text:
Waiting is the hardest part, someone once sang before.
(Tom Petty?)
Mike Kafka had to wait almost three seasons before he regained his starting quarterback spot at Northwestern. It should help prepare him for his next venture as a backup quarterback after the Eagles selected him in the fourth round Saturday.
"It was definitely tough, especially as a competitor," Kafka said of sitting behind C.J. Bacher at Northwestern after he lost his spot as a freshman. "You never want to hear the words, 'Be patient.'"
But when Kafka got his chance he shined. In 2008, he stepped in for the injured Bacher and rushed for 217 yards against Minnesota. The following season, the 6-foot-3, 225-pound quarterback was handed the full-time reins and turned in a second-team All-Big Ten season.
Kafka completed 65 percent of his 492 passes for 3,430 yards and 16 touchdowns. He also ran for 299 yards and eight scores, giving him 891 career rushing yards. He threw an amazing 78 passes in Northwestern's bowl game loss to Auburn.
The Wildcats' offense was based on the West coast and had some similarities to the version the Eagles run.
"That's what the basis of what our offense was around," Kafka said.
The Eagles likely see Kafka as a developmental quarterback, one they can groom behind Kevin Kolb. Michael Vick is currently the backup, but has one year left on his contract. Kafka said that he's ready to learn the system and bide his time.
"That kind of related into my football play," Kakfa said of waiting his turn in college. "Take what they give you, be patient ... chip away and eventually let them make the mistakes."
Kakfa met with Eagles coach Andy Reid, offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg and quarterbacks coach James Urban at the Indianapolis combine in February. Mornhinweg attended his Pro Day.
"Coach Urban, Coach Mornhinweg and Coach Reid all have a great reputation for developing quarterbacks and I'm happy to be part of that group," Kafka said. "And I'll learn as much as I can."
Kafka is a Chicago native, like the former Eagles quarterback he, in some ways, replaced -- Donovan McNabb. Kafka said that he and McNabb are both products of rival Chicago Catholic League schools -- Mount Carmel and St. Rita's.
Kakfa becomes the fifth quarterback Reid has drafted with the Eagles, joining McNabb, Kolb, A.J. Feeley and Delaware product Andy Hall.
Speaking of Vick, here's an interview he did with his hometown newspaper recently. He told the Daily Press that he would be willing to play anywhere for the Eagles. He may have to be satisfied with being Kolb's backup and the occasional "Wildcat."


text:
Votre titre Audible gratuit
Selected Shorts
A native couple's rocky college love affair lasts a lifetime in Do You Know Where I Am by Sherman Alexie. In Karen E. Bender's Eternal Love, a mother nervously chaperones her retarded daughter's honeymoon. Ursula K. Le Guin's The Wife's Story is a supernatural tale of marriage and transformation, and Iranian author Shahrnush Parsipur's Mrs. Farrokhlaqa Sadraldivan Golchehreh intimately describes the title character's resentment of her heartless husband.
This collection also includes listeners' favorites such as Luis Alberto Urrea's Bid Farewell to Her Many Horses, about a grieving man who visits the reservation to bury his young wife and makes amends with her family; and We Are Nighttime Travelers by Ethan Canin, in which the arrival of mysterious visitor sets off new sparks in a longtime marriage.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Fort Worth Events, Coupons, Reviews!
Fort Worth Events, Coupons, Reviews!
My family LOVES going to Medieval Times! My hubby is ALL about the fun! I love a one stop shop where we can eat and enjoy a fun show all in one! This is perfect for our busy family of 6! We recently enjoyed a trip and I absolutely loved that my kids wanted to take pictures before the show with the falcon!
Hubby loves the food... he loves eating with his hands. The soup is my favorite part. It is beyond delicious and the garlic bread dipped in it makes it even more scrumptious! My girls enjoy the dessert and potatoes the most. It's so funny to watch the kids barter and trade their food with Steve!
The show is always captivating. The knights are so well trained that it's hard to take your eyes off for one minute. They are very skilled and do a fantastic job showcasing a very real scene right before your eyes.
Since going, my little guy has become obsessed with swords. We bought him one (a foam one) ...but have since regretted it as he loves to chase us around the house with it!
We have been a few times and I have written more about those visits here if you want more info about what to expect!
Experience North America's most popular dinner attraction. See our electrifying show featuring heroic knights on magnificent horses displaying the astounding athletic feats and thrilling swordplay that have become hallmarks of this unique entertainment experience. Enjoy a "hands-on" feast as the dynamic performance unfolds before you. A sweeping musical score and brilliant lights provide a fabulous backdrop for this spellbinding experience that blurs the boundary between fairy tale and spectacle!
Audiences of all ages gather to cheer for their knight! Medieval Times is the perfect place for any occasion: family fun night, birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, date night, and more!
Experience the New Show | Tickets 40% OFF Adults/20% OFF Kids - For the first time in Medieval Times' 35-year history, a Queen has taken the throne. Her Majesty Dona Maria Isabella presides over a tournament of knights who gather in celebration to test their skill against one another in a series of games, jousting, and combat.
The new story brings a series of changes to the show including new costumes, custom-designed and handmade armor, fight scenes, and musical score composed by Dr. Daniel May, who directed and recorded the composition in Kiev with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine. Be among the first to experience the debut of our new show.
Go to https://bit.ly/2RGt0f5 and enter PROMO code RF4020 at checkout.
Medieval Times Baltimore : A Royally Fun Celebrationmore
A Knight At Medieval Times Dinner Theatermore
Favorite Food Friday - Orlando Medieval Timesmore
CA 2019 Day 2 Dinnermore
Medieval Times Dinner & Tournamentmore
It's a Knight to Remember at Medieval Timesmore
Medieval Times: Dinner Theater Fun for the Whole Family in Myrtle Beach, SCmore
An Evening at Medieval Timesmore
Experiencing Medieval Times with Special Needs Childrenmore
Medieval Times: Dinner and a Show in a Castle!more
Family Fun at Medieval Timesmore
What Can I Eat at Medieval Times with Food Allergies Informationmore
Medevial Times Best Dinner and a Show in Atlantamore
Spring is about to get MEDIEVAL!more
10 Reasons to Check Out Medieval Times - including if you have Food Allergiesmore
We Had A Jousting Good Time At Medieval Times In Lyndhurst NJ #medievaltimesmore
Always Fun at Medieval Times Dallasmore
Medieval Times: Dinner Theater Fun for the Whole Family in Myrtle Beach, SCmore
Medieval Times - New Spring Show Reviewmore
All You Need To Know To Visit Medieval Times + COUPONmore
Medieval Times with Teensmore
Heroic Knights, Majestic Horses, and a Queen : Medieval Timesmore
Medieval Times Dinner and Tournamentmore
An Evening of Wonder at Medieval Timesmore
Medieval Times~Atlanta, Ga - SAVE 40% Off Tickets!more
Medieval Times has a New Show - SAVE 40%more
Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament Review and Discount Code! #MTFan #Reviewmore
Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament: Baltimore, MD - REVIEW - SAVE 40%more
Visiting Medieval Times - SAVE 40%more
Experience the New Medieval Times Show & See The Queen! +Coupon Codemore
The Queen has arrived at Medieval Times and the Celebration Beginsmore
WHY YOU SHOULD VISIT MEDIEVAL TIMES DINNER & TOURNAMENT ORLANDOmore
Medieval Times Reviewmore
Go Back In Time at Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament Orlando, Floridamore
Medieval Times is the perfect place for any occasion: family fun night, birthdays, anniversaries andmore
Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament - Orlandomore
Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament - Orlando Castlemore
Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament New Show Sovereign | SPECIAL SPRING OFFERmore
MEDIEVAL TIMES REVIEW - BUENA PARKmore
CELEBRATING A BIRTHDAY AT MEDIEVAL TIMES NEW JERSEY #MTFANmore
The Queen Is IN At Medieval Timesmore
3 Things You Must Do at Medival Times to Have a Great Timemore
Family Fun at Medieval Times Baltimoremore
Making Memories at Medieval Times + Discountmore
Go back to the medieval timesmore
Medieval Times Reviewmore
Food Allergies at Medieval Times: Receiving Royal Treatmentmore
Medieval Times' New show #review #sponsored @usfamilyguide @medievaltimesatl #MTFan #MTAtlantamore
Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament-An Exciting Family Eveningmore
Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament-An Exciting Family Eveningmore
5 Reasons Your Family Will Love Medieval Timesmore
Family Memories At Medieval Times & Dinner Tournament - Plus Giveawaymore
Things are Getting Medievalmore
Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament-Great Family Fun!more
Medieval Times - Fun for the Whole Familymore
Tips For Visiting Medieval Times and Discount Code!more
Travel back in time at Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament #Giveaway Ends 2/3more
Let The Games Begin at Medieval Times Dallas #MTFanmore
Dinner & A Show - Medieval Times Orlandomore
Medieval Times Reviewmore
Winter at Medieval Timesmore
Family Fun at Medieval Timesmore
Have Fun Storming The Castle with Free Journaling Cardsmore
Medieval Times: Delicious Dinner & Epic Entertainment for all ages! #MedievalTimesmore
A Visit to Medieval Timesmore
5 Reasons To Visit Medieval Times Baltimormore
Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament at Buena Parkmore
Take Your Family Back in Time at Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament in Myrtle Beach #mtfan #Reviewmore
We spent the evening with Nobles!more
Fun at Medieval Times in Dallas Texasmore
Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament Atlantamore
Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament + NJ Giveaway Read more at http://www.gameonmom.com/2016/12/medimore
A Family Guide to Medieval Times Dinner and Tournamentmore
Top 3 Reasons to Visit Medieval Times and Things to Knowmore
Medieval Times Coupon Codemore
Medieval Times Reviews - Schaumburg Illinois Dinner Theatermore
Chivalry In Action At Medieval Times & A Giveawaymore
Our Visit to Medieval Times - Dallas!more
Medieval Times Dinner Show Reviewmore
Medieval Times for Family Fun + Giveawaymore
Review Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament Dallasmore
Medieval Times - Buena Park, CA photos and reviewmore
Holiday Gift Idea: Medieval Times Dinner & Tournamentmore
Our Exciting Medieval Times Experience in Buena Parkmore
Medieval Times Dinner Show Buena Parkmore
Educational Lessons to Learn at Medieval Timesmore
Medieval Times | The Perfect Winter Celebrationmore
An Experience Like No Other: Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament {Review}more
Have an awesome time at medieval times!more
What To Expect When Going to Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament *Baltimore, MD Castle* #sponsoredmore
Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament Reviewmore
Eating With Our Hands At Medieval Timesmore
Medieval Times Dinner Tournament Review and Giveawaymore
Medieval Times is a Must!more
A Knight to Remember!more
{{Location Review}} Medieval Times in Dallas, Texas | AMAZING Food & Entertainment!more
A Royal Time to Be Had At Medieval Timesmore
Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament Specialmore


