text:
This will be tiring for you, I know, and sometimes perhaps a little funny, because of my English pronunciation. So we can recuperate now and then, I will use quite a lot of quotes and the quotes you will hear in perfect English.
Let me say it at once: I have no theory. We have a choice of fascinating aesthetic theories from Aristotle to Roland Barthes, not excluding the Marxist thinkers, Walter Benjamin, Lukacs, Adorno, etc. That a theory does or doesn't help us in our work isn't what decides its value. I know that. It wasn't Aristotle who taught Aeschylus and Sophocles how to write tragedies. But don't misunderstand me. I have nothing against theory. It's just that I myself don't have one.
Once in a while, as an exception to the rule, it happens that a theory is evolved by the people who make the art. Brecht, for example. His theory of "epic theater" led many of his disciples down a blind alley (älei), including me. This theory suited Brecht, but it was not for everybody. The misunderstanding was ours. He was sufficiently creative to oppose himself dialectically to his theory. He needed its resistance, it seemed to me, later, when he used the Marxist catechism, too, as the resistance against which to oppose his genius.
Robbe-Grillet is a different matter: Remember the theory of the nouveau roman? Such an enchanting theory! The few novels that were supposed to prove it are boring and trivial. Theory is no recipe. And here comes my second confession: I don't have a recipe either - not even for myself. I thank Mr. Brody, who had no way of knowing any of this, for his generous invitation; it has forced me to consider just why it was that I became a writer. I didn't need the job. I was an architect.
"Everything we write down in these times is basically nothing but a desperate act of self-defense, which leads inevitably to untruthfulness; for whoever tried to remain truthful to the bitter end would find no way back once he had entered chaos - unless he were able to change it."
That's a note from the year 1946, after a tour of the devastated cities of Europe: Berlin, for example; Frankfurt; Warsaw. Writing as self-defense against the experience of one's powerlessness.
"Only at times when we are unable to work does it become clear why we choose to work at all. Work is the only thing that preserves us from terror when - suddenly defenseless -we wake up in the morning. It alone gives us the strength to persevere in the labyrinth which surrounds us; it is Ariadne's thread.
"Unable to work: These are the times when one can hardly walk through the suburbs without being depressed by the sight of their formlessly spreading petrifaction. The way a person, someone who has nothing to do with us, eats or laughs; the way there is always in every streetcar someone who stands in the doorway when others want to get out; such things can make us despair of mankind, and a nearer fault, one of our own, deprives us entirely of the confidence that anything can ever succeed. We can no longer distinguish between large things and small things: both are simply beyond our power. The indiscriminateness of fear. We are crushed by all news of misery, of lawlessness, of falsehood, of injustice.
"On the other hand: When we manage to write even one sentence whose form satisfies us, seeming to have nothing in common with all the chaos around us, how safe we feel against the undefined and shapeless things within us and in the world outside!
"All of a sudden human existence seems possible; no difficulties at all. We can bear the world, even the real one, in all its absurdity. We can bear it because of our absurd confidence that chaos can be controlled, can be grasped, just as a sentence can be grasped. Form of any kind, once achieved, gives us a uniquely powerful sense of inner comfort."
Also a note from the year 1946: Writing as therapy for the writer as his own subject. An autistic position, that I must admit. And what does this subject understand by "writing"?
"What is important is what cannot be said, the white space between the words. The words themselves always express the incidentals, which is not what we really mean. What we are really concerned with can only, at best, be written about, and that means, quite literally, we write around it. We encompass it. We make statements which never contain the whole true experience: that cannot be described. All the statements can do is to encircle it, as tightly and closely as possible: the true, the inexpressible experience emerges at best as the tension between these statements.
"What we are presumably striving to do is to state everything that is capable of expression. Language is like a chisel, which pares away all that is not a mystery, and everything said implies a taking away. We should not be deterred by the fact that everything, once it is put into words, has an element of blankness in it. What one says is not life itself; yet we say it in the interests of life. Like the sculptor plying his chisel, language works by bringing the area of blankness in the things that can be said as close as possible to the central mystery, the living element. There is always the danger that in doing so one might destroy the mystery, just as there is the danger that one might leave off too soon, might leave it as an unshaped block, might not locate the mystery, grasp it, and free it from all the things that could still be said; in other words, that one might not get through to its final surface.
"This surface at which all that it is possible to express becomes one with the mystery itself has no substance; it exists only in the mind and not in nature, where there is also no dividing line between mountain and sky. Is it perhaps what one means by form, a kind of sounding barrier?"
I have no theory, it's true - no theory of the novel or the drama, which is not to say that one doesn't have all sorts of thoughts about one's own work; but they remain fragmentary thoughts. They don't even aspire to a system. A system always implies the demand that I submit myself to it, and this, evidently, is precisely what I as a writer have from the outset wanted not to do.
"The point of keeping a diary: We live on a conveyer belt and have no hope of ever catching up with ourselves and improving a moment in our life. We are Then, even when we spurn it, just as much as Now.
"Time does not change us. It just unfolds us.
"By not suppressing them, but by writing them down, one acknowledges one's thoughts, which belong at best only to the moment and the place that produce them. One has no hope that two days hence, when one thinks the opposite, one will be wiser. One is what one is. One uses one's pen like the needle of a seismograph: we do not so much write as get written. To write is to read one's own Self, and it is seldom an undiluted pleasure. There are shocks all along the way. You think you are a cheerful person but, catching sight of yourself in a chance windowpane, realize you are a grouch. And, when you read yourself, a moralist too. There is nothing that can be done about it. All we can do, by bringing to light and recording the zig-zag course of our successive thoughts, is to recognize our own nature, its confusion or its hidden unity, its inescapability, its truth, which we cannot directly attest, not on the strength of a single moment."
I promised to have a lot of quotes read, so that my pronunciation won't tire you. There is another reason, of course: what I'm having read to you are not my thoughts of today; and I need not agree with them.
You want to know what I think today?
So do I.
It is a curious phenomenon: in the act of writing, thoughts detach themselves from us; pictures, too. They lie around. Like objects; they may displease me, if I happen to see them, or they might convince me - as if it weren't I, myself, who had thought them.
The writer, in contrast to most other people, cannot escape himself; it's he who has composed the warrant for his own arrest.
But that's another matter.
What was it we wanted to say?
For instance, about invention (fiction). That it is indispensable.
"Years ago as an architect I visited one of those factories in which our celebrated clocks and watches are made; no impression gained in a factory was ever more devastating, yet in no conversation have I ever succeeded in reconstructing that experience, one of the most vivid of my life, in such a way that it came through to the listener as well. Put into words, it always remains insignificant or unreal, real only to the person concerned, indescribable as all personal experiences are - or, to put it better, every experience basically defies description as long as we try to express it through the actual example that has impressed us. I can express what I want to say only by means of an example that is as remote from me as it is from the listener; that is to say, an invented one. Essentially only fiction - things altered, transformed, shaped - can convey impressions, and that is the reason why every artistic failure is always linked with a stifling feeling of loneliness."
If these few sentences were not written down so one can read them back to me, in court, I'd swear I have just this moment had the thought; and yet the words are exactly thirty-two years old.
That's terrible, no?
But to the matter: that description will not suffice. Auschwitz has been described and described, and if someone, who has read some things about it, were to come and were honest enough to say that he cannot make himself a picture of Auschwitz, then I would give him one of Kafka's shorter stories - "The Penal Colony."
The truth cannot be described, only invented.
That description will not suffice applies in harmless cases too.
"You can put anything into words, except your own life. It is this impossibility that condemns us to remain as our companions see and mirror us, those who claim to know me, those who call themselves my friends and never allow me to change, and discredit every miracle (which I cannot put into words, the inexpressible, which I cannot prove) simply so that they can say: 'I know you.'"
You can tell everything, but not your real life. This became a long novel, "I Am Not Stiller." Its English edition was unfortunately cut - and very stupidly. What is more stupid is that I, at that time, authorized the cutting, because I evidently did not understand the book. ("The author is not bound to understand his own work," says Adorno.) At any rate, the key sentence was not cut: "Ich habe keine Sprache für die Wirklichkeit."
I have no language for reality.
No one has it, of course, but the writer is aware that he does not have it, and it is precisely this awareness that makes him a writer. It sounds paradoxical. In my case, I believe it to be so.
In a later novel the key sentence says: "Ich probiere Geschichten an wie Kleider."
I try on stories like clothes.
"I sit in a bar, in the afternoon, therefore alone with the barman, who tells me his life. What for? He tells it and I listen while I drink or smoke. 'That's the way it was!' he says, while he rinses the glasses. So, a true story. 'I believe it!' I say. He dries the rinsed glasses. 'Yes,' he says again, 'that's the way it was!' I drink; I think, a man has had an experience; now he looks for a story for it.
(We all do that.)
One cannot live with an experience that doesn't have a story, and sometimes I wonder - what if someone else has the story of my experience. I try to imagine."
All we have left is fiction.
Or one can say it another way: Fiction unmasks our experience of reality.
I maintain if you tell me nothing about your life, about the trouble with your father or whatever it may be, nothing about any of it, no memoirs - and if, instead, you do nothing but fantasize, and when I've heard seventy-seven of your stories, sad ones, funny ones, inventions, the whole lot, you have revealed more of your real person than if you bad told me your biography, be it ever so honest. I mean: There is no fiction that is not based upon experience.
The Writer's Journey.
The title wasn't my idea.
I take it literally: One day in 1974, exactly twenty years after his assertion that he is not Stiller, the writer rents a car in Manhattan and makes a journey to Long Island -
Montauk, to be exact - and there he suddenly stands still in the wind, his hands in his trouser pockets, his sparse hair in the wind, pensive.
"More and more often some memory comes along and shocks me. Usually these memories are not shocking in themselves, little things not worth telling in the kitchen or as a passenger in a car. What shocks me is rather the discovery that I have been concealing my life from myself. I have been serving up stories to some sort of public, and in these stories I have, I know, laid myself bare - to the point of non-recognition. I live, not with my own story, but just with those parts of it that I have been able to put to literary use. It is not even true that I have always described just myself. I have never described myself. I have only betrayed myself."
It's time to ask you the question: When you go to a creative writing class, in the hope that an established writer can tell you the trick of fabricating fiction - why, for heaven's sake, do you want to fabricate fiction? It's an allowable question. To earn a lot of money? Then let me recommend to you the arms trade. Why tell stories? You'll say, it's fun. That too is something I've tried to think about.
"Our craving for stories - where does it come from? One can't relate truth. That's it! The truth is not a story; it has no beginning and no end; it simply is or not. It is a tear through the world of our madness, an experience, not a story. Every story is invented. Everybody, not only the writer, invents his stories - except that, unlike the writer, he thinks they are his life.
