text:
I can feel
your warmth
pressed up against me
I can feel
the weight of your arm
the weight of your gaze
against my skin
With my eyes closed
I can feel
how happy
how safe
I would be
if you were really
I can feel
your warmth
pressed up against me
I can feel
the weight of your arm
the weight of your gaze
against my skin
With my eyes closed
I can feel
how happy
how safe
I would be
if you were really
I tried to write
a poem
about your eyes
But I then I looked up
and found myself
lost in them.
Chest tight, fingers shaky.
Stomach twisted, aching.
Breath uncertain.
My pain is like withdrawal,
the absence of your love,
your touch, your voice,
affecting me like nothing else.
Anxiety and uncertainty
are what my days are filled with.
I don't know what comes next.
I'm trying to learn who I am,
what I am,
Now that I'm on my own.
Am I still me?
How can I be when I feel like half of a whole?
I can't cope with knowing
that today
is another day I don't have you.
"The best solution to a public health problem is prevention — and hunger should not be an exception to that rule." — Ellen Parker, executive director of Project Bread
On Sunday, May 4, I will once again be participating in Project Bread's 20 mile Walk for Hunger. I know May is a ways away, but it's never too early to get the word out!
Project Bread, a Massachusetts-based anti-hunger organization, is committed to providing people of all ages, cultures, and walks of life with sustainable, reliable access to nutritious food. Many people are "a paycheck away" from a food crisis, and the problem of hunger touches a wide range of Massachusetts residents. I know that by participating in this year's Walk for Hunger, I will be bringing hope to our hungry neighbors.
I would like to ask for your help today in sponsoring me for the walk, any donation will be highly appreciated! $25 provides a bowl of hot soup and a sandwich for 50 people at an emergency food program, so even just 5 dollars will help make a difference! To sponsor me for the 2014 Walk for Hunger, please visit my personal Walk Webpage (click here!) to learn more. From there, you can donate or even sign up to walk with me! Please use the link below to visit my personal Walk Webpage and help me reach my goal. Thank you so much for your consideration. Every dollar counts — and remember, no donation is too small!
Together, we can end hunger in Massachusetts, and by supporting The Walk for Hunger, your faith in my effort to eradicate hunger will get us even closer to making this a reality.
How do you go on
when the person you love is leaving?
How do you go on
when all of your dreams are about them?
How do you go on
when you never imagined that they could go on
without you?
Who works on Saturdays? Me apparently. I unlock the door to the store and am immediately assaulted by the smell of new books and cinnamon rolls baking in the oven.
Reads & Eats is a book store and café. Or a café that also sells books. Depends on how you look at it. My father opened the shop when he was in his late twenties. He had never planned on being a shop owner but when he was laid off his construction job he decided to go down another path. He took out a loan, bought an empty building downtown and spent the next year using his construction skills fixing it up, outside and in. When asked why he decided to turn it into a bookstore, he always said he hadn't even realized that was what he planned to do until one day he started building shelves. And so Reads & Eats was born. Then one day a few months after he opened the shop, my mom wandered in looking for something new to read. She left with two new books, a free cup of coffee, and a date for that coming Friday.
It's a tale my dad loves to tell to any customer who will listen. There are pictures of them up around the store – having coffee at a table in the café a few months after they got together, loading new books on to the shelves, standing outside the store on their wedding day, and a picture of the two of them holding me as a wee little baby, happy as could be.
My parents are my favorite love story. As a kid, instead asking to hear stories of princes falling in love with fair maidens and defeating evil queens, I asked for stories about my parents.
Why can't I find a love like that?
The jingling of the bell above the door announces my presence and Sarah, our café manager, sticks her head out of the kitchen.
"Isabelle! What are you doing here on a Saturday? It's your day off."
"I know, I know," I say as I put my purse and jacket down behind the check-out counter. "I have nothing to do today so I figured I'd go through the new shipment in back for a while. It's a little unorganized."
Sarah shook her head and made a clucking sound with her tongue. "It's a weekend! You should be out having fun."
"I had plenty of fun last weekend."
"You take life much too seriously," she makes another disapproving sound before disappearing back into the kitchen.
I sigh. "I know."
I keep busy behind the registers until Joy, one of the assistant managers, arrives twenty minutes later to open the store. After some polite chitchat, I retreat to the backroom. I would much rather stay out on the sales floor, sit back in one of the arm chairs by the front window and enjoy one of Sarah's cinnamon rolls, but the boxes really do have to be emptied and organized.
By the time I am done opening boxes and organizing the back stock it is well past noon. My stomach growls in agreement with the time and I realize I had skipped both breakfast and lunch.
I dust myself off and steer the book cart I'd filled with new books out to the sales floor. There are a few people milling around the stacks, and a table in the corner of the café is occupied. The sight of people in the store always makes me smile.
"Done organizing?" Sarah asks when she sees me.
"Yes and now I'm starving."
Sarah waves a hand at a table. "Sit and I'll bring you something for lunch."
I do as she says and five minutes later I'm happily munching on a BLT and a bag of potato chips, and sipping a soda.
Thank god for Sarah, I think as I take another bite. It's not hard to make a sandwich but somehow she always makes simple things taste gourmet.
"You make that sandwich look really good," says a voice beside me.
I look over and there is a guy standing beside my table. A really hot guy. He looks to be about my age or maybe a little older, green-eyed, scruffy, and tall. And he's carrying a bag of books from the store. There's nothing sexier than a reader… Except a reader who buys his books from Reads & Eats.
"It is really good," I say. "It's the best thing I've eaten all day." The only thing I've eat all day, but he doesn't need to know that.
"Maybe I'll have to get one," he says. "I'm Dan, by the way." He holds out a hand.
I return the gesture. "Isabelle."
Dan pulls out the chair across from me and sits down, dropping his bag on the table. "What brings you to the bookstore today Isabelle?"
"I work here."
"Here in the cafe?"
"Not exactly," I casually take a sip of my soda. "I own this store."
"You own Reads & Eats?" He's visibly surprised.
I nod.
"For how long?" he asks. "The last time I was here it was run by an older guy. He told me he built the place himself." Dan says. "He was nice. Used to talk about how he met his wife here."
Typical Dad. I laugh. "That's my father. And I don't think there are any customers who have ever managed to get in and out of this place without hearing a story."
"Your dad? So that's you? The baby in the pictures around the store?"
I feel my cheeks redden and I nod. "Me in all my glory. When I was younger he used to use me as a prop for his stories." I push my plate to the side. "He still tells the tale even now that he no longer runs this place."
Dan chuckles. "Well I didn't mind. I was just killing time when I stopped in here for the first time. After that I stopped by every time I was in town. This place just feels so," he searches for a word, "cozy. Comforting."
The store is cozy, and has always had the feel of someone's home and not a business. The walls, though they can barely be seen behind all the book shelves, are light green and the floor grey carpet. There are floor-to-ceiling shelves on every wall, and more standing here and there in the middle of the shop, comfy arm chairs and low benches hidden among them for flipping through a book or magazine. The left side of the shop opens up into the café, with its brown walls, tiled floors and bistro styled tables. The whole shop is decoratively cluttered, framed pictures and paintings hang on every available space, and the wall behind the café cash register is a painted mural of the Reads & Eats storefront.
I beam at his words. "Thank you." I want to leap over the table and kiss him. I'm proud of Reads the way a mother is proud of her child. Technically the store isn't my child so much as an older sibling, but still. "So when was the last time you were here?"
"Oh, it's been years," Dan says. "I was 18 then and my girlfriend, now my ex, lives around here. I was waiting for her to get out of work and thought I would browse around. It kind of became a regular thing that year. I'd stop in and get a coffee, maybe buy a book or two. But I haven't been back here since."
"Why did you stop coming?" I ask. "Bad break up?"
My teasing tone brings a smirk to Dan's face. "Not exactly. I went away to college. After my freshman year I leased an apartment and moved up there permanently. Ultimately, that's what killed our relationship, though I don't think we ever had a real chance."
"So are you moving back here now that you're done with school?" The more I talk with him the more I'm sure he's a few years older. None of the guys I know are this mature.
"I am done, but I'm not here to stay. I'm," he pauses, "I'm just here for a little while."
"Doing some visiting?"
"Sort of." He looks down at the table. "My mother died last month. So I'm here to keep my old man company."
"Oh! I'm so sorry," Impulsively I place my hand on top of his and then remember that we are still practically strangers and wrap it back around my cup. "I can't imagine what you're going through."
He smiles sadly at me, "Thank you."
Our table is silent and I feel guilty about the frown on Dan's face. "You know what you need?" I stand up. "You need one of Sarah's cinnamon rolls. Wait right there."
After a moment I come back out of the kitchen balancing a plate and two steaming cups of coffee.
When I set the plate down on the table in front of Dan he inhales blissfully. "Those," he says, "smell awesome."
"And they taste even better," I say with a smile. I hand him a fork and dig into my roll. "When I was a kid there was nothing that made me happier than one of these cinnamon rolls." I lick a glob of frosting off my thumb. "Nothing ever seems quite as bad once you've had one."
Dan's smile is back and we eat our rolls in a happy silence. I'm glad I haven't ruined his mood. When I'm done I lean back and sip my coffee, watching Dan savor the last few bites of his cinnamon roll.
"That," Dan says with a sigh, "was delicious." He smiles brightly at me.
I smile back and try to ignore what the sight of his perfectly straight white teeth is doing to my tummy. "I'm glad you enjoyed it."
"I did. And I'm happy I stopped in here today."
"Good. Good." I get up from the table. "I'll leave you to the rest of your coffee."
I get a few steps away when he calls out my name. I turn around.
"It was really nice to meet you," Dan says. "Maybe I'll see you around."
I smile wide and turn to leave. Coming to work on a Saturday was the best idea I've had in a while.
I couldn't shake the feeling that someone was following me.
I was wishing I'd brought a thicker jacket with me as I hurried back to my dorm from the library, hugging my books to my chest. I could hear the faint bass of dance music and drunken laughter coming from the other buildings on campus. It was a Friday night and I spent all of it studying. But if I didn't ace my calculus exam the following Monday I would probably end up having to re-take the class next semester. And the last thing I wanted was another semester of math.
A leaf crunched somewhere behind me and I had to suppress the urge to run. A quick perusal of the walkway behind me confirmed that my jitters were unnecessary – the path was empty. I scolded myself for being so jumpy. The wind could have easily scraped the leaf across the walkway. I chalked it up to my nerves over my test and the late hour. I needed to sleep. I had literally spent the entire day holed up in the library. I picked up my pace and before I knew it my dorm building loomed up ahead of me.
I pushed open the door to the lobby and sighed a breath of relief. I had made it back to my dorm in one piece; my paranoia had been for nothing. But as I moved to take a step towards the stairs an arm wrapped around my waist and suddenly there was a white cloth pressed to my face.
Chloroform. I struggled to keep my eyes open and then my world went black.
My shoulders ached. That was the first thing that registered when I woke up. The events of the night came back to me and I shivered with fear. My heart pounded mercilessly against my ribs and my cheeks were wet with tears. My mind was still fuzzy, and my body and head felt heavy. I couldn't even tell if I was laying down or sitting.
I took a few shaky breaths to gain composure. I needed to calm down. I opened my eyes, squinting against the bright light of the lamp above me. I was laying on a carpeted floor in a room somewhere, hands bound behind my back. My cheek itched from where it'd been rubbed against the rug. I pushed myself up on to my knees with difficulty before looking around. The room had two windows, both with shades closed tight, a couch and a TV, and a kitchen area, lights dimmed. There were three shut doors, two behind me and one directly across from me that I was sure led to a bedroom. Have I been here before? I tried to shake my still foggy brain into focus. I looked down. There was something about the carpet. It was burgundy. And scratchy. Old and burgundy and scratchy and ugly, just like the one I used to sit on at … at Johns. Oh God. My head shot back up, my gaze finding the fridge in the kitchen and the pictures scotch taped to its front. A picture of a girl sitting Indian style on a rug, this rug. A picture of me. No. My chest was tight, I couldn't breathe. Please no. I squeezed my eyes shut tight. I couldn't look at that familiar burgundy anymore.
The door to the bedroom creaked open and heavy footfalls came toward me. I kept my eyes shut. I didn't need to see who it is, didn't want to see. Strong hands gripped my arms and pulled me up on to my feet.
"You'll never leave me again, Baby Girl."
I know it's been radio silent here on my blog lately, but I'm here to say I've started writing again! (Woo hoo!) Okay, okay, hold your applause guys, it's not that exciting. And it doesn't actually mean that my blog will be that much less empty.
Over a year ago I got a novel-writing kit (No Plot? No Problem!) as a gift but I never opened it. I found it yesterday while reorganizing my bookshelf and cracked it open on a whim. And so I've decided to follow its novel-writing advice and am embarking on a 30 day writing challenge. Typically, these challenges are a month-long adventure, starting on the first day of the month, and ending when that month comes to a close. And I wanted to do that, but there was a problem. February only has 28 days! How can you do a 30 day challenge in 28 days?! (Though, I can't be too mad at February. It is my birthday month after all.) I knew that I could always just wait until March and start then, but that option didn't seem so appealing. Plus knowing myself as well as I do, I know that I will lose all ambition to try the challenge if I wait. So I'm being unorthodox and doing my challenge from January 31st through to March 1st.
I've completed one day of writing (2,000 words so far out of 50,000!) and I feel pretty accomplished. I suppose I'll be documenting my progress, or lack of, here so you can cry, rejoice, and bleed along with me.
What's a vacation?
*Continuation of Seaside Goodbye (Part 1) and Seaside Goodbye (Part 2)
The narrow staircase near the master bedroom led up, up, up to an old wooden door. It opened onto the roof to reveal a small railed off deck that overlooked the ocean.
Up until a few years ago the widows walk was in disrepair, but Carlos had it fixed up as a surprise. Whether the surprise was for Grammy or for me, he never said, but I'm fairly certain no one uses the walk except me.
I stepped up onto the wooden surface and shut the door behind me. I couldn't count how many times I had disappeared up here. It was my escape. My hideout. I sighed and walked up to the rail. The view up there really was spectacular. They say sailor's wives would stand on these decks and scan the horizons, hoping to see their love sailing home.
I worked on calming myself down. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the feel of the sun on my skin, the breeze in my hair, the smell of the sea.
"Never would have pegged you for the type who ran away from her problems. But I guess I don't really know much about you, do I sis?"
I turned to see Althea leaning against the closed door. Her arms were crossed, her body tense.
"Everyone's worried about you down there you know. Freaking out," Althea continued, "because Grammy's precious bambino is upset."
Subconsciously I mimicked her body language, my arms crossing over my chest on their own accord. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you sounded just a tad bit bitter, little sister."
"You shut up," she hissed.
"Go back downstairs with our mother." I turned my back to her.
"Don't just dismiss me," she said behind me. "You think you're so special, don't you?" I felt her step closer to me. "Everyone's favorite little girl. It's no wonder though, with that perfect little attitude of yours. So cheery and smart and just so damned cute." She yanked on one of my curls.
"Hey!" I slapped her hand away. "What's wrong with you?"
"I'm so sick of your fucking superior attitude. You're not better than me. I'm my own person! And I will not," her fists clenched, "just be a mini version of you. I am so sick of constantly being compared to your flawless self. I don't need to be anything like you."
I looked at my sister. Once again I marveled at all her anger. Where was all this coming from? I had a flash of a giggly little girl, full of life. That was a long time ago, but still. My little sister was a stranger to me now. An angry stranger who seemed to blame me for whatever problems she thought her life had.
"Is that what you think?" I asked. "That I'm prefect and everyone's favorite and you have to be just like me? Who ever said anything about you having to be like me?"
"It's what they think. Mom, Grammy," she paused, "even Dad thought that way. He loved you best. Everyone loves you best." Angry tears were squeezing from her eyes, her voice steely. "You're their perfect Iuliana."
"Bullshit. Don't blame me for the way people treat you. Maybe if you smiled once in a while and stopped scowling, people would actually enjoy your company." Now I was angry. "And don't you dare say Dad didn't love you. Or that he preferred me over you. That's bullshit Althea." I jabbed my finger at her. "You were the one who never wanted to come to lunch with us. You never wanted to stay over or answer his calls. You never wanted anything to do with him!" Tears were welling up in my eyes. "You broke his heart every day."
She looked away, arms still crossed.
I wiped my tears away and turned toward the ocean, trying to compose myself. Althea could never justify the way she treated our father, but I never knew she felt second best. That was an awful thing to feel. And I felt sorry for her.
I turned back around. "Althea -"
But the deck was empty. Below me I heard the deck door slam shut and I watched as Althea made her way through the grass down to the beach. I watched until her retreating figure disappeared and then went back downstairs to join the family, and say goodbye to my father.


