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Mark L. Fischer, 29, of Columbia, went to be with his Lord, on Wednesday, September 13, 2017 at home. He was born in Lancaster, son of Perry D. Fischer, Columbia and Deborah S. Clark, Wrightsville. He worked as a tree remover for Green's Tree Service, Elizabethtown. He enjoyed fishing, motorcycles, working on cars, and spending time with his two daughters.
Surviving in addition to his parents, two daughters: Madison and Makenna Fischer. His companion: Kierston E. Marvel. Paternal grandmother: Harriet Horn. Maternal grandmother: Shirley Clark. Five brothers: Perry Fischer, Jr., Gary Fischer, Dean Fischer, Jeffrey Fischer, and Scott Fischer. Seven sisters: Jennifer Clark, Pamela Fischer, Lis Fischer, Christine Fischer, Trisha Towles, Renee Cruz, and Abbey Wholaver. Also, numerous nieces and nephews.
The Family would like to thank everyone who contributed towards Mark reaching his final place of rest.
The Funeral Service will be held at the Workman Funeral Homes, Inc., 31 South Eighth Street, Columbia, on Tuesday, September 19, 2017 at 12:00 Noon with Pastor Charles A. Deutsch, officiating. Final place of rest will be in Mellinger Mennonite Cemetery. Friends may call at the Workman Funeral Homes, Inc. from 11:00 AM to 12:00 Noon. To send an online condolence, visit the condolence page.


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Future Minds Galle 2017, 6th instalment kicks off
The much looked forward to higher education exhibition in the south of the island, Future Minds Galle, got underway here today on 9th September at the Galle Town Hall.
The exhibition was declared open by the Chief Guest, Honourable Minister of Skills Development and Vocational Training, Chandima Weerakkody.
The minister, speaking to the gathering said that certain career counselling entities recommend various programmes that offer certificates and students produces bundles of certificates when they come for job interviews but these certificates hold no value at all for the potential employers. The minister made a request to the student community to evaluate the "employability factor" of any courses they wish to follow due to this fact.
The minister explained about the 10 + one programme initiated by the Ministry of Skills Development and Vocational Training to address most of these issues that the students are facing. He also revealed that the ministry will launch an online system that will have the function of checking qualifications for their "employability factor" for a specific industry.
Further speaking, minister Weerakkody said that global demand for pilots is going to go up to beyond 500,000 and also that the global job opportunities will reach 80 million. The minister stressed that Sri Lankans must get ready to take hold of this global opportunity and focus strongly on employability. The biggest foreign exchange earner for Sri Lanka at the moment is foreign employment and sadly this comprises largely of domestic aides and the Ministry of Skills Development and Vocational Training is working very hard to change this status quo, the minister articulated.
The minister was full of praise for Future Minds for the selfless social service that it carries out, especially for the Galle edition even without any sizable margin and wished great success for the 2017 edition.
Future Minds 2017 Galle Edition will be conducted from Sept 9 to 10 at Gall Town Hall and will feature the much sought-after Career Counselling Sessions with, psychometric tests, one-on-one General Counselling and one-on-one Corporate Counselling which will be an invaluable opportunity for the southern students.

subset: commoncrawl


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As part of our partnership with Crown Gas & Power, we can also offer our clients the opportunity to upgrade their current gas meter to an AMR Meter (Automated Meter Readings) which will ensure you are billed accurately and may also help you to reduce your consumption.


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Hotels & Accommodation in Les Coves de Vinroma
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What's Les Coves de Vinroma Like?If you're looking to discover somewhere new, look no further than Les Coves de Vinroma. Whether you're planning to stay for a night or for the week, the area around Les Coves de Vinroma has accommodations to fit every need. Search for hotels in Les Coves de Vinroma with Hotels.com by checking our online map. Our map displays the areas and neighborhoods around all Les Coves de Vinroma hotels so you can see how close you are from landmarks and attractions, and then refine your search within the larger area. The best Les Coves de Vinroma hotel deals are here with our lowest price guarantee.
Where are the Best Places to Stay in Les Coves de Vinroma?
Below are the number of accommodations by star rating in Les Coves de Vinroma and the surrounding area:
- • 3 5-star accommodations from ZAR 648 per night
- • 52 4-star accommodations from ZAR 668 per night
- • 234 3-star accommodations from ZAR 575 per night
- • 19 2-star accommodations from ZAR 452 per night
- • 7 1-star accommodations from ZAR 404 per night
How to Get to Les Coves de Vinroma
Flights to Les Coves de Vinroma
- • Castellon de la Plana (CDT), 8.8 mi (14.1 km) from central Les Coves de Vinroma
Things to See and Do in Les Coves de Vinroma
Things to See near Les Coves de Vinroma:
- • Chivert Castle (7.3 mi/11.8 km from the city center)
- • Chapel of Santa Lucia and Sant Benet (8.9 mi/14.4 km from the city center)
Things to Do near Les Coves de Vinroma:
- • Valltorta Museum (6.2 mi/10 km from the city center)
- • Bodega Mas de Rander (7.3 mi/11.7 km from the city center)
When Is the Best Time to Visit Les Coves de Vinroma?
- • Hottest months: August, July, June, September (average 82°F)
- • Coldest months: January, February, December, March (average 46°F)
- • Rainiest months: August, October, September, and December (average 0.12 inches of rainfall)


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The Labrador Retriever could become state dog | News
SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- The state of Maine has an official animal, bird and even cat. This legislative session, however, could provide us with a state dog. State lawmakers will vote on LD 107 which would make the Labrador Retriever Maine's state dog.
Stacy Gile has owned labs most of her life and now spends her time with her two black labs Jack and Amos.
"We realized really quickly that everywhere you went you saw labs," said Gile.
Last summer, Gile decided to contact her local lawmakers to find out how to make labs the official state dog.
"I certainly don't blame people for thinking 'What do we need a state dog for?' Well, why don't we have one? We have all kinds of state symbols," said Gile. "We have the ones we all know about. We have the chickadee. We have the moose. We have the Maine coon cat. The cat gets their day, why can't the dog have theirs?"
Gile contacted lawmakers and drafted the bill for this session.
"I think they would make an excellent symbol for what Maine stands for outdoorsmen, hunting, fishing, friendliness, and a healthy outdoor lifestyle," said Gile.
A Facebook page was even created to help gain support.
The bill has been passed to committee and will be heard on Feb. 11 where Gile will be presenting her own argument.


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Wednesday, January 9, 2019 at 9:39AM Andrea Dresdale Permalink
in Adult Contemporary, CHR, Hot AC, Lite AC
When one doors closes, another opens: Lady Gaga may have lost the Golden Globe for A Star Is Born, but she's just been nominated for two BAFTAs for the film.
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts are the U.K. equivalent of the Oscars, and are often seen as a good predictor of the Oscar nominations. Gaga is up for Leading Actress, as well as Original Music, where shares the nomination with co-star and director Bradley Cooper and Lukas Nelson, who worked on the soundtrack.
BAFTA gave a lot of love to A Star Is Born: seven nominations in all, including a record five for Cooper. According to Variety, it's a record because his five nods came in a single year and are in five different categories, including Best Director and Leading Actor.
The leading BAFTA nominee, with 12 nods, is The Favourite, which features Taylor Swift's boyfriend, Joe Alwyn. Another movie in which he appears, Mary, Queen of Scots, received three nominations.
Copyright © 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.


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Our collaboration series with Reconsidered Media is picking up again for 2017! Check out this awesome episode below:
On our 6th episode of Reconsidered, and first one of 2017, we had a great conversation with Elnaz Moghangard. As a law student, she has found the time to continue working on her creative endeavors through her blog, Millennial Nomaad. She has interviewed a number of millennials who have taken on the world and are redefining what it means to be a person born in our era. On the episode we discuss the stigmas of Millennials and how we are breaking the mold. We discuss many aspects of life now in comparison to previous generations. We hope you learn something and reconsider the conventional ideas that plague the average millennial today. Her song of choice is Buildings and Mountains by The Republic Tigers.
Stay Funky my Friends,
~Mr. Nobody~


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Trailer added for upcoming comedy live-action film "Chinyuki" starring Kenichi Matsuyama. Movie is based on manga "Chinyuki – Taro to Yukaina Nakama tachi" by Gataro Man (which is a parody of Chinese novel "Journey to the West") and directed by Yudai Yamaguchi ("Deadball").
"Chinyuki" will be released February 27, 2016 in Japan.