What we have is a model of our experience. Experience occurs. It is not the result of a story. It's the other way around. I think the stories are the result of our experience. Experience yearns to make itself readable. The story which is able to express our experience need never to have happened, but in order to make our experience understood and believed - so that we believe ourselves - we say, that's the way it was! An experience that does not draw its own picture is hardly bearable. That is why everybody invents himself a story which, often at a tremendous sacrifice, he thereafter takes for his life. Only the writer doesn't believe it. It is inasmuch as I know that every story - however thoroughly I document it with facts and dates and names of places -
is my fiction, that I am a writer."
Not the most comfortable kind of existence.
In Europe the writer is often asked, so what did you mean to say with this novel, or with this play?
We have the schools to thank: I remember, as a student, being called upon to say what Johann Wolfgang Goethe, or whoever, meant with his poem. And I guessed what the teacher meant. Those who lack any naive relationship to art, I mean those whom education alone has persuaded that art is a serious matter, will never accept that the work of art is more than an occasion for interpretation. It is an existence per se. Incidentally, it took me a long time to know that it's not the task of art to buttress the world with a meaning it hasn't, all in all, had since the sixth day of creation.
But what I meant to say: What interests me in writing is not my opinions, but the writing - the confrontation with language. Even the story doesn't interest me much. Whether or not the hero dies - I'll let him do either.
Confrontation with the language: Inasmuch as we write sentences - sentences the way the grammar supplies them, and are unhappy with these sentences, because they cover nothing, or too little of the experience which is driving us to write, the language forces us to discover, or at least to search for our experience. That is our work and it is often a "work of mourning" as Sigmund Freud calls it. (Trauer-arbeit.) In the act of writing - in the search for the sentence which, in its choice of words and in its rhythm, finally corresponds with our experience - we discover how we really feel our life, our world, and ourselves. It can be bewildering. Often it is all a matter of a nuance. The sentences on the paper which earn my approval might, for example, show that I'm a nuance more naive than I had thought, or a good deal more cynical than my friends think, or that I am a believer, etc. Where our writing does not lead us to experience ourselves, I believe it will not produce literature, only books.
The Writer's Journey.
You'll have begun to suspect, by now, that what you won't get from me is a lecture on literary history. Other people do it so much better! I was invited as a writer, and the writer's egocentricity on the subject of writing is something we'll not try to sweep under the carpet.
From Impulse to Imagination.
I ask myself whether they aren't both one and the same. I know this: it's always been pictures that unloosed the writing. Often some quite peripheral picture, which then disappears; it served as a come-on, as bait. When I start, I don't know what I'm going to write.
Sometimes I tell my friends what I am going to write and there is a danger, because if they like the idea, I stick with the idea for too long.
How do others work?
There are said to be writers who don't begin to write till they have a finished plan. Like an architect. Or, as the saying goes, they have the whole novel in their head.
It's a favorite notion, particularly among dilettantes.
What I have in my head is chaos.
How did Brecht work?
I have seen him, in Zurich, in 1948, before a graphic schema on the wall of his room; there, cigar in mouth, he was able, calmly and quietly, to see how long or short the scene was supposed to be which he had to write. Later, after a rehearsal in the theater I saw him not finish his beer because he had to get home, quick, to write a scene for which the schema had not provided. He remained spontaneous.
How Ingeborg Bachmann worked I do not know, although we lived together like man and wife for five years; the labor of writing is a very intimate affair.
Friederich Durrenmatt, another writer I knew personally, has said that you must expose yourself to your inventions. This means that the invention has a life of its own which won't make itself known until the act of writing: writing as conflict between plan and spontaneity. In fact a work - one that promises well - is not infrequently wrecked because we cannot relinquish a plan which the writing has long overtaken; we refuse to take the risk.
Many people can invent; talent means, among other things, a critical sensitivity in the handling of the available invention.
(Now I'm talking like a teacher!)
As for the imagination, I'm shy of the word. What exactly does it mean? Imagination is more than fantasy. A man like President Reagan, I suspect, has no imagination, which doesn't say that he doesn't have fantasy. I'm afraid he shares some of Hitler's fantasies.
Albert Einstein had imagination.
Imagination discovers reality.
Kafka had imagination. And imagination had Cassandra. And St. Francis of Assisi, maybe. And Picasso. Samuel Beckett. Strindberg suffered from imagination. Etc.
I am shy of that big word and prefer to speak of the impulse. I confess that the question, "Why do you write?" always startles me. If it were compelling, what I write, no one would ask me the question. And so the question means, why don't you go into the forest and chop trees? People who ask this question are mostly the ones who would like to write themselves but don't dare to produce their Moby Dick or some sborter masterpiece until they know why I write.
Obviously they are not writers.
They only want to be famous.
That impulse does not suffice.
"The Question why I write is not one I have never asked myself. I remember -there were poems by Morike, the plays of Shakespeare and Ibsen, which, as a fifteen-year-old, I did not in the least understand, but I had a yen: I wanted to do something like that too.
The imitative drive. I thought anybody could do it. The drive to play: you tinker; you take a piece of wire in your hands and bend it to your wish and whim; you draw in the snow with your finger for no purpose; the pleasure in form, pleasure in play, freedom through play.
And there is something else: The early experience that everything natural passes away. It withers, it decays. The need, therefore, to oppose transience by making a picture of what one loves - a girl, for instance. I remember the euphoric expectation: if I can paint a girl, she belongs to me!
That, as it turned out, was not the case.
My talent, evidently, did not suffice, but I went on doing what the cave dwellers did in Altamira; they make a picture of what they would like to have - the beautiful prey or what they fear - the evil beast, so as to ban it. We, in our language say, to paint the devil on the wall. So as to know him and to ban him. A magical impulse. Goethe is not the only writer who preserved himself from suicide by writing his Wilhelm Meister and letting him commit the youthful suicide.
Writing as self-defense. The impulses are various, which combine, and surely vanity is one of them - the temptation that one writes in order to be in the public eye. Later one is distressed to see one's public, and wants to sink into the earth with shame. How did the writer come to get over his shame and to expose publicly the heart's motions which he has never said out loud, in private, to any other person?
Evidently there is something else, yet: the need to communicate. One wants to be heard. One would like to know if one is different from all the others. One gives off signals to find out if we understand one another. One calls out in fright of being alone in the jungle of what cannot be said. We thirst not for honors, but for a partnership. We break the public silence about our desires and our terrors: In the act of writing, we confess ourselves even when we don't write about ourselves. We expose ourselves in order to make a beginning."
Enough about my impulses.
No writer, I believe, writes for the stars, or we wouldn't need to bother with all the nuisance of publishing, which expects the writer to write for the public. This too is not the case. I mean that in the first place the writer writes for himself alone - in relation to others whom be seeks as his partners. What we call a writer's style grows out of his relation with an invented partner. That is to say, the kind of partner be invents for himself is decisive for his style. Do I need to prove to my reader that I am clever too, or do I think him stupider than I am, so that I have to educate him? Neither produces a style of communication.
Tolstoy, for example, treats me as a partner. Others treat me as a reader. They show off, to impress me. This does not produce communication - only reading matter. Where communication has occurred, inasmuch as the writer is evidently not alone with whatever the need or the hope was that drove him to make his image, there follows a consequence which he didn't expect in following his native impulse: he has an impact, whether he likes it or not, and consequently a social responsibility.
What is his stance toward this responsibility? That will be the theme of the second lecture.
I am well aware that I have said next to nothing about imagination. That imagination is more than fantasy, we all know - yet when it is you who are writing, it is not always easy to distinguish whether what is being created is imagination or simply fantasy.
Reading others, we see more clearly. There are texts that amaze us from the outset (let us say) by their surrealism. Brilliant texts, indeed! What sallies this writer has! At least once every third line we are amazed, and to be amazed is surely a pleasure. Half a year later, I merely know: it's a brilliant piece; you have got to read it; I remember something like champagne, sparkling with fantasy.
In contradistinction: Imagination sticks (like something that happened to us personally).
I was a student when I read Kafka's Metamorphosis for the first
time; someone had handed me a little book, a first edition. Franz Kafka's name was not known by millions, who never read a single line of his. I myself knew nothing about his great novels. I didn't even know they existed - there was just this booklet: Franz Kajka -Die Verwandlung, Eine Erzählung. Of the things I read at that time, some I have forgotten; others I only remember having read, honestly! As famous a story as Tonio Kroger, for instance. Yet this absurd story of one who, upon awakening one morning as usual, finds himself to be a beetle: it impressed itself as an experience which remains palpable even when I do not think of literature.
One aspect of imagination: that it never lets us loose again; what it has revealed to us determines our psychical development and our relationship toward our own existence. (I am speaking as a reader.)
In the example I just quoted, imagination manifests itself primarily in the story. The same would hold for Moby Dick - but it hardly applies to "Woyzzek," the drama fragment left behind by Georg Buchner. For me, "Woyzzek," too, belongs to those works that constitute more than a mere portion of my literary knowledge.
Woyzzek: a poor devil, a soldier, a menial in uniform, harassed and exploited; the first proletarian in German literature. When he sees that not even the woman he loves belongs to him but to his superiors instead, Woyzzek grabs a knife and stabs not the superior but the woman he loves - a sad story, a realistic story, one of thousands we have heard and forgotten. In the case of "Woyzzek," it is not the story that is haunting me; what is haunting me and what I keep hearing over and over since I first read this drama fragment and saw it staged is the speechlessness of human creatures. How can speechlessness be revealed through speech? Georg Buchner, for one, succeeded. His imagination manifests itself scenically.
We use the same expression in our language: "imagination." "Image" means bild. If we translate "imagination" literally, it means einbildung. This word does exist in the German language, but it is not used to imply that something inexpressible is transposed into an image. (Bild, which is something else than abbild.) And oftentimes it is not an image which communicates to us the inexpressible. Rather, it is a rhythm.
Imagination, as a Latin loan word, has a sound interference which is accidental; Magisch, magie. As a matter of fact, imagination is a magic act not producible by intelligence.
One's admiration for poets certainly does not rest upon the assumption that the poet is more intelligent than, say, Leonid BrezhDov or Mr. Haig Jr. It's not so. Admiration rests upon blissful bewilderment, pure and simple. The poet, too, may be a dangerous fellow or a lunatic. But be obviously has a pipeline to some sort of angel who confers upon him what no school ever can, for example a rhythm:
"Von diesen Städten wird bleiben,
der durch sie hindurchging,
der Wind."
That was young Brecht:
Of those cities will remain:
what passed through them,
the wind!
Living in Manhattan, I'm living with this rhythm: "Von diesen Städten . . ."
Ladies and gentlemen! Behind my shyness to talk about imagination, there lies a simple reason you must have guessed by now. I fear your question: Do you, Mr. Frisch or Max, believe yourself to have imagination? It is a question I am asking myself (not at a dinner-in-honor-of;but, for instance, when I find myself in my pajamas, eating an apple in the kitchen at four in the morning, not even certain whether it is today, or yesterday, or tomorrow).
Fiction is yet a long way from imagination. To write without imagination is a job. A good one or a bad one. But if writing is just a job, I'd really rather be an honest carpenter.