text:
Pepper Sees Grass For The Very First Time
Community member
I recently got a Pekingese puppy & she has been the light of my life. This is the adventures of Pepper in the park. I got her when she was just 5 weeks old & she couldn't even walk much.
She has grown into a beautiful fluff ball that is always happy to see a friendly face (even if she doesn't know the person) & she loves a good chase.
Enjoying grass for the first time
Yummy grass
Runing away from the bowl of water…
Oooh camera time
Get my good side mummy
9KviewsShare on Facebook
Popular on Bored Panda
What do you think ?
Very cute, but at 5 weeks old she should still be with her mother.
Very cute, but at 5 weeks old she should still be with her mother.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Video and Media
Note: some videos may require a Carleton login for viewing access.
- Created 23 April 2016; Published 4 May 2016Foro Latinoamericano: Bruno Bosteels
"Reasons of State"
Bruno Bosteels, Professor of Romance Studies at Cornell University
- Created 23 April 2016; Published 4 May 2016Foro Latinoamericano: Sarah Radcliffe
"Sumak Kawsay and Knowledge Production: Kichwa Women in Andean Equador"
Sarah Radcliffe, Prof. of Geography, U of Cambridge. Fellow, Christ's College Cambridge
- Created 22 April 2016; Published 4 May 2016Foro Latinoamericano: Marisol de la Cadena
"Uncommoning Nature"
Marisol de la Cadena, Professor of Anthropology at University of California, Davis
- Created 27 April 2013; Published 17 May 2013"Radio Bemba in an Age of Electronic Media: The Dynamics of Popular Communication in Chávez's Venezuela" Sujatha Fernandes
Radio Bemba in an Age of Electronic Media: The Dynamics of Popular Communication in Chávez's Venezuela
- Created 27 April 2013; Published 13 June 2013Foro Latinamericano: From ALBA to Samascus: Explaining Chavez's foreign policy
By Javier Corrales
- Created 26 April 2013; Published 25 June 2013Beyond Chávez: Unraveling the Enigma of Venezuela - Miguel Tinker-Salas
- Created 20 April 2011; Published 22 December 2011Is Cuba on the Cusp of a New Social Contract?
Marifeli Pérez-Stable, professor of sociology at Florida International University and Vice President for Democratic Governance at the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington, D.C. is our fourht annual Wynia Memorial lecturer. Prof. Pérez-Stable is an internationally recognized expert on Cuban politics and society.
- Created 11 May 2010; Published 26 May 2010No Country for Leftists? Clientelist Continuity and the 2006 Vote in the Brazilian Northeast
Presenter: Alfred Montero, Associate Professor of Political Science and Director of Latin American Studies
Professor Al Montero presents his Brazil research in the Athenaeum at Carleton College.
- Created 17 April 2010; Published 29 April 2010Foro Latinoamericano 2010: Roundtable Discussion - The Neoliberal Agenda Reconsidered
Foro guest speakers, faculty, and students discuss the Neoliberal Agenda in Latin America
- Created 17 April 2010; Published 29 April 2010Foro Latinoamericano 2010: Moises Arce - Inequality and Extra-parliamentary Politics in an Era of Democracy
Moises Arce
Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Missouri. He received his Ph.D. in 2000 from the University of New Mexico. His primary research interests are
in the areas of the politics of market transitions and contentious politics. His current research examines the changing basis of antigovernment mobilizations against economic liberalization in Latin America. He is the author of Market Reform in Society (Penn State, 2005) and several articles in leading journals of political science.
- Created 17 April 2010; Published 29 April 2010Foro Latinoamericano 2010: James McGuire - Politics, Policy, and Mortality Decline in Chile: The Pinochet Paradox
James McGuire
James W. McGuire is professor in the Department of Government at Wesleyan University. He specializes in comparative politics with a regional focus on Latin America and East Asia and a topical focus on democracy and public health. He is the author of Peronism without Perón: Unions, Parties, and Democracy in Argentina (Stanford, 1997) and of Wealth, Health, and Democracy in East Asia and Latin America (Cambridge, 2010). Professor McGuire is a recipient of Wesleyan's Binswanger Prize for Excellence in Teaching.
- Created 16 April 2010; Published 29 April 2010Foro Latinoamericano 2010: Janice Perlman - Four Decades of Living on the Edge: The Favelas in Rio de Janeiro
Janice Perlman
Janice Perlman's book, FAVELA: Four Decades of Living on the Edge in Rio de Janeiro, has just been published by Oxford University Press. She has received Guggenheim, Fulbright and C. Wright Mills Awards. She is Founder and President of Mega-Cities, a global non-profit sharing urban innovations. She was a professor of City and Regional Planning at UC Berkeley and has taught at the Fundacao Getulio Vargas, IBAM and Federal University in Rio de Janeiro.
- Created 19 February 2010; Published 28 April 2010Eduardo Silva talk: Challenging Neoliberalism in Latin America
2010 Gary Wynia Memorial Lecture:
Professor G. Eduardo Silva, Professor and Chair, Department of Political Science: Research Fellow, Center for International Studies is the 2010 Gary Wynia Memorial Lecturer. "Challenging Neoliberalism in Latin America"
- Published 22 December 2011Habitar, Construir, Pensar
'Bajo qué circunstancias políticas culturales se crea arte "dentro de la Revolución"'
- Published 22 December 2011A Postmodern Cubanness
Madeline Cámara Betancourt
Podcast Feed Subscribe in iTunes Subscribe on iOS


