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Work in Progress
Albuquerque's animal shelters strive to clean up their act
by Christie Chisholm, Weekly Alibi, September 7, 2006
Nine years old and blind: a prime candidate for euthanasia. That's how Debbra Colman found her. The sign read: German Shepherd, female, 9 years, blind, spayed. When Colman rescued Ladybug from the Eastside Animal Care Center and brought her to a veterinarian, the verdict was a little different: German Shepherd, female, 5 years, not blind, un-spayed. She was so "not blind," in fact, that when Colman tossed a ball 30 feet away, the cloudy-eyed dog would run and fetch it easily, eager for another round.
Before Ladybug was rescued from the shelter, she was on the same track as 16,000 other dogs and cats put down in Albuquerque's animal care system every year. It's a hard number to digest, but it's a stark reality of animal overpopulation: too many cats and dogs, too few people who come to adopt them, and many animals that are so maltreated and abused by former owners that they're too sick or aggressive to adopt.
Which brings us back to Ladybug. When you're put in a shelter system that sees 700 new animals every week, where more than 300 a week are euthanized, you need all the help you can get. Chopping four years off your perceived life expectancy and being stuck with the label "blind" doesn't help your chances much. So why was Ladybug, an adoptable dog, inaccurately represented? If you ask Colman, she'll tell you it's a matter of staffing levels at the shelter: too few employees with too much work—the kind of work that breaks your heart fresh every day.
Colman, an animal rights activist, is one who should know. In May 2003, she made a deal with the city: The city would pay her $1, and she would work for a year in the shelters and be given access to records and procedures. At the end of the year, she would make recommendations on how to better the shelters. The year ended, Colman failed to see most of her recommendations implemented, and so she founded the Alliance for Albuquerque Animals, a nonprofit animal welfare group that works to improve the lives of shelter animals.
For years, animal welfare advocates throughout the city have known the situation is grim and desperate. The goal is to bring that daunting number of 16,000 down to something closer to 8,000, a number achieved by cities like Seattle, which has a similar population size to Albuquerque.
Yet, with such a dismal reality, there is still hope. The shelters are better than they were just a few years ago, and they're still improving. And about 50 miles north in Santa Fe, there's even more cause for optimism. There, the Santa Fe Animal Shelter & Humane Society has transformed itself from a well-worn, dilapidated building full of stretch marks, broken plaster and high euthanasia rates to a state-of-the art facility—the kind of place where the true definition of "shelter" comes to life, and euthanasia rates have dropped by 40 percent. In fact, at the Santa Fe shelter, not one healthy animal has been euthanized this year.
Trouble in Mind
Perhaps one of the people to thank is Marcy Britton—for without her, conditions at the Albuquerque Animal Care Center might never have improved. She discovered that something was amiss at the shelters one day in 1999, when she dropped off a stray 6-week-old kitten at the Eastside shelter and witnessed its strangulation, due to improper handling on the part of a staff member.
The instance spurred Britton, the founder of Justice for Animals, to file a criminal complaint against the worker, which eventually led to a lawsuit against the city. Britton spent the whole of her life savings—$95,000—and the city dished out a few grand to call in the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) for an evaluation of the shelters in 2000. The decree wasn't good. HSUS reported inhumane and abusive treatment of animals, and said veterinary care of sick and diseased animals was inadequate. One of the bigger issues that arose from their report was that of euthanasia practices, which were found to be cruel and sometimes ineffective. Britton claims that once a dog actually walked out of a freezer after being declared dead the day before.
Staffing levels also constituted a problem. Too few staff equaled poor customer service, with potential adopters waiting up to two hours for assistance. It also meant animals couldn't possibly be cared for properly—despite staffers' best intentions. Kennels needed to be cleaned, animals needed to be fed, other animals needed to be euthanized: There simply weren't enough people to do it all well.
HSUS gave the shelters a long list of recommendations—one of which was that they needed to be invited back for a reevaluation. Last month, they returned.
A Change of Scenery
The results from HSUS' evaluation won't be released until the end of October or early November, according to Kim Intino, director of Animal Sheltering Issues with HSUS. But it's expected that when it is, the findings will be dramatically different than those of six years ago.
A walk around the shelters today is brighter than years past, although there's still obvious room for improvement. Euthanasia practices have changed for the better. Several years ago, all animals that were to be euthanized on a given day were held in the euthanasia room at the same time, where they witnessed each other's execution, says Denise Wilcox, division manager of the Albuquerque Animal Care Center, who's been at the shelters for two years. Hard rock music played in the background. Today, animals are brought in one at a time and heavy music is absent—euthanasia practices are also more stringent.
Animal care and handling has also improved. An onsite vet clinic has been added, which helps the increased vet staff to treat the sick and wounded.
Many of the positive changes in the shelters have also come as a result of Colman's Alliance for Albuquerque Animals, including a cat bonding area, which took $17,000 in donations to build, which was added to the Eastside shelter last fall and a dog exercise area that was just completed at the Westside shelter, which took $40,000 in donations to create. The Alliance has also made an impact on the number of adoptions of shelter animals. Every weekend, they take animals from the shelter for adopt-a-thons around town. They also bought a mobile spay and neuter van. Additionally, the Alliance buys leashes and collars for the shelters, as well as Frontline, an anti-tick medication, says Colman, and they also bought stainless steel bowls for animals, which are easier to clean and less likely to hold bacteria. Likewise, the Alliance spent $4,500 for beds for all the kennels, and have spent $7,000 so far this year on adoption certificates—which allow people who adopt one shelter animal to adopt a second animal for free.
But perhaps the biggest difference the Alliance has made is in terms of volunteers. According to Wilcox, two years ago there were only 25 volunteers who came to the shelters. Today, there are 166, with eight volunteers present at each shelter on a given day, most of whom come from the Alliance. Volunteers help make sure dogs are walked and that animals have water, are fed, have clean kennels and that those with medical assistance are treated.
And still more changes are on the horizon. In late October, an adoption center for the shelters will open at Coronado Mall, tucked behind Western Warehouse. The facility will be able to hold 35 animals—13 dogs and 22 cats, and will constantly move animals in to fill up available spaces from the shelters, says Wilcox. The 3,015-square-foot space will feature adoption counseling desks, small retail and grooming areas, a private room where potential adopters can sit and play with a cat, and Plexiglas doors and windows on all the kennels, which are large and designed to appear shop-like. Discussions are also underway to open a similar adoption center at Cottonwood Mall.
Additionally, the new HEART ordinance, which will go into effect Oct. 10, will have an impact on the shelters. A couple weeks ago, I met with City Councilor Sally Mayer, sponsor of the ordinance, at the Eastside shelter to talk about HEART before she was scheduled to give a training to animal services employees on the same subject. Among other things, the ordinance will require mandatory spaying and neutering for all pets in city limits unless the owner pays for an "intact animal" permit. Mayer says the goal with this is to decrease the number of unwanted pets in the city, thereby decreasing the rate of euthanasia at the shelters. It also means that all animals who end up at the shelter will be spayed or neutered before they leave, with the exception of a pet who has identification and an existing "intact animal" permit—but only the first time. If a pet ends up at the shelters a second time, it will be spayed or neutered regardless of the permit.
Another change with the ordinance is that permanent identification for pets will be mandatory, which translates to either microchipping or tattoos. Mayer hopes this will increase the number of animals who are returned to their owners. In the same line of thought, a new "lost and found" program will be instituted, wherein shelter staff will scan local "lost pet" listings and try to match them with animals picked up by animal services. Other changes include mandating that all animals at the shelters have toys, constant access to water, medical treatment, grooming, and that every adoptable animal be guaranteed two weekends and a minimum of 10 days in the shelters before they can be euthanized. This last item means the shelters will also need to create more kennel space.
Yet even with all the good things that have happened at the shelters in the last two years, much more needs to be done, says Wilcox, citing a lack in adoption counseling. "We're a work in progress."
The Other Side
The Santa Fe Animal Shelter & Humane Society has weathered roots. The day the nonprofit moved from its old building into its pristine new home in July of last year, things were literally falling apart. The sewer system backed up into the cattery. Pieces of tile and roofing let go after hanging on for more than 60 years and collapsed in the wreckage. It was, if anything, a sign that it was time.
Today, walking into the Santa Fe shelter doesn't feel like walking into a shelter. In an open lobby lighted with large windows and earthy hues, a kiosk is staffed by friendly faces, offering assistance.
To the left is the door that leads to the dog area, filled not with kennels but with "real life" rooms: 6-foot by 7.5-foot and 5.5-foot by 6.5-foot spaces with beds, ledges, windows, drains, radiant heat and toys. Dogs are adorned with multicolored bandannas. Off to the side is a "get to know you" room, where potential adopters can sit with a dog in a room equipped with an armchair, bookshelf and end table to see how the dog reacts in a home environment. Dogs that come to the shelter after primarily living outside go to a special room, where large kennels face glass garage doors that are sometimes open and gentle music is playing. Bill Hutchison, communications and marketing manager with the shelter, says the room is designed to help outside dogs become accustomed to being indoors.
To the right is the cat area, filled not with cages but with "cat condos," Plexiglas spaces with ledges, beds and toys, and 7-foot by 7-foot "cat colony" rooms, where cats play on towers and other structures. Outside is the "kitty campground," an open-air bisected space with various climbing towers, toys and instruments, where outdoor cats feel more at home. A couple "get to know you" rooms complete the space before wandering over to the small mammal room, which houses bunnies, guinea pigs, ferrets and hamsters, among other things.
