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'It's possibly," someone remarked to me this week, "one of the worst things ever to come out of Brussels." Quite a condemnation, everything considered – and all the more so for coming from an Action Aid campaigner against poverty and climate change. For the EU biofuels policy is supposed to tackle both.
But that was putting it mildly. The growing use of energy from crops has driven up food prices and hunger, spurred enormous corporate land grabs in poor countries, and probably made global warming worse. Now, however, there is the first sign of a rethink. New proposed European Commission legislation, soon to be unveiled, could halt the rise in crops grown for fuel – and eventually put it into reverse.
Mind you, if Henry Ford and Rudolf Diesel had had their way, we would never have filled up with anything else. The Model T was designed to run on ethanol, and the first diesel engine was powered by peanuts. Cheap crude oil soon silenced the vegetarian vroom, until it became clear that fossil fuel was warming the planet.
Biofuels seemed a gift to governments. Adding them to petrol and diesel made it seem as if something was being done, without having to address the harder tasks of making cars more efficient or improving public transport. Even better, they provided a way of paying powerful agricultural lobbies from motorists' wallets, rather than the public purse. George W Bush rapidly expanded the use of ethanol from corn to enrich the mid-West, not reduce global warming.
For its part, the EU stipulated in 2009 that biofuels should effectively provide 10 per cent of all transport fuels by 2020 – despite years of protests from many environmentalists and others that the supposedly green gasoline would do more harm than good.
As Lester Brown – president of Washington's Earth Policy Institute – has long pointed out, biofuels pit the hungry against relatively affluent motorists in competition for crops. Unsurprisingly, the drivers are winning. Forty per cent of the US corn crop now goes for fuel, not food, while the land used to grow biofuels for Europe alone could instead be used to feed 127 million people.
The competition drives up food prices – it has been partly responsible for recent abrupt increases that have driven scores of millions into hunger – and has helped stimulate a spate of land-grabbing in the Third World. Oxfam reported this week that an area of land eight times the size of the UK had been sold off over the past decade – and that two thirds of the deals appear to have been struck for the growing of biofuels. Often small farmers are thrown off the land, to join the destitute and hungry.
And all this may actually accelerate climate change. Studies show that most – if not all – biofuels cause lower emissions of greenhouse gases than the petrol and diesel they replace. But these do not take into account the indirect effects of displacing food production: as farmland is given over to producing fuel, cultivators move elsewhere to fell forests or plough up peatlands, emitting carbon dioxide as they do so. By some estimates, these emissions could, by 2020, be equivalent to putting over 25 million more cars on the road.
In fairness, the European Union applies the world's strictest "sustainability" standards to its biofuels. But these cover only direct environmental effects, and excludes the all-important social damage such as increasing food prices and hunger.
And its mandatory 10 per cent target makes things worse, for example, by taking slack out of the market – and thus fuelling abrupt price rises – and by necessitating the rapid acquisition of land.
Last year, 10 international bodies – including the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Food and Agriculture Organisation – demanded that such "mandates" should be scrapped, together with the $20 million in subsidies provided to the $83 million biofuel industry. Now, finally, the EC is making a move.
On October 17 – in what amounts to an important admission that it had got things wrong – the EC climate commissioner, Connie Hedegaard, will propose that biofuels from food crops should be limited to just 5 per cent of transport energy consumption, and that subsidies for them should be scrapped altogether when the present legislation runs out in 2020.
Yet, though her plan is being bitterly resisted by the industry as a "catastrophic U-turn", its immediate effects will be limited, even if the commission, governments, and MEPs approve it. At present, biofuels account for 4.7 per cent of European transport fuels, so the measure would freeze their use rather than reduce it. In 2014 a more radical review of the legislation is due: governments should be preparing now to redress one of Brussels's gravest mistakes.
Enslaved ants wreak bloody revenge on their oppressors
'Go to the ant, thou sluggard: consider her ways, and be wise." Thus the Book of Proverbs, and indeed the insects have long been seen as models of order, obedience, and industriousness.
But rebellion and sabotage are rife in some ants' nests. Scientists at Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany, have shown that they are home to highly effective revolts.
The rebels are from the North American species, Temnothorax longispinosis, which is habitually enslaved. Its nests are raided by a "slave-making" ant, Protomognathus americanus, which kills the adult and carries off the brood.
The captives are then made to bring their enslavers food, look after their larvae and even defend their nests.
But the research in West Virginia, Ohio and New York shows that the slaves bite back.
Once their oppressors' larvae pupate, the slaves kill them by tearing them apart or moving them out of the nest chamber and neglecting them.
Less than half of the enslavers' offspring survive, and the weakened colony is less able to carry out new attacks.