text: Modern Warfare 2 developer Infinity Ward hasn't "begun thinking" about DLC, according to an official post on the forums.Going by a post made by Infinity Ward's Robert Bowling, also known as Fourzerotwo, the team are busy finishing up the game and haven't had time to give any thought to the DLC.A post made by an angry fan regarding the apparent dating of Modern Warfare 2 DLC, claiming that Infinity Ward is "not providing the full content of [the] game even though [they] have the ability," got the following response from Fourzerotwo:"I think you might be confused by that. We haven't even begun thinking about what our DLC will be, Let [sic] alone finish any. NO DLC will begin development until the entire game is finished and certified."Which doesn't actually deny that we'll see the DLC in spring, and I suppose it contradicts that they've guaranteed at least two map packs, but now I'm just being childish.What do you reckon, readers? Would you rather have a few extra multiplayer maps for free and have the game out in spring? Or would you rather have the game out in November and pay for the DLC then?Come to think of it, much as I say they'd be free if the game was released then, the lack of Christmas sales would probably jack the ludicrous price up higher.

subset: commoncrawl


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Rat Island, part of the Aleutians in Alaska, had been infested with rats since a Japanese ship wrecked there in the 1700s. It is now rat free after a mass poisoning campaign proved successful. The project did have a few glitches, however, including the death of 43 Bald Eagles. The sacrifice seems well worth it if seabirds start breeding on the island in numbers like they do on other, nearby, rat-free islands.
In a related story…
While environmentalists worldwide view the riddance of rats from the Aleutians as an enormous success, members of AREA (American Rat Enthusiast Association) are devasted.
Wondering how long the poison maintains potency (even after being ingested by the rats), or what was left laying around.
Wes, if the poison used is 1080 or something comparable, it will dissolve rather quickly both within the rat remains and if it is laying around outside.
© 2013 10,000 Birds. All words, images, and opinions are the property of their respective authors unless stated otherwise.


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Otranto (Lecce) - Italy
June 8, 2015 – June 12, 2015
Energy Production, Storage and Conversion
from Molecules to Devices at the Crossroads of Physical Chemistry
The National School of Physical Chemistry will take place in Otranto (Southern Italy, Lecce district) from 8th to 12th June 2015. Its primary goal is to discuss the multidisciplinary theoretical and technological aspects concerning fields with relevance for energy production, conversion, transmission and harvesting. In details the aim of the School is to present the state-of-the-art and the future perspectives for different approaches applied to the generation and storage of renewable and sustainable energy. For this purpose, basic lectures and topical seminars will be given by some of the most recognized academic experts, crossing the relevant skills from physical chemistry with those of different areas of chemistry.
Energy production and consumption has complex economic, geopolitical, security, and environmental impacts, and the European energy supply situation is very inhomogeneous. There are countries with nearly 100% CO2-free, others with exclusively fossil-based energy production. Some countries have used the last years to approach or even meet the Kyoto goals, others have moved away from them; some invest heavily in Renewable Energies, whereas in other countries they do not yet play a major role. Despite this disparity, Europe has well defined energy and environmental goals. Therefore a detailed presentation and discussion about European energy policy will be also dealt with. In order to fulfill the ambitious European goals, extensive R&D in energy technologies is needed and this is a tremendous chance for students in all technical areas.
The School will cover major fields in detailed lectures but it will also serve as a forum of discussion. It will be a great opportunity for students and postdoctoral fellows to meet with and learn from their peers and established experts in a friendly atmosphere, reaping benefit in terms of enthusiasm, knowledge and new ideas and benefitting the future of mankind.
In case you are interested in energy technology or even working in this field, we would encourage you to sign up.