Dogs are walked two or three times a day by volunteers. In fact, there are so many volunteers who want to walk dogs that a chart is kept to make sure dogs are walked equally. Every animal has a name, not a number. When I visited the shelter a couple weeks ago with Alibi staff photographer Wes Naman and a friend, we were given the opportunity to name a well-tempered Dalmatian that was about to be moved into the adoption area. We decided on Colonel Thomas von Spotswilder.
More than 200 toys are sanitized and rotated daily. Bedding, along with all other surfaces in the shelter, are sanitized every morning. All except for cat areas, that is. Hutchison explains that cats' immune systems can be compromised when they're stressed, which oftentimes happens when their kennels are cleaned every day. Instead, basic wipes are performed and kennels are cleaned more thoroughly when necessary.
Isolation rooms help reduce the spread of disease. There was a time at the old shelter, Hutchison says, where when one cat was sick, they all got sick. Those days appear to be over.
Euthanasia procedures at the shelter are also exemplary. Hutchison explains that one animal is taken into the room at a time, where gentle music is playing and two people pet the animal and give it sedatives if needed. Donated deli meats from Whole Foods serve as last meals.
Adoption counseling is mandatory and in-depth. Counselors sit down with potential families for as long as is needed to make sure they understand what care is necessary with the animal they have chosen and that the family and animal are a good match. Occasionally, adopters are turned down if counselors feel they won't provide a good home environment.
Yet, according to Hutchison, what's the most common remark Santa Fe shelter staff hear from new guests? It doesn't smell.
So how did the Santa Fe shelter make the transition from a withered, cramped facility to an animal sanctuary? Donations. The Santa Fe shelter, as a nonprofit that contracts with the city and county to house their animals, raised $10.3 million over the course of 10 years—a process that was initiated and led by former Executive Director Kate Rindy. The land—a cushy 100 acres on the outskirts of Santa Fe—was given to the shelter by the city. The buildings, of which there are currently two and will eventually be four, came from the community.
But the differences between the old and new shelter are more than superficial. "We were so full at the old shelter, we were euthanizing animals on Christmas Eve. Then, two weeks later, we had no dogs," says Anthony Guillen, operations director with the shelter. "At this shelter, we haven't had to euthanize a healthy animal since January of this year."
The proof is in the numbers. Comparing year-to-date figures between last year, when the shelter was still in its old location, and this year, in the new location, the adoption rate has risen more than 76 percent. The number of animals that have been euthanized for behavioral or health reasons has dropped more than 25 percent. And not one healthy animal has been euthanized at the shelter this year.
Hutchison credits the improved rates to a variety of factors: a more appealing facility, animals that are well-groomed, improved adoption counseling and the fact that adoption counselors check in with adopters a week after they've brought home their new pets to make sure everything's going all right. Customer service and care for animals surely plays a role. The Santa Fe shelter can hold a total of 300 animals in both its buildings. With 40 to 50 staff members, 35-40 of which are animal care staff, and 20-25 of which are on hand every day, the staff to animal ratio is a maximum of 1:15, and is usually more like 1:5, according to Hutchison. The shelter also has between 130 and 150 volunteers at any given time.
"It's personally transformative to experience what it's like here," says Hutchison. "I believe our relationship with animals is a mirror of our relationship with ourselves, our fellow human beings. There's a nobility and a dignity they have which deserves to be recognized."
"Several thousand animals are going to new homes, and kids are playing with them and old people are sitting with them in their laps, and families have them on a bed by the table after dinner. And all the things that animals are in our lives, this shelter is a way station for. Getting the opportunity to do that is a shockingly beautiful experience."
Coming Home
Visiting the Santa Fe shelter makes one realize that although Albuquerque has come a long way, it still has much farther to go. Not all dogs are walked; in fact, most of them aren't even walked once a day. Adoption counseling is practically nonexistent. With 758 combined spaces available for dogs and cats at both Albuquerque shelters, and an average of eight kennel workers on duty every day at each location, according to Wilcox, the kennel worker to animal ratio is about 1:47. Currently, the Eastside cattery and one of the Westside catteries are closed due to outbreaks of the Feline Panleukopenia virus. Euthanasia rates remain high at 51 percent, with more than 1,300 animals euthanized every month.
So how do the Albuquerque shelters improve their numbers? Colman says the answer still lies in staff. "There have been efforts made, at least cosmetically, to improve the shelters—they should be applauded for those," she says. "But they haven't addressed the issue of being drastically understaffed at the kennel level, at the staff level. It's why the euthanasia rates haven't changed."
"The only improvement that matters is euthanizing fewer animals. Until they do that, they're just manipulating the public perception."
Marcy Britton shares the same sentiments. "There's still a crucial need for more kennel staff—experienced animal handling staff," she says, "and more adoption counselors. The saddest thing to me is watching good adopters walk out without having someone help them. If there were just enough kennel workers."
Colman says waiting lines at the shelters can still get as long as an hour and 45 minutes. With the way she describes the daily job of most kennel workers, it's easy to understand why. "What you do [when you clean in the morning] is pull out all the dogs' water and feeding dishes, and get the dogs on the other side of the guillotine doors they have in all the kennels, and you hose everything down," she says. "Then you fill up all 65 water and feed buckets. You do all runs, one by one, then hose down the outside of the kennels and wash the feces and urine into drains. Then you're taking 20 to 30 animals to be euthanized, or indeed euthanizing them yourself. Meanwhile, a ton of dogs and cats are dropped off by the animal control officers or the public, and they need food and water. That's 80 cats and dogs a day that all have to be vaccinated, photographed and put in cages.
"It's a Herculean task. At the staff level, they all ought to get a lot more positive recognition than they do for an incredibly difficult task. The staff-level people are trying as hard as they can—there just simply aren't enough. We don't need to legislate dogs having water. We need people to do it."
Calculating the appropriate number of staff is difficult, says HSUS' Intino. She says occasionally the desired number of workers just isn't possible for some shelters, adding that she'd rather not give a desired staff number for the Albuquerque shelters at this time.
Mayor Martin Chavez agrees that the shelters need more staff, but says the problem should soon be remedied. "I started getting aggressive [on staffing issues] about two years ago," he says. "About one-third of all employees had grievances pending at that time. Some were forced placements—meaning the court said they were wrongfully demoted or fired and they needed to be placed somewhere. In some instances, these employees weren't happy with their station, they were there by court order. It was very dysfunctional."
Chavez says he spent the first eight months of the process "cleaning house" and making sure the staff at the shelters were there for the right reasons. "Once that was done, it's just been about growing staff," he says.
The mayor says an additional $2.9 million was set aside this budget cycle, which started in July, for the shelters, and that the intention for the money is for it to go to staffing.
On the other hand, Colman says during her year working at the shelters the City Council voted an additional $900,000 to the department, yet none of it went toward increasing animal care or lobby clerk staff, the two areas she says would have made the greatest difference. "It's a matter of smart, compassionate money, not just more money," she says. "[When I used to meet] with the mayor, he was fond of saying, 'Managers who make excuses for their department's deficiencies by saying they need more money are poor managers,' and he's right."
The Road Ahead
"It's nowhere where we want it to be," says Councilor Mayer. "But I'm proud of what they've done."
Mayer says she'd love to see the Albuquerque shelters transform into facilities similar to that of the Santa Fe shelters, but that money is a necessary ingredient. "We'd like $10 million, we would. But we're not funded as well as we should be."
For people in the community who would like to see the same kind of metamorphosis, Mayer says the answer is reaching out to councilors and to the mayor to tell them it's a priority. "The public has to make the Council understand. It's not just about dogs and cats—it's about what kind of city we are. If you take care of the most helpless around you, it translates to treating each other better."
Still, Mayer recognizes there is a level of priority the city sees in the shelters now. "It's not a forgotten department anymore," she says.
The mayor also thinks having a shelter like Santa Fe's may be a goal for the future. He says he's visited both the Santa Fe shelter and Denver Dumb Friends in Colorado, another state-of-the-art shelter akin to Santa Fe's, and is inspired by some of their methods.
"Ours will be better than Santa Fe's, because we'll benefit from their experience," he says. "Any time you build a new one in the country, it's just going to get better. We've come a really long way already—it's going to take some time. There are some things that Denver and Santa Fe taught us that they do very well.
"In Santa Fe, there's some affluence and a lot of animal activists and benefactors. Albuquerque is not without its benefactors, but we haven't reached out to them—that's changing. I can see private money playing a role in the next shelter."
Chavez says if new shelters are built in Albuquerque, the funding will likely come from a combination of places, such as general obligation bonds and donations.
Yet at this time, there's still no promise of a shelter. "We'll have to take things one step at a time," says Chavez. "We need at least a year of experience with the mandatory spay and neuter law [which will be enacted in October]. We'll have to see how that impacts shelter numbers, as well as the microchip program. We'll have to see how the new adoption centers impact the adoption process. If we become a live exit shelter with that, maybe we don't need a new shelter. I want to see what the new laws do."
And that's what we'll all do—wait and see. Until then, the mayor sums it up nicely: "I think we've made great strides, but we have a long way to go."
Want to Help?
If you'd like to donate your time or money to help shelter animals, call or visit one of these organizations:
Alliance for Albuquerque Animals
Works to improve the lives of shelter animals and increase their chance for adoption
No More Homeless Pets of New Mexico
Among other things, helps solve the animal overpopulation problem by providing spay and neuter services to low-income families
People's Anti-Cruelty Association
The oldest no-kill animal rescue group in New Mexico, which works to adopt some of the hardest-to-adopt Albuquerque shelter animals