There's a new proverb there somewhere…
West Coast Main Line fiasco shines a harsh light on HS2
Santa Claus – anti-HS2 campaigners could be forgiven for concluding this weekend – is alive and well and living in the Department for Transport. For the collapse of the franchising process for the West Coast Main Line – coming just before the deadline for submissions for a judicial review of the scheme – has immeasurably boosted their case.
Already, the business case for the £32 billion HS2 was looking as if it had been drawn up on whatever has replaced a cigarette packet in these health-conscious times. It had been eviscerated at hearings before the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee in April, when parts of it were described as "bonkers" and "crazy". And now the campaigners are making the point that it contains some of the same key assumptions as were made in the West Coast debacle. Somehow it isn't reassuring to hear Simon Burns, the transport minister, insisting the scheme is still robust because "it has been looked at time and time again, by not simply the Department for Transport, but also HS2 itself".
There is a good general case for high-speed rail, but even some of its supporters have turned against HS2 because the evidence marshalled for it seems to be following policy, rather than the other way round. It needs proper planning following, you might say, a route and branch review.


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In the year 2000 I met my wife Angela in High School. Since I was kid and disrespectful as fuck, I would always refer to her looks like other big black women. I said she looks like Kelly Price, Angie Stone, a dark skinned Kim Whitley, and Kevin Bacon. But Angela was always my good luck charm. I passed Algebra, Spanish 1, Spanish 2, I learned more about music, and I saw The Hollow Man. (Get it, it's a Kevin Bacon movie!) So skip a few years and I'm porking that big chick. I laugh because I was unsure about her weight silly me my girlfriend when from and in this order, Petite, Slender, Bottom heavy, Thick and Kevin Bacon. (Okay that's the last one) So it made sense for me to get a big girl. I wanted a motorcycle but I said fuck it and got a Suburban! Some of you may laugh at me but when Winter comes my wife has 4 wheel drive. Oh to the review.
It doesn't take any effort to confuse a none anime fan with a anime plot. But every now and then we get one that confuse's anime fans. Even the pretentious ones who get the "real" meaning of Akira. Dead Leaves is what happens when Fooly Cooly chain smokes weed, popped a few Ecstasy pills, shotgunned a half-pint of Jack Daniels and then tell it to tell you a story. Dead Leaves refuses to slow down because 46 minutes isn't long enough to make a story. Fuck that! This movie was directed by Hiroyuki Imaishi. He was the key animator for Neon Genesis Evangelion and after this movie he would do the character design for Fooly Cooly and be the main director for Gurren Lagann. So in other words, shut up as he eye fucks you.
The movie starts with two naked bodies in a valley a man and a woman. The man is called Retro because he has a retro TV for a head. ......I lost you haven't I? The woman is called Pandy because she has birth mark on her face making her look like a panda. Well the next logical step is for them to go to the city to rob and steal for clothes and food. The animation is pretty damn off the wall. It comes off very cool. It's like "Cool World" in anime form. Fuck, you'd half except Brad Pitt to be walking around talking about not fucking doodles! Well after stealing a car, Retro does some Matrix/John Woo/Breaking the laws of Physics-Fu to the cop chasing them they realize they have superior physical abilities. So when Pandy tries to think back on how they came to be, her eye flickers and she has the world most messed up brain fart. Because of that they're captured by the authorities in downtown Tokyo. Now it makes sense this this all taking place in Japan! Well instead of a real jail their shipped to a Super-Duper Max prison called Dead Leaves, located on a half-destroyed Moon. Think of Alcatraz but no one escapes with out the vacuum of space killing them! Just saying, why not kill them right there?
Retro and Pandy are incarcerated and put into body wrapped straitjackets. They kinda look like the body condoms off of Naked Gun. We So while in a line Retro meets Chinko. He's an genetic freak with a large drill bit for a dick! And it cums! He's not the only freaky genetic curse against God in this place. There is a guy that has a penis for head, that cums! Anyway during their mandatory defecation, you heard me, they shove a tube up your ass and make you shit. ...I think I said this before but why not again. Japan your fucked up! We then get to see the antagonist named 666 and 777. Wow movie was that symbolism in a movie with a drill bit that shots jizz! Got to admit that takes guts. Anyway, 666 yells at an inmate for shitting to much and it gets more cartoonish. 777 flicks an inmate in the face, killing him along with everybody else behind him. That is some fucked up shit.While that was going on, Pandy was underground breaking boulders along side Dr. Yabu. Who just so happens to speak in exposition and knows about Pandy and Retro. Later as all of this happens, Pandy and Retro are in there cell. Where Retro doesn't shut the fuck up! He then has the bright idea to have sex with Pandy. How in those straitjackets? The hole they shit out of. Why not! Now the scene is funny as all the other inmates hear the fucking. It even gets Robo-penis horny. Just a question, why the guards didn't stop this? Ahh, whatever. After coming and who wouldn't they escape from there straitjackets. And even they questioned how they did that too.