text:
Occupiers at Aberyswyth University have received a message of solidarity from Noam Chomsky. Aberystwyth University went into occupation on February 22nd in protest against the ongoing marketisation of higher education in the UK and the lack of transparency and political engagement of senior management at Aberystwyth University specifically. The full message can be read below:
"The attack on public education in the US and UK — higher education in particular — may bring short-term benefits to small sectors of concentrated wealth and power, but it is a very serious blow to the population at large, and to prospects for a decent society in the future. The protestors [sic] in Aberystwyth — like those in Tahrir Square, Madison Wisconsin, and many other parts of the world — are in the forefront of global struggles for basic rights, freedom, and democracy, and merit full and committed support."
Fb: Occupied Aberystwyth
Aber Students Against Cuts


text:
Lawmakers Get Schooled On GMOs
by Elizabeth Bowling | Aug 16, 2012 10:47am
() Comments | Commenting has expired | Share
Posted to: Agriculture, Environment, State Capitol
A task force created to discuss labeling genetically engineered foods in Connecticut still has a lot to learn about genetically modified organisms or GMOs.
The task force met last week to hear from Jeffrey Smith, an advocate for a diet that doesn't include GMOs. Smith noted the bipartisan support for a bill that didn't pass the legislature this year that would have required growers and producers to label any genetically modified food products sold in Connecticut.
Testing and labeling should be done before these genetically altered food products are put on the market, he said. But he doesn't believe that responsibility should be left up to the state.
In what felt like a college course for lawmakers, Smith explained some specifics about the strength of genetic engineering.
Roundup Ready crops are crops that have been genetically engineered not to die when sprayed with herbicide. These crops are commonly soybeans, corn, canola, and cotton, Smith said.
Roundup is a commonly used herbicide that kills plants by depriving them of nutrients and minerals and promotes the pathogens in the soil which can then more easily kill the weakened plants, he explained.
The Federal Food and Drug Administration does not require testing for GMOs, but instead has a voluntary consultation process, Smith said, calling it a "meaningless exercise." The FDA does not actually decide if the foods are safe, he said.
Because the FDA doesn't test, Smith said, most testing is independent and is designed to avoid finding problems.
"They have bad science down to a science," he said.
Members of the task force, including Rep. Brenda Kupchick, voiced concern regarding consumers' right to know about their food purchases.
Kupchick said, "It's just a basic issue of choice and knowledge and I think people have a right to know what's in their food, whether people choose to have that food or use that food is up to them."
Rep. Diana Urban agreed from an economic perspective.
"We know that market economies work better the more information that the consumer has," she said, "We can make our marketplace economy work better simply by labeling."
The American Academy of Environmental Medicine found that there was a causal relationship in animals that eat GMOs and reproductive disorders, immune system problems, gastrointestinal distress, accelerated aging, and dysfunctional regulation of cholesterol and insulin, Smith said.
The same health problems found by the American Academy of Environmental Medicine are among those shown to improve when livestock and pets switch to a non-GMO diet, he said.
Research like theirs has resulted in many doctors' prescribing non-GMO diets to their patients, Smith said. Patients on non-GMO diets claim to have seen improvements in irritable bowel syndrome, allergies, asthma, skin conditions, and infertility to name a few.
The process of genetic engineering calls for mass producing a mutated gene and injecting it into the cells of a crop, then taking those cells and cloning them into a plant, Smith explained.
One genetically modified corn was intended to simply create a new toxin in the corn, but resulted in 43 changes to the natural proteins in the plant, he said.
Opponents to labeling genetically modified foods argue that labeling would be an expense passed along to the consumer, Smith said.
In Europe in 1999, consumers expressed distaste in genetically modified foods and most food companies agreed to stop using genetically modified ingredients, which resulted in a wide-scale reformulation of products, Smith explained.
"But no extra money was spent by consumers. Prices did not rise," he said.
Relabeling would not be an extra expense for companies either, he said, because they change their labels two to five times a year anyway.
The GMO task force will meet again on Wednesday, Sept. 12 to continue learning about recommendations they can make during the next legislative session.
Tags: GMO, genetically modified food, task force, Elizabeth Bowling
(3) Archived Comments
posted by: lkulmann | August 19, 2012 12:53pm
Finally, a clear voice through all the noise about GMO's…I knew I didn't like the idea of genetically modified food, but now I know why. People with food sensitivity/allergies are the ones who are being put at risk here. Foods need to be labeled accurately, period. Thanks Jeff.
posted by: organics1 | August 20, 2012 4:10pm
It blows my mind that this whole thing is even being debated. I have a right to know what I'm eating! It's just plain human decency…especially when we're dealing with the unnatural processes involved in genetic engineering, AND, when we're dealing with companies and government agencies which are KNOWN to us to be dishonest.
It should be common sense: Monsanto and its buddies have been POISONING people and the environment for the better part of a century. WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU EVER TRUST THEM?
posted by: Ona | August 20, 2012 11:04pm
Excellent, excellent video. This needs to be made viral. I was previously unaware of the legal problems facing state legislatures considering GMO labeling requirements. Again, excellent, excellent video.


text:
Last week, Frontier Strategy Group hosted a group of executives from the pharmaceutical and medical device industries at our annual LATAM Healthcare Cohort executive workshop. The discussion centered on both the short-term outlook for healthcare companies in Latin America, as well as the long-term challenges and opportunities the region's healthcare markets will offer over the coming decade. These are the key takeaways from the session:
- Confidence in Latin America's recovery is growing: 71% of executives stated that their confidence in the prospects for Latin America has improved somewhat or significantly, as economic conditions in recession-hit markets such as Argentina and Brazil begin to stabilize, while a feared slowdown in Mexico has yet to materialize. In particular, all executives surveyed during the session were at least somewhat confident that the region would escape recession, after two years of economic contraction driven primarily by Brazil
- FX depreciation remains a risk to margins and competitiveness: Healthcare multinationals continue to confront challenges to pass depreciation costs to payers, customers and local partners, with Argentina becoming a particularly challenging market relative to previous experiences
- Incremental public spending increases expected over the next eighteen months: 75% of executives expected that increasing spending on current public healthcare priorities will drive overall healthcare expenditures in Latin America, while 25% expect that growing out-of-pocket spending by the middle class will be the major driving factor
- Executives fear spending cuts in Argentina and Mexico: While the worst of public spending cuts in Latin America may be over for markets such as Brazil, medical device and pharmaceutical companies fear that persistent budget cuts in Argentina and Mexico may undermine their performance in 2017 and 2018. Over a third of executives consider falling government spending the main barrier to tapping into the healthcare opportunity in Latin America
- Arbitrary pricing and reimbursement policies are a major barrier to growth: 66% of executives consider the lack of transparency on pricing and reimbursement decisions as one of the major barriers to tapping into the healthcare opportunity in Latin America. While governments single out the need for cost-effective solutions, often enough decisions are made based more on short-term budgetary demands than on a holistic approach to long-term healthcare costs
Multinationals will need to prepare for major healthcare market shifts
- Alternative pricing and managed entry agreements have had mixed success: While some companies have been able to successfully implement public-private partnerships with governments, they remain time consuming to negotiate and have proven difficult to manage. Companies cite a lack of political will, lack of sufficient data collection, lack of training for healthcare professionals and of technical knowledge of policymakers as ongoing challenges for the implementation of value-based reimbursement models in the region
- Adjusting local portfolios in the long-term to focus more on integrated cost effective solutions will be necessary: While corporate strategies obviously differ from company to company, most expect that shifting the value proposition they offer to payers, patients, and providers will be even more of an imperative over the next decade, though some markets and therapeutic areas will be more affected than others. The future is trending toward more integrated product and service solutions for public and private payers
- Multinationals will need to reevaluate channel partnerships and key account management: As integrating value-added services becomes more important, a majority of our clients expect that provision of these services needs to be done directly, at least for key accounts, while 25% believe that it should be done through local partners and distributors. This will require a much greater focus on building up key account management capabilities and upgrading the quality and competence of channel partners across Latin America
Multinationals will need to prepare for major healthcare market shifts
Multinationals will need to evaluate whether governments will prioritize cost-cutting, expansion coverage, or improving the quality of care over the next decade. While value-based healthcare is an increasingly important goal in the region given persistent fiscal constraints, whether payers have the sufficient sophistication and political will to implement this effectively remains in question.
May 2, 2017
For our latest updates and insights, FSG clients can visit the client portal.
Not a client? You can purchase the 2017 Latin America Outlook report from our online store. Please contact us to learn more.