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SMASH Fact or Fiction? Episode 8 "The Coup"
Happy Thursday and welcome to the eighth episode of SMASH Fact or fiction? Welcome to all you new readers, please take a moment to read the game rules before activating your buzzers. Welcome back to America's favorite TV trivia game show. If you've missed the previous posts, check out Why Smash Matters and our first four game shows, for the pilot episodeepisode two episode threeepisode four, episode five, episode six and episode seven If you are new to My Own Space the blog, my name is Sharon and I've been in pretty many Broadway shows. I am also friends with Theresa Rebeck, the creator, writer, and all around guru of the show–so I am here to remind you that I am in total support of the fact that the show is, in fact, a TV show–a fictional drama–not a documentary. Right? Right. Good. Please initialize your understanding of this fact here: ______. We are not out to do anything except use the show as a launching point for fun conversation about the theater world. Based on the success of A Chorus Line and other backstage shows, we here at My Own Space assume there is a basic appreciation and curiosity of what happens behind the scenes on Broadway. Or else, one might rightly ask, what in the world are you doing reading this blog. Right? Right. If you can't sing at least part of the song "Tomorrow", you're in the wrong place and should maybe try this instead.
Truth be told, you don't really even need to watch the show to play along, but you might be confused at points and you will not win the grand prize which is hidden behind door number three which will be opened by Bernadette Peters.
Here we go. Lights up…cue theme music….
I will make a series of statements based on events in this weeks episode, and then give my opinion on whether the statements are "fact" or "fiction". You play along. Get your buzzers ready.
1) There is "radio silence" after a workshop or a reading as the actors and creative team wait to hear about the next move. Fact or fiction?
Frequently this is a Fact. This weeks episode dealt with the silence that happened after the workshop performed. This is very normal and frequently there is all of the sniffing around seen on the show. The actors ask other actors, the creative team waits to hear from the producer. The big missing link here is the agent. In reality, Ivy would be hounding her agent (even if she was friends with someone in power), and Julia and Tom would be on the horn with their agent, not sending an assistant out on a fishing expedition. Does it make for good TV to see a bunch of people on the phone or writing emails? No. Is it more fun to see creepy and allegedly straight Ellis stalk around and dig things up, and Tom tell a weeping Ivy that they are looking for a star? Probably. The point is, YES. Everyone waits. Also, I must remind you, if this was, in fact, a workshop, Ivy would be entitled to a fairly hefty buy-out for being replaced.
What would the next move typically be? Massive re-writes. Assessment of casting. Another reading. Another reading after that. Hopefully a high profile out-of-town tryout at a theater like the Old Globe or Seattle's Fifth Avenue where you could get some good reviews, gain some buzz and come into Broadway within the year. The whole transaction takes years.
2) Other people write songs for a musical started by someone else. Fact or fiction?
Before I call it, let's talk about it. I have to confess that I was a little confused by the whole teaching Karen a song from a new composer and then bringing in Julia and Tom to watch it to see that the show could go in a "different direction". I thought they were being replaced as the composing team--which could get a bit dicey because they originated the idea. If that was the case--if Derek and Eileen were auditioning a new composer/lyricist--I would call this a FACT, because it has happened that a composing team has been replaced on a project (I'm thinking of Broadway's Little Women but I am sure there have been others.) The idea that the producer and a director would hire someone to write a new song for a show--just as a one-off--and then perform it with complete production values at a hidden theater space in Brooklyn.....well....that is just all made for TV fun and gave Kat McPhee a number in a sheet and a lot of drama for everyone else.
This week's episode was a little light on show biz fact and fictions, so here are a few fact or fictions that are just for fun.
3) You can get a ticket for walking on the grass. Fact or fiction.
Fact. You can get a ticket for anything in New York City. I point this out only because I recently got a ticket because my Munimeter parking slip was on my dash board but not close enough to my registration. Seriously? Another stupid ticket I've heard about (but I haven't gotten one--yet) is a rash of tickets being handed out on the subway to people who place their bag or purse on the seat next to them. Seriously, and not even in a crowded subway car, but on a car with about 8 people on it. This doesn't have to do with anything, but when I saw the ticket for walking on the grass on SMASH, I though, yeah, that's totally believable. You can get a ticket for just about anything in New York City (except, weirdly, jaywalking, which is widely considered acceptable behavior, even if it's illegal. I've never heard of anyone getting a jaywalking ticket in New York City.)
4) Angelica Huston's daughter is being played by Meryl Streep's daughter. Fact or fiction?
Fact. Grace Gummer. She was in Arcadia on Broadway last spring and the Tom Hanks film Larry Crowne . I don't know why I'm telling you this except that I think it is interesting and you might not know it.
5) Actors bowl. Fact or fiction?
Fact. There is a Broadway bowling league that starts after after the shows end on Thursday nights and the league is competitive. Whether or not people do production numbers in the middle of the bowling alley is questionable, but it is a loud and drunken good time. SMASH was not depicting the Broadway Bowling League, but if it were, it would be at a bowling alley in Times Square, not Brooklyn Bowl. While we're on the topic of Broadway and sports, another fun fact is that there is also a Broadway softball league. These leagues are much more competitive than you might expect, especially because the teams tend to be stacked with "ringers" from the stage hands union. The games are played in Central Park in small ball fields that all share an outfield. It is common for "homeruns" to roll into the infield of another active game. There are sometimes serious injuries; I once saw a dancer guy break his ankle in several places running for a line drive. It was awful.
Thanks for playing!


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Brendan Rodgers admitted his disappointment following Liverpool's 2-0 defeat to West Bromwich Albion at Anfield on Monday night — but insisted he could not fault the efforts of his players.
Late goals from Gareth McAuley and Romelu Lukaku secured a shock win for the visitors after the Reds had dominated the contest throughout but were ultimately left frustrated by an outstanding display by Ben Foster.
The Baggies goalkeeper kept Liverpool at bay with a string of saves, including a 77th minute penalty stop from Steven Gerrard in front of the Kop.
"The players gave everything in the game," Rodgers reflected. "After all the shots and attempts at goal, we just couldn't make the breakthrough — and the longer it goes on, it gives the opponent that wee bit more encouragement.
"But I can't fault the players. I thought they gave everything tonight — it was just one of those games where we needed that first goal."
In total, Liverpool had 25 efforts at West Brom's goal, with seven on target.
"The players gave everything," Rodgers added. "We weren't at our best tonight, but we were certainly on the front foot and looking to create.
"It was a good away performance from West Brom — if you come, defend and keep the score at 0-0, you're always in with that chance.
"Ben Foster made some brilliant saves tonight that kept them in the game.
"I'm disappointed for the players. They've been on a terrific little run, especially here at home.
"We've defended very well throughout the season here and we're disappointed with the [first] goal. The second goal was one where you're chasing the game and you get caught on the counter attack, and he's put it away well."
The award of a penalty 13 minutes from time after Jonas Olsson had pushed Luis Suarez inside the box gave Liverpool a chance to take a well-deserved lead.
However, Gerrard saw his low effort turned away by Foster.
"It looked from the side that it [the penalty] may have been a bit harsh, to be honest, but I haven't seen the replay of it," Rodger said. "The referee has given it and it was an opportunity for us, but there is no blame on Steven. He's been outstanding and hasn't had many penalties to take [this season]. Again, he was very, very good tonight and it happens. He's got the courage and bravery to step up, but Ben Foster has made a good save."
Liverpool return to action on Thursday evening with a trip to Russia to take on Zenit St Petersburg in the first leg of the UEFA Europa League last 32 tie, before playing host to Rodgers' former club Swansea at Anfield on Sunday.
"It's a big disappointment because we had two home games this week that we felt were opportunities for us," Rodgers concluded.
"But we'll go again and get back in tomorrow. We've got a game away in the Europa League which we'll be ready for on Thursday and then come back, get ready and go again at the weekend."


