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Perhaps the ultimate tribute to guitarist-folksinger Richie Havens, who died on April 22 at age 72 in Jersey City, N.J., is that a Beatle once likened himself to Havens. In a 1971 Rolling Stone interview, John Lennon initially garbled Havens' name, confusing him with the Mexican-American singer who did "La Bomba." But it was clear that he dug Havens' unorthodox, self-taught guitar style.
I think there's a guy called Richie Valens, no, Richie Havens, does he play very strange guitar? He's a black guy that was on a concert and sang "Strawberry Fields" or something. He plays like one chord all the time. He plays a pretty funky guitar. But he doesn't seem to be able to play in the real terms at all. I'm like that.
Havens – like bluesman Albert King, who taught himself to play guitar upside down because he was left-handed – was one of those totally organic, iconoclastic musicians who found his own unique sound out of necessity. He had large hands that would have been better suited for a career in the NBA than for playing guitar, and that seeming liability forced him to develop his own unorthodox "open D" tuning, which enabled him to play chord patterns that couldn't be done with conventional tuning.
Join the discussion: If you could have front-row seats to any concert, who would it be?
Havens' percussive, driving style was augmented by a rich-toned voice that was as powerful as it was unaffected, even when he was interpreting others' songs. His rendition of Bob Dylan's "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall" was the best cover version ever, according to Dylan himself. Havens had his biggest radio hit with distinctive reinvention of George Harrison's "Here Comes the Sun," which he performs in this 1971 TV appearance:
But Havens' shining moment was the Woodstock festival in 1969, when a fortuitous twist of fate – a traffic jam that delayed the scheduled opening act, Sweetwater – forced the promoters to reshuffle the lineup and put Havens up on stage first. He was supposed to play just four songs, but because other performers were delayed, he ended up doing 10 – including an improvisational encore, "Freedom," that he fashioned out of the African-American spiritual "Motherless Child."
Here are some other intriguing facts about an American original:
- Havens was a native of Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood. He was the eldest of nine children. His father built tables for a living and played piano in bands on the side, while his mother worked in a book bindery.
- As a teenager, he briefly was in a do-wop group who called themselves The Last Men, a reference to the fear of nuclear annihilation during the Cold War.
- He was a self-taught artist as well as a musician, and actually got his start in Greenwich Village as a sidewalk portrait painter. "I had my art out on the corner, making $300 a night, I'm not kidding," he explained in a 2009 interview with the folk music publication Sing Out!
- He began playing guitar because folk musician Fred Neil – the composer of the song "Everybody's Talkin'," which later became a hit for Harry Nillson – heard Havens singing along with him from the audience during a show, and thought he had potential. "Take this damn guitar home and learn how to play it and then come back," he told Havens.
- Havens was discovered by the famous Albert Grossman, better known as Bob Dylan's hard-boiled manager in the documentary Don't Look Back.
- His first recording contract was with MGM/Verve, which, oddly, was a jazz label rather than folk.
- In a 2005 interview, Havens said he was paid $6,000 to perform at Woodstock. He claimed it was $1,000 more than the supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young got for their performance.
- Once, while trying to teach himself the sitar in a California park, he looked up to see that he had a coyote as an audience.
- In the 1980s, he had a successful second career as a TV commercial jingle writer and performer, including the "fabric of our lives" spot for the cotton industry.
- He was a friend of Who guitarist Pete Townsend, and in 2008 recorded a cover of the Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again," which he blended into a medley with Dylan's "Maggie's Farm" in this 2009 performance:
Also of Interest
- Fleetwood Mac Guitarist Bob Welch Commits Suicide
- 5 Chemicals You Shouldn't Have in Your House
- Join AARP: Savings, resources and news for your well-being
See the AARP home page for deals, savings tips, trivia and more
Photo: Jeffrey Ufberg/WireImage/Getty Images


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About deweydesigns
invalid floating point operation
deweydesigns posted a topic in Unattended Windows 2000/XP/2003have a new error with my freshly installed uA.. it happens with DIFFERENT program installs. so i think there's something wrong with installshield or the other installer. i get this and it doesn't go away: invalid floating point operation click ok thoughts?
can't get rid of context menu items
deweydesigns replied to deweydesigns's topic in Unattended Windows 2000/XP/2003ah yes...there it is. and yes, i used ryansvm pack. if i delete that reg entry do i still need to go to the sys32 folder to do something? and if so, what do i need to do? thanks all -edit- it's still there on some folders... shared docs and others.
New problems with Quake 3 after Unattended
deweydesigns posted a topic in Unattended Windows 2000/XP/2003Hi everyone, no luck with the forum search or google search. For what it's worth I have posted a topic in activision tech support for this as well. But I do not think they will be able to help me, because I think this is an Unattended XP CD problem. I am using the SAME drivers for: video card (radeon 9000) sound card (audigy 2 zs) monitor (samsung 997df) directX 9.0c that I was using on my prior windows installation (when quake worked) I have tried: updating to ati's latest drivers (those drivers will NOT work at all, I can't use them) re-installing quake 3 several times tried the glsetup app on the disc (but i have opengl already with my original radeon drivers) tried using different monitor refresh rates: 60hz, 70hz, and 75hz tried using different resolutions tried the 9x/Me compatibility mode deleting the q3config.cfg file (so that it will be recreated automatically) I have: no idea The Problem: When I try to execute (launch, open) quake. (quake.exe) The monitor flickers off, then on with a different resolution, then off again and back to windows. There is NO error message. Unfortunately, when transfering files from one hdd to another... One directory's contents did not copy completely. In fact, barely at all. That directory was ALL the work I spent on making my uA XP cd for the last 2 weeks. I lost alot of work. So, I only have what's on the final cd I burned. I will attach what I can think of that might be significant. Inside attached rar file: winnt.sif, registry_tweaks.reg, Last Session.ini thank you dewey deweydesigns.com ---edit---- it's working now. for some reason i had to run the game in exactly 800x600 once. which i never had to do beore. then i had to COMPLETELY uninstall my old drivers in order to get the new drivers to work. i'm speaking of the new ati driver for my graphics card.
can't get rid of context menu items
deweydesigns replied to deweydesigns's topic in Unattended Windows 2000/XP/2003Thank you, but no they are not there either. Also, is there not a simpler way of removing 'print'? Because there are, of course, an eternity of file formats out there. And to have to remove it from a files options manually everytime my pc encounters a new file is not good. so...stilll have the copy/move to problem. i searched the entire registry for both and couldn't find it....
can't get rid of context menu items
deweydesigns posted a topic in Unattended Windows 2000/XP/2003Yes, i searched the forums. Yes, i examined the registry tweaks pinned post. problem is, i'm showing copy to and move to in my context menu for files and folders. however, it's not anywhere in the registry. they are not here: [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AllFilesystemObjects\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers] i want to get rid of them, cuz i never use them and it's annoying. would also like to get rid of 'print' from the context menu... thanks all
folder context menu items
deweydesigns posted a topic in Unattended Windows 2000/XP/2003need to get rid of: copy to move to disconnect network drive show on desktop manage if this is already posted somewhere i'm sry.. i didn't find it in any of the registry tweaks i saw. thx i need to do this during the ua of course. like a reg tweak or something else.
No to All?
deweydesigns replied to deweydesigns's topic in Unattended Windows 2000/XP/2003that's good to know.. ty i still would like to add an actual permanent button for this tho.. anyone know?
Disable windows Startup and Exit Music?
deweydesigns replied to cumminbk's topic in Unattended Windows 2000/XP/2003i realize this isnt' a reg tweak but it still pertains to the topic so chill...lol i deleted my windows/media folder completely during install... to get rid of ALL the annyoing sounds. just an idea.
No to All?
deweydesigns posted a topic in Unattended Windows 2000/XP/2003this is meant for unattended install integration. Is there anyway we can add a "No to All" button on the window that pops up when your copying/moving files etc... ? the window only has, yes, no , yes to all, cancel also sometimes when copying files i get this lame msg about this file has data saved that will be lost: :KAVICHS:$DATA what's up with that and is there any way we can make it when we click yes to all for that ( :KAVICHS:$DATA ) msg it will really mean yes to that msg for EVERY file type and not just the file type that had that msg at the time. because... i get that msg alot and i click yes to all.. and i keep getting it for different files.. would like to b able to just say yes bit@#$ and it does it's thing... lol thanks
Completed Setup Billboards
deweydesigns replied to MCT's topic in Setup Billboard Screens for Windows[Hal 9000] The rar file (2.4mb) comes with each 4 slight variations as fully built winnntbbu.dll's with corresponding screenshot. The progress animation turned out Great! You should all load one of them up in WinntbbuED and view the preview so you can see it. Thanks to WinntbbuED 0.3.1 for providing a tool i could use. Well hope you all like this Hal version. Comments make it all worthwhile! [Download]
progress bar not shown
deweydesigns replied to promind's topic in Setup Billboard Screens for Windowsi'm having the same problem. i'm using the latest version. i have already packed in my new winnntbb file with nlite. using vmware to run the iso. its installing. screens look good, except progress bar is missing. edit ok the progress bar showed up once the time remaining got past 39 minutes which took about an hour with VMware. perhaps that is his problem also.

subset: commoncrawl


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7:30 AMAdd to Calendar
Saturday, September 16, 2017
7:30 am: 5k (3.1 mi.)
8:45 am: Florida Hospital for Children Kids' Run
9:00 am: Awards Ceremony
Lake Concord Park
95 Triplet Lake Dr.
Casselberry, FL 32707
Formerly known as Rock 'n Run 5k, the Florida Hospital Battle of the Bands 5k is a new name for the same great race.
Read blog >>
Music reigns supreme at the 2nd race of the Track Shack Running Series featuring local bands dueling it out at every mile! The high energy, live music runners and walkers love is on the course and at the post race party.
• Battle of the Bands
• Tech Shirt
• Shaded Course
• Mini Craft Beer Fest
• Chip Timed
• FREE Florida Hospital for Kids' Run
Safety is our first priority!
Bicycles, roller skates, in-line skates, and dogs will be prohibited from the race course. The use of headphones is discouraged.
Keeping Central Florida Fit is our mission. Walkers are encouraged to participate in all Track Shack races. Municipalities require that road ways are clear of participants and opened as soon as the race is complete. That is why a maximum pace of 16 minutes per mile is set. If the pace isn't maintained, race officials will ask you to move to the sidewalk to re-open the roadways.
• Stroller/jogger operators start behind designated stroller signage.
• Stroller/jogger operators may walk/jog no faster than 15 minute per mile, a safe operating speed. If your speed goes faster than 15 minutes per mile pace, you may be disqualified.
• Stroller/jogger operators must yield the right of way to runners. Stroller/Joggers can tip easily and cannot turn quickly. Please do not weave through packs of runners.
Use Facebook to Leave a Comment on Florida Hospital Battle of the Bands 5k - We'd love to hear from you!


