text:
Show Summary
One common trait in successful real estate investors is their ability to evolve in their approach to the role they play in investing. It could be evolving out of necessity because of the market, evolving to refocus your business on more profitable parts of your business, or less risk, or simply evolving towards things that you enjoy more and can do more sustainably. Jordan Fisher's business has evolved in many ways, and his approach to investments by partnering, and lending by building relationships has allowed him to focus on the best parts of his businesses. It's easy as a real estate investor to get caught up in 'the next deal', but a broader approach to focus on win-win situations and building a sustainable business is the holy grail. Please watch this episode of the FlipNerd.com VIP Show to learn how Jordan has taken his businesses and more importantly, way of thought, to the next level.
Highlights of this show
- Meet Jordan Fisher, experienced real estate investor, and real estate lender.
- Hear Jordan's thoughts on how to take control of more of your circumstances and not leave things to chance.
- Learn more about Inspire Investments, lender to real estate investors.
Listen to the Audio Version of this Episode
FlipNerd Show Transcript:
Mike Hambright: Welcome to the FlipNerd.com podcast. This is your host Mike Hambright, and on this show I'll introduce you to V.I.P.s in the real estate investing industry, as well as other interesting entrepreneurs whose stories and experiences can help you take your business to the next level. We have three new shows each week, which are available in the iTunes store or by visiting FlipNerd.com. So, without further ado, let's get started.
Hey, it's Mike Hambright with FlipNerd.com. Welcome back for another V.I.P. interview show. Today I have with me Jordan Fisher, who is a real estate, mentor, author, broker, and all sorts of exciting stuff. He's a private lender too. He's gonna tell us about that, primarily operating in Los Angeles. Before we get started, let's take a moment to recognize our featured sponsors.
Advertisement: RealtyMogul.com is an online market place for real estate investing, connecting borrowers and capital from accredited and institutional investors. Get a rehab loan fast and close in as little as 10 days. Rates start as low as 9%.
We'd also like to thank National Real Estate Insurance Group, the nation's leading provider of insurance to the residential real estate investor market. From individual properties to large scale investors, National Real Estate Insurance Group is ready to serve you.
Please note, the views and opinions expressed by the individuals in this program do not necessarily reflect those of FlipNerd.com or any of its partners, advertisers or affiliates. Please consult professionals before making any investment or tax decisions as real estate investing can be risky.
Hey Jordan. Welcome to the show.
Jordan Fisher: Thanks, Mike. It's nice to be here.
Mike Hambright: Yeah. I'm glad you're on. We were talking a little bit before the show about your background. I call it the evolution. I think a lot of real estate investors have made that over the past few years, whether it's because of necessity or changes in their market. Heck, maybe a lot of people are going through that right now with markets tightening up in a lot of areas. I know you started off as an investor and worked your way through a number of different things, through brokerage, and then ultimately putting a lot of focus on the lending side now. Why don't you introduce yourself and then we'll talk a little bit about how you've evolved over the last several years.
Jordan Fisher: Sure. My name's Jordan Fisher. I'm in Los Angeles. Pasadena, actually. I'm the managing partner of Inspire Capital Management Group, Inspire Capital. Yes, I do still have a thriving real estate investing business that I've had for quite a while. Yes, you're right. I really enjoy the lending side, I think. Don't get me wrong. I love the rehab side and the wholesale side, and we still do a lot of that. I've always thought it's a little optimistic. We were talking, it's a little bit like brute force. Sometimes realtors are like that. Realtors get the deal, they get the listing, and then they go, "Where's my next listing?" When you get paid, you're like, "Oh no, where is it?" Although we've done a lot of volume on the investing side, I think I just really like the coaching side. I do a lot of mentoring, so on the investor side I don't think a lot of people realize that when a fund or investor lends money out, the investor or fund typically makes more money the quicker the money comes back. The person the money was lent to pays less interest when it comes back.
For me, it's a win-win situation where I really get to help someone, another investor or a peer, make as much money as possible on a rehab. I really love the private money side, and I'm just enjoying it.
Mike Hambright: Yeah. Why don't you tell us a little bit from your investing side? What do you think is going on right now in California or in the markets that you serve right now? I know a lot of markets have tightened up here. We're coming up on summer 2014 here. Markets have tightened up a fair bit. There's a quote to the effect of what's going on in California will then make its way across the market across the country. Why don't you tell us what you're seeing out there?
Jordan Fisher: Yeah, yeah. We do a lot of both. I'd say 65% of our lending business is in California. I'd say probably 70-75% of my investing business is in California with some in Nevada and some in the south. In Los Angeles, we went up 25% last year. In Los Angeles, it's been a while since it went up that high. Because of that, it went up so quick… In L.A., Hollywood people have a short memory. People just get used to what it's been like. Realtors still are saying it's going to go up another 25%. That's just ridiculous.
The market has definitely flattened since about October or November or last year. It's not really going anywhere. It doesn't look to go anywhere. Inventory is still relatively low, and I think across the country it's starting to recede to that low inventory. It doesn't mean prices are going. You don't have as much urgency from the buyers anymore, so you have to use a lot of different things, especially when you're selling properties, to really get the results you want.
Mike Hambright: In terms of a selling standpoint, I know you're known for selling properties quickly. Do you want to share some information on real estate investors and how they can sell their properties quickly?
Jordan Fisher: From the investing side, and especially from the lending side, I see it so often that investors rehab a property and they just can't sell it or they're holding onto it too long, or they're leaving money on the table. They're not selling it for as high as they could, they're not selling it as fast as they can, and they don't have any control over the deal. That's what I see. There's a lot of real estate investors who have hope. I always say just to keep it simple and on the down low, hope costs money. Hope is a good thing when you can give someone else hope. Your business can give someone else hope. I think that's a great thing a lot of real estate investors use some way, especially in the stress property market. You don't want hope in your real estate business. Hope is not a business term. I talk to a lot of real estate investors, very seasoned ones across the country. A lot of them say, "I don't have hope, I've got systems. I got systems, I don't have hope. I've got systems, I don't have hope." "Really? Well, you know what? When you sell a property, you list it for a certain price, right?" They go, "Yeah, sure. We list it at a good price." "Great, great. And you hope that you get offers?" "No, we get offers." "Okay, great. We'll, you're hoping you get a lot of offers?" They go, "Yeah". I go, "And you hope they're good offers, right?" They say,
"Yes". "Then what?" They say, "Then we counter people". I go, "Okay, great. Then you hope that they come back, you hope that their loan closes, you hope they don't find anything during the inspection, right? You hope they don't give you any problems during the escrow?" They go, "Yeah. But I mean, everyone has that."
Absolutely not true. I think the more that you understand this concept of how to eliminate hope from your real estate business, the more control and the more fun you have when you're selling properties. The three biggest words in real estate all start with an L, right? But it's not location, it's leverage. Leverage. I always say you have to put leverage at every step of the deal, especially when you're selling properties anytime you take a step forward. That means listing the property, that means taking a call on the property, that means in your description of the property, that means when you show the property and how you show it, if you don't proactively put leverage in play on your side, you're letting a little cockroach of hope enter your deal. Sometimes you don't see the cockroach. It crawls on the wall and you never see it. It's there, and I guarantee you it's gonna come up later in your transaction. When you don't put leverage, there's more cockroaches coming. When they come out, they come out big.
Mike Hambright: Give us some examples of what you're talking about. Obviously leverage and financing your deal, everybody gets that. In terms of selling and the other parts you talked about, give us some examples.
Jordan Fisher: Yeah, sure. Leverage when you're selling a deal means this. The normal way to sell a dealing for a real estate investor, if you're not wholesaling it but you're selling it on the retail market, is to list it on the M.L.S. or list it as many places as you can and get as big an audience as you can to look at the property. Right? You want to open it up to the market.
A lot of people, especially real estate investors because they get personally involved in the deal, say, "I bought at this price, I rehabbed at this price, I looked at the columns, and my house looks great. It's totally rehabbed, it should be at the top of the market. 150. So, we're gonna list it at 149." It's silly because people think they have leverage or think they have a great property. It's because they're personally involved. If they took a step back and said, "I'm just gonna act like I'm a big hedge fund and I have 2,000 properties I'm selling today", that means I would not be personally involved. I would do everything possible to sell the property without any personal feelings.
In that regard, you don't have leverage until you have an audience. When you put on a theater show you can do all you want and have a great show. Unless there's people in the audience, you don't have their attention. You gotta get their attention first. I don't care how you get it. You have to get it. Once you get it, that's when you can start putting leverage into play. For example, some people say, "Just put out a ridiculously low price". That's true. Prices will draw people to the table. A lot of people think, "Well, if I put it at a low price, it can never go higher. Then I'm branding the property as a low price property or people are going to think there's something wrong with it."
What I say is, "Does it really matter?" You have to get their attention first. Once you have their attention with a little price, then it matters. I always say price it 5-7% below market value. Some markets you have to price at 10%, but I always say 5-7% below market value for the property… Enough so everyone in the market pays attention, thinks if there's something with the property because the pictures looks great. Is the seller really motivated? There's something strange with this property because the price looks ridiculously low. That's all you want. Once you have their attention, it's really what you communicate why it's priced the way it is. If you communicate a certain way, you can establish leverage from the start. Once you have leverage from the start, you can take control of the transaction all the way through.
Mike Hambright: What's an example of why you would say you're pricing it at that point?
Jordan Fisher: Because you run a tight ship. You're going to let the market decide. We're not gonna fool around. You have to say it is priced ridiculously low. My phone's been blowing up. Everyone's calling because it's priced ridiculously low. We're just gonna [inaudible 00:10:42],
they're gonna let the market decide. We're gonna have an open house on this day. Everyone's gonna come and make an offer, they'll get counters in a day, and we'll let the market decide what it's gonna sell for. You take your personal opinions out of it and you just let the market dictate what's gonna happen.
Mike Hambright: You're saying in some instances the price is gonna get bit up anyway?
Jordan Fisher: Oh, it is gonna get bit up. When you put a sign or a list price up, it's not really a price. It's just a sign. How big a sign do you want to put out there? If it's a high price, you put a little sign like this. With a low price, it's a big sign. It doesn't matter if people say,
"I'll take your property for a dollar." I could care less. All they're doing when they make a bid is saying they want a seat at the table. To be honest, if you price it right, it's a bell curve all the time. 60% always put it at right at whatever price you put it at. 20% usually put it low, trying to low ball you even further because they think there's something wrong. 20% try to put it higher to steal it before there's a bidding war. That's a very common bell curve, and that's what you want. Now you have an audience. Now you can go like this. Now you can get all set. Now you can manipulate the market to do what you want to.
Mike Hambright: It's interesting. I was just talking to some folks. I'm sure this is not just in my market. Some agents, especially if they have F.H.A. buyers, they're offering above list price to lock it up knowing that it's probably not gonna appraise for those levels anyway. In fact, we were a victim of a deal like that within the past week or so. We listed it a little bit high and we got full price for it, but later it came back to be appraised. We're not so much a victim, but there are some people who are offering 5% above list price just to get it locked up and letting the dust settle where it may with appraisals.
Jordan Fisher: Right. If you let the dust settle where it may, that means, the investor is out of control. That means you're hoping it sells in your favor. That's why a lot of agents like to say, "What do you want for the property? Why don't you just tell us a number and if my client agrees to it, fantastic." You know what happens? If I put a list price out at 150 and I really want 170, and I get offers in and then I counter 170 and someone says, "Oh, here's 170."
We go, "Great. Handshake." Most investors think they got what they wanted. That's the worst news you could hear. You know why? You were up here, and now you're even again. You just shook hands in the middle and said, "I want 170. You're willing to pay 170. Fantastic." Now we're even again. You know what? They're gonna beat me over the head on the inspection because I have no leverage on them. I always want to keep a lot of leverage on them even when I accept an offer so they will never give me a problem during the escrow.
Mike Hambright: Yeah, yeah. That's interesting.
Jordan Fisher: It's more fun. Once you do it one time, you'll be like, "Oh my god. I loved it." All the agents on the other side and the buyers will hate it. That's perfect. When it closes, they will all look back and say,
"I respect what just happened because I was out of control, and god I want to do that on my next transaction." That happens every time.
Mike Hambright: As you've moved more into the lending space, it's interesting over time. I always appreciate people that have a background as a real estate investor who are lenders. I personally don't use a lot of hard money. I have access to some private money, banking relationships and things like that. Any time I recommend hard money lenders, it's people who have been in the business themselves. They understand what that person's going through versus the financial guys that have access to capital, but don't really get the business and are enamored by potentially high rates of return. You said something early on about how you effectively coach people who are borrowing from you as to what they may do right or wrong or different things they can think about to sell it quickly or save money. Talk a little bit about that kind of relationship intertwined with a lender and a borrower, because that is fairly rare.
Jordan Fisher: Sure. I was on, and I still am a real estate investor. I was on that side for the last eight years. I used to borrow from funds all the time. I used to borrow from hard money lenders all the time. In fact, in Los Angeles I know most of the hard money lenders, big and small. I'll tell you what. 96-97% of them are Wall Street guys that are financiers who have capital – usually from Wall Street or other people, and they lend it out. I like to call it passive capital. They're lending out passive capital because they're uninvolved. They lend it out and you never see them again until there's a demand at the escrow or the title company when it closes. We just don't do that. Passive capital reminds me of an out of shape third string athlete waiting on the sidelines that never really gets involved. They make the loan and just sit. They wait for the closing and go, "Here's my demand," unless there's a problem.
That's one of the reasons the private mortgage pool fund I run is called Inspire Capital. It's because we are inspired by our clients, and we like to think our involvement in their success inspires them. What we do is we make a loan and then we stay in touch. "How's the rehab going? Are we still on track to take three or four months? What are you listing it at? How's the sales process going? Do you want to send pictures?" A lot of people don't realize when a private lender or a fund makes a loan, the quicker the money comes back, the more money the fund makes. The quicker it comes back, the less interest the investor pays so the more profit the investor makes. It's a win-win situation. For me to help coach or get involved and help is a big plus. I want the person to do well. I want them to sell the property quickly for as much as they can and get the money back quickly. That way I can turn it quicker.
When I keep in touch people I know if there's a problem and I can try to head it off. I know the planning of when it's coming back so I can schedule our cash flow accordingly. I know what's coming in the pipeline to fund other people. It makes a lot of sense, but I would say it's very unusual the way we do it. I probably just do it this way because we love to educate and coach and we're in the business ourselves. For that reason, we're just very involved.
Mike Hambright: I gotta believe from a borrower's standpoint that they would appreciate having somebody they can talk to or can give them recommendations on what to do because they have experience in the business.
Jordan Fisher: Yeah. We only work with people we know, we only work with people who are referred to us, and we do all referral business. The last thing that I want to have happen is have a person who has a huge problem and nothing's working out and we end up having to foreclose on that property. Then we never have that client again. It's in my best interest to try to help them get through it no matter what it is, and do whatever I can to work with them to get the property sold and the loan paid off.
Mike Hambright: Yeah. I have a lot of friends who are hard money lenders. They usually don't do what you do that I'm aware of. I think they purposefully try to stay at arm's length from folks because they don't want to say, "Well you told me to use this contractor." I'm not saying that you do that. They don't want to enter themselves in maybe being a scapegoat as to why something didn't do well. These guys have told me that more than half of the people that default, they can't find. They disappear. They're embarrassed or they want to pretend it didn't happen. They've also told me the people they are in touch with, they figure out a way to make it work and say, "Look, just deed it back over to us. Here's how we're going to go through this. We're not gonna foreclose." They don't want to foreclose anyway. It's a lengthy process. The people who really cause a lot of disruption are the ones that disappear.
Jordan Fisher: You hit the nail on the head. We do not work with clients who do not communicate, period. We have a great relationship with clients who communicate and everything works well. Yes. The client doesn't communicate, and that does happen. That's always a sign. If you haven't talked to someone in a week or two, that's always a sign that there's something wrong. It's okay if there's something wrong. We just need to know so we can try to help.
Mike Hambright: Yeah, yeah. Why don't you talk a little bit about the relationship between a hard money lender and real estate investors? There's two different ends of the spectrum. Some people say they will never use hard money because it's so expensive. Then there's people who wonder why you would use your own money. Just lever that up so you can do more deals. Why don't you talk about that relationship between a borrower and a lender, and where you see that it makes most sense?
Jordan Fisher: That's a really good question to hit on there, Mike. I think it really matters on the individual. Yes, private money can be expensive. I don't really think it's expensive. It's really commensurate with the risk. A lot of people don't realize that it's commensurate with the risk. Obviously, if you're putting more money down it's a lot less risky, so it's not gonna be very expensive. The less money you put down, it's obviously going to be more risky. That risk has to be built into the price. We don't call our fund hard money, it's private money. Hard money is the passive, here it is and I come back with a demand. Private money means we have a private relationship and I can help you. I like to think of it more as convenient money. All the people we fund, they don't do one deal at a time. They have three, four, five, six, 10 deals at a time.
You know what? It's not that they don't have their own money. Cash flow is always an issue when you have that many properties. Convenient money is better than cheap money any day of the week. When it's there, it's quick and it's convenient, it's great. In terms of using your own money, people try to leverage. 90% of people try to see how much money they can get. It's all about that. It's not how much they have to put down, it's how much they can get. Then they decide. It's because they don't want to use their own cash. There's a good and a bad. It depends on the personality. Some people, if they don't have any money in the deal they're just not as motivated to finish quickly or not as motivated to treat your money as if it's their own. One of the things we always try is we want to know every borrower treats the money we give them as if it's their own money. If they do, fantastic. I know from experience, and I'm sure you know too, that things works so much better when people treat it as their own.
If you're in a deal with 10 partners and you're only getting 10% of the deal, you're not as motivated to act on something today or make it a priority, or make that extra call and go for that extra thing. At the end of the day, it's not gonna affect you that much. There are some people who feel like if they don't have any money in the deal, that is the case. That will be a problem.
Mike Hambright: Right, right. I know you have a lot of experience in short sales as well, right?
Jordan Fisher: Yeah, yeah.
Mike Hambright: Maybe not as much anymore. What are your thoughts on what's happening with short sales in the market? This is different by geographic area. I've heard some people say there's more short sales in some markets because there are less foreclosures. The banks are working it out. I've heard some people say even the short sales are drying up. There's really not a lot of deal activity. There are people who are one legged stools. All their deals were short sales and those people are struggling right now. What do you think is going on, at least in California, with the short sale market?
Jordan Fisher: I think in the hardest hit markets… probably L.A., Vegas, Florida and a few other parts of the country… short sales are going to be there. I'll tell you what. It's hard for me to say short sales. I'll say under water. I think a lot of people think of short sales as a number. "Is it worth less than what was loaned on the property?" I think that's just numerically and logically one way to look at it. The other way to look at it is what's happening in the market. Even if someone is over leveraged or under water with the property, do they want to short sale the property?
What are market conditions? Has the market gone up in the last year and people think it's gonna keep going up, so they're not gonna short sale their home? They're just trying to hold out as long as they can. Do they think the market's going down and they better just get out now before the bank forecloses on it? Are the banks foreclosing a lot or has my neighbor been staying in his house for two years without making a payment?
I think that's very local or geographically located. I really think that's important in determining what's happening. For us in Los Angeles, short sales are a lot less prevalent. Because of the sheer volume of the market, there are still a number of short sales. It's much harder to get deals on with the banks. Most banks run them much quicker than they used to before, but laws are still changing all the time and bank incentives are changing all the time. It's still a crap shoot. I think if that's all someone's doing, I think that's a problem.
Mike Hambright: Yeah. Yeah. Jason, if folks want to learn more about Inspire Capital, tell us a little bit about where you lend. I know you do a lot of lending in California but you lend in a lot of other states as well.
Jordan Fisher: Yeah. All across the country. California about 65%, Florida 15%, and the rest all around the country. It's really wherever we know, and that's because of the volume. It's also because of relationships I have across the country with people. Wherever the investors are is where we lend. It's really about the relationship.
Mike Hambright: Yeah. How do folks get a hold of you?
Jordan Fisher: The best way is probably to email me. Jordan, J-O-R-D-A-N, at InspireInvestments.com [[email protected]]. You can call me at 213-268-1896. Feel free. People ask all the time. We are more than willing to look at deals. I think that's what we do a lot. We just help people because we do this. I'm a real estate investor, and my partner is on the side as well. We're looking at deals all the time. We're willing to help. When someone says, "I'm buying it at this and selling at this, here's the rehab money and the scope of the project," we always want to look at that and have a discussion. You really have to have a discussion.
Mike Hambright: Awesome. How about a website? Should they contact you directly, or do you have a website for Inspire Capital?
Jordan Fisher: Yeah. InspireInvestments.com. It's actually going up next week. We just redid it. By the time this airs, it should be up.
Mike Hambright: Yeah, absolutely. Awesome, awesome. Thanks for your time today and for sharing your insights on the market, hard money or private money, and all those other things. I definitely appreciate your time.
Jordan Fisher: Oh, no. It was my pleasure. Happy to do it.
Mike Hambright: All right. Take care.
Jordan Fisher: Sure.
Mike Hambright: Thanks for joining us on today's FlipNerd.com podcast. To listen to more of our shows and hear from incredible guests, please access all of our podcasts in the iTunes store. You can also watch the video versions of our shows by visiting us at FlipNerd.com.