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I really appreciate all that the Making Waves committee has done to help open the pool. Even if the pool is unable to open this summer, it just needs to get open sometime in the next couple of years to give the kids something cool and fun to do in the summer. That's why I have some ideas of how to get the pool open and keep the pool open and going.
I couldn't help myself. Normally, I wouldn't care. But I blame two, maybe three, little old ladies in a Louisville coffee shop.
There are certain words and phrases that my brain listens for, even if I'm not actively listening.
Somehow, and I couldn't tell you how, Britney Spears made it into the mental queue. Maybe it had something to do with the Dr. Phil visit to her psych ward room, which thrust her name into the headlines and news broadcasts for what seemed like the dozenth time in three days.
Thanks to the Eminence Police and Henry County Sheriff's Department for the professional way they escorted Sam's funeral to Eminence. They honored him by bowing their heads as we came out of the funeral home and continued at every turning point.
This showed our family respect and how well he was thought of. Several comments were made on a very organized and professional job. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
Patsye Jennings and family, Eminence
I am writing in response to the article on banning skate boards. The activities for our children in New Castle are limited. If the children are skate boarding instead of selling drugs on our streets than why are we taking away their enjoyment?
We as our children's leaders must look for other ways to fix this solution. We do not have to build an extravagant skate board park such as downtown Louisville, but what about building an area such as the one in LaGrange?
While most legislative sessions are generally remembered for two or three major accomplishments, there are often dozens of other laws that positively affect our lives, even if they do not generate as much news.
In recent years, we in the House have included many of these initiatives in our "Commitment to Kentucky Families" agenda. "Taken together, they are designed to improve our schools, our collective health and the way we interact with state government. "All are affordable, commonsense measures.
This week we concentrated on the brave men and women in the military who are sacrificing so much during this time to defend our country and on the most defenseless among us, the unborn. "The Senate passed a series of bills to aid our military and comprehensive pro-life legislation.
Since the launch of our new internet platform, we've been tweaking a few things.
One feature we lost with the new platform was our old guestbook. Not many folks used it, however, so if you didn't know it was there, you certainly didn't miss it.
We added a new feature to our Web site lst week, though that brings back the ability to comment on our site. Only instead of signing a guestbook, you'll actually be able to comment on each story.
There is a catch, however — in order to leave a comment, you'll have to register with a valid e-mail address.
Over the years, I've covered more than a few accidents. Some severe, some not so severe. I've had loved ones in accidents. My own husband was involved in a rather severe motorcycle accident in 2005.
Like most folks, I never thought it would happen to me. But it did.
As is often the case during the early stages of a legislative session, the House and Senate spend the first few weeks focusing on their respective agendas, adopting bills each hopes the other chamber will consider favorably.
For the House last week, the military took center stage, as we unanimously approved legislation designed to help our veterans and those soldiers still serving.
I read the article submitted by City Commissioner Tim Royalty with much dismay. His reference to Danvilles Main Street Program should be clarified.
As a resident of the great city of Eminence I would like to say to my mayor and city council, thank you for showing us that our kids count. Thank you for voting to open the pool.
I'd also like to thank Making Waves for all the hard work that they put into helping make this possible for all the kids in our community.
I feel that everyone young and old will greatly benefit from this. Our kids have an opportunity to make some great memories with friends and family and we parents will be spared our sanity.
The Henry County Family Resource Center and Youth Services Center would like to thank every church, school, business, organization, and individual that helped to make this years Christmas for Kids program a success. 167 children were adopted out, and with financial donations we were able to shop for the remaining 36 giving us a total of 203 children that were served. Again, thanks for helping make this another successful Christmas for Kids and thanks for the continued support you give to our programs throughout the year.
Renata & Angie - Family Resource Center
Over the past couple of weeks, in my mind, I've written at least one-hundred different versions of this letter. As I type the words now, I'm not confident that I will convey my true feelings, thankfulness, and pride in being part of this community.
A special thanks goes to the Eminence City Council for their Jan. 14, unanimous vote, to reopen the swimming pool. They also created a pool commission to oversee the repairs and operation.
Also, special thanks goes to the parents of the children of Eminence and Henry County for signing petitions (more than 700 signatures), for attending three Making Waves meetings (average attendance 50), numerous phone calls and letters and volunteering for fundraisers. This exceptional community support has made all the difference to the city council.
Everyone's screaming free country, freedom. Others scream smoke free. If it's a free country why does everything cost so much. I could never figure out what we are free from. Some say the military is fighting for freedom. One hundred years later they are still saying they are fighting for freedom. What an excuse to kill foreign people. Some days it feels like house arrest. There's only so far you can go because it either cost too much or you run out of land. It seems that the way everything is going they don't find a way to charge us for the air we breathe.
One thing I've never been particularly fond of are game shows.
Sure, I had a few when I was growing up that I couldn't quite get enough of - the Price is Right, Press Your Luck, Wheel of Fortune and the big kahuna, Jeopardy. While I still enjoy the periodic bout of Jeopardy, for the most part I've left game shows behind me.
But after my favorite of shows last week, American Idol, I caught one that defies categorization.
The Moment of Truth is yet another display of just what some folks will do to themselves all in the name of winning a little cash.
I have a confession. I'm addicted to crack television. It all started so innocently. Really.
When I arrived in Henry County last year, I house sat for our proofreader, Marty. The television picked up just two channels very clearly - FOX and CBS.
It meant, ever so sadly, that I couldn't chill out in an arm chair watching the Discovery Channel or the History Channel. Sure, I had plenty of movies with me, but I needed some television time.
So, one Tuesday night, I turned on the television and saw the auditions for American Idol.
I would like to add my name to those who are requesting that the New Castle City Commission vote "yes" to keep the city of New Castle in the Main Street Program.
Don't tell me where your priorities are. Show me where you spend your money and I'll show you what you are. How true!
The debate over the value of the Main Street Program in New Castle is simply a matter of priorities of how a tax payer's money is spent. The choice before the New Castle City Commission is either to keep funding the Main Street Program hoping to gain new grant money from Frankfort sometime in the future or change directions, invest what New Castle is spending on Main Street to repair and renovate the Locker now for the community to use.
First, I would like to thank Jonna Spelbring Priester and the Henry County Local for the coverage given to the New Castle City Commission meeting last Monday evening, specifically the coverage of the discussion pertaining to the Renaissance On Main project. By now, I'm sure you have read the article in last weeks Local regarding the discussion of the New Castle Main Street project.
Copyright © 2019
The Henry County Local is your source for local news, sports, events, and information in Eminence, KY and the surrounding area.


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Climbing Higher: Ryan Garza Hikes Again at What's Your Everest
Friday the 13th.
As Ryan Garza says the date, a smile overcomes his face, hiding the wincing and trembling that come with his usual pain.
It was on that day in February that the Marine had his deteriorating right leg – which had been previously injured by an IED explosion in Afghanistan – amputated. For years, he had walked around on the gnarled limb in pain.
He was able to bear the pain enough to summit Mount Mariposa in Peru with No Barriers Warriors in 2013. But when the pain manifested itself in excessive drinking and aggressive demeanor, Ryan knew it was time to free himself of it.
Within five weeks he was walking again. Soon thereafter he was climbing rock walls. Then he was bowling strikes. And on August 1, he set his heights higher — his first 14er with his prosthetic.
Watch the video of Ryan's climb with No Barriers at What's Your Everest in Colorado below:


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"You will never reach your destination if you stop to throw stones at every dog that barks."
-Winston Churchill
Most of us have goals that we can identify when asked. But on a daily basis, it is easy to get distracted by the 'noise' of everyday occurrences. We are emotional beings, making it difficult to always have the perspective we need to avoid getting caught up in small inconveniences that can throw us off course.
It could be a comment from our boss that we perceive to be condescending or an indication that he is dissatisfied with our work. Maybe it's the note from your child's teacher that is irritating because you feel it is petty or unwarranted. Or a 'look' from a close friend or spouse that makes us feel that we have disappointed them in some way. All of these situations can drain us emotionally and distract us from pursuing our goals.
Goals are not just related to achievement in the workplace. Goals can also include the pursuit of healthy, loving relationships with close friends and family.
The above quote from Winston Churchill is a reminder that while we need to deal with the barking dogs we should try to avoid letting them consume so much of our time and energy that it interferes with us realizing our destiny.


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CollaborationJoshua Lane / / No Comments
One the greatest things about my job is that I get to collaborate with a lot of really talented people. From designs to information architecture to logos… it's always nice to incorporate (and learn from) the ideas of others.
Which is why I'm really interested to see how this new collaboration tool (Chalk) turns out. Here are a couple links and a description of this new application:
Chalk gives users the ability to share code, ideas, audio and more in a small collaborative environment. For example, designers could use it to make collaborative alterations to a layout, or programmers could dissect their application – in real time. You can plan, organize, chat, and much more.
We're also going to lengths to provide users with simple ways to find new people to collaborate with via an extensive community system. Originally, you might prefer to work with people you know by contacting them with the simple private message and invite system. Later on, you can find new people to collaborate with by sharing and bookmarking Chalkboards – you name it, Chalk (probably) has it.


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Contact the Webmaster Copyright © All rights reserved. Standard Motor Company Ltd. Company Information | Privacy policy | Cookie policy |
Dedicated to the preservation of Standard Cars 1903-
This is YOUR club, keep it interesting for everyone by sending articles to the Magazine
See the Club Magazine for contact details of Club Officers
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Read all about Standards!
The Standard Car Review
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Also produced by our Editor, Steve O'Hara, this is a small booklet that details the models produced by the company over it's 60 year production run. A handy addition to any bookshelf available from the Online WebShop by clicking on the Web Shop link above
The Book of the Standard Motor Company
Produced by Veloce Publishing in June 2011 and incorporating material from the archives of the Standard Motor Club, this glossy coffee table book covers the complete Standard history. It also includes over 260 photographs and specifications of the cars. For more information or to order please go to the Online WebShop by clicking on the Web Shop link above
The Standard Car Review is published 12 times per year and is mailed free to all members worldwide. It is timed to arrive in at UK homes on the first of each month, arrival at other destinations, all by airmail, will be a few days later This glossy production is one of the main means by which club events are promoted and by which members keep in touch with each other. There are articles from members giving technical help and advise, and classified advertisements of cars and spares for sale and wanted. The colour photography records Standard events and there are reports from shows that members have attended. Reprints of workshop articles, period advertising for the cars and contact details for all the committee are included. There are advertisements for Club regalia and contact details for the officers running our spares warehouses.
The magazine is a welcome arrival on many hundreds of doormats all over England and much wider.
Get your copy by joining today!


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Hey Everyone!
My apologies for the delay! Here is the flyer for this year's banquet. We hope to see you all there!!!
We will be selling tickets at both the Quarry Plaza and College 9/10 Dining Hall everyday from 11am – 5pm! Come out to buy your tickets! Or you can purchase them from any Core member!! Look for the event on Facebook: CSA Lunar New Year Banquet!
The event is on Saturday, February 28.


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Official opening of a new Bandstand in Robert's Park, Saltaire
Hammonds Saltaire Band was proud and privileged to play an open air concert in Robert's Park, Saltaire to celebrate the opening of a new Bandstand on a gloriously sunny afternoon yesterday (Saturday 22 May 2010)
This concert featured a new composition of an opening fanfare called 'A Vision of Saltaire' by the Bradford born composer Jonathan Brigg who introduced and conducted the piece before handing over the baton to Morgan Griffiths the Band's Musical Director. Hammonds Saltaire Band then went on to give a thrilling and varied concert to an audience of several hundred people who enjoyed both music and sunshine at a splendid event.
Saltaire is the Band's spiritual home having been founded there at Salt's Mill in 1855 by the philanthropic mill-owner Sir Titus Salt whose statue towers over the new bandstand.
The new Bandstand has been built as part of a £4.5m refurbishment of Robert's Park and is now set to feature a range of musical talent each weekend throughout the summer months.