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With DISelect as a neutral (host controlled) module, it would not need to be bound to XHTML2. In this case, it could work with any language. To get wider adoption for the use of DISelect, I'd like to see an XHTML1 version of DIAL. Unfortunately, the binding to XHTML2 seems to draw the wrong kind of attention, no matter how much you say that it's only used on the authoring side and doesn't necessarily determine the target language in the browser. A generic policy markup might be useful, though I would see it better represented as styling rather than markup. So, for example, a style could say that a <h> should be kept with the <p> that follows, or that a <p> should avoid being paginated in the middle, and so on. What I *would* like to see in markup is some kind of proximity representation, so that two related items could be identified. In this way, if I paginate an article that references an image elsewhere on the page, the paginated version will keep the image close to its reference point. This avoids cases where the resulting pagination looks disjoint. I'm still thinking about the Appearance [1] idea. ---Rotan [1] http://www.w3.org/TR/css3-ui/#appearance ________________________________ From: email@example.com on behalf of José Manuel Cantera Fonseca Sent: Mon 14/01/2008 12:40 To: Ubiquitous Web Applications Working Group WG Subject: Short-Term DIAL Evolution Hi all, I've been thinking on the short-term evolution of DIAL. The following items are the result of a my own brainstorming, so feel free to discuss them :) + Decoupling DIAL from XHTML 2 i.e base DIAL on different modules some coming from XHTML 1 and some coming from XHTML 2. For example, the Role and Access modules seem to be very stable but other XHTML 2 modules not + Decoupling DIAL from DISelect (i.e. perhaps making DISelect an optional module) + Add some markup for simple policies, like pagination or layout (for layout we can only address the minimum set of use cases needed for mobile development and leave the generalization to the upcoming Layered-UI XG) + Standardize some values for something like the 'appearance' property in CSS to map between the XForms controls and its concrete representation. It is expected that the future Concrete UI Markup will make this more general but we can start with a very simple spec What do others think? Best RegardsReceived on Monday, 14 January 2008 15:01:52 UTC
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.3.1 : Tuesday, 6 January 2015 19:47:23 UTC


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Shrews versus Sky Blues: Shaw's swan song?
Greenhous Meadow is the venue on Tuesday night for what will be the final game Richard Shaw takes charge of Coventry City for as caretaker manager.
A new permanent boss will be named after the match and although Shaw remains nominally in the running a hat-trick of league defeats under his care mean that either Paul Ince or Mark Robins is set to be Andy Thorn`s successor.
Only goal difference keeps the Sky Blues off the foot of League One but they may be able to take some confidence from the fact that Scunthorpe United, bottom going into last weekend's games, travelled to the same venue and handed Shrewsbury their first defeat at home since March 2011.
"It was unusual for us. The opposition got on top of the game," said Shrews boss Graham Turmer afterwards:
"The majority of the Scunthorpe players came out on top in their individual battles and, when you have got a situation like that, it's very difficult to get the right result.
"We now have to look forward. It`s good to have a game so quickly afterwards and it`s good it`s a club the size of Coventry."
Former City youngster Jermaine Grandison will line up for the hosts.


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Kwok Information Server is an IT management system. Kwok Information Server provides a single application for managing IT assets, software licenses, service contracts, issues, and vendor contacts. Additional modules include portal, RSS, and blog management.
This release supports the Date type for custom fields, allows configuration of default values for Issue Type, Status, and Priority, adds file extension icons, adds a Hardware Contacts tab, makes the issue notification email message "From" field use the email address specified in "Outgoing Email Settings" (previously, it used the address of the user performing the update), replaces the linked items label "Relationship (x)" with "Associated Items (x)", and adds support for Tomcat 7.


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Internet Telephony Magazine
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IoT EVOLUTION MAGAZINE
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California American Water in partnership with the Surfrider Foundation
and G3 Green Gardens Group will offer a series of free Watershed
Friendly Garden Classes designed for residential customers.
California American Water encourages residents and customers to attend
the classes to learn about water tolerant landscaping, the urban
watershed in which they live and how to create beautiful, sustainable
gardens and strategies for reducing potable water consumption.
"The Watershed Friendly Gardening Classes will focus on landscape
design, plant selection, irrigation systems and maintenance techniques
for developing and maintaining aesthetically pleasing and
water-efficient landscapes," said California American Water's
Conservation Manager Kimberly Smith. "These classes have proven to be an
important and successful tool for reducing outdoor water use by
educating both professional landscapers and home gardeners."
All classes are offered on Saturdays and will be held at the Encanto
Park located at 751 Encanto Parkway, Duarte, Calif. Classes will be
offered from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. on the following dates:
California American Water customers, residents of Duarte and surrounding
communities may register online for the free classes at www.watershedwisetraining.com/events
or by calling the company's conservation department at 626-614-2536.
California American Water, a subsidiary of American Water (NYSE: AWK),
provides high quality and reliable water and/or wastewater service to
approximately 600,000 people. California American Water's Los Angeles
County service district includes approximately 28,000 households and
businesses and serves a population of about 100,000 people in the cities
of Bradbury, Duarte, El Monte, Irwindale, Monrovia, Rosemead, San
Gabriel, San Marino and Temple City, as well as unincorporated portions
of Los Angeles County and the Baldwin Hills area.
Founded in 1886, American Water is the largest publicly traded U.S.
water and wastewater utility company. With headquarters in Voorhees,
N.J., the company employs approximately 6,700 dedicated professionals
who provide drinking water, wastewater and other related services to an
estimated 14 million people in more than 30 states, as well as parts of
Canada. More information can be found by visiting www.californiaamwater.com.
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
ITEXPO: January 28 - 31, 2019 | Fort Lauderdale, Florida
IoT Evolution Expo : January 28 - 31, 2019 | Orlando, Florida