Retro and Pandy put together a mass prison break. And the action is fasted paced and it would be insane of me to explain it all. It's one of the most chookiest scenes I ever scene. All with Yabu explaining to Retro and Pandy the secret work being carried out at the prison. 777 and 666 decide to track down the prisoners when they head for the Warden's office. Now whats the ultimate plan for the prisoners? Ah who gives a damn, more pointless action! While all this is happening Pandy looks to be full term pregnant after 4 minutes. Seeing how they're genetic freaks, I guess Retro has that "super sperm" that Method Man use to rap about. Well fuck all that, 666 and 777 are there to fight!
Yabu tells Pandy that, Retro and her were spies working at the facility. The crazed warden is trying to get revenge on Pandy by re-creating a deranged fairy tale she remembers from her childhood. And when Pandy thinks on it, Yabu is dead! Fight scene! All of this awesome but uh, slow down tell us...you know...anything? Well we met the Warden. Some crazy bitch exposing one tit. Her name is Galactica. She's mix between Emi from Tengu Tenge and Garlic Jr. We find out she is the one in charge of the cloning and genetic engineering experiments. So Pandy and Retro's child come out strapped son! The baby has two twin machine guns and blows the warden away. Just like my first born. Remember that honey?
But then the movie slams the "bonkers" button again and the Warden turns into a giant caterpillar. Now yes this was a part of the demented fairy tale she resided but what the hell! By this time Retro had his head cut off and Pandy was like anyone else in this situation, shit out of ideas. But they're kid who is a old man now...I stopped asking questions a while ago. The old offspring sacrifices himself so that his two parents can live. Pandy and Retro talk as their ship crushes into the earth, crushing a previously-victimized bystander. The End. Beautiful, I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I WITNESS!
This movie has so much ambition. It gives you action and plenty of it. It takes an art form not many do and makes it look fantastic. You can see how this paved the way for Fooly Cooly. But again, the plot made no sense and oddly enough even with it's short running time it makes your eyes tried. But this movie is a gem. Check it out.
3BlackGeeks Rating-
Dee- B+

subset: commoncrawl


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Hope you all had a wonderful Fourth of July. This month is a time for picnics, get togethers, family reunions, etc. I'm sharing a variety of recipes and they are great for everything. I love eating outdoors, at the beach, mountains or a rodeo! For some reason the food seems to just taste better. We usually eat a bit more than usual but that's the fun of potlucks - sharing with our friends and family and gathering great recipes. Take time to go on that picnic and have fun! If you really want to be a hit - make homemade ice cream.
* * *
Rebbie Whimpey gave me this recipe many years ago at a family gathering in Utah. I have made these many times since.
Rebbie's Blonde Brownies
1 cup butter
2 cups brown sugar; packed
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt (optional)
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups oatmeal
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons cocoa (heaping)
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup walnuts (optional)
Beat together butter, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla; set aside. Combine flour, salt, baking soda and oatmeal; mix with sugar mixture and set aside.
On low heat, combine the following, until warm: sweetened condensed milk, cocoa, butter (2 tablespoons) and walnuts.
Spray a cake pan with cooking spray and pour 2/3 of batter into pan. Spread evenly to ensure there are no holes in batter. Pour 3/4 of chocolate mixture on top (the more you use, the richer it is). Crumble the remaining batter on top of the chocolate.
Bake in a 350-degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Do not over bake.
As good as food is, nothing tastes better than being fit and looking good - Harley Chapman, my friend since Jr. High School, who lives in Lake Tahoe, California
This cake topping is from La Wanna Packard. It's great for picnics and everyone will want seconds. The frosting is the three ingredients that you sprinkle over the cake.
La Wanna's Picnic Cake Topping
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 to 3/4 cup nuts, chopped
3/4 to 1 cup chocolate chips (or flavored chips of choice)
Sprinkle sugar, then nuts, then chips over a ready-to-bake cake (cake can be made from scratch or cake mix of your choice) in a 9 x 13 pan. Follow baking instructions on cake mix or your own recipe.
There are no gains without pains - Benjamin Franklin
Vicki Skinner gave me this recipe many years ago and it is wonderful. Larry and Vicki lived in Hesperia but now live in Victorville. Thanks Vicki!
Vicki's Lemon Bisque
1 large package lemon jell-o
2 cups hot water
Juice and grated rind of 2 lemons (about 3 tablespoons juice)
3/4 cup sugar
2 large cans evaporated milk; chilled
8 to 10 graham crackers; crushed
Dissolve jell-o in the water; add lemon juice, rind and sugar. Chill till partially set. Whip the evaporated milk till set and fold into jell-o mixture. Spread into a 9 x 13 pan. A layer of graham crackers may be added on the bottom and top of the dessert, or just on top.