text:
As a young boy growing up in Oxnard, Kevin Faulconer often visited his aunt and uncle in San Diego and spent those days hanging out at Mission Bay Park.
More than 30 years later, Faulconer would lead the civic push to preserve the park's future by putting an end to years of financial neglect to one of San Diego's most treasured natural resources.
The fight for Mission Bay Park played a major role in his decision to run for City Council and now, as he runs for San Diego mayor, he touts it as the defining moment of his political career.
Faulconer's first major foray into civic affairs began as a volunteer member of the Mission Bay Park Committee. He read through the 4,235-acre park's master plan and noticed all the wonderful improvements proposed and inquired why none of those projects was moving forward. The answer: The city didn't have the money.
View the photo gallery: Mayoral candidate Kevin Faulconer
San Diego Mayoral Candidate Profiles
That didn't make sense to Faulconer. SeaWorld, hotels and other private development had been allowed to lease the public land with the express purpose of generating money to maintain and upgrade the park.
Faulconer dug into the financial records and created a 3-foot-by-5-foot board that outlined the true financial picture — the leases generated $20 million annually, yet little to none of it was being reinvested in the park. He showed the chart to council members and community leaders, but most were more interested in using the money to shore up other parts of the city budget.
After winning a council seat in 2006, the Republican still couldn't muster support, so he teamed up with Democratic Councilwoman Donna Frye, whose district also included parts of Mission Bay, to craft a ballot initiative that would require excess lease profits stay in the park.
City voters overwhelmingly passed it in 2008, and this year the park received $2.5 million under the new mandate, the first down payment on decades of future funding.
"I always knew that if we gave voters a choice, they were going to vote to keep that money in the park and they did," Faulconer said. "No matter where you live in San Diego, Mission Bay Park is your park. … The city was neglecting it, stealing that money out of the park, and I vowed that I would change it."
On the campaign trail, Faulconer often recounts the park-funding struggle as an example of his tenacity to solve difficult problems and his ability to reach across the political aisle to get things done. It's also the example he uses to refute critics who say he'll put business interests ahead of neighborhood concerns.
Faulconer, 46, the longest-tenured council member, is selling himself as a fiscal conservative and social moderate who will govern in the same mold as the popular former Mayor
While his similarity to Sanders makes him a popular pick in Republican circles, it makes him an equally unpopular choice for Filner's former supporters — i.e. labor — who see a Faulconer administration as a return to a time at City Hall when they say developers took priority over neighborhoods and working families.
More to the story
The knock on Faulconer for years: He's a bit stiff. He's extremely careful about what he says publicly. He toes the Republican Party line. He's not going to rock the boat. He's boring.
Yet that only tells half the story.
Faulconer is considered one of the most affable elected officials in San Diego and prides himself on being able to work with others regardless of ideological differences. While some take a more hysterical approach to politics, Faulconer maintains an even keel and remains respectful of his opponents.
"I've never been the loudest guy in the room," Faulconer said. "I'm a Republican with a (council) district that has more Democrats. My type of style has been to work together with people across the aisle. I couldn't be successful if I wasn't."
Faulconer has been in the room — and played a key role — for some of the most important civic decisions made in San Diego over the past seven years.
Along with Sanders and DeMaio, Faulconer helped craft a successful 2012 ballot measure that eliminated pensions for most new city hires in favor of 401(k)-style plans as a way to save nearly $1 billion in future pension costs.
Faulconer worked with Sanders to reduce the city's ballooning health care costs for retired city workers by $900 million in a deal with labor unions. He also led the Republican side in council deliberations over a new five-year labor deal with workers that successfully beat back an attempt by Filner to give double-digit pay increases.
Most recently, Faulconer joined with Democratic City Council President Todd Gloria on negotiating a settlement with Filner for his Aug. 30 resignation amid sexual harassment allegations.
Many of those stances have made Faulconer an enemy of the local labor movement, although his congenial style has helped him avoid the harsh criticism that has been aimed at Sanders and DeMaio over the years. Now that he's running for mayor, that free pass will almost certainly come to an end.
Jess Durfee, the former chairman of the local Democratic Party, questions whether Faulconer can effectively lead the city after playing what he claims was a largely supportive role as a "yes man" for the business community during his council tenure.
"My concern with Kevin Faulconer has been from day one, that it's basically a return to what we had in City Hall for the past several decades: control by the downtown business establishment," Durfee said. "His focus would be on continuing to pour city resources into the downtown establishment's needs rather than into the neighborhoods — restoring the libraries, recreational facilities and so forth — which is what we need."
Republicans dispute that premise, contending that organized labor has had greater influence at City Hall in recent years.
Still, many on the Democratic side who have worked alongside Faulconer don't consider him a rigid ideologue who will ignore their concerns.
Debbie Watkins, a Democrat who serves as chairwoman of the Mission Beach Precise Planning Board, has known Faulconer for years and said he's always willing to help anyone in need.
"I can honestly tell you that he works with anyone," she said. "Political persuasion doesn't even enter into the matter that needs to be resolved. He really does try to find consensus with whoever he works with. I find that he puts the needs of San Diego and our community first. That's why I think he's the best choice."
Politics was inevitable
Faulconer became steeped in politics at a young age. His father worked in the Oxnard City Manager's Office and, because his mother went to night school, he spent a lot of time in the back of the City Council chamber while his father worked.
He went on to serve in student government in high school and later was elected student body president at San Diego State, where he majored in political science. Faulconer said it was inevitable he would eventually run for public office.
"I knew at some point I would like to do exactly what I'm doing now," he said. "… It was the interaction with people and the problem-solving. I've always loved that. It was something I always wanted to try."
After graduation, Faulconer moved to San Francisco to take part in a public affairs fellowship program and later got a job at a public relations firm there. He moved back to San Diego in 1996 to work for what would become the Porter Novelli firm and was a paid advocate for projects such as the first convention center expansion.
Turns out it was a life-changing experience. At a Convention & Visitors Bureau mixer in 1997, he met his future wife, Katherine, and they married two years later.
Katherine Faulconer, a Mt. Carmel graduate who runs her own restaurant events firm, said she's heard all the stories about her husband's supposedly bland personality and she doesn't understand how people draw that conclusion.
"I married him for his personality," she said. "He's hysterical. He is so funny! But a lot of people say, 'oh well, he's quiet and he's boring.' Oh my gosh, I must be the most boring person on the face of the Earth because I love him for his personality."
As evidence that he does occasionally let his hair down, Kevin Faulconer said he had shoulder-length hair as a college student and is an unabashed fan of Jimmy Buffett and Van Halen. He also owned a 1979 Mustang while in high school — at least until he totaled it pulling into the school parking lot.
"Half the school saw what happened," he said. "Not my finest hour."
Clear direction
"You know who I am and what I stand for."
It's a line Faulconer has used repeatedly throughout the campaign to differentiate himself from his opponents. His track record on fiscal and civic matters provides a road map for where he would take the city.
Faulconer said his top three priorities as mayor will be funding street repairs and infrastructure improvements, putting certain city services up for competitive bid with the private sector and fixing the city's police recruitment and retention issues.
Critics point out Faulconer has had seven years on the council to address the city's billion-dollar backlog of infrastructure projects and the growing personnel problem in the Police Department. They say he'll remain focused on downtown business interests as he has been throughout his career.
Clare Crawford, executive director for the Center on Policy Initiatives, a nonprofit that advocates for workers, said if Faulconer is elected, it will make her job tougher.
"Based on his voting record, he certainly wouldn't be viewed by anybody as an advocate for higher wages for workers," Crawford said. "If people think Mayor Sanders was the candidate of the (business) establishment, then I think it's reasonable to say that Kevin Faulconer is as well."
Faulconer defends his past support for downtown, noting that it was part of his council district and that he also helped broker a deal for a new homeless facility there. He also said critics are trying to paint him with a broad brush when the truth is he's a moderate Republican who supports abortion rights, environmental protection and the
"If I worried about what the national Republican Party said, I wouldn't be successful in this council district," Faulconer said of the eclectic neighborhoods he currently represents, such as Ocean Beach and Pacific Beach. "I'm a San Diegan first."
His supporters, including attorney Bob Ottilie, who served with him on the Mission Bay Park board, say people need only to look at what he did for that park.
"Kevin Faulconer is the right candidate at the right time," Ottilie said in a recent letter inviting others to a fundraiser. "He will continue the bipartisan efforts of Jerry Sanders designed to strengthen and reinvigorate our local economy. As a calm and steady personality, he will end the drama of the last eight months."
Of course, Ottilie couldn't help but add that Faulconer "remains a very personable, congenial and likable public servant."
Special mayoral election
- How Faulconer won it
- Faulconer brings city to familiar ground
- Map: How each precinct voted for mayor
- Faulconer win has lessons for state GOP
- Faulconer wins mayor's race
- Editorial: A new mayor for San Diego
Final election results, complete coverage
Kevin Faulconer
Age: 46
Born: San Jose
Elected office: San Diego councilman, 2006-present
Party: Republican
Other jobs: Former vice president, San Diego public relations firm Porter Novelli
Education: San Diego State University, bachelor's degree in political science, 1990
Family: Faulconer and his wife, Katherine, owner of a small business in the Gaslamp, live in Point Loma with their children, Jack and Lauren.