text:
Sign the Guestbook
Thanks for visiting MauryMuehleisen.com! This section is for the friends, family, and fans of Maury's to leave a message. Feel free to share a memory, picture, or even just sign your name.
Ann Muehleisen
When Mary and I went to Natchitoches for the 30th anniversary of Maury's death, we were treated royally by our new friends, Robert, Maynard, Lanie, Mark, Cat, Billy, Lindsay, Sam, Patti, Terrance and Belle. Walking around this beautiful southern town by the Cane River Lake and attending the "inaugural meat pie festival with great music and friendly people was wonderful. We walked through the stores and bought presents for family and friends. Lanie took us to the radio station where we talked with Rodney Harrington (a.k.a. Johnny Earthquake), listened to one of Maury's songs from his Gingerbreadd album and ate meat pie. We met so many nice people and had so much to talk about each night before going to sleep. The most difficult, nostalgic and incredibly moving part of our trip was the time we spent walking around the Natchitoches Regional Airport where Maury and Jim took their flight into heaven. From Prather Colloseum, across the Cane River Lake, to the airport - it was all right there - just a small airport. It held so many answers to questions we've wanted to ask for 30 years. Someday we'll have those answers, but by then it won't matter, because we'll be with Maury. I've learned a lot about love in the past 30 years, and trying to make the most out of the time I have on this earth. I'm sure Maury is sending smiles and blessings to everyone who has written in this guestbook and to all of the people yet to hear about it. It's been such a pleasure to read everyone's thoughts and memories and to see names that I haven't seen for years. I read these messages with smiles and tears, and want you all to know that it's so nice to hear from you. Billy McGlone, you write beautifully. I can't believe I used to want to be a nun. Boy, did that not work out!
Thanks, everyone, for remembering so much and making our lives richer for the memories and the friendships.
Love, Ann
Sunday, October 12, 2003 at 06:48 Host: pcp085298pcs.arnysm01.nj.comcast.net
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The Training of a Secretary:
Mechanical Helps
Filing Room And Library
Overlapping With Other Officers
The Private Secretary
The Social Secretary
The Building And Loan Association Secretary
For Any Secretary
Famous Secretaries And Their Careers
In General
Read More Articles About: The Training of a Secretary
The Building And Loan Association Secretary
( Originally Published 1922 )
Although a separate chapter may not be written on the duties of every one of the thirty or more varieties of secretaries referred to in Chapter XV, there is one member of the profession who is so important in our present civilization, that he is entitled to respectful consideration in this treatise, that is the secretary of the Building and Loan Association; for upon his intelligence and particularly upon his integrity depend the happiness and prosperity of millions of people in this country. Of these Associations there are some fourteen hundred in Philadelphia, which has been properly called the city of homes. That there are over four hundred thousand separate dwellings in the chief city of Pennsylvania, not counting the thousands in its beautiful suburbs, is one of the many reasons why it is such a desirable and agreeable place to live in, particularly when it is realized that these houses are spread over an area of one hundred and thirty square miles. One quarter of this is still undeveloped. I must be careful not to run away with myself when speaking of the advantages of Philadelphia as a place of residence. I could travel a long distance without stopping. I do not know how many homes have been acquired through the medium of the Building Associations. ' It is a very large number. In most cases the owners are persons of slender means, simple tastes and thrifty dispositions, and for the latter two reasons the people of Philadelphia as a class are prosperous, con-tented and poised beyond those of any other large city in the United States.
Ordinarily in a Building Association there are twelve to eighteen directors, three of whom act as a committee of examination on each property upon which money is to be loaned on mortgage, followed by another three on the succeeding property, and so on in rotation. The finances of these corporations are under the inspection and jurisdiction of the State Banking Department in Pennsylvania.
Let us return to the secretary. I should say that the outstanding characteristic of the Building and Loan Association secretary should be honesty. I believe that by common consent the secretary is considered as important as any other officer, if indeed he be not the most important of the officers.
He accepts and records the payments of the monthly dues of the members, a some-what onerous task. It is ' in this relation that the utmost care and rectitude are required, Members as a rule are not too particular to see personally that each payment is recorded, depending perhaps upon a friend to deposit dues for them, month after month, as long as the by-laws will permit. He, the secretary, is the inside bookkeeper while the treasurer is the general book-keeper.
In other countries Building and Loan Associations are known to be of very ancient origin. The first one in the United States was formed in Frankford in 1831, twenty-three years before the consolidation of the various districts and boroughs which now constitute the city of Philadelphia. It was called the Oxford Provident Building Association. From the beginning, Building Associations have been immensely popular in Philadelphia and they have spread throughout the country, but not always under the same name. They are sometimes called Mutual Loan Associations, Home Assistance Associations, Cooperative Savings and Loan Associations and in New England, Cooperative Banks, but all have the same objects and practically the same methods of procedure.
The World Almanac for 1921 records that in 1920 there were in Pennsylvania 2339 associations with a membership of 835,748 and assets of $400,797,507, followed by New Jersey with 841 associations, a membership of 354,564, and assets of 199,270,033; and in the United States there were 7788 associations with a total membership of 4,289,326 and total assets of $2,126,620,390.
The usual duties of the secretary as prescribed by the by-laws are given in Chapter V. In addition to these, if real estate is offered as security by a borrower, a description of it must be filed with the secretary and he in turn must describe it to the Appraisal Committee as well as see that borrowers produce their yearly tax receipts. Standard forms are prepared for carrying out these duties, nevertheless, they take time and add to the amount of work which the secretary must perform. There are other details which are attended to by the secretary, varying with the local rules of the association.
Building Associations and their work are so well known that I hesitate to proceed in any more particular way to describe them or those things which they accomplish. This is sure, their officers throughout the country form a body of responsible, reliable citizens who keep faith with their friends and the public, through whose labor a vast number of worthy people are benefited, and to whom their cordial admiration goes forth.


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Chicken Breasts Pierre
Create a Recipe Makeover
Report Inappropriate Recipe
Nutritional Info
- Servings Per Recipe: 1
- Amount Per Serving
- Calories: 1,397.7
- Total Fat: 34.3 g
- Cholesterol: 542.0 mg
- Sodium: 5,244.6 mg
- Total Carbs: 102.9 g
- Dietary Fiber: 8.7 g
- Protein: 183.0 g
View full nutritional breakdown of Chicken Breasts Pierre calories by ingredient
Submitted by: TRINDELA
Number of Servings: 1
3 Large Skinless Boneless Chicken Breasts
1/4 Cup Flour, 1/2t Salt & Pepper (pinch)
2T Butter
14.5 oz Can Stewed Tomatoes with Liquid
1/2 Cup Water
2T Brown Sugar
2T Whote Vinegar
2T Worcestshire Sauce
1/2t Salt
2t Chili Powder
1t ustard Powder
1/2t Celery Seed
2 CLoves Garlic
1/8t Chipotle Hot Pepper Sauce
Combine Flour, Salt & Pepper. Coat Chicken Breasts. Melt Butter is Large Skillet & Brown Chicken over Medium Heat. Remove from Skillet. Add Tomatoes, Water, Sugar, Vinegar & Worcestshire in Skillet. Season with Spices, Garlic & Hot Pepper Sauce. Bring to a Boil, Reduce Heat & Return Chicken to Skillet, Cover & Simmer for 20(+) Minutes or until Chicken is Tender.
Serving Size: Serves 3 to 6 people
Number of Servings: 1
Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user TRINDELA.
Serving Size: Serves 3 to 6 people
Number of Servings: 1
Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user TRINDELA.


text:
A special post for Star Wars Day (aka)
May the Fourth Be with You Day!
|Via Giphy
To say I enjoyed my work would be a galactic understatement. I was reading top secret scripts; seeing raw footage in George Lucas's own screening room; and brainstorming tie-in book ideas right there at Skywalker. Even eating in the gorgeous Ranch dining room was a trip (OMG, there's George!). I learned so much in that realm of storytelling magic. I'll never forget it.
|Crispy on the outside, CHEWY on the inside.
Out of this world cookies for Star Wars Day
|Click here for the
free recipe PDF.
To download my recipe now
as a free PDF, click here.
To see the recipe in blog post form, scroll down or click here, and...
May the Force Be with You (Always!)
~ Cleo Coyle
New York Times bestselling author of
The Coffeehouse Mysteries


text:
Perfect for social media campaigns and blogs. Web photos (up to .5 MP). 1 Seat.
Learn More
Build a high res library or promote your brand. Up to Large (2.5-4.5 MP). 5 Seats.
Learn More
Get more high res photos and more. Up to Large (2.5-4.5 MP). 25 Seats.
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face, yellow, petals, green, smiley, red, emoticon, facial expression, floral leaf, leaf, plant part, petal, crimson, gesture
yellow smiley face with green and red petals


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Mark Martin Wins NASCAR Sprint Cup Subway Fresh 500April 19, 2009
Starting at the poll and leading for the first 100 laps, Martin was in this race at all times. The first caution didn't wave until lap 54 (Sterling Marlin into the wall)and Martin and Kurt Busch spent most of the time up front.
With some short pitting, Dale Earnhardt Jr. spent some time at the front before having to pit on green within 20 laps of the finish and then hit the wall to finish in the back of the pack.
Once things cycled around at the end, it was Mark Martin in charge with noone to challenge. Tony Stewart finished second, Kurt Busch third, three time track champ Jimmy Johnson fourth, and Greg Biffle fifth.
Mark Martin continues his legacy and is the oldest winner of this race.
See more NASCAR and other sports articles and video's at sportschatplace.com.


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From our friends at Revealing Politics:
This morning we've announced our newest effort to ensure integrity during the Presidential Election tomorrow. Revealing Politics will be sending video teams out on election day to monitor and document any issues that may arise at the polls. We've also released a video to help citizens learn how to become involved in protecting their votes. If you'd like to join our efforts, please watch our video and educate yourself on your rights in this year's election. Please feel free to email us at firstname.lastname@example.com and don't forget to tweet your findings under the #WatchTheVote hashtag!
November 5, 2012
Contact: Kelly Maher 303-522-4188
Call to Citizen Journalists: Join Us and #WatchTheVote
DENVER, Colo. – RevealingPolitics.com announced today that it will deploy video teams to key swing states on election day to monitor and document any voter intimidation tactics that might occur. In addition, RevealingPolitics.com is urging citizens to participate in the effort by acting as election day polling place watchdogs. Kelly Maher, Executive Director ofRevealing Politics, released a video announcing to the public a strong coordinated push for citizen journalists to watch polling locations and deter voter fraud called "#WatchTheVote". The video also calls on viewers to join in, and video any suspicious behavior they encounter at polling locations.
"At Revealing Politics we have deployed trained video teams to Colorado, Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin" said Maher. "We also encourage citizens who notice anything odd to document and report it."
Revealing Politics staff and videographers have all been briefed on the specific laws in each state in which they'll be operating, and have been instructed their primary goal is to "tell a story, not be a story." They will, however, diligently film and report any behavior that could be seen as voter intimidation by individuals, groups or officials.
Revealing Politics strongly urges all citizen journalists to be aware of the state and local laws regarding videotaping.
Revealing Politics is a 501(c)4 organization dedicated to education. Since launching on June 1, 2012 the Revealing Politics YouTube channel has garnered over 1.2 million video views.
#WatchTheVote – Revealing Politics | Revealing Politics.


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There have been two relatively popular articles written by the New York Times recently, which discuss childhood obesity. The most recent discusses a research project focusing on uncovering most cost-effective ways to reduce childhood obesity: taxing sugary beverages, ending the tax write-off for advertising in children's television programming, increasing physical activity in schools, and fostering healthier habits in preschool settings. The second article published a few days earlier discusses parental denial of weight issues in their children and how this denial is fueling the childhood obesity epidemic.
I would consider both of these articles informative and well-written, but severely lacking in a crucial topic central to childhood obesity discussions: the role of the big food industry. Understandably, news articles are not the forum for extensive scientific and theoretical discussions on the problem of childhood obesity. However, when discussing parental roles in childhood obesity and evaluating cost-effective measures to target obesity the failure to mention the food industry as a significant factor is misguided.
How is it possible that childhood obesity can be discussed without including even a brief introduction of the influence the food industry (not just the fast food industry). From advertising, market domination, political influences, and poor food quality, the food industry is just as much to blame as parents in denial. While it is all well and good to discuss these multi-faceted issues, I can't help but point out the glaring hole that the New York Times left in these articles by not discussing big food. Frankly, it speaks volumes about the influence and stretch of the food industry.
Related to this post, the documentary Fed Up is a great resource on the food industry as it relates to children and obesity. I highly suggest giving it a gander.