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Making the most of feed resources
Livestock feed is a key constraint to the commercialization of smallholder livestock production
Livestock feed is a key constraint to the commercialization of smallholder livestock production
We need to conserve the most important livestock genetic diversity for possible future use – by poor and rich farmers alike
Human, livestock and environmental health are inextricably linked, Sixty-one per cent of all diseases are 'zoonotic' –that is, transmissible between animals and humans.
While vaccines remain the most cost-effective medical and veterinary interventions for controlling disease, opportunities also exist to improve animal health by improving existing veterinary services and access by poor livestock keepers to those services
Community breeding program, alongside strong community capacity development on animal husbandry, health and marketing of products key for improving productivity of goats and sheep among farmers, study finds. Continue reading
This study was conducted in 2008 as a collaborative project between the International Livestock Research Institute and Terra Nuova with the main objective of evaluating the Somali breeds of livestock both phenotypically and genetically. Continue reading
A selective breeding program was implemented to improve the performance of indigenous chickens in Ethiopia. Improved chicken from the 7th generation were compared with commercial layer, crossbred and unselected indigenous chickens both on-station and on-farm. Continue reading
The aim of this study was to investigate farmers' trait preferences as a basis for determination of breeding objectives for Red Maasai and Dorper sheep at two sites, Amboseli and Isinya, in Kenya. Continue reading
Since the first transgenic crop was released in in the world in 1994, cultivation of several varieties has grown rapidly to reach 175 million hectares, more than 10% of the world's arable land, in 27 countries. Adoption and commercialization of transgenic products is growing by 3% per year in developed and developing countries. There is … Continue reading
Chris Jones joined the Feed and Forage Biosciences Program this week as program leader based in Addis Ababa. Continue reading
Originally posted on ILRI Clippings:
ILRI-Wellcome projects have investigated the disease pathogens circulating in both people and animals in the communities outside the border town of Busia, Kenya, where smallholders mix crop growing with livestock raising (photo credit: ILRI/Pye-Smith). Voice of America's Joe DeCapua interview Phil Toye, a scientist with the International Livestock Research Institute…


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My Year in Review
Note to self, I definitely need to blog more… but I digress. This year has been one full of big changes. In all honesty, I don't know if those changes would have been made without the Comedian being my conscience.
First and foremost, after many years of believing my car still had a lot of life in her, I finally sold my 2003 Mazda Protégé for a 2010 Toyota Corolla S. This was the first car I ever owned and the last car I had in college, it had a lot of memories I was not willing to give up. It didn't matter to me that it didn't have automatic doors or windows, or I neglected to get tints, even though I live in Florida. The Comedian was convinced that it was about to explode, I mean when something broke in the car, he would say, I think you need a new car. I kind of brushed it off with my stubborn mindset. "The car still has lots of life", I would think but he was obviously looking out for my best interest. The timing was just right. I had enough to put down for a down payment and I could afford it, so it was done.
Second, I finally got Lasik surgery. I have been wearing glasses since I was 9 and contacts since I was 13. So, I have officially been blind (I mean my vision was really, really bad) for about 21 years. I forgot what it was like to wake up in the morning and be able to see. I have also never been one to wear glasses. They bothered me. Glasses would fall down my nose and I never could get used to
how they looked on me. I was waiting for the right moment to do the surgery. Luckily for me, a good friend of mine was a technician at Lasik Plus. He knew my vision history, Hell, that's how we met. He worked for the eye doctor I went to when I was 18. This was a great opportunity to undergo surgery with someone I trust helping with the procedure. It was a no brainer. Today, I have 20/15 vision. My eyes still get dry from time to time but that's normal. I love waking up and not having to worry about contacts or glasses. I know it sounds like a marketing ploy but I'm telling the truth.
Finally, last but not least, the biggest thing that happened this year… The Comedian and I bought a house! The opportunity to buy really came out of nowhere. I wanted a house for us to have more room for our creativity and for Rosco to roam but I felt like that possibility was out of our reach until I got a sense that I should start asking questions. Maybe it was God telling me to give it a try but it was definitely a strong sense that this was going to work out. We really had a month window to get the house closed due to some personal finance situations and we pulled it off with the help of my awesome Realtor, Jane Sloan, and the team at Absolute Home Loans, Amy and Bobby.
What's interesting about the house is that on the vision board I made after watching The Secret I asked for a 1500 square foot home. All of the houses we looked except for the one we bought were 1200 and 1300 square feet. I knew they were wrong for us. When the seller accepted our bid on the 1400 square foot home, I knew it was it. In The Secret, there's an example from the writer of Chicken Soup for the Soul who came close. This house came so close. It just shows how visions and positive thoughts will bring you what you pray for.
Needless to say, there were other things that happened this past year. I started school at Florida International University for my MBA, the Comedian and I went to… ummm… 5 weddings, only 1 baby shower (thank goodness), I hosted my first crawfish boil and High School Marching Band Reunion, and the Comedian and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary. There's really so much more! It has been a great year!
I really look forward to 2015 and all that it has to bring. I will graduate with my MBA in May, I think there are 3 more weddings to go to, my sister will be having my niece, and I'm sure so much more will happen. These years do fly by but they are filled with so many memories.
Live in the moment, cherish every minute. Cheers to 2015!


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Your child will receive the best care for their teeth with our dentists who have over 10 years of experience in pediatric dentistry. We accept most major dental insurances for your child's dental services. Contact us today!
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Help your kids understand the importance of maintaining clean teeth by bringing them to our local, family-owned and operated dental clinic. Start early with annual checkups so it becomes a routine practice for your kids as they get older.


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Click image to enlarge
I'm Doug, I'm a 1 man band out of Conroe, Tx. I've been writing songs playing in bands since I was 12. Music is my passion, and writing songs with a message to be heard. I was lucky enough to appear on The Rod Ryan Show on 94.5 The Buzz (Houston Radio) a few times and I'm super excited to be performing in Houston where it all started! Single on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play etc... called What I Was Made For.
Tracks By Doug Westcott
Videos By Doug Westcott
Mixtapes Featuring Doug Westcott
Performances for Doug Westcott
Coast 2 Coast LIVE | Houston All Ages Edition 8/19/17
Warehouse Live


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Choosing The Best Way of Search Engine Optimization
Our world right now is basically revolving around the internet. A large percentage of people around the world has access to internet, thus it is used in every way possible. Business, news, communications, entertainment and hobbies are some of the most common categories that people search about. They resort on using search engines to find correct sites to provide their needed information or service. But the number of these sources is increasing on a daily basis. So naturally, if you're a business owner, you would want your website to be on the top of the list of the search engines to acquire most of the costumers and visitors.
Securing a top spot on the search engine list would give your site a chance to have the maximum visitors . Search engine optimization is the common term for this process. A lot of famous and commonly used sites encourage people to visit their sites by the use of this process. If you are interested in doing this process, do keep in mind the following things. Remember the following things if you wanted to try this process.
Some businesses hire Search Engine Optimization (SEO) companies to do this task for them. Specializing in this area, they already know different techniques. It would be expensive if you do hire Search Engine Optimization companies. But investing on a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) company would bring you a higher return of investments.
A Simple Plan: Businesses
In case if you decide to do the optimization yourself, the time you have invested would come back in the form of higher income. In doing your own optimization, it is best to start it before the final building of your website. Include it on your plans and design of your site. In planning your website designs, do not forget to include it. But you do not need to go back from the start if you already have one, just do reviews then revise it.
What Do You Know About SEO
Search engines only recognize words as a source of information about your website. Focus on the keywords you use. These words would connect you to your targeted audience Do not forget to include one or two of your most important keywords when you are writing the title tag of your page. In the Meta description, where the information about your site is written, describe the webpage using simple words. But do not take the risk by using your key words too much. The words you use for the information you are giving should sound natural.
Whether you decide on depending to a search engine optimization company or doing it yourself, a higher ranking on the search engine list would be an expected result. It is your decision which way would help you to achieve maximum income and website visitors but with less time and money investment.


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CRANSTON �� Three leading public figures trying to tackle the state�s fiscal problems took part in a panel discussion at Rhodes-on-the-Pawtuxet Wednesday night, giving broad views on how the state came to this point.
CRANSTON -- Three leading public figures trying to tackle the
state's fiscal problems took part in a panel discussion at
Rhodes-on-the-Pawtuxet Wednesday night, giving broad views on how
the state came to this point.
Robert G. Flanders Jr., the state receiver for Central Falls,
said a big part of Rhode Island's pension problem is the state's
"entitlement mentality."
"There has to be a seismic cultural shift in the way we look at
government employment," Flanders said to some applause. "We just
can't afford this entitlement mentality. We can't afford people who
retire at 40 and live until 80 and get cost-of-living adjustments
[�] so that they are receiving much more in retirement than
they ever did while they were working."
But state General Treasurer Gina M. Raimondo responded, in part,
by saying she is happy the pension debate has, so far, not
"devolved into to an us-versus-them" argument. "We're all in this
together," she said.
Providence Mayor Angel Taveras appeared to agree with the
sentiment, saying it was "counterproductive" to start laying blame
"There is so much that has happened without thought about the
consequences. We now have to address the issues of the past,"
Taveras said. "I'm not trying to blame anyone or push it one way or
The panel discussion, titled "The future of reform in Rhode
Island," was part of Common Cause's annual meeting. The
Providence-based group is a nonpartisan organization that promotes
open and accountable government.
Mostly, it was an informal discussion, with jokes exchanged
among the three panelists.
At one point, discussion moderator Christopher Lydon asked the
panel members what they would do if they were in another panelist's
Raimondo joked to Flanders: "You have an $80-million problem and
all the power. I have a $7-billion problem and no vote. So, you
could have it worse."
Flanders, a former state Supreme Court justice, said later that
he was concerned Raimondo's pension-reform plan, expected to be
released as soon as this month, would not be the final solution to
the pension problem.
"If we deal with the state's problems, but not the cities and
towns, then we have not begun to tackle this problem," he said.
Raimondo said her plan will focus on the pension plans under the
state's control, which represent about "$7 billion of a $9-billion"
statewide problem. She said mayors and town administrators could
eventually use the plan as a "roadmap" to tackle the local pension
As the panel wrapped up, audience member Patricia J. Fontes, of
Hopkinton, held up a sign critical of the discussion. She
complained that the panel only represented officials who wanted to
reduce retiree pension benefits.
"Why was it only the cutters and slashers that were invited to
come? Where are the people who think that the problem can be solved
without cuts, or with minimal cuts?" she said.