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Nostalgia Electrics CFF-552 Commercial Chocolate Fountain
Availability: Discontinued
Our Price: $299.99
•Money Back Guaranteed•Free Returns Shipping
•30 Days Returns•No Restocking Fee
CA residents: WARNING. See Proposition 65 notice
- Reviews
- Description
- Specifications
- Benefits
- Resources
The Nostalgia Electrics CFF-552 commercial chocolate fountain is so elegant and stylish that it'll impress all your guests at special events. It's one of the most durable chocolate fountains on the market. The CFF-552 commercial chocolate fountain can also be used for your catering needs.
Easy to Use
Mesmerizing Display
Many Applications
Quick Clean-Up
Easy to Use
The Nostalgia Electrics CFF-552 commercial chocolate fountain is easy to use -- simply pour melted white or dark chocolate into the base and switch on the motor.
Mesmerizing Display
The CFF-552 commercial chocolate fountain carries chocolate to the top of the tower where it flows down each tier in a mesmerizing display.
Many Applications
With this commercial chocolate fountain, you can provide your guests with fresh strawberries, marshmallows, pretzels, cookies and other goodies to dip into the chocolate.
Quick Clean-Up
The Nostalgia Electrics CFF-552 easily disassembles for quick cleanup.
Guaranteed Satisfaction.
- Up To 30 days to return your purchase
- Money back guaranteed
- Free return shipping
- No restocking fees
- Model: CFF-552
- Product Type: Commercial Chocolate Fountain
- Product Dimensions: L: 11.50" x W: 11.50" x H: 25.00"
- Product Weight: 24.50 lbs.
- Product Color: Stainless Steel
- Application: Ideal for entertaining at any special event. Great for commercial use.
- Warranty: 90-day limited manufacturer's warranty
- Voltage: 120 volts
- Watts: 190 watts
- Frequency: 60 Hz
- Certifications: ETL
- Type: Fondue Fountain
- Construction: Stainless Steel
- Number of Tiers: 4
- Number of Pots: 1
- Temperature Control: Yes
- Control Type: Push Button
- Display Type: LED , N/A
- Indicator Lights: Yes
- Adds mouth-watering fun to any occasion with its beautiful chocolate flow effect
- Allows you to create many flavor experiences with different foods and sauces
- Can be used in households or for commercial applications
- Holds up to 14 cups of chocolate chips or 7 pounds of chocolate
- Plugs into standard 120 volt outlets so it can be used anywhere
- To make clean up easier, the base bowl is removable
Need advice? More information?
what is the legnth and width?


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Number 569, May 9, 2010
"That damned birth certificate"
Send Letters to firstname.lastname@example.com
Another Letter from A.X. Perez
In reference to last week's letter, a gentleman showed up today, little badge, clipboard. He said, "I'm from the census..."
I said, "I have the right to remain silent. Have a good afternoon", turned my back on him and walked back into the house.
That's twice. I've read that the census gives up after the second visit.
We shall see.
Curt Howland
Richard Daley is blessed with political allies who have asked that the Illinois National Guard be sent to Chicago to help restore the rule of law in the City with Broad Shoulders.So I thought it would be enlightening to review how Ciudad Juarez, State of Chihuahua, Los Estados Unidos Mexicanos (to call that nation by its proper name) came to be under military occupation and how well this has worked. The problem did not begin in 2008, nor will this list of causes and consequences be complete.
In the 1980's there was an election in Juarez. The PRI (Mexico's ruling power into the 1990's) stuffed the ballot boxes so blatantly that the ballot of the first voter in one precinct could not be placed in the box. Border Patrol and Immigration officers working the Bridges into El Paso were advised to bring assault rifles to work in case the resulting riots spread to the Border crossings. I understand the Daleys understand ballot box stuffing.
Due to the dropping value of the peso and the need to buy energy from the US Juarez bakers could not afford to sell tortillas at the government prescribed price. Along with other food producers the bakers asked permission to raise prices to the break even point. The government said no and the tortilla factories switched to manufacturing sweet bread to sell in the US. The people of Juarez had to buy tortillas and other staples in the US even though they would have been cheaper even with the requested price increase.
In the 1990's there were over three hundred women murdered, almost all factory workers and prostitutes and on Friday night (payday), though some school girls were also done in. Juarez police never did catch the killers, though they kept seeking patsies to lay the murders off on. The Campestre set were safe.
In 1999 there was a war for control of the Juarez Cartel when the leader died of botched plastic surgery. this event is referred to in the movie Once upon a Time in Mexico.
Around 2007 two events hit about the same time. The first was that the president of Mexico ordered a crackdown on the drug trade into the US. At the same time The Sinaloa Cartel decided to take on the Juarez Cartel over control of that city's smuggling corridor into the US. To add to this the Juarez police were in bed with the cartels. this led to a three way war between the cartels and the cops they bought ranged against each other and the honest cops.
Years of bribe taking and extorting left the Juarez Municipal Police unprepared to deal with the issue. At the same time, so many police were on the take that the Juarez police force were part of the problem. Police and Mexican Federal Police brought in to solve the problem were murdered not only for interfering with the drug trade but as members of the opposing gang by both cartels.
5050 people have died in the fighting in Juarez, and every time troops are rotated the murder rate goes up. 40% of Juarez's business have shut down, chased out by sicarios looking for money between gigs by kidnapping people for ransom and extorting protection money. Many of these extortionists are cops.
So, if Daley and friends want to admit to running crooked elections, demagoguery instead of actually providing leadership or meeting the needs of their people, police corrupt to the point of ineffectiveness, and having surrendered rulership of Chitown to criminals I guess they should call for military occupation of the Windy City.
Because this has worked so well in Juarez.
A.X. Perez
So the best bet is to use the lampposts lining the mall through the middle of Washington City, hang decorations from them using all three branches of the Feral government until all of them are full, then continue until the rest of the lampposts in that city are filled and then start over (there are more politicians and bureaucrats in DC than there are lampposts), repeat as needed.
Lampposts are the only useful thing any government has ever built. They just get used for the wrong job. (Especially since they're now so dim you can't stand under one and readI used to be able to walk along the street at night, reading my book, adjusting the angle as I changed street lightsthen they all dimmedlately, they have the new fluorescent crap-bulbs, set to the brightness of the dark days, when they could bring back the previous light at the cost of the pitch-black. Yeah, that's government, at any fucking level. Kill them all, I don't care whether God knows his own or not).
I'm pretty sure it's previous statements along those lines that got me on the "No'Fly" listas if I wanted to be treated like a UFO abductee again.
Ward Griffiths
A lot of people (including readers of TLE) do not "get" why American Citizens of Mexican descent get so touchy about Arizona's new immigration law. Dennis Wilson and other get that it is unconstitutional and unjust, not to mention ultimately ineffective. Still, I am amazed at how irrationally angry a bunch of Mexican Americans get over this, and I'm sure a lot of non Latinos do too.
First off, let me make it clear that I view myself as an America whose direct lineal ancestors happen to be Mexican. The fact is normally being left handed and green eyed matters more to me than my ethnicity. I even joke about being mas gavacho que los gavachos (more Anglo than the Anglos). Yet this one stupid law sets me off like throwing sodium in water. Why does this one act by a state legislature that has no jurisdiction over me turn me into such a hypocrite on my "We're all Americans, we're all free men whose rights are protected by the Constitution" assertions?
Ever hear of the GI Forum? It's one of the first Mexican American civil rights groups. It was started in Texas by WWII Chicano veterans victimized by anti Mexican prejudice. They were Americans when someone was needed to bleed for this country, but they were Mexicans to be denied their rights after the shooting was over. Tommy Jenkins with a Cholo accent.
My kin and I are American enough to build this country, work to keep this country running, even die for this country. But we have to put up with this nonsense.
I'm sure Irish, Italian, Polish and other ethnic Americans faced the same issue back when. And I even understand the problems the people of Arizona facing that made them feel they had to do something no matter how stupid, immoral and wrongheaded.
And I don't really like to dwell on racial issues, But the idea that some little wannabe Gestapo/NKVD agent with an Arizona badge can ask for my papers and has the legally granted power to try to make me feel like less of an American citizen provokes me to a rage that transcends all things I believe in,
So if this makes me a hypocrite in the eyes of freedom lovers who are trying to get past ethnic politics too bad, well maybe one of the goals of creating a free society should be to not push people into such a crisis of belief.
A.X. Perez
Two Class America
I keep commenting on the coincidence that Arizona will be going on Vermont carry about the same time the law requiring police to check if people are in this country legally kicks in. I am willing to bet money that people who are heeled will be asked for their papers less often than the unarmed.
Arizona will become a two class society, the armed and unarmed. The unarmed will be subject to police harassment (consider that besides sufferers of a naive commitment to pacifism, the unarmed will be underage, under funded, or legally barred from carrying weapons, all groups subject to extra scrutiny by the police.), the armed will be watched more carefully but generally left in peace. I am sure this is not the intent, but it is the predictable outcome of these laws going into effect at the same time.
Will America split the same way? As more states go to must issue CCL laws or Vermont carry as well as many states permitting open carry without a license the majority of adult America will divide into two groups, those who choose to go armed and those who don't. Will the armed enjoy more rights and privileges than the unarmed? Will people accept being treated as second class citizens out of a philosophical conviction?
All societies have in fact been so divided, an armed privilege class and an unarmed servile class. America appears to be preparing to make a great experiment on whether people will choose to join the servile class. Rest assured corrupt political and opinion leaders will try to convince us to make the wrong choice.
A.X. Perez
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Ceann Comhairle, I am delighted to get an opportunity to speak in this debate and to highlight the attack by the Minister on the weak and the vulnerable despite her protestations to the contrary.
She claims she protected 'primary rates' of welfare. Instead, she has slashed and burned all round her to devastating effect.
Minister, a rose by any other name is still a rose and a cut by any other name is still a cut.
How big have the cuts been? Each year she tells how she held off the big bad wolf single-handedly and reduced the cut-back. However this was more an accountancy sleight of hand and an illusion as many people have found out.
The headline cut she announced in each of the last three years was €475m, €390m and €290. However these were only the so called current year savings as some of the cuts came in during the calendar year. It is when you examine the full year saving you see the magnitude of the cutbacks. The first year they were €811m, the second year €452m and this year they did not give us the figure. This is a minimum cutback of €513 per annum not the figures you try to sell to the public.
The public are wise to what you are at as virtually every sector has suffered the pain of your knife:
– You cut the Child Benefit for all children by €10 with a special extra attack on larger families with more than 4 children
– You cut the Back to Education Allowance from €305 to €200 and from €200 to €100 and abolished it for children from two to four
– You cut the maximum maternity grant this year from €262/week to €230/week
Vulnerable Families
– You reduced the age of the youngest child for the One Parent Family Allowance from 14 years to 7
– You have increased the rent supplement minimum contribution twice to a minimum now of €40/week
– This year you have abolished the Mortgage Interest Supplement
– You changed the means testing rules for farm assist so that all farm income is now assessed 100% against the payment which is extraordinary for a Minister who is always preaching about the need to encourage enterprise. This has cost many families up to €100/week
You then started on the old people:
– You cut the fuel allowance from 32 weeks to 26 weeks a cut of €120 per annum
– You cut the Electricity Allowance from 2,400 units irrespective of cost to 1,800 and since then have changed it to a cash allowance so that its value decreases as the price of energy rises.
– You have abolished in total the free telephone rental worth over €20/month
– You reduced dramatically the pensions for those, mainly women, who took years away from work for caring or child rearing work
– You cut the Respite Grant by €325 from €1700 to €1375
– And finally if you could not get them alive you literally followed them to the grave and abolished the bereavement grant of €850
Young and unemployed:
– You cut the Back to Education Allowance, CE Schemes, Rural Social Schemes
– And of course this year you reduced the Job Seekers payments for young people of age 22, 23 and 24 from €188 to €100 and for a 25 year old to €144
And finally you had to attack the job creators by abolishing in total the redundancy rebate of 60%.
Minister you might not have reduced the primary rates of social welfare but you have cut virtually everybody, children, families, young people the sick and the old. As I said at the beginning: "Cuts are cuts no matter how you dress them up".