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I have been asked to publicise the launch of The Alliance of Pro-Life Students.
This is a new student initiative which aims to bring prolife students accross the country together and provide them with support and resources to bring the prolife message to students on campus.
With the increase in the number of student unions that are declaring themselves 'prochoice' and silencing the prolife voice, this is desperately needed.
The launch event will be held at the Thistle Hotel in Marble Arch on the 16th January at 7.30pm. Lord Alton will be speaking and drinks and canapes are included in the price.
The tickets are £25 (£15 for students). The tickets can be purchased online from the link below.
This is clearly an important initiative, and I urge everyone to support it, both by attending (particularly if they are students in or near London), and by publicising it and encouraging others to go if they can. If you can't go, you can support the initiative by subscribing or donating on their www page at the link above.
The Pope Embraces the Catholic Faith: What Would That Look Like? - As readers know, I do not, unlike many mainstream Catholic commentators, hello Austen Ivereigh, go along with the idea that the Pope can simply* change s...
6 hours ago


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American music has always been her greatest influence, but she also admires musicians such as Tom Jobim, Chico Buarque and Milton Nascimento when it comes to Brazilian popular music. Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Betty Carter and Nina Simone are references to Babi's work and well as contemporary singers such as Norah Jones, Diana Krall, Diane Schurr, Jane Monheit and Karrin Allyson.
In her repertoire, since she started her music career in the city of Santos, in her country, Brazil, there are traditional jazz standards from songwriters such as Duke Ellington, Nat King Cole, Benny Goodman, George and Ira Gershwin, Louis Armstrong and Cole Porter. The singer has performed in jazz duos, quartets and bands.
In 2006, took part in a project called Santos de Casa, at SESC Santos, in which she was the guest singer at Maurício Fernandes Quartet's presentation. Besides contributing with several musicians, Babi Mendes is currently working with the quartet, 'The Old News', and with the guitar player Pedro Ramos on her own songs. She also joined 4act Performing Arts and studied musical theater in São Paulo. Babi wrote the songs from 'Short Stories' between 2003 and 2010. Journalist, Portuguese and English teacher, what she loves writing the most is not news or literature: but songs.
'Short Stories' is her debut album.


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News out of the Bonn climate talks sounds familiar –
"Beijing lashes Canberra as carbon talks stall"
then from the Guardian –
"Bonn climate talks end in discord and disappointment"
and USAToday asks –
"Is China poor? Key question at climate talks"
Amidst all the posturing rhetoric it might be useful to see some facts charted.
First the magnitude of Chinese carbon dioxide emissions compared to Australia
Australia could decarbonize back to the stoneage and the effect on Global emissions would not be measurable.
A chart of Chinese emissions compared to major global groupings.
A chart of Australian export income from coal –
larger version from source.
China accuses Australia as Bonn climate talks founder
News out of the Bonn climate talks sounds familiar –


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Originally posted by Wodwo:
Ask yourself this when thinking about the team investing heavily (pun intended) in the NT position:
When playing nickel defense, is there a LB or DE that I would take off the field instead of the NT?
If not, the NT isn't worth it.
Ask yourself this.....without a proper NT, is there a reason needed to add an extra cornerback in 3rd down situations?
If you can't stop teams like Seattle from running the ball on you on 1st and 2nd down, does it really matter what the hell you do on 3rd down?