text:
Team Edge
The Edge Advantage
When you hire the Edge Law Firm to take on your case, you're getting more than a defense attorney; you're getting a team of some of the most educated and experienced legal professionals and specialists in the industry.
Exceptional Training
Everyone in our office holds a college or advanced degree. Each member of our staff has also been certified to administer the standardized field sobriety tests that are sanctioned by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration—the same tests that are given by law enforcement officers during DUI stops in Oklahoma. Our firsthand knowledge of how these tests are given and scored gives us a unique edge in defending clients who have allegedly failed these examinations.
Outstanding Specialists
We retain some of the best in the business to work exclusively with our clients. We have our own private investigator who interviews witnesses, recreates the scenes of DUI stops and tracks down valuable evidence.
We understand how important it is to retain your driver's license, so we hired the former Assistant General Counsel of the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety (DPS)—the department that tries to take your license away from you—as a full time member of our staff. He works exclusively to save our clients' drivers licenses.
Team Edge
While each member of our staff brings an invaluable set of skills to the firm, we recognize that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. When we take on a new case, we rely heavily on the entire team to work together to give you the best representation possible.
Best of all, there is no extra charge for the services of our attorneys and specialists. You can rest assured that your case is in exceptionally qualified hands, with no financial surprises at the conclusion of your case.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The Night of the Gun by David Carr
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
(Because this review contained information that Goodreads considers a "spoiler alert," I have edited my review. I wrote my former review in a manner that people who suffer from addiction might find hope even when recovery takes a long time.}
Edited Review: David Carr gives new meaning to the words "brutally honest" in this memoir tracing his years of addiction to alcohol and drugs and his path to sobriety. Carr makes no excuses for his behaviors or decisions, both personal and professional.
Recognizing the unreliability of memory, Carr wanted to assure the accuracy of the events in his life, so he returned to Minnesota where he set up a camera and recorder and interviewed a cast of characters in his life: family, co-workers, friends, addicts, counselors, therapists, lawyers, editors, writers, and more.
He says, "Memories may be based on what happened to begin with, but they are reconstituted each time they are recalled-with the most-remembered events frequently the least accurate. And memory uses the building blocks of fiction-physical detail, arc, character, and consequence-to help us explain ourselves to ourselves and to others. As such, remembering is an act if assertion as much as recollection."
This addiction memoir is an accurate picture of Carr's dependency and recovery. It covers his years as an active alcoholic and drug addict, his experience smoking crack cocaine, his time in flop houses, going to meetings to maintain his recovery, meanwhile maintaining a life as a reporter in several Minnesota newspapers.
Ultimately, Carr left Minnesota for a job in Washington, D.C. and then the New York Times summoned. His skill as an excellent writer and journalist is evident on every page of this memoir.
For readers who have not experienced addiction themselves or known the powers of addiction through family members or friends, Carr explains all too well the harm and devastation of the slippery slope caused by just one drink.
View all my reviews