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"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
-Chinese Proverb
In the past three years, GR8 has taken some giant steps towards overcoming long-standing cultural and communication barriers by building trust in the lab animal training we provide each summer in China.
This July, GR8 brought a dynamic team to Shanghai Vocational & Technical College of Agriculture & Forestry (SHAFC) to introduce 24 eager third-year animal science students to fundamentals of laboratory animal care & use.
Continue reading "GR8 Brings Team to SHAFC"


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The stoker knocked respectfully on the door and when someone called "Come in," he motioned for Karl to walk in without any fear. He stepped in, but stayed at the door, standing. Through the three windows of the room he saw the waves of the sea, and thinking about their happy motions hit him straight in the heart, as if he hadn't been watching the sea nonstop for five long days. Huge ships crossed each other's way and gave in to the ruckus of the waves only as much as their bulk allowed. When you squinted your eyes, the ships seemed to sway from the force of their own bulk. On their masts they carried long but narrow flags, pulled tight from the speed of traveling but still wriggling back and forth. Salute shots rang out, probably from war ships, the cannon of a close one was fondled by the safe, smooth but not quite horizontal movement of its ship, the sunlight reflecting off its steel armor. From the door, you could just make out the small ships and boats as they came in crowds into the openings between the great ships. Behind all this, however, stood New York, and Karl gazed on the skyscrapers with their hundred thousand windows. You knew where you were in this room.
At a round table sat three men, the first a ship's officer in a blue ship's uniform, the other two were clerks from the harbor authority in black American uniforms. On the table various documents piled high, which the officer skimmed over with a pen so he could hand them to the other two, who read them here, made excerpts there, now laid them in their briefcase whenever one of them, who nearly incessantly clicked his teeth, wasn't dictating the minutes to his colleagues.
By the window, a smaller man sat at a writing desk with his back to the door, busying himself with large volumes which were lined up side by side on a strong bookshelf level with his eyes. Next to him a safe stood slightly ajar, and at first glance it was empty.
The second window was empty and gave the best view. But in the area of the third window two men stood in quiet conversation. The first leaned against the window, also wore the ship's uniform and played with the hilt of a sword. The man he talked to was turned to the window and revealed through his various motions a string of medals on the chest of the other. He was in the civil service and had a thin bamboo stick, and since his hands were on his hips, it also stood out like a sword.
Karl didn't have much time to see all this, because soon a servant walked up to them, looking at the stoker as if to say he didn't belong, and asked him what he wanted. The stoker answered as quietly as he was asked, he wanted to speak to the head accountant. The servant, for his part, rejected this request with a motion of his hands, but went on tiptoe to the round table, taking a wide berth around the man with the large volumes. This man, clearly visible, started up immediately at the servant's words, looked around eventually at the man who wished to speak with him, waved fiercely to dismiss the stoker and denounced the servant too, just to be sure. The servant returned to the stoker and spoke as if he were trusting him with a secret: "Get out of here now!"
The stoker looked over to Karl after this answer, as if Karl were his heart, something he could quietly cry to about his pains. Without thinking, Karl broke away, running straight through the room, so that he even brushed up lightly against the officer's chair. The servant ran crouched, his arms prepared for a tackle, as if he were hunting vermin, but Karl was the first to the head accountant's table, where he hung on tight just in case the servant tried to pull him away.
Naturally the entire room livened up immediately. The ship's officers at the table sprung up, the men from the harbor authorities looked on calmly but attentively, the two men at the window stepped close to each other, the servant backed off, believing it wasn't his place to be in the way when the high-ranking men showed interest. The stoker waited intently by the door for a moment, until help was necessary. The ship's officer finally turned in his chair.
Karl rummaged through the secret pocket, which he didn't hesitate to reveal to these people, and took out his passport, which he opened up and lay on the table in place of any further introduction. The head accountant seemed to brush off this pass, because he snipped it aside with two fingers, and so Karl stuck the pass back in, as if the formalities were over and done with.
"I take the liberty of saying," he then began, "that in my opinion the stoker has been wronged. There is here a certain Schubal, who oppresses him. He has served on many ships, ships he can name for all of you, and served to complete satisfaction, he is industrious, thinks highly of his work and it's really impossible to see why he should take orders so poorly precisely on this ship, where the work isn't nearly as difficult as it is, for instance, on commercial ships. Therefore, it could only be slander that's keeping him from making progress and taking away from him the recognition which he would not be missing otherwise. I have only spoken generally about all this, he will bring his specific complaints himself." Karl had addressed all of the men, because in reality all of them were listening, and it seemed more probable that he could find one fair man if he tried all the men together, than if he should try to find that fair man in the head accountant. In addition, Karl had cleverly avoided the fact that he had only known the stoker for a very short time. He would've spoken even better if he had not been bothered by the red face of the man with the bamboo stick, which he had caught sight off right away from his current position.
"It's all correct, word for word," said the stoker before anyone could have a chance to ask him any questions or even look him over. The stoker's hastiness would have been a terrible mistake, if the man with the medals, whom Karl just realized was the captain, hadn't already decided to listen to the stoker. He stuck out his hand and called to the stoker, "Come here!" with a voice firm enough to hit with a hammer. Now everything depended on the stoker's behavior, because Karl had no doubt as to the justice of his cause.
Luckily it became clear just now that the stoker had been around in the world. With exemplary calm he took in one grab a small bundle of paper out of his little trunk, together with a notebook, then went with them right past the head accountant, as if it were the only thing to do, so he could spread out on the windowsill his evidence for the captain. The accountant couldn't stay where he was, so he addressed everyone instead. "The man's a notorious crank," he explained. "He's at the cash desk more than the machine room. He has brought Schubal, an otherwise calm man, to despair. Listen!" He turned to the stoker. "You like to push people around a little too much. How often have you been thrown out of an office while you make your consistently unjustified demands? How often have you come running back and forth from the main office? How often has someone said to you, in all kindness, that Schubal is your direct superior, that you're his inferior, that you just have to come to terms with him? And still, you come here now, when the captain is here, with no sense of shame whatsoever, not even if you start to bother him, and you don't even hesitate to bring this little one, this trained speaker, whom I've never seen on this ship before, to make your vulgar accusations."
Karl had to forcibly keep himself from lunging forward. But then the captain said, "Let's hear the man. Schubal's been get a little too independent, but that doesn't mean I'll agree with you."
The last part applied to the stoker, it was only natural that he couldn't back him up right away, but everything seemed to be on the right track. The stoker began his explanation and from the very beginning controlled himself enough to always refer to Schubal as Mr. Schubal. How Karl rejoiced at the deserted writing desk of the head accountant, where he pushed down on a scale again and again just for fun. Mr. Schubal is unfair. Mr. Schubal prefers foreigners. Mr. Schubal kicked the stoker out of the machine room and made him clean bathrooms, which the stoker knew nothing about. Once he even questioned Mr. Schubal's competence, calling it more apparent than real. By this point Karl was staring at the captain with all his power, like a colleague, so that he wouldn't think badly of the stoker because of his improper way of speaking. All the same, he couldn't hear anything concrete from all this talk, and even though the captain looked straight ahead, determined to hear the stoker to the end this time, the other men became impatient, and the stoker's voice wasn't dominating the room anymore, and that could lead to something dreadful.
About the book:
Karl Rossman has been banished by his parents to America, following a family scandal. There, with unquenchable optimism, he throws himself into the strange and picaresque experiences that lie before him as he slowly makes his way into the interior of the great continent. The novel originally began as a short story called The Stoker.
A menacing allegory of modern life, Kafka's first and unfinished novel is replete with Kafkaesque situations and crude reflections on alienation and the banality of progress.
Snippet from Crime and Punishment
- Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Snippet from Things Fall Apart
- Chinua Achebe


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A five-day "connectivity marathon" for testing the interoperability of health information systems.
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Connectathon - A five-day 'connectivity marathon' for testing the interoperability of health information systems.
It is a unique opportunity for vendors to test the interoperability of their products against IHE Porfiles in a structured and rigourous environment with peer vendors
Save the Date for the next European Connectathon
For more information please have a look at the Connectathon
Whitepaper 2019
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Alcohols: Any organic compound in which the hydroxyl functional group (-O H) is bound to a saturated carbon atom.
The term alcohol originally referred to the primary alcohol ethyl alcohol (ethanol), the alcohol in alcoholic beverages.
Methanol, wood alcohol, methyl alcohol – CH3OH (MeOH).
The simplest alcohol
Ethanol, ethyl alcohol, drinking alcohol – produced by the fermentation of sugars by yeasts. – CH3CH2OH C2H5OH, EtOH
Isopropyl alcohol
C3H8O or C3H7OH or CH3CHOHCH3
Used widely as a solvent and as a cleaning fluid, especially for dissolving oils.
Chemical reaction involving alcohol
Dehydration Synthesis : how to make pear flavoring.
propyl alcohol + and acetic acid -> H2O + Propyl acetate ( CH3COOCH2CH2CH3)
Here are 3 ways of representing the molecules
Top row = space-filled models. They show the space that each atom takes up.
Middle row = structural formula -> shows the atoms and approximate structure
Bottom row = skeletal structure. Chains of C atoms are simply drawn as lines (every bend in a line is a C. C atoms also at end of line, if no other element indicated. Less accurate shape, but easy to draw.
Here we see how one makes propyl ethanoate
Learning Standards
Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks: Biology
8. MS-PS1-1. Develop a model to describe that (a) atoms combine in a multitude of ways to produce pure substances which make up all of the living and nonliving things that we encounter, (b) atoms form molecules and compounds that range in size from two to thousands of atoms, and (c) mixtures are composed of different proportions of pure substances.
Clarification Statement: Examples of molecular-level models could include drawings, three-dimensional ball and stick structures, and computer representations showing different molecules with different types of atoms.
HS-LS1-6. Construct an explanation based on evidence that organic molecules are primarily composed of six elements, where carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms may combine with nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorus to form monomers that can further combine to form large carbon-based macromolecules.
Clarification Statements:
• Monomers include amino acids, mono- and disaccharides, nucleotides, and fatty acids.
• Organic macromolecules include proteins, carbohydrates (polysaccharides), nucleic acids, and lipids.