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Request free quotes now and our manager will help you to find the best supplier for your event.
Are you looking for a Wedding Magician in Culdrose Airfield, Cornwall? Our catalogue includes 57 acts available for hire in Culdrose Airfield.
Poptop makes event planning safe, quick and easy. Our services are free for event planners and we provide direct communication with suppliers.
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Quality entertainment at a good price.
over 20 years experience.
read my reviews on this site.
kids clown show/magic show /wizard or clown /balloon modelling/mix n mingle as clown or magician
choice of disco and games
live rabbit appears in show and another surprise animal.
circus skills workshop /punch n judy shows/stage illusions
adult close up magic/ table magic/street magic/family magic show for all the family
I travel to all areas.next available afternoon weekend dates*** sat 31 march /sun 1 sun 8 sun22 sat 28april/sat19may /next sat night available sat 5 may***
Available in Culdrose Airfield
from £50. Based in Birmingham
As the highest rated, and most booked magician here on poptop, Ed Sumner should be your first choice for entertainment. He is an experienced professional magician, who performs across the UK for some of the most prestigious events, and would love to attend yours next. His passion lies in creating shared moments that will be impossible to forget, and he does this by creating incredible close up magic and laugh out loud cabaret shows. His unique and lively approach to magic means he is there to interact, engage, and to make you and your guests laugh. Ed's magic is perfect for weddings, parties, family gatherings, corporate events and much more too.
Ed is fully insured through Equity, is a Member of the Magic Circle and has spent time training as an actor, stand up comedian and in professional performing arts, so if you are looking, for a quality magician and entertainer who is reliable, reputable and able to help you make the best impression fo...
Available in Culdrose Airfield
from £250. Based in Birmingham
Award winning mind reader and magician Edward Crawford has been performing his unique style of illusion for over 15 years and has captivated audiences throughout the world. Those who have witnessed his stage show or close up at parties and corporate events have never failed to be astounded by the experience.
The services that Edward offers range from small and intimate close up performances to his stage and cabaret show. Each performance is suited to the client's needs and it can be assured that your guests will be amazed, amused and astonished.
Edward's close up act is ideal for corporate dinners, private parties, weddings and all formal and informal gatherings. Edward will mix with your guests, at their tables or as they walk around, engaging them with intimate, up-close displays of his extraordinary abilities.
Moving objects with his mind. Revealing your thoughts. Making impossible predictions and involving the audience in his terrifyin...
Available in Culdrose Airfield
from £350. Based in London
Jared Gale is a magician in Hampshire. He provides professional and reliable close up magic performances for weddings parties and special events throughout the country. His amazing performances are packed with mysterious magic and mesmerising mind reading which will leave your guests speechless.
With his modern and unique performance style, he will astound, shock and amaze your guests at your next event! The focus of Jared's performances not only includes jaw dropping magic, but great all round entertainment. Take a look below to see how he can entertain the guests at your next event.
Available in Culdrose Airfield
from £100. Based in Fleet
2016 'Take Me Out' star Ben Dali is a naturally gifted entertainer and among the most powerful Mind Readers and Hypnotists in the country.
A highly accomplished International Mind Reader, Ben has spent 12 years perfecting a number of unbelievable effects and has successfully deduced when Sir Ian McKellen was telling a lie to identify his card.
He has been touring his Hypnosis show 'Strictly Come Trancing' across social clubs, bars and theatres throughout the world since 2012, including performances for Google, Middle Eastern royalty and 2 full runs at Edinburgh Festival. 'Strictly Come Trancing' is a fascinating, modern and hilarious showcase of hypnosis, featuring volunteers from around your event and the opportunity for the rest of the audience to interact with them. It can be tailored for a family or adult audience, or any other criteria specific to your night.
Master hypnotist Ben Dali has a special combination of humour, comma...
Available in Culdrose Airfield
. Based in London
iLLusionist of extreme originality and charisma 50 minutes on stage with fascinating and elegant evocative shows of magic and illusionism with appearances and disappearances of white doves, the great finale .. - DORIAN - Marvelous and big parrot Exotic yellow and blue.
For a demanding and adult public. The artist guarantees the success and enjoyment that only a professional expert can guarantee.
Available in Culdrose Airfield
from £100. Based in Birmingham
Magician for both adults and children. Weddings, birthday party what ever the occasion I can cater for your needs
Available in Culdrose Airfield
from £From £120. Based in Birmingham
Add a touch of magic to your event!
Leicestershire based Close up Illusionist, available for weddings, corporate events and parties. Guaranteed to leave you and your guests mind blown. Using everyday objects and making the magic happen in your hands!
Available in Culdrose Airfield
from £165. Based in Leicester
Why leave the entertainment at your event to chance? If you're looking for a quality magician then look no further!
Kev G can be on hand with his unique style of magic, mindreading and showmanship to ensure your guests have an amazing time.
Available in Culdrose Airfield
from £225. Based in Lutterworth
I am a busy professional magician that is able to cover a wide range of audiences and occasions whether its a private party, wedding reception trade show or any corporate function i am also able to perform be it at a casual or a formal event. Based in Leicester I cover the Midlands Leicester Nottingham Derby and the whole of the UK. I am a active member of one of the oldest magical societies in the world and a member of Equity giving me £10 million in public liability insurance.
Available in Culdrose Airfield
. Based in Leicester
Thomas Dixon is a professional charismatic and engaging Chilean-Canadian close-up and cabaret magician.
With more tan 10 years of experience he'll add that special something to your event whether it's a private party, corporate networking event, festivals or wedding. Thomas friendly, enthusiast and unique style gets everyone amazed while he performs mind blowing close up magic. He will create that perfect atmosphere for your event, something memorable unique and special that everyone will talk for a long time!
Thomas studied professionally the art for many years, before becoming a full time magician. He was one of the student of some of the greatest exponents in South America and Spain, including Ricardo Rodríguez (Spanish multi-champion), Hernan Maccagno (Argentinian genius inventor and South American champion) and Ruthguiller Dumont (director and founder of the first school of classical magic in Chile).
Thomas is a member of the pre...
Lee Joseph is a new modern day magician based in Warwickshire. He has a alternative style of close up magic with a twist of street magic, Bizarre and mentalism. He can do table hopping, mix and mingle or do 20 minite set in front of a audience.
Available in Culdrose Airfield
from £70. Based in Nuneaton
Slightly Unusual are a multi award winning Illusion Act specialising in the Corporate and Wedding sector. They offer both close up magic and large scale stage shows. Basically whatever the requirements of the client they can develop the perfect package.
Winners of Brit Idol, Britain Does Variety, the British Magical Society Stage Magicians of the Year and now officially The Most Loved Entertainers in the UK, the awards just keep coming in for Slightly Unusual. This is why they are in huge demand and have appeared regularly on prime time TV wowing celebrities like Ken Dodd, Sir Terry Pratchett and Alan Titchmarsh to name just a few.
The ability to combine close-up magic, grand illusion and spontaneous comedy is no small feat, but Slightly Unusual have managed to master the art. It's not often that you can get a world class act to perform at your wedding or corporate event but with Slightly Unusual you can.
Available for weddings, c...
Available in Culdrose Airfield
from £300. Based in Birmingham
We are a diverse agency specialising in circus, burlesque, Asian and Middle Eastern entertainment. We can cater for other themes as well!
Available in Culdrose Airfield
from £175. Based in Birmingham
Gary Haigh is a versatile entertainer who has not only worked in the UK but throughout the World. With leading edge Magic effects that are well into the 21st Century its easy to see why you will often find him at Corporate events, theatres, Clubs & Institutions as well as appearing on Television.
Although Midland based Gary travels anywhere with an act to suit any and every occasion.
Close up Magic
As a Close up performer and entertainer Gary is in great demand. For the past 17 years he has proved his ability to entertain even the most demanding of audiences, working as he does for "The British Armed Forces" both here in the UK and overseas.
With an easy style and pleasing personality he is the choice of the Military whenever & wherever they need entertaining. Using a subtle mix of skills and sleight of mouth you will be amazed at the incredible Magic that you see, right under your nose.
Corporate Magic
As a corporate Magician Gary...
Available in Culdrose Airfield
from £250.00. Based in Coventry
Scoop is a multi-talented magician who can perform either in close-up situations or in a cabaret or stage environment. His stage show combines conjuring with comedy, juggling, mind control and danger to create a truly unforgettable experience. His close up performances guarantee giggles and gasps as the impossible happens right under your nose or even in your own hands.
Scoop honed his skills during nine years as resident jester and magician at Camelot Theme Park and Park Hall Hotel in Lancashire performing for crowds ranging from small handfuls up to 3,000 people from small children to cocktail parties and everything in between. He now performs at attractions, holiday parks, weddings and corporate events all over the country.
Scoop has entertained the England, and Manchester City football teams as well as the stars of Emmerdale, Coronation Street and Hollyoaks and his performances have featured on programmes for the BBC, ITV and Channel 4....
Available in Culdrose Airfield
from £250. Based in Lancashire
Hi I'm The Trixta, an experienced close up magician based in the UK. I've been amazing audiences with contemporary magic shows for almost 20 years. Whether you're planning a small private party, wedding or a large corporate function, I always create a bespoke magic show to amaze your friends, family, colleagues or clients. Close up magic is an incredible entertainment choice and one that guarantees to be a success.
I specialise in corporate and wedding magic and have worked with some of the top companies across the UK providing first class entertainment with my sleight of hand magic skills.
I have been the magician of choice for Professional Footballers, Aristocracy and have been chosen to perform in some of the most prestigious venues in England.
I consider myself a contemporary Magician, the magic that I perform never fails to engage and takes place in front of the spectator's eyes, no large sets and props, just pure, skilful sleigh...
Available in Culdrose Airfield
from £400. Based in Northampton
Hello my name is Phil Taylor. I'm a modern, professonal magician, but then again you would expect me to say that when I'm promoting myself, right? Well not all magicians are the same! Most peoples perception of a magician is the stereotypical pulling a rabbit out of hat. Magic has moved forward....
Here is what I would like to tell you, magic is my passion, my art, my gift to the world, (check out all of my photos and videos) Therefore for me its more then a job, its about getting it right to ensure all your guests are left with powerful memories and stories to tell that will last a life time about a magician you booked, me, Phil Taylor, thats the most important thing!
I believe when you book me its both our reputations on the line, so I have to make sure I provide the best entertainment and create the most impossible moments right in front of your spectators eyes. I am passionate about magic, so much so that I run the UK's largest p...
I am a professional close up magician based in Coventry. I am an expert in sleight of hand magic.
I am also highly experienced in making your next entertaining and memorable.
Available in Culdrose Airfield
from £175. Based in Coventry
Magical entertainment for all ages. Stage, parlour, close-up or table magic, leaving you to enjoy the occasion you've spent so long organising. I even have kid's magic party packages.
Children's party entertainment by a professional. Fun, games, magic show and balloon modelling for all ages. Hundreds of satisfied clients, stress-free party packages so you can enjoy watching your child having fun.
A special show, balloon modelling and magic workshops available for older kids, after-school and holiday clubs.
I am fully DBS checked and have £10 million insurance.
Available in Culdrose Airfield
from £130. Based in Leicester
Duncan William is Birmingham's Premier Magician offering close up magic and mind reading at weddings, private parties and corporate events. His magic simply astonishing and combines more than just sleight of hand and extends as far as sleight of mind with dazzling mind reading demonstrations.
In 2017 Duncan predicted the outcome of the World Heavy Weight Fight Between Joshua and Klitschko, as well as several high profile sporting events live on TV. You can watch this and his showreel below.
Having been a magician and mind reader for over 15 years DW offers contemporary, modern, unique, fun and highly entertaining magic and mind reading - taking what you may have seen on TV to right in front of you and your guest's eyes.
There are no furry rabbits, billiard ball manipulations or anything cheesy here, just pure, fun highly visual and commercial magic.
Duncan can be booked in and around the Birmingham area for close up or cabaret and ...
Chris Peskett is a professional close up magician with 20 years experience. Available to hire for parties, weddings and corporate events, Chris can add a touch of OMG and WTF to your next event.
With the kind of magic that Dynamo would be proud of, Chris guarantees to amaze you and your guests!
Think of me as the ultimate party guest creating moments of OMG for your guests with jaw dropping electrifying feats of kick ass magic!
We're not talking about silly tricks you get from Christmas crackers or the dull card tricks Uncle Alan has put you through! We're talking the cream of Jedi mind tricks! Leave it to me to astound and amaze your guests and have them talking about your event for a long time to come!
Available in Culdrose Airfield
from £350. Based in Rugeley
Professional Close-Up and Children's Magician.
Providing amazing Close-Up Magic for weddings, restaurants, bars, private and corporate events.
Amazing interactive kid's party packages
Available in Culdrose Airfield
from £125. Based in Leicestershire
Adam is a busy professional magician that is versatile he can cover a wide range of audiences and occasions whether it's a Private party, Wedding reception Trade show or any Corporate function he is also able to perform be it at a casual or a formal event. Based in Leicester he covers the Midlands, Leicester, Nottingham, Derby and the whole of the UK. Adam is an active member of one of the oldest magical societies in the world. Adam will perform magic that will be talked about long after the event itself is over.
Available in Culdrose Airfield
. Based in Leicestershire
Russ Styler's combination of amazing sleight-of-hand magic and humour are what make Russ the perfect choice for corporate events, weddings, birthdays - you name it!
With many years of professional working experience as a magician, Russ has performed at just about every kind of venue from top London hotels such as the Dorchester, The Grosvenor House and Hilton hotels, to the slightly more modest surroundings of the local pub restaurant!
Russ is a member of the Magic Circle, The International Brotherhood of magicians and Equity. Make your event or party even more magical and memorable and enquire now!
Available in Culdrose Airfield
from £260. Based in Bedfordshire
The first and foremost thing that I need to mention here is Phil was an absolute professional from the very time we shook hands till the end when we shook our hands. The way he was asked about all the details regarding the things I would be or would not be OKAY with, is really genuine and great. I felt wonderful as well as grateful. All I have to say is that this person is really amazing by his behaviour and the way he entertained all the guests throughout the time was amazing. We had a great experience and I will definitely look forward to deal with him again in future.
Merlin performed at my children's birthday party today and he was totally amazing. The party was for about 40 children aged 1 to 7 and every single one of them were engaged and engrossed in showndoe the whole hour. I would highly recommend him to anyone. Very friendly and professional.
To top it off it was my brothers 35th birthday so Merlin included my brother in a trick which the children loved.
I will definitely be booking Merlin again.
Thank you so much Merlin.
This guy is fantastic.
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Statement by the Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, on the Death of Stompin' Tom Connors
Mar 07, 2013, 13:01 ET from Canadian Heritage
OTTAWA, March 7, 2013 /CNW/ - It was with great sadness that I learned of the death of Stompin' Tom Connors.
Best known as the Canadian folk-singer who moved the entire country to the tune of The Hockey Song, Mr. Connors was also the patriot who entertained our nation for four decades with his musical talent and kind spirit.
Born in 1936 in Saint John, New Brunswick, Charles Thomas Connors began his musical career on the road travelling in Canada. Known for always wearing a black cowboy hat and pounding the floor with his left foot during performances, Stompin' Tom wrote hundreds of songs during his career, most of them inspired by the beauty, character, and spirit of our country.
In 1996, Mr. Connors was invested into the Order of Canada in recognition of his staunch support of Canada, its music and musicians. He will be remembered for his constant support of Canadian talent and concern for the preservation of our cultural heritage.
On behalf of the Government of Canada, I offer my sincere condolences to
the family, friends and colleagues of Stompin' Tom.
SOURCE Canadian Heritage


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In the white-hot glare of worldwide celebrity there are no shadows, there are only outsized figures of triumph or scorn. They are presented to us as fully formed creations, media amplified surfaces without depth who occupy our fantasies until something else inevitably takes their place. This strange and rare sort of fame — which basketball phenom LeBron James enjoys — generally obscures the flesh and blood reality behind the image. A great deal of the power behind Kristopher Belman's documentary More Than a Game comes from its ability to trace James' career back to the time when he was an 11-year-old AAU basketball player, back to the Salvation Army gym in Akron, Ohio, where he befriended three other young players: Sian Cotton, Willie McGee and Dru Joyce III. That "Fab 4" soon moves way beyond being a talented basketball team. Along with their coach Dru Joyce II, they become a surrogate family whose deep bonds will eventually be sorely tested over a nine-year period by their enormous success as well as LeBron's incredible talent and star power. Below, Coach Dru Joyce II shares some of the stories with Busted Halo that go beneath the surface, to add some shadow and depth to one of the planet's most recognized faces.
Busted Halo: One of the things that struck me is that More Than a Game is a film about family and its many different forms. The original Fab Four, the nucleus of the team, got together when they were around eleven years, and LeBron, Sian, Willie and your son Dru very quickly become a family of sorts with you being sort of a father figure. What do you think it was that helped that familial bond to occur so strongly between them?
Coach Joyce: [When they were young] we kind of did this a little different than a lot of travel teams. A lot of travel teams might practice early when they put the team together, but then after they start travelling they stop practicing. But when the guys were young we didn't do it that way. The motto for our organization was "teach them how to play and the winning will take care of itself." So we practiced a lot and we spent two or three nights a week sometimes driving an hour away just to find a place to practice. But we spent a lot of time together in the car talking and them talking. So those were just opportunities for those guys to continue to bond. They first recognized each other's abilities to play basketball — because all of them were very good — but that just kind of opened the door to the friendship that they had for one another. They said in the film that they looked out for each other. They cared about each other, they shared everything. That just grew from the time spent and the experiences that they had together.
BH: There's a moment when Romeo comes into the picture in high school and he talks about how the original four hung out together. They were — in his words — kind of "touchy-feely" to a certain extent, or sort of affectionate, and he was not used to that. In fact, I think it was Willie at some point who said when these guys would sleep over at each other's houses — which sounded like it was all the time — there was a sense that they would really talk about what their feelings were, which was unusual to him. When do you remember seeing that start taking shape in their relationship?
CJ: Oh it took shape early on, like fifth grade for Dru, LeBron, and Sian. The bond happened fast and we were traveling on the weekends during the travel season. Once that was over, during the summertime those first few years, a lot of the time they were at my house and they would just be bodies there sleeping on the rec room floor. [Laughs.] They didn't try to put on any airs. They cared about each other. They let you know it. They laughed and had good times with each other.
BH: Education was a huge part of your family and your trajectory as an adult in terms of just succeeding, etc?
CJ: Honestly, yeah. When you consider that neither of my parents graduated high school but my mom worked around and for educated people she understood the value of an education and there was no question with me —I was going to college. I went on to graduate and I was the first person in our family to graduate from college. So that was quite an achievement for us. But I kind of lost my dream in that process. When I went to college I was going to go there to become a teacher and coach football but then I got involved in corporate America and it brought a lot of rewards to me and my family. But as I got more and more involved in the coaching, I guess it's one of the kinds of things, you know, God gives you a dream and it doesn't leave. Sometimes you might sweep it under the rug or hide it in a closet but it's still there. And as I continued to work with the young men, that desire to coach and be a part of developing young lives just radiated out. And there was a point where I just had to question, "What am I doing that's really of value?" But I continued to work all the way through 2004.
My wife and I, we were presented with an opportunity — I believe now, but at that point I kind of felt like the company was putting me out to pasture. They were taking me out of the large account that was in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and to an account in Syracuse, New York. And I would have to travel there once a week. But I told my wife after I left that meeting, I said, you know, hey my mouth said 'yes' to the transfer but my heart said 'no'. And with no job in sight — just a buyout we negotiated with the company and our savings – we started out on a faith walk. We just believed that we were going to build a life around the basketball and the coaching. And you know, God has blessed us — and we've been able to do that.
BH: That's great. So you're full time coaching at St. Vincent-St. Mary [High School in Akron, OH]?
CJ: Yeah. St. Vincent-St. Mary as a full time coach but that's not how I earn my living. I put on what is now probably if not the largest, one of the largest travel basketball tournaments in the country. At the end of April this will be our fifth year. We put on a tournament that brought, last year, 528 teams to the city of Akron for a weekend tournament of over 5,000 athletes. There were 12,000 visitors and over $3.5 million to the local economy. And that's kind of how we earn our living now, putting on those basketball tournaments.
And then I do a second one which is much smaller, and then I do some basketball camps and some clinics and things like that. But that's how we are blessed and continue being close to basketball. It's called the King James Shooting Stars Classic. I went to LeBron with the idea and told him I wanted to use the name The King James Shooting Stars. When he was young the name of our team was The Shooting Stars, we were called the Northeast Ohio Shooting Stars, and when he went into the NBA I told him I wanted to change the name to The King James Shooting Stars. He supports the AAU travel teams, but we changed the name.


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|950 sq. ft.
|Property type
Cozy two bedroom home with all the amenities of home. This home was built in the 1890's and has been totally renovated. You'll find us nestled in midtown Kansas City moments away from everything. You will get to experience the old charm of city life which includes the arts, museums, shopping, fabulous dining experiences, KC Blues, live entertainment, Barbeque and fun! Close to everything...KU Med Center, Power and Light District, the Sprint Center, the Country Club Plaza, Wesport, The Kauffman, Nelson Atkins and more! The second bedroom is set up with bunk beds for the kids with an added sleeper sofa in the living room.
Keywords: Downtown Kansas City, Midtown KCKS, Rosedale, Legends, Power and Light District, Nelson Atkins, The Kauffman, Casinos
I lived and owned in the neighborhood for over 7 years, I had a short commute to work and enjoyed all of the benefits of a large city but still had the charm of a small suburb.
The Owner purchased this house in 2007
When I left the area for a new job I didn't want to give up the city life. I enjoy coming back dining in the same restaurants and seeing the shows and museums in the area.
When I stay at the property it is my home away from home with all the amenities I enjoy. When I stay at other places I find myself comparing my place to where I am staying...I realize my house might not be your house but a comfortable bed, clean linens, an inviting neighborhood, kids that are happy is what I strive for, I enjoy coming back to the area and settling in for a moment in time to enjoy my family and relax.
I wanted to thank you sincerely for all your info and quick responses in the past month. The house was perfect for our stay. I can't believe we managed to get all 3 kids to sleep in the same room. There are so many things we loved about the house: the beds were so cozy, the hardwood floor was beautiful, towels were super soft, the updating of the house was done so tastefully (esp loved the kitchen backsplash), the movie selection was fun and extensive. The house was a perfect location for us. We went to a Children's Museum in Shawnee, went to the plaza several times, went to Crowne Center and Kaleidescope and Fritz's, and Rosedale BBQ was awesome! I wanted to offer some simple suggestions to improve a couple of things for future guests. It would be nice to have a small stool in the bathroom so the kids could reach the sink easier and more independently. The step to the front porch is a bit high for kids, older folks or people with mobility issues. It might be nice to add a small step.
Thank you again and Happy Holidays!!
This is the 4th or 5th time that i have stayed here. The house is nice, has a big back yard and is located literally 5 min from the Kansas convention center. Quick trip close by, and a great Mexican restaurant near by
We love the house and it's location. The collection of Disney movies keeps the kids entertained while the adults need a minute to rest. Great place.
From the exterior, it doesn't look like much but the inside says it all. Hardwood floors and open floor plan. Fully stocked kitchen. Large screen TV. Bed in master bedroom was very comfy. No driveway though and requires you to park in the street. We traveled with our 2 dogs and fenced in backyard was nice. Hiking/nature trail was couple blocks away. Excellent location and only minutes from many places we visited. Will definitely consider staying again.
Could hear train but not a problem. Heater was noisy, had a whistling sound when on. Big yard for kids. Dagwood's Cafe was good for breakfast run 1st morning as got in around midnight. All your directions were good except for entertainment in living room. Never could get anything working. Very good bed in front bedroom. Wonderful idea for house access.
When we first pulled up the neighborhood looked a little sketchy. We were doubting our decision to stay here. We were pleasantly surprised. The home is updated nicely inside. It's clean and comfortable. The street was quite, no concerns about the neighborhood. If you stay there, plan to visit the diner just a block over. It's called Dagwood's Cafe. Good people and AMAZING food.
The home was clean and comfortable. Everything was as presented in photos however it is located very close to train tracks. The trains run frequently throughout the night blowing their whistles, so if you are a light sleeper be prepared for that. Otherwise we were pleased.
|Cleaning Fee


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The International School for Holocaust Studies
Artifacts from the Holocaust
In this section we focus on artifacts, presented courtesy of the Artifacts Retrieval Department, that can inform us about a specific part of the Holocaust period. These items, which are part of the Yad Vashem collection, are unique: they characterize events that occurred during the Holocaust, and hold emotional value as well. The story of these artifacts is accompanied by points of reference and discussion to be used with students. This page will be updated regularly as the staff at the International School for Holocaust Studies prepares more articles.
- The Wooden Duck
- Yehudit's Recipe Book
- Strip of Cloth
- The Shofar from Skarzysko-Kamienna
- Artifacts and Art Created in the Detention Camps in Cyprus
- Artifacts from North Africa
- Artifacts Saved by Zizi Lichtenstein's Mother
- A Yellow Star of David Button which Bulgarian Jews were Forced to Wear in 1941
- A Brit Milah (Circumcision Ceremony) Kit from a Greek Jew
- The Diary of Yitzchak Rudashevski
- Shoe and Mittens of the Toddler Hinda Cohen
- A Flag from a Jewish Youth Movement in Germany
- A Coat and Baby Utensils that Belonged to the Children Mirjam and Zvi Hamerslag
The Wooden Duck
This wooden duck was used by the French underground to hide and smuggle documents. Read more
Yehudit's Recipe Book
Yehudit (Aufrichtig) Taube was born in Hungary in 1914 and immigrated to Amsterdam in 1938 where she worked as a nanny for a Jewish family. At the time of the German occupation, she was studying to be a beautician. Betrayed by a Dutch woman, she was deported in 1944 to Westerbork and then to Ravensbrück. There, she and her friends wrote "fantasy recipes". Read more
Strip of Cloth
This strip of cloth was left over from a Nazi flag, and was signed by women prisoners in Ravensbrück. One of the signatories is Hetty Voute. Read more
The Shofar from Skarzysko-Kamienna
This shofar was made in the brutal forced labor camp of Skarzysko-Kamienna. It was the product of one man's dream of fulfilling the commandment of blowing the shofar on the Jewish New Year, and of another man's talent at turning a ram's horn into a shofar. Both Rabbi Yitzhak Finkler, who blew the shofar on Rosh HaShanah 5704 (1943), and Moshe Waintreter, who made the shofar, took their lives in their hands by carrying out this religious commandment. Read more
Artifacts and Art Created in the Detention Camps in Cyprus
Art is frequently used by survivors of the Holocaust as a form of commemoration. Many of the survivors who tried to get to Eretz Israel (then, Palestine) after the end of World War II were intercepted by the British, arrested and incarcerated on Cyprus where they were held, in some cases, for years. Some of these survivors used the local limestone on Cyprus to produce commemorative art objects. The artifacts presented here are connected to the art created by survivors on Cyprus. Read more
Artifacts from North Africa
When the Germans entered into North Africa, they interned many Tunisians, Algerians, Moroccans and Libyans in labor and concentration camps. Jews were labelled, polarized and deported; they were disenfranchised and marginalized - pushed out of the societies in which they had lived. The artifacts shown reflect the fate of the Jews of North Africa. Read more
Artifacts Saved by Zizi Lichtenstein's Mother
In July 1942, Zizi Lichtenstein, aged 10 was attending school in Paris. He and all other Jews had been instructed to wear the yellow star. Zizi's letters and drawings express the innermost thoughts and feelings of a ten-year-old boy in France who is unhappy and wishes only to be reunited with his family. Read more
A Yellow Star of David Button which Bulgarian Jews were Forced to Wear in 1941
Sonia Koperwaser was the oldest child born to Aaron and Simcha in 1930. Her younger sister Milka was born a year later. The family lived in Sofia, Bulgaria. In 1941, when Sonia was ten-and-a-half, the Germans invaded Bulgaria. A curfew was imposed on the Jews; they were allowed to leave their homes for two hours every day. In addition, every Jew was ordered to sew a yellow star button on his/her lapel. Sonia's uncle made her a pin from the button that she used to wear on her clothes. One day Sonia was caught by a policeman who beat her for wearing a pin... Read more
A Brit Milah (Circumcision Ceremony) Kit from a Greek Jew
The community of Zakynthos is the only Greek Jewish community that was saved from annihilation in its entirety. The Matza Family – Moshe and Esther, and seven of their nine children – Rosa, Shulamit, Devorah, Michal, Dino, Avraham, and Herzl, hid in the village of Katastari with Stephanos and Panyiota Biliardo. Moshe, who worked as a mohel and a hazzan (cantor) in his community and in other Greek Jewish communities, continued to perform circumcisions despite the inherent danger because he felt he had a responsibility to Jews in the area... Read more
The Diary of Yitzchak Rudashevski
Reading Yitzchak's diary enables the reader to glance outside of the Vilna Ghetto walls and to experience the everyday life from the unique perspective of a young adult. In poetic and sensitive language, he describes experiences, anxiety, amazement, and wishes of an adolescent in the ghetto. The diary is written in Yiddish on 204 pages of a small notebook, some in pencil and some in pen. The diary enables us to glance into the world and the lives of the struggling Jews in the ghetto, where the fear of death reigned... Read more
Shoe and Mittens of the Toddler Hinda Cohen
This article focuses on the shoe and mittens of the toddler Hinda Cohen, deported to Auschwitz in a children's aktion (action, or round-up) that occurred in the Kovno Ghetto, on March 27, 1944. Hinda was murdered in Auschwitz. When Hinda was taken from her bed to be deported to Auschwitz, her shoe was left behind. Upon finding it, her father etched the date on the shoe's sole. Her parents, Dov and Zipora Cohen, survived the war. They kept their daughter's shoe, the pair of mittens that Zipora had sewn for her from scraps of material, and her birth certificate, until they died... Read more
A Flag from a Jewish Youth Movement in Germany
In this feature, we learn the story of a Jewish youth movement training farm in Germany, whose members fell victim to the Reich anti-Jewish policies. When their situation turned dire, the members divided the movement's flag into pieces, vowing to bring their pieces safely to Israel... Read more
A Coat and Baby Utensils that Belonged to the Children Mirjam and Zvi Hamerslag
Learn about a set of children's silverware and a jacket that survived the Holocaust, as well as the story of the children to whom they belonged. The Hamerslags' utensil set and coat invite us to learn about the smuggling of children, the Netherlands, the Dutch Underground resistance movement, concentration camps, Righteous Among the Nations... Read more


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Hey! Join a fun AZ Momma's only group! We do playdates, make friends, play games and more! http://www.cafemom.com/group/117585
Hi! Welcome to CafeMom!
Please join us in the 20 Something Moms group. It's a really great place to get started here and meet other moms like you.
I hope to see you there!
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Caitlin Rose, Daniel Romano, Nicolette Good at Limelight
Updated 9:00 am, Saturday, April 27, 2013
Photo: Courtesy Photo
The War Room on North St. Mary's Street was short-lived. The long-running venue is again called Limelight, but eclectic bookings remain. Saturday night, it's Nashville singer/songwriter Rose, touring with her new "The Stand-In" CD. Romano (left), out of Ontario, Canada, is a graphic designer, rocker, producer and indie folkie. But his new album, "Come Cry With Me," is '60s-era country with twists and turns. S.A.-based
Nicolette Good will open.
Jim Beal Jr.
9 p.m. Limelight, 2718 N. St. Mary's St.


