text:
Izzy goes on DL after arm/elbow Injury
Brian Blanco / AP
It was the top of the ninth inning when Jason Isringhausen took the mound in a game where he was going to get some extra work and did not figure to get a save or even a hold in the short appearance. It might have been one of those moments where a pitcher knows he just needs to do some fine tuning and use the appearance to his advantage.
But when Isringhausen let go of that pitch even from my rightfield seats you could see his elbow go towards the visitors' dugout, which it is not suppose to do, you knew something bad had happen to the Rays reliever. As the ball sail wide right of the pinch hitter Corey Patterson, most of the crowd were stunned that the ball went that far beyond and to the right of the glove of Rays catcher Michel Hernandez and the plate and did not notice the quickness that Isringhausen moved off the mound and motioned for the Rays medical staff to get there as soon as possible. But if you watched the video of him throwing, right after his right arm gets near the front of his body he seems to winch a bit in pain and then let the arm dangle next to his side while the Rays Manager Joe Maddon and the medical staff came out to the mound.
This is the same arm region that Isringhausen has his surgery on just months before and might have either re-injured that elbow, or he might have caused an additional new tear in the elbow region to further put his great comeback with the Rays to a sudden close. If the injury is anything like the one he suffered with the St. Louis Cardinals last season it might be the end of his tenure right now with the Rays. As a precaution, the Rays put Isringhausen immediately on the Disabled List, which is not a good sign of a slight injury or a strain.
With his placement on the DL, the team bought out the contract of Winston Abreu from Triple-A Durham and he might make it to the Trop in time for the 1:38 pm game tomorrow. I have to say I was so interested and enthusiastic about the signing of Izzy this spring as a total "win-win" for the Rays. He was a talented closer who was coming off an injury and could be a great veteran presence on this young Bullpen.
Along with Troy Percival they amassed a huge chunk of saves and could have been a huge force come playoff time. But now with both of them shut down for awhile, the Rays might have to look elsewhere for a definite closing candidate for the next 99 games. But could this now also open an opportunity for the Rays to maybe find a viable reason to take a second look at Pedro Martinez when he throws his second time this week in the Dominican?
You do not want to ever think about someone finding a positive for an injury especially to a veteran like Isringhausen, and bringing up Abreu might be a great opportunity for him to make another impression on the Rays staff. He looked real good this spring when he posted a 4.26 ERA in his 6.1 innings of work. But it was his 5 strikeouts in that short stint in Spring Training that might have left an impression on the Rays.
So he went down to Triple-A and compiled a 3-0 record with a 1.41 ERA in 23 appearances. He also 49 strikeouts in 32 total innings of work to go along with his 10 saves. He might not get an opportunity to close at this level early, but with his success at Triple-A you know Rays Manager Joe Maddon will seek him out if the match-ups deem it so during his time with the club. He should be on a plane sometime tonight or in the early am, and might be here in time for the 1:38 pm start to the last game of the series against the Washington Nationals.
Hopefully this is not the last time we see Isringhausen on the mound for the Rays. He is currently in the training room at Tropicana Field and will be reevaluated in the morning by the Rays staff and doctors. I has the same body shudder tonight as when I saw former Rays pitcher Tony Saunders break his arm twice on the mound at the Trop. Hopefully that is not the last pitch he will ever throw in professional baseball. Isringhausen has done so much for this game, and hopefully he can go out on his terms and not the terms of an injury.
8 Comments
Hey Renegade! How ya doing?
Seriously, can we stop with the injuries? Glad to hear that Jason Bartlett will be back soon. I miss watching him play.
Hope that Izzy will be ok. Congrats to Chad and Jenny! Hope everyone is doing well.
I would love for the injuries to stop, but it is just a weird part of the year.
Bartlett is doing his last rehab today down on Port Charlotte then pack for the 6-game road trip.
I think we might know more about Izzy by the end of the game tonight.
You can bet he is going for an MRI Monday morning after the swelling goes down on his arm.
It is great news for the Bradford clan. Another boy to teach the art of the submarine pitch to…….with dreams of the MLB maybe running in the family.
Rays Renegade
Rays, that is not good news! There is nothing worse then seeing an injury that when it happens you know is bad. I hope that Izzy is okay. And congrats to the Bradford family! That is great news!
I hate to say it, but I am getting used to people going down right now.
Not trying to be funny, but the fact is that we are under constant watch for a key injury now.
The years always seems to be right on the cusp of changing for the good, and bam, someone goes down hard.
Bradfors id still on a rehab assignment, so he is near his family up in Alabama.
Rays Renegade
Tough luck for the Rays, not like you guys needed any more of it. It must be so frustrating because this team is so talented, and if it weren't for all of the injuries, would probably be leading the AL East right now. But if you are in need of another relief pitcher, might I interest you in Jesse Crain? No, really, you can have him. For free.-Erinhttp://plunking-gomez.mlblogs.com
I have been watching Crain's stats for awhile.
He has to be the most snake bitten guy in the AL right now.
He get two great outs then something always happens and he loses either the game, or the inning.
I would not want to walk down a street with him with a piano moved hoisting a huge Steinway over our heads.
Rays Renegade
Yikes! I hope Isringhausen will be ok. Been a lot of injuries this year and it's not slowing down…scary. I wish him well!
I know your team can relate to the closer role being set up based on match-ups and maybe just need at the time right now.
I was hoping Izzy would become the closer and take the guess work out of the Bullpen.
But now it is again just set up by maychups. J P Howell did a great job yesterday, but a 87 mph fastball is not going to scare anyone in the ninth inning if you have multiple hitters.
Rays Renegade


text:
Virginia Early Warning System (VEWS)
In February 2009, the Board of Education strengthened Virginia's accountability program by:
- Requiring high schools – beginning with the 2011-2012 school year – to meet an annual benchmark for graduation.
- Revising Virginia's accreditation standards to create a graduation and completion index for high schools
The Virginia Early Warning System (VEWS) relies on readily available data – housed at the school – to predict which students are at risk for dropping out of high school; target resources at the school- and division-level to support students not on track to graduate while they are still in school and before they drop out; examine patterns and identify school climate issues that may contribute to disproportionate dropout rates.
In collaboration with four Virginia school divisions, the Appalachia Regional Comprehensive Center, and the National High School Center, VDOE developed VEWS to identify ninth-grade students who are at risk of not graduating from high school with a Standard or Advanced Studies diploma. VEWS provides:
- An index tool that identifies students in the ninth-grade class as on-track or off-track towards earning a Standard or Advanced Studies diploma;
- A progress monitoring tool for high school students during the school year;
- Documentation and tracking of student interventions;
- Student-level reports;
- School-level reports; and
- Division-level reports.
Virginia Early Warning Tool Interface (EWTI)
The system provides data used to finalize the VEWS application and identify students who are considered to be either:
- On-Track and have a high probability of graduating from high school with a Standard or Advanced Studies diploma; or
- Off-Track and have a high probability of dropping out or otherwise leaving high school without earning a Standard or Advanced Studies diploma.
VEWS Tool Materials & Training
- VEWS Tool (XLSM) – Revised May 24, 2011 - This newest version of the tool has revised export functionality on the student information page to ensure that data are correctly formatted when exported from the tool in either a .csv or .txt format.
System requirements: PC: Excel 2003 or later. Mac: Excel 11.0 (part of Office 2004) or Excel 14.0 (part of Office 2011). Please note: the EWS Tool v2.0 cannot be run in Excel 12.0 (part of Office 2008) as this version does not support Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) macros.
- Implementation Guide (PDF)
- Technical Manual (Word)
- Completing the VEWS Pre-High School Upload (Word) – This document provides a brief, step-by-step summary of the upload process.
- Templates – Below are blank source file templates for all pages where data can be imported into the tool.
CAUTION: These are saved as EXCEL files, but in order for them to work in the tool, users must save them as either .csv files or .txt files (comma delimited or tab delimited) once they populate them with data.
- The EWTI also identifies students having insufficient or missing data for the system to make a determination.
- Introduction to the Virginia Early Warning System Tool (PPT)
- Introduction to Technical Aspects of the VEWS (PPT)
- Using Early Warning Systems to Target Tiered Interventions for Dropout Prevention (PPT)
- Partially loaded VEWS tool (XLMS) – Please use this for practice or demonstration only. This version of the VEWS tool has been partially loaded with dummy data from a fictitious school, including student performance data for quarters 1-3. Please download and save as a macro-enabled file.
- Sample data file (grading period 4) (TXT) – Please use this for practice or demonstration only. This file provides sample student performance data for quarter 4 for the fictitious school in the partially loaded VEWS tool above. This file can be imported into the tool above. Please save as a tab delimited file.
A Discussion with School Boards: Raising the Graduation Rate, High School Improvement and Policy Decisions is a series of five PowerPoint presentations developed by VDOE and the University of Virginia available for superintendents to present to their school boards to address the topic of graduation and to prompt discussion of policy issues that may affect graduation rates.
- Presentation 1 (PPT) – overview of the graduation rate issue and the graduation and completion index.
- Presentation 2 (PPT) – four elements for high school improvement: Rigorous Curriculum and Instruction, Assessment and Accountability, Teacher Quality and Professional Development and Student and Family Supports
- Presentation 3 (PPT) – additional elements for high school improvement: Stakeholder Engagement, Leadership and Governance, Organization and Structure, and Resources for Sustainability
- Presentation 4 (PPT) – describes what an early warning system is, the indicators on which it is based, how it identifies students at risk of dropping out and how tiered interventions are the most efficient use of resources to support students
- Presentation 5 (PPT) – discussion topics on policy issues affecting high school improvement efforts