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maberi wrote:Very cool, although I'm sorry to hear about the reason behind the tattoo
iluvk9 wrote:I still think we need a MEN OF PBT CALENDAR.
Marinepits wrote:I love me some punk boys! I married one, LOL, then he went and got a conservative job and bye-bye Mohawk. *sigh* When he was in the USMC Reserves and went to drill on weekends, he used to literally fold his Mohawk down under his cover (hat) and not take his cover off until training was done.
iluvk9 wrote:I still think we need a MEN OF PBT CALENDAR.
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subset: commoncrawl


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Aside from death and taxes, there are no sure things in life. Everything we do involves an element of risk.
The question then becomes: How much risk is reasonable, given the stakes?
In the private sector, most entrepreneurs have risked tens of thousands of dollars — or sometimes even tens of millions of dollars — pursuing opportunities to grow their businesses.
They did so because they believed the reward outweighed the risk. Some have succeeded and earned back many times their investment. Some have failed and lost everything.
Because business owners and investors risk their own money, they carefully analyze the risk and reward for each venture. Even then, investments in some businesses that were reasonable risks at the time nevertheless end up failing.
In the public sector, however, government officials don't risk their own money. What they risk is the money of taxpayers. As a result, they're often inattentive to the risks they're running. After all, by the time reality comes calling, they well may be retired, in a new job or simply able to pass the buck.
That is what is happening with the Public Employees' Retirement System of Nevada (PERS).
If PERS used the accounting methods required of private companies — say, Wynn Resorts or Southwest Airlines — everyone would acknowledge that it faces an unfunded liability of around $41 billion. That's $41,550 per Nevada household — a funding ratio of just 34 percent.
But because PERS is a government-run and government-guaranteed plan, it is able to use laxer accounting standards. Even under these rules, PERS' unfunded liability is $12.9 billion, with a funding level under 70 percent.
Given that Nevada's general-fund spending over two years comes in at around $6.6 billion, either amount signifies a crisis.
That's why earlier this year, Gov. Brian Sandoval ordered a study on the financial health of PERS.
Aon Hewitt conducted the $50,000 report and released it last November. The report shows that Nevada's pension system will be fully funded in 2033 — if PERS averages investment returns of 8 percent a year for the next 20 years.
That may sound adequate, but as any entrepreneur knows, the devil — and the risk — is in the details.
So how much risk is there in PERS' plan?
During the last five years, PERS' actuarial value investment return, which is assumed to average 8 percent, failed to break the 8 percent mark even once. Using that as a benchmark, PERS' plan has zero chance of success.
What if you go back nine years, to include the go-go years of 2005 to 2007?
PERS only broke the 8 percent mark once during that period. So, based on those last nine years, the odds of PERS achieving its investment returns in a given year are only 1 in 9, or about 11 percent.
What are the chances of PERS doing so each year for the next 20 years — as the report shows it doing? It calculates out to over 1 in 12 quintillion. That is: 1 in 12,000,000,000,000,000,000 — or one chance in 1 million times 1 million times 12 million.
That would be like starting with one blue coin, collecting 100 red coins a second for the next 3.8 billion years, jumbling them all together and picking the blue coin.
Now while past returns are no guarentee of future results and the investment environment may change profoundly in the next 20 years, these numbers show how risky PERS' plan to get fully funded is.
So what happens when it doesn't work?
We're already seeing the first result: Taxpayers are already being increasingly squeezed, in the form of higher contribution rates for the pension system. As the Aon Hewitt report details, Nevada's pension contribution rates are some of the highest in the country.
Increasing pension contribution rates, however, can't go on forever, and rising pension contributions were a significant factor in the bankruptcy of cities like Stockton and Detroit.
The underlying legal question is: What happens to the benefits promised to government workers? Will they be reduced or eliminated or will future taxpayers have to foot the bill for past employees?
The risk to both groups is extremely high. Lawmakers should eliminate this risk for all involved by moving to a hybrid system that protects government employees and taxpayers.
Victor Joecks is executive vice president of the Nevada Policy Research Institute.


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Validation WoesJuly 15, 2003
Designers transitioning to XHTML often get tripped up by the cryptic errors when validating. The W3C's validator has long been lamented as being un–user–friendly.
Take the source of this very page. When everything is kosher, my XHTML 1.0 Transitional gets a thumbs up. But if I make a small, very understandable error like missing a </p> for example, look what happens. I missed one closing tag, and received 52 validation errors.
The enthusiasm of a beginning web designer getting her feet wet with XHTML rapidly wanes when this happens to her. Seeing so many errors on one page is a blow to one's psyche, and when they don't realize that all 52 can be eliminated with the addition of four bytes to their code, it can make the difference between sticking it out until validation is achieved, and turning their back on valid markup because it's just too hard.
update: Zeldman has pointed out that the validation services are maintained by a small, unpaid and under–appreciated staff of volunteers who are looking for help to improve the service. It's not fair of me to point out the shortcomings of a group that is doing so much with so little, especially out of my own ignorance, so I've toned down the original post. Hopefully my criticism comes across as more constructive than otherwise…
If you have the time and technical expertise necessary, this would be a great project to get involved with. My personal gratitude to those working on this necessary tool.
Reader Comments
"I can't validate that page. I have to actually go to the page in a browser, save the source as a file and then validate that file."
Why would you have to do that? I am not following…what do server-side tools that assemble your page (like php) have to do with preventing you from validating the end-result page?
I just checked your page against the validator and there are some very real errors. So I'm not sure how you can claim that your site is valid by first saving it locally and then validating?
I think he's talking about the results of POST operations etc.
MikeyC, no I in no way think that my current site is valid. I'm working on a much more valid site at rw-development.com/temp.
I went to the validator at w3c.org and it actually validated my site this time. Before I've always gotten errors that looked like they were related to not being able to pull data in my results. Maybe I'm totally wrong and it's just another example of one simple error causing many error messages, like Dave is talking about.
"Better Living Through XHTML" (ALA, 2002) discusses these common validation service problems, which are partly due to the limits of software (software can't parse your intentions), but in some cases could be made less frustrating via clearer, simpler, more coherent error messages.
Have spoken with some of the folks who build these tools as a labor of love. They are all volunteers and have no budget. They are aware of the language problem and would like to fix it but face certain technical obstacles. They've asked for help from the community:
Until they get that help, it's true that poor experiences with the validation services could frustrate designers and developers who want to do the right thing.
Another issue I have with validators is that if I have content pulled in via PHP and mySQL, which I almost always do. I can't validate that page. I have to actually go to the page in a browser, save the source as a file and then validate that file. While not that big of a deal, and one that I know the cause of, it makes it hard for me to, in good conscience, put up a "valid xhtml" banner when anyone simply validating the page will find out that it isn't (technically).
I'm fairly new to design, and very new to caring whether my sites are valid or not, does anyone have a work around for this issue besides what I've already stated?
I'll take this opportunity to point out that one of the people working on these tools, Nick Kew, also sells an accessibility checker which, in my (admittedly limited) experience is far better than Bobby or that other one that I can't even remember the name of (Miss Manners?).
You can trial it or buy it (hint) from the Accessibility Valet website.
All the validating favelets, to my knowledge, operate by looking at the URL and sending that to the validator, not by uploading a copy of the HTML.
Man, that has to be my pet peave. You forget to close or accidently delete a tag and wam you site doesn't validate. Recently I drove myself nuts when I deleted a line of my CSS file by mistake. It caused the half of it to not work. The blessing was once I tried to validate it, I found the obvious error. Validators aren't perfect, but they sure are useful!
All the validating favelets, to my knowledge, operate by looking at the URL and sending that to the validator, not by uploading a copy of the HTML.
When you go to the URL, the server renders the PHP page as HTML, and when you click the favelet, it validates the HTML of the rendered page. Once you've gone to the page, it's a single HTML page, and that's what the validators validate.