An empty stomach is not a good political advisor - Albert Einstein
I have been making these for many years in fact, I made them this week for family and friends.
Old Time Cinnamon Jumbles
1/2 cup shortening (part margarine)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
Mix thoroughly and stir in:
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
Sift together and stir in:
2 cups flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Mix all together; chill dough. Drop rounded teaspoonfuls on lightly greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with mixture of sugar and cinnamon (1/4 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon). Bake in a 400-degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes, until set but not brown.
Under promise and over deliver - Harley Chapman
Thank you, Doug and La Wanna Packard, for sharing this recipe. Martha, is Doug's mother and everyone loved her macaroni salad.
There are two tricks to this salad. One is the size of the ingredients - all pieces should be very small. The second trick is the pickles - they have to be sweet dills, and are hard to find, so I have included a recipe for them.
Martha's Macaroni Salad
1/2 pound salad macaroni; cooked
6 hard boiled eggs; chopped in small pieces
1 bunch green onions; thinly sliced
1 cup sweet dill pickles; chopped (see recipe below)
3/4 cup cheddar cheese; cubed (optional)
1/4 cup black olives; sliced (optional)
1 1/2 cups tomatoes; chopped, without seeds
2 1/2 cups mayonnaise
1 tablespoon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
Cook macaroni and drain. Add next six ingredients and set aside. Mix mayonnaise and mustard together; add to salad mix. If too dry, add more mayonnaise. Then add your salt and pepper to taste.
Sweet Dill Pickles: 1 quart Vlasic dill pickles; drained and sliced in half-inch pieces
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup white distilled vinegar
1/2 cup water
Heat vinegar, water and sugar to a boil. Pour over sliced pickles and let stand until cool. Put in refrigerator in original jar. You can use these in other recipes since you will only need one cup for the salad recipe.
Your relationship can rise no higher than your level of communication - Harley Chapman
Squash Casserole
1 quart squash; diced and cooked in 2 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup onion; chopped and sautéed in margarine
1 small can canned milk
3 tablespoons yellow corn meal
1 can cream of mushroom soup
4 eggs; slightly beaten
1 small can Ortega chilies
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
Top with 1-cup breadcrumbs, with 4 tablespoons melted butter. Bake in a 325-degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes. You can bake this in a 2-quart casserole dish. I do not cover it.
In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous - Aristotle
This casserole is only 314 calories per serving!
Ground Beef Casserole
1 pound lean ground beef
1 small onion; diced
2 stalks celery; diced
1 tablespoon parsley; chopped
1 small can mushrooms
3/4 cup rice; cooked
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup tomato juice
Brown beef in nonstick pan or use cooking spray. Add onion, celery and parsley. Simmer for 30 minutes. Place in casserole dish and add remaining ingredients; mix together. Bake in a 350 degree oven for approximately 45 minutes.
Take a child by the hand and you take a parent by the heart - Author Unknown
This is my Mom's recipe and it is wonderful. I have made this for many years. Thanks Mom, and hope your birthday on July 8th, was wonderful!
Mom's Lemon Ice Cream
3/4 cup lemon juice
2 1/2 to 3 cups sugar
Dash salt
1 pint whipping cream
1 quart half-and-half
1 teaspoon lemon extract
Add the ingredients to a 4-quart ice cream freeze. Fill rest with milk.
The best thing to spend on children is your time - Arnold Glasow
This is a wonderful recipe that Janice Durrant gave to me. I have made this for years.
Janice's Orange Sherbet
1 large package orange jell-o
2 package Kool Aid; unsweetened, orange flavored
2 cups boiling water
3 cups sugar
3 to 4 pints whipping cream or half-and-half
3 tablespoons vanilla
Boil together jell-o, Kool Aid, water and sugar for 1 minute or until dissolved. Cool. Add whipping cream or half-and-half and vanilla. Put in ice cream freezer and fill rest with milk.
Every problem has in it the seeds of its own solution. If you don't have any problems, you don't get any seeds - Norman Vincent Peale
Nancy Brown, gave this recipe to me over 35 years ago and it's great. She lives in Grand Terrace.
Nancy's Strawberry Ice Cream
3 1/8 cups sugar for a 4-quart freezer or 5 cups sugar to a 6 quart freezer
1 raw egg
1 quart half-and-half
1 package frozen strawberries
1 - 3 drops red food coloring
Put ingredients in a 4 or 6-quart ice cream freezer and fill rest with milk. For richer ice cream add more half-and-half or a half-pint of whipping cream.
In the Kitchen with Charlene: It's picnic time!