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Adding Tomorrows
The mission of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is to cure cystic fibrosis and to provide all people with the disease the opportunity to lead full, productive lives by funding research and drug development, promoting individualized treatment and ensuring access to high-quality, specialized care.
Founded in 1955, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is the world's leader in the search for a cure for cystic fibrosis. The Foundation was started by parents desperate to save their children's lives. Their relentless and impassioned determination to prolong life has resulted in tremendous strides over the past 60 years in accelerating innovative research and drug development, as well as advancing care and advocacy. Virtually every approved cystic fibrosis drug therapy available now was made possible because of the Foundation and its supporters. Still, we believe no one should have to die at a young age. We will not rest until we have a cure for all people living with CF.
What is Cystic Fibrosis?
Cystic fibrosis is a rare, genetic, life-shortening disease that affects every organ in the body and makes breathing difficult. Some people with the disease say it's like breathing through a narrow straw. In people with CF, a defective gene causes a thick buildup of mucus in the lungs, pancreas and other organs. In the lungs, the mucus clogs the airways and traps bacteria, leading to life-threatening lung infections. Sixty years ago, most children did not live long enough to attend elementary school, but thanks to Foundation-based research and care, the median survival age of people with CF is now about 40.
Why Support the Foundation:
Many people with CF are living long enough to realize their dreams of attending college, pursuing careers, getting married, and having children. This is due in large part to the work of the Foundation and the amazing CF community. We helped discover the gene that causes CF, created a state-of-the-art model for CF care, and have funded groundbreaking research. But we're not done. We are working every day to build on this incredible momentum, and we won't stop until there is a cure for all people living with CF.
Research Advances:
Drugs that treat the genetic cause of CF are rapidly becoming available to more individuals as a result of the Foundation's efforts. There are now two FDA-approved therapies that treat the basic defect in cystic fibrosis for more than half of the population. Perhaps most exciting, more and more people will be helped by these treatments in coming years. In fact, by 2026, we expect that close to 95 percent of people with CF will benefit from similar drugs.
One Time Cure:
We don't just want to treat CF. We want to end CF – for everyone, including those with rare or nonsense mutations. To bring that vision to life, we are focused on a very high-tech and experimental process called gene editing. Gene editing will remove the genetic mutation that causes CF and replace it with a normal sequence of DNA. Research into using gene editing to cure CF is already underway. Although there are many hurdles, with time and continued effort, we believe we will see a permanent, one-time cure in our lifetimes.
Better Todays:
In addition to adding tomorrows by pursuing innovative treatments, we're also committed to helping people with CF live the best lives that they can today. Along with new therapies and a one-time cure, we're still steadfast in our efforts to develop treatments that address the symptoms of CF. We are continuing to invest in CF care by increasing our support for the 120 centers in our innovative care network, with a focus on adult care and mental health. And we're actively focused on lung transplant initiatives for the many adults with CF who need them. We are enabling efforts by and for people with CF. And we're working diligently in the policy arena to ensure that people with CF have access to the care they need. In addition, CF Foundation Compass, exists to help people with CF and their families with insurance, financial, legal and other complex issues they are facing.
For more information about cystic fibrosis and the work of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, please visit www.cff.org.


text:
Hope dance faculty members Alicia Diaz and Matthew Thornton are performing through the "Professional Artist Series" of Oakland University in Rochester on Saturday, Feb. 12.
The concert, "Unbounded Edge," is taking place in the university's Varner Recital Hall, at 8 p.m.
Through the series, the university brings nationally and internationally known professional artists to its music, theatre and dance performance seasons. In addition to Diaz and Thornton, the February 12 concert will feature Patterson Rhythm Pace Dance Company, Mise en Place Dance and Shifting Sol.
Diaz and Thornton have been assistant professors of dance at Hope since 2009. Wife and husband, they are co-founders of Agua Dulce Dance Theater. On Friday, Dec. 3, they performed in a work choreographed by faculty colleague Steven Iannacone presented during the "Nikolais Centennial Alumni Concerts" at Hunter College in New York City.
Agua Dulce has performed and given workshops in colleges, high schools and festivals, traveling to Mexico, Puerto Rico and across the U.S., including the 2006 Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival Inside/Out Series. Currently Agua Dulce is in collaboration with Hope dance affiliate company dANCE pROjECt, and creating a site-specific dance on video with Alison Dobbins.
Originally from San Juan, Puerto Rico. Diaz holds a M.A. in Dance and Choreography from the Gallatin School of Individualized Studies at NYU and a B.A. in Art, Culture and Society from EugeneLangCollege of the NewSchool for Social Research. She has danced nationally and internationally with companies such as Complexions: A Concept in Dance, Donald Byrd/The Group (Harlem Nutcracker), Joseph Holmes Chicago Dance Theater. Her choreography has been presented in New York, Ohio, Michigan, New Jersey, Kansas, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Argentina, and Spain.
Thornton grew up in Northeast Ohio and began his training studying movement theater with James Thornton's Acting Ensemble Program. He studied dance at HamiltonCollege, and transferred to the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where he earned a B.A. in English. There he was introduced to contact improvisation, and began training capoeira, an Afro-Brazilian martial art hidden in dance. Thornton performed internationally with Pilobolus Dance Theater in concert dance, commercial work, talk shows, and at the 79th Academy Awards. He has worked as a performer and teacher for Pilobolus since 2003, and continues to work as a freelance artist teaching the Pilobolus Method, in addition to performing and creating for Pilobolus Creative Services. Previous dance companies include Jody Oberfelder, Freespace Dance, Alice Farley Dance Theater, and Contemporary Motions. Prior to becoming an assistant professor of dance, he had been a visiting lecturer/artist at Hope since 2005.
More information about OaklandUniversity's Professional Artist Series and the concert are available via the university's website, www.oakland.edu, and ticket information is also available at the university's Varner Box Office, which can be called at (248) 370-3013.


text:
Heroic transportation workers create emergency snowplow convoy to get child to hospital
A group of PennDOT workers pitched in to help clear snow-covered roads in during a nor'easter in Pennsylvania
A group of PennDOT workers pitched in to help clear snow-covered roads in during a nor'easter in Pennsylvania
A group of PennDOT workers pitched in to help clear snow-covered roads in during a nor'easter in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania's transportation secretary visited Pittsburgh on Thursday to congratulate local PennDOT workers who pitched in to help clear snow-covered roads in Monroe County during a nor'easter earlier this month.
Part of their duties included creating an emergency pathway on Interstate 80 for an ambulance to carry a 23-month old boy from Pocono Regional Hospital in East Strausburg to Janet Weis Children's Hospital, 85 miles away in Danville.
"We were expecting 3 to 4 inches an hour, which is a very fast pace," Pennsylvania Transportation Secretary Leslie Richards said.
Conditions were "just horrible," said Richard Staub, who drove one of two trucks with snow plows in an eight-vehicle convoy that included the National Guard.
"There were blizzard conditions, 3 to 4 inches an hour, 45 mph winds," Staub said. "You can't see, snow is coming over the plows, and you just do the best you can."
Toddler stable after snowplow convoy escorts him to hospital
"You couldn't hardly see because the snow was kicking back up on the window and freezing on the window and the wipers were frozen up," PennDOT equipment operator Charles Robinson said.
Richards thanked the crew for their efforts to tackle the storm and help deliver the toddler, Bentley Gingerlowski, for his medical procedure.
Highway foreman Larry Erwin said it was rewarding to know they were doing something meaningful.
"It made me feel good inside, like we're really making a difference here. This is life or death and we need to get this child across the state," Erwin said.
Bentley was born with a rare congenital heart defect, and a low platelet condition caused internal bleeding at the height of the blizzard, said his mother, Nicole.
The boy's parents initially took Bentley to a hospital in East Stroudsburg after he started coughing up blood, but he needed to transfer to Danville to see his specialist and get the treatment he needed, she said.


text:
Oct 06, 2013
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Due to impending rain for this afternoon's conference match between Murray State and Tennessee Tech, the webstream on the OVC Digital Network will be cancelled. The match will still be played with action scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. CDT at Tech Soccer Field. Admission is free.
The Golden Eagles come into today's affair with an overall record of 3-9-0 and 1-2-0 in the OVC, having just dropped their last match on Friday to Austin Peay. The Racers travel to Cookeville with an overall mark of 3-6-1 and 0-3-0 in conference. Murray State is coming off a 3-2 road loss to Belmont on Friday.


text:
One man sitting in the Oval Office can do only so much, no matter who it is.
The people we elect to represent us in Washington have the real power. It's time to stop fighting and work together to help us Americans.
Americans are losing their homes, Americans are on food stamps, Americans need jobs.
Maybe we need to spend some more money and buy a few "time-out chairs."
We are Americans first and Democrats and Republicans second.
Those elected have the obligation to help Americans by doing the jobs they were elected to do.


text:
Pubs Melbourne welcomes Melbourne NSW, browse through our listings to find a lovely Pub, Club or Restaurant of your choice.
Welcome to The Gunyah Hotel.
We have many things on offer with views and atmosphere to keep you coming back!
Our spacious bar is the ideal place to unwind after a hard days work, meet friends for a cool drink or relax and have a punt.
We Boast entertainment of all kinds, whether you enjoy a nail biting game of Footy, a World Title Boxing match, chilling out to live Artists, Duo's and Bands, Karaoke, Trivia, Texas Hold em Poker or Darts, we have something for you at the Gunyah Hotel.
Feeling Hungry?? We have 2 Award Winning Restaurants. Our Swill N Grill Bistro, which is open 7 days or our new Balcony 644 Seafood Restaurant.
What better place to have a function then on the beautiful shores of Lake Macquarie.
The Balcony Function Centre is equiped with the perfect facilities for any function. We are confident that we can design a function package specific to your needs, whether it be a birthday party, engagement party, Christmas party, a graduation, farewell or corporate lunch.
Our aim is to make your function perfect and memorable for all those who attend.
Jewells Tavern have a huge kids' play gym in the Beer Garden, but also have the latest video games that the kids can play in the Playstation Cave - absolutely free! And with our Sunday Kids Disco, face-painters and clowns, we're confident that no other hotel in Newcastle caters so much to families.
But if it's just you looking for a great night out, Jewells Tavern also offer the hottest Live Entertainment, a pool lounge upstairs, TAB facilities with Sydney, Melbourne and regional racing results, and the friendliest bar staff around, all in air-conditioned comfort.
Our newly refurbished function space, The Crown, is the perfect choice for your next event- social or corporate. The Crown easily caters for up to 70 guests for a sit down event or 90 guests cocktail style. We are flexible to suit your needs and can cater for a corporate dinner or event, seminar, wedding reception, engagement party, 21st, all birthdays, family events and wakes. The Crown offers a sophisticated yet relaxed atmosphere, creating the perfect setting for any event.
In addition to The Crown we also have The Jewel space, our lounge area which can comfortably cater for up to 150 guests for a cocktail style function.
Belmont 16's Sailing Club is on the beautiful shores of Lake Macquarie, approximately 90 minutes drive north of Sydney, and just a short drive south of Newcastle.
Sails Eatery offers great club dining, with fresh local produce accompanied by sweeping views. Cafe 16's is open daily till late, boasting great coffee, light snacks and desserts. The Lakeview Lounge and Star Lounge also overlook the lake and have regular live, free entertainment. Enjoy the atmosphere of Sailor's Bar with its collection of sailing memorabilia, live entertainment and also overlooks the lake.
Actually hovering over the water, Gazeway Terrace is perfect for a sunset cocktail party, drinks and canapes. The Lake Macquarie Function Centre is one of the regions newest deicated function venues, offering first class facilities for weddings and conferences with dining packages available for up to 450 guests. Unlike many large function venues, the Function Centre has sweeping 180 degree views.
DOOLEYS is a social club that welcomes all members of the community. We offer an impressive variety of well appointed dining, entertainment and function facilities at three great Sydney locations. DOOLEYS Lidcombe Catholic Club is situated in the heart of Lidcombe, DOOLEYS Waterview Club sits adjacent to parklands on the Parramatta River at Silverwater and DOOLEYS Regents Park Sports Club on Terrene Street at Regents Park.