text:
GLD Mar 18 '16 +$100/-$95 Vertical Call Spread: 70.21% Profit Banked in 120 Days
The 182nd trade that SK OptionTrader closed was a vertical call spread on GLD, the ETF that tracks gold.
Trade: Short GLD Mar 18 '16 +$100/-$95 Vertical Call Spread
Entry: $4.06
Exit: $3.40
Return: 70.21%
Opened: 19-Aug-15
Closed: 17-Dec-15
Days Open: 120
Since the beginning of 2013 we have held a bullish outlook on gold. Through this year we have remained bearish, with the view that tightening by the Fed would drive gold to new lows. However, we respected the risks that had the potential to cause the Fed to delay the first hike, such as the slowdown in China and decline in oil dampening inflation.
We targeted a short trade that would take advantage of gold making new lows on a Fed hike anytime during 2015. This led us to GLD options with early 2016 expiries that held high upside potential if gold broke significantly lower towards key support at $1030, which translates to a GLD level of $98. One strategy that fit these criteria was a short GLD vertical call spread trade with March '16 expiration with $100/$95 strike levels.
Therefore on August 19th we signalled to our subscribers that we had sold GLD Mar 18 '16 +$100/-$95 Vertical Call Spreads for a net credit of $1.01. This means that we sold GLD calls with $95 strikes and simultaneously bought GLD calls with $100 strikes, both with March '16 expiries.
If our view was correct, then the spread between the prices of the puts would narrow to $0.00 from $4.06. However, if we were wrong we could have lost the maximum downside of $0.94, the difference between the strikes of $5 minus the net credit of $4.06 received. The simple payoff diagram below illustrates this.
Our downside risks were clearly much smaller than our potential returns here. However, this was necessary as we looked to take advantage of a considerable break lower in the yellow metal, which held a lower probability of being realised. Therefore the maximum return of 431% and the constant increase in profits between a gold price of $1050 and $1000 gave this trade positive risk reward dynamics, as expected losses were much smaller than the expected gains.
Gold initially moved lower after we sold the call spread. However, after the Fed delayed the first rate hike from the September meeting gold bulls became energized and the metal began to rally. The hope of these speculators was that as the Fed had failed to hike in September, perhaps lift-off would never be achieved. This being a bullish scenario for gold, the metal rallied.
The October Fed meeting saw this come to an end, with Yellen paving the way for the first hike to come in December. Following this economic data remained strong, with nonfarm payrolls and inflation printing at positive levels. This allowed Fed speakers to signal the market that the first hike would very likely come at the December FOMC meeting. The expectation of hawkish action was priced into gold, leading to its decline.
Following the first hike this week we took profits on this trade. Our reasoning here was that gold had broken lower towards key support at $1030 after the Fed hike and this was the movement that we had initiated this trade for. Therefore we looked to action our trading plan and bank a strong profit of 70.21% for our subscribers.
We are pleased with the result of this trade. Although the realised gains were significantly less than the maximum possible, we were not swinging for the fences here. Our goal was to take advantage of a break lower in gold prices following the Fed hike, and we successfully did. The trading discipline here has avoided the risk of a possible rebound in gold, which would erode the profits we have now banked. Therefore we are happy with the result here, and look forward to repositioning this capital to take advantage of the next major gold movement.
SK OptionTrader Trading Record Summary
Number Of Closed Trades: 182
Average Return Per Trade: 28.34%
Average Duration Per Trade: 60.55
Subscribe for 6 months- $499
Subscribe for 12 months- $799