Hope you all had a wonderful Fourth of July. This month is a time for picnics, get togethers, family reunions, etc. I'm sharing a variety of recipes and they are great for everything. I love eating outdoors, at the beach, mountains or a rodeo! For some reason the food seems to just taste better. We usually eat a bit more than usual but that's the fun of potlucks - sharing with our friends and family and gathering great recipes. Take time to go on that picnic and have fun! If you really want to be a hit - make homemade ice cream.


text:
While most patients are asymptomatic, rare but serious complications can occur. Emboli can be lethal if they lodge in the right atrium or ventricle, leading to cardiac perforation and tamponade. In addition, pulmonary infarction, hypercapnia, and even cardiac arrest have been reported in association with cement emboli.
In addition, patients with already low cardiopulmonary reserve may not tolerate the burden of small peripheral emboli.
Radiographs reveal multiple dense tubular and branching opacities scattered throughout the lungs. CT can show branching or punctate high-attenuation along the expected course of a pulmonary artery. Long cement fragments can also be seen a paravertebral vein with or without extension into the inferior vena cava.
- Kim YJ, Lee JW, Park KW, Yeom JS, Jeong HS, Park JM, Kang HS. Pulmonary cement embolism after percutaneous vertebroplasty in osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures: incidence, characteristics, and risk factors. Radiology. 2009 Apr;251(1):250-9.
- Luetmer MT, Bartholmai BJ, Rad AE, Kallmes DF. Asymptomatic and unrecognized cement pulmonary embolism commonly occurs with vertebroplasty. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2011 Apr;32(4):654-7.


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Free Admission on Summer Friday Nights at The Discovery Museums
The Discovery Museums Announce
Free Admission on Summer Friday Nights
Free admission every Friday night from June 22nd – August 31st
The Museums will collect donations for the Acton Food Pantry
The Discovery Museums are pleased to announce their Free Friday Night Fun! program for summer 2012, offering free admission to both museums on Fridays during extended evening hours.
Each Friday night between June 22 and August 31, both the Children's Discovery Museum and the Science Discovery Museum will be open until 8:30pm, with free admission beginning at 4:30 pm. Families are invited to picnic under the stars and enjoy the Museums at night. Visitors may bring a picnic dinner or purchase food from the Chef on Wheels grill.
Free Friday Night Fun! is an important component of the Museums' Open Door Connections program, which provides opportunities for those who face a variety of barriers—financial, geographic, developmental, or cultural—to experience the Museums.
Free Friday Night Fun! is made possible by the generous support of MathWorks and Middlesex Savings Bank. Additional support is provided by Emerson Hospital.


text:
Please Remember: Individual animals will always slightly differ in appearance and image should be used as a reference only
Eublepharis macularius
Country of Origin: Pakistan
Leopard geckos make a good first time lizard due to their naturally docile nature and their simple care requirements. They are a nocturnal ground dwelling lizard found across the deserts of Asia and throughout Pakistan where their native habitat would be rocky desert or dry grasslands.
Leopard geckos, unlike most geckos, possess moveable eyelids. They are quite a large gecko, growing to 25cm in length and can live for up to 20 years. As they grow, leopard geckos will shed their skin and will often eat this skin as a way to recycle proteins and vitamins. When threatened leopard geckos may detach their tail, however like most other geckos it will regrow though at great expense of biological resources.
Gender: NYS
Age/Size: 2016-17 / 12CM
Origin: CB
Price: £29.95-59.95
Place your order now! Visit our Tele-Sales order page.
Dendrobates tinctorius
Sex: NAS
Age: MEDIUM
Price: £59.95
Chelonoidis carbonaria
Sex: NAS
Age: 2017
Price: £119.95
Testudo hermanni
Sex: NAS
Age: 2015
Price: £99.95


text:
There are often repetitive messages in my Meanderings, and it is rewarding when someone of superior intelligence grasps the meaning behind the messages.
Mike and I began our Social Media journey at about the same time (2010) ::… I was nudged a little harder over the cliff into the abyss slightly before him, and became what I thought as an unlikely mentor to someone who was highly successful and brilliant in his own right — a successful book launch being a key metric that I recognized early on as a method to delve into credibility online among the endless noise and self-promotion of many self-described "experts".
Steadfast still, I am firmly entrenched in the belief that nobody can define themselves as an expert, no matter how many followers one has. It is derived from how others describe you: what do others consider you knowledgeable about is one thing, being credited as an expert quite largely another.
Mike reached out to me a couple of weeks ago via email, one of the few entrusted connections online that have never been derived from a face-to-face meeting at an event, social or association. Not even a telephone conversation.
Having a virtual or personal conversation with a man who is not a relative, business associate is frowned upon as it can lead "to other things". However, you can still be disciplined in having rich conversations and exchange of knowledge and learning from others regardless of gender. There is an invisible line that should never be crossed.