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Wednesday March 1, 2017
InvitePeople introduces a new concept - InvitePeople Lean - bundled for organizers with muliple conferences and courses.
There are plenty of new and enhanced fetures: Improved and simplified cloning of events. Put together a new event based on the settings from previous events. Copy all- or parts of earlier events. SMS and email services have been refined and improved. Add subpages to the registration page and create a simple event website in no time.
Lean service is sold as an annual subscription. Contact InvitePeople if you want to know more.Back


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Size Guide
Featuring an exclusively printed midnight botanical garden pleated maxi with cold shoulder cap sleeves on the left and high slit on the right side. The print on the yoke is highlighted with quirky hand embroidered bead butterflies and organza flowers.
Fabric Specification: Maxi is made up of moss crepe with taffeta lining inside it. Full length of the maxi is 60".
Wash care instructions: Dry clean only. Steam iron only. Do not wash. (possibility of slight colour variations)
This piece consists of a maxi dress.
Product Code:AWT2231


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The biggest disaster threat in the United States isn't floods, hurricanes or tornadoes; it's fire.
Yes, FIRE
In our community I have personally been at the scene for dozens of house fires. As an insurance agent, I am often the second person that the homeowner calls, after "911." It's incredibly sad to stand on the front lawn and witness first-hand the destruction of property. You feel defenseless. Fire moves fast, and often takes hours to extinguish.
This article is filled with statistics on purpose. I really want to show the devastating numbers. They are real.
According to the National Fire Protection Agency:
Home fires
- Half of home fire deaths result from fires reported between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. when most people are asleep. Only one in five home fires were reported during these hours.
- One quarter of home fire deaths were caused by fires that started in the bedroom. Another quarter resulted from fires in the living room, family room or den.
- 60% of home fire deaths happen from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.
- Cooking equipment is the leading cause of home fire injuries, followed by heating equipment.
- Smoking materials are the leading cause of home fire deaths.
- Roughly one of every 320 households had a reported home fire per year.
- A fire is reported in the United States every 85 seconds.
- 40% of home fires started in the kitchen.
- Unattended cooking was a factor in one-third of reported home cooking fires.
- Failure to clean was a factor contributing to ignition in 17% of reported home fires involving ovens or rotisseries.
- The leading factor contributing to heating equipment fires was failure to clean. This usually involved creosote build-up in chimneys.
- Portable or fixed space heaters, including wood stoves, were involved in one-third (33%) of home heating fires and four out of five (81%) home heating deaths.
- In most years, heating equipment is the second leading cause of home fires, fire deaths, and fire injuries.
Smoking Materials
- Most deaths in home smoking-material fires were caused by fires that started in bedrooms (40%) or living rooms, family rooms or dens (35%).
- Possible alcohol impairment was a factor in one in five (19%) of home smoking fire deaths.
- About half (48%) of home electrical fires involved electrical distribution or lighting equipment. Other leading types of equipment were washer or dryer, fan, portable or stationary space heater, air conditioning equipment water heater and range.
- More than one-third of these fires (36%) started in the bedroom;
- Falling asleep was a factor in 11% of the home candle fires and 37% of the associated deaths.
Smoke Alarms
- 60% of home fire deaths are caused by fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.
- Working smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in reported home fires in half.
- In fires considered large enough to activate the smoke alarm, hardwired alarms operated 93% of the time, while battery powered alarms operated only 79% of the time.
- When smoke alarms fail to operate, it is usually because batteries are missing, disconnected, or dead.
Wallin Insurance teams up with the American Red Cross.
As an insurance agency we wanted to do something to help this community. We chose this project "Home Fire Preparedness Campaign" where we evaluate and install smoke alarms in area homes. We also educate homeowners on having an escape plan in the event of a fire.
If we can make a difference to just one homeowner, we will feel good about our service to the community.
To date the agents and staff at Wallin Insurance have installed more than 50 smoke alarms in 15 homes in Chemung County. We are the only trained and certified volunteers performing this service.
For more information or if you'd like your home to be evaluated contact me, Peter Wallin at 607–734–8799 or email@example.com. We normally perform installations on Thursdays.


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Hello, my Kitty Bee friends!
It's Nancy here today to share some fun with you!
This sweet image is called Sewing Kit.
I colored it up using my Spectrum Noir markers,
and added a few sewing accessories for embellishment.
The end! :o)
This is so cute!! I love the colors you chose for this card, and the little embellishments are just perfect!! Make sure you swing by Nancy's blog and say hello!!
Mahalo Plenty!!
kel, Nancy, and the rest of the KBD DT


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The seventy fifth installment of Wine Blogging Wednesday is hosted this month by the illustrious Joe Roberts of www.1winedude.com. "Singles Night" is all about single vineyard wines. Mulling through my cellar, I finally settled on one - Gamache Vintners 2006 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon.
Gamache Vintners is owned by brothers, Bob and Roger Gamache. They decided in 1982, when there were less that 2 dozen wineries in Washington, to plant grapes on a remote, gentle southern slope on the eastern ridge of White Bluff overlooking the Basin City floor and flowing into the Ringold area on the Columbia River. Essentially just north of Red Mountain.
Gamache Vintners has a lovely tasting room in Prosser. However, I remember going to taste their wine when their "tasting room" was in the garage of one of their homes. I have been a fan ever since.
Gamache Vintners is an excellent example of what nearly 30 years of grape growing experience and the gentle nurturing of vines can produce...truly remarkable wines.
Please visit Gamache Vintner's tasting room in the Prosser Vintner's Village. Also, friend/follow them up on Facebook and Twitter.