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Suleiman al-Khalifi was born in Kuwait in 1946. He obtained a Bachelors degree in literary criticism from the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts in Kuwait. He has published a number of poems, stories and critical studies in Al-Bayan magazine which is published by the Kuwaiti Writers Association. In 1972 he published a play called Summer Troubles and he subsequently went on to publish three collections of short stories and a collection of poetry. He has published two novels, Aziza, 2008 and Biban 2011.
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As the world recovers from its delirious response to the Google Phone, analysts are weighing in on the financial and strategic implications.
Here are two big issues the company will need to resolve:
- How to make and sell a hardware device without annoying Android hardware partners. Google will now be competing directly with the folks it is trying to partner up with. The Google Phone, for example, has now completely stolen the thunder of Verizon's "Droid," which Verizon is still spending hundreds of millions of dollars marketing. In the past, manufacturers have either sold integrated hardware and software (Apple) or software OR hardware (Microsoft/Dell). Google is trying to have it both ways.
- How to make the device affordable (i.e., subsidized) without wrecking Google's profit margins. Carriers subsidize phones to the tune of $200-$400 in exchange for a two-year contract. Without a subsidy, Google's phone would have to be priced around $400-$500 for the company not to lose money, and if it's priced that high, no one but a few freaks will buy it. If Google subsidizes the phone, meanwhile, its margins will take a big hit--and it won't get a two year contract in exchange (the "payback" for Google will be increased search usage. But how can you force someone to use the search engine for two years?). Will the carriers still pay the subsidy in exchange for a contract?
Bottom line, still some big questions the company needs to answer.
Below, Imran Khan and Doug Anmuth weigh in:
Imran Khan, JP Morgan:
Google is trying to drive paid clicks growth. Google's aggregated paid clicks growth rate decelerated from 52% Y/Y in Q1'07 to 14% Y/Y in Q3'09. We believe that one of the biggest drivers for paid click growth is search query volume growth. We think the proliferation of the Google mobile operating system enabled devices will help Google to drive the query volume and paid clicks.
Monetization Opportunity. We believe that mobile search advertising will command higher unit pricing (i.e. average price per click) as Google will have better information to provide more relevant advertising. However, we should also note that the mobile screen is not conducive to showing multiple advertisements (screen is much smaller compared to PC screen) and as such we think search associated with mobile will have less coverage which could have a negative impact on click through rates.
Tough market to penetrate. There are established players with scale and strong domain expertise. While Google has strong brand recognition among consumers, we still believe that it will be a tough market in which to gain market share. For example, despite positive press coverage, Palm Pre is still struggling to gain market share. Additionally Verizon's Droid phone did not have a material impact yet (We recognize that it is probably too early to draw conclusions). We also think the App ecosystem is a critical component to be successful and AAPL is significantly ahead of the competition.
Potential negative impact to margins. While, long term, it could help revenue and profitability, we are concerned that it can impact the margins in the near term. Our Apple analyst, Mark Moskowitz, estimates that iPhone gross margins are approximately 65% with a carrier subsidy. We think if Google wants to make the phone price competitive with the current market then its gross margins will be approximately in the 30%-40% range.
Doug Anmuth, Barclays:
On Saturday Google announced via its mobile blog that it is testing a new mobile device running the latest version of its Android operating system. According to multiple press reports, Google plans to sell this phone, named Nexus One, directly to consumers in 2010.
- While few details are available, we believe HTC is manufacturing the device & Google has been more involved in developing the software & hardware than with any other Android device.
- Google's increased involvement suggests to us that it wants to accelerate the adoption of Android beyond current devices & this could be Google's answer to taking more direct control over the implementation of the software stack.
- Should Google sell an unlocked device directly to users we believe some of the risks could include: 1) potential payment of device subsidies; 2) conflict with current partners; and 3) lack of carrier distribution.
- We believe this issue is important to investors because potential phone subsidies could impact Google's overall cost structure. We believe the industry subsidy per device is typically $200-$300 and is usually paid by the carriers.
Get the latest Google stock price here.


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Before I get to the recipe for this amazing "fully loaded" breakfast let me tell ya a little about where I came up with these. I have a group of 7 girlfriends who love to get together. We all have children around the same ages (5 years and younger), we live within a 15 mile radius, we spend hours and hours laughing together, go on girls trips for our birthdays, even our husbands love getting together for group dates. I feel very very lucky to have them. Whenever one of us has a hard day they always know that at least 1 of us will always drop what we are doing to go to lunch or ice cream with them, bring them dinner, or just be there to talk! It was my friend Jenny's birthday so to celebrate we spent 2 nights in Scottsdale, Arizona laying by the pool, staying up way to late, and going out for each and every meal. One morning we went to this little breakfast place and I ordered pancakes very similar to these! They were so good that I knew I had to re-create them and share them with you all! These are what I like to call "Special Occasion Pancakes" I definitely could not {and should not} eat these for breakfast everyday, but boy are they good! Just try them! Your husband, kids, neighbors, and whoever else you make these for will love them and love you even more!
Peanut Butter S'more Pancakes
1 1/2 cups All-Purpose flour
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/4 cup whole milk
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1/2 cup Mighty Maple Peanut Butter
1/2 cup crushed graham cracker
1/3 cup chocolate chips
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and using a hand mixer mix them all together. Grab a skillet and spray with a little pam spray and make them pancakes and lightly butter them when they are done!
10 oreos, smashed
5 graham crackers, smashes
1 cup Marshmallow Fluff
1/4 cup water
Bring water to boil. Place Marshmallow fluff in a bowl. Slowly add hot water to marshmallow fluff one Tablespoon at a time while stiring. Continue to add water until the marshmallow fluff in melted and it is smooth.
Put oreos in a ziploc bag and smash. Place graham crackers in a different ziploc bag and smash.
To Assemble:
Grab a few pancakes and put them on a plate. Grab some smashed oreos and some graham crackers and place on top. Then pour marshmallow mixture on top. And then enjoy!


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The village of Cases de Pène in Roussillon is some ten miles West of Perpignan. Pena means rock in Catalan and referred in the Middle Ages to the castle perched on a rocky mountain spur which dominates the valley of the River Agly. Here vines rub shoulders with olive trees, almond trees and maquis in a typical Mediterranean landscape.
Chateau de Pena is a local wine co-operative that began in 1942 and now employs 6 people on behalf of more than 60 co-operative wine growers. With vineyards that extend over 1,000 acres and 80% of the surface classified as Appelation d'Origine Contrôlée, they are relatively large for one of our suppliers.
The terroir is mainly marl clay and black schist which face due South on the lower foothills of the Corbières and they provide an ideal soil for many grape varieties: Syrah, Carignan and Grenache Noir which go into their AOC Côtes du Roussillon Villages; Alexandria Muscat, Small-grain Muscat, and Macabeu which together with Grenache Noir are used for the production of their naturally sweet AOC Rivesaltes and AOC Muscat de Rivesaltes; varieties such as Merlot, Cabernet, Chardonnay and Viognier are used in their Vin du Pays.
Wine production is a mixture of traditional hand picking and modern production techniques including dry ice and thermovinification controlled by Master Winemaker Lionel Rodenas to produce good quality, drinkable wines that represent very good value for money. I have chosen their Ninet de Pena red and white as well as their Chappelle de Pena red wines as I felt they gave a good introduction to their production. In addition I have selected their more up market red and white Pierres-Noirs wines which are well worth sampling. We will extend their range over time to include the local sweet Rivesaltes and Muscat de Rivesaltes wines


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You know your ideal customer. Now how do you find them and what can they tell you?
Where do they hang out online? If you know where your ideal customer spends their time online, this can give you a few advantages. You can find out what products they already like and use, what products they want but can't find, who their favourite artists and companies are, how they speak (their phrases and terminology). Where, oh where can they be? Are they on a Yahoo group? Are they hanging out in forums? What are the blogs they look at every day and comment on?
What products they already like. The people your customers are already buying from are your competitors. Who are the top 3 people your customers follow and buy from? What is it that draws your customers to them? What products do they like? What products are being promoted as the hot new thing that isn't being loved by your potential customers? What products are they asking for that aren't available? How do they like shopping with your competitors – do they love the product, hate the service? What are your competitors doing right? Where can you do better than your competitors?
How to get your product in front of them. You can scatter stuff everywhere and hope some of it finds the right person. But if you know where they hang out, you can target them directly. One message in a newsgroup of 1,000 people is pretty powerful stuff. Especially when all of the 1,000 people are in a group that likes a specific thing – YOUR specific thing.
How they think & talk. Using the same language as your customer will help you connect with them, instead of seeming like an outsider. What are the terms they use when talking about the products they like? Often a product is given a nickname or a shorter term to make it quicker to type. Sometimes they have a lingo all their own. How you talk about your own artwork or product could either make them love your or hate you also. What other artists do they like? Artists who have a detailed philosophy on the whole thing, or a more no-nonsense kind of vibe? Do your customers want things that make them feel like an individual? Do they want to feel connected to you? Do they want inspiration, practicality, uniqueness?
All these things can only help you with your creative business.
Secret Tip: A great tip I came across recently was this: Do not under estimate the power of Mommy Bloggers.
My Secret Tip: Do not underestimate the power of craft review bloggers.
I hope that has given you some ideas to go and research. I will let you know how I am going with mine, if you let me know how you are going with yours 🙂
♥ Coral.


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Two effortless ways incentives delivered dramatic energy savings to households
Measured behavioural changes are the most cost effective methods of energy reduction. In a domestic setting, we prove that the provision of framed information to households can have a dramatic effect on their consumption. Within this randomised control trial, we assessed the effects of 'social norm' comparisons, the provision of energy saving information and the provision of a variety of financial incentives.
In two studies we showed that energy saving behaviour change can deliver huge benefits to households at little cost, through the application of behavioural science. In the first study 569 households were randomly allocated to three groups, which received the following letters in 6 monthly intervals over 15 months: – (i) control with a basic energy statement; (ii) treatment 1 – norms only; (iii) treatment 2 – norms with information. The control group had a basic energy statement, and the norms only group had the basic statement with a bar graph illustrating their consumption in comparison to the average in their neighborhood for their property size – the descriptive social norm. So our definition of social norms here is the average consumption of similar sized properties in the neighborhood.
Our second study involved 2142 households over a four month period, randomly allocated into eight groups: – (i) control (ii) online (i.e. email) social norm; (iii) offline (i.e. letter) social norm; (iv) high-user frame (online); (v) high-user frame with social norm (online); (vi) social norm and £10 incentive for reaching an exogenous target (online); (vii) social norm and £100 incentive for reaching an exogenous target (online); (viii) £100 incentive for reaching an exogenous target (online). This will allow us to test social norms and how they interact with the mode of delivery, high-user frame, and financial rewards. The importance of comparing (iv) and (v) will demonstrate whether the norm is related to being energy inefficient, in that we notify individuals that they are a high end user to determine whether this is any different to a norm (even though social averages are not used). The importance of (vi), (vii) and (viii) will demonstrate whether financial rewards help or hinder social norms for energy conservation.
In our first study we found striking results: Both sets of households that received framed information significantly reduced their energy consumption. The group with information reducing energy reducing by at least twice as much as the first treatment. However, this 'ahead' did not last for the 15 month period, and by the end of the study, both sets of users were displaying the same levels of energy consumption.
For the second study we show that offline social norms work better than online social norms, which is an important communication finding. This is surprising given that these customers are used to information being delivered online. It is also surprising given the 6 unequivocal impact that norms have in an offline delivery mode.What was also interesting was the finding that different interventions can in fact crowd each other out, which was shown by the lack of effect of peer comparisons combined with financial incentives.


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After you hit the supervised-transfer button the request is immediately send to asterisk, but asterisk waits to complete the number with the transferdigittimeout timer.
You can hit the # on the phone after pressing the supervised-transfer button to stop the waiting and start the dial.
Transferring with Fop2 always have the complete number so asterisk don't have to wait.
Is it possible that Fop2 send a invite with a # at the end on a supervised transfer?
The transferdigittimeout timer can't be set low because the users needs some time to dial the number if they transfer by phone.
I have set it to 2 seconds, a bit short for normal transfers and a bit too long for Fop2 transfers.
Hitting the # on the phone to speed things up after transferring with Fop2 is not a nice solution.
Or is there a solution that I can make in the dialplan?


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Imagine this...
Life is throwing curveballs, and you don't quite have all of the answers. You've tried one thing and that didn't work, tried again - same result. Feeling stuck and unsure of what to do, wishing a manual would pop up in your mailbox, you re-awaken from that nightmare to feel yourself falling into the same monotonous pattern all over again.
Sound familiar?
There are so many times in my life (correction: so many times a day) where I feel stuck and not sure what my next steps should be. I keep doing the same things thinking I will get a different outcome (insanity), and still…. nothing. Enough time doing all of these things had me really start praying about any underlying issues that kept bringing me back to this spot.
Over the course of my 23 years, I think about the specific areas where I really struggle and my sin becomes so apparent, and it is in the area of being corrected. For so long, I saw any type of correction, accountability, and/or criticism as a personal attack on my character.
Jesus has done so much in my life to really take the fog away from my eyes to show me a greater picture of sitting down with someone, and truly listening to their words of truth and wisdom. (Note: I have by no means perfected this, I am a work in progress! ) Much of my acceptance towards mentorship started later in college. This is when I met a wonderful group of women going after Christ, with a lot of experiences to speak about.
I would sit around the table at our Bible study and sit in amazement, as they each would share their week, and talk about the areas where they felt stuck and not sure what to do. One day I decided to speak up and be honest about where I was, and you know what? I have never gone back.
That very day, I met a handful of women who started to pour into me the truth and wisdom that I was seeking. For me, those nuggets of pure and honest wisdom came straight from the red letters found in my Bible. They kept bringing me back to the words of Jesus. From that point on, I started meeting with women who were older than me. I was becoming so hungry for wisdom and truth, and learning that the willingness of being vulnerable and transparent can completely change your life.
Mentorship became the pathway that God used to open my eyes wide as I became acquainted with the idea of accepting my brokenness. He also used this to show me the beauty in grace and truth-filled correction.
Seeking out mentorship is such a rewarding habit to get into because it allows us to see the areas that need improvement, and encourages us to run to God for both help and a reminder of where our identity truly lies. When mentorship is done right, there is a healthy balance of both truth, love, and grace.
Is there a woman in your life who you can think of who could do these three things, and do them well?
GO CALL THEM. INVITE THEM INTO YOUR LIFE. Let them pour into you. It can be totally scary at first, but eventually it becomes normal. Sharing becomes less awkward, and the bumpy walk becomes more paved as the truth begins to set you free.
I am from Chicago, Illinois and am a lover of anything coffee. How cliché, right? I love Jesus and my life would not be the same without him. Growing up I was a fan of him and loved his story and his strength, but continued to live my life in the flesh. As I grew up I became a follower of him, and his strength, mercy, and grace was something that would eventually bring me to my knees in awe of his glory. I am a full time photographer and love capturing beautiful memories. I look forward to sunny days and warm nights, preferably with a nice cup of tea and an episode of Downtown Abbey.


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Freedom Force Ad Blurbs (Macintosh)
Published by
Developed by
Official Site
Also For
ESRB Rating
Critic Score
100 point score based on reviews from various critics.
User Score
5 point score based on user ratings.
Advertising BlurbsElectronic Arts UK website - Windows:
- First PC title to bring fully realised, original heroes to life in an interactive RPG world.
- Over 25 unique heroes and villains, all with their own unique voices, personalities and attributes.
- Control a squad of 4 individual characters - dozens of amazing character animations bring each hero to life.
- Uphold justice with over 23 missions that offer a variety of gameplay from foiling a bank robbery to rescuing a captured hero.
- Missions are based in real New York City locations including Central Park, the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty.
- Intense 3-D tactical battle engine with fully destructible environments - destroy buildings and then use the debris to attack enemies.
- "Mod" element allows players to completely customise and/or create their character and even create their own personal "skins".
- Breakthrough character RPG skill system allows players to juggle stats, pump up powers, recruit new heroes and develop existing heroes based on experience gained in tactical missions.
Contributed by Xoleras (66712) on Jun 15, 2004.
Freedom Force': Earth's Strangest Super Heroes!
Evil incarnate in the form of Lord Dominion lurks just beyond another dimension, intent on absolute supremacy of the entire universe. In a diabolical plot to have Earth destroy itself, Lord Dominion schemes to unleash the awesome might of his Energy X on an unsuspecting populace.
But never fear, players can form, train and lead Freedom Force, a team of 14 original comic book heroes capable of standing toe-to-toe against Lord Dominion and his dastardly villains. Set in the Silver Age of comics, the game features both an intense 3D tactical battle engine and a rich RPG system.
FOR FREEDOM!!! ELECTRONIC ARTS AND CRAVE ENTERTAINMENT SHIP FREEDOM FORCE FOR THE PCREDWOOD CITY, Calif., March 26, 2002 – Pow! Bam! Crash! Villains Beware! A team of unlikely heroes known only as "Freedom Force" has arrived to protect the citizens of Patriot City from the evil Lord Dominion. Heroic force will be called upon as EA and Crave Entertainment today announced that they have begun to ship the comic-inspired tactical Role Playing Game Freedom Force' for the PC.
Flashing back to the Silver Age of comic books, players can form, train and lead Freedom Force, a team of 14 original comic heroes sent to Patriot City, to foil Lord Dominion's scheme of having the planet Earth destroy itself. The game consists of 22 unique missions, the majority of which will require a squad of four heroes such as the patriotic leader "Minuteman," the powerful "ManBot" and the fiery "El Diablo."
A fully featured RPG skill system rewards strategic heroes by allowing players to juggle stats, pump up powers, recruit new heroes and strengthen existing heroes based on experience accumulated in tactical missions. The game's enhanced "mod" element allows players to completely customize and/or create their own unique heroes and personal "skins."
Freedom Force is equipped with up to four-player online/LAN multiplayer support, including support for the GameSpy Arcade player matchmaking service. Freedom Force for the PC is developed exclusively by Irrational Games and carries a "T" (Teen) rating from the ESRB and MSRP of US$39.99. For more information on Freedom Force, visit the official product website at: http://www.myfreedomforce.com. ABOUT CRAVE ENTERTAINMENT Based in Los Angeles, California, Crave Entertainment is a privately held publisher of videogame entertainment products. The company's best-selling line-up features top brands and franchises such as Ultimate Fighting Championship and Tokyo Xtreme Racer. Crave produces games for the major console platforms including Game Boy® Advance, Nintendo GameCube', the PlayStation® game console, PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, the Xbox' video game system from Microsoft, and for the PC. For more information about Crave Entertainment, please visit http://www.cravegames.com.
ABOUT ELECTRONIC ARTS Electronic Arts (Nasdaq: ERTS), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is the world's leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, Electronic Arts posted revenues of more than $1.3 billion for fiscal 2001. The company develops, publishes and distributes software worldwide for the Internet, personal computers and video game systems. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTS, EA GAMES, EA SPORTS BIG' and EA.COM. More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://www.info.ea.com.
Contributed by skl (1138) on Mar 01, 2004.
Lead the Fight for Freedom!
From the Creators of System Shock 2
Battle 10 ruthless villians and their horde of evil minions.
Survive intense tactical battles in fully destructible environments.
Design your own hero skins and customize their abilities with the incredible super-power creator!
Utilize a robust RPG skill system to let you build up your hero's stats and abilities.
Undertake a wide variety of missions - from fighting marauding dinosaurs to defeating a rogue Greek god.
Take the fight for freedom online in a 4-person multiplayer battle royal.
Contributed by Corn Popper (69260) on Apr 20, 2003.
- Command a squad of comic book heroes in the defense of Patriot City.
- Choose from over a dozen heroes or create your own comic champions.
- Fight for freedom in over 20 action-packed missions.
- Restore order in a completely interactive 3D world.
- Take your heroes online and join the fight in multiplayer mode.
Are you hero enough?
Contributed by Corn Popper (69260) on Apr 20, 2003.
The Fate of the World is in Your Hands
From a distant corner of the galaxy, an evil alien race sets in motion a sinister plan to conquer the Earth. They unleash a powerful catalyst - Energy X - that imbues the planet's worst miscreants with super-powers to bring the planet to its knees. Now Earth's only hope lies with a new breed of heroes ... The Freedom Force!


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*** RESERVIERT *** Attraktives Doppel-Einfamilienhaus mit neuer Gasheizung & sensationeller Aussich
- Single-family house
- 4½ rooms
- 110 m²
For a smooth and stress-free move into your new home.
Our certified estate agents will provide a realistic valuation of your property
Rents and purchase prices from listings of the last 5 years.
The Comparis Moving Guide accompanies you from the planning stage up to your new residence in five steps.


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Coastline Community College operates it site-based educational program in three primary locations – Westminster, Garden Grove and Costa Mesa. The college will open a new 68,000 square foot building – the Newport Beach Learning Center. The facility will replace the current Costa Mesa Center. The new facility will be state-of-the-art in terms of teaching/learning space. The Le-Jao Center, built in 2006, also provides a modern, new facility for teaching/learning in its compact 21,600 ASF. The Garden Grove Center was constructed in 1997 and offers 24,098 ASF of modern space.
While the site-based facilities that define Coastline Community College are projected to remain in excellent condition through the year 2020, both Le-Jao and Newport Beach are landlocked. Both will need additional land area for the future.


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Mac Robinson drove past a fatal crash in Matamata on Monday night before glancing back and realising the car involved was his wife's.
Horse-racing enthusiast Joy Robinson, 58, died when the car she was driving collided with a horse at 6.20pm on Hopkins Rd, south of Matamata.
The car hit the horse before travelling across a driveway and stopping at a tree.
Mrs Robinson's husband, Mac, had been dropping a friend home who lived around the corner from the crash when he saw the accident.
"I didn't realise it was her until we were just driving past and I glanced back and saw the back of the car ..," Mr Robinson told the Herald. He said his heart dropped once he realised.
The Matamata father said his wife had driven that road every day for 15 years and it was a "sad irony" that the animal and industry his wife loved had killed her.
Ms Robinson had been only 4km from home when the crash happened.
Mr Robinson struggled to find the right words to describe his wife of 40 years and the mother of their 33-year-old daughter Melissa, but said she would be sorely missed.
Mrs Robinson was passionate about horse racing, starting from her father's involvement in the industry, and she recently shared in the ownership of promising 2-year-old filly Readywhenyouare which won at Pukekohe on April 14.
The racing community was yesterday grieving her death. She was well known in the industry having worked for one of New Zealander's best thoroughbred trainers, Roger James, for almost 20 years.
Mr James said she had been a loyal personal assistant to him.
"There's no doubt she was always for the stables and a big part of the success of my career really."
The phone at Kingsclere Stables where she worked had not stopped ringing yesterday as the racing industry called to express their sorrow. Staff were trying to carry out their usual routines with difficulty.
"To say it will be business as usual will be far from the truth, but we will endeavour to pick up the pieces and maintain her high standards ... it just may take some time," Mr James said.


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Part Exchange and Finance Options Available. All used cars at Forward Autos come fully serviced, professionally valeted.
Forward Autos are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA number 5057125) for consumer credit activities. In arranging finance we act as an independent credit broker and deal with several lenders.


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Liverpool announce 'landmark deal'
Brought to you by
Liverpool have announced the most lucrative sponsorship deal in British football by agreeing a contract with Warrior Sports which will see the American company become the club's official kit supplier.
Warrior will create home, away and third strips for the Reds - as well as official training wear - during a partnership which will last for six years.
It is reported that Liverpool stand to make £150 million over the duration of the deal, which is the second largest of its kind in football.
Only Barcelona can boast a greater sponsorship agreement, with Nike paying £26.3 million-a-year to brand the European champion's official clothing.
Liverpool, though, have trumped Manchester United's deal with Nike, and managing director Ian Ayre could not be happier to sign with Warrior.
"Liverpool FC is thrilled to be able to announce this fantastic Partnership with Warrior Sports for the 2012-2013 Barclays Premier League season onwards," he told the official Liverpool website.
"This is another landmark deal for Liverpool Football Club and once again shows the value of the Club's brand globally.
"Warrior Sports will bring its own unique brand and ideas to the Partnership, ensuring that they can assist us at the Club both on and off the field of play.
"Sharing the same focus of domination and winning will be an incredibly important part of this Partnership going forward. As with all our Partnerships we have taken time to form a relationship with the individuals behind this opportunity.
"I believe that Warrior have some outstanding people we can work closely with to continue to deliver quality products to our fans around the world."News Now - Sport News


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In 1917, Germany was at war not only with Russia, but the United States, Great Britain and France. This provided Germany's army with a number of fronts. As the USA joined the Triple Entente in 1917, it was clear that Germany had to win the war soon or not all. Aside from its army, the German High Command also counted on the Bolsheviks to end the war with Russia.
The Russian army had heavy losses in the East after a series of defeats. The army's counter attacks in 1916 had ground to a halt, and by 1917 the Russians were calling for the tsar's abdication. As commander-in-chief of the army the tsar was also losing the support of the soldiers. That much became clearer when they began to join the Petrograd Soviet. With grain shortages and military defeats, most in Russia called for peace with Germany. In February the tsar abdicated the throne, and the monarchy effectively dissolved.
Before February the Bolsheviks had been in exile. Their most prominent party member Lenin was in Switzerland. This left them outside Russia when the king vacated the throne. With Europe at war, it was not an ideal period for international travel.
With the demise of the monarchy a vacuüm had been left in Russia. It was left to Kerensky to fill that vacuüm before the constituent elections. Kerensky openly supported maintaining the Russian army's front in the war, and was not about to begin peace talks with Germany.
Lenin's policies were the opposite. He made it clear that his party did not support the war in Europe. As such, Lenin emerged as somebody the German High Command could bargain with. For sure they were not communists, or left wingers of any variety, but winning the war in Europe was for them the priority. If there was a party in Russia that would begin peace talks with the Germans, then they could potentially end the war on one front and reinforce their armies in the West. With Lenin as party leader the Bolsheviks were that very party.
So the German High Command began discussions with the Bolsheviks regarding a potential passage back to Russia. They agreed for Lenin to pass through Germany via railway routes. The trip took Lenin, and other members of his party, to naval ports. They boarded a boat that took them to Sweden, and from there Lenin would proceed to Russia.
Lenin arrived at the Finland Station in Petrograd in April.[1] Crowds cheered as the Bolsheviks met up with the Petrograd Soviet members. Now the revolution began in earnest, exactly as the German officers had expected. Lenin pledged to pull Russia out of the war as soon as possible.
Aside from the train trip, the high command also financed the Bolshevik Party in 1917. Finances were provided for them until it was revealed in Russia that the Germans were financing the Bolsheviks. This provided opposition parties with some propaganda scope as Lenin had almost become a German spy.
When the Bolsheviks seized the Winter Palace in October, Lenin established the communist regime.[2] Then the Russians began peace talks with Germany after October. Trotsky met with the Germans at Brest-Litovsk. By 1918 they drafted the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk that effectively surrendered much of Russia's territory in Eastern Europe to Germany. The treaty ceded Russian Poland, parts of the Ukraine and the Baltics to the German Empire.
Lenin had delivered what he had promised, both to Russia and the high command of Germany's army. With Russia defeated, Germany reinforced its Western armies for new advances that were later halted. Had they not supported the Bolsheviks, the October Revolution might not have happened.