text:
Friday, October 31, 2008
Miaim Miniature Design & Architecture
A very limited number of these houses will be available early December 2008 with a second inventory available in 2009. No final word on pricing but expect a reasonable exchange. The base of the house is 31.5"x 20" and the house is 31"h x30"w x18"d
Anyone interested in more details or wanting to purchase this dollhouse, should contact Miaim Miniature Design & Architecture: firstname.lastname@example.com or via their website:www.miaim.co.uk (which launches in late November 2008).
Images: Miaim Miniature Design & Architecture
7 comments:
Thanks for sharing and finally relieving me of my agonies =) It's really a great house to play around with. I have no dollhouse building experience but I think it doesn't look like it's too difficult to put together.ReplyDelete
Wait, let me wipe my drool. What a find!ReplyDelete
I think I know what Santa will be delivering for Christmas this year.
Absolutely fabulous!!! Well worth the wait.
It make me think of Miami Vice (in a good way).ReplyDelete
It looks much larger than the dimensions indicate.
- AnonymousNovember 3, 2008 at 7:51 PM
Can't wait to get one of my own!!ReplyDelete
- AnonymousFebruary 22, 2009 at 2:18 AM
I was trying to buy it but it seems like you only can order it to an English or an US address. I've emailed them about it.ReplyDelete
I'll be sad if I can't get this house when I finally find a house I like and can afford.
Hi MC - Elaine at Miaim has told me that another Clearview will go up on Ebay this coming Sunday for a week. I checked on shipping to the US, and she has quoted it at $171. Steep!ReplyDelete
Yes, it is unfortunate but normal for the shipping to be so high coming from the UK. However, I don't know how the DHE keeps their shipping so low. Hmm...anyway, I imagine the Clearview house is really heavy and so the extra charges. It was a bear to get the 2 Voila Large dollhouses shipped from overseas but if you want something---you're usually willing to pay for it and then your wallet cries.ReplyDelete