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Exterior Design:***
Whereas the platform buddy Ford Escape never manages to look tough enough and the other derivative, the Mazda Tribute, looks like a child with some sort of neurological condition, the Mercury Mariner Hybrid appears exactly as it should. By far the best looking of the trio, the conservative looks fare well next to luxury SUV offerings from Toyota and Acura.
Interior Design:**
Compared to the previous generation, the interior of the Mariner is smart and luxurious. The stone-colored leather seats are comfortable, though more side bolstering would be nice. The rear bench is roomy enough for two passengers joining you and your wife for a night of gallery hopping, and if you ditch them, the rear seats fold forward far enough to hold just a touch over 66 square feet of trendy crap.
You would think that with two propulsion sources this thing would get going a little faster. You'd be wrong. Though acceleration is on par with the V6 model, it's a complete crapshoot on anything but a clean start, thanks to the E-CVT transmission that never manages to predict what you want.
The line about regenerative braking is always "stopping helps you go." More like "stopping helps you go insane." Ignoring the serious effort it takes to slow the thing down, once you do start to stop there's an annoying dull click as you let off the brakes. This isn't to say they're so bad that you'll run over anyone, but the feel is all wrong.
The ride is remarkably smooth for what's supposed to be an SUV. Aware that no one with sense will be taking it off road, the Mariner's suspension is tuned to absorb every pothole and hobo with nary a bump.
Like a girl who offers you sex out of pity, it'll do what you want it to do but in the least enjoyable and most perfunctory way possible. But unlike pity sex, you're not going to brag about driving the Mariner to your friends afterwards.
As mentioned above, the continuously variable transmission is less a gearbox and more a complicated way to suck just that much more fun out of driving.
Like the 2008 Ford F-350 SuperDuty, the Mariner features the six-speakers-and-a-subwoofer Audiophile system. Unlike the F-350, the Mariner is so quiet that it is possible to hear your music. Using the standard audio input jack I was able to listen to my iPod through the system as I cruised for Etruscan pottery. The only thing this system is missing is thumb controls for the audio, something a car in this price range needs badly.
In addition to backup sensors, touch screen navigation system and one-touch moonroof, this is a hybrid. Though it doesn't get earth-shattering gas mileage, the hyrbid system is basically one big toy and with the navigation screen you get to watch as power is routed between the engine, motor and wheels. There's also a full 110v electrical output for keeping your iPod charged.
When all is said and done, I can't imagine putting down nearly $10,000 over the base price of $21,300 for what is still a Ford Escape. By the time you get around to making up the difference in cost you'll have already sold it or set it on fire for the insurance money.
Overall: **
The Mariner Hybrid is nothing to write home about. You could drive hundreds of miles without realizing that you've been driving at all because little about the car is so offensive or so outstanding as to deserve any notice. There's probably a market for that, but we're not in it.
Also see:
All of our reviews are always available by clicking the Jalopnik Reviews tag in the masthead.


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…Not all are convinced these efforts will pay off. Harry Groome, founder of the US Fans Without Footprints, says sports clubs are concentrating too much on greening their facilities and not enough on engaging fans. "Failing to engage fans on green issues and keeping the conversation in the boardrooms and boiler rooms will never move the needle on mass environmental change", he argues.
Fans Without Footprints has developed a mobile app that allows fans from different clubs to compete over their recycling, carpooling and other environmentally friendly actions. Prizes range from discounts on team merchandise to VIP access on match days. Groome is still waiting for a club or sponsor to back the idea.
"We believe fans, like most consumers, are eager and willing to do their part", he says. "We just need to show them how, and providing an incentive always helps."


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YOU Vs WILD
This is our version of the ever popular TV series.
Now you can experience a little of what it's like to survive off the land, with nothing but a knife and the few things you have on your person, or items that may have been discarded by people before you.
Surviving is all about being in control; Control of your environment; Control of the situation; But most importantly control of your emotions when in a stressful situation.
- Do you want to stay warm & cook your food, but you have no way to make a fire?
- Do you want to protect yourself from the elements, and yet you have no hut or tent?
- Can you pick out the plants that are safe to eat, when you're under pressure?
- Which plant to eat for pain relief and how do I prepare it?
- How do I find north the celestial way OR using nothing but my digital watch?
- What do I do to filter this water so that it's safe to drink?
- Where do I lay my trap to catch food and what do I make it with?
- What's my best chance of survival if I'm falling through a frozen lake or a bog?
- Why do muster's prefer not to use the new light weight walking poles?
I'll even show you how to make a leaf compass.
On this half day walk you will be introduced to the wilderness of Aotearoa, you'll learn how to make a fire, how to build a bivouac shelter, what plants to eat, how to make a pain relief drink, how to find north the celestial way & how to filter water so that it's safe to drink. These are a few of the skills that you will need to stay alive, in the back country of New Zealand - Aotearoa.


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I just went to a fair with my kids, where all four of them participated in a hula-hoop contest. My children are not world-class hula-hoopers. They are mediocre at best and didn't outlast the winner. It was just something fun for them to do.
But guess what? They all won participant ribbons! So forever we can celebrate and remember their mediocrity at rotating a plastic hoop around their hips.
Sigh. They loved the ribbons. They smiled and proudly showed them to Dad, who secretly rolled his eyes at me afterward. There's something really annoying about the fact that we've created a culture where we can't allow kids NOT to win. We don't want our kids to think they are less than the best.
The result is that we've created a sense of entitlement in them. They participate in something and are disappointed not to get recognition when it's over. They don't learn how to lose or how to deal with momentary insignificance. This can be a big barrier against self-discovery.
Psychologist Sara Dimerman, author of Character Is the Key: How to Unlock the Best in Our Children and Ourselves, has written extensively about kids and competition. "Unfortunately, if a child always has to win to feel good about herself, she might actually be at greater risk for feeling bad. Learning how to cope with placing second or even last goes a long way toward boosting a child's self-esteem. Children who know their own strengths and how to focus on their personal best often develop a healthier sense of self-worth than those who always need to win."
Real life is not about winning every competition. Unless you're LeBron James, you don't grow up getting trophies in every sport. (Well, maybe he did growing up, but it hasn't always happened as an adult.)
The hula-hoop competition of life doesn't hand out participant ribbons.
That was a weird sentence. But it's true. There are distinct benefits to NOT winning all the time. Losing increases determination to do better next time. It makes you practice more. It makes you study harder. Losing can be the best motivator for kids to put effort into getting better ... or to realize that maybe the hula hoop isn't for them, and they need to try something else.
I understand how awards can be great motivators. Kids like be recognized, just like adults do. But automatic awards can cause kids to under-perform because, if everyone wins something, they don't have to do their best.
In my experience, when kids lose at something but aren't used to experiencing that kind of difficulty, it generally leads them to a couple of negative outcomes. One, they might quit. Because the pain or disappointment or frustration is too hard, and they don't know how to handle it. Or two, because they don't want to experience failure again, they turn to more drastic measures. They cheat. They play dirty. The fear of failure is so uncomfortable that they'd rather cut corners so they don't have to experience it again.
Kids need to learn how to handle failure. They need experience at losing -- and losing gracefully.
We should be teaching our kids that success comes from hard work, patience, and determination. That recognition comes from doing things well. That rewards come from perseverance and trying again if they fail. If they get rewarded for simply showing up, they learn nothing.
My kids know when they're good at something. They also notice when someone else is better than them at something. So if I'm constantly telling them they're the best at one thing and it's clear that they absolutely are not, then will they learn not to trust what I say? Am I creating an environment where my opinion must be taken with a grain of salt? Maybe. "If my parents tell me I'm the best at everything when I know I'm not, how will I know when they are actually telling me the truth?"
Good question.
Kids love competition, but they need to know how to handle winning and losing at it. Winning is the easy part. Let's teach our kids to be better losers. It helps them be better sports. It helps them learn to handle their emotions. It makes them better people -- the kind of kids who won't throw a fit or flip over the board game or fling a baseball bat into the crowd out of frustration. It helps them learn to be good competitors who will congratulate the winning team and be happy for other people.
That's what I want my kids to be, and I'm pretty sure a wall of participation ribbons in their bedroom isn't gonna help.