During a isolated time in my life when I was a regular church attendee, I still recall a message that resonates today from a wise Pastor: do not be afraid to create friendships or be asked for advice from the opposite gender. However, there are some areas to stay far from to keep it from falling into a downward, unethical spiral:
- Include others in the conversation so that it is not isolated, clustered by only two (the Pastor suggested that he invites his wife to any meeting or event that he wants to avoid falling into the trap of questionable conversations, particularly marriage counselling).
- It is okay to sprinkle in nuggets about your life partner, spouse, wife or husband, children, as a distinct flag that you are if not always happy, happiest with the person you are with and have no intention to stray. Cheating is not at your core values.
- Keep it professional so that at any given time, the conversation may be shared with a sibling, friend, child, parent, spouse, partner without any guilt.
- Keep the topic off of relationship radars: particularly complaints about your partner's shortcomings, dissatisfaction with your relationship in any shape or form. That should be with your church minister or mosque elder.
- You can have a respectful, fruitful relationship with a person of the opposite sex, when your radar clearly signals "in a committed relationship with not a sliver of disregard or disrespect of your life partner".
- Any of these apply to anyone with leanings towards same sex or transgender relationships.
via Blogger http://ift.tt/2xFKoes


text:
Animation producer Don Bluth's fondness for overly cutesy characters and muddy color compositions work to the benefit of his feature-length cartoon The Land Before Time. Littlefoot, a brontosaurus child, must fend for himself when his mother is killed (shades of Don Bluth). With several other orphaned dinosaurs, Littlefoot seeks out the fabled Great Valley, where food and shelter is...more
OK for kids 4+
Read reviews
All The Land Before Time cast + crew photos
Movies.com, the ultimate source for everything movies, is your destination for new movie trailers, reviews, photos, times, tickets + more! Stay in the know with the latest movie news and cast interviews at Movies.com.
Copyright © 2019 FANDANGO MOVIES.


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text:
Add this to the list of notable movements in fine art: Cubism, Expressionism, Impressionism, Surrealism and now, Nuttism.
Nuttism comes to us courtesy of Winkelhimer Smith, a rescued eastern grey who believes that wielding a squirrel-hair paintbrush is hardly an artist's sure-fire route to the School of the Masters.
Rather, you need to engage the whole squirrel.
As we see in this video, Winkelhimer has matters clearly in paw.
Given the artist's diminutive size, one could argue the style more closely mimics Minimalism. And given the artist's unlikely talent, one might even press for inclusion in Surrealism. But Winkelhimer bears not even a hint of the signature Salvador Dali moustache and, of course, the facially hirsute Dali was never known for a matching, flamboyantly bushy anterior end.
Clearly, sciurus carolinensis could argue with success that this is Romanticism, plain and simple. There is something about his style, and the tilt of his talented paw, that touches the heart.
The bigger question, however, may well be this: What is Winkelhimer's next masterpiece to be? "Still Life With Walnut?" "Nude Descending a Maple?"
We can only expect great things.
04 January 2012
Portrait of the artist as a Young Squirrel
7 comments:
- Cindy said...
Amazing! Can I get an autographed copy?
- January 4, 2012 at 11:37 AM
- squirrelmama said...
I assume you mean a "pawtographed" copy? :-)
- January 4, 2012 at 1:46 PM
- tcgequine said...
...very cool....
- January 4, 2012 at 5:11 PM
- tcgequine said...
...very cool...
- January 4, 2012 at 5:12 PM
- Fabiana :) said...
Picasso at work. Adorable. God bless you.
- January 8, 2012 at 10:03 AM
- chet said...
Talent meets talent with another wonderful post. Thank you!
- January 10, 2012 at 1:55 PM
- squirrelmama said...
Thank you thank you Fabiana and Chet!!!
- January 10, 2012 at 2:15 PM
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text: Cafe Sør (map) 11 Torggata Oslo, Oslo, 0181 Norway ✚ gCal ✚ iCal This Sunday the Shady Collective presents "Funky Fever". Featuring Oskar H Svensen Øiestad on vocal & possibly harmonica, this will be a groovy night for all to enjoy. Bring a friend, your instrument, and good vibes! The stage is open to all.


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The Very Hungry Caterpillar
& Other Eric Carle Favorites
January 27 & 28, 2015
10:00 am & 12:00 pm
Pre-K - 2
60 minutes
This triple-bill tells the wonderful story of The Very Hungry Caterpillar's metamorphosis into a beautiful butterfly, the fanciful account of Little Cloud's travels through the sky, and The Mixed-Up Chameleon's discovery of his own unique nature. This acclaimed stage adaptation teaches, enchants, and entertains.