text:
THE BEN FOLDS FIVE: Something about the spring-like weather put me in the mood to hear the BFF play "Kate." This performance is from Sessions at West 54th. The song is from Whatever and Ever Amen, as is "Song For The Dumped" (audio probably NSFW). Today's bonuses are "Philosophy" (complete with the Gershwin allusion near the end), from the band's self-titled debut, and a cover of the Flaming Lips' "She Don't Use Jelly," which turned up on a comp named Loungeapalooza.
THE BEATLES' album covers, including With The Beatles, Revolver, Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Abbey Road and Let It Be, will appear on a set of British stamps in January.
TV on the RADIO: The band's major-label debut, Return to Cookie Mountain, is already getting universal acclaim via Metacritic. You can stream the whole album, with bonus tracks, via Pitchfork.
WOXY Vintage is winding up its final week online by replaying the Modern Rock 500.
EDDIE VAN HALEN has a cure for cancer, but he won't tell us what it is.
ISOBEL CAMPBELL, recently nominated for Britain's Mercury Prize for Ballad of The Broken Seas, is releasing a new album, Milkwhite Sheets, on Nov. 6th. You can stream an MP3 of "O Love Is Teasin'" from the album at *Sixeyes or via the Hype Machine.
MEET THE LAWYERS: The Beachles' Sgt. Petsounds, mentioned here previously, has been targeted by Capitol-EMI's legal team, which is making demands on the mash-up maker that are technically impossible to meet.
SEEN YOUR VIDEO: To mark the birth of Britney Spears' second son (see below), here's student Daniel Pi explaining "How To Write A Fugue" based on "Oops... I Did It Again."
FEIST: Heather Browne has posted Leslie Feist's appearance on Radio France's The Black Sessions, the source of her cover of the Kinks' "That Girl." You can jukebox the whole set via the Hype Machine.
R.E.M. is supposedly bringing back the rawk on the band's next album, according to bassist Mike Mills. This will further fuel those rumors about drummer Bill Berry rejoining the band, though Mills makes no mention of it in the linked article.
THE LONG WINTERS are getting generally favorable reviews for their third album, Putting The Days To Bed. Frontman John Roderick talks to Harp about his difficulty writing songs and to Arizona Daily Star blogger jb about moving from opening act to headliner, adding that the band recently recorded a cover of the Velvet Underground's "What Goes On" for an unnamed HBO series. Often compared to early R.E.M., Pavement and various Elephant Six bands, there's plenty to stream right now via the Hype Machine.
PETE DOHERTY-KATE MOSS UPDATE: While the troubled singer would like to use his own blood to supply the ink for his wedding bans, the woman involved in his infamous "syringe incident" is talking to the Daily Mail.
BRITNEY SPEARS popped out a second son, the fourth spawn of Spenderline.
ANNA NICOLE SMITH: Sources like E! and US Weekly are reporting her son died of "unnatural causes." Police said they were waiting for a pathologist's report to determine the cause of death.
LINDSAY LOHAN is flashing her genitals again. But I'm not even going to try to beat Tyler Durden's headline.
DAVE NAVARRO and CARMEN ELECTRA BREAKUP-DATE: Is Electra looking to hook up with Frankenstein's Monster? Sure looks like it.
GEORGE CLOONEY will be speaking before the United Nations Security Council about the ongoing crisis in Sudan this Thursday. I'm sure he'll get some prompt action from Turtle Bay.
TOM-KAT UPDATE: The Tom-Kitten netted Vanity Fair 5.4 million page views at the mag's website and 5700 new subscriptions. Sky News wonders whether the couple is still in love, while other media report that a Tom-Kat wedding is expected in the early Fall. Given the couple's current PR campaign, I would expect stories about how the wedding is all Holmes' doing, to distract from the fact that she's marrying Tom Crazy.
SIENNA MILLER and JUDE LAW were snapped looking pretty cozy after grabbing a late night dinner during the Toronto International Film Festival.
TOM HANKS: A new book details court papers in which his first wife alleged he harassed her and attempted to kill her career. The book also claims that some of Hanks' portrayal of Forrest Gump is borrowed from his brother's performance in a softcore sex flick.
BRADGELINA: Pitt and Ocean's 13 co-star Matt Damon feted economist Jeffrey Sachs, who heads up the UN Millennium Project, crediting Jolie for his interest, natch. While promoting Babble at the Toronto International Film Festival, Pitt also said that having kids will affect his future choice of film roles and made a crazy face he believes the press will use "when I have a breakdown or something ... when I get arrested for a DUI late at night, make racial slurs or something."
JESSICA SIMPSON has figured out that she scares men away, though she mistakenly believes it's only the publicity factor scaring them. Meanwhile, ex hubby Nick Lachey is considering making an X-rated home movie, perhaps involving public sex. It's not clear whether he's pitched the idea to new gf and Maxim cover girl Vanessa Minnillo.
BLOGGERS are getting under the tents during New York's fashion week. The Manolo, he is mentioned. And New York Magazine's Web site is featuring the work of the two women behind the often-critical celebrity fashion blog GoFugYourself, which I find brutally funny without any great interest in fashion.
MODERATE MUSLIMS: Inasmuch as Muslims tend to get stereotyped when moderates fail to speak out against extremism, it's worth noting that Emilio Karim Dabul is apologizing for not speaking out earlier, and Aslam Abdullah is condemning radical Islamists who "have brought nothing but shame and disaster to your religion and your world."
THE MUSLIM COUNCIL OF BRITAIN, otoh, thought the 9/11 anniversary would be a good time to threaten the UK with the prospect of up to two million Islamic terrorists because Britons have questioned widely-held Muslim attitudes since last year's London bombings. The MCB really has a knack for timing, as it signed onto a similar letter in mid-August, days after the UK plane bombing plot was foiled. Indeed, a MCB official wrote a piece so sympathetic to the bombers' complaints that he felt he had to write that "it should not be misinterpreted as an apologia for terrorism." This same MCB official was a documented fan of the blind Sheikh Omar Abdul Rahman and of Osama bin Laden, who he regarded as a "freedom fighter." But he's Mr. Moderate now.
FWIW: Hamid Mir, a Pakistani journalist who obtained the only post-9/11 interviews with Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, claims that bin Laden has assigned a man named Adnan Al-Shukri Juma to carry out an attack in the US larger than 9/11. This man, a/k/a Adnan G. El Shukrijumah is already wanted by the FBI and is being sought in Trinidad & Tobago and Guyana. Perhaps it's mere coincidence that he is the subject of two stories in the past week on the blog of ABC News reporter Brian Ross, but it's more likely someone has been dialing his number. It may be nothing, but if there's a "dirty bomb" attack in the US during Ramadan, you can say you heard it here first, right along with those Tom-Kat wedding rumors.
DOGS are knocking 'em back at cocktail parties, which is probably where they thought up the idea of calling themselves Canine-Americans.
STINGRAYS fear revenge attacks in the wake of the death of Croc Hunter Steve Irwin. At least ten stingrays have been found dead and mutilated on Australias eastern coast in the last week.
THREE-LEGGED COW is looking for a hand in Tazmania.
A GOLDFISH'S COSMETIC SURGERY goes awry, as cosmetic surgery so often does.
A FELINE JIHAD is under investigation in Red Bank, TN.
BIG BLACK: I was unable to attend the Touch & Go label's 25th anniversary concerts, but YouTube has clips of Big Black (including my ol' classmate, Santiago Durango), palying "Dead Billy," "Cables" and "Racer X." The sound is distorted -- and the cheap joke would be to ask who can tell with Big Black -- but the reality is their sound was really quite precise.
NEW RELEASES: Albums from Yo La Tengo, Barenaked Ladies, Everclear, Soulwax, indie ravers The Rapture, Robert Cray Band, and R.E.M. (a "best of") are streaming in full from AOL this week. Catfish Haven (whose soul-influenced rock recently got raves at Chromewaves), the prolific Jason Molina's Magnolia Record Co., buzz band TV on the Radio and even returning legend Bob Seger all have stuff up on MySpace. Los Lobos has audio and podcasts for their new LP at their website. Richard Buckner's latest album of roots-rock is streaming from Merge Records. A tune from the Nonsuch debut of Black Keys made NPR's Song of the Day, in all its garage-y goodness. And Page France has another slab 'o' folk-pop out today; they will be playing the M-Shop on Halloween, Amesters.
YO LA TENGO, whose I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your A** would be my pick of the week, is already getting universal acclaim at Metacritic. It also got a good review in London's Guardian, who recently had the band play Name (and comment on) That Tune.
PAUL STANLEY of KISS is a dad. He told People magazine: "Lucky for him, he looks just like his mother."
JANE'S ADDICTION, RYAN ADAMS and OTIS REDDING all have live sets posted at rbally, which you can jukebox via the Hype Machine.
SIXTIES SONGS REVISITED: Following up on Pitchfork's "200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s" feature, staffers post their individual top tens and shoulda-beens. Kudos to John Motley for picking Dusty Springfield's "No Easy Way Down."
SEEN YOUR VIDEO: I asked myself: "How do you balance out those Big Black videos?" And I answered myself: "By having Walter Becker and Donald Fagen -- a/k/a Steely Dan -- and crack musicians like Rick Marotta, Chuck Rainey and Yacht Rocker Michael McDonald talk about the making of "Peg." You can see a live performance from VH1's Storytellers, or stream the studio recording via the Hype Machine. And once I was in a Dan groove (and stopped talking to myself), I couldn't help but throw in "Hey Nineteen" and "Reelin' In The Years."
ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN frontman Ian McCulloch has been charged with attacking two fans during a backstage dispute after a concert.
ROBERT POLLARD has announced tour dates and released a sneak preview from his upcoming Normal Happiness album, "Supernatural Car Lover," which finds Bob in his uber-catchy pop mode. You can also stream it via the Hype Machine.
PINK FLOYD: If you thought you knew everything about Dark Side of the Moon, did you know the album has its own CD-pressing factory in Germany?
PETE DOHERTY-KATE MOSS UPDATE: The troubled singer wanted to stage his quasi-Buddhist weddding to the supposedly sober supermodel in a soccer stadium, but has been turned down by officials.
ANNA NICOLE SMITH gives birth to a daughter and loses her son within three days.
THE McCARTNEYS: The latest gossip has Sir Paul buying Heather Mills' silence with a £40 million settlement.
LINDSAY LOHAN understands the karma of having to thank a paparazzo for recovering her handbag and jewelry.
DENISE & HEATHER & RICHIE & CHARLIE: Last weekend, Richie Sambora took Denise Richards to meet the parents. TMZ has video.
DAVE NAVARRO and CARMEN ELECTRA BREAK-UPDATE: Navarro is denying involvement with yet another woman at his website.
TOM-KAT UPDATE: Okay, this technically is not about Cruise, but don't you think it bugs him that he can't joke in public about pictures of Brooke Shields eating her own boogers? You know they're busting a gut over at the Scientology Celebrity Centre.
NICOLE KIDMAN is furious with David Thomson's unauthorized biography, which Random House has excerpted at its website.
ORLANDO BLOOM and UMA THURMAN getting cozy just days after Bloom split from Kate Bosworth?
THE FRENCH HOTEL is talentless and unprofessional, according to her co-star in the new movie Bottoms Up, though everyone pretty much knew the first part already. And you will be shocked, shocked to learn that the heiress broke her year-long vow of celibacy after less than a month.
WILLIAM SHATNER: Yesterday, I noted his admitted fear of space travel. Today brings word that Capt. Kirk can't work a computer. The technology must be too primitive, like when the Enterprise traveled back in time and Scotty was trying to use a mouse as a microphone.
KEIRA KNIGHTLEY is rumored to be marrying Pride and Prejudice co-star Rupert Friend. Didn't she watch her own movie? The man is a gold-digger!
THE STATE OF THE WAR: In The New Yorker, Lawrence Wright surveys the assessments of the major jihad theorists. The war has not gone well for them so far, but hope springs eternal for Islamic extremists.
AFGHAN/PAKISTAN: NATO estimates it has killed 420 Taliban fighters in nine days. London's Guardian spins it this way: "If true, the Taliban casualty figures could suggest that either the insurgent ranks have swelled enormously or heavy civilian casualties have been inflicted." This would be in line with the paper's 9/11 coverage. Meanwhile Coalition forces captured Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, who was nameed by the US State Dept. as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist." And that truce between the Pakistan Army and Taliban leaders in North Waziristan is already in jeopardy. I'm shocked.
IRAQ: At ITM, Omar comments on the politics of federalism, while Mohammed is stunned at Arabic media coverage of 9/11. He probably shouldn't be, though I note that favorable opinion of the US has gone up considerably in countries like Jordan and Pakistan since 2003, the exception being Turkey, which probably blames the US for Kurdish unrest. A prior poll showed declining support in the region for suicde bombers, with the exception of Jordan, where support for Al Qaeda finally plummeted after Zarqawi attacked the nation. Meanwhile, Coalition forces have begun patrols in Sadr City in Baghdad, the headquarters for radical Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr. Operations have also begun in Baghdad's southern neighborhoods of Bay'aa and Risala.