text:
Moab, even the name sounds as foreign as its landscapes are to a city slicker like me. You see, there comes a point where you can only pound so much payment on your daily two-wheeled commute before you have to get away from it all…and with San Francisco currently undergoing its Bridgepocalypse, the timing seems right for Asphalt & Rubber to get a little dirt on its riding boots.
The truth is that I have wanted to go the parks that flank the Moab, Utah region since my early Boy Scout days. Once I got a car, it went on the short-list for road trip destinations; when I got a 4×4 it became the target for a four-wheeling adventure; and of course when I got a motorcycle…well, you get the idea. I have never made the trip happen though, but all that is going to change next week.
Just as Scott and David get back from Silverstone, covering what should be a very entertaining British GP, I will be embarking on a eight-day, 2,000+ mile, Santa Barbara to Moab and back, motorcycle trip. Like most of my foolish travel adventures, my college roommate Tim, a long-time riding buddy and occasional A&R helper, will make the adventure with me on two trusty steeds: a BMW R1200GS and Yamaha Super Ténéré.


text:
Sorry for the huge delay but a slew of computer problems kept things nice and hectic at the start of the week!
…But who cares!
Anyway, when we left off last week, we were all knee deep in tentacles, tentacles, tentacles and some corruptions with no real way to make sense of it all so let's take a look at that now.
The general kill order will be to burn the Mutated Corruptions then the Elementium Bolts, dealing with the smaller tentacles/bloods as they pop up and throwing whatever damage you can onto the wing or arm tentacle whenever you can.
There should be a fairly heavy burn put onto the Mutated Corruption as soon as it spawns so do your best to hit it with a high burst of threat right from the start and keep your taunts ready in case someone accidentally pulls it off.
If it hits you with the Impale, your offtank should be ready and waiting to snag it off you and you should burn a defensive cooldown to ensure that you don't die to the Impale hit.
The bloods and the Corruption are affected by AoE attacks so when those pop, try to tank them next to the wing/arm so that the extra damage splashes onto it but the Blistering tentacles are NOT affected by AoE, so positioning them next to the major tentacle is not quite as important.
The various dragon aspects provide buffs and assistance throughout the fight but you lose their respective assistance as you clear their platform so go over what they do for you and decide with your raid which order to do them in. You need to play to your strengths. Maybe your raid is packed with AoE healers in which case, you'll be alright freeing up Alexstrazsa early or maybe your raid is better at handling spike damage in which case, you can probably afford to free up Nozdormu first instead.
Handle the platform order according to what your raid is better at handling and you should manage to get to phase 2 before long as each platform is a repeat of the previous ones with minor variations.
The final phase of the fight has you attacking Deathwing himself atop Ysera's platform with him starting at 20%. This is an extremely hard burn phase so as you enter the phase, keep careful track of your defensive cooldowns and try to stagger their use so that you can have at least something helping to keep you alive as long as you can.
There will be two types of adds in this phase; a wave of smaller Fragments which should be burned down and two Terrors which do a large amount of damage and stack a debuff which deals an even more ridiculous amount of damage per second, per stack (30k!). You can slow the stacking damage by tanking within the sphere of Nozdormu's Time Zone but even then, you'll still be taking a huge amount of damage over time so as mentioned, do your best to make sure that SOMETHING is running on you at all times to keep you alive long enough for your raid to burn them down.
Once those two waves are done, it's going to be a straight burn on the boss, ignoring any future waves of adds so do your best to help out with that, keeping the boss debuffed as best as you can as well as maybe tossing out an aoe taunt if the next set of Fragments spawn to keep your damage dealers alive to eke out that last little bit needed to take the dragon down.
It's a pretty hairy fight but stick with it and you'll come out on top!


text:
Cisco Support Community Wins 2012 Web Award for Outstanding Achievement in Mobile
The Web Marketing Association recently announced the Cisco Support Community's technical support iPhone/iPad application as the winner of their 2012 Best Advocacy Mobile Application Award. The app was recognized for its ease of use, breadth of features and intuitive design. What was so eye-catching about this app? Before I go into further detail about the entry, here are some customer testimonials that speak for themselves:
"Just downloaded the app and it is swanky!! It's already helping me in an outage tonight… It beats running across the data-center to where my laptop has to charge!" –Brett Lykins, Network Administrator, Rockingham Memorial Hospital
"It's a great app. I like the functionality and the fact that I can post and reply on the go. Thanks to all who made this possible." –Rajiv Dasmohapatra, Customer Support Engineer, Wipro
The Support Community team saw the rise of mobile influence in addition to the increasing need of making it as convenient as possible when providing support to customers – namely, providing it where customers are "located" even as they are "on the road" for their everyday work. The key winning idea behind this mobile app was to leverage mobile technology and offer smartphone users with Cisco solutions anytime, anywhere.
The mobile app delivers the core capabilities of their online support communities to iPhone, iPad and Android users globally. App functionalities enable users to not only post troubleshooting questions and view answers on forum discussions but also share their technical insights with others. It also offers users the ability to stay updated with the latest Cisco technologies and news via videos, podcasts, and feeds. What's more, the mobile app makes it fun to interact with other customers and support professionals while participating in messaging, leaderboards and community profiles.
The team estimates that the mobile community support is estimated to drive $4-5M in annual cost savings for Cisco through case deflection. Since the iPhone and iPad apps' launches in January 2011 and July 2011, respectively, and the Android version in April 2012, mobile users account for 4% of entire community contributions, and this share is steadily growing.
So what are you waiting for? Download the app today (available in iPhone/iPad or Android OS version), and see what wonders it may work for you!
In an effort to keep conversations fresh, Cisco Blogs closes comments after 60 days. Please visit the Cisco Blogs hub page for the latest content.
2 Comments
Keep up the sprit!!
Silvia K. Spiva
Cisco Support? There's an app for that. Congratulations!


text:
The Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade will be held Dec. 19 to 23. No ifs or maybes. Count on it, and plan to be there. Despite what you may have read, the parade is not canceled. In fact, parade planning is on par with previous years, with more than 60 boats paying a fee to register and planning to participate as of last Friday. In fact, the recent publicity has brought new boaters to the table that want to join in on the fun.
It is not our place to evaluate whether or not the Stop the Dock Tax supporters have a point with their protests about the dock fee adjustments. But we do take exception to hijacking a valuable community event that thousands enjoy every year and is a defining attribute of our city.
This event transcends Newport Beach and has generated valuable coverage in the New York Times. It was named last year by Yahoo as the second most popular Christmas event in the country after Rockefeller Center. That's no small feat. Our community benefits from the event economically and socially and it is one element that makes our community special and unique. It is part of who we are.
Visit Newport Beach Inc. and the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce, along with the Commodores Club, which is the chief organizer of the event, plan to get the word out even more powerfully that our parade will continue and will be a proud symbol of the season and of this city's pride.
This event belongs to Newport Beach. No single group can take it hostage and threaten to hurt others because they have their own issue to resolve. The Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade will shine on, despite any one disruptive group's efforts. So invite your friends, family and guests to come down for a great show.
Gary C. Sherwin
President/Chief Executive, Visit Newport Beach Inc.
Newport Beach
Roadway planters
I read the letter from the concerned Costa Mesa resident regarding the new planter boxes and curb modifications on Broadway ("Mailbag: I'm concerned about Broadway planters," Dec. 2). In the letter, the author complains that cars will have trouble turning on and off Broadway because planter boxes intrude into the street at the intersections. I had to see for myself, so I drove over to Broadway to check it out. I didn't have any problems turning onto Broadway or any of the cross streets. I could see a problem if I were driving a cement truck or something like that. But I wasn't. And I don't think most locals drive cement trucks either.
I don't see a problem. But those planter boxes can really jump out at you when you're not paying attention. I almost hit a couple of them, and I knew they were there. I'm sure hundreds of drivers are going to run into those middle-of-the-road planter boxes and many local front-end alignment shops will benefit from the absent-minded drivers. But one thing is for sure. Those planter boxes really slow down traffic, and that's not a bad thing.
Robert L. Macfarlane
Costa Mesa