text:
I am proud to be part of a company that is making innovations in education on a daily basis. You may have already heard how universities around the world are using Cisco to transform the classroom, and today's news is further evidence of this.
The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is working with Cisco to provide collaboration solutions that will bridge faculty and students in Philadelphia and San Francisco to deliver the classroom of the future. As one of the country's most esteemed colleges, the Wharton School is using Cisco's collaboration technologies, including Cisco TelePresence, to bridge the classrooms across the United States. In the future, they hope to extend these benefits to Wharton's classrooms around the globe, including Asia, Europe and South America.
Most of Wharton's star-studded professors are based in Pennsylvania and frequently travel to the San Francisco satellite campus that caters to Silicon Valley executives aiming for an MBA. Cisco's collaboration technology is allowing Wharton to extend the reach of its teachers while giving professors hours, if not days back into their schedule.
For instance, Professor Karl Ulrich was traveling cross-country to teach a San Francisco-based MBA class every other weekend, but now thanks to Cisco, he will be conducting the class remotely. And since the San Francisco classroom has a movie size screen, students will receive a "life-like" teaching experience with extreme high-resolution video. Cisco Jabber also helps extend the boundaries of the classroom to students wherever they choose to learn and collaborate. Thanks to the flexibility our technology provides, students can join 'live' TelePresence classes from virtually any device.
The deployment consists of a variety of Cisco Collaboration technology but the Cisco TelePresence Codec C90 is at the heart of the Connected Classroom. Key to pervasive video and interoperability is the fact that the C90 is standards-based, and any other standards-based telepresence unit can connect to these rooms also.
Wharton has also created an on-demand learning experience for its students who miss the 'live' class. Cisco's Capture, Transform, Share technology allows students to view the video content that is most relevant to them by searching for identified keywords and speakers, making it easy for students to engage when and how it matters to them. In fact, even if they attended the 'live' class, many go back to the video on demand to get information they missed.
The Cisco Connected Classroom is part of the efforts of the Wharton School to ensure ongoing innovation across every major discipline of business education. I'm looking forward to hearing more as it evolves globally. In the meantime, do you think this is a cool as I do? Share your thoughts.


text:
Although the Wall Street Journal did not, itself, use the "H" word, I think it is fair to say that their editorial attack on Jim Sinegal was charging him with hypocrisy. I'm not a regular WSJ reader, but I happened to pick up a copy Friday morning. I thought the whole thing was rather odd. Costco, it seems, is making a large dividend payment this December to help shareholders beat upcoming tax increases. I've been making a list and checking it twice of clients who should be considering a variety of maneuvers because of upcoming tax changes, both certain and uncertain. Accelerating dividends borders on a no brainer. As a matter of fact when I heard that some companies are not accelerating dividends, even ones that will be paid in January, so that they will have a better looking balance sheet on December 31, I thought it was outrageous. It seems darn near irresponsible. That type of behavior should rate a WSJ editorial condemning it. Maybe there was one. Like I said I am not a regular reader.
The problem of course is that Mr. Sinegal supported President Obama.
When President Obama needed a business executive to come to his campaign defense, Jim Sinegal was there. The CostcoCOST +2.00% co-founder, director and former CEO even made a prime-time speech at the Democratic Party convention in Charlotte. So what a surprise this week to see that Mr. Sinegal and the rest of the Costco board voted to give themselves a special dividend to avoid Mr. Obama's looming tax increase.
Here is Mr. Sinegal at the Democratic National Convention
There was some accounting commentary in the article that I did not quite get
More striking is that Costco also announced that it will borrow $3.5 billion to finance the special payout. Dividends are typically paid out of earnings, either current or accumulated. But so eager are the Costco executives to get out ahead of the tax man that they're taking on debt to do so.
Actually in order for someting to be a dividend for income tax purposes it has to come out of "earnings and profits", a not very well-defined term. Computing a corporations "earnings and profits" for tax purposes can be quite a project. Regardless of that, earnings, accumulated or otherwise, do not perfectly correlate with cash flow so it strikes me that the comment is mixing oranges and apple sauce.
Here is another observation which struck me as rather odd.
Costco's chief financial officer, Richard Galanti, confirms that every member of the board is also a shareholder.
In context, it almost sounds sinister. So the board sat around and came up with something they thought would be good for the shareholders. It would be so much better if it was a board that had hardly any shareholders so that when somebody suggested that they could save the shareholders some money by accelerating the dividend, they would have been more focused on important things like figuring how that would affect bonus computations.
The bottom line was this. By supporting President Obama, Mr. Sinegal was, in effect, supporting higher taxes and now he supported a tax planning maneuver to avoid some of the tax for himself and his fellow shareholders for the next year or two.
Here we have people at the very top of the top 1% who preach about tax fairness voting to write themselves a huge dividend check to avoid the Obama tax increase they claim it is a public service to impose on middle-class Americans who work for 30 years and finally make $250,000 for a brief window in time.
I have to say I appreciate the Wall Street Journal thinking about the little guys like me, the potential victims of this upcoming onerous tax. I hate to point out that I don't think it is really that big a deal to the low six figure plodders who get the brief time in the sunlit lands over a quarter million in AGI. You really have to have quite a bit in invest-able assets outside retirement accounts for the new tax on investment income to sting an awful lot. Regardless of that, I think the condemnation of Mr. Sinegal is ridiculous.
Are they really saying that only Republicans should be able to do tax planning ? American business culture (I'm sure it is broader than that, but I'll stick with what I know) has a tenet that overpaying taxes is irresponsible. That is independent of what you might think taxes should be. Learned Hand said it best:
Over and over again courts have said that there is nothing sinister in so arranging one's affairs as to keep taxes as low as possible. Everybody does so, rich or poor; and all do right, for nobody owes any public duty to pay more than the law demands: taxes are enforced exactions, not voluntary contributions. To demand more in the name of morals is mere cant.
You can follow me on twitter @peterreilycpa.


text:
The Philosophy
There are several elements to the freenode philosophy. The project was originally founded to provide interactive discussion facilities to peer-directed project communities. Peer-directed projects combine open, informal participation with broad licensing and wide dissemination of output.
Our basic principles are:
- Community members benefit from better access to each other. Putting a number of projects in close proximity in an interactive environment creates linkages between developers and projects, and helps community members take better advantage of each other's work.
- Communication and coordination skills are important to community projects. Peer-directed projects work because the paradigm works. Developers and community members are not unusually gifted at project coordination and communication. But improving those skills can make projects work better.
- Friendly interaction is more efficient than flaming. Calm, relaxed discourse without angry contention provides for better exchange of information. Flaming produces situations in which the listener must contend with the state of his or her emotions at least as much as with the comprehension of a speaker's comments.
- Project developers are self-driven. No one guarantees your work will be used, but only you decide whether a project is worth doing. There is no single right approach to any design, implementation or support problem, and friendly competition is a fundamentally good thing.
- Peer-directed project communities need to grow. Many valuable peer-directed projects chronically lack skilled, motivated developers with time to devote to them. The potential base for peer-directed project communities includes anyone with the skills and interest to participate. These communities must continue to grow.
- Licensing must be free. For peer-directed projects to succeed, their creative output must be widely available and usable without significant restriction. For software projects, the Debian Free Software Guidelines, the Free Software Foundation's Free Software Definition and the Open Source Initiative's Open Source Definition provide guidelines to help ensure that project creative output remains free. For artistic projects and for the printed word, licenses provided by Creative Commons and efforts such as the GNU Free Documentation License and the FreeBSD Documentation License help keep creative output free.
Licensing which preserves the ability of newcomers to contribute, and maintains a low barrier to entry for development, is essential to the health and success of peer-directed projects.