A MASSIVE KILLER BIRD that can kill with a single swipe of his six-inch claws or needle-shaped beak, was recaptured after a week on the loose in Britain.
THE DOG ATE YOUR HOMEWORK? No, more like a raccoon, really...
PET HOARDING: The latest case, involving about 100 birds of various species, two dogs, two turtles, and a rabbit, comes from St. Petersburg, Florida.
AN ELEPHANT at the Everland amusement park in Seoul can mimic human words.
A GOAT was a party to a "shotgun wedding" in Sudan.
9/11, FIVE YEARS LATER: There is a lot of video from the day posted on YouTube. WCBS in NYC has also posted raw video at its website. You probably have not seen the photos taken by Bill Biggart, who was crushed when the second tower fell. There are plenty more at The Black Day. You could try the 9/11 Digital Archive, but I suspect it will be swamped with traffic, if Sunday night was an indication. The same will probably hold with George Mason University's Digital Archive. It reminds me that blogs really took off after 9/11 in part because regular news sites were being swamped with traffic. For example, I first became aware of Little Green Footballs (which would become much-better known after the Dan Rather "memogate" story) as a repository of 9/11 stories including "Tilly's story" of narrowly escaping the WTC.
THE RECENTLY AIRED AL QAEDA VIDEO contains statements of the 9/11 attackers that their actions were inspired by an urge to avenge the suffering of Muslims in Bosnia and Chechnya. Mind you, the US helped save Muslims in Bosnia and had no involvement in Chechnya. It's a reminder that the jihadis will always have a grievance, and don't really care which infidels they kill. As bin Laden said in October 2001, "This battle is not between al Qaeda and the US. This is a battle of Muslims against the global crusaders."
9/11 CONSPIRACY THEORIES have gained traction in the US, with a recent poll showing that 36 percent of Americans consider it "very likely" or "somewhat likely" that government officials either allowed the attacks to be carried out or carried out the attacks themselves. Some conspiracists are academics or former gov't officials. Popular Mechanics recently published an entire book debunking these claims. The National Institute of Standards and Technology conducted a 3-year building and fire safety investigation to study the factors contributing to the probable cause (or causes) of post-impact collapse of the WTC Towers, and continues to investigate the collapse of "Building 7," which is a favorite of the conspiracists. I doubt that any amount of scientific investigation will disabuse the conspiracists of their beliefs.
ISLAMIC EXTREMISM: British writer Martin Amis -- who is no fan of US foreign policy -- has penned a highly informative piece of the rise of extreme Islamism for London's Observer.
AIRPORT SECURITY is tighter than ever, which is probably a good thing, considering that Transportation Security Administration officers just caught a man with a one-way ticket to Yemen trying to board a plane with a knife hidden in a hollowed-out book. Some will be relieved to discover that while many liquids are banned from carry-on luggage, personal lubricants like KY Jelly are just fine, though I have to think the kind that heats up when you blow on it could be a problem. (Thanks, Amber.)
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: "My City Of Ruins," from the A Tribute To Heroes telethon in 2001.
U2 is back in the studio, with producer Rick Rubin and Green Day.
LIVE SETS from Guded by Voices and acoustic Uncle Tupelo posted by Captain's Dead and Berkeleyplace can be jukeboxed via the Hype Machine.
THE BEATLES: Music writer Steve Turner claims to have the real story of the "wicked dentist" who dosed George Harrison, John Lennon and their wives with LSD in 1965, which supposedly spawned the surreal lyrics of Help!
MIKE HERON -- the guitarist, singer and songwriter of the Incredible String Band -- did a solo album with cameos from Richard Thompson, Steve Winwood, John Cale, Elton John, Pete Townshend and more. You can stream three songs from this "shadow classic" album via NPR.
THE MOUNTAIN GOATS: Beggars Group has posted its first authorized authorized video of John Darnielle playing "Moon Over Goldsboro" at Amoeba Records, along with an interview by AC Newman of The New Pornographers. Darnielle was also recently interviewed at *Sixeyes. Metromix has a piece on Get Lonely, while Darnielle wrote about the album himself in the L.A. Times.
ROUGH TRADE: Britain's legendary DIY music shop and label is profiled in London's Independent.
GRAHAM PARKER may be best remembered for "Local Girls," but it's a small part of The Complete Idiots Guide to Graham Parker, Part One, which you can jukebox via the Hype Machine.
PITCHFORK: The influential indie website and its founder, Ryan Schreiber, are profiled in the Twin Cities' Star-Tribune.
THE HOLD STEADY frontman Craig Finn launches a new feature at Pitchfork, giving recommendations for records, artists, movies, books, concerts, TV and radio shows.
LINDSAY LOHAN got her handbag back, after it was turned into Scotland Yard. Nothing was missing, including the approximate million dollars in jewelry. This leaves her mom free to squash those engagement rumors.
DENISE & HEATHER & RICHIE & CHARLIE & DAVID: Speaking of engagement rumors, those about Denise Richards and Richie Sambora have been officially denied.
WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: The big story this weekend may be how slow it was, with the top ten making 49.7 million, the worst since the first weekend of September 2003. Last year the take was 70 million. Anyway, The Covenant took the top slot with 9 million, followed by Hollywoodland with 6 million. I saw the latter, which featured good performances from the still-hot Diane Lane, Adrien Brody and (of all people) Ben Affleck, who probably deserved to win a prize for it in Venice. Even so, I can't say I recommend it as a whole, as it told me nothing about the death of TV Superman George Reeves I didn't already know. But I digress -- Invincible slipped to third place, followed by The Protector and Crank. The Illusionist slipped only 25 percent to grap the sixth slot, followed by Little Miss Sunshine, which dropped more, but has already quadrupled what FOX Searchlight paid for it. The Wicker Man, Talladega Nights and Barnyard round out the top ten.
KIRSTEN DUNST often had public sex with Jake Gyllenhaal, according to Britain's ever-reliable News of the World.
CINDY CRAWFORD is denying the cosmetic surgery story that first ran in a French magazine. Indeed, she's denying any interview occurred.
TOM-KAT UPDATE: Recent public appearances by Cruise and Holmes just the beginning of a carefully crafted, all-out image-remaking offensive that the couple has launched (as I suspected), but Hollywood bigwigs tell TMZ it's not going to work with them, as Cruise hints at knowledge of drug use by their family members. Janet Charlton prints the latest conspiracy theory suggesting Chris Klein fathered the Tom-Kitten.
JESSICA SIMPSON: Radar claims that it was creepy dad-manager Joe who axed his daughters' publicist, Rob Shuter. Meanwhile, Lisa Simpson wrote to In Touch magazine to express her disappointment that readers made Jessica their favorite Simpson in a recent reader poll.
CAMERON DIAZ wants back.
BRADGELINA: Pitt claims that he and Jolie "will consider tying the knot when everyone else in the country who wants to be married is legally able," according to an upcoming piece in Esquire. Pitt should have credited Charlize Theron for the idea. Meanwhile, there's a dispute over whether Nicole Kidman criticized Jolie as a publicity hound.
WILLIAM SHATNER will not boldly go aboard Virgin Galactic's first passenger flight in 2008: "I'm interested in man's march into the unknown but to vomit in space is not my idea of a good time. Neither is a fiery crash with the vomit hovering over me."
THESE DANG FIBERGLASS COWS have invaded the streets of Edinburgh. When they were in Chicago, it was next-to-impossible to use Michigan Avenue for all the tourists (who never seemed to be shopping in the stores whose entrances they blocked).
CATS AND DOGS: Their sales are banned by the religious police in Saudi Arabia, who apparently see them as a disaster of Koranical proportions, real wrath-of-Allah type stuff.
PRAIRIE DOGS can be blown up in Colorado. Use of explosive devices was sought by ranchers, farmers and organic-produce growers, who feared using poisons would affect their legal certification. And who is the prairie dog's friend? His allies? The harmless squirrel and the friendly rabbit.
THE NATIONAL HAMSTER BALL DERBY was held this weekend. But I think the winners should move on to further competition.
SQUIRRELS thieved dozens of American flags at the Forest Hill Cemetery in Eau Claire, WI. Let's go to the video.
...with some bootleg LED ZEPPELIN from the LA Forum in 1977 with Keith Moon lending a hand or two on a "Whole Lotta Love/Rock 'N Roll" medley.
THE REPLACEMENTS: Captain's Dead has a two-part bootleg titled "Boink," which should not be confused with the import LP from back in the day. You can stream 'em at the links or jukebox 'em via the Hype Machine. For a taste, here's the 'Mats covering The Grass Roots' "Temptation Eyes," T. Rex's "20th Century Boy" (the flip side of the "I Will Dare" single) and an acoustic take of "Can't Hardly Wait."
THE RAMONES did three beer commercials you can download from Steel Brewing, if you're old enough.
ELVIS COSTELLO and DIANA KRALL are expecting twins in December. Krall tells People she won't be dressing them in matching outfits.
THE ARCHIE BRONSON OUTFIT explains the band's name and the title of their second album, Derdang Derdang, to Harp magazine. The album is getting generally favorable reviews via Metacritic. You can stream some of their grungy, bluesy folk-rok via MySpace.
THE TRACHTENBERG FAMILY SLIDESHOW PLAYERS are all about truth in advertising, according to dad Jason: "I don't want to confuse the public, but most bands don't live up to their names. I don't think Death Cab for Cutie writes their songs in cabs, and the Killers don't kill people, at least I hope not. Think of any band name and you're being misled. But we are a family, we do use slide shows and we do play music." Given the slideshow aspect, I figured I should go with the video of "Singing A Song" and the older (and possibly better) "Eggs."
TINY MIX TAPES has an automatic mixtape generator, but you should check out the mixes already compiled by request, such as: "songs where the singer's ridiculous accent sticks out like a sore thumb," or "I need songs to tell my musically geeked-out alt-country man we've got a bun in the oven, but I don't want to hit him over the head with it," or "the snot in the upper half of my brain is making me dizzy mix."
WHAT A FOOL BELIEVES: I don't know whether Jason Hare is a fool, but he believed he should start his music blog with multiple versions of the Yacht Rock staple.
THE DECEMBERISTS frontman Colin Meloy talks to Billboard about the band's major label deal, blog buzz and leaked tracks. And the article reminds the reader that you can download the new "Summersong" at Pitchfork.
PET SOUNDS: Stereogum joins the list of blogs running a contest for the limited edition double-vinyl set. Winners are selected at random, but even if you don't enter, you may want to read my rambling diatribe of an entry, in which I misspell "Ravel" (among others) though what do you expect at 4 a.m.?
CARLY SIMON needs a good spanking.
THE FRENCH HOTEL was booked on a DUI bust yesterday. Splash News has the video of Nicky Hilton and Kevin Connolly (Entourage) coming to bail her out. TMZ has audio of her claim that she was just speeding to the In-N-Out Burger. But she may have been pulled over earlier in the evening. To her credit, she did not blame her arrest on the Jews.
NOW SHOWING: The weekend's widest release (over 2500 screens) is The Covenant, which was not screened for critics, presumably because the 18-24 date night demographic won't care whether a mash-up of lost Boys, The Craft and Underworld is actually any good. Opening on about 1500 screens apiece are Hollywoodland, about the mysterious death of TV Superman George Reeves (currently scoring 68 percent on the Tomatometer), and the Tony Jaa martial arts flick, The Protector (scoring 56 percent, but 67 percent of the "cream of the crop" critics). The Illusionist expands to 1362 screens.
LINDSAY LOHAN wuz robbed! No, really... at Heathrow Airport. Scotland Yard is on the trail of Li-Lo's orange Hermès handbag.
TOM-KAT UPDATE: "Now that Tom Cruise has allowed Annie Leibovitz to photograph his baby daughter Suri for Vanity Fair, it's clear what his next move should be. He should fire his publicist and hire Jane Sarkin, VF's features editor who wrote the two-and-a-half pages of fawning, sycophantic drivel that goes with the terrific pictures of cute-as-a-button Suri..." It's always nice when higher journalistic standards are touted by Star magazine. But Cruise remains in image rehab mode, as he made a point of lunching with Holmes' mother, whom the tabloids have painted as unhappy with Cruise.
BRADGELINA: It must be the weekend, because we're back to marriage rumors, this time courtesy of Star magazine.
JESSICA SIMPSON has fired her publicist after being dumped by musician John Mayer for press leaks about the relationship.