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All Dressed in White: Flower Arrangements for a Winter Wonderland Wedding
A winter wedding is an ideal time to use flower design that is restrained and feminine, simple and soft. It's worth showing the bride how to hold her bouquet correctly: its weight should draw her arms down naturally so they are straighter, allowing the flowers to be shown off at the best angle.
Flowers, Foliage and Other Materials
For the boutonniere
1 stem white spray roses
1 ivy stem
wired pearls (available from hat makers, bead shops and specialty flower markets)
pearl-tipped pin
For the bouquet
9 white spray roses
9 white single 'Avalanche' roses
11 white freesias
7 white trachelium
5 white lisianthus
11 eucalyptus stems
wired pearls (available from hat makers, bead shops and specialty flower markets)
For each centerpiece
10 white spray roses
12 white single 'Avalanche' roses
12 white freesias
11 white trachelium
6 eucalyptus stems
6 ivy stems
12-inch wide floral foam ring with ring holder
large white candle
hurricane glass
For each pew end
8 white single roses
plastic bowl
block of garden foam
florist's tape
white netting
How to Arrange the Boutonniere
Sprays of wired pearls tucked between delicate spray roses lift this boutonniere out of the ordinary.
1. Wire the roses and ivy leaves. Gather several wired pearls into a spray and bind the wires together with stem tape.
2. Group the individual roses, arrange the wired pearls around them, and encircle them all with the ivy leaves. Trim the wires so they are graduated, wrap stem tape around all the wires and press the tape down with your fingers to seal it.
3. Mist the roses occasionally to keep them fresh until they are needed, then supply the boutonniere with a pearl-tipped pin to attach it onto the lapel of a jacket.
For more details on making a boutonniere, see our step-by-step instructions.
How to Arrange the Bouquet
This bouquet is a large spiral-stemmed design with pearls scattered through it. It has a high binding point to give it a compact look.
1. Divide the different ingredients into separate piles. Hold a rose and add one of each of the ingredients at an angle to create a spiral effect. Turn the bunch in the same direction as you work, and add lengths of wired pearls.
2. Add all the blooms in turn so that they are balanced equally throughout the bunch. Arrange the last two layers of flowers slightly lower around the edges to create a domed effect.
3. Secure the bunch with a length of raffia or string. Trim the stem ends with garden shears. If you want to cover the stems with ribbon, wind a long length of white ribbon down around the stems and up again. Tie the two ends together in a small knot and press pearl pins in a vertical line into the ribbon to secure it and create a pretty detail. Mist the flowers occasionally until needed.
For more details on making a hand-tied bouquet, see our step-by-step instructions.
How to Arrange the Centerpiece
Each stem of this table centerpiece needs to be inserted at an angle to cover the foam and give a smooth, rounded shape. When you have placed all the flowers and foliage, move the arrangement into its place on the table, place a large white candle in the center and cover the candle with a hurricane glass.
1. Soak a 12-inch wide floral foam ring briefly in water.
2. Arrange the ivy stems and angle them downward to create a graduated shape from the center to the edge of the ring; there is no need to cover the inside of the ring, as the glass will sit in the center. Angle the stems around the outside edge of the ring upward so they hide the ring holder.
3. Add stems of eucalyptus in between the ivy to create a sparse but even coverage of foliage.
4. Add the single roses, distributing them evenly. Group the spray roses and freesias as you angle them into the foam so they create more impact. Insert the trachelium in a uniform pattern. Then position the ring on the table and add the candle and glass.
How to Arrange the Pew End
This pew end, with its romantic cloud of netting tied in a bow, is designed to look like a hand-tied bouquet, though it is actually a floral foam arrangement. Roses don't last well out of water, so this rather unusual way of arranging them means they last longer; a real hand-tied bouquet of roses would quickly become floppy and unsightly. This also means you can arrange the pew ends the day before for convenience. The result is a slightly larger-scale, more dramatic, display that gives the impression given that the roses are on longer stems than they really are.
1. Punch two holes in the top of a small bowl using a pair of scissors and insert a long length of wire through each hole. This wire is to tie around the end of the pew and attach the flowers securely (image 1).
2. Soak a third of a block of floral foam, shave about 1/2-inch off the top and strap it onto the small bowl with diagonal strips of florist's tape. Trim the rose stems to about 4 inches, keeping just a few leaves at the top, and leave one rose stem slightly longer than the others. Set aside the cut rose stems for later. Insert this tallest rose at the top of the foam (image 2).
3. Arrange the rest of the roses at an angle, with the shortest stems at the front to create a graduated, semi-domed effect. Trim the reserved cut stems to about 7 inches and insert them into the base of the foam at angles that mirror those of the roses above (image 3).
4. Wrap a piece of cellophane around the foam to prevent the netting absorbing the water and sagging. There's no need to tape it, as the netting will keep it in place (image 4).
5. Place a length of white netting underneath the small bowl and tie both ends in a large bow. Attach the arrangement to the pew end (image 5).
DK - Fresh Flower Arranging, 2011 Dorling Kindersley Limited
DK - Fresh Flower Arranging, 2011 Dorling Kindersley Limited
DK - Fresh Flower Arranging, 2011 Dorling Kindersley Limited
DK - Fresh Flower Arranging, 2011 Dorling Kindersley Limited
Insider Tip
Fresh flowers need to be fully open to look their best at a special event such as a wedding, so buy them a few days before you make the arrangements to ensure they will be in peak condition.


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Following her speaking engagements at the Online Retailer Conference in Sydney, Retail Systems Research's Nikki Baird has shared some insightful and interesting views on the Australian multichannel retail market.
US Analyst Cites Transparency as Key Challenge for Australian Retail
Respected US cross-channel retail expert Nikki Baird was in Sydney in July for the first time, speaking at the Online Retailer Conference & E-Commerce Expo. Though here to impart her wisdom on delegates, Baird also took away some observations on the local retail market, which she has articulated on her company blog in a two-part series.
Her analysis of the Australian market draws some interesting comparisons between ours and the US market. For those not inclined to read the lot, here are three take-aways:
– Australian bricks and mortar attitudes to online are opposite to American and European views of online.
– Multi-channel retailers in the US focus on using online to drive traffic in-store, but it's the store experience that is the let-down. Baird suggests that by 2009 the model had flipped and online shopping was delivering a better experience than in-store shopping, disrupting the conventional wisdom.
– Price transparency has far greater implications for the local market than it does in the US, where the global economy sets global pricing and Australian retailers will struggle to compete
You can read the full articles at the Retail Systems Research blog, but here are some of the thought-provoking snippets:
Retail in Australia: My Impression (Nikki Baird)
The online pureplay ecosystem is very vibrant there, it actually feels to me more so than in the US, which is saying something. And bricks and mortar retailers, through some interesting market developments, have been very slow to embrace the idea of cross-channel. They did go out and establish online channels like everyone else during the great internet land grab of the late 1990′s. But many quickly rebranded the online channel to something separate in order to avoid price transparency issues with their bricks-based brands. In the US, it would be the equivalent of if Petsmart had established Pets.com instead of a startup.
In some ways, I feel like Australian retailing is a bit like traveling through the looking glass into an alternate reality. I felt like Australian retailing looks a lot like what American retailing might've been if Amazon had never existed – or if the company had ever only defined itself as a bookseller.
It led me to an interesting question: what if Amazon had never approached its strategy as it had? Had never grown to be the online giant that it is? Well, first, I think a much larger number of niche pureplays might have proliferated for a lot longer and across a much wider breadth of retail than what we find today in the US. Also, I'm not sure that bricks and mortar retailers would have turned so quickly to separate online vs. store branding in order to solve their channel conflict problems. Whether it's something unique to the US or not, just knowing the retailers that I know, I can't help seeing them as being convinced their own brand online would be a benefit. In other words, brand hubris might have encouraged them to stick with their main brand online as well as in stores.
Back to the Future
The biggest attitude difference that I saw at the conference between Australian and US retailers emerged during a panel session at the event. The panelists spoke about a bricks and mortar executive attitude that apparently is prevalent right now in Australia. The attitude can be summed up like this: "If online is only 3% of my business [the number thrown around at the event], why would I want to invest in it? It's just not big enough to command my attention." In the US (and UK, and increasingly western Europe at large), retail executives' attitudes are the exact opposite. The thinking is, "If store sales growth is flat or negative and online is growing at 15% or more, why would I invest in stores? Why wouldn't I take all that money and pour it into online where not only will it support fantastic growth, I have much more leverage because online isn't nearly as asset-intensive as stores?"
In some ways, I would say the Australian perspective is the attitude that we saw in the US circa about 2002. What changed in the US to lead to such a different point of view today? Amazon. Amazon forced two major differences.
First, it made it very difficult for niche online pureplays to survive. If you look at all of the retailers that the Online Retailer conference honored in their awards this year (check the site for an update on the winners), outside of the marketplace category, only one retailer was not a niche player, and that was Woolworths. I'm sure it's possible to find a comparable niche US company like Australia's Surfstitch, but they just don't operate at the same level of scale relative to their market size as Surfstitch can in the Australian market. When you look at the Internet Retailer 100 in the US, I'm guessing less than 30 of the top 100 are niche players in the sense of an online specialty retailer. The rest are either consolidated online players or the online presence of multi-channel brands. It's not all bad news – because it's difficult to be a niche player with depth and still compete with Amazon, I think the US has benefited from some innovative online retailing models in the pureplay space, like Etsy, Threadless, and Aha Life. Like Gilt Group.
Second, Amazon has forced traditional retailers to reevaluate their differentiators. From RSR's research, multi-channel retailers invest in online in order to boost their cross-channel customer experience – they see making online connections into their stores as a vital way to differentiate from a pureplay's purely online experience. The downside is that multi-channel retailers in the US have been a bit asleep at the wheel when it comes to the receiving end of all of this investment – stores. The store experience just hasn't kept up with the quality of the experience that you find online. It used to be that the online division talked about trying to make the online shopping experience as good as a store experience. Now, retailers talk about making the store experience as rich as the online experience. In the US, I would peg the timeframe of that shift around 2009. And shortly after that is when I began my campaign to raise awareness that the store is in trouble – that it just won't be able to keep up with the pace of digital change. And for a lot of other reasons – way too many reasons – there is no way that retailers are going to be able to fix stores quickly. So they're going to be a drag on US retailers for a while still.
Transparency is already impacting the Australian market, and it's an even worse kind of transparency than exists in the US. It's bad enough to be price comparison shopped against Amazon. Try competing with Chinese manufacturers.
This is the most dangerous sentiment that retail is exposed to right now, because broken trust takes way longer to repair than it does to build a new relationship in the first place. In the US, retailers have to fight against Amazon for transparency. The first product category to go this route was electronics, particularly high price-point electronics like flat screen TV's. In Australia, the future may hold not only competition against Amazon on price, but increasingly also from the Asian factories that make these products, as they find it easier and easier to reach into the Australian market. And when American retailers get to a certain volume, they may find it advantageous to start fulfilling orders into Australia from their Asian manufacturers, making it even less expensive to service the Australian market.
What it Means for Stores
As for the future of stores, here's what happened in the US. Retailers didn't brand their online sites differently, so consumers had an expectation that the experience they could get online would be seamless to the experience they could get in stores. And brick & mortar brands found that strongly supporting a traditionally branded online experience helped people find them vs. Amazon – these are brands that people know and trust. At the same time, when online sales hit about 5-7% of a retailer's total sales, the economics shifted – dramatically. The cost of a transaction in a store is way higher than the cost of an online transaction. Real estate, inventory, labor – these are all much more expensive for a store than a call center and a warehouse and they aren't nearly as leverageable.
So at the same time that traditional retailers realised that yes, online is cannibalising some store sales and stores are not financially positioned to sustain that kind of shift, they also realized that stores are the biggest differentiator they have to the online behemoth of Amazon. Except that stores can't really take advantage of that potential differentiator, because they are designed around the idea that the customer path to purchase begins and ends in the store. The shift right now in the US is all around store – how to make employees smarter, how to make stores smaller or at least diversify what's under a store roof so that it's more services and not so much product.