text:
View Specs
CPAP Supply USA is authorized to sell and ship Fisher and Paykel products to end-users residing in the United States and having a valid US physician's order/prescription. No 3rd party or B2B transactions permitted.
Some images supplied by Fisher and Paykel and used with permision. ©2010 Fisher and Paykel
All services provided by CPAP Supply USA, including advertisement, ordering, sale, delivery, instruction, and setup of the products, are performed solely by CPAP Supply USA and independently of the manufacturer.
View Product Reviews
by Anonymous on August 26, 2018
nice and small easy to move around with excellent product


text:
Is there any paper talking about the relationship of representation of finite dimensional Lie algebra and Weyl algebra? Can we construct representations of Lie algebra from representations of Weyl algebra?
There is a notion of quantized Weyl algebra. Is there a explicit relation between representation of quantized Weyl algebra and representation of quantized enveloping algebra?
I am looking for reference


text:
Mabel G. & J. Stanley Pullen Farm
Mr. Stanley Pullen was the first full-time teacher and chairman of the Agriculture Department at Murray State Normal School (now Murray State University). Mr. Pullen and his wife Mabel Pullen both taught in the field of agriculture at Murray State. Mr. Pullen passed away in 1935, but Mrs. Pullen continued to maintain her ties with the Agriculture Department.
The original farm purchased by Mr. Pullen consisted of two tracts, the first of which was purchased in the 1920's. The Pullens ran the farm and a dairy (College Crest Farm) with the help of students as employees. Mr. Pullen built the farm which still stands on the property, but he passed away.
In her later years, Mrs. Pullen depended heavily on the Murray State Agriculture Department for the management and operation of her 44 acre farm. Upon her passing, Mrs. Pullen bequeathed the farm and most of her estate to the Murray State University Foundation for academic purposes and scholarships for the Department of Agriculture. Before the mortgage could be paid off. Mrs. Pullen began teaching in local schools to pay the mortgage on the farm.
An initial cleanup took place in 1995, and in 1996 renovations began on the farm.
The Pullen Farm provides the School of Agriculture with additional space for agronomy testing and research. Students are involved in trials highlighting weed control methods, pest management practices, soil fertility, and basic crop science. n addition, the farm features a corn maze each fall semester and hosts the School of Agriculture's annual "Fall on the Farm" event.
The Pullen Farm is also home to the Murray State Horticulture program. Horticultural facilities on the farm include three greenhouses, classroom and office spaces, and numerous flowering beds and landscape structures. Students are responsible for working in the greenhouses and also maintaining the bedding plants surrounding the facility.
In 2009 the Hutson School of Agriculture began construction on an arboretum at the Pullen Farm. The Arboretum features collections of native plants trees, winding pathways, and a pavilion for hosting special events.


text:
Teacher resources and professional development across the curriculum
Teacher professional development and classroom resources across the curriculum
Authors and Literary Works
Tomás Rivera
Works by the Author
Works about the Author
Works by the Author
Rivera, Tomás. Always and Other Poems. Sisterdale, TX: Sisterdale Press, 1973.
Rivera's passionate belief in the strength of community is evident in this taut collection of poetry, which is rooted in his own life story.
----. The Harvest: A Collection of Short Fiction. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1989.
In a lyrical, folktale-inspired style, this volume of short stories tells of everyday episodes in the lives of rural people.
----. Tomás Rivera: The Complete Works, edited by Julián Olivares. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1992.
This volume contains the sum total of Rivera's works, in English as well as in Spanish, including many pieces that were never published during his lifetime.
----. ...y no se lo tragó la tierra (...And the Earth Did Not Devour Him). Houston: Arte Público Press, 1987. English translation by Evangelina Vigil-Piñón.
Film and Video:
…and the earth did not swallow him. American Playhouse, 1994.
This is an adaptation of the Tómas Rivera novel ...y no se lo tragó la tierra (…And the Earth Did Not Devour Him)
Works about the Author
Abbot, James. "...y no se lo tragó la tierra: With Tomás Rivera in Spain and Personal Memories." Revista Chicano-Riqueña, 13:3-4 (1985): 26-29.
This article offers a consideration of the biographical factors in Rivera's writing.
Calderón, Héctor. "The Novel and the Community of Readers: Rereading Tomás Rivera's ...y no se lo tragó la tierra." In Criticism in the Borderlands: Studies in Chicano Literature, Culture, and Ideology, edited by Héctor Calderón and José David Saldívar: 97-113. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1991.
This article presents a reader-response approach to Rivera's work.
Grajeda, Ralph F. "Tomás Rivera's Appropriation of the Chicano Past." In Modern Chicano Writers: A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by Joseph Sommers and Tomás Ybarra Frausto: 74-85. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1979.
This article offers a historical approach to Rivera's work.
Hinojosa-Smith, Rolando. "Tomás Rivera: Remembrances of an Educator and Poet." Revista Chicano-Riqueña, 13:3-4 (1985): 19-23.
Hinojosa-Smith gives a biographical appreciation of Rivera.
----, Gary D. Keller and Vernon E. Lattin (eds). Tomás Rivera, 1935-1984: The Man & His Work. Tempe, AZ: Bilingual Review Press, 1988.
This collection of essays focuses on Rivera's work and influence.
Olivares, Julián. "The Search for Being, Identity and Form in the Work of Tomás Rivera." Revista Chicano-Riqueña, 13:3-4 (1985): 66-80.
Olivares considers some of Rivera's major themes.
---- (ed). International Studies in Honor of Tomás Rivera. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1985.
This collection of essays was inspired by the work of Rivera.
Sommers, Joseph. "Interpreting Tomás Rivera." In Modern Chicano Writers: A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by Joseph Sommers and Tomás Ybarra- Frausto: 94-107. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1979.
This article offers an introduction to the major themes of Rivera's work.
Testa, Daniel P. "Narrative Technique and Human Experience in Tomás Rivera." In Modern Chicano Writers: A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by Joseph Sommers and Tomás Ybarra Frausto: 86-93. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1979.
This article offers a structural approach to Rivera's work.
Esmeralda Santiago
Works by the Author
Works about the Author
Works by the Author
Santiago, Esmeralda. Almost A Woman. New York: Vintage, 1999.
Living in a New York City tenement with seven younger siblings, her grandmother, and her powerful mother, "Negi," as Santiago's family calls her, dreams of having her own life. Balancing the demands of being an American teenager with the strictures of being a good Puerto Rican daughter, Santiago evokes a teenagehood that is at once deeply personal and universal.
----. América's Dream. New York: HarperCollins, 1996.
Similar thematically to When I Was Puerto Rican, this novel tells the tale of a young girl, América Gonzales, who attempts to come to terms with her Puerto Rican past while living with a wealthy family in Westchester County, New York. América's Dream explores the complexities of Puerto Rican womanhood and examines how cultural expectations are played out in both love and family relationships.
----. When I Was Puerto Rican. New York: Vintage, 1994.
---- and Joie Davidow (eds). Las Christmas: Favorite Latino Authors Share Their Holiday Memories. New York: Knopf, 1998.
Latino writers recollect their Christmas experiences.
---- and Joie Davidow (eds). Las Mamis: Favorite Latino Authors Remember Their Mothers. New York: Knopf, 2000.
This collection of essays by Latin American writers focuses on the details of motherhood and family life.
Works about the Author
Aguinaco, Carmen. "Creative Tension: How Latina Writers Sense Two Worlds." U.S. Catholic (1999): 34-35.
A critical discussion of Santiago's place among other Latina writers.
Hernandez, Carmen. "Interviews with Writers." Puerto Rican Voices in English. (1997): 157-169.
An interview with Santiago.
Martinez, Elizabeth Coonrod. "Maid in the USA." Women's Review of Books, 14 (1996): 22.
This article reviews América's Dream.
Puleo, Gus. "Dance Between Two Cultures: Latino Caribbean Literature Written in the United States." Hispanic Review, 67 (1999): 407-411.
This article focuses on the dual identity of diasporic writers.
Szadziuk, Maria. "Culture As Transition: Becoming a Woman in Bi-Ethnic Space." Mosaic: A Journal for the Interdisciplinary Study of Literature, 32 (1999): 109-129.
This article reviews América's Dream.
Esmeralda Santiago Homepage
This site has information about Santiago's work and upcoming appearances.
© Annenberg Foundation 2017. All rights reserved. Legal Policy


text:
We'll leave the Jon Bon Jovi-inspired puns to the comments section, but the New Jersey rocker could be a key figure in keeping the Bills in Western New York and out of Toronto.
According to The Toronto Sun, Bon Jovi and investors have been telling people around the NFL they will keep the Bills in Buffalo as opposed to seeking relocation if they acquire the team.
Bon Jovi would become the principal owner of the team in an ownership group also featuring Larry Tannenbaum and the Rogers family. Tannenbaum is the chairman of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment and the Rogers family control the eponymous Rogers Communications giant in Canada.
The group is expected to make a serious bid on the Bills, who are up for sale after the death of owner Ralph Wilson in March. The Bills have had an, at times, tenuous relationship with Buffalo, moving home games to Toronto and suffering attendance during cold months when the team is out of the playoff race.
The group's strong Toronto ties hint at a possible relocation, although nothing has been mentioned publicly.
The Bills announced a new 10-year lease with their current stadium in 2012, one that charges huge penalties if they break the lease to move somewhere else. The agreement also called for explorations on a new stadium.
However, the lease has a one-time out in 2020 for a $28.4 million penalty, as opposed to the $400 million one that would be incurred at any other time. So potential buyers may be saying all the right things now, but Bills fans should remain skeptical until any new owners commit to something concrete.