BEN AFFLECK gives us this must-see YouTube clip from the press junket for Jersey Girl. Audio probably NSFW.
BRITNEY SPEARS: The National Enquirer notes that in 2001, Britney was ranked No. 1 on Forbes' Celebrity power list and earned 39.2 million but last year made a mere four million. Fortunately, a net worth of more than 100 million should keep the pop tart in Cheetohs for the foreseeable future.
FLEEING THE ISLAND: Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, Coca-Cola, Home Depot, Campbell Soup and others are bailing on Survivor: Cook Islands, though none have cited the show's decision to use racially based teams as the reason, natch.
LIONEL RICHIE is claiming photos of his daughter Nicole are being Photoshopped to make her look anorexic. OTOH, he told Newsweek -- after claiming to have "knocked up the world" -- that "God always gives you a great equalizer. He gives you "Dancing on the Ceiling," and then he gives you Nicole."
MATTHEW McCONAUGHEY and PENELOPE CRUZ back together? Or did People's Sexiest Man Alive decide he needed to be photographed (a) wearing a shirt; and (b) with someone other than Lance Armstrong? Either way, you can check out McConaughey sporting a beard at the link.
SCARLETT JOHANSSON she mistakenly broke into her neighbor's apartment after coming home drunk and going to the wrong door. At leats, that's what she told boyfriend and co-star Josh Hartnett who can be seen trying to convince the press that it's tough work making love to Scar-Jo onscreen.
FORMER HOUSE LEADER TOM DeLAY: "The Hammer" is campaigning again... for a contestant on Dancing with the Stars. And attacking rival dancer Jerry Springer.
THE MANOLO: The famous shoeblogger, he turns his eye to the Dictator Chic at Politics Central: "For the example, the shoe-denying tyrant of Cuba appeared in the most recent photographs, given as proof of his aliveness, wearing the Adidas track suit, like the Lithuanian plumber on his day off."
IRAQ in the MEDIA: The AP reports: "More than 1,500 people died violently in Baghdad last month nearly the same number as in July and not the dramatic drop estimated just last week, when U.S. and Iraqi officials announced that their new security crackdown was working." The New York Times, to its credit, reported that violent deaths dropped 17 percent in August. Not the huge drop suggested by the Baghdad morgue's preliminary figures, but not "nearly the same number as in July," either. For that matter, violent deaths nationwide are still down significantly, unless all of the other reports were as flawed as Baghdad's.
AL QAEDA remains a powerful organisation but its support is waning, according to a leading British think-tank. The U.S.-led response to the attacks has "seriously undermined" the group's ability to recruit, communicate and fund itself. It has also enhanced the group's image in some quarters, but "its leaders hide in caves and have lost the broad support of Muslims in the Arab world who oppose its terror tactics and its justification of violence in the name of Islam."
SLOW -- GOATS WORKING: Sign used to warn drivers of the herd of goats Chatanooga city officials hope will eat the kudzu climbing voraciously over every tree, power line and other available surface in the area. But city workers are yanking the signs, which were not posted by the city. We can only hope no goats end up killed by a reckless Swiss driver.
A STINGRAY may have killed Croc Hunter Steve Irwin, but it really shouldn't be freaking out people in Delaware and Tennessee.
THE WORLD'S LARGEST-KNOWN CROCODILE has resurfaced Down Under. I guess everyone has heard about Irwin dying.
THE NORWEGIAN MOOSE CENTER is open for your hunting simulation pleasure.
AWWW... A baby elephant and a baby panda, which even has a blog.
CHICAGO HAS MINTY-GREEN POLAR BEARS at the Brookfield Zoo. Just practicing for St. Patrick's Day. Now they just need a lot of liquor.
MY BEST FRIEND'S GIRL used to be a staple of Pate's infamous "three-chord medley," so I thought I would pair this 1978 German TV performance from The Cars with a shambolic cover from Nirvana's last gig in 1994. As The Cars' debut LP dominated the summer and fall of 1978, I'm throwing in "Bye Bye Love," a BBC performance of "You're All I've Got Tonight" and a live "Just What I Needed" for good measure.
RADIO BIRDMAN: The Aussie proto-punks score a 7.5 on the Pitchfork: "As with the resurgent Mission of Burma, here Radio Birdman return from their long absence with all engines lit and burning, crafting an album whose astonishing force and vitality matches and at points even surpasses their vintage material..." I hooked you up with the audio and video back in June, and those links are still good.
BUILT TO SPILL frontman Doug Martsch complained to the Twin Cities' City Pages about the corporate presence at Lollapalooza -- and the general reaction to it: "That kind of stuff is depressing... that you can't have a show without Budweiser, AT&T, and all the corporations being involved. I just don't understand why people let them put their fingers into everything we do. The worse thing is that people don't give a shit. If you try to discuss it, they think there's something wrong with you, that you're being hysterical or alarmist or something." Funny, I missed the part where corporate thugs forced him to play the festival. The writer of the article, knowing this is what many will think, attempts a defense: "Sure, Built to Spill are on Warner Bros. But even Time-Warner smells like Devendra Banhart compared to the likes of AT&T." Which is not much of a defense, given that AT&T made 43.8 billion in 2005, whereas Time-Warner had to make do with 43.7 billion.
THE NEW YORK DOLLS: Brooklyn Vegan runs an interview with Sylvain Sylvain on topics including Max's Kansas City, the Morrissey-driven reunion, the new album, and Pete Doherty. And I'll refer you to the video round-up from July.
BOB DYLAN TOPS THE CHARTS for the first time in 30 years, selling almost twice as many copies of Modern Times as the new album from Jessica Simpson. Folks who read yesterday's entry already knew Simpson's number was likely to be bad. You can still see the new Dylan video with Scarlett Johansson via AOL.
SEEN YOUR VIDEO: Balancing the new wave with a little Chicago blues, I bring you Magic Sam playing "All Of Your Love" at the American Folk Blues Fest.
THE WALKMEN are remaking Harry Nilsson's PussyCats album. You can stream "Many Rivers To Cross," "Subterranean Homesick Blues" and "All My Life" at the link. (Thanks, Stereogum.)
THE HOLLIES got a little tribute in the Stypod from Stylus. You can stream the linked tracks via the Hype Machine, and check out the video round-up I posted back in July.
CRACKER played a short set for Minnesota Public Radio, which has audio and video for you.
CAT POWER: At Chromewaves, Frank has a rave review for Chan Marshall's Toronto gig, with links to photos, audio and video. He also notes that Matador is pre-emptively defending the lower-priced re-release of The Greatest. Having read it, I think that more brutal honesty would have been the better policy. As Marshall is touting her new sobriety, the label could easily have said: "The Greatest is a wonderful album that didn't get its due because Marshall had a breakdown and couldn't tour to support it -- now that she's well, we wanted to give her and a larger audience a chance to find each other."
TOM-KAT UPDATE: You can see the Tom-Kitten for free via ICYDK. Holmes is reportedly frustrated and heartbroken over the gossip surrounding her child and her family, so I'm sure she'll enjoy TMZ speculating on the baby's Asian features. Gawker took it a step further with Photoshop. Meanwhile, X17 got Holmes to say there would be a big wedding soon.
ORLANDO BLOOM and KATE BOSWORTH are are splitting up, at least until they need to promote the sequels to Pirates of the Caribbean and Superman Returns.
LINDSAY LOHAN is currently denying those engagement rumors. Her convict dad doesn't like his fellow prisoners posting her picture, so you can bet he really, really wouldn't want them posting this NSFW picture of Li-Lo getting out of a boat wearing a dress and no panties.
DENISE & HEATHER & RICHIE & CHARLIE & DAVID: Heather Locklear and David Spade are taking a break from their relationship, but remain friends, according to People.
JESSICA SIMPSON is dumped by singer-songwriter John Mayer, who thinks her unsubtle press leaks exaggerating their relationship were a desperate publicity stunt. OUCH! Meanwhile, ex-hubby Nick Lachey is bringing Vanessa Minnillo home to meet the parents. Double-ouch.
CELEBS ARE MORE NARCISSISTIC than the general population, and people with narcissistic tendencies seem to be attracted to the entertainment industry rather than the industry creating narcissists, according to a groundbreaking USC study. The kicker? A lead researcher on the study is Dr. Drew Pinsky.
MARCIA CROSS: The Desperate Housewife who married in June is pregnant. So will the lesbian rumors stop?
BEN AFFLECK: I had been planning on noting that he seems to have wised up on his won about the media focus put on his personal life hurting his career, but it turns out that focus groups for Hollywoodland didn't want to see him in the ads.
THE FRENCH HOTEL was denied entry to a MTV VMA after-party at NYC's Bungalow 8. The picture will fill you with schadenfreude.
MICHAEL DOUGLAS handles his e-mail by fax.
BRADGELINA: Model Jenny Shimizu spilled more about her one-time lesbian affair with Angelina Jolie to the Starr Secrets blog: "I even took her to dominatrix joints and she loved them all. The darker the better."
PAKISTAN is indeed a problem; the Pakistani Army's so-called truce with the Taliban in North Waziristan is in fact a surrender. All the more reason why, as noted here yesterday, US troops seem poised to pursue the Taliban from Afghanistan into Pakistan. So I'm not surprised that US troops have launched a fearsome barrage of artillery and rockets into a mountainous militant stronghold in eastern Afghanistan, along the Pakistan border. Bill Roggio also reports on Operation Medusa, which has claimed over 250 Taliban fighters in the past week.
IRAQ: At ITM, Mohammed blogs that Europe is being short-sighted in the war on terrorists, noting that Russia's historical support for Arab countries did not spare that country from jihad. Iraqi authorities hanged 27 convicted terrorists yesterday, though Agence France-Presse chose to put "terrorists" in quotes. Today, Iraq and the US military are supposed to sign an accord for handing command of Iraqi armed forces to the government. Iraq's parliament passed a law allowing private companies to import and distribute petroleum products, in a move that could end the country's severe fuel shortage.
BRITAIN provides another example of why I love polls. In a new poll, 62 percent agreed that "in order to reduce the risk of future terrorist attacks on Britain the Government should change its foreign policy, in particular by distancing itself from America, being more critical of Israel and declaring a timetable for withdrawing from Iraq." OTOH, 63 percent agree that "Muslim extremists hate democracy and the Western way of life, and if Britain's foreign policy were different they would find another excuse for their terrorist activities."
THE ISLAMIC SOCIETY of NORTH AMERICA'S annual convention had a little something for everyone, according to the BBC, which quoted Muslims unhappy with their portrayal by the media. But they have to be happy with the BBC, which neglected to report on the seminar session held at 11 a.m. last Sunday, titled "...And Beat them Lightly: An Analysis and In-Depth Discussion of Verse 4:34," by which they mean you can strike your wife, but never on the face, and don't leave a mark.
SHEEP in a SNAKE: A pregnant ewe, in fact. But it rendered the six-meter python unable to move out of the road.
SNAKE in a LOWE'S in Ocala, FL. Hard to believe it passed up the Wal-Mart.
MICE don't really like cheese, British researchers confirm.
HIPPIE DOGS are overdosing on the ganja weed in Vancouver.
AN ARKANSAS COW gives birth to triplets... for the fourth time.
SUICIDE SQUIRREL starts a 30-acre fire in East Texas. My favorite part of the story may be the picture of a squirrel with the caption: "look upon my works, ye mighty, and despair."
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Kickers and punters get no love (or so Pat McAfee would have you believe). Today, we're going to take a look at the kickers who made the top ten most field goals in the NFL last year. These are the guys you want on your team when the going gets tough, like when you're down by two with three seconds on the clock.
1. New England Patriots K Stephen Gostkowski made 35 out of 37 field goals in 2014. That's pretty darn impressive if you ask me.
2. Buffalo Bills K Dan Carpenter hit 34 out of 38 field goals last season.
3. New York Jets K Nick Folk (who is not Nick Foles, as The Lead mixed-up two seasons back) hit 32 of 39 field goal attempts last year.
(3*) 4. Philadelphia Eagles K Cody Parkey also made 32 field goals in 2014. Parkey had 36 total attempts.
5. Seattle Seahawks K Steven Hauschka nailed 31 of 37 field goal attempts last season.
6. Indianapolis Colts K Adam Vinatieri missed just one field goal last season, hitting 30 out of 31.
(6*) 7. Houston Texans K Randy Bullock also had 30 successful field goals last year out of 35 attempts.
8. Atlanta Falcons K Matt Bryant made 29 out of 32 field goals during the 2014 NFL season.
(8*) 9. Pittsburgh Steelers K Shaun Suisham also hit 29 of his 32 field goal attempts last year.
(8*) 10. Carolina Panthers K Graham Gano (when he wasn't interrupting marching band practices) found time to make 29 of his 35 field goal attempts in 2014.