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Sexy Varis VRS "panda" BMW E92 M3! Found via our friends Varis on their Facebook.
This post has been rebroadcast from our Facebook fan page. To see similar updates, visit us at http://www.facebook.com/therealjdm.
Sexy Varis VRS "panda" BMW E92 M3! Found via our friends Varis on their Facebook.
This post has been rebroadcast from our Facebook fan page. To see similar updates, visit us at http://www.facebook.com/therealjdm.
Here's some killer stuff you missed that we were sharing and talking about on our facebook page. Don't sleep. Check us out here: http://www.facebook.com/therealjdm
I was checking out random Japanese websites today and came across a recent photo shoot of this Audi TT. Now I don't post much Audi content here, but this Japanese tuned TT is pretty incredible. It has all of the usual Japanese touches from the Japanese produced BBS LM wheels to the vented hood and functional aero kit. By the way, for those wondering, yes BBS makes some of their wheels in Japan and not all of them in Germany.
Looks like this car will soon be featured in Japan's Auto Fasion Imp magazine.
Check out these crazy headlights by the way. Not really sure if I like all of what they did here, but it's interesting at the least.
The guys at Craft are definitely on top of their Euro game. I'll leave you with another car they've built, the ever classic Ericsson kitted M3
In Japan there is never a shortage of amazing tuner cars. I just wanted to share two of them that I appreciate at the moment.
1. The Varis/VRS BMW E92 M3.
Although I could do without some of the graphics (or perhaps a different design), the overall functional tune of the car is flawless. From the functional VRS aero to the Endless monoblock 6piston race brakes, this is a very focused and serious track oriented M3.
2. A sneak peek of a dry carbon R35 GT-R Spec V in Japan. GT-RR.COM will be putting out more information on this one soon…for now, I just love this picture here.
One of the great things about working with Japanese companies as their distributor for a decade is that we get treated so nicely when we visit Japan!
I've been meaning to blog about various things we did during our last trip to Japan, and our visit to Amuse has been at the top of my list. I've been working with Amuse and importing their parts for 9 years now. I must say my love for Amuse Titanium and Dry Carbon has stayed just as strong now as it ever was.
Seriously, how can you look at this picture below and not be in love with Amuse quality:
Having just received a full revamped exhaust system for my personal S2000 I'm on my Amuse high all over again. I also recently ordered up a bunch of Amuse parts for another car I just picked up (more on that another time). Basically I cant imagine modifying a car without at the very least an Amuse exhaust at this point in my evolution as a car freak.
If you click on the picture above, its a perfect angle to appreciate the subtlety of what Amuse calls the "gold ring" option for their titanium tips. The gold ring is subtle but I always tend to order it up whenever I have the chance (my two cars with Amuse exhausts both have gold ring B tail tips). It shows nicely the absolute precision that Amuse has with heating their titanium to create their finishes, I have never seen any other company come close.
Amuse, more than any other company I've ever encountered, has a knack for making people want to buy a car that they previously did not consider buying. This happened with me personally back in 2004 when I first saw their exhaust for the E46 M3. I always liked BMWs, but when I saw that exhaust in person back then, I re-evaluated my finances and I seriously started considering buying the car just for the exhaust! I don't know of any other company who can make that type of impact. And it's not just me…I've talked to at least a dozen people in the past couple of months who have told me that they never liked the 370Z but after seeing the Amuse Vestito aero kit they are considering buying the car just to run the aero kit. Time will tell if the 370Z market will support Amuse and help Amuse recoup their major investment into design/tooling and production of those parts. We have a few kits on order coming in and so far Amuse is a bit at risk of not even breaking even on their major development costs on the 370Z. I sincerely hope that nobody asks for or creates a knockoff of this kit because that'll probably be the last time Amuse steps out on a limb to make something as impressive as this at their significant expense.
Ah…the E92 M3 Ericsson demo car…one of my all time favorite demo cars. As impeccable as this car is in concept and execution, this car is mostly misunderstood outside of Japan. Let me explain it quickly to set the record straight. The E92 M3 in Japan costs approx $120,000+. In the US it costs $57,000. Amuse designed this car and the modifications for a $120,000 car. Their target and concept was the Porsche GT3 (similar price point as a competitor) and the idea to increase power but more importantly to decrease weight using exotic materials and smart engineering. Ericsson/Amuse did not think about North American BMW pricing and client demographics or even know that the car overseas is half the price . They designed it to be a GT3 destroyer in Japan. Most $57,000 car owners would laugh at paying top quality level pricing for dry carbon bumpers, doors, hood, trunk, etc. But if you paid $120,000 for the car and wanted the GT3 equivalent that BMW never made, it makes a hell of a lot more sense. Looking back, what most North American M3 owners need are cheaper parts from Ericsson which are made and priced for a $57,000 car. I will say however that it will never happen because Amuse/Ericsson never compromises on quality and would rather simply not put their name on it than to release an average part which is targeted for price competition. There is your answer to everyone who thinks Amuse is insane for making the parts at the prices they have for the BMW lineup.
Lastly the infamous Phantom GT-R…Here is a point even I did not know (and I'm someone who is obsessive about Amuse).
This Phantom GT-R is the exact same specification as it was two years ago. Tanabe-san, the legendary founder, designer, tuner, race car driver and overall industry icon passed away shortly after creating this GT-R. His last two creations were this car and the M3 demo car. I recently learned the reason why Amuse has not continued to evolve this car. This Phantom GT-R is the brilliant gift that Tanabe-san left behind and it was his final contribution to the world of Japanese tuning. Out of respect for his perfect creation, Amuse has never modified this car any further despite the multiple years of knowledge and innovation that they are capable of adding to it. The fact that still nobody has recorded a faster R35 GT-R lap at Tsukuba than Tanabe-san behind the wheel of this car years ago is testament to the quality of his design and tuning. This car represents his last work, and for that reason it remains as it was. Perfect.
PS – Photos shot by our very own Colin Chu during our recent visit to Amuse
The big news today is this amazingly nice BMW M3 variant called the GTS. Watching the video makes it hard to not fall in love with this car. What first comes to mind to me however is just how closely comparable the high end aftermarket tuning scene is to BMW's factory tuned effort. This idea is what I want to talk about.
This factory tuned GTS uses many familiar tricks of the aftermarket trade. Having been behind the scenes with so many high end builds over the years, it is interesting for me to compare the money spent in aftermarket modifications and the associated results vs a factory tuned effort such as this one.
BMW has priced this model at a USD equivalent of $170,200 at today's exchange rates. If you remove prestige, collect-ability and resale value from the equation there is a very valid question here…what does more than $100,000 in upgrades get you? And from my point of view, even more interesting is comparing that $100+k to what a comparable budget would yield with aftermarket tuning and support.
This topic has also come up in conversations about the GT-R Spec V and the fact that it too costs nearly $100,000 more than the normal GT-R. In the case of the Spec V I feel quite confidently that such a large sum of money would go a much longer distance with a properly consulted aftermarket tuning plan.
Rather than focus solely at prices and comparing what if scenarios, what I find really interesting is looking at the parts selection and quality that the factories use vs aftermarket equivalents.
Having a look at that BMW GTS burnt titanium exhaust, it is hard to not draw a comparison to my own personal favorite M3 exhaust by Amuse's BMW branch Ericsson.
As we introduced Ericsson parts to the BMW community and to this day continue to promote and distribute their parts, the most common complaint by BMW enthusiasts is the price of the system. It is without a doubt expensive, nobody could argue that it is cheap. But the question that begs to be asked, is compared to what…If an aftermarket E92 M3 was produced to take on the GTS, I would bet that using quality parts like this would still result in a car that is potentially faster for less money than the GTS.
For comparison's sake, BMW's mention top billing of the following categories of upgrades to justify the price of the GTS from a more standard E92 M3: Double adjustable coilover suspension upgrade (aftermarket I'd suggest JRZ), adjustable rear spoiler (aftermarket I'd suggest Voltex dry carbon), upgraded wheels (Neez), upgraded brakes (Endless or Brembo), light weight seats and interior (Recaro ASM RS-G and Ericsson dry carbon door panels). The majority of the modifications they've done, I'd argue could be done already within the aftermarket and I'd bet my own hard earned money that some of the aftermarket parts (especially that Ericsson exhaust would far exceed the quality of the OEM BMW piece…BMW has already said only the rear silencer is titanium whereas Ericsson's full system is titanium from the rear all the way to the headers).
Where the factory has the aftermarket beat is on the R&D and engineering front to build a cohesive package that performs in balance. Doing an aftermarket build takes lots of trial and error and skilled specialists for fine tuning things such as alignment and suspension damper settings. Getting a solid warranty on a build NA engine in the aftermarket is also a little more scary than using BMW's engine in the GTS. There are many areas with refinement, tuning and reliability that the aftermarket may have a disadvantage.
There's no right or wrong answer to this debate of comparing the value and performance of a factory tuned car vs an aftermarket tuned car. But it is a fun debate to have and I'd love to hear what you all feel on the topic, as we continue to see more really cool limited edition performance models of our favorite sports cars.
Speaking just for myself, I'd much rather take the money of a Spec V or a GTS and build my own tuned variant…and if someone wanted to put me up to the test, I'd gladly bet my own money that my car is faster than the OEM tuned variant for the same price or less by the time I'm done with it. That'd be a really fun challenge!
My buddy Jon Sibal made a great post on his blog recently that I'm going to "borrow heavily" from here.
So you started reading this post because it said V10 M3 right? But wait just one second…First I want to show you a V8 (old M5 engine) powered E30 Alpina M3 which is SUPER CLEAN. I have a thing for E30s and this one is just perfect (color choice, wheel setup, everything is perfect and time appropriate for the look of the car).
Alright, now that you're warmed up lets get to the main course…V10 M5 power slammed into lighter chassis BMWs
First, how about a Z4 V10?
Now on to M3s as promised…
On that last picture, the wagon, the took it a step further and slapped on a pair of turbos. Why not…
Manhart-Racing is resposnible for these cars. If I had a BMW this is what I'd want to do with it! V10 E92 M3 with Ericsson exhaust and full aero, thats my style right there!
This stuff all brings me back to the mid 90s when I was totally blown away reading a magazine article about a Racing Dynamics 318ti with a 850csi V12 engine swap. Same idea, a decade and a half later and I'm still blown away by this stuff.
UPDATE: A Cardomain member is almost finished with his E60 M5 V10 swap into his E30 M3. To see the build go to:


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VOXELS .ptEnchufada/Nigthrunners
This has been a very busy year for Voxels, a Portuguese production duo who keeps bringing warm and summery house vibes to the forefront of today's electronic music scene. After releasing a few EPs and remixing the likes of Buraka Som Sistema, Pedro Chamorra and Pedro Pinto have finally delivered the follow-up to their acclaimed Enchufada debut – the smooth and sexy 'Nasty' EP, released last March – by creating a two-track 120 bpm affair which oozes tropical warmth and bittersweet house nostalgia, making it the perfect soundtrack to remember all the fun you had this Summer. Welcome back team Voxels and get ready for the 'Every Girl EP'.
The latest Enchufada release starts with the title track Every Girl, which further confirms the duo's love affair with 90′s house and pop-tinged melodies, by flexing an instantly memorable synth stab and a hypnotic vocal sample that you won't be able to get out of your mind. We're pretty sure you are all familiar with that feeling you get as you're driving home after some well-deserved summer holidays in the sun and sand, and you reminisce about all the parties you went too and that special summer fling as the road takes you closer to real life. Well, Voxels are no strangers to this feeling as this track seems to capture the essence of a summer well spent.
Still true to the nostalgic vibes comes the second and last track Mayday, which is all about the big synth swells and weird glitchy noises, taking us on an intense ride without ever compromising the soulful analogue warmth that's steadily becoming the Voxels trademark. Being a more energetic and intense take on that nostalgic end-of-summer blues, the second track's skittering beat cuts through a pulsing bass line, police sirens and house vocals, forcing ravers to sweat it out on the most discerning dance floors.
Artist: Voxels
Title: Every Girl EP
Label: Enchufada
Cat: ENDG037
01. Voxels - Every Girl 4.36
02. Voxels - Mayday 5.27
03. Voxels - Last Wrong 5.05 (Direct Link/Soundcloud)
Buy It Here (Beatport) or Here (Junodownload)
VOXELS | Website
VOXELS | Resident Advisor
VOXELS | Soundcloudh
VOXELS | Facebook
VOXELS | Youtube
VOXELS | Twitter


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We can't claim that pun as our own. It's the work of Berkeley Homes bloke Mark Dickinson. That's his colourful description for a new glowing box that's just been unveiled near Borough Tube.
The brownfield beacon sits atop a tower block in Tabard Square, a spanking new residential development that's so new, it's not even in our new A-Z, newly bought from the new Transport Museum shop.
Hey, and here's the really clever bit: the beacon glows different colours depending on the barometric pressure. Red for very high; green for very low. How astoundingly useless. Perhaps it should be topped with a luminous swingometer to indicate Powergen's current FTSE share price, or a magic wheel to track the sidereal coordinates of the outer planets. Why on earth should anyone give a flying cluck about the number of molecules residing above SE1?
Sorry, we really don't mean to be sarcastic here. We love a bit of eccentricity and inventiveness in our illuminations. Look here, we really do. It's just that its such an easy target, and it's Friday night, and we should be down the pub with our mates, but instead we're writing about glowing boxes on top of places we'll never be able to afford to even look at, and, let's face it, it's a bit of a non-story, plus Editro's away for a couple of days, so anything goes. Alright?
Sorry, got carried away there.
Not all local residents are pleased. Obviously. There's nothing more contrary in press reports than 'local residents'. Some are worried over the light pollution, others think it's a waste of energy, blah, blah, blah. Frankly, we'd be more scared about problems with giant moths.
Anyone seen this
cube of iridescence, this box of radiant flux, this marketing gimmick? What do you think? Let us know.
Picture shamelessly nicked from London SE1, one of our favouritist sites. We love you guys, so please don't take umbrage.


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ABB Turbocharger Repairs VTR..4 Turbine Blades
ABB Turbocharger Co. has extended its turbine blade remanufacturing program to include welding repairs of damaged VTR..4 series turbocharger turbine blades to original design specifications. The new technique was developed jointly with ABB Turbo Systems Ltd., Switzerland, and the service is performed by ABS-certified welders at the company's 13,000-sq.-ft. repair facility in New Jersey.
The remanufacturing of welding VTR..4 series turbine blades joins that of VTR..0 and 1 series blades, which has been performed by ABB Turbocharger Co. since 1985. Turbine blade remanufacturing must follow the latest ABB proprietary, factory-approved procedures.
"Two years were spent in the development and testing stages to assure that ABB Turbocharger's quality standards were satisfied, since welding ofVTR. .4 series blades requires a distinctly different technique," said Mark Rothmann, president. An earlier procedure developed by ABB included remanufacturing VTR..0 and 1 series turbocharger blades of forged steel alloy, subjected to pressures up to three bar during operation. VTR..4 series turbocharger blades are cast steel alloy, according to Mr. Rothmann, and are subjected to even greater operating pressures. VTR..4 series turbine blades provide extra durability, but they are harder and more brittle compared to earlier designed blades. As a result, changes in weld material and tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding procedures were developed. Damaged and worn blades received for remanufacturing are cleaned and inspected for cracks and excessive wear, against ABB proprietary guidelines. Cracked and excessively worn or damaged blades are replaced by new ones. Repairable blades are TIG welded at low amperage, under an inert gas bath to guarantee a pure weld. All turbine blade welding is performed in a totally enclosed, environmentally-controlled "clean room." The weight is checked and marked on each blade, and a final check for cracks is performed before identification stamping. In keeping with the company's ISO 9002 Certification, "the utmost in quality, procedural documentation and service records are always maintained to guarantee customer satisfaction," said Mr. Rothmann.
Remanufactured turbine blades are covered by ABB Turbocharger's warranty. "The normal time to remanufacture a set of turbine blades for a main propulsion turbocharger is one week; however, the actual time can be substantially reduced if a customer's schedule is tight," said Joseph Kersulic, shop service manager. ABB Turbocharger is increasing its stock of complete sets of remanufactured turbine blades, which are available on an exchange basis, to further assist customers in an emergency. The turbine blade exchange program allows the company to completely overhaul a turbocharger rotor— including cleaning, blade replacement, shaft seals and balancing— in as little as 48 hours, said Mr. Kersulic. For more information on ABB Turbocharger,


text: As per the notification No. 1709 & 1809 Dated : 7.7.09, we decided to get the Exemption on the taxable service of 01. GTA for place of removal to port of export.02. Commission agent located out side India. And we also filed the form EXP1 & it approved. Now my query is as the Notification is dated 7.7.09, can we get the exemption on the Bills before 7.7.09??? please clear with the terms. And are in process to file EXP2, in this case it is very clear that Exporter has to file the self attested copy of Shipping Bill. But is it necessary to attach the copy of Invoice & Bill of Lading / FCR / AWB as it not mentioned in Notification.


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Gateway Press Installs New Diamond 3000LS
Friday, May 29, 2009
Press release from the issuing companyLOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Just two months after a blaze at Gateway Press destroyed a vital piece of printing equipment, the Louisville, Ky.-based commercial printer is back up to speed and better than ever.
No one was injured when the fire broke out at the plant in early March, and the building sustained mostly smoke and water damage. But the flames cost Gateway Press one of its two 40-inch Mitsubishi sheetfed presses. A replacement for the press -- a new Mitsubishi Diamond 3000LS -- went into operation the first week of May.
"Mitsubishi responded very quickly to our needs," said Ed Ryan, vice president of manufacturing. "The process of removing the old machine and installing the new press was handled extremely well."
The Diamond 3000LS is a six-color model with inline tower coater. The Mitsubishi 3F press that was claimed by the fire had the same number of printing units. The other Mitsubishi press at Gateway Press is an eight-color Diamond 3000R convertible perfector installed in 2002.
"The model 3F we replaced was installed in 1993, and it had done a great job for us over the years," Ryan said. "Now this new press is doing a sensational job for us. The quality of printing of Mitsubishi presses is excellent, and the speed is very fast. This is why we wanted to stay with Mitsubishi. A recent job we completed in one eight-hour shift consisted of 94,000 sheets. That was fantastic."
Founded in 1950, Gateway Press has grown from a four-person shop into one of the largest printing companies in Kentucky. With annual sales of $35 million, the combination sheetfed-and-web operation employs 190 people. Its 170,000-square-foot facility is staffed around the clock, five days a week. A varied lineup of printing presses includes one four-unit heatset web press and two eight-unit heatset web presses.
Gateway Press counts the federal government and several state governments among its best clients. The printer's partnership with the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) dates back more than 40 years. The GPO produces key Congressional and security and intelligence documents in-house, and contracts out the majority of other printing and publishing requirements to private sector printers across the country.
Gateway Press has earned numerous accolades and repeat business from the GPO. Evidence of Gateway Press' record of quality, reliability and competitive pricing is the fact that the company holds a Level-One -- the highest -- rating as a GPO printer. Furthermore, Gateway Press consistently ranks among the top GPO printers.
For the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Gateway Press prints highway maps, tax forms and park brochures, as well as invitations to the governor's Kentucky Derby breakfast.
"Although government contracts are a major part of our work, we consider Gateway Press a high-end commercial printer," Ryan stated.
To thrive in the commercial printing arena, Gateway Press delivers an impressive array of magazines, catalogs, books, brochures and other multicolor printed materials. Speed and accuracy keep the production schedule filled, and that is where the Diamond 3000LS is expected to contribute heavily.
Gateway Press opted for the fully automated Mitsubishi SimulChanger plate-changing system, which changes plates at all printing units simultaneously in just over one minute.
"The older press did not have SimulChanger, so there is a noticeable improvement in makeready speed with the new press," Ryan said. "That will make us a lot more competitive on shorter jobs."
Along with SimulChanger, the press incorporates the Mitsubishi ColorLink CIP4 server and X-Rite IntelliTrax auto-scanning system.
"Using the X-Rite scanner and being able to transmit prepress data directly to the press increases productivity," Ryan said. "Quality control is better, and we have some pretty quick job changeovers."
Industry News
Copyright © 2019 WhatTheyThink. All Rights Reserved


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- ladybabu
- 4 years ago
- Wedding: August 2015
Help! So me and my boyfriend are not officially engaged yet but were trying to plan as soon as possible seeing as that we want to get married sometime in august 2015. And i've been reading a lot on what people have to say of riviera maya… i was so confident and excited to have my wedding in august due to many of my friends have school still or a in college or also some have brothers and sisters still in grade school. But now im wondering if thats worth the trouble of having my wedding in the hurricane season of the peninsula :/ So my question is if i should keep my date of august or should i change it to a different later time? no matter if people have school?
another thing i have family in chicago and my bf lives in new jersey so he has most of his family their and also all his friends … i live in mcallen so i have all my friends here so regardless we have to travel either one of us for the wedding.


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Thanks to a great opportunity given to me by a fellow tour operator, we had the pleasure of taking 20 youngsters to a very well known and popular festival called Groovin' the Moo.
This was not our typical Sydney tour, however now that we have the 24 seater bus we can now accommodate large groups. This is ideal for conference groups, wedding parties, festival goers, social nights out, sporting vents, wine tasting trips, the races and of course airport transfers. This festival was held near Maitland about 2 hours up the coast. The group we took were from North Curl Curl surf life saving club and I have to say were a very well behaved group. We dropped them off at about 10.30am and picked them up 12 hours later. It was freezing cold by then, so they could't wait to get on the bus and sleep as we drove back to Manly - stopping for a Mackers along the way of course!


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Interest in the Bryan McGinnis situation is literally soaring to new heights. Despite the intimidation of quasi-legitimate website God's Awesome Gift: KSU, connections between the San Jose State mega assistant and the KSU AD's office continue to grow. This morning an undisclosed source close to the situation emailed goEMAW the following picture:
This is further backed by reports that the Synders were vacationing at the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. Has Bill Snyder chosen his successor? It would make sense for KSU since B McG purportedly recently interviewed to replace disgraced head coach Ron Prince. While the mainstream local media seems to be muzzled, here at goEMAW we will always put news first, even at the risk of our own safety.


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How to Optimize Your Amazon Listing for MORE SALES (Amazon SEO) + FREE Training below!!!
Get your FREE Amazon Training below (including Amazon listing optimisation tips and tricks):
When it comes to Amazon listing optimization, the biggest thing to focus on is pulling your ideal customer in by writing compelling and attractive copy (sales copy 101). Many Amazon sellers will go through the vigorous and relentless (and the VERY stressful and time consuming) process of product research only to get their product live on Amazon BUT then lack the focus and attention needed to create a kick-ass and highly converting Amazon product listing..
IT MAKES NO SENSE WHAT SO EVER and this really does grate my B#LL$!
It can take weeks (sometimes months) to choose a product to sell on Amazon, where it might only take you a few hours of adequate keyword research and content gathering to form, create and structure a well written and great sounding Amazon listing..
PLEASE focus on this section as much as you would on taking money from your Amazon business and buying yourself a BMW i8 *cough cough* ;)!
Amazon listing optimization (also know as "Amazon SEO") is not only essential, it is an extremely vital part of attracting new customers in to buy your products on Amazon, so make sure you make this section of your selling journey a total BFF yo! 🙂
Anyway, if you liked this content and would love to watch and learn for more like this, please don't hesitate to hit that LIKE button and also smash that SUBSCRIBE button!
* My Blog: ZonLifeSuccess.com
* Say YO: Facebook.com/ZonLifeSuccess
* Snapchat: ZONLIFESUCCESS
oh, and don't forget to grab your FREE Amazon Training course below:
Much love,
– Ya Boy, Chrissy J 🙂


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Zoo AtlantaNestled in Atlanta's historic Grant Park, Zoo Atlanta is a stunning wildlife park that showcases more then 200 species of animals from around the world. With animals like Giant Pandas, African lions, orangutans, elephants, and gorillas all housed in lifelike landscapes that duplicate their natural habitats, the zoo is a fabulous place to learn about the natural world. Visitors can also discover with interesting educational programs and hands-on encounters.
Hours -Open daily from 9:30am-5:30pm, except major holidays.
Prices -$25.99 for adults, $21.99 seniors (65+), students and military, $17.99 for children (3-11), Children 2 & under enter free.
- Keeper for a Day
- Family NightCrawler
- Safari Day Camps
- Adventure Cubs Series
- Group tours
- Wild encounters
- Animal & plant exhibits
- Live animal shows


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Original Shows
The Best Strategy For PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds Is to Betray Your Team and Hide
And to become one with the sea.
Published on
Yami set out to make an Ultimate Guide to Success in PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, where she would purposefully be bad and talk about what lessons you can learn to be a master. It's purely satirical. Once she started actually playing, though, she forgot what her job was and just started to have fun with the game. So, in her failure, here is a gameplay video instead.
Subscribe on YouTube for more!


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Enchanted Entertainment, producers of many popular family theatre shows nationwide,bring 'Beauty and the Beast' to The Baths Hall on Monday, 30 March at 2pm and 5.30pm as part of a large-scale national tour.
The cast features a host of top quality performers including pop star Lee Latchford-Evans from STEPS as the Prince/Beast. Lee has sold over 20 million records and achieved 14 consecutive Top 5 singles with his STEPS bandmates. Also starring in the Easter panto is the No. 1 children's TV star Dani Harmer 'Tracy Beaker' in the iconic role of Beauty. Dani also reached the Strictly Come Dancing Final recently and she will be joined in 'Beauty and the Beast' by comedy legend Bobby Davro as Silly Billy.
Producer Jezz Weatherall said: "We're really looking forward to returning to Scunthorpe with this special Easter production. The show's got a great cast of TV stars, a host of brilliant songs and some truly amazing dancers. We know how popular the Christmas pantomimes are in Scunthorpe and we're going to give audiences another quality family event this Easter, with the magical story of Beauty and the Beast."
Director Guy Pascall said: "It's going to be great fun for all the family. 'Beauty and the Beast' is one of the most magical pantomimes of them all and over the years it's become a firm favourite with audiences of all ages. The story has such wonderful characters and really has something for everyone. We can't wait to start rehearsals in March ready for the tour and we're really looking forward to entertaining Scunthorpe audiences with our production at The Baths Hall."
Enchanted Entertainment have assembled a fantastic cast and are planning some true pantomime magic to ensure 'Beauty and the Beast' will be a spectacular family show with wonderful sets, brilliant costumes, high-octane dance routines and plenty of popular songs to please all ages!
Tickets, priced from £17-£19 (booking fee may apply, see website for details), are on sale now and already selling fast. Call The Baths Hall Box Office on 0844 854 2776 or book online
at www.bathshall.co.uk


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life is a roller coaster
Well thank you all again for the lovely birthday wishes! I think birthdays are something to be celebrated and I was glad to be able to share my day with you.
That said, I have to emphasize that my life is not always sunshine and fancy desserts and pretty pictures. That's right, my blog is an optical illusion. Fancy that! My blog is a PART of me, that's for sure, but it's not ALL of me. Not by a long shot. Those of you who know me well (and there really aren't that many of you) know what I mean.
Lurking off to the side of those pretty pictures you'll find the very same existential angst and nagging self-doubt (and not just because of the undone dishes and the unfolded laundry!) that y'all have over at your place. But of course you're still all invited to come over for cake next year.
So yes, life has its ups and downs. Let's start with the weather. Friday was gorgeous most of the day with a couple of showers in the afternoon. During the night the rain started and I don't think it has let up since. Basements were flooded (not ours, we duct taped the door closed!), tree branches came crashing down and people were actually hit by lighting. Yikes.
And I had my own thunderstorm going on in my head. After dealing with a couple of annoying long-term health problems over the past few weeks and finally starting to feel a bit better, I woke up on Monday morning with a wicked case of vertigo. Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo to be exact. If you've ever had this, and I've read about a couple of bloggers who have, you'll know how very unpleasant it can be. I've been doing the recommended exercises and am much better today, but yesterday all I had to do was turn my head to the right or look down, and the Tilt-a-Whirl would start. It was like "Stop the world, I want to get off!" Not much fun for someone who is already prone to dizziness and nausea and never liked amusement parks much anyway. Mr M had yesterday off and my little monkeys have a school holiday today so they're watching out for me just in case I do tip over.
But life goes on and this too shall pass. And if I can type, it means I'm still alive, right?
Labels: life's ups and downs, vertigo


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Bill and Melinda Gates pledged some $10 billion over the next decade to help research and deliver vaccines to children around the world, making the announcement at the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
"We must make this the decade of vaccines," said Bill Gates, according to a release issued by the Gates Foundation on Jan. 29. "Vaccines already save and improve millions of lives in developing countries. Innovation will make it possible to save more children than ever before."
The Gates Foundation is estimating that the money could potentially save 8.7 million children's lives, based on a model developed by a group led by the Institute of International Programs at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. In breaking down that model, the Foundation suggested that some 7.6 million children under the age of 5 would be saved between 2010 and 2019, thanks to funds being used to scale coverage of vaccines in developing countries to 90 percent; additionally, another 1.1 million children would potentially be saved by the introduction of a malaria vaccine in 2014.
That malaria vaccine is currently in late-stage trials. The Foundation said that more lives could be saved if other vaccines are developed and introduced within the next few years, including ones for pneumonia and severe diarrhea. A vaccine to prevent meningitis outbreaks in Africa could be introduced into the field sometime in 2010.
Further reading
The Gates Foundation has been pursuing several different avenues of charitable giving over the past few years, in the process helping change Gates' reputation from that of an ultra-competitive businessman to a super-philanthropist. The $34 billion foundation's second annual letter, released on Jan. 25, suggested that long-term goals would include not only vaccine-development and disease-battling in developing countries, but also increasing agricultural productivity and encouraging students and educators both in the United States and globally.
"Although innovation is unpredictable," Gates wrote in that letter, "there is a lot that governments, private companies and foundations can do to accelerate it. Rich governments need to spend more on research and development, for instance, and we need better measurement systems in health and education to determine what works."
Gates recently launched an official Twitter feed, and restarted his Facebook page, as a means of promoting the Gates Notes, a Website devoted to his thoughts on international and health issues.


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Google Marketing, Strategy, and Tools: The Ultimate Guide
I noticed that some companies target "adwords" as a keyword to attract companies and people to their PPC Management services. It makes sense since some people will just type "adwords" to sign in to an adwords account they set up or they are managing.
However, when doing that search recently I found Bing conquesting and trying to attract people to start using Bing Ads.
Check out this screenshot below of Bing using Google Adwords to market their own "PPC" ad platform.
I thought this was great for a few reasons…
- It proves to the businesses I hear all the time saying "but I never click there.." Really? If you still think no one clicks on PPC ads check this out, and now even Bing is using Google!
- Conquesting as a PPC strategy is a great way to leverage thousands or millions of dollars that other competitors and brands spend that are in your space. You can bid on their name and show up in front of their customers offering your services as an option.
- Google is very effective. Think about it… A company like Microsoft that rebranded their search engine to Bing is using Google's PPC program Adwords to market their ad platform and search engine.
Related posts


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studio study
Chicago, IL
My very first experiment with speaker sculptures.
This is a studio study that was done in Chicago, IL.
It was a single speaker, hung at waist height, sounding the noise of one single drip from my kitchen faucet.
All sound files on this website are abbreviated versions of the actual installation.


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ACT Tip: There are 4 Main Sections on the ACT
The are: Math, Reading Comprehension, Science, and English. The first two of these are pretty straightforward. As for the "Science" section, in my opinion it is more or less a reading comprehension exercise on various scientific topics, along with some charts, graphs and numbers that supplement the reading. As for the "English" section, it largely involves questions about grammar and editing. The reading comprehension section provides you with four different reading passages and questions, while the math section tests you on sixty math problems, in ascending order of difficulty, containing questions that run from pre-algebra through trigonometry.
ACT Tip: All the Questions are Worth the Same!
All of the questions on the test—not counting the optional essay—are worth exactly the same. To drive this point home, that means that the easiest question on the test is worth just as much as the hardest question. Considering that you have a limited amount of time to do each section, and considering that all the questions are worth the same amount of points, that means that the typical student should be focusing more on the easier and mid-level questions, and not quite so much on the hardest questions, which typically take much longer to do and are much harder to get right.
ACT Tip: The Best Way to Improve Your Score is to Cut Down on Careless Errors!
When students rush through the easier and mid-level questions, they leave themselves open to making more "careless errors" than they normally would on those questions, and when they get onto the hardest questions, they typically miss them anyway, even with extra time, mainly because those questions are in fact so difficult. You need to keep the following in mind: Cutting down on careless errors is the easiest and best way to improve your test scores. And just how do you cut down on careless errors anyway? Usually, it means slowing down a bit so that you can be more careful and thorough.
SAT Tip: Use the Process of Elimination
The SAT is a multiple-choice test. As with all multiple-choice tests, you should be using the process of elimination (or POE for short) as your main method of attacking these question, especially on the English, reading comprehension, and science sections.