text:
First, the good news: Ustream.TV has been selected as a finalist for the prestigious SXSW Web Awards! We have all been nominated in the TV/Film category, the winner of which will be selected by a panel of SXSW judges, and announced at the Ceremony March 9, 2008. The nomination is in no small part because of the great content produced by our lovely and talented Ustreamers!
That's the good news. Here's the GREAT news:
As a finalist, Ustream.TV also qualifies for the People's Choice Awards , as voted-in by YOU. Simply click here to vote: http://sxsw.com/peoples_choice . You can vote up to once a day per email address until March 3, so don't be shy about setting yourself up a daily reminder. We actually have a great chance at winning the People Choice Awards, precisely because of our devoted and growing community of Ustreamers and viewers like you.
When you enter the voting area be sure to look for Ustream.TV under the FILM/TV Category, as indexed on the right column like so:
Help spread the good word; tell a friend, tell a viewer, tell an audience. Again, the link to vote for Ustream.TV: http://sxsw.com/peoples_choice
We'll see yall in Austin!
About the SXSW People's Choice Web Awards:
The judges had their say — now it's your turn! Sign up to vote daily for your favorite finalists from this year's SXSW Web Awards competition. Don't miss your chance to vote once daily until midnight on Monday, March 3.
Past winners of this award include popular online destinations such as Eminem.com, Dogster, Kewlbox and Social Saga. What site will take home the trophy and bragging rights this year? The People's Choice Award recipient (along with the Best of Show and eighteen category winners) will be announced at the 11th Annual SXSW Web Awards Ceremony // Presented by Adobe on Sunday evening, March 9 at the Hilton Austin Downtown. This highly-entertaining evening includes the Web Awards Pre-Party, plenty of industry peers and emcee Eugene Mirman. Register now for a SXSW Interactive, Gold or Platinum badge to be part of this exciting event.


text:
First Specializing Historical Manufacturer of Advanced Pest and Vector Control Equipment.
TIFONE Ambiente is since ever Quality and Continuous Innovation oriented.
Smart solutions, Superior Efficiency, Top Performance and Reliability are all contained in the TIFONE Ambiente's motto: "toward excellence" day by day, every day. Since the TIFONE foundation day: 25th June 1955.
During these many years of intense creativity TIFONE know-how and technology have reached greater goals that have made the TIFONE Equipment unique and different at a glance.


text:
MONTPELIER, Vt. ? After the hauling of hundreds of thousands of tons of rock and tens of thousands of man-hours on heavy equipment, Vermont is ready to celebrate the completion of a Herculean task and the biggest single engineering challenge following the flooding from the remnants of Hurricane Irene: the reopening of the last state highway washed out by the storm.
Just in time for the new year, and four months after the storm hit, Vermont officials are planning to mark the reopening of Route 107 between Bethel and Stockbridge. The state highway is the last to reopen after being closed by flooding.
The ceremony Thursday at the Stockbridge Central School marks the completion of a huge undertaking in the state's recovery, but much remains to be done as dozens are still struggling to rebuild their homes and their lives. The state is just totaling up the bill, and the Legislature is preparing to deal with a variety of Irene-induced, long-term challenges.
But it was the repairing of Route 107 that posed one of the biggest challenges following the storm that left a dozen towns cut off from the outside world for days, damaged or destroyed more than 500 miles of roads and 200 bridges, killed six and reshaped much of the low-lying countryside.
The stretch of highway between Bethel and Stockbridge is one of the state's major east-west arteries, and sections of the highway were part of the riverbank where the road and the White River pass through a narrow cut in the Green Mountains. Irene's run through Vermont on Aug. 28 funneled record volumes of water through that narrow pass where it slammed the riverbanks and, eventually, tore them to pieces.
"All of a sudden the road ended and then we were looking at river and mud and what used to be huge sheets of asphalt that had shifted into the river," said Maine Army National Guard Capt. Norman Stickney, of Gardiner, who arrived five days after the storm to begin rebuilding. "It was like something fell from the sky and completely crushed all of the asphalt and scooped it away and dumped it into the river."
Irene tore Vermont apart. The downtowns of communities as far apart as Whitingham in southern Vermont to Waterbury, just west of Montpelier, were flooded to levels not seen since the state's epic flood of 1927.
The remnants of Irene forced the state to abandon, at least for now, much of its office complex In Waterbury, which was damaged by the storm, and the administration of Gov. Peter Shumlin is now making plans to find a new place for the patients who had been at the State Hospital ? part of the Waterbury office complex.
"In the last four months, Vermont has made remarkable progress in repairing and rebuilding damaged infrastructure," said Neale Lunderville, the state's specially appointed chief recovery officer. "We have made strong progress to assist individuals and families who have been affected by Irene, but in both cases there will still be much to do as part of the ongoing recovery."
Lunderville said it would be years before much of Vermont and many Vermont families are back to what he calls "a new normal."
"If we want to have a robust recovery and one that brings us back to a place where we are stronger, smarter and safer than before Irene, we have to continue to remember what Irene did and what we need to do to recover from that," Lunderville said. "It's going to take a concerted effort and ongoing attention at high levels in order for us to have a really strong recovery."
In the three-mile section of road that was hardest hit, about 4,000 feet of Route 107 road was completely gone, said Vermont Transportation Agency Engineer Eric Foster, who oversaw the rebuilding of the highway. A job that would normally take two years was done in 119 days after the first work crews ? the soldiers from the Maine National Guard and other states ? arrived.
In addition to the guard, it took two contractors, 250,000 tons of rock, at least 20,000 hours of heavy equipment time, 7,500 feet of guardrail, 38 culverts and 46 companies over 16 weeks to repair the highway, according to information provided by the Vermont Transportation Agency.
The biggest challenge was getting the rocks and other fill material to Bethel. A special "rock train" was used to bring fill from distant quarries before it was unloaded a couple of miles from the work site. The train saved an estimated 6,600 truck trips and 55,000 gallons of diesel fuel.
In other parts of the state, officials have said some of the repairs, done on the fly to get traffic moving again, might have to be redone. That's not the case for Route 107.
The roadway was built with layers of different sized rock and the banks sloped to withstand another Irene, said Glenn Cairns, of the Windham, N.H., contractor George Cairns and Sons, which brought its specialized equipment ? excavators and dump trucks that are up to twice the size of those usually found on Vermont highway projects.
It's designed to withstand another "Irene, plus two feet," said Foster.
Both Stickney and Cairn said they were amazed by how grateful Vermonters were despite the challenges they faced.
"Even though these people, their lives were turned upside down, they were friendly," Cairns said. "They really didn't mind sitting in traffic waiting for us ? the hardship that they went through and everybody was just thankful and waved and smiled.
"They went through a lot. I could understand how they could be bitter, `why isn't my road back together,' but I've got to say the people were just extremely friendly and welcoming."
Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/weather/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111229/ap_on_re_us/us_irene_last_highway
snapdragon snapdragon kim jong ill dead wedding crashers next iron chef next iron chef aquamarine