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From Florida to Idaho: 9 U.S. Destinations to Visit in 2018
While major U.S. cities may attract top chefs, artists, and hospitality groups, America's small towns are becoming increasingly cool. With enough cultural attractions to rival any big city and retrofitted motels that will pique even the most refined traveler's interest, here are the not-to-miss U.S. destinations quickly rising in popularity among today's jet set. Now is your chance to get to them before everyone else.
Salida, Colorado
Located less than three hours south of Denver, Salida is the quaint mountain town of your dreams. It's home to Colorado's highest concentration of 14,000-foot mountains, so there's no shortage of routes and trailheads to choose from. Within an hour drive, there are four public hot springs and plenty of picture-perfect bike trails for summer; you can ski and dogsled in the winter. Tuft & Needle mattresses and Malin+Goetz amenities await at Amigo Motor Lodge, a newly renovated 1950s boutique motel. When you're not swinging in a hammock chair or relaxing in the property's teepee, hot tub, or sun room, visit Salida's historic downtown. Begin your morning at Howl Mercantile & Coffee. Fuel up with a cold brew while browsing the shop's selection of handmade goods, many of which are produced by Colorado artists. For lunch, try one of 60 hearty creations at Sweetie's Sandwich Shop, grab dessert at The Biker & The Baker, and end your evening sipping porters and ales at Soulcraft Brewing.
Salem, Massachusetts
Known for its historic witchcraft and wizardry, Salem's new occult leans more toward the spiritual, making this town a hotbed for today's holistic wellness set. Book a new-age treatment at Hauswitch Home + Healing—flower essence consultations, energy healing sessions, and spirit animal tarot readings await. After browsing the shop's selection of vintage furnishings and ethereal candles, crystals, and essential oils, book a tour with Now Age Travel + Healing. Walk the streets of Witch City with local experts, diving deep into the history of Salem's spirituality during curated tours to the ghosts of buildings past. If you're feeling especially witchy, you can even book private moon meditations, reiki circles, and astrology classes. Stay at the city's newest hotel, The Hotel Salem, to savor a front-row seat to bustling Essex Street. Complete a visit with a culinary crawl: Ledger for classic New England fare; Kokeshi for ramen and octopus hot dogs; Far From the Tree Cider for small-batch fruity brews; and Notch Brewing for session IPAs and salty German pretzels.
Greenport, New York
Conveniently located only 100 miles east of New York City and blissfully laid-back compared to neighboring South Fork, the North Fork of Long Island is fast becoming a hot summer destination for urbanites in need of a green retreat. Complementing historic hotels like the North Fork Table & Inn is Sound View Greenport, a restored, 55-room nautical motel dating back to 1953. Revamped by Brooklyn-based Studio Tack, the property evokes seaside, mid-century elegance at its impeccable location on the Long Island Sound. Set in an area with over 30 vineyards and farms, Sound View extends North Fork's culinary prowess at The Halyard, the hotel's restaurant helmed by chef Galen Zamarra, who offers bi-monthly cooking demonstrations to showcase the North Fork's seasonal bounty. In 2018, chef Zamarra will debut Jack's Shack, a poolside food stand perfect for lazy beach days. To continue your gourmand getaway, visit chef Frank DeCarlo's seafood-forward Barba Bianca, revered brunch spot Bruce & Son, and the forthcoming sister location of Manhattan's The Lucky Bee.
Joseph, Oregon
Lacking the pace of downtown Portland but with the same minimalist Americana aesthetic that makes the city famous, the historic town of Joseph attracts artists and adventurers alike. Whether you take a spoon-carving course at Prairie Mountain Folk School or explore the remote Eagle Cap Wilderness for sightings of bucking broncos, mountain lions, and coyotes, you're sure to find inspiration in Joseph's scenery: glacial lakes, country ranches, and wide-open spaces. During a visit, stay at the newly renovated Jennings Hotel, a once-derelict apartment building transformed into an outpost for artists. Considered a beacon of design and hospitality in Joseph, the hotel is a perfect starting point to explore the town's own Main Street. Shop for handmade bath and body oils at Beecrowbee, sip handcrafted whiskey at Stein Distillery, and eat giant cinnamon rolls and barbecue chicken at Old Town Café.
Sarasota, Florida
Less trodden than Miami and more luxe than Key West, Sarasota is Florida's next standout star. Just an hour south of Tampa on Florida's West Coast, travelers are sure to find refuge in its miles of white sand beaches. But don't let this seaside town fool you—it's a haven for the arts. With its own opera house, symphony orchestra, ballet company, and performing-arts hall, and plenty of open-air festivals perfect for enjoying the Florida sunshine, you may first go for beaches like Siesta Key, but you'll stay for the quality culture. Book a room at the forthcoming Art Ovation Hotel in downtown Sarasota, just a short drive from the art galleries and shops of St. Armands Circle. Don't miss rotating exhibits at The Ringling and pop-up shops at the Ringling College of Art and Design. When you're not biking, kayaking, or boating Florida's Gulf Coast, visit Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, which will show an exhibit exploring Andy Warhol's conservationist leanings this February.
Taos, New Mexico
To get immersed in the terrain of Taos, book Mountain Travel Sobek's New Mexico Explorer to venture to sites like Santuario de Chimayo, where tales steeped in faith and lore await at this landmark shrine. Wind through villages built on the western flank of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains before arriving to the aesthete haven of Taos Pueblo World Heritage site, an earthen structure inhabited for the last thousand years. Stay at Hotel Luna Mystica, a vintage trailer campground set in the vast mesa of Taos, thought to be one of the most mystical destinations in the world. Surrounded by landscapes that inspired the works of Georgia O'Keeffe, venture into town to visit Taos's many art galleries. Take a pottery class at Taos Clay Studio, learn local recipes at Cooking Studio Taos, and visit in September to experience the town's new art festival, Paseo.
Lexington, Kentucky
With over 400 horse farms and home to 90 percent of the world's bourbon production, Lexington is already well known by equine and spirits enthusiasts. But with a number of new restaurants and the newly announced craft beer Brewgrass Trail, there's plenty of reason for gourmands to visit the Bluegrass State's leading city. Begin a food crawl at The Barn, Kentucky's first food hall. Under the same roof, you can dine on an all-local, independent lineup of craft ice cream, pasture-raised fried chicken, Greek-style street food, and ramen. Next, venture to Honeywood, a new restaurant helmed by the six-time James Beard–nominated chef Ouita Michel. Refresh at the new 21c Museum Hotel Lexington, which opened in 2016, transforming the historic 103-year-old Fayette First National Bank Building into the city's first true luxury boutique hotel. End with a night of craft beer at Japanese-inspired Country Boy Brewing, beer garden West Sixth Brewing, and European-style Blue Stallion Brewing.
Santa Rosa, California
After an unsettling series of wild fires in the heart of California's wine-growing region, Napa Valley and Sonoma County are back and better than ever. Leading the charge is the under-the-radar Sonoma town of Santa Rosa, an easy, one-hour drive south of San Francisco. Often regarded as a beer city in the middle of wine country, Santa Rosa is set to welcome the Astro Motel near Juilliard Park this January, an effortlessly chic and ambitiously remodeled 1963 motor lodge by the same owners of acclaimed restaurant Spinster Sisters. Cyclists will enjoy renting the property's own Shinola bikes for a leisurely cruise to nearby Russian River Brewing Company, the producer of some of the world's highest-rated beers: Pliny the Younger and Pliny the Elder. Oenophiles interested in sampling Sonoma's finest pinot noirs, zinfandels, and cabernets can book DuVine's four-day Sonoma bike tour to explore the idyllic, remote stretches of California's Pacific coast. Don't miss top-notch wineries like Gundlach Bundschu, California's oldest family-run winery, home to the annual Huichica Music Festival
Ketchum, Idaho
Nestled within the resort town of Sun Valley, Ketchum is Idaho's next town set to grow in popularity. Visitors are sure to flock to the newly erected Hotel Ketchum, a boutique property opening this December, just in time for Sun Valley's coveted winter sports season. With a year-round heated outdoor swimming pool, an oversize hot tub, and a lobby bar that serves Idaho craft beers, northwest wines, and warm afternoon cookies, it may be hard to leave the property. When you do, summer activities include paddleboarding, mountain biking, fly-fishing, and paragliding, while skiing, fat biking, visits to hot springs, and hike-in yurts are perfect for winter. No matter the outdoor adventure you chose, be sure to stop by Ketchum's Sawtooth Brewery and the Warfield Distillery & Brewery for a refreshing drink before browsing the town's more than 30 art galleries.