text:
Is Virginia going purple?
Virginia may have reached a tipping point in the 2012 elections.
Major demographic changes in the state over the past ten years — including a sharp influx of Hispanics and single women in Northern Virginia and the changing nature of the outer Washington, D.C., suburbs — may have finally reached critical mass, permanently converting Virginia into a swing state in presidential politics.
Story Continued Below
( See also: POLITICO's swing-state map)
"It's not a red state any more, it's a very purple state," said GOP pollster Whit Ayres, who lives in Northern Virginia. "Northern Virginia has changed the complexion of this state completely."
The new landscape began emerging in 2008, when Barack Obama won the state by 7 points over John McCain, driving up African-American turnout and winning Northern Virginia by 19 points.
But public polls in the 2012 race show that 2008 may not have been a fluke, but a more long-term realignment of state politics. Despite loads of time and money invested there, Mitt Romney is trailing Obama in Virginia by as many as 9 percentage points, according to a recent Washington Post poll. Tim Kaine is also leading George Allen in the Virginia Senate race. Republicans argue that their internal polling shows the presidential race closer.
"Over the years, the migration, if you will, there has been a lot of demographic changes in the Commonwealth," said longtime Virginia Republican strategist Chris LaCivita. "That growth has brought in a lot of new voters and a lot of new people."
But LaCivita isn't convinced the state has gone blue.
"Democrats in Virginia would love to say that Virginia is more of a bluish purple," he said, but countered that a lot of signs still point to Republicans having the upper hand, like GOP victories on the state level in 2009 and 2010 . "The coalition that supported Barack Obama in Virginia in 2008 is not entirely there in 2012."
In presidential politics, Virginia used to be firmly in the Republican column, having never voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since 1964 until Obama four years ago.
But Republicans were heartened by Gov. Bob McDonnell's sweeping 2009 victory and felt that returning the state to GOP hands in 2012 was well within reach. Obama has privately told people that in a close election, Virginia would be the decisive state.
But despite heavy targeting by the Romney campaign — the GOP nominee has visited the state six times since the start of August and announced his vice presidential pick there — his campaign appears to be lagging in Virginia. The two campaigns spent a collective $68.3 million in advertising in Virginia between April 9 and August 9, according to a Romney campaign official.
Republicans argue that the public polling shows is wrong because it oversamples Democrats, who turned out in higher numbers to support Obama in the 2008 election. They say pollsters are erroneously using 2008 exit polls to structure their data samples.