text:
This Global Indymedia website is best used as a pointer to local Indymedia coverage. Some Indymedia sites are more active than others. Links to local IMCs are in the left and right columns.
For email contact relating to this global site, please visit: imc-communication
post your news
instantly upload your audio, video, photo or text directly from your browser
IMC technlogy by Mir and IMC Geeks
The Israeli Lobby's Poisonous Influence on US Policy - by Stephen Lendman In his powerful 2006 book titled, "The Power of Israel in the United States," James Petras explained the enormous Jewish Lobby influence on US Middle East policies. Often harming American interests, they're pursued anyway because of its grassroots and high-level control over government, business leaders, academia, the clergy and mass media since at least the 1960s. As a result, anyone challenging Israeli policy risks being intimidated, blackmailed, smeared, pressured, removed from positions of authority, or called a national security or terrorist threat, leaving them vulnerable to unprincipled ostracization, persecution or worse. Among America's 52 Conference of Major American Jewish Organization(s) (CPMAJO), the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) is the oldest, founded in 1897. Established by B'nai Brith in 1913, perhaps the Anti-Definition League is best known. However, in terms of its influence over US Middle East policies, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) stands out. Calling itself "America's Pro-Israel Lobby," it's represented Israeli interests since founded in 1953, then incorporated in 1963 as a division of the American Zionist Council (AZC), its precursor. In 1962, Attorney General Robert Kennedy ordered AZC to register as the foreign agent of the Jewish Agency for Israel (responsible for Israeli immigration) under the 1938 Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). In 1963, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee investigated AZC's stealth Jewish Agency funding. Weeks later, AIPAC was incorporated, replaced AZC, was later granted tax exempt status retroactive to 1953, refuses to register as an foreign Israeli agent, and gets away with it. Today, masquerading as a domestic lobby, it's a stealth foreign Israeli agent, supporting policies harming US interests. Calling itself "America's leading pro-Israeli lobby," its web site says it "works with both Democratic and Republican political leaders to enact public policy that strengthens the vital US-Israel relationship." In fact, functioning as a virtual fifth column, it's poisoned the body politic since exempted from operating lawfully. As a result, as part of the destructive Israeli Lobby, it has virtual veto power over war and peace, trade and investment, multi-billion dollar arms sales, and all Middle East policies under Democrat and Republican administrations alike. Ralph Nader calls Washington corporate occupied territory. It's also Israeli Lobby-controlled, including AIPAC, assuring what Israel wants, it gets, but not without independent voices denouncing its poisonous influence. Included are Jewish organizations against Zionism, a topic addressed in a previous article, accessed through the following link: http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2009/12/jews-against-zionism.html It discussed Zionism's hidden history, as well as opposition groups, including: -- True Torah Jews Against Zionism; -- Not In My Name; -- Jewish Voice for Peace; -- Brit Tzedek V'Shalom; -- Tikkun; -- Satmar; -- Jews Against Racist Zionism; and -- Neturei Karta International. With like-minded organizations and individuals, they oppose a racist, extremist, undemocratic, militant ideology, relying on belligerence, occupation, repression and dispossession, contrary to core Judaic dogma, principles and tradition. They believe it harms all Jews worldwide, and that peace, reconciliation, and co-existence aren't possible until it's repudiated and rejected. Confronting AIPAC The Anti-AIPAC Group's Facebook page calls itself: "against Zionist lobbying installed in the United States, in particular linked to AIPAC....(an organization) constitut(ing) a danger to peace in the world because it imposes its goals (ahead) of the shared interest(s) of America...." Founded in 1951, the American Friends of the Middle East remains an active anti-Israeli lobby. Founded in 1980, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) calls itself the nation's largest Arab-American grassroots civil rights organization. According to the Jerusalem-based NGO Monitor, a pro-Israeli front group, ADC is "very active (in) anti-Israeli political causes." Founded in 1982, the Council for the National Interest (CNI) "encourage(s) and promote(s) a US foreign policy in the Middle East that is consistent with American values, protects our national interests, and contributes to a just solution of the Arab-Israeli conflict." CNI aims "to restore a political environment in America in which voters and their elected officials are free from the undue influence and pressure of foreign countries and their partisans." That position got CNI labeled an anti-Israeli lobby. An earlier article on the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) can be accessed through the following link: http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2010/10/anti-defamation-league-demagoguery-and.html It says "hundreds of groups....organize and participate in various anti-Israeli activities," falsely claiming they spread propaganda and don't promote peace. ADL's top 10 include: (1) Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER) Formed post-9/11, it's been activist against war, imperialism, bigotry, and represents other issues, including civil and human rights, and support for Palestinian equity and justice. (2) Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition It's "committed to comprehensive public education on the rights of all Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and lands of origin, and to full restitution of all their confiscated and destroyed property," according to international law. (3) Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) In defending civil liberties, freedom of religion, diversity, tolerance, and democratic freedoms, it combats hate groups vilifying Islam and Muslims. (4) Friends of Sabeel-North America (FOSNA) It "promotes awareness and understanding" of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict "through educational programs for North American Christians....FOSNA seeks reconciliation between people of the Holy Land in a vision of peace based on principles of a just peace," including "the urgency of ending US support for Israel's illegal military occupation." (5) If Americans Knew (IAK) Its mission is "to inform and educate the American public on issues of major significance that are unreported, underreported, or misreported in the American media." It believes conflict resolution and justice depends on revealing truths, ones major US media sources suppress, supporting the worst of Israeli lawlessness. (6) International Solidarity Movement (ISM) A Palestinian-led initiative, it's committed to resisting Israel's occupation, oppression, domination, and apartheid through nonviolent, direct-action methods. (7) Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) It seeks equity, peace, security, and self-determination for Israelis and Palestinians alike, through "grassroots organizing, education, advocacy, and media." It's the only US Jewish organization providing a voice for Jews and their allies, who believe that Middle East peace is only possible "through justice and full equality" for Jews and Muslims alike. (8) Muslim American Society (MAS) As a religious, charitable, social, cultural, and educational group, its mission is to "move people to strive for God, consciousness, liberty, and justice, and to convey Islam with utmost clarity." (9) Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) By "visualiz(ing) the Palestinian struggle," it opposes apartheid and occupation through protests, memorials, and other ways, highlighting their plight against Israeli aggression and occupation. (10) US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation (USCEIO) It's a "diverse coalition working for freedom from occupation and equal rights for all by challenging US policy towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." Based on human rights and international law, it seeks peace, justice, and conciliation by "chang(ing) the US role," the essential way to do it. Move Over AIPAC: Building a New US Middle East Policy Conference Convening in Washington from May 21 - 24, coinciding with AIPAC's annual meeting, it highlights a "time for a new foreign policy," replacing AIPAC's-controlled one. Access its web site for more information, including how to attend, through the following link: http://www.moveoveraipac.org/about-us/ Over 50 peace and justice groups are participating sponsors, "bring(ing together) activists and concerned citizens from around the country to learn" about AIPAC's destructive influence on US Middle East policy, and "how to strengthen an alternative that respects the rights of all people in the region." Organizational Endorsers and Partners include: -- American Jews for a Just Peace; -- American Friends Service Committee: Pacific Mountain Region; -- Americans United for Palestinian Human Rights; -- Build Bridges Not Walls; -- Citizens for Justice in the Middle East; -- Citizens for Palestinian Self-Determination; -- Coalition for Palestinian Rights; -- CODEPINK: Women for Peace; -- Global Exchange; -- If Americans Knew; -- Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions USA (ICHAD-USA); -- Middle East Children's Alliance; -- Rachael Corrie Foundation; -- Stop AIPAC; -- United for Peace and Justice; and -- dozens more. Speakers include, Helen Thomas, Ralph Nader, Ali Abunimah, John Mearsheimer, Stephen Walt, Phyllis Bennis, former Senator James Abourezk, Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb, Laila El Haddad, Anna Baltzer, and many others. A Final Comment AIPAC is a malignancy in America, lobbying for: -- regional wars and occupation; -- Gaza's siege; -- Palestinian persecution, exploitation, disempowerment, and isolation; denying them their fundamental guaranteed rights under international law; -- Israeli's Apartheid Wall; -- dispossession and illegal settlements; -- neutralizing Israel's adversaries; -- subsidizing Israel lavishly with annual billions of dollars and latest weapons and technology; and -- overall placing Israel's interests over America's, a scandalous agenda nearly the entire Congress and every administration endorse. Returning America's agenda to sanity starts with expunging this corrupting influence, replacing it with a new moral ethic for peace, reconciliation, co-existence, and equal respect for the rights of everyone abroad and at home. Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com. Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening. http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour/.
e-mail:: email@example.com
homepage:: http://sjlendman.blogspot.com
add a comment on this article


text:
The Federal Reserve could keep interest rates exceptionally low through early 2016 if it followed a so-called optimal policy path, according to a senior Fed official.
Fed Vice Chair Janet Yellen in a speech Tuesday described the optimal path as one that keeps inflation closest to Fed's 2% target and the unemployment rate closest to 6%. "This highly accommodative policy path generates a faster reduction in unemployment … while inflation slightly overshoots the Committee's two percent objective for several years."
The early 2016 date is later than the Fed's current forecast, in which it says it expects rates to remain "exceptionally low" through mid-2015.
But such calendar date guidance could soon be eliminated, Yellen suggested. She said the Fed is considering scrapping calendar date guidance in exchange for economic targets such as inflation and unemployment.
Yellen, who heads a special committee inside the Fed considering communications strategy, said she "strongly supports" proposals to "eliminate the calendar date entirely and replace it with guidance on the economic conditions that would need to prevail before liftoff of the federal funds rate…" Such proposals have been made by Chicago Fed Presidents Charles Evans and Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota.
"I support this approach because it would enable the public to immediately adjust its expectations concerning the timing of liftoff in response to new information affecting the economic outlook. This market response would serve as a kind of automatic stabilizer for the economy,'' Yellen said.
The calendar date guidance has been criticized specifically because it is disconnected from economic conditions and requires the Fed to revisit the date as it draws near. (Read more: "Central Banks Can't Inflate Market Prices Forever: El-Erian".)
Failing to lengthen guidance is seen as a tightening of monetary policy since it shortens the window in which the Fed is forecasting rates will be low.
The forecast and communication in general are seen as important elements of monetary policy at a time when the Fed has already lowered the short-term interest rate it controls to zero.
Since it can't lower rates any more, the Fed has instead tried to stimulate the economy with what is now open-ended asset purchases of long-term securities designed to bring down interest rates and communicating how long it plans to keep rates low. (Read more: "Fed Pulls Trigger, to Buy Mortgages in Effort to Lower Rates".)
Evans has suggested that the Fed forecast low rates as along as unemployment remains above seven percent and inflation below three percent. Kocherlakota advocates 5.25 percent on unemployment and 2.25 percent on inflation.
Yellen also emphasized the existing Fed policy sees the official two percent inflation target as an average to be achieved over time, not a ceiling. She said that could mean, in practice, higher inflation rates for a time while it pursues lower unemployment.
-By CNBC's Steve Liesman