›› Literature, Reading, Visual Art
Common Core: RL.K-1.3; RL.K-2.7; RL.K.6; RL.2.1; RL.2.4; RF.K.2a; W.K.7
Presented by: Mermaid Theater of Nova Scotia
You can also call the Box Office at 262-781-9520 for tickets.


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In artsy Wynwood, Miami Rescue Mission expands with cheap-chic dorm for homeless men
By sheer necessity, the people who have run the Miami Rescue Mission in its 90 years of existence grew adept at squeezing a dollar to feed, house and rehabilitate innumerable homeless men, women and children.
More recently, they have developed something else as well: a knack for integrating inexpensive but distinctive design into its facilities as it gradually expands to meet the needs of its growing clientele.
The newest exhibit is an old warehouse behind the mission's men's center in Wynwood that's being fully retrofitted to sleep 78 men in a dorm-like setting, complete with private lockers, study lounges and an auditorium with exposed rafters. Over the building front will go a swoopy canopy, and over the front door a MiMo-style half-moon eyebrow on which will stand letters spelling out the institution's name in blue.
The new center, now under construction, was designed in efficient, simple-cool style by Miami architect Kobi Karp, best known for glitzy condo towers and hotels here and abroad, and it's being built out by contractor and South Beach events promoter Michael Capponi, a longtime Rescue Mission supporter. Karp, Capponi and his subcontractors are all working for cost.
The Rev. Ron Brummitt, the Rescue Mission president, says the homeless deserve appealing surroundings as much as anyone else. The new building will be reserved for men enrolled in the mission's transitional program, which has enjoyed a high rate of success setting homeless people on a path to jobs, homes and new lives through treatment, education and training.
"The main thing is, that building will give us extended ability to care for the homeless,'' Brummitt said. "But we're trying to modernize the space so it's not sardine-ish, to make it comfortable. It will be a nice respite for these men.''
Brummitt credits Capponi for undertaking the job and corralling Karp and a series of subs to work at a substantial discount.
"I couldn't afford Kobi Karp,'' Brummitt said with a laugh. "This man is known internationally.''
The men's dorm expansion comes 10 years after the Rescue Mission, which relies mostly on private donations, inaugurated its cornerstone community center, which features a stunning, natural-light basketball court and a soaring, multi-hued lobby. The community center was designed, also using low-cost, durable materials, by architect Marilyn Avery and the late William Lam, a famed pioneer in the field of architectural lighting design who was also responsible for the lighting of the Washington, D.C., Metro.
It has since become the site of the Miami Heat's annual Thanksgiving giveaway, as well as after-school programs and sports leagues for kids from the surrounding neighborhoods, which include Wynwood and Overtown. On Wednesday, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and their teammates handed out turkeys to local families at the center.
The expansion, which should be done in January, also coincides with the fast-moving transformation of the Wynwood warehouse district around the mission into a hip arts and entertainment magnet defined by a plethora of graffiti-art murals. When the mission moved into the neighborhood after relocating from downtown Miami in the 1980s, though, it was a desolate area of shuttered warehouses and vacant lots. The Rescue Mission built a new multi-story men's center in 1989 at 2159 NW First Court, and also runs a shelter for women and children and a thrift store up the block.
Although the mission and the burgeoning hipster district may seem a jarring juxtaposition, Capponi, the contractor and volunteer, said the gentrification is good for the institution's residents and graduates, providing a new source of jobs in restaurants and shops as well as fewer traps to fall into as the area's crime and drug trafficking dwindle.
"It all starts to come together,'' Capponi said. "Before, that neighborhood was isolated. Now, you walk one block over and you're in Wynwood. Pretty soon, that's going to be a happening place and integration will be very important.
"The reason I really like the Rescue Mission program is that, if you check in here for a year and a half, you will get a new shot at life. Do you think it would be healthier for you where there is functioning society a block away, or a bunch of crackheads standing on the corner?''
Acquisition of the warehouse was the result of a combination need and sudden opportunity, Brummitt said. After the economic recession, demand for services increased sharply. But post-recession, so did real-estate prices in the hot neighborhood, limiting prospects for expansion.
At the existing men's center, Brummitt said, "we were getting overrun.'' So when a 10,000-square-foot warehouse behind the building went up for sale, the mission jumped, dipping into reserves to purchase it for $1 million. The mission also won a $1 million federal grant to help cover the cost of renovation, which Brummitt estimates at $1.6 million. He is still out raising funds with the goal of covering the gap and $800,000 for two years of operating costs.
"It was a great opportunity,'' he said. "There are big players out here buying up property. We got a pretty doggone good deal for that area. It was a win-win situation for us and the community.''
Brummitt then turned to Capponi, who had become a big supporter after overcoming his own bout of drug abuse and homelessness, and who now helps organize an annual Thanksgiving feast that feeds 2,5000 people as well as other holiday events at the mission. Capponi also recently helped the mission, which also runs centers in Broward County, build out a new health clinic.
The warehouse had a new roof, but it required structural reinforcement to hold air-conditioning equipment. The building also had to be tied into the city sewer system, and needed new doors and hurricane windows, not to mention interior walls, bathrooms and insulation.
"It was nothing, just a concrete shell,'' Capponi said.
But he wanted to keep costs down, so he asked Karp, a friend, and a group of subs who routinely work on his jobs, typically mansions and luxury housing, to work cheap.
"We give them a lot of business and we leveraged that," Capponi said. "This job is definitely subsidized by giving them a lot of work all year round.
"This is straight from the heart. If I had more money I would have paid for it. We want to make the mission is a bigger place to serve more people, and we do what we can.''


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In January 2012, Haribo released a TV advert showing the results of an interesting (if slightly halfhearted and biased) social experiment. Children were asked to sit at a table, faced with a single Haribo sweet. If they managed to resist eating the sweet for a short period of time, they would get two Haribo sweets to eat rather than one.
A no-brainer… surely? Apparently not. Not even one of the participants could resist the temptation of something they really liked, despite the promise of a better prize at the end of it.
Reflecting on the idea of short term profit vs long term growth, I couldn't help thinking that Digital Marketers are often guilty of focussing more on short-term aims rather than the end goal – which in the majority of cases is to aid the growth of an organisation, or a specific part of one. That's not to say that short term aims aren't appropriate (in fact they are always vital in my opinion), but they have to be structured logically in order to get the very best out of a Digital Marketing campaign. When making that investment, Digital Marketers should be focusing on specific and easily measurable KPIs which all contribute to the achievement of reaching that end goal.
It sounds fairly logical, almost obvious in fact. However, when short term goals are achieved, it is often easy to lose sight of the end goal due to that warm fuzzy feeling we get when we've done something right – i.e. pride.
With tools such as Google Analytics and great paid search interfaces such as AdWords, it's all too easy to pick out certain metrics and turn them into KPIs that end up forming your over-all Digital Marketing goals. How many times have you looked and your Click Through Rate (CTR) and made a mental note to make sure you're doing your best to increase it? How often do you look at your average Cost per Click in AdWords and think how high it is? How happy do you find yourself after seeing a positive improvement in your average position?
For most, it's hard to look at statistics such as these, and turn them into a "bigger picture", because we're so used to using short-term aims to determine which actions we should take. Many of us use these metrics on a daily basis and it's all too easy to make these KPIs the center of our attention 100% of the time, instead of thinking about whether these statistics actually mean anything in the long term.
Short-term profit is usually the main focal point for determining the success or failure of a marketing campaign. When you're managing an AdWords account, you may look at whether certain keywords have produced conversions and whether it looks like there has been a profit or a loss as a result of the money spent on clicks for those keywords. This is, of course, best practice and it's also common sense. However, common sense sometimes isn't enough to make something work in the long run.
It's also very easy to fall into the trap of thinking "It's not working now, so it never will". Paid search is a prime example of a tool that business owners and marketers spend money on, in the hope of achieving short-term profit, but giving up once it's swallowed so much money that it's not justifiable to keep it running. The psychology here is that you've made a loss, so shut it down before you lose any more. "Minimise your losses".
Unfortunately, minimising your losses is not always a great tactic for growing your business – what happens when you've tried everything, with no luck? Do you give up? Do you quit trying to grow your business because nothing's worked so far? No, you try again with a different strategy and you ask for help from experts in the tools you're using.
With paid search as an example, as marketers, what we should really be thinking about is whether keywords are playing a part in achieving longer term goals, such as the growth of a particular part of a business. The answer to this kind of question isn't answered by looking at "profit per conversion". It can, however, be answered by analysing past keyword data and using the right metrics to measure whether each particular keyword has been used to find your website, before a conversion was completed by a user searching another keyword later on.
This is thinking long-term; not giving up on a keyword because it hasn't directly produced a conversion, but rather analysing whether it's had an effect at all – and if so, has it been positive? Think about what might happen if you paused or deleted that keyword, and whether you would really want to risk losing out on those conversions, purely because users weren't converting straight after searching the keyword.
Next time you look at your Digital Marketing strategy or even a small part of it, be it Social Media Management, Content Marketing, PPC, SEO or even Email Marketing, just take a bit of time to think about whether the goals you have achieved in the last few months have actually had an impact on your long term growth as a business. If the answer is no, think about how you could change your strategy to make sure that this over-all end goal is always in sight across all your channels. In a nutshell; don't ask whether something has worked – ask whether it's contributed to the success or failure to your end goal so far. Then alter your strategy based on the answer.
Force Of Nature! via BigStock
Business man working with laptop thinking about new projects via BigStock
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