text:
Staying Motivated While Injured.
Injured=time for reflection
My peroneal tendonitis injury has been a minor setback for my running training or maybe it's a blessing in disguise. I have been training and racing very hard for the past year and a half. It all began with my quest to qualify for the Boston Marathon. After I gave birth to my second child I spent almost a year climbing out of the fog of terrible postpartum depression. Even though I was diagnosed much earlier the second time it still took a considerable amount of time to rebuild myself both physically and mentally to a point where I felt almost like myself again.
My quest to qualify for Boston began in the fall of 2011. Once I decided to try for my goal again I decided to take my training to the next level. I hired my awesome Sustainable Athlete Coach Denise and hit the ground running. Now a year and a half later I am a Boston Marathon qualifier and proud finisher. I am very proud that I will be able to run it again next year as I was able to re-qualify at Boston with a strong 3:34 finish that I will never forget.
During this year and a half I pushed myself harder than I ever have. I gained more inner-strength and self-confidence than I have had in a long time. I am and always will be what I call a recovering perfectionist. Perfectionism being my biggest roadblock in life. I am tired of second guessing myself and the self-doubt that comes along with being a perfectionist.
I have found more success with running and life in the past year and a half because I have learned to trust myself more and have challenged myself to try new things. Being injured has slowed me down to let my body recover from the strain of training so hard for a year and a half. This time to slow down has allowed me to refocus my goals and to find new ways to achieve what I want to do.
I can't wait to get back on the trails but I am happy for this time to reflect!
Hopefully in a few weeks I will be back to running on the mountains and trails like last summer!
4 responses
Good luck! Injuries suck, but sometimes it's good to relax and catch up on other aspects of life.
I hope you heal fast!
I love this post! I'm a physical therapist, and my heart always goes out to my patients when they have to put a pause on activites since I love to be active myself. I'm going to post this to the Berry Happy Bodies FB page to help keep my pts and friends motivated. Great post!
I try to look for opportunities to focus on fitness that I slack on when I'm running – like core or upper body strength. Good luck.
I had a battle with this in the past, not fun. Take care and heal properly and fully, you do not want to worsen the condition because you were not fully healed…..good luck!


text:
"We're not known for extreme beers, we try to keep it sort of subtle in a way."
A history in beer
Brouwerij Maximus is a young and ambitious small brewery a little outside of the city of Utrecht. The three men behind the brewery are not exactly new to the brewing scene. Marcel Snater had already a story of home brewing and started gypsybrewing with his brewery De Snaterende Arend in 2002. Ewald Visser and Arend-Jan Van Dieën rmanaged for years Utrecht's well known beerpub Kafé België. Together they started contract brewing in 2011 and a year later they opened their own brewery and brewpub.
Social enterprise
Besides being a commercial brewery and brewpub, Brouwerij Maximus is also a social enterprise. People with a distance to the labourmarket like long-term sick and early school leavers, get the chance to do an internship in the hospitality business, brewing and practice their social skills which can help them to get ahead in life.
Beer styles
They like to brew beers that taste sort of subtle at Brouwerij Maximus. No extreme amount of hops are added and you won't find any beers here with a real high alcohol percentage. They produce a Pale Ale, Lager and a Blond at 5-6 % ABV. Two different Stouts from English hops contain 6-8% ABV. Besides this line of beers, once a month they do a 'special', a beer they never brewed before and a collaboration brew. This collaboration can be with another brewery but also with a chef from a restaurant or anyone else that comes to mind.
Leidsche Rijn
The location of Brouwerij Maximus might at first glance raise eyebrows. On the western side of Utrecht a new city district is taking shape. The largest housing site in the Netherlands to be precise… 30.000 houses are being built. In the beginning there were hardly any spots for people to meet and socialize. See here the reason why they settled here: what better place to build a brewery and brewpub? And it's not all bricks. The brewery is located right next to Máximapark, an area consisting of 300 hectares. When finished this will be one of the largest city parks in the Netherlands.


text:
Jun 27, 2016
Ep63: In All Thy Brats' Command
Byron, Pyra, and Ivan discuss Trudeau's push to make the Canadian national anthem more inclusive, the secret conspiracy behind skinny jeans, major English poets being too damn English, and Byron's lost opportunity from high school.
Plus: Byron's inner Italian dude emerges, bestiality is now legal in Canada, and Sadiq Khan bans sexy ads in London.
Visit The Dry Shave Show's Facebook page, share and like.