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Tanner Svoboda-Exchange Dining Table
At Design Interviews
Interview with Tanner Svoboda : Frank Scott: What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?. Tanner Svoboda : The main idea and inspiration behind this dining table was creating conversation. .Frank Scott: What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?. Tanner Svoboda : I wanted to create a beautiful piece that had the dual purpose of benefiting the user/users in a way that is traditionally not associated with furniture. .Frank Scott: What are your future plans for this award winning design?. Tanner Svoboda : I hope that this award allows me to get my name out into the design world so that I can find a job after graduation in June. .Frank Scott: How long did it take you to design this particular concept?. Tanner Svoboda : It took about three weeks to come up with the concept behind this design. .Frank Scott: Why did you design this particular concept? Was this design commissioned or did you decide to pursuit an inspiration?. Tanner Svoboda : The class I was taking at the time was the man reason behind this concept. We were tasked with finding a human behavior that could be changed (in a positive way) through furniture. I chose to promote communal meals because that is something that has be dwindling in the past few decades in the United States. .Frank Scott: Is your design being produced or used by another company, or do you plan to sell or lease the production rights or do you intent to produce your work yourself?. Tanner Svoboda : I intend to produce the work myself. .Frank Scott: Where there any other designs and/or designers that helped the influence the design of your work?. Tanner Svoboda : My professor, George Perez, helped influence this design. He pushed me to create a piece that didn't have just one meaning. .Frank Scott: Who is the target customer for his design?. Tanner Svoboda : The residential and hospitality markets would be my primary target customers for this design. I think both could benefit greatly from it. .Frank Scott: What sets this design apart from other similar or resembling concepts?. Tanner Svoboda : I try to integrate functions that are not normally seen in residential furniture into my designs. The cut out is primarily seen in desks from the commercial furniture industry, and I think using that same design detail in a piece meant for residential use is what sets this design apart. .Frank Scott: How did you come up with the name for this design? What does it mean?. Tanner Svoboda : Exchange came from the idea of exchanging with one another. Whether it is the exchanging of ideas or the exchanging of food. .Frank Scott: What is the most unique aspect of your design?. Tanner Svoboda : The cut outs in the top of the table are the most functional elements of this dining table, but i think the most unique aspect of the dining table is how the legs are designed to look like they are growing out of the top. .Frank Scott: What is the role of technology in this particular design?. Tanner Svoboda : Part of this table was fabricated by using a 5-axis CNC machine. As seen in the picture I submitted, the CNC milled out the form of the table top from a form that I created. .Frank Scott: Is your design influenced by data or analytical research in any way? What kind of research did you conduct for making this design?. Tanner Svoboda : For this project I researched how people interact when they eat as well as when they converse with each other, and how to promote these types of interactions. .Frank Scott: What are some of the challenges you faced during the design/realization of your concept?. Tanner Svoboda : Time was the largest challenge for this project. Our terms are only 10 weeks long, and it is difficult to go through the whole design process in this short amount of time. .Frank Scott: How did you decide to submit your design to an international design competition?. Tanner Svoboda : One of the first pieces of advice I was given when I came to SCAD was to get my name out into the design world. I think the best way to do that is through competitions such as the A'Design Award & Competition. .
Tanner Svoboda-Exchange Dining Table Images:
End of the article, click here to go back to previous page, or alternatively go back to Give Get Design homepage.


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Washington, D.C., December 9, 2009 — If the National Park Service is allowed to move beyond a "no-action" approach for the neglected National Mall, the historic public space could serve as a model of sustainable design for millions of visitors each year. Today the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) voiced strong support for the Park Service's sustainable vision within the newly-released National Mall Plan. This milestone document that will guide the future management of the National Mall incorporates dozens of sustainable practices, including the application of standards defined by the Sustainable Sites Initiative, the first national rating system for sustainable landscapes.
"We applaud the vision to incorporate the sustainable landscape benchmarks from the Sustainable Sites Initiative in the National Mall Plan," said ASLA Executive Vice President and CEO, Nancy Somerville, Hon. ASLA. "While the National Mall still faces shameful neglect from lack of resources, we urge Congress to grant the National Park Service the means to transform this critical public space into a national example of sustainability."
ASLA, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and the U.S. Botanic Gardens worked in partnership to develop the Sustainable Sites Initiative rating system, incorporating work by dozens of the country's leading sustainability experts, scientists and design professionals as well as public input from hundreds of individuals and dozens of organizations over four years.
The current plan from the National Park Service offers five options for the future of the National Mall: one "no-action" approach, three alternatives and one "preferred" approach that encompasses the best practices of three alternatives. Anything other than no action would ensure extensive use of sustainable approaches throughout the revitalization of the space. The National Park Service released the document online as part of a 90-day public comment period, closing March 9, 2010. To learn more about ASLA's efforts on the National Mall, visit www.asla.org/nationalmall.
Kevin FryDirector, PR and Communications firstname.lastname@example.com JR Taylor PR Coordinator firstname.lastname@example.com


text: Throughout the year there are a number of events or products that deserve extra attention. Occasionally there is background information, which is interesting for our customers or the users of our collection. Every three months we publish a newsletter, which addresses these items. If you are interested in receiving this newsletter, than this is the spot where to register. Reception is free and without obligation.


text:
During my two and a half years on YouTube I have been lucky and fortunate enough to have achieved a small bit of success. In that time, I've had my fair share of tribulations, and have learned a few things I'd like to share. Since TechnoBuffalo is largely about giving a voice to the community I thought this would be an ideal place to impart some wisdom and advice. To those of you that are subscribers to my YouTube channel, you may recognize some of these pearls, but in this series I am going to expand a bit more than what you've already heard. I'm not yet certain how many parts this will have, but for right now, let's call this part 1.
So you've just filmed your first video. Congratulations, that's one of the hardest things to do (and something we'll cover in subsequent sections). It's all uploaded, you worked really hard on it, think you did a fantastic job, and then you get punched in the stomach–no one watches it. Dealing with and managing emotions during the early phases is one of the hardest things to handle, and one I personally struggled with. You put out all this great content, but no one seems to care. The easy thing to do, is just give up, and in fact, most people do. I can't tell you how e-mails I get saying "No one watches my videos, why should I even bother?"
This is the point where I usually ask people what their motivation for making these videos are. If it is to be rich and famous, you are embarking down the wrong path. The tech reviewing field is a very crowded one, and if you are looking to be the next Leo Laporte, odds are, you are going to be disappointed. Sure, there are a few reviewers (Mossberg, Pogue, etc) who have done extremely well, but for every Uncle Walt, there are thousands who don't make it. If you are looking to build a steady audience, have some fun, interact with great people with like interests, and maybe, if you are lucky make a few bucks in the process, congratulations, you've made it to the next round.
The instinct I'd like you to fight while struggling to build an audience is to make five videos in five hours. More content does not necessarily mean more viewers. Better content however, will lead you to your eventual audience. For all types of media, content is king. If what you are putting up is not your best work, don't bother with it. Start over, and try again. Especially early on, you are going to have a small body of work in which you are going to be judged. If someone comes across your videos, and likes what they see, they will subscribe. You have to provide them something of value. If your videos are just you looking extremely nervous, mumbling through your words people will not stick around. However, if you are mindful of your speech, giving accurate information, and are concise, viewers will stay with you. The moral here is that you often, especially early on only get one chance. Be certain that your one shot, is the best one you have.
This is already getting a big long winded, but rest assured, there are many more parts coming up. The next in the series will continue this discussion about how to build an audience and deal with the hard times. If there is something you'd like me to cover in future sections, leave a comment down below.
I hope you guys find this helpful.


text:
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out of 5
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5 / 5
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Order within > 15 hours and 25 minutes > for delivery on MONDAY in Ireland
A fabulous collection of white and cream flowers make this the perfect gift.
*Fine Print: Every bouquet is hand made and delivered by the local florist. Pictures shown are recent examples of an actual arrangement that were designed by talented florists and later sent out to a customer just like you! Please note that each individual florist cannot guarantee what the flower varieties or colours will be, they do guarantee that your specific arrangement will be fresh, beautiful and that your recipient will love it!