text:
No. 79,281
1. To support a conviction for felony murder, all that is required is to prove that a felony was being committed, which felony was inherently dangerous to human life, and that the homicide which followed was a direct result of the commission of that felony.
2. When the sufficiency of the evidence is challenged, the standard of review is whether, after review of all the evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution, the appellate court is convinced that a rational factfinder could have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
3. Issues of credibility are within the province of the jury. On appellate review, the credibility of witnesses will not be passed upon, conflicting evidence will not be weighed, and all questions of credibility are to be resolved in favor of the State.
4. The analysis of the effect of a prosecutor's allegedly improper remarks is a two-step process. First, the appellate court determines whether the remarks were outside of the considerable latitude the prosecutor is allowed in discussing the evidence. Second, if the remarks are found to be improper, the court must consider whether, in light of the record as a whole, they are so prejudicial as to amount to reversible error.
5. A prosecutor's improper remarks made in closing argument are grounds for reversal only when they are so gross and flagrant as to prejudice the jury against the accused and deny him or her a fair trial. In deciding whether improper remarks by the prosecution during closing argument constitute harmless error, the reviewing court must be able to find that the error had little, if any, likelihood of changing the result of the trial. Such a belief must be declared beyond a reasonable doubt.
6. Admitting the prior testimony of an unavailable witness does not violate the Confrontation Clause.
7. K.S.A. 1998 Supp. 60-460(c)(2) permits the use of testimony from a former trial of the same action if the declarant is unavailable at the trial and the adverse party had the right and opportunity to adequately cross-examine at the former trial.
8. The standard for determining if a witness is unavailable is the reasonable diligence rule, requiring a good faith effort to obtain the witness' presence at trial. The question of availability turns on the totality of the facts and circumstances of each case.
Appeal from Douglas district court; MICHAEL J. MALONE, judge. Opinion filed May 4, 1999. Affirmed.
Chris R. Davis, of Phelps, Chartered, of Topeka, argued the cause and was on the brief for appellant.
Angela M. Wilson, assistant district attorney, argued the cause, and Christine K. Tonkovich, district attorney, and Carla J. Stovall, attorney general, were with her on the brief for appellee.
The opinion of the court was delivered by
LOCKETT, J.: Defendant appeals his conviction of first-degree felony murder, K.S.A. 21-3401(b). Defendant claims there was insufficient evidence to support the underlying felony in the felony-murder conviction, he was denied a fair trial by the prosecutor's closing argument, and the trial court erred in finding that a witness was unavailable.
Late in the evening on August 14, 1996, the victim, Onzie Branch, and three of his friends, Corey Johnson, Danny Thompson, and Sonny Smith, were parked in Johnson's car outside Langston's nightclub in Lawrence, Kansas, drinking and visiting with friends. Branch was seated in the front passenger seat of the car.
After a short time, Johnson recognized the defendant, Damon McCray, in another car and decided to ask McCray if he had any marijuana to sell. McCray said he had no marijuana. Johnson returned to his car. A short time later, as Johnson was getting ready to leave the parking lot, he heard gunshots and saw a flash from a gun aiming in his direction from over the top of a grey van parked a short distance from his car. Johnson ducked down in the car seat.
When the shooting stopped, Johnson noticed that Branch was bleeding. Johnson drove out of the parking lot to take Branch to the hospital. On the way to the hospital, he stopped his car and flagged down a Lawrence police officer who called an ambulance. Branch was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Although Branch suffered several gunshot wounds, the coroner determined that Branch died from a single gunshot wound to the head. The bullet entered Branch's head from the right rear, and travelled from the back to the front in a slightly downward direction. Bullet fragments and a bullet jacket were recovered from inside Branch's brain. The bullets recovered were .38 or .357 caliber, all fired from the same revolver.
Detective Dan Ward of the Lawrence Police Department assisted in processing the crime scene. The van over which Johnson saw the gunshots fired was examined for fingerprints. A full left hand palm and fingerprints were lifted from the hood. The prints matched those of McCray. A cast was made of a footprint in the sand near the van where the shooter had been standing.
During the investigation, several eyewitnesses described a black man of heavy build in the parking lot at the time of the shooting. The witnesses' descriptions of the man's clothing varied. None of the eyewitnesses identified McCray as the shooter.
McCray was charged with first-degree premeditated murder and, in the alternative, first-degree felony murder, i.e., killing the victim by maliciously and intentionally discharging a firearm at an occupied motor vehicle. McCray was not separately charged with the underlying felony.
McCray's first trial resulted in a mistrial when the jury was unable to agree on a verdict. McCray was again tried to a jury. The second jury found McCray guilty of first-degree felony murder. McCray was sentenced to life imprisonment. McCray appeals the conviction.
McCray was convicted of first-degree murder based on a killing which occurred during the course of a felony--criminal discharge of a firearm at an occupied vehicle. He contends that the evidence was insufficient to convict him of the underlying felony.
To support a conviction for felony murder, all that is required is to prove that a felony was being committed, which felony was inherently dangerous to human life, and that the homicide which followed was a direct result of the commission of that felony. State v. Carr, 265 Kan. 608, 615, 963 P.2d 421 (1998). Specifically, McCray challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support the jury's determination that he was the shooter who fired gunshots into the vehicle occupied by Onzie Branch. When the sufficiency of the evidence is challenged, the standard of review is whether, after review of all the evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution, the appellate court is convinced that a rational factfinder could have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Claiborne, 262 Kan. 416, 425, 940 P.2d 27 (1997).
There were two pieces of physical evidence introduced at trial to identify McCray as the shooter: the palm and fingerprints from his left hand found on the hood of the van from which the gunshots were fired and a shoe print in the sand near the van. The shoe print could not positively be identified as McCray's shoe print nor could it be conclusively excluded as McCray's shoe print.
Doria Harjo, a woman who lived in the neighborhood of Langston's, testified that seconds after the shooting she saw a black man wearing white shorts run from the building next to Langston's and jump into a car. Mahogany Payne, a woman who had just arrived at Langston's at the time of the shooting, described the shooter as a black man wearing beige or white shorts and a white shirt with a red insignia on it. Tina Bowlin, another woman in Mahogany Payne's party, described the shooter as a black man wearing dark jeans and a plain white T-shirt.
Damon Hall, a companion of the defendant, testified that on the night of the shooting, he, McCray, and two other men went to Lawrence in a car Hall had rented for the occasion. Before leaving McCray's home, Hall noticed a revolver on the living room table. Hall observed McCray put the revolver in his waistband before leaving the house.
Hall testified that when his party arrived at Langston's, they were denied entrance because their clothing did not conform to the dress code. They stayed in the parking lot of Langston's and visited with acquaintances, drinking and smoking marijuana. Hall testified that Corey Johnson came to his car and asked if they had any marijuana. After being told that they had no marijuana, Johnson returned to his car. Hall looked over into Johnson's car and noted that Onzie Branch was in the passenger seat. Hall knew that Damon McCray and Onzie Branch had a history of violence toward each other. McCray told Hall that "this would be a good chance for him to get Onzie."
Hall pulled his car around to the back of Langston's and backed the car into a parking stall for a quick exit. McCray left Hall's car to confront Onzie Branch. Hall lost sight of McCray as McCray walked toward Langston's. Moments later, Hall heard arguing and shots being fired. Thirty to forty seconds later, McCray reappeared on the passenger side of Hall's car. McCray entered the car and told Hall, "Let's go. Drive to Kansas City." Hall noted that McCray was agitated. As they were driving away from Langston's, Hall asked McCray what had happened. McCray said that he had fired four shots into Corey Johnson's car and that he believed he hit somebody.
McCray asserts that Hall's testimony at the second trial was not credible because it varied from his testimony at McCray's first trial. McCray argues that because the eyewitnesses did not identify him as the shooter, the physical evidence was inconclusive and Hall's testimony was suspect; therefore, the evidence at trial was insufficient to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that he was the shooter.
In essence, McCray is asking this court to discount Hall's credibility. Issues of credibility are within the province of the jury. On appellate review, the credibility of witnesses will not be passed upon, conflicting evidence will not be weighed, and all questions of credibility are to be resolved in favor of the State. State v. Clemons, 261 Kan. 66, Syl. ¶ 4, 929 P.2d 749 (1996). The time for casting doubt on Hall's testimony was at trial, not on appeal. McCray's defense counsel fully cross-examined Hall at trial regarding the inconsistencies between his trial testimony and statements he had given on prior occasions. The jury was aware of that aspect of Hall's testimony. This court is not at liberty to pass on the credibility of Hall's statement.
Viewing all the evidence in a light most favorable to the State, a rational factfinder could have found McCray guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
McCray contends that certain remarks made by the prosecutor in closing argument were unduly prejudicial and denied him his Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial. McCray categorizes the prosecutor's remarks as (1) personal opinions, (2) appeal to community values, and (3) comments on the credibility of certain evidence.
Dignity of the court, decorum of the trial, and interest of truth and justice forbid license of speech in arguments to jurors outside the proper scope of professional discussion. State v. Ruff, 252 Kan. 625, 635, 847 P.2d 1258 (1993). It is the duty of the prosecutor to see that the State's case is properly presented with earnestness and vigor, and to use every legitimate means to bring about a just conviction, but the prosecutor should always bear in mind that he or she is an officer of the court and, as such, occupies a quasi-judicial position whose sanctions and traditions he or she should preserve. 252 Kan. at 634. Where counsel refers to pertinent facts not before the jury or appeals to prejudices foreign to case, it is the duty of the court to stop counsel then and there, and the court need not and ought not to wait to hear an objection from opposing counsel. 252 Kan. at 635.
The plain error rule is defined as follows:
"This rule that plain errors affecting substantial rights may be considered on motion for new trial or on appeal though not raised in trial court if manifest injustice or miscarriage of justice has resulted, is invoked on case to case basis, but there must be sound, substantial manifestation, a strong, clear showing, that injustice or miscarriage of justice will result if the rule is not invoked. State v. Meiers, Mo., 412 S.W.2d 478, 480. For there to be 'plain error' warranting reversal absent objection, there must be legal impropriety affecting defendant's substantial rights, sufficiently grievous to justify notice by reviewing court and to convince it that, of itself, error possessed clear capacity to bring about unjust result. State v. Harris, A.D., 174 A.2d 645, 646, 70 N.J.Super. 9. Doctrine which encompasses those errors which are obvious and highly prejudicial, which affect the substantial rights of the accused, and which, if uncorrected, would be an affront to the integrity and reputation of judicial proceedings. U.S. v. McCord, 166 U.S.App.D.C. 1, 502 F.2d 334, 341." Black's Law Dictionary 1150 (6th ed. 1990).
Under normal circumstances Kansas does not apply the plain error rule; a contemporaneous objection is normally required to preserve an issue of improper closing argument for appeal. State v. Spresser, 257 Kan. 664, 674, 896 P.2d 1005 (1995) (Abbott, J., concurring). A trial court has a duty under the plain error rule to protect a defendant's constitutional right to a fair trial and should not hesitate to prevent prosecutorial misconduct from occurring regardless of whether a timely objection has been lodged. See State v. McClanahan, 259 Kan. 86, 910 P.2d 193 (1996); State v. Gray, 25 Kan. App. 2d 83, Syl. ¶ 5, 958 P.2d 37 (1998). There was no contemporaneous objection by the defendant to most of the prosecutor's comments complained of in this appeal. McCray asserts that each of the prosecutor's remarks violated the plain error rule. Therefore, the claimed offending remarks will be considered to determine if the remarks so affected the substantial rights of the defendant and brought about an unjust result.
The analysis of the effect of a prosecutor's allegedly improper remarks is a two-step process. First, the appellate court determines whether the remarks were outside of the considerable latitude the prosecutor is allowed in discussing the evidence. Second, if the remarks are found to be improper, the court must consider whether, in light of the record as a whole, they are so prejudicial as to amount to reversible error. Improper remarks made in closing argument are grounds for reversal only when they are so gross and flagrant as to prejudice the jury against the accused and deny him or her the right to a fair trial. In deciding whether improper remarks by the prosecution during closing argument constitute harmless error, the reviewing court must be able to find that the error had little, if any, likelihood of changing the result of the trial. Such a belief must be declared beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Collier, 259 Kan. 346, Syl. ¶¶ 5, 6, 913 P.2d 597 (1996).
McCray asserts that the prosecutor represented to the jury his personal opinion that McCray was guilty of the murder of Onzie Branch. The State asserts that the prosecutor's comments were no more than the prosecutor arguing that the jury should conclude from the evidence that McCray was guilty of the murder of Onzie Branch. The State claims that the cases where this court has found error in a prosecutor's contention to the jury that the defendant was guilty can be distinguished from this case because those cases involved statements where the prosecutor put himself or herself in the position of a witness with personal information regarding the defendant's guilt. See State v. Abu-Isba, 235 Kan. 851, 859, 685 P.2d 856 (1984); State v. Williams, 228 Kan. 723, 732, 621 P.2d 423 (1980); State v. Henderson, 226 Kan. 726, 735, 603 P.2d 613 (1979).
Personal Opinion
The prosecutor discussed the State's burden of reasonable doubt:
"A reasonable doubt. That is the State's burden. We accept that burden and we have met that burden. The defendant Damon McCray is guilty of murder in the first degree beyond a reasonable doubt. We have met that. And I'm going to tell you how. I'm going to try to reflect back on some of the testimony."
Near the close of the prosecutor's closing argument, the prosecutor again stated, "The evidence is convincing beyond a reasonable doubt."
To show the defendant's motive for killing the victim, the prosecutor reviewed with the jury the evidence that McCray and Branch had a violent history which included an incident at a shopping mall where Branch hit McCray in the head with a weight. The prosecutor reminded the jury that shortly after the mall incident, Branch was sent to prison and stated that the evening at Langston's was the first opportunity since the mall incident for McCray to retaliate. The prosecutor stated, "If you were . . . that man at that time you can put the other person in the grave. That's what he did. He retaliated. I mean that's what it came to. That's how things are."