text:
So we moved into this house, this Promise House, and we tore down the walls and laid down the floors and made our nest.
And I saw those brown sticks out there, bordering the fence. Thorns. Wasn't sure what they'd become.
But as the warmer winds started to blow and the thunderstorms came and the water fell, green sprouts appeared, first here, then there. Green, green, green. I woke up one day and as I looked out the back door while making breakfast, a splash of the brightest orange-red caught my eye, right there in the back corner of the yard. It surprised me. "What is that?" I thought. Pajamas and all I ran (yes literally) to go check it out. A huge poppy greeted me. I didn't plant it. But there it was, blooming.
And I walked down the path, looking closely to see what else was going on. Some wild, tall grass, some weeds (gotta take care of those) and then lots of different varieties of plants. Some I recognized, most I didn't. Purples, yellows, reds, pinks, all there.
So many things were changing every day, growing, opening up, that I called the boys out with me to start checking out the scene each morning. "Let's go see what is growing today!" And they would dutifully follow me around the yard.
This morning, Dustin got up with the kids. As I roused from sleep, I heard happy little voices out the open window. Then exclaiming. "Oh wow! Look at THESE!" "And look at THESE pretty flowers!"
Because you know, we can sing to them songs of what is important and beautiful and meaningful, and then at some point, they start singing those songs back to us.
Expect joy in unexpected places. This is grace. Just one way He has lavished His love on me. Surprising, unexpected. He is a very good Lavisher. He shows us what is important, and beautiful, and meaningful. And at some point, we will start singing His song back to Him, and thus become His light and joy and healing, lavishing love on others in unexpected and surprising ways.


text:
No Products on your Comparison List.
Your basket is empty.
Worldwide Shipping!
Find out more
Show all species
Show all synonyms
Select your species and application
anti-Human ECH1 Antibodies:
anti-Rat (Rattus) ECH1 Antibodies:
anti-Mouse (Murine) ECH1 Antibodies:
Go to our pre-filtered search.
Cow (Bovine) Polyclonal ECH1 Primary Antibody for WB - ABIN2781318
Goehler, Lalowski, Stelzl, Waelter, Stroedicke, Worm, Droege, Lindenberg, Knoblich, Haenig, Herbst, Suopanki, Scherzinger, Abraham, Bauer, Hasenbank, Fritzsche, Ludewig, Büssow, Buessow, Coleman et al.: A protein interaction network links GIT1, an enhancer of huntingtin aggregation, to Huntington's disease. ... in Molecular cell 2004
Show all 3 Pubmed References
Human Polyclonal ECH1 Primary Antibody for ICC, IF - ABIN4306893
Mulder, Björling, Jonasson, Wernérus, Hober, Hökfelt, Uhlén: Tissue profiling of the mammalian central nervous system using human antibody-based proteomics. in Molecular & cellular proteomics : MCP 2009
Show all 2 Pubmed References
Human Polyclonal ECH1 Primary Antibody for ICC, IF - ABIN4306894
Stadler, Hjelmare, Neumann, Jonasson, Pepperkok, Uhlén, Lundberg: Systematic validation of antibody binding and protein subcellular localization using siRNA and confocal microscopy. in Journal of proteomics 2012
Polymorphism of delta3,5-delta2,4-dienoyl-coenzyme A isomerase (the ECH1 gene product protein) in human striated muscle tissue
Possible roles for the ECH1 protein product in peroxisomal beta-oxidation are discussed.
Ech1 protects against high-fat-diet-induced hepatic steatosis and insulin resistance.
current work indicates the involvement of Ech1 in tumor metastasis development and progression, but the subcellular location of Ech1 has not much contribution to that.
Down-regulation of Ech1 can inhibit the adhesive capacity of metastatic Hca-F cells.
Down-regulation of ECH1 could inhibit the cell proliferation and migration of Hca-F hepatocarcinoma cells.
The downregulation of Ech1 inhibited proliferation of the Hca-F cells, increased the ratio of Hca-F cells in S phase to G(1) phase and decreased the adhesion and migration capacities of Hca-F cells.
disruption of peroxisomal fatty acid beta-oxidation at the level of enoyl-CoA hydratase/L-3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase (L-PBE) in mice leads to the induction of many of the PPARalpha target genes independently of peroxisome proliferation in hepatocytes
This gene encodes a member of the hydratase/isomerase superfamily. The gene product shows high sequence similarity to enoyl-coenzyme A (CoA) hydratases of several species, particularly within a conserved domain characteristic of these proteins. The encoded protein, which contains a C-terminal peroxisomal targeting sequence, localizes to the peroxisome. The rat ortholog, which localizes to the matrix of both the peroxisome and mitochondria, can isomerize 3-trans,5-cis-dienoyl-CoA to 2-trans,4-trans-dienoyl-CoA, indicating that it is a delta3,5-delta2,4-dienoyl-CoA isomerase. This enzyme functions in the auxiliary step of the fatty acid beta-oxidation pathway. Expression of the rat gene is induced by peroxisome proliferators.
enoyl Coenzyme A hydratase 1, peroxisomal
, delta(3,5)-Delta(2,4)-dienoyl-CoA isomerase, mitochondrial
, peroxisomal enoyl-coenzyme A hydratase-like protein
, delta3,5-delta2,4-dienoyl-CoA isomerase
, dienoyl-CoA isomerase
, peroxisomal enoyl-CoA hydratase 1
, peroxisomal enoyl coenzyme A hydratase 1
, ECH1-like protein
, Peroxisomal enoyl hydratase-like protein
, enoyl coenzyme A hydratase 1, peroxisomal
, enoyl hydratase-like protein peroxisomal
, enoyl hydratase-like protein, peroxisomal
, peroxisomal/mitochondrial dienoyl-CoA isomerase


text:
Welcome to a unique approach to healing.
Learn to move again, without pain.
Welcome to a unique approach to healing.
Viana teaches processes from the Movement Intelligence programs® which reorganizes your neurological systems through your brain.
Developmental Movement/repatterning is offered when the dysfunction starts in utero, infancy or after a head injury.
"These teach you how to re-educate your movement habits and change old patterns. You learn how to reduce and allow your body to walk/run/garden/sit/dance/play sports comfortably again. You learn to harmoniously integrate all parts of your body."
"If your body is resisting what you're asking it to do, it doesn't change." People are often astounded to experience the truth of this thought.