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Large-Part Machining
Exploring the: Large-Part Machining Zone
40 Results for: ArticleSort by:
Systematic Success
A more efficient manufacturing process has enabled this manufacturer to ramp up production of its devices for the oil and gas industry.
Going Live on a Vertical Lathe
For this company, investing in live tooling and a high-pressure coolant system on a pair of new CNC vertical lathes eliminated setups, increased throughput and led to safer material handling on the shop floor.
A Novel Modular Clamping System
This clamping system minimizes setup times, enable a machine to access five sides of a part and provides highly repeatable positioning for bulky components.
The Million-Dollar Job
A shop specializing in large parts describes the most expensive single order it ever shipped.
Vertical Turning Adds a Horizontal Ram
For American Vulkan, having both a vertical and a horizontal ram on a large VTL is a critical advantage. The added flexibility enables the company to finish some of its biggest coupling components in one setup to a level of precision and surface qua...
Large-Part Additive Manufacturing
These articles sample possibilities for additive manufacturing of large metal parts.
Key Elements of the World's Largest Inverted VTL
A number of noteworthy design elements enable this inverted vertical turret lathe to accurately and effectively machine very large components.
Delivering Value in Program Production
A contract manufacturer specializing in ongoing production programs describes the investments involved in winning this work.
Gearing Up to Make Big Gears
Over the years, this Indiana job shop/contract manufacturer developed a specialty in gear making. Now it is taking this specialty to a grander scale. Two large machines for high-precision internal gear grinding are the main anchors of the company&rs...
Doosan Makes a Power Play
The South Korean builder is directing its focus toward rigid machine platforms capable of heavy cuts in tough materials.


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2012 was a very good year for music. Sometimes it's difficult to come up with enough albums for my year end list, this year the problem was narrowing down my choices. Click on the album titles to read the full reviews, purchase the albums, and, in some cases, watch videos and/or download mp3s. Then comment with your favorite albums of the year.
Muruch's Top 25 Albums of 2012
"…This brilliant collection of songs beautifully marries modern indie-pop with retro rockabilly and soul. The sound is Sun Records meets Raising Sand."
24. Dala: Best Day
"…Dala's penchant for peppy country-pop harmonies and melodic folk-pop melodies fall somewhere between Lady Antebellum and Sylvie Lewis…sweet vocals, tinkling piano and buoyant strings…a pop culture cornucopia with references to everything from Shakespeare to Annie Hall"
23. Sylvie Lewis: It's All True
"…Sylvie's elegant voice and delicate melodies elevate even the most simple of tunes to a higher level…a jaunty fable of star-crossed love with just the softest, lightest hint of jazz"
22. Eric McGrath: Little Ripples
"…I expect Eric McGrath won't be Ireland's best kept secret for long…McGrath's intimate singing style and breezy, multi-instrumental compositions often fall somewhere between Bright Eyes and Xavier Rudd, which is an extremely interesting and unique place to be. But even such grand comparisons are tenuous, because Eric McGrath is definitely blazing a creative trail of his own."
21. Julie Lee & The Baby-Daddies
"…this gorgeous, classic folk song cycle sounds like it was recorded decades ago…the entire album is lovely and sure to be on my best of the year list."
20. Bat For Lashes: The Haunted Man
"…atmospheric electronics and somber melodies…brimming with all the emotions of a lifetime of regret and a heart full of love…a very pretty and innovative collection."
19. Regina Spektor: What We Saw From The Cheap Seats
"…Most of it is sheer, breathtaking brilliance…truly exquisite ballads…the spectacular far, far outweighs the bad"
18. The Gaslight Anthem: Handwritten
"…Many bands have tried and failed to capture The Boss' throne, but The Gaslight Anthem have successfully proven themselves to be the true heirs of Bruce Springsteen."
"…Xavier is one of my all-time favorite artists and his music never fails to amaze, uplift and thoroughly entertain me…Xavier wrote, sang and played every instrument (of which there are many) on this spectacular new collection."
"…Not only does The 2nd Law continue that grandiose marriage of arena rock and classical music, but its futuristic electronic twist allows the album to stand completely on its alone. Definitely one for the year end list…weaving thunderous rock, classical song structure and instrumentation with operatic backing vocals into a glorious, cross-genre cacophony."
15. Jonathan & Charlotte: Together
"…the teenage opera duo were this year's Susan Boyle on Britain's Got Talent…Talent like Jonathan & Charlotte's and an album like this doesn't come along often, so I hope they have a long, successful career ahead of them."
14. Leif Ove Andsnes: The Beethoven Journey: Piano Concertos No 1 & 3
"…a very splendid and beautiful collection…elegantly serene…Andsnes and the other musicians do a superb job in their individual performances of each work. Even more noteworthy is their musical coalescescence."
13. Garbage: Not Your Kind of People
"…grandiose, rocked up electro-pop drama fronted by a wailing red-haired banshee. Their new album successfully captures and modernizes their snarling past glory."
12. Cat Power: Sun
"…shockingly upbeat sound…Cat Power is still as sultry and mysterious as she always was, but the music is very much uptempo…There's just something so unique about Cat Power's voice, lyrics and song structure. That unusual quality makes what could be, should be pop songs something entirely different. It's unpop."
Cat Power: Ruin (mp3)*
11. Amanda Palmer: Theater Is Evil
"…The album explores pop, New Wave and synth rock in a way that is quite a departure from Palmer's old punk cabaret band The Dresden Dolls, but it often has the same twisted wit, high energy and frenetic pace…the bombastic Theatre Is Evil is the best argument for fan-funded albums"
Amanda Palmer – Do It With a Rockstar (mp3)*
Amanda Palmer – The Killing Type (mp3)*
Amanda Palmer – Want it Back (mp3)*
Amanda Palmer – Trout Heart Replica (mp3)*
"…Have I mentioned I love The Mynabirds? The thumping, catchy, claphappy, fiercely femme indie sound of their new sophomore album, Generals, is somewhere between Lykke Li and Bats for Lashes. Thus the love…the album is deliciously rife with the band's signature blend of synth-pop, rock, wails, hand claps and stomps."
The Mynabirds – Body of Work (mp3)*
"…a tribute to The Mamas & Papas and The Beach Boys…their harmonies are as lovely as ever and very reminiscent of the two bands who spawned them…a sunny, summery, very catchy and surprisingly well orchestrated collection of classic pop covers."
8. Khatia Buniatishvili: Chopin
"…Khatia Buniatishvili's Chopin is not only my favorite of the Chopin albums released this year, it's my favorite classical release of 2012…Her nimble fingers are a perfect fit for the classical piano master's compositions and her selection from his work is superbly diverse. Buniatishvili's Chopin is an absolutely exquisite collection."
7. Escort
"…Escort is a seventeen-member "disco orchestra"…definitely one of the more unusual and delightful acts I've heard…I can't imagine a more fun and catchy album being released next year."
Escort – Makeover (mp3)*
6. JD McPherson: Signs & Signifiers
"…Where did this guy come from?…McPherson's music is a delicious mix of brassed up retro soul and rumbling vintage blues-rock. It's been a very long time since I was struck by such an intense sense of awe while listening to an album…sound like classics by Little Richard, Jackie Wilson or The Big Bopper with a bit of Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly and Sun Studios-era Elvis thrown in."
5. Goodnight Texas: A Long Life of Living
"…who is this band and how can anyone make an entire album of music this good? Song after song, I would think I'd heard the best of the album only to be even more amazed by the next track. This is music for any band to aspire to and for any music fan to get very excited about."
4. Norah Jones: …Little Broken Hearts
"…Norah has finally found a dark, dreamy sound interesting enough to successfully break away from those old coffeehouse categories without losing the mellow charm that made her famous. Produced by Danger Mouse, …Little Broken Hearts spices up pretty post-breakup pop anthems with luscious splashes of noirish electro-rock."
3. Fiona Apple: The Idler Wheel…
"…Fiona Apple's first album in seven years, The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do, weaves the fierce emotion, poetic lyrics and masterfully constructed compositions of her previous releases with a much more rugged recording style and strong splashes of jazz. The collection is somewhat unexpected and strange, but it's also exquisitely beautiful and brilliant."
2. The Vespers: The Fourth Wall
"…The songs on The Fourth Wall break the barrier between folk and pop and also genre-hop through blues, gospel and rock…all wrapped up in dulcet harmonies and strikingly beautiful instrumentation."
1. Anais Mitchell: Young Man in America
"…Anaïs Mitchell is like a modern day Woody Guthrie or Bob Dylan. Her epic lyrical narratives echo Guthrie's masterful talent for blending the literary with the ordinary, while her fierce and unique vocal phrasing as well as her intricately multi-layered arrangements take Dylanesque to a whole new realm….Young Man in America is both an ambitious recording project and a beautifully rich tapestry of classic folk songwriting. Anaïs Mitchell just may be my generation's most talented singer-songwriter."
Uploaded by Wilderland Records
*all mp3s, streams & videos uploaded by & posted w/ permission of artists, labels and/or their PR reps


text:
Excuse my lack of posting, I had to make new life changes and it took awhile of adjusting, along with my full time summer school, full time work and my constant hangouts with new friends.
Here's my post of pictures of what I have been doing recently!
Excuse my food spam, all I do is spend money on food! AHA
Froyo form Menchies!
My birthday just pasted and I celebrated by going clubbing TWO times! ...because i can! aha
Right when I turned 19 at 12a.m. I went to Red Square aka This is London Nightclub then right before my birthday ended I went to a lounge on Bloor.
I've been going to other places too lately, such as late night bowling, Wonderland and the beach !
That's all for now! Enjoy


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The day their father killed their mother, sisters Victoria and Lilly vanished near their suburban neighborhood. For five long years, their Uncle Lucas (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and his girlfriend, Annabel (Jessica Chastain), have been madly searching for them. But when, incredibly, the kids are found alive in a decrepit cabin, the couple wonders if the girls are the only guests they have welcomed into their home.
As Annabel tries to introduce the children to a normal life, she grows convinced of an evil presence in their house. Are the sisters experiencing traumatic stress, or is a ghost coming to visit them? How did the broken girls survive those years all by themselves? As she answers these disturbing questions, the new mother will find that the whispers she hears at bedtime are coming from the lips of a deadly presence.