text:
Financial services organizations around the world face extraordinary challenges related to profitability, complexity and new regulations in an economic environment we refer to as one of "permanent volatility". With return on equity below historic norms, many firms are undergoing fundamental restructuring of their business models while trying to deal with the impact of regulations such as Dodd-Frank, Basel III, and Solvency II, which can increase both capital requirements and compliance costs. These pressures may force some firms to exit particular lines of business or specific geographies.
Many firms are also dealing with layers of complexity – a legacy from years of rapid growth – and with the consequences of under-investment in technology during the recent years of cost-cutting. In this challenging environment, the integration of risk and finance can be a source of competitive advantage for financial services firms.
Accenture's Finance & Risk Business Service can help financial services firms focus upon the three key challenges of increasing profitability, reducing complexity and managing regulations. Accenture draws upon its end-to-end transformation capabilities as well as core strengths in management consulting, technology, analytics and outsourcing to help firms address complexity and volatility and create sustainable competitive advantage.
We help firms make needed structural changes in core processes such as data management, accounting and reporting, employing global capabilities in consulting, technology delivery, shared services and business process outsourcing. We invest heavily in research and thought leadership across all three major financial services sectors (banking, capital markets and insurance) and have developed a powerful collection of reusable business design components including operating model configurations, capability definitions, and capability assessment models.
Finance & Risk Business Services is at the center of the transformation of the financial services industry, able to respond quickly to address the industry challenges of lower returns, increased regulation and significant internal complexity.
Finance & Risk Business Services can help clients better connect, integrate, and manage these two critical business functions to support long-term, sustainable growth in the following key focus areas:
Increasing Profitability – Helping firms re-define their business and operating models to keep them relevant in the changing economic environment and business needs and drive long-term, profitable growth.
Reducing Risk Exposure – Redefining the client's risk methodology and operating model to reduce portfolio risk exposure and integrate risk culture in business functions.
Reducing Internal Complexity– Leveraging our insights from large-scale transformation experience and our deep industry knowledge to design and implement pragmatic solutions, using flexible, scalable models supported by streamlined processes, data and reporting excellence, automation, world-class infrastructure and a shift to lower-cost shared services.
Managing Regulatory Change – Enabling clients to shape and deliver a comprehensive, coordinated, end-to-end response to regulatory requirements, implementing new finance and risk standards to effectively and efficiently meet emerging compliance and risk management requirements.


text:
Everyone has been talking about Chanel Rouge Coco but I haven't had time to go out and look at it in person yet.
But I have no doubt that its spectacular. Chanel lip products tend to be.
I love Vanessa Paradis – always have. Think she is the perfect woman for Johnny Depp.
So the question is – what shades should I check out ladies?


text:
Drug Cartel Leader "El Loco" Gets Arrested After 49 Beheaded Bodies Found On A Highway!
"Authorities have arrested an alleged Zetas drug cartel leader nicknamed "El Loco," AKA the Fool or the Crazy One, on charges that he dumped 49 headless bodies on a highway outside Monterrey, Mexico. When the Mexican Army came to arrest Daniel Elizondo Jesus Ramirez, say authorities, Ramirez attempted to elude capture by shooting at troops and throwing a fragmentation grenade. Zetas commanders nicknamed The Shrimp and The Speaker have also been linked to the body dump, but officials have not yet apprehended them. The mutilated bodies of 43 men and six women were found near Cadereyta, Mexico on May 13. Though the condition of the bodies made it difficult to identify any of them, some physical features and tattoos indicated that they may have been migrants from southern Mexico and Central America. A graphic seven-minute video posted on the web last week allegedly showed gunmen dumping the bodies, and then flourishing a "narcobanner" "signed" by El Loco and two other alleged Zetas commanders." - Yahoo News
Please click the "Report" button below if the video on this page is not working properly.


text:
How to play Sopcast, TV Ants & PPMate on a MacSite related question? Take a look in our FAQ to see if the answer you're looking for is in there.
Moderator: Gnome
2 posts • Page 1 of 1
How to play Sopcast, TV Ants & PPMate on a Mac
by mrmoonhasleftthestadium
I am viewing football games on my Intel Mac via the Parallels Virtual Machine.
This is how I got it working. Note: I am not a programmer just a hammers fan annoyed at being punished for owning a Mac anything you try is at course at your own risk. Also depending on the software you need and connection speeds this process will vary and I will estimate you will need at least a minimum of 3-4 hrs for everything to be set up.
1) You will need a version of windows XP at least SP3 Disc OR have downloaded a Windows XP ISO found via sites such as http://www.isohunt.com
(Please don't waste hours and a countless number of hairs trying to use windows vista as I had no luck running sopcast or tvants)
2) A running copy of Parallels 3.0 http://www.parallels.com or a via other sources like http://www.isohunt.com
Note: for P2P downloading ISO/ torrent files I would recommend Azureus.
Once this files are downloaded place them on your OSX desktop
Assuming you have obtained the necessary Software and Serials firstly open up parallels for the first time.
Follow the Instructions found here
http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_do_i_i ... top_1.html
It is essential when setting up your Mac with Parallels that you configured you're your Internet connection is setup up properly in the Configuration
Also when you are prompted to INSERT DISC but you have obtained an .ISO select more options and locate the file and select.
Windows XP should be running inside OSX for the first time and your nearly there!
Make sure the windows firewall is set to off as this will conflict with your Apple Firewall.
Download Sopcast TV Ants PPmate etc
Once Installed follow the links via the free sites such as http://www.myp2p.eu. Sit back and enjoy the footy!
Any problems fee free to Pm me and I will try to help the best I can.
Re: How to play Sopcast, TV Ants & PPMate on a Mac
Some additional notes courtesy of LennieHammer ...
I watch West Ham via a Mac and have been using this setup for over a year. If you're using XP, you only need XP with Service pack 2, not 3 as it states above. I don't even think there is a SP3, but it might confuse people if they think they need to search for SP3.
Also, it states that you need to download torrents. But really it might be better to just tell people they need a copy of Parallels and let them either pay for it, or get it via their own means. It's basically telling people how to download pirate software, and I'm fine with that but maybe not everyone is who reads these forums. So if it just said, get a copy of Parallels then install it that would say the same thing without directing people to torrent sites.
Also, the best way to run Parallels is via Boot Camp. As Parallels can only run via an Intel Mac, then it's worth installing Boot Camp and partitioning the drive first. Then install XP/Vista on the partition and then either a) boot Windows via Boot Camp or b) install Parallels and run Windows. Remembering though, that Parallels runs alongside Mac OSX, which means you're running two operating systems parallel with each other, plus Parallels, plus any software you have running on either system and as this isn't even installing XP, but just using a disc image, it means it's using even more processor power.
So the best way to watch West Ham on a Mac is to grab a copy of XP with SP2, or Vista and install Boot Camp, partition your drive, install Windows and Boot Directly into Windows. This way you'll have all your memory working with your football, you won't have to worry about the firewall conflicting or installing paying/downloading Parallels.
Or… http://www.sammo.org/tvantsonmac/
All the best,
2 posts • Page 1 of 1
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest


text:
You are here
Christmas in a Spanish Mission-Style Home
Joan Colangelo decorates straight from the heart
- « prev
- next »
- 1 of 17
From the ages of 5 to 13, Joan Colangelo spent the six-hour drive between her family's home in Chicago and her grandmother's house near St. Louis drawing floor plans and decorating. "Whenever we would pass a little down-at-the-heels house or shack, my sister and I would begin to turn it into something amazing. We would make sketches transforming it with fresh landscaping, beautiful curtains, a better floor plan, the whole thing." As a milliner's daughter and a coal miner's granddaughter, Joan says her family "never had any money. But beginning with my grandmother, who was mainly English, this family had taste coming out its pores. We were always peeling off wallpaper, always redecorating, and we somehow knew instinctively how rooms should look."
The 1926 Spanish Mission-style house.
Photography: Colleen Duffley
Produced by Barbara Mundall
Architect: Mark Candelaria
Interior designers: Joan Colangelo and Kristen Brubaker
Greens with Flair
From the looks of her 1926 Phoenix home, the design gene is clearly dominant in Joan. It shows in every room of the abandoned Spanish Mission-style house she rescued 14 years ago with her husband, Jerry, former owner of the Phoenix Suns and the Arizona Diamondbacks. In fact, the gene was up and strutting before they had the resources to buy such a house or the fine but tightly edited 18th-century French and Italian antiques that furnish it.
The arched front door welcomes guests.
Airy Entry
"Many years ago, when we first married, I made my own slipcovers out of necessity and developed a knack for finding treasures at flea markets," says Joan, who studied interior design through a college retailing curriculum and freelanced as a stay-at-home designer while raising her four children. Jerry also was a self-starter. Before he landed college athletic scholarships and launched his career helping to build the Chicago Bulls basketball team, he grew up in Chicago's Hungry Hill ethnic neighborhood in a house made from lumber salvaged from two old boxcars. His grandfather immigrated from Italy through Ellis Island.
The entry was enlarged, and its stair balustrade replaced with airy ironwork. The circa-1650 English settee is upholstered in old Flemish tapestry panels.
Gracious Living Room
They've come a long way, but material success hasn't changed their focus. For both, it's family first, as evidenced by the history of their home. They bought it with plans to immediately begin restoration. "But our nephew needed a place to live while he was trying to become a professional golfer," says Joan, "and this old house on the golf course where the Phoenix Open was first played was right for him. "The following year, daughter Krissie Brubaker and family moved in with plans to stay briefly. (See Krissie's home here.) Four years later, the house finally became available for Joan's restoration and beautification— work she regards as a mission.
Mantel Decorations
"I believe that being able to bless others by providing or creating something beautiful is a gift God gave our family," Joan explains. It's a gift she shares at the Trouvé antiques and gift shops she and Krissie own in Phoenix and Carmel Valley, California, and it's one that makes her home a haven, especially at the holidays. "We celebrate every Christmas Eve at home with all four children and 10 grandchildren, as well as extended family and friends. We have from 30 to 80 people on any given Christmas Eve."
Comfy Seating
Only the living room is completely original. "Sadly, the house was so fragile that, if we had filled the tub upstairs and jumped, the walls would have tumbled to the ground," says homeowner Joan Colangelo. The room's impressive limestone fireplace was discovered under layers of paint, and its tall windows topped with arched transoms were replicated for all the other, less fortunate, rooms.
Newly re-covered, the sofas have belonged to the Colangelo family forever.
Oh, Christmas Tree
French doors with old-style wavy glass open to the living room.
Spacious Dining
When the group is smaller "and it's 90 percent family, we put the two draw-leaf tables together in the dining room and just keep extending until everyone's seated. When it's a larger group, we're all over the house," laughs Joan. The buffet dinner menu is the same each year: roast tenderloin, ham, sweet potatoes, cranberries, potatoes dauphine, Krissie's cherry pie, daughter Mandie's Galiano cake, a Christmas salad, daughter Kathy's homemade rolls, and Joan's pumpkin pie made from her mother's recipe.
Set for Company
Each year, there are two trees decorated with "ornaments we've had 20 years and ones we've had two years. It's always a blend," notes Joan. The wild fir trees are bought at "the last minute every year off the truck of an octogenarian who drives them here from Oregon. They are airy, like our home," Joan explains.
Joan sets her holiday table with antique silver, china, crystal and rustic iron candelabras. A 17th-century gilded French mirror hangs above the console.
Delightful Porch
It was its airiness that first persuaded her to buy the house, which had sat vacant for more than a decade. "There was something so amazing about its bones—the light from the tall windows. I could always imagine Clark Gable stopping here for cocktails on his way to the desert," Joan fantasizes.
The Ballroom
Her 18-year-old granddaughter, Hilary (Krissie's daughter), apparently inherited the design gene—early on, she "got" the home's appeal. "She was only four when she walked into what's known here as an 'Arizona room.' It was rough, with concrete floors and steps leading to the main house, but it featured a majestic window. Hilary turned to me and asked, 'Is this your ballroom?' Well, it is now. I love music, and this is the room we've now set up for musical gatherings. I had the floors redone in wood to look like 17th-century chevron floors."
Light from the graceful windows casts a glow on the room's new wood floors laid in a chevron pattern.
Graceful Moves
Of course this is a basketball family, and a certain amount of ribbing about a ballroom was inevitable. "The carpenters couldn't resist drawing a basket in front of the word 'ballroom' every time they saw it on the floor plans," Joan laughs.
But the room's elegance blocked the joke from being a slam dunk. A pair of 18th-century Italian side chairs, a circa-1790 French gilt mirror, and an 18th-century Italian trumeau put a regal spin on the notion of court that has nothing to do with b-ball. Yet even in this most formal space, the mood remains low-key and light—Joan's signature design style.
The ballroom, formerly a porchlike "Arizona room," is transformed with 18th-century French and Italian antiques, including a Venetian sofa.
Elegant Sitting Area
"There is a place in design for a cozy room, but I'm drawn to a lighter look. I always come back to the soft colors of sky or a foggy day for serenity," she says. Crisp whites and creamy buttermilks dress the furniture and lend a more casual look, while the pale walls go glam with gilding on just a hint of raised paneling.
There's a comfortable getaway at the top of the stairs near tall doors that open to a balcony.
Bedroom Retreat
"I don't like a lot of bling or glitz," notes Joan. At Christmas, this means she relies on serene natural greens to announce the season. "Without too many objects to distract, you can enjoy the spaces and the people in them."
A pair of late-18th-century benches that Joan found in Paris are at the foot of the 19th-century French iron bed. The Louis XV-style French brass ormolu desk is 19th century.
Homeowners Joan and Jerry Colangelo.