Regarding the fact that there were no eyewitnesses who could identify the shooter, the prosecutor stated that such was typical in a murder case. The prosecutor then opined that the lack of eyewitness testimony was not fatal to his case against McCray because McCray had left incriminating evidence at the murder scene--his fingerprints:
"Did anybody testify, yes, I saw that man murder Onzie Branch. No, no one did that. There was no camera there. If you're expecting a videotape of what happened, you're not going to get it because most defendants that commit crimes especially murder try to do it with without people seeing them. They don't want any witnesses so they try to hide the best they can.
"In this case the defendant hid from the people by standing in front of the van. He hid from the people in Langston's by running to the south and back off [sic] the building. He couldn't hide everything since Onzie was kind of out in the open. He left his basic physical description behind. And, oh, one other thing he left behind. His fingerprints. He left his fingerprints behind. Oops. Should have been wearing gloves that night, Mr. McCray, because you signed your work. He left his signature behind."
The prosecutor improperly characterized Branch's death as an execution by McCray without a fair trial:
"Did Damon McCray give Onzie Branch any opportunities before he deprived him of his life and his liberty? He didn't give him a fair and impartial trial, did he? He was Judge; he was juror; he was executioner.
"[McCray] didn't give Onzie Branch anything fair and impartial. There's nothing. We've given [McCray] fair and impartial."
In his summary, the prosecutor stated:
"Someone is responsible for the murder of Onzie. Somebody is, and that somebody, ladies and gentlemen, is only feet from you. That someone as you know is Damon LaShawn McCray. Look at him, ladies and gentlemen, you have to look at him. That's what a murderer looks like, ladies and gentlemen."
It is a well-established rule in this state that error is committed when a prosecutor injects his or her personal opinion into closing argument. Ibu-Isba, 235 Kan. at 859. The statements made by the prosecutor in this case regarding the prosecutor's personal opinion of the defendant's guilt were error.
Appeal to Community Values
McCray complains that the prosecutor improperly appealed to the jury's duty to protect the community values of Lawrence, Kansas. In support of this claim, McCray points out that he was not from Lawrence, but from Topeka, and the prosecutor made reference in closing to what a person cannot get away with in Douglas County: "[McCray] retaliated [against Branch]. . . . That's how things are. But not here, ladies and gentlemen, you can't commit murder here in Douglas County and get away with it. You can't commit it anywhere and get away with it. This is murder." There was no objection to the prosecutor's remark.
The prosecutor's remark in this case is very similar to the statement made by the prosecutor in Ruff, 252 Kan. 625. In Ruff, the prosecutor stated in closing: "'Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, do not allow this conduct to be tolerated in our county. . . . Thank you. Send that message, ladies and gentlemen, come back with a verdict of guilty. Thank you.'" 252 Kan. at 631. The Ruff court found that the prosecutor's statement implied that if the jury found Ruff not guilty, her conduct would be tolerated. 252 Kan. at 636. The Ruff court found that "[t]he prosecutor's statement was improper and transcends the limits of fair discussion of the evidence" and reversed Ruff's conviction. 252 Kan. at 636.
Not every trial error or infirmity which may call for application of appellate court supervisory powers correspondingly constitutes a failure to observe the fundamental fairness that is essential to the very concept of justice. When specific guarantees of the Kansas Constitution Bill of Rights are involved, courts must take special care to insure that prosecutorial misconduct does not impermissibly infringe upon those guarantees. Ruff, 252 Kan. at 631.
The Ruff court found that because the defense counsel had objected and the court, in effect, approved the remark, a general instruction given prior to the improper statement that remarks of counsel were not evidence was not sufficient to protect the defendant's right to a fair trial. 252 Kan. at 636. Here, there was no contemporaneous objection nor did the trial judge refuse to admonish the jury. Under the facts, the prosecutor's remark did not rise to the level of reversible error.
Comments on the Credibility of Evidence and Witnesses
In closing, the prosecutor warned the jury that the defense's case was no more than smoke, a deception:
"Mr. Betts [the defense attorney] told you that he had a job; that he had a duty, and an obligation to present evidence to keep you from convicting an innocent man.
"That's right. He had a job and obligation. What he's trying to do, ladies and gentlemen, is what we refer to in the legal profession is create a smoke screen to confuse you. He did that during cross-examination.
"You remember I would ask witnesses questions for some period of time and then he would ask them questions three or four times longer than I did in an attempt to confuse you, to convert [sic] your attention away from the simple fact that his client's a murderer. Mr. Betts is trying to knock you off the trial anyway he can."
The defense counsel objected and asked the court for an admonishment. The court declined to admonish and asked the prosecutor to continue. Later in the argument, the prosecutor returned to the smoke screen theme:
"Now, part of this attempt or smoke screen on the part of Mr. Betts is to accuse Damon Hall of doing it."
"There's no evidence that Damon Hall wanted Onzie Branch dead. None at all. Smoke screen. Look over here at Damon Hall. That's what he's try to do is divert your attention away from his client.
"You don't have to fall for that. That is his job. He told you that. He does a good job, no doubt about it, but he's going to fool you. He said you better be ready before you convict; that you are going to be grieving about Mr. McCray and his liberty for the rest of your life to make that decision. Does that scare you? That's a serious responsibility but, again, an intimidation to scare."
The defense counsel objected, and the court sustained the objection. No admonishment was requested or given. Later in the argument, the prosecutor again returned to the theme of deception on the part of the defense: "Be careful of the deception. Be careful of the smoke. You've got to see your way through that. If you don't, justice will not prevail."
The prosecutor then referred to a comment the defense counsel made in his closing regarding the Lawrence, Kansas, law enforcement agency:
"On one hand [Mr. Betts] sits here and says the law enforcement agency as [a] whole is the [most honest] he's ever worked with.
. . . .
"Most honest agency he's work[ed] with. On the other hand, he infers that there's this big conspiracy going on."
Again, the defense counsel objected, but the court remarked that the prosecutor's comment was appropriate. The prosecutor continued with remarks about a conspiracy theory:
"They're all--it's one big conspiracy, the police department, Damon Hall, Doria Harjo, Mahogany Payne, all one big conspiracy out to get Damon McCray. That's what you'd have to believe to let him go. That's what he wants you to believe. One big conspiracy."
In State v. Lockart, 24 Kan. App. 2d 488, 947 P.2d 461, rev. denied 263 Kan. __ (1997), the Court of Appeals considered comments made by a prosecutor which included a reference to the State's evidence as "smoke and mirrors." In Lockart, the credibility of the defendant was the dispositive issue. In closing, the prosecutor referred to the defendant as a liar and drug dealer. He advised the jury that Lockart had had 1 year and 2 months to think about the defense he was going to raise and what lies he could perpetrate. He commented in his argument that the defense counsel had attempted to penetrate the facts with "fog, smoke, or mirrors." He asked the jury to put itself in the place of a drug dealer to determine the credibility of Lockart's statements. All of these comments were made without objection. 24 Kan. App. 2d at 490.
The Lockart court found that the prosecutor's comments referring to the defendant and the defense counsel as liars was a serious breach of the standard of fair comment permitted to lawyers when making closing arguments. The Lockart court termed the prosecutor's comments gross and flagrant and determined that the comments rose to the level of a constitutional error. The Lockart court stated: "Trials cannot be allowed to degenerate into name-calling contests. Juries must be given an opportunity to exercise reason and sound judgment in deciding the facts of a case, free from passion and prejudice." 24 Kan. App. 2d at 492.
The prosecutor's comments in this case bear a similarity to the comments made by the prosecutor in State v. Mosley, 25 Kan. App. 2d 519, 965 P.2d 848, rev. denied 266 Kan. __ (1998). In Mosley, the prosecutor stated in closing:
"'Well, the fact of the matter is, ladies and gentlemen, my witnesses were telling the truth, okay?'
"'Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, the title of this case isn't State vs. William Miller. It's State vs. Maurice Mosley, and don't let the defendant confuse you about who's on trial. And that's his whole game anyway, ladies and gentlemen, is to confuse you about the evidence, okay?'
"'And they want you to focus on, again, the inconsistencies in the statements, but I guarantee you, ladies and gentlemen, if my witnesses would have come up here and had the exact same story, they would have yelled conspiracy, okay?'" 25 Kan. App. 2d at 524.
No contemporaneous objection was made following any of the offending statements in the Mosley case. The Mosley court found that the comments, although perilously close, were not so egregious as to require a reversal. 25 Kan. App. 2d at 525.
The prosecutor in this case also commented on the possibility of there being more evidence against McCray than came out at trial. Regarding Damon Hall, the prosecutor stated, "[T]here's probably more he knows, but the more he tells, the more he keeps implicating the defendant." There was no objection to this comment.
In closing argument, the prosecutor may draw reasonable inferences from the evidence but may not comment upon facts outside the evidence. State v. Hutcherson, 25 Kan. App. 2d 501, 506, 968 P.2d 1109 (1998). The prosecutor's suggestion in this case, that Damon Hall could provide more evidence than he had, was clearly improper.
Having determined that some of the prosecutor's remarks in this case were outside the bounds of proper argument, we must now determine whether the prosecutor's remarks, in light of the record as a whole, were so prejudicial that the defendant was deprived of his constitutional right to a fair trial. See Collier, 259 Kan. 346, Syl. ¶ 5.
We agree with the Mosley court's statement that it is extremely dangerous to allow a prosecutor's zealousness to be given too loose a rein and care must be exercised not to inappropriately denigrate opposing counsel or inject personal evaluations of the honesty of witnesses. Mosley, 25 Kan. App. 2d at 525.
A prosecutor's improper remarks made in closing argument are grounds for reversal only when they are so gross and flagrant as to prejudice the jury against the accused and deny him or her a fair trial. State v. Whitaker, 255 Kan. 118, 134, 872 P.2d 278 (1994).
After reviewing the record and the law, we are able to declare the error had little, if any, likelihood of having changed the result of the trial and are able to declare such a belief beyond a reasonable doubt.
Edward Mason, a State's witness, had testified at McCray's first trial which resulted in a mistrial. Mason was incarcerated in the Jefferson County jail where McCray was held pending McCray's first trial. At McCray's first trial, referring to the victim, Onzie Branch, Mason testified that McCray had told him (Mason) that (McCray) had "popped [Branch's] ass." Mason testified that as McCray made the statement, McCray made a shooting action with his right hand, palm facing down, wrist tilted downward.
Mason, who had been released from incarceration, was subpoenaed to appear as a witness for McCray's second trial. Mason failed to appear. After Mason failed to check in to the police or the prosecutor's office as instructed, the State sent officers to the postal carrier to obtain Mason's last known address, to talk to Mason's neighbors, and to contact Mason's relatives and his probation officer. In addition, officers checked the various agencies which might have had information as to Mason. No one was able to provide information as to Mason's whereabouts.
The trial judge found Mason was unavailable to testify and determined that because McCray had an opportunity to vigorously cross-examine Mason at the first trial, the defendant would not be denied the right to meet the witness face to face as required by K.S.A. 1998 Supp. 60-460(c). The trial court allowed the State to have Mason's prior testimony read back to the jury. McCray asserts the State did not attempt with due diligence to locate Mason and the State failed to demonstrate that Mason's testimony was sufficiently reliable.
Challenging Mason's reliability, McCray points out that Mason was a convicted felon of burglary, a crime of dishonesty. He argues that, at the first trial which ended in a hung jury, the jury had the opportunity to draw conclusions about Mason's credibility from Mason's demeanor while testifying. McCray contends that the reading of Mason's testimony prejudiced him because that procedure denied the jury the opportunity to observe Mason's courtroom demeanor and assess his credibility.
Admitting the prior testimony of an unavailable witness does not violate the Confrontation Clause of the United States Constitution. California v. Green, 399 U.S. 149, 165, 26 L. Ed. 2d 489, 90 S. Ct. 1930 (1970) (citing Mattox v. United States, 156 U.S. 237, 15 S.Ct. 337, 39 L.Ed. 409 (1895). In Mattox, the defendant, after his third trial, had been sentenced to death for a murder allegedly committed in a part of the Indiana Territory within the exclusive jurisdiction of the United States. Mattox had been once convicted and that conviction was reversed. A second trial resulted in a hung jury. At the third trial, the government introduced, by transcript, the testimony of a witness who had died since the preceding trial.
With respect to the requirement that the factfinder must be allowed to observe the witness' demeanor upon the stand, the United States Supreme Court in Maddox stated that "general rules of law of this kind, however beneficent in their operation and valuable to the accused, must occasionally give way to considerations of public policy and the necessities of the case." 156 U.S. at 243. "The substance of the constitutional protection is preserved to the prisoner in the advantage he has once had of seeing the witness face to face, and of subjecting him to the ordeal of a cross-examination." 156 U.S. at 244.
The Sixth Amendment right of confrontation is satisfied if the accused confronted the witnesses against him at any stage of the proceedings in the same case and has had an opportunity of cross-examination. State v. Ruebke, 240 Kan. 493, 517, 731 P.2d 842, cert. denied 483 U.S. 1024 (1987). K.S.A. 1998 Supp. 60-460(c)(2) permits the use of testimony from a former trial of the same action if the declarant is unavailable at the trial and the adverse party had the right and opportunity to adequately cross-examine at the former trial.
The standard for determining if a witness is unavailable is the "reasonable diligence rule," State v. Vargas, 260 Kan. 791, 799, 926 P.2d 223 (1996), requiring a "'good faith effort to obtain the witness' presence at trial.'" (Quoting State v. Watie, Heard & Heard, 223 Kan. 337, 340, 574 P.2d 1368 [1978]). "The question of availability turns on the totality of the facts and circumstances of each case." Vargas, 260 Kan. at 799. A trial court's determination that a witness is unavailable to testify will not be disturbed on appeal unless an abuse of discretion is shown. State v. Cook, 259 Kan. 370, 375, 913 P.2d 97 (1996).
A trial court abuses its discretion only when judicial action is arbitrary, fanciful, or unreasonable, or when no reasonable person would adopt the trial court's view. State v. Baacke, 261 Kan. 422, 427, 932 P.2d 396 (1997). Mason's statements introduced in this trial were prior court testimony in the same case; therefore, McCray's Sixth Amendment right of confrontation has been satisfied. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting the prior court testimony at McCray's second trial.