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Paul Dini and Jingle Belle Meet Krampus, Get GROUNDED
Paul Dini had a pretty busy 2010 — he launched a live-action series, Tower Prep on Cartoon Network, started work on the Ultimate Spider-Man animated series, and remained the writer of monthly ongoing titles Batman: Streets of Gotham and Zatanna at DC Comics.
Somehow, he managed to find time to write a new story starring one of his original creations, Jingle Belle. Titled Jingle Belle: Grounded and found in the pages of this week's Top Cow Holiday Special original graphic novel, the story introduces the mythological character of Krampus — who, as the story goes, accompanies Santa on Christmas doling out punishment to those on the naughty list — to the world of Jingle Belle.
Newsarama talked with Dini — best known to fans for his work on '90s cartoons like Batman: The Animated Series and Batman Beyond — about the story, modern parenting, artist Stephanie Gladden and possible future plans for his original characters. (We also talked with Phil Smith, writer of the Top Cow Universe-sprawling story in the Top Cow Holiday Special on Tuesday, that article is here.)Newsarama: Paul, it's been two years since your last Jingle Belle comic, Jingle Belle: Santa Claus vs. Frankenstein. Do you find yourself with a lot of ideas for the character that you simply don't have time to get to?
Paul Dini: I have a lot of stories to tell about the character and about that world, it's just that time and the rest of the world intrudes on it. It's also, how do you continue to tell stories about something that is pretty much a seasonal character?
Nrama: Sure, Jingle Belle is kind of targeted to a specific timeframe.
Dini: I have experimented with stories that take place outside of that time frame, and I think they work to varying degrees. But one of the ways I've been thinking about the character more and more, and there are some of these in the book, is almost like a Sunday comics feature, where I can take stories about Jing and about her friends and just do a gag page. I really loved experimenting with the character that way this last year, because last year we weren't doing a Jingle Belle book, but Stephanie Gladden and I did about three or four strips that came out during the holiday season, and we ran them online almost as like a test balloon. I think people liked seeing them, and there's enough familiarity with the character right now that they thought it was a lot of fun. I was thinking, "Boy, I would love to do a weekly strip about my characters." Not only Jingle Belle, but also mix in some of the lighter characters that I publish myself, like Polly the Witch and the Mutant, Texas characters — most of whom make cameo appearances in the Jingle Belle book this year.
Nrama: And those strips appear in the back of the book in the Top Cow Holiday Special.
Dini: Yep. Stephanie and I are going to do a few more, we're just going to put them out throughout the year. I'm kind of in awe of some of the online cartoons who do a weekly strip. I think that's really cool, and I would love to get into that myself, but it's just a matter of, "how do you juggle the time commitment?" and also Stephanie's commitment, and there's also, "is this going to be something that funds itself or not?" I think it's a lot of fun to do, as long as it does not operate at deficit.Nrama: Switching to the new material, "Grounded" introduced a character new to the Jingle Belle mythos, but from centuries-old legend, Krampus. What gave you the idea to incorporate Krampus into the Jingle Belle world?Dini: I've always liked the Krampus character, and I've always been fascinated with him, especially the tradition that he was such a part of the holiday season in Europe, in Germany, Austria, northern Italy, various other places. Over the years, I think as certain kids have gotten older and maybe grown away from Santa Claus, and they're also looking at other forms of entertainment, and other forms of fiction, I think that kids who are into monsters, especially, have discovered Krampus in the United States, and they're going, "hey, that's kind of cool" — this demonic assistant of Santa who follows with him, and they do kind of this warped good cop/bad cop thing on kids. What I did with the story was sort of do an Americanized version of that. I can understand why Krampus would be left behind in this country, because he's not very PC, and the idea that Santa Claus admonishes by leaving a lump of coal or putting you on the naughty list, that's really weak tea considering that Krampus was there to administer beatings and to drag some of the naughtier kids away to Hell.Nrama: A little jarring, maybe, for American audiences not familiar with the concept.
Dini: I know, but I think now more than ever we need him. [Laughs.] I like the character, a lot, and I love the old German postcards that say "gruss vom Krampus," "greetings from Krampus," which show him doing everything from kind of like a tamer version of him eating oranges with kids, like he's sort of made peace with them, to him driving them off to hell in a little runabout. It's him driving a motorcycle with Santa sitting in the sidecar. I really think those are quite charming. They're kind of scary, too, but I like the character an awful lot, and over the last few years, Stephanie and I have been talking about how much we like him, and I've been thinking, "boy, there's got to be a story out there, and maybe we can weave him into the Jingle Belle mythology." So I was thinking about it a little more, and I'm thinking, "what if we do a story about why Krampus was left behind in the present day?"
It has to do with the way a lot of parents are. "The way I was brought up was one thing, but I don't want my child to be scared, and I don't want my child to be punished. I'm a good enough parent that none of that is necessary." Santa kind of wimped out when Jing was born, and he didn't discipline her very well, which is why she's kind of a willful brat these days. If your father makes the best toys in the world, and gives them to you all the time, then you can get anything you want.That aside, I just liked the look of the character, and I thought he'd be a lot of fun. When Stephanie came up with some designs for him, I just said, "I love the way this character moves." Even though it's not animation, Stephanie brings such a great quality of movement to all her drawings. I could just see that character running around and looking so gleeful as he scares kids and administers smitings with his little switches and everything. I just thought it was terrific. I can't wait to bring the character back. Suddenly, I want to do a whole Krampus book because he's so entertaining. There's a little bit of the Joker in him; there's a little bit of the mischievous old imp and devil; there's a little bit of the manic Warner Bros. style funny animal to him, too. Nrama: The relationship between Santa and Krampus comes across as pretty endearing, too, with Krampus seeming like part of the family and Jingle Belle calling him "Uncle Pete."
Dini: They go back a ways, and he always liked his part of Christmas. Although he liked it for the reason any devil likes anything, he gets to bring mischief and discord. Santa put up with it, recognized he has a purpose and everything. So he's been lonely and bitter these last 200 or so years since Jingle was born, and he hasn't liked her very much. That was something I wanted to bring out a little bit more in the book, and I'll probably do that in a future book. He does blame her for being fired.
She kind of likes him. If nothing else, she king of likes mischievous guys, even though he's a bit resentful. She's sort of willing to overlook that.
Nrama: And it seems that through your use of Krampus, even though it's obviously a fun, light story, there's a degree of social satire there about how kids are raised these days.
Dini: That's something I hear a lot of parents bemoaning now, that every child is rewarded. It's such a stigma in modern society — there can be no kids who are left out. No kid's a loser. Everybody gets a trophy just for showing up.
Certainly you'd want to curtail things like bullying, but on the other hand, I've always noticed the kids who didn't get a trophy, or who lost a game, applied themselves and were the winners next time. If everybody's a winner, nobody has to try very hard.
If one kid goes to bed with a spanking and the other one gets a toy, than maybe next year the kid will shape up a little bit. I don't know. I'm not a parent, I'm not a child psychologist, I just base this one common sense.Nrama: Seems like there is also some commentary delivered through the cynical catchphrase-spouting "Tina 'Tude" doll Jingle invents in the comic.
Dini: That is very much of its time. That is a very popular thing, whether it's the Bratz dolls or some of the other things that are out there, there is a bad behavior that sells these days. There is a sort of a sassiness that people perceive as new and fresh. Jing is not wrong in that the doll she makes is actually quite popular, and becomes a big success. It really is a reflection of the times. Santa doesn't like it because it looks rude and disrespectful, and he's very old school that way. So he's not exactly wrong in disliking the doll.
On the other hand, when everybody proclaims, "Santa is a genius," and "Santa, you've done it again," he doesn't want to be perceived as old stodgy in the toy world, so he goes along with it — but he can't admit to his daughter that she was right, and that's the source of the discord between the two of them.
What a screwed up family.
Nrama: Paul, you've been writing Jingle Belle for more than a decade now, with the first comic starring the character coming out in 1999. Did you expect to still be writing her 11 years later?
Dini: I have a great fondness for any of my original characters. I have a great fondness for any character I work on, whether it's somebody like Batman, or Harley Quinn, or whatever character I'm writing, I just really enjoy the heck out of it and I try to do the best job I can with it.
With an original character, I guess there's part of me that always wanted to be a daily strip cartoonist, so if I come up with a character, I like staying with it for a while and always having the option of going back and telling more stories. At some point, I would like to go back and tell more Ida Red Mutant, Texas stories. Now is probably the worst time to do a book like that, because every time I've tried to pitch the book again, or the characters, it's sort of like: "It's cowboys… and funny animals, and… a girl? Oh boy, we're not going to do sell very many of these, are we?" So it is a hard sell, so it has to be done out of passion more than anything else, but I do like those characters an awful lot. I do like the idea of finding stuff that is fun and cartoony on the shelves. It's such a rarity these days. I realize not everybody's into it these days, the market has changed significantly from doing books like that, but once every couple of years, when an idea occurs to me, I'll find a way to do it.Nrama: Stephanie Gladden has illustrated the last few Jingle Belle stories — are you sticking with that partnership for the foreseeable future?
Dini: That's the thing, I don't draw the books myself, I don't have the time, or I feel personally, have the skill, to draw the character the way I want to see it done. I did draw the designs of the character initially, and gave designs of pretty much all the characters in that world to the artists I've dealt with.
One of the things I've learned from animation is that some guys are really good at writing, some guys are really good at design, some guys are really good at directing. It's almost like working in a band — not everybody plays every instrument. Rather than trying to take four years off and illustrate a Jingle Belle story myself, I would rather hand it over to a terrific artist like Stephanie who can do it in a month's time.
I've had some excellent artists who've worked on Jingle Belle, all of them have been really great, like Jose Garibaldi, Steven DeStefano, and J. Bone. Kyle Baker even did an issue. I love working with them, and I would rather see what they bring to the character than me try and embarrass myself by drawing it myself.
Nrama: And Stephanie seems like a great fit for the character.
Dini: The way she draws is almost sort of like a fusion of Warner Bros. meets Harvey Comics, almost, feel to it. More than that, the staging and the pacing she brings to it — she has an animator's eye, where she knows how to go for a more sympathetic look on a character and let a moment play a little bit more before kicking up the action, and keeping surprises in the action and the reactions of the characters. She's really terrific.Happy to see JINGLE BELLE back?