text:
The NFL's Collective Bargaining Agreement protects the league and its teams from a wide variety of player lawsuits; indeed, the concussion litigation eventually may fail because of the terms of the CBA.
But the CBA doesn't provide protections to folks who fall outside the employment relationship. In Houston, that has resulted in the filing of a lawsuit by a former Texans punter against the company that operates Reliant Stadium, where the Texans play their games.
Via multiple reports, Brett Hartmann has sued for injuries sustained during a December 2011 game. He claims that his foot was caught in a seam on the playing field, which consists of trays of grass and not an even, continuous surface.
The civil complaint, posted by Deadspin, points to other non-contact injuries suffered on the field, including the torn ACL suffered by Pats receiver Wes Welker on the last day of the 2009 regular season. The lawsuit quotes New England coach Bill Belichick, who called the playing surface at Reliant Stadium "terrible," and former Colts coach Tony Dungy, who has said that his team was "definitely concerned about the injury factor" on the surface at Reliant Stadium.
Earlier today, Commissioner Roger Goodell said on ESPN Radio that player health and safety is our "number-one priority," that "[i]t's something we've always focused on and we continue to focus on it." Player health and safety is jeopardized not only by players hitting other players, but by the playing surfaces on which they play.
Fortunately, the green cement known as Astroturf no longer pollutes NFL stadiums. But if the league is serious about safety (in all forms and not only concussions), then the NFL and the NFLPA have an obligation to ensure that every playing surface in every NFL stadium is deemed safe and fit — from Heinz Field to Soldier Field to Reliant Stadium to the slick pitch that is Wembley Stadium.


text:
European researchers may have found a way to speed up data storage 100-fold, breaking one barrier holding back how fast data can be transferred.
If successfully translated to a storage product, the new technology alone would theoretically cut the time to store a bit of data on a hard disk drive from a nanosecond - a billionth of a second - to a hundred-billionth of a second.
That means the aggregate time to store the bits in a terabyte of data would drop from about 22 minutes to about a minute and 20 seconds.
The researchers at York University in the UK and Nijmegen University in the Netherlands accomplished the feat by heating a magnetic material with laser bursts that alter what is called the magnetic spin of the material at the atomic level, according to an explanation by York University. There are two possible spins, parallel and anti-parallel, and in storage, these binary states would represent the ones and zeros that designate bit types.
Current storage on hard drives alters spin using a fluctuating magnetic field, which is slower, the researchers say. Their method "used X-ray Magnetic Circular Dichroism (XMCD) to investigate thin films of an alloy of gadolinium iron and cobalt (GdFeCo) to study ultrafast spin reversal."
The researchers didn't say how long it might take for their discovery to be turned into ultra-fast storage devices.


text:
Commerce City began as a trading post and ranch that provided food to gold seekers following the South Platte River Trail around 1859. Since then, the city has reinvented itself several times over the years into the centrally located and fastest growing community that is now a working mix of residential and industrial.
This tight-knit community north of Denver is home to one of the largest soccer complexes in the United States and the largest urban wildlife refuge in the nation. The Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge is made up of 15,000 acres roamed by everything from bison to mule deer, while the skies above are patrolled by bald eagles. It also houses the largest oil refinery in the Rocky Mountain region, since Suncor acquired and merged with the ConocoPhillips facility in 2003.
Enjoy the 840 acres of open space, some of which contain the only short grass prairies still in existence today, or play 18 holes at the championship Buffalo Run Golf Course. Commerce City is a wonderful urban town that has found the formula to successfully blending living, working and playing into one community.


text:
Sell stock photography and images online
Shopify has everything you need to build an online store
Start your free 14-day trial today!
We manage the ecommerce. You manage the photos
Shopify gives you more time to do what you do best, while we handle the backend logistics of running a successful ecommerce website. Every day, new websites are built, advertisements are designed and a slew of marketing collateral is created. This means stock photography is in high demand. Let Shopify help you set up and run your online stock photography store quickly and painlessly.
A ready-to-go ecommerce system
Shopify's ecommerce system is predefined, set up and ready for implementation the moment you say the words. We help you save time during the setup process so you can start selling your stock photography right away. Choose from hundreds of web themes to create your site and sell stock photography online. Our shopping cart system facilitates seamless order processing, inventory management and customer tracking. With fast servers, protected hosting, helpful apps and an unlimited bandwidth capacity, Shopify already has what it needs to support your business as it grows in the long-term.
All the features you want, none of the hassle
Shopify makes it easy to build and manage your online store
Simple interface
Easily manage your products within the Shopify admin. Upload your own images or use our free stock photos, add new products, feature items, edit inventory, and much more.
Business tools
Keep track of the status on all orders. Analyze your order history to build better customer relations and target your marketing campaign.
Professional templates
Check out our Theme Store or design your own. You have complete control over the look and feel of your store via the admin and theme settings.
We're here to help, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can email or call our dedicated support team if you have any issues.
A home for your brand
Shopify offers a fully customizable store design
Quick and easy
New to ecommerce and web development? Don't worry: our step-by- step process makes it quick and easy to build an ecommerce website.
Beautiful storefront
Whether you are an experienced programmer or you've never had a website, our online store builder will help you create a store that looks even better than your competition.
Fully customizable
And if you dabble in code, Shopify gives you 100% control over the HTML & CSS of your storefront, so you can customize every aspect of your shop.
Find stock photography and images to sell with Oberlo
Use Oberlo's marketplace to find millions of products without worrying about inventory, packaging, or shipping.
Running a different type of business?
Sell ink toners and cartridges
Sell magazine subscriptions and downloads
Sell stock photography and images


text:
Who would want to use Facebook as a bank? That's the question that immediately arises from news that the social network intends to get into the electronic money business.
According to the Financial Times, Facebook is close to receiving authorization from Ireland's central bank to become an "electronic money institution." The status would allow it to process transfers and payments throughout Europe, where the market for non-bank financial services appears to be heating up with big new entrants such as Vodafone. The customers Facebook is targeting, though, might be as much in developing nations as in Europe.
The developed world, and Europe in particular, is far from the best place to break into banking. Most people are already perfectly capable of sending money to each other in various ways. According to the World Bank, the share of adults with bank accounts ranges from 98 percent in Germany to 45 percent in Romania, and financial inclusion rates in Europe will inevitably converge. Google has had an e-money license in Britain for almost three years, but its Google Wallet service appears to be bringing in little revenue. Full functionality, including personal transfers, is available only in the U.S., where 88 percent of people have bank accounts.
Facebook, however, may be taking aim at a different demographic: Migrants who work in the developed world and send money home to the developing world. This is an area ripe for disruption. The companies, some bank-affiliated and some independent, that now dominate the market tend to charge a lot for their services and mostly aren't much fun to use. Last year, they channeled a total of $404 billion in remittances, a number that the World Bank predicts will expand to $436 billion. The most expensive "corridor" runs from South Africa to Zambia: It costs $21 to send $200, according to the World Bank. The biggest recipient country is India, whose residents received $71 billion last year.
Facebook has about 100 million users in India. One can send the euro equivalent of $200 from Germany to India for $1 in a matter of days using a London startup called TransferWise, set up by Skype's first employee Taavet Hinrikus and another Estonian, Kristo Kaarmann. Facebook might be able to improve on that by guaranteeing instantaneous transfers, and perhaps by offering lower prices, because it is so huge. Facebook is reportedly talking to TransferWise and its peers about some kind of partnership.
A European e-money license is only one piece of the puzzle Facebook needs to assemble if it is to muscle into the migrant remittance market. It would need to secure regulatory approval and set up or acquire an infrastructure in India and other large developing countries. The important part is making it easy for people to withdraw cash. Vodafone's e-money operation, M-Pesa, solved this in Kenya by setting up a nationwide network of agents who pocket most of the commission the service earns. Facebook has ample motivation to try something similar: If it made a quarter of a cent on each dollar transferred to India by migrant workers, it would have a $177 million revenue stream.
If companies such as Facebook and Google build up experience serving the unbanked in the developing world, they could someday challenge retail banks in rich countries. For the time being, getting involved in the remittance industry could be an interesting way to monetize user bases that are not particularly valued by advertisers.
Leonid Bershidsky writes on Russia, Europe and technology for Bloomberg View.