text:
Cause Group Says Taxi Ad That Shows A Woman Caught in A Downpour Implies Rape
OK, everyone. Say with me now. Ready? 1...2...3...deep breaths. Relax. It's not world war III (or Z). No animals were harmed in the making of this ad. There's no nudity. But, OMG...it is rape-y. At least according to U.K.-based Rape Crisis. The cause group believes an ad for London cab company, Data Cars, which shows a woman caught in the rain, implies she is a rape victim.
Wait, what? Hello? It rains in London. A lot. Whenever it feels like it. When you least expect it. And, just like the ad's concept, when you aren't dressed for it. So a poor woman is caught in a downpour while dolled up in a nice dress on her way to a party, a cab company decides to use that imagery to explain the importance of using a car service in questionable weather...and they get accused of implying the woman was just raped?
Topic: Direct


text:
This is a site devoted to all things Kindergarten! Below, you will see my blog roll. It will update several times a day, so please stop back to check out all the exciting blog posts from some amazing Kindergarten Bloggers!
Make sure to follow us on Pinterest where even more Kindergarten items are being pinned regularly - please feel free to click over there and follow that board as well.
Since I am not personally updating this site with my own blog posts (I will leave that to the experts!), unfortunately there will be no way to RSS feed this site or be able to subscribe by email.
The best option for now, is to either bookmark this page and return often OR if you have a blog/website, if you add our button code to your site, you will have a visual reminder to stop back and see all things K-related, all day long!
Thanks and happy blog stalking!


text:
Artist description:
Hands are kinda messed up, but oh well.
Java Draw Created Jul 27, 2012 460 x 640px Unless noted Copyright 2012 blaou.
We encourage you to submit a comment and let the artist know what you think of this drawing. Please log in or join to post a comment.
Post a comment
foarte frumoas.excelent
Impressive! Wow. The metal looks more real than in a photo!
Wow. That metal effect and the overall lighting is soooo good! You've got some real talent :)) Please draw more ^o^
Looks like a photo..wow, this is absolutely fabulous, everything looks amazing 5/5
wow you make realism look so easy! this is fantastic! the detail looks so effortless but it's so amazing! it looks like a picture! awesome stuff, 5/5 and fav
The Best Of The Best
Whatever you think is wrong with the hands, is negligible. I don't see anything wrong. Awesome work! :D 5h
wwwoooowwwww amazing work .... love all the details..on this drawing
Great looking draw!!
You are very, very good. The metallic effect of the armor is beautifully done, and her hair looks amazing. Excellent work. 5h