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|2004-01-07, 12:51
|Link #1
shush! I was only helping
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Under ur skin
Age: 28
hi ho ppl im not to sure if anyone else has asked this but in ep 19 aka 7 series two rizelmine does kyoko-san have sex with iwaki?? im confused cos then in ep 8 kyoko is going on about iwaki's virginity..
So wat did they d, i hope u remember, u no wen rizel was tied up in the closet and she was supposed to do otona-no-c with him... if this isnt clear enough pls let me know...
oh and btw i know some ppl had probs with the last series but now there all sorted out.. honobono is re-releasing(i think)
|2004-01-07, 17:31
|Link #2
I refuse to die dammit!
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: UK
Age: 42
I'm pretty sure they turned this into a joke and that Iwaki had been wrestling with Kyoko (to keep her away from him!). She then says something double entendre like "You were the best I've ever had" (referring to Iwaki-kun's wrestling prowess) of course everyone else would think she was referring to something else and this causes Rizel to cry
I thought you'd left by the way! Welcome back!
|2004-01-08, 11:35
|Link #3
shush! I was only helping
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Under ur skin
Age: 28
Ahhh oki thank u, i did go my parents were annoying me and said i wasnt allowed back on but then they both apologised
|2004-01-12, 20:49
|Link #4
Uber Coffee for da win!
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Middle of insanity
Rizelmine is FDLMAO funny!
Just started watching Rizelmine today, and all I gotta say is that I need a new spleen. That show is so funny that it's...well, beyond words. Won't spoil anything, but I do have to say the show is just hilarious. Especially the one girl always running round going goofy things and saying "damma-sama".
Anyone else seen this? If you haven't, you've just got to download it. The show is a major riot!
|2004-01-13, 00:02
|Link #8
Gomen asobase desuwa!
Join Date: Nov 2003
Age: 38
While amusing and "moe~" it is hardly whay I consider to be great. Yes, it is funny, and it is loli. And I liked it. But that's it.
However, it is interesting to note that Rizel is played by the seiyuu: Kugimiya Rie. This, along with playing the role of Koboshi-chan in "Pitaten," gave her a major boost in the seiyuu industry. She currently is the seiyuu for Alphonse in "Fullmetal Alchemist."
|2004-02-01, 21:16
|Link #11
Junior Member
Join Date: Feb 2004
Searching for Rizelmine 22.
I looked through the page (http://www.animesuki.com/series.php/69.html) and found that the episodes skips between 21 and 23. Why? Censored? I tried contacting honobono but couldn't find any e-mail addresse to contact the Oretachi media group.
In the meantime, can anyone tell me where I can find a host for Rizelmine episode 22, either in english or french? Found one in Spanish [Linked removed] but that's beyond me. Any help would be appreciated.
Thank you.
Last edited by Keitaro; 2004-02-01 at 21:30. Reason: Removed link to site which offers licensed anime for dl via bt
|2004-02-01, 23:42
|Link #14
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2003
Rizelmine 22 was released by Oretachi. They were against using bt so that's why it's not listed on animesuki. The later episodes somehow got posted probably by someone outside the group. You might still be able to find it on IRC fservs or you can wait until honobono release their version.
|2004-09-19, 21:54
|Link #15
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Hawaii
My opinion
I know this is comming late, but in case someone is catching up & curious on opinions of shows here's mine. I did not like it. I found almost all the characters irriating. Nothing very original, but that doesn't neccessairly make a series bad, but I just couldn't find much that I liked. This is one of those shows that I sat through & watched, but will delete from drives. There was a glimmer of interest on the final episode of the 1st season which is as far as I got, so maybe I'll take a furthur look, but only if I absolutely don't have any other shows to watch. It's bad when the main characters just annoy you, and your favorite character is the dog.
|2007-07-16, 15:51
|Link #19
Junior Member
Join Date: Jul 2007
But if anyone knows where to find the complete last two episodes with english subtitles please say where! Thanks!
|2008-09-04, 14:33
|Link #20
El Nino
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: England, U.K.
Age: 26
man, i was expecting huge boobs, like every other anime shounen, but the female lead is a 12 year old...gutted. its all wrong, and the male lead is anoying. but some of the bits were funny, especialy the adult c, but even that turned out wrong in it own way.
|comedy, loli, shounen
|Thread Tools


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Timothy J. Massey, age 49, a resident of Harriman, passed away Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012, at Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge.
Timothy J. Massey, age 49, a resident of Harriman, passed away Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012, at Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge.
Mr. Massey was born in Ft. Myers, Fla., on the 12th day of July, 1963. He has lived in Harriman for the past 25 years.
Tim was employed at CoorsTek as a machine operator for the past seven years.
He was preceded in death by his father, Thurmond Massey; and by a brother, Wesley Rummans.
Tim is survived by his wife of 28 years, Donna Walker Massey of Harriman; a daughter, Amanda Nicole Davis and husband, John, of Clinton; a son, Edward Van and wife, Shannon, of Greenville, Ky.; and by grandchildren, McKenna Rae Smith and Alec Timothy Smith, both of Greenville, Ky.
He is also survived by two brothers, Gregory R. Massey and wife, Lena, of Temple, Ga., and James Taylor of Chattanooga, Tenn.; and by several nieces, nephews, extended family members and friends.
The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2012, at Sharp Funeral Home. The funeral will follow at 8 p.m. in the funeral home chapel, with Pastor Will Gouge officiating.
Burial and graveside services will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012, at the Mt. Calvary Cemetery in Harriman.
Sharp Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements. An online guestbook is available at www.sharpfh.com.


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Topic: Funny Pointless Phrases.
This is the topic where you can make pointless, funny sentences to make other members smile.
e .g -
Susan buys lots paper bus shelter under house tree's going.............
Or Flowers pollinate lots pointless smiling cups of weapons.............
Derick doms dallen questions to say........................
or other funny things like that.
Hope you enjoy!


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