text:
Volcano Breakfast Buns
An easy but different breakfast.
parsley, +sandwich rolls, +ham, +eggs, +cheese, +paprika
www.bestrecipes.com.au - Similiar recipes
Farmer's Breakfast
I wanted to thin out some of my cookbook collection so I decided to place some of my favorite recipes here. This is from the Amish Friends cookbook. Yummy...
parsley, +bacon, +cheddar cheese, +eggs, +hash browns, +onions, +salt
Fancy but Easy Breakfast Custard Omelets
This is a very easy, yet elegant breakfast dish. I like to serve with English muffins and fresh fruit salad. Please note: this is an adopted recipe and...
parsley, +butter, +eggs, +black pepper, +half and half, +onions, +salt, +tomato
Matzah Breakfast Pancake - My Style Recipe
This is my very own recipe. It didn't come from a book, a friend or computer. It can be prepared for breakfast or brunch and served with fresh fruit such...
parsley, +eggs, +cheddar cheese, +green pepper, +salt, +onions, +onion powder, +olive oil
www.grouprecipes.com - Similiar recipes
Breakfast Casserole
This breakfast casserole can be made the night ahead, refrigerated and cooked in the morning for a no-stress breakfast. Recipe source: Bon Appetit (April...
parsley, +bread, +butter, +eggs, +cilantro, +green onion, +milk, +muenster cheese, +mushroom, +black pepper, +salt, +water
Bed & Breakfast Ham-And-Egg Baskets
This is a clever way to serve ham and eggs for breakfast, and it's ideal for hostesses tired of the usual bacon-eggs-tomato flat on a plate! Serve with...
parsley, +grape tomatoes, +ham, +eggs, +parmesan cheese, +sea salt, +white pepper
Ham Breakfast Casserole
This breakfast is energy filled for the busy day ahead.
parsley, +cheddar cheese, +onion powder, +eggs, +ham, +lemon pepper, +milk, +mushroom, +bread
Breakfast Link Bake
"When serving a hungry crowd, this breakfast sausage, potato, and egg bake is sure to satisfy kids and adults alike."
parsley, +baking powder, +black pepper, +cheddar cheese, +eggs, +milk, +onions, +salt, +vegetable oil
allrecipes.com - Similiar recipes
Breakfast Pizza
I love breakfast casseroles, but this is one of my favorites. Add some steamed asparagus and maybe a garlic grits casserole and you have a wonderful breakfast...
parsley, +bacon, +butter, +eggs, +pastry, +black pepper, +onions, +parmesan cheese
Heart Healthy Breakfast Scramble
parsley, +nonstick cooking spray, +smoked sausage, +hash browns, +tomato, +eggs
find.myrecipes.com - Similiar recipes
Can't find what you are looking for? Try our custom google recipe search:
Custom Search
Your Ingredients:
Legend: click ingredients to include or exclude
have this
need to use this
exclude this
Ingredient Informationparsley
AboutAbout Us
Contact Us
Privacy Policy
On the WebFacebook
Twitter Recipe Search Bot
ToolsAdd to your Website
Search alongside Google
Recipe Puppy for iPhone
Vegetarian Search
Vegan Search
MoreSubmit your Recipe
Cooking Q&A
Online Grocery Delivery
Restaurant Gift Certificates
Restaurant Coupons


text:
Yarka St. PetersburgProfessional WatercolorPans
Tombow MonoProfessional DrawingPencils
Fluid 100WatercolorPaperBlock
BlickPencil Case
15% Off Orders of $45 or More + Free Shipping
Available Offers
Today's Deal
Free Shipping
On Orders of $25 or More**
15% Off
Orders of $45 or More*
SUMMER CYBER DEALSJuly 12-16
While supplies last.
Use Code: CEVY
*Exclusions apply**After discounts taken
SUMMER CYBER DEALS – July 12-16. While supplies last.
**After discounts taken
Browse more:
Blockx Soft Pastels are handmade in Belgium using pure pigments in the same tradition started by company founder and chemist Jacques Blockx in 1844. Pastels are soft and velvety in texture. Best-suited for use on pastel paper.
Color Swatches created using heavy to light application and were applied on 100 lb (163 gsm) drawing paper material.
bismuth orthovanadate or bismuth vanadium oxide
Bismuth Yellow is an intense, light value, semi-opaque yellow pigment with good tinting strength.
Bismuth Yellow has excellent lightfastness.
Bismuth orthovanadate is harmful if swallowed. It is irritating to the eyes, respiratory system, and skin. Exposure may cause conjunctivitis, rhinitis, and reversible irritation of the respiratory tract. More severe cases may cause bronchitis, bronchospasms, and asthma like disease. It may cause polycythemia, red blood cell destruction and anemia, albuminuria and hematuria, gastrointestinal disorders, nervous complaints, and severe cough. However, bismuth vanadium oxide is completely insoluble in water. This limits absorption and biological activity. In waterbased paints, it must be suspended in a binder vehicle. Because of low absorption, such clinical symptons are primarily limited to cases of long-term occupational exposure.
Bismuth orthovanadate occurs naturally in several minerals. Although it was synthesized in the 1920s, it was not developed as a commercial pigment until the 1970s.
Permanent Lemon Yellow, Vanadium Yellow.
Your cart is currently empty.
Your cart currently contains N item.
Gift Idea
Material Safety Data Sheet
® Blockx is a registered trademark.


text:
From MeritBadgeDotOrg
This template may be used only in accordance with MeritBadgeDotOrg's guide to deletion. Please do not use it when there are legitimate alternatives to deletion.
Applying this template
Two easy steps:
- Step 1. Apply the {{Delete}} template at the top of the actual page you are nominating for deletion.
- Note: Remember to make use of your edit summary... plainly state you applied the {{Delete}} template.
- Step 2. State your request and reasons on the associated talk page. Make sure you apply a level 1 heading (see Help:Editing) titled Request for deletion at the top of your request.
- Note: Again, make use of your edit summary... plainly state you are nominating the associated article for deletion (and briefly state why).
- — If (for some odd reason) you need to nominate a talk page for deletion, simply apply steps 1 & 2 on the talk page itself. (Don't forget your edit summary.)
Removing this template
Once a User has applied this template and requested a page deletion (steps 1 & 2 above), only an administrator may remove the template.
Step 1. At the top of article foo, insert:
Step 2. Over on talk page for article foo, amend (at the bottom) as follows:
==Request for deletion== I nominate article foo for deletion because it is redundant, not to mention nearly gibberish. ~~~~
Pages tagged with this template are automatically added to Category:Articles nominated for deletion and remain so until the template is removed, or the article is deleted.