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|Each year, RVMS is required to create an Annual Report. You can view our most recent Annual Report here.
Other interesting publications:
2017-2022 Strategic Plan: Prepared by Strategy Matters, LLC in collaboration with RVMS.
2014: Market Analysis: Prepared by Peg Barringer, FinePoint Associates in collaboration with RVMS, Consulting Assistance sponsored by Boston Main Streets.
2013: Economic Impact Analysis of the RVMS Farmers Market: Conducted by FinePoint Associates in collaboration with the RVMS Economic Development Committee sponsored by Boston Main Streets.
2010: Destination: Roslindale Village report by Tufts University Department of Urban & Environmental Policy & Planning
2005: Revitalizing Urban Main Streets report by MIT Department of Urban Studies & Planning


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Bet you didn't expect one of those for a while...
We have a long list of projects on our wishlist of things we'd like to do to our house. Years and years worth of projects. I wish I could be working on all of them right now, but with current circumstances, that's just not possible. In fact I'd pretty much come to terms with the fact that we wouldn't get anything done ever again. (Okay that's dramatic, but maybe for the next few years).
However, this past weekend we were able to make some progress on two not too hard projects that we've been putting off for way too long, but are both life changers. The first we shared an update on back in March, and then hadn't touched it since then. But now, we have a fully functioning mudroom closet!
We have hooks to hang coats and places for our shoes and hats and mittens. It's amazing. Tom claims NOW he feels moved in. It only took a year an a half..
The other update was installing a light fixture we had bought MONTHS ago, but never seemed to have time to work on. Since it involved turning off all the power, we needed to work on it some time when we were both home during the day. Finally all the stars aligned and we were able to get it done!
It was almost embarrassing how quickly we installed it once we started working on it, but it's done now and we love it. Especially Tom, who used to hit his head on the one that used to be there.
Yay for progress!!
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