Never, ever cede control
5. Match the message to the moment
6. Prepare to win
7. Rely on the power of observation
8. Never stop adapting
The Enemies Of Trust
by R. Galford and A. S. Drapeau, Harvard Business Review - www.hbr.org
Trust is a key element of creating a high-performance organization, putting creating and sustaining trust at the center of any leadership strategy.
Ask a group of managers in your company whether they and their closest managerial colleagues are trustworthy, and if so, how they know. Most will claim that they, themselves, are trustworthy. However, a sizable percentage will say they have little or no confidence in the group's capacity to build and maintain trust.
Read this article and enhance your ability to develop and sustain trust.
Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail
by John P. Kotter, Harvard Business Review - www.hbr.org
In 1995, Kotter had just completed a 10-year study of more than 100 companies that attempted to transform themselves. Here, he shares the results of his observations, outlining the 8 largest errors that can doom these efforts and explains the general lessons that encourage success. From these errors, this article proposes a bulletproof framework for implementing change.
The Ergonomics of Innovation
by H. Rao and R. Sutton, McKinsey Quarterly - www.mckinsey.com/quarterly
This particular article is one of my all-time favorites, packed with highly effective implementation tactics that you'll want to consider when you launch a change initiative and want to stimulate engagement or commitment.
A successful campaign to save 100,000 lives shows that efforts to make it easier for organizations to innovate can yield remarkable results. The basic theme is that physical and cognitive "affordances" (possible functions or actions) can help people think about, know, and use something more easily and make fewer errors. The business school's professors believe that any organization can adopt these principles, especially in influencing networks, where there might be little if any, formal authority. The components of the ergonomics of innovation consist of:
creating something new from a blend of old ideas
setting goals that encourage action
starting with small steps, and
developing tools that make it easier for people to promote change.
There is far more to accelerate your ability to become an amazing manager-leader than in these 10 articles, but this is an excellent start. If you find great value in reading any of these articles, the natural next step is to invest time in reading my book "What Color Is Your Sky?"—if your desire is to radically change not just your career but your entire life. Welcome to the Club.
Are you facing serious transformational challenges in your company? If you are, why not take a look at this case study, or contact me to arrange a quick, no-cost, no-obligation chat about how we can team up. Simply drop me a line at [email protected].


text:
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski posted this morning Anthony Davis will not be seeking a contract extension and has requested a trade. So now we try to figure out where the Pelicans all-star will land.
According to betting site The Action Network, the Los Angeles Lakers are the favorite to land A.D.'s services. The Celtics follow close behind.
Boston can't trade for Davis until July 1st. The Lakers have the assets to move on the forward right now. The NBA trade deadline is February 7th.
The Celtics own three first-round picks in the 2019 NBA Draft. The Lakers only possess one first-rounder.
LeBron's close friend, Rich Paul, is the agent for Davis.
Copyright 2019 WVUE. All rights reserved.


text:
Create An Animated Web Banner Using Adobe Edge Animate
- in Tutorials
With Adobe Edge Animate, creating simple javascript animations for article headings and image galleries in your web projects are possible. The creation of animated magazine covers for the Adobe Digital Publishing Suite are also some of the things that Edge Animate can be used...Read More
Mastering Adobe Illustrator's Gradient Mesh
- in Tutorials
With my students now working on their Technical Drawing assignment, I decided to put together this quick overview tutorial that will go over a few tips and techniques to begin colouring a vector illustration. In this assignment, students may use Illustrator's Gradient Mesh to...Read More
Adding A jQuery "Scroll-To-Top" Button To A Webpage
When creating a website with lengthy content, such as a blog or e-commerce site, your users may end up having to scroll through your articles and product pages for some time. If your website does not have a fixed or sticky navigation, it can...Read More
3D Box Packaging Tutorial
In this tutorial, I will be mapping artwork that I have created for a fictional package design using Adobe Illustrator with Photoshop's Vanishing point filter. I also show my class how to create this effect in Illustrator using the 3D Extrude & Bevel and...Read More
Web Design Checklist
As a new web designer/developer, beginning a web project can be a daunting task. Sometimes it's hard to figure out where to start, especially when taking on a large scale web design. When designing a website, defining its purpose is key to creating a...Read More
Rendering Script Converts Swatches To RGB & CMYK Values Using Adobe Illustrator
- in Blog
Below is a script I came across by John Wundes that creates a visual legend of ALL the swatches in your documents swatch palette. To run this script, extract the .zip file first, Open Adobe Illustrator and go to FILE > SCRIPTS > OTHER SCRIPT...Read More
Adding Google Analytics To WordPress Without Plugins
Adding your Google Analytics tracking code to your WordPress site manually, versus using a plugin can have it's benefits. There are many different plugins that you can install that will help you without knowing any PHP. Many plugins also give you access to your...Read More
Trispeed Enterprises Inc, Responsive Web Design
- in Portfolio
This is a simple website redesign that I developed for a small paralegal firm in Toronto, Ontario. The client's old website was built using Macromedia Flash back in 2002 and had not been updated over the past 10 years. The client wanted something minimal...Read More
Creating Dynamic Sitemap Page Symbols with Illustrator
The process of creating a good user experience is to begin with planning out a solid information architecture. The purpose for creating this architecture is to provide organization of a site and navigational flow. To create such order, a sitemap is required and...Read More


text: On Friday evening the Continental Village Fire Department and Peekskill Ambulance were dispatched to Route 9 in the area of Jack Road for a reported MVA Rollover with injuries. Upon arrival units found a one car MVA with the vehicle over the guardrail and down an embankment in the woods. The EMS crew tended to the operator of the vehicle while Fire units secured the vehicle and directed traffic around the scene. Units returned to service after the vehicle was removed from the woods.


text:
Division: Trauma
Category: External Fixation
The modular construction of Large External Fixator allows flexibility in construct design. The Modular Knee Bridge frame may be used as a temporary stabilizer for intra-articular fractures of the distal end segment of the femur and the proximal end segment of the tibia.
The Large External Fixation System is MR Conditional. Refer to product labeling for a complete list of conditions for use in a MR environment.
The Synthes Large External Fixation System is intended to provide treatment for long bone and pelvic fractures that require external fixation. Specifically, the components can be used for:
Free Frame Design
Carbon Fiber Rods
All medical devices have associated risks. Please refer to the package insert and other labeling for a complete list of indications, contraindications, precautions and warnings. For further information on DePuy Synthes Products, please contact your local DePuy Synthes Representative.


text:
SynchronEX 2.0
Tool for synchronizing, mirroring files and directories, finding duplicate files
Windows All Versions
SynchronEX is a powerful tool for synchronizing files and directories in applications like laptop/server-synchronization, backup, multi-point authoring with collision detection, incremental web-site file management, ZIP-in-between synchronization. For advanced usage it supports super syncs, nested syncs, remove syncs, multi root syncs, one-way syncs, complex exclude and include patterns, python scripting, etc. Many additional tools are included like finding duplicate files. SynchronEX is optimized for one-click automation. It is basically a command-line application, but you may integrate it simply into the Windows Explorer. Central to SychronEX are small sync-config-files which usually sit in the root point of the file tree which you want to synchronize or backup.
SynchronEX Related Software: