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Monday, December 7, 2009
Getting it Right: The Satisfaction of a Good Revision
26 comments:
I love when there is a passage that is just bugging me and I finally figure out exactly how I want it. It's immensely satisfying.ReplyDelete
Strangely enough, my word verification was "fixed". Hmmm?
I love reading everything that I've written. Sometimes, I really surprise myself.ReplyDelete
Hi Tina :) I know exactly what you mean. Sometimes a passage or scene (or... whole chapter! Cringe!) bugs me so much-- I KNOW it's not right-- but then I go back and somehow it clicks, and it's time for a happy dance :) Your word verification was eerily poignant, lol!ReplyDelete
Hi Steph! I like doing that too, especially after a month or so. The problem scenes glare a little brighter, but the good writing gives me a nice ego-boost too :)
You're crazy. I was going to post about how much revision sucks today, but a passive aggressive note from a neighbor killed even that mood. Revision sometimes gives me the same feeling as paying bills--a big yay when it's done--IF you can do it--but otherwise something that sucks rocks. I like writing a lot more. Revision is a tedious but necessary evil.ReplyDelete
Anyone who says differently is selling something.
Ha! So there.
Wendy grumbles, "Stupid passive aggressive notice that my dog barks. Of course he freaking barks. He's a guard dog and a big one. You moved in KNOWING he was there. Oh, and you're not really keeping it anonymous if you're the only one to move into the neighborhood in over a year, and you're right next door. Just come talk to me for crying out loud."
WENDY you know I'm crazy! But don't you feel a little excitement after you've figured out what's wrong? Isn't it sort of like a puzzle? Okay, it's hard, but the first version always bothers me so much-- it just doesn't feel right!ReplyDelete
The first version does bug me and the first revision--done myself isn't too bad. It's when other people are saying, "This doesn't work. Fix it," when it becomes less fun. Plus, I start to feel a little like I'm Frankensteining it into a monster at some point around the fourth or fifth revision. It seems like cohesion slips--and you've got this THING all sewn together like a freak and sure it's still yours "technically" but it feels foreign and wrong.ReplyDelete
I used to hate revision, but now I've grown to enjoy it because it makes my story read more like I intended it to be.ReplyDelete
"I'm not a very good WRITER, but I'm an excellent REWRITER."--James Michener
Okay Wendy, I see your point, and this needs to be a two-part post then. "When Revisions Go Bad- Avoiding Frankenstein." Revisions can be awesome, I DO enjoy them but they are freaking hard work. I like the puzzle-aspect and the incredible surge of satisfaction from getting it "right" so much that it can I must classify the feeling as "joy," I think. However, if I gave in to other people's (in my case, my family and friends) desires for me to write their hopes and dreams INTO my story, I would indeed hate the process. I've mentioned a hundred times at least that my sister in law wants every story to have a side character portraying herself and my brother in some romantic way (stable boy and bar maid, particularly), and my mom wants the MC to always reflect ME and how I would respond to the situations... I could go on and on, and if I listened to them I would definitely butcher my manuscripts.ReplyDelete
Hi Catherine :) We must have been posting at the same time. I love that quote by James Michener. I also love this one by Brandon Sanderson:ReplyDelete
"To begin is human. To finish is divine. To revise is hell. But you have to do it. Great writers are even better revisers."
I want to be a great reviser. I'm not there yet. Need to finish the story first. I get frustrated with revising when I'm not sure how to fix something. There are times when I think what I wrote is really good and then someone else reads it and they see a million problems with it - so frustrating.ReplyDelete
I'm doing a no no by editing as I write. I know, you're not supposed to do that, but I can't help it. I write a chapter, edit it, then post it for my crit group. But I really like doing this. A guess a part is that I am a revision nerd - I actually like it. Particularly when I find that perfect word or phrase to insert that makes a passage sing.ReplyDelete
Hi Mary :) I like when people I trust tell me what isn't working. Even if something is working in my mind, it's worth seeing why it isn't working for someone else. It's hard when they point things out in a scene I thought was alright, but better a beta notice than an agent. That being said, I always turn to my gut-feelings before I make changes-- especially major ones.ReplyDelete
Hi Melissa, I'm on Team Revision too! I don't let myself revise as I go, only because once I finish the story I feel like the MC's voice is so much stronger. I like using that stronger voice in the beginning.
You have such a great attitude, Diana!ReplyDelete
Oops on the lack of a paragraph break, Melissa and Mary. I was on my Blackberry and sometimes I forget to hit enter that extra time. :)ReplyDelete
Thanks Corey, likewise! Just ignore the occasional rant, ha!
I love, love, love the revision process. :D I love writing, but revision, I must say, is my favorite, even if I do rant about it at times. I think my favorite part about revision is going back and fixing description and making sure I have all the details just perfect. Great post! :)ReplyDelete
I love revision. My favorite part is hacking out whole sections. I love reading through a big passage, maybe even a couple pages, realizings its unnecessary or even detrimental, and just gouging the whole thing out. It's a very satisfying purge.ReplyDelete
Thanks Jenna :) I love it too, even if I complain. I'm not able to knock out my vision in a first, second, or third draft, so I revise, smoothing away the rough edges until at some point it's what I want to be.ReplyDelete
Hi Nevets, welcome! Be still my heart, you just described my favorite part of the revision process. It's what I meant by "tightening up the writing," Nevets! Wendy knows, at least partially, how deep I cut. The bottom line (as far as I see it): it doesn't matter if the scene is perfect, it flows, whatever-- if it doesn't belong in the book, it DOESN'T belong in the book. End of story.
Awesome discussion people. :)
The only thing that's frustrating to me about cutting something out is when, as just happened to me, I look at the 5K I have in the second chapter of my WIP and think, "Oh, crap, that entire chapter's gotta go." But even then it's kind of satisfying. lolReplyDelete
LOL Nevets, so true! But don't you feel like writing the chapter-- and figuring out AFTER that it needed to be cut-- gives you a better idea of where your story's going... or a deeper understanding of a given character? I think I have to write it out to know, for sure, if it's meant to be in the book or not. At least, that's what I tell myself!ReplyDelete
I totally agree!ReplyDelete
There's a lot of stuff I love about the revising process- I think my best descriptions come in the revisions, because I leave a lot of them out in my first drafts- I'm all action and dialogue in the first drafts.
It's nice to have a template to work off of too. I love writing itself, but when you're going through it, you really get to the good stuff :o)
I agree with Wendy, revision sucks but a necessary evil. BUT I also agree with you Diana, when you do revise the bumpy parts, the high from finally getting it right can be so satisfying.ReplyDelete
You know me though, I am the WASinator! I have to edit out my useless passive voice after each chapter. I said useless, because sometimes we all need a little "was" in our coffee.ReplyDelete
I learned a lot about revising from you, Diana. You are very good at it - so that may be the reason you like it. I hear your voice as I critique other people's work now. Also hear it as I revise my own. An experienced and honest beta is an invaluable must in the revising process - in my opinion.ReplyDelete
Erica- YES, the template-thing you said is right on. I find that I get through my first draft a lot faster when I think of it as a skeletal story that I can fill in later, once I get through it.ReplyDelete
Gwoe- You ARE the WASinator! You have great ideas for rephrasing that passive away. I may like revising more than a lot of writers, but I'm always grateful for the people who read my work and point me in the right direction. Thanks Gwoe!!
Mary- Wow, thank you. I know I'm not as sunshiney in my critiques as I am in my blog posts, but what you can really count on is total honesty. A lot of people say they want honesty when they really don't, but that's what I give, and it's cost me a writer pal in the past. I'm glad you didn't take it personal, and I hope I helped. :)
Revisions are like In-laws, they'll always be a part of your life (If your an author anyway), so it's best to just get drunk and deal with it....... oh wait, I mean, suck it up and just deal with it :)ReplyDelete
Hi Void, welcome! I've seen you over on Gwoe's blog and I'm glad you stopped by. Ha ha, your analogy makes me think of a bunch of drunken writers arguing in slurred voices about plot points and backstory. I've done revisions half-asleep and if it's anything similar, the outcome ain't pretty lol!ReplyDelete


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Back in the day, The Screen Savers were the ultimate buzz kill to my G4 marathon watching. This classic clip, on the other hand, made my day! Using the best tech 1998 had to offer, they created the "ultimate gaming machine". Now almost 20 years later, these specs are laughable and that monitor you could pick up for under $5 at a thrift store!
If you're a fan of tech, you'll love this.

subset: commoncrawl


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Orangie, My camera!
I mentioned before that I had lost it and now it's found. I'm so happy. Not being able to take pictures on a regular basis was killing me! It was actually Lulu who found it. It was in the side pocket of my swim bag. The bag I carry around to the pool, with spare diapers, crackers, fruit snakes, goggles and things. Do I feel dumb or what!?
I remember going out to the car, the day after we had taken it to Big Town. I remember it was in my hand while I walked into the house because I remember thinking how hot the camera felt and I had the thought that I hoped it didn't hurt it. That was the last thing I remember. But now that we have found it, I think I know what I did. The next day we were having a pool party for my daughter's birthday. I put it in the bag, so I would have it for the party.
It's a waterproof camera and we love getting great underwater shots of the kids as well as awesome dive board shots.
|Adventure Man
It also takes really good close-ups and landscape pictures. I've used it with all my wildflower captures.
|wild rose hips
And sunsets. It seems to like orange, just like me. Plus, having an orange camera helps if you loose things often. It's a good bright color that stands out on a cluttered counter top of a dark bag… well, usually!
SO I had it with me ALL THE TIME! Ugh!


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Alight, you have chosen your new software package, your staff is on board, and you are ready to go. So let's talk about priorities.
The number one thing that will drag out a software installation, is not making it the top priority for your company. (Read that again.)
I have seen this happen time and time again. What should be a 30 day project (or less) is stretched out to 3-4 months or more because the vacation rental company treats their software installation like a "if we have the time" kind of project. And they usually don't have the time. (The longest installation that I was involved with took nearly 2 years because the company put it at the bottom of their list of things to do.)
I get it, you have a business to run. Guests to call back, staff to help, issues to deal with, owners to keep happy, e-mail to respond to, lunch to eat (if you're lucky). Not to mention a new software system to learn, a website to design, data to enter, choices to make, and a never ending project list. There aren't enough hours in the day. Maybe if you had a larger staff you could make it a priority, but being a small company it just isn't possible, right? Or is it?
I've seen small (3 person) vacation rental companies get completely up and running, staff trained, new website designed and launched, and all data entered into cloud based vacation rental software in under 30 days. They did it because they made it their #1 priority. Everything else came second.
They didn't ignore the rest of their business. They just made sure that they got done whatever it was they needed to on their installation that day first, before they tackled anything else. They also put in a few extra hours here and there if it called for it. And they were happy they did it because it was all behind them before they knew it.
There's an old saying that goes "What's urgent isn't always important, and what's important isn't always urgent." Use this as a guide when approaching your software installation. There are a ton of things competing for your attention every day, but they aren't all important, and they aren't all urgent. Some of them, in fact most of them, can wait. At least for a few hours. What is important are the things that are going to help you reach your goals.
I recommend to clients that they make their software installation the focus of the first couple hours of their day. Come in, get your coffee, and get to work on the installation. Come in a little early if you need to. Don't listen to voicemail, don't check e-mail, or Facebook, or read the paper, or talk around the water cooler. That can all come later. Focus on your installation.
Watch videos, enter data, and follow up with your vendor, whatever needs to be done that day. (A good software vendor will provide you with at least a loose outline of steps that you need to take to complete the installation. If they don't, or you need help in this area, contact me via the Contact tab and I can help you.)
Once you've completed your installation tasks for the day, then move on to e-mail, phone calls, voicemail, staff meetings, etc.
Now, there are some things like reservation inquiries and angry owners that can't always be put off. But you can develop a plan to deal with these if/when they pop up.
- Designate one member of your staff to follow up with inquiries while the rest of you focus on the installation. You made need to rotate who this person is on a daily/weekly basis.
- If you get an e-mail or a call from an angry guest or owner and it just can't wait, step away and deal with it and then come back to the installation. If it can wait, tell them that you need a bit of time to look into what is going on and that you will get back to them by the end of the day. Then get back to your installation tasks.
The truth is, we accomplish what we prioritize. So make sure that you are prioritizing the right things and your installation will run a lot more smoothly and be completed in a much shorter timeframe.
(Be sure to sign up for the Newsletter in the upper left corner of the site so that you don't miss any of the blog articles and special announcements. No spam, I don't share your e-mail address with anyone else, you'll just get the Newsletter a couple of times a month.)


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Woburn, MA (November 7, 2016) – Tighe Logistics group announced that it will be opening its 6th distribution center located at 40 Robbie Road in Avon, Massachusetts. This facility will provide distribution services and support to a leading Massachusetts food manufacturer. The 76,000 square foot food grade facility features 13 shipping & receiving doors and room for 50 truck trailer spots.
John Tighe, President & CEO said, "Being awarded this contract is evidence of our commitment to quality, dedication to service, and our ability to provide multi-discipline logistics services to our clients."
Tighe will provide a full range of distribution services at the Avon DC including order fulfillment, reverse logistics, raw materials management, and transportation.


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Jamestown Real Estate and Homes for Sale
7 Main St
Jamestown, CO 80455
3 Bedroom, 1.0 Bath, 1027 SqFt
Built in 1900 | Car Garage
Built in 1900 | Car Garage
For Sale
Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed by the MLS. Information source: Information and Real Estate Services, LLC. Provided for limited non-commercial use only under IRES Rules. © Copyright IRES. Terms of Use: Listing information is provided exclusively for consumers personal, non-commercial use and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties consumers may be interested in purchasing.


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Police were called to the wacked-out weirdo's Sandy Springs, Georgia home after a reported argument between Karr and his girlfriend, according to Fox News. Karr was taken by police to a hospital after complaining of chest pains, and will then be sent to the county jail. Crazy Karr was charged with battery and obstruction of a 911 call.
Police cleared Karr of the JonBenet killing after DNA failed to place him at the murder scene.


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|Mike Grim <grimwm@xxxxxxxxx>
|Sascha Wildner <saw@xxxxxxxxx>
|Wed, 08 Jun 2005 21:06:06 +0200
What, in the kernel, needs to be changed the most? Is there a list of things that needs to be changed or whatever?
I have "Design and Implementation of 4.4" to help me out a bit, but perhaps some smaller (yet productive) projects are available?
-- http://yoyodyne.ath.cx


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For my issue I did plays Richard II/III by William Shakespeare I knew we doing macbeth and hamlet next year, give me insight on his writing style for future experience It was a lot harder than going through it in class because you have to understand the plays without someone to guide you along like we do in class with macbeth.
They are popular so I thought they must be good My QFI was "what are the characteristics a person needs to rise to kingship and how will these characteristics affect them once they are crowned?" Both fail as kings, this would help me find out why Both plays with tragic heroes King Richard III was a medieval king of England, who ruled from 1483 to 1485, before he was killed by Earl of Richmond, who became King Henry 7th, the father of Henry 8th and grandfather of Elizabeth I.
Richard II was born in 1367 and came to the throne in 1377 when he was 10. England was ruled by a council under the leadership of John of Gaunt. Richard was in power until 1399, when he was murdered while in prison, which was the first casualty of the Wars of the Roses between the Houses of Lancaster and York.
They were both really well written plays, would recommend both of them to read for school Preferred Richard III the most, and enjoyed it more than any other Shakespeare play I have read before.
I read Richard II first, but my primary focus for the ISU and for my essay was King Richard III because it was fresher in my mind for when I had to write the essay and I could remember the examples and support from it a lot more clearly.
Richard II focuses on Richard's downfall from the throne while Richard III's primary focus is his deceiving and manipulative methods of ascending to the throne of England.
Richard II fails because he does not take anyone's advice and does whatever he wants not knowing that he is losing everyone's respect. Throughout the play are images of Richard descending from the throne. He constantly uses language instead of action to face his problems, until the very end of the play when it is too late. Like many of Shakespeare's plays, Richard II doesn't end completely, and is followed by Henry 4th, Part I, Part II and Henry 5th.
Richard III fails because he is quick to destroy anyone he suspects as being dangerous to him which makes his former friends run away and turn against him. Richard has a deformity and thinks that he must be a villain so he should strive for the throne. There are many illusions to a falling sun throughout the play, which is the symbol of the throne in England. The sun doesn't even rise on the day of the battle against Richmond, which foreshadows that he is going to die. Even though throughout the play Richard kills his friends and family, he is a very likable char.


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Northbridge MA Real Estate ~ Just SOLD 181 Washington Street, Presidential Farms Northbridge MA. This Short sale was listed at $399,900 and sold at $392,000 by Bill Gassett, RE/MAX Executive Realty. This Northbridge MA Short Sale closed on 2/16/2011.
This was yet another successful Northbridge Massachusetts short sale closing! The property was located in the popular Presidential Farm neighborhood on the Grafton line. There was certainly nothing to complain about as far as the condition given the fact the seller did an incredible job upgrading and customizing this home.
As you walked through the front door you were welcomed by a two story foyer with balcony overlook above. The entry foyer was flanked by a formal living and dining room. Both of these rooms were well appointed with hardwood flooring, wainscoting, and crown moldings.
The kitchen was done exceptionally well with Maple cabinetry, granite counters, stainless appliances and a center island. There was also an eating area with sliders to a deck, as well as a breakfast bar with granite counter tops. The kitchen was also appointed with hardwood flooring. The kitchen and fireplaced family room encompassed the entire back off the home creating a real sense of informal space. The 1st floor also had a conveniently located powder and laundry room.
The 2nd floor included four spacious bedrooms as well as a lavish master suite. The master had cathedral ceilings, an enormous walk-in closet and a beautiful bath. The bath was equipped with double maple vanities, a corner whirlpool tub and separate shower.
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See the Google map below for an exact location of Presidential Farms and Washington Street.
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A short sale is a specialized transaction that you want to make sure you have a pro in your corner. I have been successfully closing short sales in Massachusetts for the past 5 years and have never listed a short sale that did not get lender approval! In fact this short sale had three lender that needed to approve the short sale. We got it closed none the less.
Want to learn more about short sales? Check out these articles:
Avoiding foreclosure via a short sale
About the author: The above Real Estate information on 181 Washinton Street Northbridge MA was provided by Bill Gassett, a Nationally recognized leader in his field. Bill can be reached via email at email@example.com or by phone at 508-435-5356. Bill has helped people move in and out of Northbridge MA and other Metrowest towns for the last 25+ Years.
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Building lasting relationships by helping people move in and out of Metrowest Massachusetts for the last 25 years.
Bill Gassett is a thirty-two year veteran to the real estate industry. He enjoys providing helpful information to buyers, sellers and fellow real estate agents to make sound decisions. His work has been featured on RIS Media, National Association of Realtors, Inman News, Placester, RESAAS, Credit Sesame and others.


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You're my Golden GirlThursday, May 22, 2014
Hey beautiful people! Happy Thursday! One day away from a three day weekend! *happy happy, joy joy* lol :) Just a quick post of an outing I attended last Friday for my friends birthday. She celebrated by having a small intimate dinner at Sei which was lovely. If you haven't heard of Sei visit the site here. Its a sister restaurant to SAX and Oya in DC and all three restaurants are definitely worth going to. I kept my outfit dressy casual with a statement gold sweater from boohoo and my fitted H&M pants that I styled not to long ago here. Below are a few pics from the evening! Hope everyone has a safe and memorable memorial day weekend! Till next post! :)
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you looks so pretty in that outfit dearReplyDelete
Aww thank you dear! & thanks for stopping by my blog! :)Delete
I love your top!!ReplyDeleteReplies
Thanks Diane! :)Delete
Golden indeed! Pretty look!ReplyDelete
Thank you Diana! :)Delete
Love your metallic jumper girl, great pairing with the leather pants.ReplyDeleteReplies
Thanks Sarah! :)Delete
Amiga arrasou que show de imagens belo look bom final de semanaReplyDelete
Blog: http://arrasandonobatomvermelho.blogspot.com.br
Canal de youtube: http://www.youtube.com/NekitaReis
As usual your style is on point! Looks like you had a great evening!xReplyDelete
Jess x
Aww thank you Jessica! :)Delete
You are so pretty. That jumper is so cute xReplyDelete
Aww thank you dear! :)Delete


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Raleigh, NC (June 5, 2002) – Invensys Powerware is now shipping the LectroÒ Integrated Add-on Battery Enclosure for increased backup time for existing high bandwidth networks. Lectro now offers the ability to double the backup time of an existing power supply installation in an esthetically pleasing integral enclosure that matches the popular ZTT power supply cabinet. The new cabinet will be featured in Booth #2060 at SCTE.
Designed with features that reduce deployment time, cut installation costs and provide ease of maintenance, the new enclosure enables direct attachment to the existing ZTT pole mount bracket, thereby eliminating the need for drilling. Interconnect cables are provided and the extra battery capacity can be installed without interrupting service from the existing power supply.
Lectro Broadband Powering Systems ensure critical cable television network uptime through an integrated approach to both standby and non-standby powering solutions. Primary markets served include MSOs (Multiple System Operators), cable system contractors, cable system distributors and other communication service providers.
The new Integrated Add-on Battery Enclosure is currently available at a US List price of $249. For more information on Invensys Powerware Lectro products including the Integrated Add-on Battery Enclosure, visit us on the web at www.lectro.com


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Armie Hammer Shares Rare Footage From 'Call Me By Your Name' Dance Scene
Call Me By Your Name had many memorable scenes, but Armie Hammer's interesting dance moves in the beginning of the film still remain a highlight. Over the weekend, the actor has shared some behind-the-scenes footage from the evening shoot via Instagram, and it is entirely worth your time.
"For anyone who thought I was exaggerating how terrible filming dance scenes is," Hammer captioned the Instagram video, which shows footage shot between takes while "trying to keep the non-existent vibe alive." Sure, the dancing is a sight to see, but if anything, it also goes to show how much magic happens in the post-production part of the process.
During Hammer's appearance on The Late Late Show, the actor opened up to James Corden about shooting this particular scene, revealing some of the studio tricks that happens in the edit bays. "When you're filming a dance scene, what they don't tell you is that there's no music. None," he explained. "Now that it's totally silent, and everyone in the room is staring at you, dance. I don't really have a go-to sober dance move, so this was all things I had to learn on the fly."
Photo: Getty Images


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May 30, 2009
Whatz Your Problem?
As we head towards graduation, I have been asked to speak in several classes at Stanford to talk with students about life after school. After sharing some stories about my career path, I decided to do an experiment... I asked the students to write down the biggest problems they are currently facing so that together we could try to solve their problems by turning them into opportunities.
Each student instantly pulled out a sheet of paper and started writing. After a few minutes I asked them to pass them to the front of the room. The problems were all anonymous. As I started reading them, I was shocked and amazed by the problems they wrote down. In retrospect, I'm not sure what I expected, but it was certainly not what I received...
Some problems were written in bold letters (I NEED A JOB) and others were written in tiny letters that were nearly impossible to read (I want a boyfriend). They were scrawled as a quickly crafted list with dozens of existential questions or they were written with an unsteady hand (I am not motivated). It was clear that these big, bold questions are looming in these students minds.
After doing this exercise in a few classes, the patterns started to emerge. Clearly, even after receiving an education at a top tier university, a large number of students are struggling to figure out what they want to do with their lives. And, of course, the gloomy economic environment isn't making life easier. They are finding, as generations before them have, that life after college is filled with zillions of questions without a right answer. While in school, students live a life that is cut up into quarters or semesters with a nice long summer break. They are given specific assignments and receive a grade at the end of each one. They know if they have done well or not. But, life beyond college is quite different. It is the ultimate open-book exam. In fact, after school, we are the students AND the teacher, creating the tests ourselves. Nobody gives us a text book or a course reader, and the comforting rhythm of semesters and summer breaks is gone. In fact, a colleague of mine in Chile provocatively tells his students that they should take courses from the worst professors at their school since this will prepare them better for life where they won't have a talented teacher showing them the way.
In the classes this quarter we organized all the questions into categories and spent as much time as needed addressing all the concerns. Students stayed long past the allotted class time to think about these problems in creative ways. One of the benefits of this public discussion was that the students all realized that each of them was facing similar challenges. They are all going out into the unknown and need to learn a brand new set of skills, including how to motivate themselves, how to make decisions with incomplete information, and how to embrace the uncertainty on the path ahead.
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3DyourSCAN 3D Printed Anatomy Models
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Standard 3DyourSCAN models bring your unique anatomy to life through the process of 3D printing. Looking at our standard anatomy models, have you ever wondered what your own skull, brain, or heart looks like? Are you preparing for a knee replacement surgery? Are you a proud cancer survivor? 3DyourSCAN models make it possible to replicate, with incredible detail and accuracy, your personal anatomy. So before or after your knee surgery, print a copy of your knee to show your friends and family (and surgeon!) how you're able to climb stairs with ease again. Print a copy of the tumor you heroically conquered, and share your survival story with others to inspire and educate. Be informed about your body and health like you've never been before, when you work with your doctor collaboratively with one of our 3DyourSCAN models. Or just print your own skull for the joy of seeing yourself in a totally new perspective! With 3DyourSCAN printed models, your unique anatomy can be a unique hand-held anatomy model with limitless applications. Before you go under the knife, insist your surgeon is aware of the benefits of surgical planning models - nothing prepares surgeons for the unexpected, like knowing exactly what to expect.
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Knowing your clients inside and out is a life-or-death proposition, and preparation is critical. With Professional 3DyourSCAN models, we bring your patients unique anatomy to life with the power of professional grade 3D printing. Initially based on CT or MRI data you provide, and through an exhaustive collaboration with our design team, we will bring your patient's anatomy to life in a way unlike anything you've worked with before. Computerized simulations and medical imaging are fantastic diagnostic tools, but nothing compares to holding a patient's heart in your hands before scrubbing in for surgery. Patients are more informed about their health than ever before, so instill confidence in your patients by educating them with a model of their very own anatomy. Take the guess work out of the O.R. by studying the unique anatomy of your patient with our Professional 3DyourSCAN printed models today!


text: Well folks its time to vote again! This time its for Melissa. She is a finalist in this contest. The photo we entered is one of Melissa being pissed at me for my lack of planning. I promised her I would not drop any last minute "things" on her that required money before Beaver Island. Twelve hours before I was to board the plane, I realized I didn't have anything to wear while fishing. So, we had to run to the store. She was pissed. I would also point out that Cameron was kind enough to remind me to pack early...often. I didn't listen. Anyways, please send an email to Cameron at email@example.com and let him know you are voting for Melissa please. Thanks~Jeff


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NWSB Insider and Seattle Mariners blogger Danny Ferguson tells us during 2012 MLB spring training that the M's are likely trying to play a different type of ball where players have more versatility and therefore more value within the organization. He asks do we really know where Dustin Ackley, Mike Carp, Justin Smoak, Kyle Seager, Chone Figgins, Carlos Guillen, Alex Liddi and Francesco Martinez should be playing come opening day?
Seattle Mariners spring training brings up uncomfortable infield questions
Trayvon Robinson's vision problems gives Mariners offense new hope
NWSB insider Danny Ferguson tells us Seattle Mariners outfielder Trayvon Robinson has worn contact lenses at times over the past two years, has opted for a new approach this winter and plans to wear his new glasses while playing. Remember the moment from that iconic baseball movie Major League where Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn's control issues were solved when he was given a pair of glasses?
The five players I wish still played for my Seattle Mariners
NWSB insider Danny Ferguson tells us If the Mariners ever need to dip into the PAST to grab an all-star team, he would choose these 5 guys. Randy Johnson, Ken Griffey Jr., Edgar Martinez, Alvin Davis, and Jay Buhner. He wishes some of them were still a part of the team, in their prime – ready to play. So to do the Seattle Mariners of 2012.


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When I worked in our elementary school district, one of the most heartbreaking things I dealt with were the kids who came to school hungry. Our school didn't offer a lunch program, but it wouldn't have mattered anyway. Our school didn't have "cooking" equipment. We basically only had ovens to heat up processed foods.
When kids don't eat breakfast, how are they expected to have the energy and brain power to learn? They are left tired and lethargic. And it's very hard to concentrate, for anyone let alone a child, when all that you can think about is how hungry you are.
Most of the children who did eat breakfast, didn't eat "real food". They consumed sugary breakfast cereals, pop tarts, Toaster Streudel, French toast sticks or some other equally poor choice. When children eat foods filled with sugar, chemicals and artificial dyes, they experience the high and lows of insulin response and can become hyperactive. In either case, these are not traits conducive to learning.
Lisa Leakes has a wonderful website called 100 Days of Real Food. She is a mother who started a quest to feed her children real food. What I love about her site is that she gives very easy, very practical tips and spells all of her recipes. These are great, kid friendly recipes that children not only enjoy, but thrive on.
One recipe I especially like is the one for Whole Wheat Waffles. This recipe uses natural, organic ingredients and is served with fresh fruit, and even unsweetened whipped topping. The recipe makes a dozen waffles, which can be frozen for future use. I recommend making them on a Saturday or Sunday when you have some time and then just grabbing and heating on busy school mornings. Your children will love them! For the full recipe, click here. Enjoy!
Views: 12


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Are changes to MPs terms and conditions ill conceived?
October 27, 2009 7 Comments
If the latest news reports are to be believed, then MPs will no longer be able to claim for mortgage payments on second homes, and even worse (for them) is that if they live within an hour of London they won't be able to claim anything for a second home. Added to that – they won't be allowed to employ family members.
So what do I think? Well as someone who commutes from Nottinghamshire – where a 6:24 am train means I can get to Parliament at 8:15am, long before many MPs roll up may I add, I have to say I don't have much sympathy for MPs who will say this isn't fair. If I can commute, and so does my wife, who works next to Waterloo, then so can many MPs. We each pay over £8,000 for our season ticket – which certainly isn't value for money – though I suspect if more MPs did this we may get better informed public transport decisions.
On the subject of MPs employing family members I do have mixed feeling. I remember when I wrote to about 50 MPs after the 2001 election as someone in full time employment in the political arena, as someone not straight out of University, offering help for free, I received a total of 3 positive responses. It is notoriously hard to get a job in politics, and there is seemingly many MPs who hire family members, so I'm not sure proper rules on open competition were followed.
It is of course interesting to see my former opponent John Mann on all the news channels backing these measures. I guess he too will feel the brunt, as my understanding is that he has employed his wife Ms Joanna White in his constituency office for a number of years. Should he and others be able to do so? Well if they do a good job I have never really had an issue with it. Why? Well I truly believe that the vast majority of staff (relatives included) are extremely hard working and work many more hours than they are paid for.
I know of one person I only spoke to this week who goes into work on Sunday, and if you added the hours they work above their contracted hours they would be owed 9 months off for time in lieu.
It is one thing to try to standardise jobs in Parliament, and I will be interesting to see what is happening to plans to make all staff employees of the House rather than employees of MPs themselves. If that move goes through I can see no way that MPs will not be able to have relatives working for them – as they will be contracted not be MPs but by the House itself and under employment law how on earth could they make them redundant just for being married to what would then effectively be another employee of the House.
Frankly the move to make all MPs staff employees of the House is opening up a huge Pandoras box, and frankly given the House Authorities couldn't manage the system of expenses (for it was them who signed the claims off) what is the likelihood that they are fit for purpose in managing thousands of more staff?
So yes, make them commute if they have to. Yes take a make sure in future jobs are advertised, but moves to remove family members currently employed especially if they will no longer be directly employed by the MP themselves could end up costing the taxpayer dearly in claims for unfair dismissal that I am sure will arise.


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We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty. ~Maya Angelou
Scrap That Poetry is looking for new designers for their next term which runs June through September. If you love poetry and scrapbooking, this one may be for you:) Click HERE for more info.
Thanks for stopping by today:)


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One Stop Shop for Insurance Claims
Gabe's Collision has the ability to handle your insurance claim from start to finish ALL in one location.
We are a direct repair shop for many large insurance companies. What this means to you is faster handling of your insurance claim; we write your estimate, upload the photos of your damaged vehicle and send them directly to your insurance company.
Instead of waiting for your insurance company to send out an appraiser and for the insurance check to arrive, we can begin to repair your vehicle immediately!
We Are A Direct Repair Shop For:
- A Central
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- AutoOne
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- Farmers
- Geico
- Hanover
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- Safeco
- St Paul Travelers
- Statefarm
- And Our List is Growing!


text: With the prototype of the product being settled, the remaining thing to do is to find ways to market it. Right now, the ceramic cup containing the candle is a poor conductor of heat, hence the cup will get really hot after a while. To combat such a problem, we added 1 layer of bubble wrap and 1 thin layer of styrofoam to insulate the candle. The bubble wrap also serves as a cushion, in the event that the cup is dropped, but it can only absorb a limited amount of impact. Glow-in-the-dark paint was also applied to enhance visibility, particularly at night. Given that the candle will be mainly used at light for illumination purposes, the glow-in-the-dark paint helps users to identify the candle in areas of low visibility.


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Ah conferences. Where we ditch the t-shirts & jeans and dress like grown-ups, try to act professional, and shmooze our way through 1,000 conversations while selling our product with enthusiasm. That's what we're here to do.on't let this picture fool you...This is as normal as this conference gets.
Yah that's more like it.
"Rendez Vous" = Huge France-wide tourism conference where we meet with Tour Operators from all over the world and talk and talk and talk about all our tours. Luckily, we're the most fun booth at the conference, thanks to the Brunette Trifecta.
And it's about to get better, as Simon displays his amazing feats of Segway agility.
The swan...
Whatever that gets you.
After a hard morning of looking ridiculous, playing on Segways, and talking till our voices started wearing out, it was time for lunch. And let me tell you. The French don't PLAY. Lunch time at any other typical American conference would be, what? Like sandwiches and chips? Or if we're really talking fancy, it would be some dried out chicken breast with some sort of cream sauce, and a slice of thawed-out cheesecake. Ho, ho, not so at this conference.
They even had croissants in the morning, and my favorite type of pastry, chouquette puff pastries in the late morning, at the espresso bar. Yep. You heard that. We're in FRANCE.
We get to the lunch area to be greeted by fully set tables stocked with bottles of wine (red and white), bottled water (still and sparkling), and the first course plated, ready to go, a creamy velouté with shrimp and toasted crostini. As the first course.
Second course was duck breast (albeit slightly overcooked), and for dessert...
But there were more Segway tricks to be done.
Now let's take a moment to reflect upon the visual representation of my blood, sweat, and tears over the past 8 months...there it is...a banner.
Crissa is my Easy Pass partner in crime across the 'ol ocean, and this picture surely communicates the professionalism, good will, and teamwork which we exude towards one another.
The next morning at the conference, Sadie took Jillian's place, and this is the morning where all of the banners decide to break. They'd had enough. So we had to be extra creative in the little time we had before potential clients would start flooding our booth with its falling-over and refusing-to-stay up banners.
This was a work of genius by Sadie...
jamming a crappy pen into the end to hold of the force of this 6 foot high sign that is stretched out and threatening to snap shut at any moment and probably maim somebody.
Then another banner collapses, refusing to keep its pole in place, because today the pole decides it will NOT fit into its spot. Here Sadie tries jamming the end of the metal pole with a massive U-lock, hoping to get it smaller so we can wedge it into the bottom opening. We also tried jumping on it, which proved to be less successful.
In the end, all the banners were ghetto rigged into submission, and we were once again ready for a day of talking until our voices gave out.
Let's review: Croissants & chouquettes. Lunch. Wine. Segways. Teaching people to ride Segways. Drinking espresso every 2 hours. That guy, still in his boring booth, just sitting there.
The constant talking for 8 hours straight was exhausting, but all in all, if you have to go to a conference, France is the place to do it.


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19 Tips on How to Get Your News Website Added into Google News
When you create a entertainment news website, whether that is a film news website or a television news website (or both), you will eventually want that news website to be featured in the news section of popular search engine. Google News is the top search engine news section that you want to be a part of when you get to the search engine news section inclusion period of your news website's existence.
What is Google News?
Google News is a computer-generated news site that aggregates headlines from news sources worldwide, groups similar stories together and displays them according to each reader's personalized interests.
19 Tips on Getting into Google News
One of my websites was finally admitted into Google News recently after four-to-five years of attempts at inclusion. I learned a lot through my numerous attempts and Google News Forum visits. I previously wrote How to Become a Google News Publisher but this article is far different. The former article provided general information on getting into Google News, information that you need to know before applying. This article is written from the perspective of someone that has actually been in the trenches pursuing admission and who was successful.
Below you will be able to read everything that I learned, all the tips that I followed to get included in Google News as a news provider.
1.) Presentation is Important. You need a professional looking news website. Invest in a great theme or have a great theme created for your news website.
2.) Easily Accessible News Categories. Make sure that all of your news categories and news stories can be easy found within ten seconds of landing on your website. I use Mega Menus and drop-down text menus, above the fold, at the top of the website.
3.) Multiple Authors. You need more than one author writing for your news website when applying to Google News. You need a team of authors with biographical information posted for them on your website, their social media accounts, etc. Google News wants "accountability and transparency." At the time of inclusion, I had nine writers writing for my news website.
4.) Minimum 300 Words Per News Article. Each news article you write should be at or over three hundred words in length. If you quote something, it should only make up a small portion of your article, not the lion's share. I found the latter out when I asked for a site evaluation in the Google News Forum. If you are quoting a large piece of text, make source that your original written copy exceeds the quote in length.
5.) News Sourcing and a Original Analysis. I used to place the sourcing for my news articles (if the source was another news website) at the end of each article. Do not do that. Integrate your sourcing into the body of your article, especially if you are hyperlinking to it. Here is the key though – when using another website as the originating source for the news article you are writing, make that news original by putting your own spin on the news. You can do this by adding your own unique analysis to the news story and your own perspective. No one else can do those two things but you. Show the reader your "voice."
6.) Publish News Seven Days a Week. Your news website needs to be cranking out news stories seven days a weeks. Make shifts for the weekdays, weeknights, weekends, and assign them.
7.) Sitemap. Have a good XML Sitemap setup online for your news website when you apply to Google News. I use and recommend Yoast SEO for this. I wrote about the plugin here when it was called WordPress SEO.
8.) Enable Metadata throughout your website. Have Open Graph and Schema metadata in place and enabled throughout your posts and website. I use Yoast SEO for this.
9). Create a Thorough Contact Us Page. Your Contact Us page has to have your organization's physical address, phone number (I use a Google Phone Number), and a email address on the page (not just a contact form for people to use). Google News wants "accountability," "transparency," and accessibility from its news sources.
10.) Create a Thorough About Us Page. Your About Us page needs to tell the reader the purpose of your news website, who its aimed at, what you publish (linking to those categories), who publishes those news stories, your site data numbers, and the site's history. The more I read about good About Us pages and what Google News was looking for when it came to "author biographies," "accountability," and "transparency," the larger and more extensive the About Us page on our news website became over time.
For the author biographies, I made sure to include with them links to each author's social media accounts. This provided transparency. A person evaluating our news website from Google News could check and see that these were real people whom were leading real lives.
The site data numbers that we provided were: Page Rank, Alexa Global Rank (linking to Alexa), pages linking to our news website, and how many of the news website's URLs had been added to the Google index. Again, this provided transparency to anyone looking at our About Us page for information about our website.
On our About Us page, we also provided a link to our sitemap and our Google News-optimized sitemap (we got ahead of ourselves with that). I use Yoast SEO for both of these sitemaps, the latter you have to pay for. Jetpack comes with free regular and news sitemaps when you download and activate their plugin on your website. You have to activate that functionality within the plugin. They will be deactivated until you do.
11.) Use good Grammar and Spelling. Use proper grammar and spelling in your news articles. This should go without saying. Invest in E. B. White and William Strunk Jr.'s The Elements of Style. It will be extremely beneficial to your copy writing endeavors, now and in the future.
I read many threads in the Google News Forum where a person had applied for Google News inclusion, been rejected, and was asking for a site evaluation. These people had to link back to their site to be evaluated so I could go there to see its state and its content. Some of these websites were filled with awful grammar. On some sites, English was their second language and it showed in their copy.
If a Google News evaluator sees badly written sentences or misspellings, your news website will be rejected.
12.) News Article Pyramid Setup. I have written a manual for all of writers to follow. In the manual, I referenced the inverted journalism pyramid and how the crucial opening paragraph of a news article should be written.
This provided a baseline for the writers to follow, especially if they were unsure how to structure their news article.
When the Google News evaluator looked at our news articles, he or she saw that the new articles were laid out following the inverted pyramid of journalism.
13.) Get Your News Website Evaluated in Google News Forum. Go to Google News Forum and ask for a site evaluation. It's free. Then act upon the advice that they give you, no matter how hard that advice is to take. Trust me (and them), they know what they are talking about. What they will tell you is unbiased. They will be harsh, they will be critical, and in most instances, they will be correct. Their advice helped get my news website up to the necessary standard for inclusion into Google News. They can help get your news website where it needs to be as well.
14.) Create a New Summary for Your News Website. Google News is going to ask you for a description of your news website on their "Request for inclusion in Google News" form. Don't use the summary on your About Us page for it. That About Us page summary was written for a site visitor, who is a completely different type of person than the Google personnel that will be evaluating your news website. You need to write a description of your news website for the Google News website evaluator. You need to tell them: what news you cover, frequency, and the diversity of your news coverage. Those assertions need to be backed up by the content on your news website.
You need to make your news website attractive to the Google News website evaluator through your description. Like in Glengarry Glen Ross and Boiler Room, you have to "sell' and "close" the evaluator by making an effective sales pitch for your news website to him or her.
"Sell" the evaluator your website. "Sell" him what it has to offer the Google News index and its readership. "Close" him with your news website's description and the following point.
15.) Time Your Fresh, Original Content When Applying To Google News. In previous years, I applied whenever I thought that our news website was ready for inclusion. The last, final, and successful time that I applied for inclusion in Google News, I timed it. I applied right after we had attended a film festival and the coverage from that film festival, reviews and news articles from premieres that occurred there, were published on-site. From Google: "Sites included in Google News should primarily offer timely reporting or analysis on recent events." That is exactly what we gave them. Google News also wants original reporting from its Google News websites. From Google: "Original reporting…[is an] important factor…for inclusion in the Google News index." The news articles that we published from that film festival were original content and original news reporting.
We didn't "pull a fast one" on Google News by waiting until we had just published film festival coverage before applying. Our film festival coverage went back five years across two continents. By waiting and being a little strategic, we put those facts front and center. When the Google News website evaluator clicked on our film festival category URL (speculation), they were able to see all of our previous film festival coverage for themselves.
16.) Diversify Your Original Content. When we applied for inclusion in the Google News index, we showed Google News original content through publication of an interview. When we applied to Google News, we had just published an interview with a director of a new film that had just been released in-theater. This was original content, content no other news website had (different / unique questions breed singular and original replies). We had also published a much longer interview with two directors months before. The Google News evaluator probably saw those interviews as a positive news publication pattern (speculation). During my previous attempts at inclusion into Google News, we had no interviews published on-site or there was no clear pattern visible. When we applied to Google News, we included the Interview category as a URL in the "News Section information" on the "Request for inclusion in Google News" form.
17.) Trailers, Clips, Sneak Peeks Videos are not News. I heard this in the Google News Forum when I asked for a site evaluation. I use to include trailers, etc. in my news categories (I would select the Movie News category and the Movie Trailer category for Movie Trailer articles). A moderator in the Google News Forum pointed out that a trailer, clip, sneak peek video, etc. are not news. I argued that they were in the forum but stopped selecting movie news for trailer articles, etc. When we applied to Google News the final time, we did not include the trailer, clip, or any video category as a URL in the "News Section information" on the "Request for inclusion in Google News" form.
18.) Separate Original Content from Aggregated Content. I also moved Movie Casting and TV Show Casting news stories into their own categories. Someone cast in a new film or TV project is news but I wanted to make the separation clear between that and say film or TV production news. This was me separating news content from possibly aggregated content. From Google: "If your site publishes aggregated content, you will need to separate it from your original work, or restrict our access to those aggregated articles via your robots.txt file."
19.) I choose Blog when Applying. Maybe you should to, depending on your news website. When asked to "select all categories that apply to the content on your site," I choose "Blog." I didn't want to but that was the one category available that most closely resembled my news website. The other choices were: Opinion content, Press Release, Free registration, User Generated Content, Satire, and Paid subscription. Bearing the other chooses in mind (and since I was accepted into Google News), I think I choose wisely. If you choose the wrong category for your website, you will probably be rejected.
My journey to inclusion in Google News was arduous. It took years to get my news website just right for Google News to accept it. The tips that I have included in this article should make that process far quicker for you and far less painful.
Leave your thoughts on this article below in the comments section. Want up-to-the-minute notification of newly published articles? ProMovieBlogger publishes articles by Email, Twitter, Tumblr, Google+, and Facebook.


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Vapor Shark Candy Cane Flavor
I recently tried Vapor Shark's candy cane flavor in 18mg nicotine strength. I was pleasantly surprised.
This flavor stays true to it's name of candy cane.
It is a nice, brisk minty taste. A perfect pairing flavor to the Christmas season. A good flavor for those who like a more subtle, smooth mint.
A good throat hit and vapor amount as well.
This flavor comes in nicotine strengths of: 0%, 4%, 8%, 12%, 24%, 36% (mg).


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Stay The Night is a black base with pink glitter. The liquid sand polishes dry to a matte, textured finish but you can add top coat for a glossy look. Picture below is three coats with no top coat.
Here it is with top coat.
I think I like it more when it is glossy :).ReplyDelete
How did your's stay so glossy without topcoat? It still looks pretty shiny. I seriously loved this polish when I wore it.ReplyDelete
I'm obsessed with textures and I have these liquid sands. This is the only one I prefer with topcoat. This color is awesome, but not very Mariah in my opinion.ReplyDelete
I just got the liquid sand polishes and can't wait to try them!!ReplyDelete
I'm just about to purchase this :)ReplyDelete
I like this with the glossy top coat but not feeling anything for the liquid sands on their own...esp this one. It looks like asphalt topper when I have needed to spread out a new chip coat seal on an asphalt street (lived on a ranch where we had a private road to 4 ranches and we all got out there to do road work every 2 yrs). So far I bought 1 texture polish - one of the Soft Touch from Layla - it's more like a soft felt and it's not lumpy and does not feel like horrible grit. If I get somewhere that sells OPI I will try these on a piece of scotch tape or put them on a clean white paper I tend to try to take with me when I know I will be somewhere polish is sold. Curious how this stuff is on removal...if it's hard to take off like glitters.ReplyDelete
This looks really cool both ways. It reminds me of lava!ReplyDelete
I just blogged about this color! I think it is perfect: the semi transparent black with the smoldering pinkish red glitters :)
In the first pic I think the polish is a bit shiny because it is still relatively wet....(?)
It looks soooo pretty with topcoat!ReplyDelete
I appreciate each and every comment! That said, please do not spam me. Comments with links will be deleted. If there is a blog or anything else you would like me to check out feel free to email me, I love finding new blogs!


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On Dec 28, 2012 Arpit Kumar wrote: Book Review: Mobile JavaScript Application Development by Adrian Kosmaczewski
If you are a JavaScript developer and want to enhance your knowledge by learning the mobile app development, Mobile JavaScript Application Development by Adrian Kosmaczewski (O'Reilly Media) is a fantastic book for you. Full Review >
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On Jan 19, 2011 Arpit Kumar wrote: Perfect Guide
It is the complete tutorial. You don't need to refer any other content. Full Review >
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On Nov 20, 2010 Arpit Kumar wrote: JavaScript Patterns by Stoyan Stefanov – Take Your JavaScript Skills to the Next Level
If you have the basic understanding of JavaScript, and you want to take your skills to the next level, the JavaScript Patterns by Stoyan Stefanov is an excellent tutorial for you.JavaScript Patterns by Stoyan Stefanov – Take Your JavaScript Skills to the Next Level is a post from: TechRaga
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That's what I once called Dustin Brown. The date was September 2010; the match, against Andy Murray; and the occasion, the 2010 US Open. At the time, Dustin was in the middle of failed attempts to get himself adopted by England after he fell out with Jamaica.
Three months later, in December 2010, I made the following joking prediction: "After learning of Kiefer's retirement, Dustin Brown will give up his bid to be adopted by Britain and will instead offer himself to Germany, reminding them that he was actually born there. The Germans will have a good belly laugh."
Turns out I was both wrong and right. Brown is now listed as German on his official records. Yet he has never played Davis Cup for that country. Indeed, do any random search for German tennis players and his name rarely comes up. This is because for most of his tennis career, Brown was listed as Jamaican, living for years in a camper purchased by his parents, and supporting himself on the challenger circuit.


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Student Ticket Offers
Single Tickets:
Students are always welcome, and encouraged, to join us for concerts. Student tickets are available for all Symphonic, Zhang Financial Pops!, Classics Uncorked, Classics On Tap and Sounds of the Season concerts. Prices are 50% off of the single ticket rate in the chosen zone and range from $12-$30. Grade school and college students with a valid student ID are eligible for discounts. Call our office or Miller Auditorium Box Office to purchase single tickets.*
Rush Tickets:
Students with a valid ID can also take advantage of best available $5 seating (one ticket per student) the night of KSO Symphonic and Zhang Financial Pops! series concerts.
Student subscriptions are available for Symphonic Series, Zhang Financial Pops! Series and Classics Uncorked/On Tap (must be 21) at a discounted rate of 50% off. To subscribe, please contact the KSO at 269.349.7759
Please note not all series concerts are appropriate for all ages; time, length and programming may make it difficult for younger students to enjoy. If you have questions, we'd be happy to assist and make suggestions about child- and family-friendly concerts.
*Discounts are not available for Family Discovery concerts ($5 each), The Jungle Book ($10 each) or Star Wars in Concert ($25-$80 each).


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When it comes to search engine optimization for small businesses, local search is more important than ever. If your content isn't focused on geo-specific keywords, it's time to follow this simple checklist that will help you succeed. Remember, this content spans across your website, blogs, and even social media profiles!
- Are you on Google, Yahoo, Bing and Yelp local listings? If not, get on that NOW! It's free and fill out as much information as possible. Descriptions are a great place to sprinkle in some of your local keywords for that extra SEO boost.
- Get visual. How about some pictures of your place of business or neighborhood to spruce up your site or social profile? Adding visuals of your business and/or employees adds a personal touch to your products/services. It will also give your potential customers a chance to "meet" you.
- Emphasize your local loyalty. Wherever possible, be sure to include a local phone number with the area code for your location. I've seen plenty of SEO and web design sites with 800 numbers, no physical address – essentially making it impossible to find out where they're located. No thank you – next.
- Use the right keywords. And I can't stress this one enough! You'll want to be using relevant keywords to your business that have a good amount of traffic so that you can capture some of that volume. What's the point of ranking #1 for a term that only gets 100 or so hits a month? Another thing, be thorough when choosing your location keywords. Are we talking about Glendale, CA or Glendale, AZ?
- Track your results. For the more SEO-savvy, SEJ just came out with a helpful article about how to track your progress.
If you think these extra steps are time consuming, think again. Properly optimized content will be a valuable asset for your business in the long run. What are some of your favorite, easy tips for local search optimization?
Matt Ramage is founder of Emarketed a web marketing agency located in Los Angeles. He loves coffee, good design, and helping businesses improve their look and getting found on the Internet.


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Donate to the ICS Capital Campaign
Raising Generations Building Community
A campaign to ensure the strong future for Immaculate Conception School and its service to children, families and the greater Morris community.
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Moepara is the vision of friends Yamamoto, Katsuyama and Rin, who share a mutual obsession for Japanese Manga cartoons. After seeing the mushrooming industry of maid cafes in Japan, the trio decided to bring the first Moe (pronounced Moe-eh) maid bar to Phnom Penh.
Moe is a Japanese slang word with multiple suggestive meanings. It's the ability of a doe eyed 'cute' character to instill in an audience an irrational desire to adore them, comfort them or to evoke a familial protective instinct. It's also a pun that literally means "budding", as in a plant that's about to flower; consequently it's often used to describe the potential of a young girl's developing beauty. The Moe personality typically reflects an "innocent" outlook on something vital, such as romance.
It's with this in mind that the Moepara team have opened the first role-play Moe maid bar in Cambodia. "We basically want you to leave the stresses of the world behind you when you enter this place so that you can become yourself. It's a big game where you can come and be who you want, before going back to your real life," says Yamamoto.
Before entering the bar, the concept is explained to the customers outside before they come in. Sex tourists are expressly not welcome; this is not a girly bar. A maid then appears with the greeting "Welcome home husband/mistress!" and shows you into your new home.
Rin explains to me how she feels in her maid outfit. "I want to make people happy as friends. The minute someone comes through the door, they're instantly close as friends. Everybody should be getting on and having a great time together. I want to create fun here like a family. I know when I dress like this it makes everyone feel better. I feel strong with their attention."
As with most Moe bars, Moepara have their own unique gimmick. There are a variety of different role-play personas for you to interact with in this bar that you can select from a menu.
Along with the maids there are also cheerleaders, policewomen, tartan kilted schoolgirls and, bizarrely, a human polyester Budweiser can. You may even bring your own costume and character into the bar if he or she interacts respectfully with the other characters.
Interestingly, as well as the usual fare of a well stocked bar, Moepara also offers snowcones and hot dogs as bar snacks, while electronic dartboards and board games are available to play with your maid. There's a constant visually imaginative screening of action dominated Manga animated cartoons silently projected onto the far wall. Japanese electro pop music plays unobtrusively and whenever the gong is donged all the maids get a free drink to great excitable clatter. Performances from the maids will also be a regular feature on their stage.
"It was our dream to bring a taste of Moe to Southeast Asia," says Lin. "We found Vietnam too prohibitive and naturally gravitated towards Cambodia with its more libertine attitudes. We want to inspire people to desire and experience the differences in Japanese culture. It was an idea that has always been alive in my head."
Moepara (Opens June 1st)
When: Daily 5pm-2am
Where: #40 St 130
Thanks to Kameron Lightly for kindly providing Japanese translation.


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Daily Archives: April 15, 2018
Tips For Running A Vehicle Dealership
A vehicle dealership is a highly profitable and promising business idea for you to consider. There are several perks to running a vehicle dealership. One of the biggest is going to be that you will be able to be your own boss. This allows you to set your own deadlines and to do things the way you want to. There is also the benefit of you being able to expand the business by setting up more branches elsewhere. Here are some tips that will help you with running a vehicle dealership.
Find out what you want to sell
The first step is going to be to figure out what you want to sell. A vehicle dealership doesn't necessarily have to be about selling vehicles alone. You could also have services such as a car wash, car polishing Melbourne and various other services as well. If you are going to be selling vehicles, then decide on what type of vehicles you wish to sell. This could mean selling brand new vehicles or used vehicles. They each have their benefits. Selling used vehicles is the cheaper option, but a lot more profitable than selling new vehicles.
Identify your competition
One of the biggest challenges with running a vehicle dealership is going to be that there will most likely be a lot of competition that you have to deal with. Therefore, you will first want to try and identify the competing vehicle dealerships and try to figure out ways you can overcome the competition. One of the ways of doing this is to choose an appropriate location. Locate the business away from the other vehicle dealerships and you may be able to attract a lot more customers.
Have an alternate source of income
If you are going to be selling vehicles alone, then this would mean that you are going to be running into a few risks. To avoid this, you will want to try and find out an alternative source of income, such as offering other services. One such service is to offer car cleaning, which is an effective way for you to earn an additional income. It is not going to be every day that someone might want to purchase a vehicle from you, especially at the beginning. Therefore, try to have a backup plan as well to make up for this.
Therefore, running a vehicle dealership will require a lot of planning. These tips will help you with starting off on a good note.


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Cupcakes for Flower Lover
Originally uploaded by Fields of Cake
I love these! Very pretty and I'm sure really lovely on a tier. I'd probably want to add some cupcakes with a tall swirl of buttercream as well for the frosting lovers (the description says they're topped with buttercream and ganache, but it certainly looks like these are layers of fondant).


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I have to thank my roomie EJ for this. I used his little light-emitting somethings for this (and I didn't ask permission beforehand, hehe. But I told him naman after. Ü)
It was fun doing this. Although the lights are a little bright than I wanted them to be, it still produced quite an awesome set. Enjoy! Ü
Check the complete set at warrenaltan.multiply.com. Ü


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In the year 1969, Mr. K.S Bhurji started small set up of manufacturing unit with 2 people, a year later in 1973 , Mr.G.S.Bhurji joined as Director ,both the Director had a big ambition to facilitate their customers with best quality products which of course resulted this organization from sapling to a tree , now this organization growing a head with committed people ,ownership feeling and with one common dream to achieve the target , Today we have 3 plants , developed numerous injection moulds and moulding of plastic parts , in addition to that we are manufacturing various appliances like Air Coolers, Water Purifiers , Storage & Instant water Heaters.
The expert professionals of our organization are engaged in constant research with our range of products and always try o bring improvisation in them as per prevailing global standards. Research and development wing of our organization not only emphasizes on the improving quality attributes of our products but also give emphasis on the production machine used by us in meeting our operation demands. Our varied type of machines are always up graded in accordance to on going technological changes that enable us the meet the exact process demands at client's end .Team we have with us a team of experienced , skilled and non semiskilled and non skilled professionals who have a good knowledge about this sector. Our young and potential team consist of 15 engineers , 30 technical staff , 50 skilled staff , 80 semi skilled staff , 75 other types of staff. Further , we also appoint contact workers based on the demand of the products. ...


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Will Vegetarianism Save The World?
Comment: Scientists from Oxford University have calculated the benefit that would come from the transition of humanity to vegetarianism. According to their model, if the population of the world were to agree to switch to vegetarianism, close to 8 million people would be saved. In addition, they will preserve nature, the trees, forests, and more.
Answer: Clearly this is a fantasy. I have travelled throughout the world and everywhere people eat everything: seafood, snakes, lizards, frogs, dogs, sheep, cattle, birds, and more.
It is impossible to stop humanity from eating meat. This is not merely an ancient habit or custom, a person is born this way, he exists in this state. Likewise, it is still necessary to prove that a person can exist without eating meat; in my opinion nothing will replace meat.
A human being is an animal. He is not an animal that eats grass, but an animal that eats everything, and there is nothing bad or good about that. That is how he is directed by nature and this is not considered to be destructive.
If we remove the need for animals from our diet, we are forced not to eat their products, like eggs, fats, proteins, and carbohydrates. We would not manufacture leather products from animals and things like that.
So then we would move to nutrition from plants. And on what basis we can absorb it, perhaps a plant has feelings?! After all, even a stone feels. So we would be compelled to reject even them. So where will we go then? We don't have enough studies that show that we could survive without the proper consumption of a normal and varied diet coming from nature.
We need to consume everything; the world was created so that the person would use everything found on a lower level. Humans have risen to the top of the pyramid, and it exists entirely for him, for his proper nourishment both physically and spiritually.
The whole world was created with the goal that we would justify this existence and not alter it.
From KabTV's "News with Michael Laitman" 3/28/16
Related Material:
Love For Animals Or Love For People
What Is The Connection Between Vegetarianism And A Volcanic Eruption
Nutrition: Natural Diet
One Comment
Ancestral merit means be linked to patriarchs?like rav is?


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Archive for July 2011
Bloomberg Antes Big Bucks to Dethrone King Coal
The Sierra Club and its Beyond Coal Campaign received a huge boost last week when New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Bloomberg Philanthropies committed $50 million to the campaign.
Sure $50 million—to be paid over four years—is a very big deal. Beyond the dollars the partnership between Bloomberg and the club takes the fight to end the coal era to a new well-staffed and nationwide level. Read the rest of this entry »
Leveraging Broadband Access for Sustainable Growth
The Carbon Disclosure Project says broadband—and increased access to it on a global basis—is the key to stimulating new, sustainable economic growth.
CDP is a London non-profit that claims to hold the "largest database of primary corporate climate change information in the world." It outlined the opportunity that broadband represents in a 24-page paper released late last month," Building a 21st century communications economy."
Global oil demand is forecast to grow 1 percent each year through 2030, according to CDP, with much of the increase coming from emerging economies, mainly China and India. Natural resources, especially oil, are becoming harder to access and more expensive to buy, so when talking about strategic action CDP says there is an alternative: Creation of a "low carbon, low-environmental impact economy through greater investment in advanced communication networks." Read the rest of this entry »
EPA's SmartWay program expands to drayage
Goods movement stakeholders in port areas and the Environmental Protection Agency have launched an initiative that's designed to help clear the air and reduce emissions in the nation's port areas.
The EPA SmartWay Drayage Program builds on clean truck programs that have been around at various port regions for several years.
The players with the EPA in the nationwide initiative include: The Coalition for Responsible Transportation and the Environmental Defense Fund. The CRT partners comprise: Best Buy; Hewlett Packard; Home Depot; JC Penney; Lowe's; Nike; Target; Wal-Mart; and the following port trucking carriers: California Cartage Express, LLC; California Multimodal, LLC; Container Connection; Evans Delivery Company, Inc.; GSC Logistics; PDS Trucking Inc.; Performance Team/Gale Triangle; Total Transportation Services, Inc.; and the Western Ports Transportation.
The launch was announced recently at the Port of Charleston, SC. According to the joint announcement, the program "builds a partnership between numerous goods movement stakeholders including major national retailers, trucking companies, port communities, environmental groups and the U.S. EPA to solve a critical health and environmental challenge: how to reduce harmful air emissions from port drayage trucks."
Drayage trucks, which haul cargo containers arriving at ports to storage areas, transload centers and nearby distribution centers, are usually old and a major source of diesel emissions in and around port areas. Getting those vehicles off the road is one of the thorniest and most controversial port and transportation issues around.
In a statement, Rick Gabrielson, who is the CRT President and is Target's Director of Import Operations, said, "This partnership will generate private sector investment in clean technology, improve the environmental quality of our nation's port communities and demonstrate the commitment we have made as the shipping industry's leaders to emissions reductions."
The program "offers great incentives for independent owner operators and trucking companies to replace their older drayage trucks with cleaner, less polluting models," said Marcia Aronoff, the EDF's senior vice president for programs. "With the rise in population and the growth of the freight transportation industry, we must be vigilant, forward thinking and creative in finding solutions that reduce toxic emissions and embrace market-based sustainability efforts."
The drayage program is based on the EPA's SmartWay Transport Partnership, generally regarded as an innovative and successful collaboration between the EPA and goods movement interests. The voluntary program provides a framework for assessing and addressing transportation-related emissions and energy efficiency while recognizing superior environmental performance through market-based incentives.
Under the program, port trucking companies and independent owner-operators sign a partnership agreement and commit to track diesel emissions, replace their older dirtier trucks with cleaner, newer ones, and achieve at least a 50 percent reduction in particulate matter and 25 percent reduction in nitrous oxide (NOx) below the national industry average within three years.
Then the SmartWay retailers sign a partnership agreement, committing to ship at least 75 percent of their port cargo with SmartWay trucking companies within three years.
"By giving business priority to SmartWay drayage carriers, the program creates a market-driven approach to incentivize emissions reductions at port communities across the country," EPA says.
This approach has worked well in the Pacific Northwest, where market-based clean truck programs between stakeholders at the ports of Seattle and Tacoma have been around since 2008 and have removed hundreds of dirty drayage trucks from those port areas.


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Donegal Ladies face Tyrone
Donegal are back in action again this Sunday when they host Tyrone in Castlefin, in the Tesco Homegrown Ladies National Football League.
After last weekend's good performance, albeit a six-point defeat at the hands of the all conquering Cork, Margaret Foy and her team will be in upbeat mood.
The Rebelettes may have always had the look of winners about them despite being headed at one stage in the first half, but Donegal showed that when it came to football the All-Ireland and League champions had nothing on them.
Ciara Hegarty, Kate Keaney, Karen Guthrie, Geraldine McLaughlin, Aisling Cunningham, Niamh Carr and Katie Herron were more than a match for their opposite numbers.
"Last Sunday's performance was very positive and the girls, though disappointed at having lost, were upbeat afterwards and we already looking forward to the Tyrone game," Donegal manager Margaret Foy, told the Democrat this week.
"The improvement in the performance from the previous week against Laois was very noticeable. We were much sharper, fitter and finished much stronger than we had done in Laois.
"The previous week, the girls were out on their feet with 15 minutes to go. On Sunday against Cork, we only flagged in the last few minutes.
"It is matter now of continuing to work on the fitness and getting to believe they are as good as they are and should fear no one.
"Sunday's performance against Cork went a long way to convince them that they are as good as any of the other teams in the division."
Sunday's game is a real six pointer for Donegal and Tyrone, as both sides are pointless after two games.
Tyrone went down to Kerry, by ten points, away from home and suffered a heavy 5-17 to 0-4 defeat to Mayo last Sunday in Healy Park.
"We are not reading much into Tyrone's results. We are concentrating on getting ourselves right and building on the performance against Cork and if we can repeat that display we are confident that they result will go right for us."
Foy is planning this week to be without Ciara Hegarty for Sunday's encounter. The Moville woman is at college in Dublin, and is unavailable.
Her absence is a setback as Hegarty turned in a big performance at midfield against Cork alongside Kate Keaney.
However, on the good news front, Roisin Friel has resumed full fitness and is back in the squad. The manager is also holding out hope of having goalkeeper Niamh Mailey, who spent a couple of hours in Letterkenny General Hospital after receiving a blow to the head in last Sunday's game.
"Niamh should be fine. She was released from hospital again on Sunday evening and while she was a little sore, she should be fine. We are monitoring her during the week, before we decide on her fitness.
In the absence of Ciara Hegarty, wing forward Karen Guthrie and full-forward Aisling Cunningham – who scored the two goals against Cork – are the options to join Kate Keaney in midfield.
In the event of either Guthrie or Cunningham filling the midfield void, Lucy Murphy, who impressed when introduced in the second half last weekend, would appear favourite to fill the vacancy in attack.
Given last week's display other than filling the gap left by Ciara Hegarty, the starting 15 is not expected to differ greatly from that which started against Cork.


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Once too raw, a George Carlin special resurfaces
By: Jason Zinoman
Date: 2016-09-04
NEW YORK — On Sept. 10, 2001, George Carlin, the greatest political comic in history if measured only by stand-up specials, recorded a bracing hour of social commentary for his new HBO special. The next day, he shelved it.
It wasn't only the title, "I Kinda Like It When a Lotta People Die," that seemed in bad taste after nearly 3,000 people were killed a day later in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Carlin also told a joke about a fart so potent it blew up an airplane. "You know who gets blamed? Osama bin Laden," Carlin joked. "The FBI is looking for explosives. They should be looking for minute traces of rice and bok choy."
If timing is everything, Carlin had nothing.
Fifteen years later, his lost special is finally being released. (It is on Sirius XM, though it will be for sale as a download or DVD on Sept. 16, at Amazon and iTunes, among other outlets.) It will be a revelation for comedy fans nostalgic for the days when you could expect a series of articulate salvos from Carlin about every two years. This special is not bonus track material. It's a polished hour of new jokes with a virtuosic centerpiece, an intricate and elusive nearly 10-minute story that inspired its title, firmly in the tradition of Carlin's comedy but also a fascinating departure.
A long-shelved recording of a George Carlin routine — taped Sept. 10, 2001 — will soon be released. In it, he makes a joke about Osama bin Laden being blamed for the downing of an airplane.
Carlin, who died in 2008, had always been a left-leaning comic whose skepticism of government would be right at home with the Tea Party. In a 1999 special, he even ridiculed airport security as a pointless charade, saying Americans are "always willing to trade away a little of their freedom" in exchange for "the illusion of security."
But like so many other people, he was transformed by Sept. 11. He released an entirely new special only two months after the attack — "Complaints and Grievances" — in which he talks more about survival than freedom, setting up one premise by saying that dire events call for us to cooperate with "unsavory people" like George W. Bush. Carlin's more tentative attitude toward the government is a reminder of the anxiety about even doing comedy after Sept. 11. All the late-night talk-show hosts went off the air for days. Multiple journalists wrote eulogies for irony and there was a sense among some that it was almost unseemly to respond to the attack in cultural terms.
Today, we have a more accelerated news coverage and politicized comedy scene. No one canceled a late-night show after the June attack on a nightclub in Orlando, Fla., and the sober way talk-show hosts speak after national tragedies has hardened into something like ritual, a part of the job.
In "I Kinda Like It," Carlin addressed mass killings in a way that seemed on the surface out of touch with the tragedy that followed. In a cavalier tone, he says he enjoys news of disasters the way a sports fan raves about seeing breaking records. An earthquake, he says in an outer-borough accent, "put up some really big numbers," adding that he's "always rooting for a really high death toll."
While this can seem like cheap provocation compared with his more famous bits, like the one inveighing against the seven words you can't say on television, gleefully imagining mass destruction had been a regular part of his stand-up for years. "I watch television news for one thing only — entertainment," he said in "Jammin' in New York," his 1992 special. "My favorite thing is accidents and fires. I'm not interested in the budget. You show me a hospital on fire and I'm a happy guy."
What Carlin is doing here is satirizing American blood lust, bringing to the surface the impulse that makes professional wrestling and crime stories so popular. As he put it more bluntly in 1992, "At least I admit it."
"I Kinda Like It" adds a more baroque voice to this satire of our dark, repressed thrills. After saying he enjoys the excitement of people dying, then comparing massacres and natural disasters in the voice of a demented sociopath, Carlin imagines the apex of calamity, putting every disaster movie to shame.
His dizzyingly dense story includes flood, power failure, traffic jams, global warming, cholera, typhoid fever, and a conflagration that wipes out North America. And then things go really bad. Shifting into a cosmically fantastical mode, Carlin imagines this disaster leading to the breakdown of the molecular structure of the atmosphere and changing the laws of nature. Burning clouds of flaming rain fly upward, the moon explodes and the dead return to life.
There's a literary quality to the grotesque and often surreal imagery of this story (Carlin developed material in performance but began on the page), leaving behind punch lines and aiming for an almost metaphysical sense of the absurd in which people are inconsequential specks in a vast Lovecraftian universe.
What really distinguishes this from Carlin's previous work is that it becomes totally unhinged from logic. He was nothing if not a rigorous thinker, who made you laugh by finding his way through arguments that led to outrageous conclusions like his brief against the sanctity of life, zeroing in on exceptions ("Doesn't apply to cancer cells, does it? You rarely see a bumper sticker that says 'Save the Tumors'") while arguing that it's really driven by the self-interest of the living. But in "I Kinda Like It," his arguments gradually unravel, deconstruct, and are interrupted by supernatural details and then pure nonsense. What begins as satire devolves into madness, culminating in a nightmarish dinner party attended by bitter, resentful zombies, all named Uncle Dave.
At the end of this parade of catastrophes, these bitter men gather around a table and spew resentments about their children, parents, the government, and minorities. Their disgust spins out of them into what Carlin describes as a swirling "pool of hate" that expands beyond the universe and explodes in a kind of second big bang. The new world that emerges is utopian, and every Uncle Dave wins the lottery every week. Out of disaster comes nirvana.
This operatic yarn is less argumentative than most of Carlin's bits, more open to interpretation. One way to see it, though, is as a sendup of the terrorist mindset that led to the attack on the World Trade Center and other sites that day, a biting take on an extremist view that imagines that a twisted form of deliverance will come from violence and hate. Seen from a certain angle, a story once too provocative to release might be the perfect example of comedy in the post-Sept. 11 world.
The article is reproduced in accordance with Section 107 of title 17 of the Copyright Law of the United States relating to fair-use and is for the purposes of criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.