text:
Have a great weekend and a Happy Fathers Day!
Friday, June 19, 2009
The Mr. Man Party
Have a great weekend and a Happy Fathers Day!
53 comments:
- Tiffany said...
wow, I am a loser Mom. My kid got a Costco pie and a used number 2 candle... maybe next year :)
- June 19, 2009 at 11:26 AM
- angela hardison said...
I love love all of this. How adorable. And great photos too.
- June 19, 2009 at 11:31 AM
- Whitney said...
Ha ha the mustache pictures are classic!!! Thanks so much for letting us come. Everything was amazing. Once again you out did yourself.We love the boys!
- June 19, 2009 at 11:39 AM
- McMemories said...
Oh my gosh what a GREAT party!!!!! I loved it all, the cookies the mustaches!! So fun!!
Happy Birthday to your little mr.men!! How lucky they are to have such a fun and cute mommy!!
- June 19, 2009 at 11:43 AM
- Briana Ward said...
So SO cute!!!! I think your other calling in life is part planer extraordinaire!!!!! I am so glad they had a wonderful birthday!!!
- June 19, 2009 at 1:45 PM
- nameisgrace said...
you are amazing! that is one of the cutest and most creative parties i've seen. ps. where did you get the turquoise chairs that your little girls are photographed sitting on? i LOVE them!
- June 19, 2009 at 1:48 PM
- twin2trip said...
thanks for all of the nice comments.
Grace - Those chairs were actually purchased 4 years ago @ TJ MAXX. I wish I could find more of them...trust me I have looked every time I go. Perhaps you will have better luck in CA.
- June 19, 2009 at 3:30 PM
- Niki {A*Lovely*Lifestyle} said...
oh me, oh my!! could this have been any more adorable? or perfect?
you are truly gifted my friend.
you need to be a party planner...definitely. you could make millions.
i love the perfect combination of the dreamy yet manly decor.
- June 19, 2009 at 4:24 PM
- Cyn said...
I'm so thankful to be able to spend a little bit of time with your little men on Sunday's. You're an amazing Mom!
- June 19, 2009 at 5:24 PM
That is cool beyond words.
- June 19, 2009 at 5:31 PM
- Cheryl said...
Your back yard looks so great all decorated with the cute ties and pirate planters, etc. You are so amazing and to think you made nutritious cupcakes. I'm impressed!Happy birthday to all the Mr. Men! The pictures turned out fabulous as usual!
- June 19, 2009 at 7:52 PM
- Amanda said...
You are Amazing!!! Happy Birthday to your Misters.
- June 19, 2009 at 9:16 PM
- Courtney Vance said...
You are such a great mother. I hope I can live up to half of what you are some day. The party looks like it was amazing. Hope it was a great time.
- June 19, 2009 at 10:05 PM
- Laura Smith said...
wow! i'm impressed; this so cutest thing i have ever seen.
- June 20, 2009 at 2:49 AM
- Lauren said...
Are you kidding me? That had to be THE BEST party ever! I am in love.
- June 20, 2009 at 7:28 AM
- Aimee's Family Journal said...
You are amazing. I wish I could have seen all that set up in real life! I love your ideas little lady!
- June 20, 2009 at 8:44 AM
- Shannon said...
Oh my gosh you are amazing! How cute was that!
- June 20, 2009 at 12:14 PM
- Carolyne said...
I just love your blog! Those mustaches are so fun!
And how did you manage to carry three darling little boys?! And, I thought being pregnant with one was awful.
- June 20, 2009 at 12:49 PM
- Mimi said...
Are you kidding me with this cuteness? I love it! GREAT IDEA! Happy Birthday little men!
- June 20, 2009 at 11:57 PM
- Marketing Unscrambled, learn to earn 14 said...
What a wonderful party you had for your little ones. You always have the best photos. Thank you for sharing.
Dan and Deanna "Marketing Unscrambled"
- June 21, 2009 at 2:11 AM
- The Harris Family Daily Chat said...
You are the hostess I want to be one day. Start a class, already!!
- June 21, 2009 at 10:55 AM
- Annie said...
Great job! Honestly, we should have gone in the event planning business together.
Happy birthday boys!
- June 22, 2009 at 1:51 AM
- Lindsay Rector said...
Oh my heck Christina- you out did yourself!! I love the party idea and all that went with it. You're very creative. I know you feel like you've lost a lot of brain power, but honey, you haven't in the slightest!!
- June 22, 2009 at 2:36 PM
- :: imprintables:: said...
this party is SUPER! love the chocolate moustaches - what a great laugh.
- June 23, 2009 at 4:26 AM
- lisalyn said...
What an amazing party!! I love all the details. So so cute!
- June 23, 2009 at 5:03 AM
- Our Green Nest said...
This party is super adorable!!! Love the theme so much.
- June 23, 2009 at 5:12 AM
- Marian said...
What a perfect theme!! Good job mom!
- June 23, 2009 at 12:02 PM
- Jenny said...
Wow! I think you should be a party planner. How do you find the time or energy to plan such a fun bash!What a great mom!
- June 23, 2009 at 7:10 PM
- this blessed nest said...
such great details! such a great party idea for 3 (again 3) little men! soooo inspired.
- June 24, 2009 at 3:21 PM
Oh my cuuuuuuuuuute! I wish my son would let me do this for his 4th birthday but I think he wants ANOTHER football party...LOL.
- June 28, 2009 at 8:30 AM
what an adorable party! Love the mustaches! :)
- June 29, 2009 at 2:13 PM
- Whitney Hannah Hill said...
Can I ask where you got all the paper lanterns? I am in need and am wondering if you found them at a decent price - I love the look and the colors!
- June 29, 2009 at 3:25 PM
- twin2trip said...
You'll never believe this but I bought all of the smaller lanterns @ Dollar Tree. They were white so I just spray painted them the colors that I needed. The large white ones were from Wal-Mart & I think they cost $3.50 a piece (they were in the 4th of July section)
Hope that helps!
- June 29, 2009 at 3:43 PM
- Paper + Ink Studio said...
what an awesome idea!! love it. great job.
- June 29, 2009 at 3:53 PM
- Debbie said...
what a fun little boy birthday idea! thanks for the inspiration!
- July 1, 2009 at 2:46 PM
- ilearningglobal.tv.business said...
so fun! Love the pictures and the ties!
- July 2, 2009 at 12:26 AM
- RWilson05 said...
Can I beg you for the cupcake recipe!?!?! I have 4 littles, and therefore TONS of opportunities to bake cupcakes! Puhlease!!!! =)
- July 3, 2009 at 4:32 PM
- lizawiza said...
- July 10, 2009 at 9:00 PM
- Not just a Mommy! said...
I heart this party, and with 2 boys, it's right up my alley. I just have to share with my readers!
- July 12, 2009 at 4:17 PM
- Rebecca said...
This is one of the most original birthday party ideas I've ever seen! Loved it!! :)
- August 23, 2009 at 7:40 PM
- Leslie said...
Im so totally in love with this. Throwing a party for my one year old boy soon, who has a total comb over .. no joke... Im so inspired by this... thanks for all the great ideas!
- September 10, 2009 at 2:11 PM
- Beth said...
I SOOOOOO love this party idea and plan to steal some of your ideas for my son's 2nd birthday in December. We call him "Little Man" all the time. Any tips you are willing to share would be much appreciated. Where did you get the cute "tie" napkins? Did you find all the ties at thrift stores? How did you find someone to do those chocolate mustaches?
- September 30, 2009 at 6:56 AM
- Charee B Mcclellan said...
i have to laugh, during my pregnancy for our 1st born (we didn't have a name yet)..we called him MR. MAN! i seriously thought that i had made it up! for my showers people even put it on the cakes, on the cards and everything. once he was born and had a name...i never thought about it again. he just turned 2...this would have been such a great idea! shoot...i looked at this a month to late! great ideas, very fun.thanks!
- October 20, 2009 at 2:19 PM
- email@example.com said...
This is AMAZING! What a wonderful idea for a party. All the little details are so fabulous. I would love to link to this if you didn't mind.
- October 27, 2009 at 5:33 PM
- Tech-y Teacher's Teaching Tool said...
What a cute idea! Where did you get the tie napkins and how did you make the mustache lollipops?
- January 12, 2010 at 5:59 PM
- sara said...
darling! can i ask how you made the orange striped backdrop? i have been trying to figure out how to make a pink striped one for my daughter's birthday, and i would love any tips!
thanks- isaacsara1 at gmail
- February 23, 2010 at 7:09 PM
- Full House said...
Sara - I just used butcher paper and paint. on a roller.
Hope that helps!
- February 24, 2010 at 7:17 AM
- Kim @ Frost Me! said...
you sure have your hands full! Great party! Love the photo/tie banner!
Kim @ http://frostmeblog.blogspot.com
party inspiration
- June 28, 2010 at 6:00 AM
- mannyval said...
The triplets sure loved the Mr. Man party. And based on how the pictures show, even the elders enjoyed the party as well.
Cars Party Supplies
- March 7, 2011 at 1:21 AM
- aldrin james said...
Your boys are so cute. I am sure they really enjoy that Mr. Man party. I love all the photos that you post. I wish that I was there too. The party is just so great.
Sonic the Hedgehog Party Supplies
- March 7, 2011 at 5:59 PM
Best for Bride - Bridal Store for wedding dresses and bridal gowns offers bridesmaid dresses, mothers of the bride and evening dresses for sale and rent . wedding decoration Toronto | wedding decor Toronto
- September 18, 2011 at 9:27 PM
- bigA said...
What is the orange and white backdrop behind the neck ties made of?
- June 15, 2012 at 7:38 AM
- Funtasia Nyc said...
This is too cool! Neckties as party banner, silly chocolate mustaches? What could be more fun and creative than that!
party place for kids in brooklyn
- August 5, 2012 at 5:21 AM


text:
SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Reuters) - Texas Governor Rick Perry, the nation's longest-serving governor and a failed contender for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, planned to announce Monday whether he will seek re-election next year.
Perry, 63, is best known nationally for his poor performance as a Republican candidate for the White House. During a debate in November 2011, he famously forgot the government departments he would abolish if he were elected to the White House and dropped out of the race a few weeks later.
Perry has set a 1 p.m. news conference Monday in San Antonio to make what was billed as an important announcement.
Asked on "Fox News Sunday" whether a presidential run is in the cards, Perry said: "Well, certainly, that's an option out there, but, again, we got a lot of work to do in this building right behind me over the course of the next couple of weeks that have my focus substantially more than even 2014 or 2016."
The timing of his announcement comes shortly after he rehired his former presidential campaign communications director Mark Miner, and as Perry is locked in a heated battle with Texas Democrats over restrictions on abortion.
"In Texas, the road to the governor's office goes straight through the Republican primary electorate," said Mark P. Jones, a political scientist at Rice University in Houston. "Right now, Perry retains very strong support among Republican primary voters."
Perry is motivated to overcome his embarrassing national stumble, Jones said. Perry and his consultants later blamed the debate gaffe on pain from a recent back surgery.
"Pundits and liberals and Perry opponents care far more about the 'oops moment' than do voters in the Republican primary," Jones said. "As long as he does well on the campaign trail."
Perry took office in December 2000 after then-Texas Governor George W. Bush was declared winner of the disputed presidential election over Democrat Al Gore. Perry was elected to a full term in 2002, and re-elected 2006 and 2010.
If he runs for a fourth four-year term, Perry may face what is known around Texas as "Perry fatigue." Perry is already by far the longest serving governor in Texas history, and a recent poll by the Democratic-leaning PPP polling group indicated that 60 percent of Texans don't want him to run for governor again.
A poll by Rasmussen Reports last week showed Perry running sixth among Texas Republicans for president in 2016. The leader among Texas Republicans is Ted Cruz, Texas' junior U.S. senator.
Perry brushed aside those concerns on "Fox News Sunday."
"You know, polls are polls. As a matter of fact, I think it was four years ago that showed us 25 points down to a sitting U.S. senator," Perry said.
Perry defeated Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, who was considered the most popular politician in Texas, by 22 points to win the Republican primary in the 2010 governor's race.
Perry also is embroiled in a battle over abortion restrictions that made State Senator Wendy Davis a national figure and likely Democratic candidate for governor in 2014.
Democratic Party consultant Jason Stanford said the uproar over Davis may sway the governor, who opposes abortion.
"Before Wendy Davis became a national star, people weren't giving Rick Perry good odds of running for re-election," Stanford said. "Everybody assumed he would go off into the sunset and get ready to run for president... Now it looks like he's spoiling for a fight."
Reporting by Karen Brooks in Austin and Jim Forsyth in San Antonio; Editing by Greg McCune, Barbara Goldberg, Doina Chiacu