text:
The summer that I was 10, my family took an RV trip through the Canadian Rockies. Though some of those memories have faded with time, I still remember the vivid hues of blue that I encountered on that trip–the deep blue of Waterton's skies, the robin's-egg blue of Banff's lakes, the icy blue of the Athabasca Glacier, and the delicate blue of the many flowers that grew along roadsides and in every available meadow.
This hat owes its origins to an equally memorable blue. From the first moment I laid eyes on it, I was captured by its depth and intensity. I knew it had to be made into something epecially luscious. After much tinkering, Alpine Meadow was born. Made from bulky yarn, it's a quick knit and a great introduction to lace.
One size—circumference is 17" for brim and 19" for body
14 stitches = 4" in circular Stockinette
1 skein Malabrigo Mecha in colorway 418 London Sky
US 10.5 (6.5mm), 16" circular, or size needed to obtain gauge
US 10.5 (6.5mm) DPNs, or size needed to obtain gauge
7 stitch markers, with one being distinct from the others
Tapestry needle


text:
For more information on sponsorship package please download the brochure
The Dubai International Air Chiefs Conference is one of the largest and most important gatherings of air force leaders and industry counterparts anywhere in the world, representing a unique opportunity for the regional and international community of air force and air defense decision-makers to gather and discuss the latest emerging developments in strategy, operations, tactics, and technology.
Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Minister of Defense of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai, and hosted by the UAE Air Force and Air Defense, the 9th Dubai International Air Chiefs Conference (DIAC 2019) will take place at Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai, on November 16, 2019.
Building on eight highly successful editions, DIAC 2019 will focus on the need for tomorrow's air force to be more agile and adaptive in its capabilities and response to an increasingly diverse array of regional and global threats. The future of Air Power will be dictated by our ability to quickly and seamlessly transition between intensity and domains by optimizing and synchronizing current capabilities of 3rd, 4th, and 5th generation manned and unmanned systems.
DIAC 2019 will offer a series of selected discussions spanning the spectrum of conflict while analyzing the future requirements and requisite technologies necessary to operate in a new, more lethal, Anti-Access/Aerial Denial (A2/AD) operational environment. In addition, DIAC 2019 will examine what future role Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology can play in preparing for and transitioning forces from low intensity, permissive conflicts to high intensity, contested, multi-domain operations. By harnessing the predictive and proactive powers of Artificial Intelligence (AI), establishing a more capable and dynamic Multi-Domain C2 (MDC2) architecture, and leveraging current advances in Virtual Reality (VR), we can achieve a more adaptive and agile form of Air Power required of tomorrow's air force.
DIAC offers extensive networking opportunities to industry partners for reaching out to and engaging with existing and prospective customers. With its prestige and size, DIAC 2019 is a gathering not to be missed for anyone in the regional defense aerospace community.
With a range of sponsorship packages available, DIAC 2019 values and counts on the support of key industry partners for demonstrating their support and participation as well as enabling the strong industrial component in DIAC 2019 as strategic partners. Sponsoring DIAC 2019 can also provide an ability for industry partners to project their brand and message before a high-density of decision-makers from around the world, thereby raising their profile in unique and highly impactful ways.
For more information on sponsorship package please download the brochure.
© 2016 SEGMA. All rights reserved.


text:
SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Twelve companies from seven countries have applied to manufacture lithium-linked products in Chile, officials told journalists on Monday, in what they called a victory for the mining country's push to add value to its exports.
Chile is part of South America's "lithium triangle," home to more than half the known global reserves of the mineral, which plays an essential part in powering electric car batteries. But only abroad is lithium developed into products consumers can use, a fact Chile's government wants to change.
In March, Chilean state development agency CORFO invited bids from companies to manufacture value-added projects from the country's lithium. The winner will secure a steady supply of the metal at a favorable price, part of a deal CORFO made with U.S.-based supplier Albemarle Corp.
Among the proposals are projects to create "next-generation" batteries, lithium salts, lithium metal, and several other materials, CORFO Executive Vice President Eduardo Bitran told journalists.
"We've had great success because here we're uniting the global electro-mobility industry with the largest lithium reserves in the world," he said.
Bitran added that the selection process should be completed around January and that more than one winner could be selected. Projects resulting from the auction, CORFO said, should come online in 2019.
The companies that have applied to the program, officials said, are China's Sichuan Fulin Industrial Group Co, SinoVenture Chile, Gansu Daxiang Energy Technology Co, and a joint venture of Shenzheng Metal Tech Co and Jiangmen Kanhoo Industry Co; Chile's Molymet, Imelsa, and a joint venture of Invermer and Corporacion IDEOJ; Russia's TVEL Fuel Company of Rosatom; South Korea's Samsung SDI Co; U.S. firm Bravo Motor Co; Belgium's Umicore; and a joint venture of Canada's Rubystock Financial Capital Corp and Fallingbrook Commodities.
Reporting by Gram Slattery; Editing by Jonathan Oatis


text:
Eating the bugs attracted to the light from the house at night.
The vine covers my shed.
Tasted great.
This yellow variety is as good as the best dragon fruit. Needs no water or fertilizer, grows wild everywhere. If you want it to grow somewhere new, just break off a pad and drop it on the ground.
They taste like tiny Alfonso mangoes. Must be dark red before eating or you'll regret it…


text:
Classes and Workshops
Cookery classes and workshops for adults and children.
Beverley Glock Cookery School is a home-based cookery school located in Beverley's 18th century mill house in Princes Risborough with AGA. Cookery classes on offer range from budget no frills 'Real Cooking' classes for adults and holiday and weekend classes for children. We offer cookery clubs in schools as well as one day workshops to support the curriculum. Children's and teenager's classes are also run at Berkhamsted Basecamp during school holidays.
Princes Risborough is the base for Beverley's classes in her beautiful 17th century converted mill with AGA, all the classes are taught with AGA and conventional oven instructions with induction hobs
Children and Young Adult Classes and Workshops from ages 5-18 years run at weekends and school holidays
Adult Classes and Workshops run on weekdays during termtime
Location - Princes Risborough is 35 minutes from Marylebone Station and there are lots of activities for siblings if you drop a child off for a workshop. Oxford is 30 minutes away as are Henley and Biscester Shopping Village. The Roald Dhal Museum and Story Centre is 15 minutes away. There are lovely walks in the Chilterns and a small village centre with cafes. We are happy to recommend bed and breakfast accommodation locally if you would like to travel the day before the workshop.
Allergen Information - The following allergens may be used in some of the recipes: Celery, cereals containing gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, lupin, milk, molluscs, mustard, nuts, peanuts, sesame seeds, soya, sulphur dioxide. If you have any questions regarding which allergens we use in particular recipes or workshop please ask us.
Paperwork - once you book and payment has cleared all the paperwork (agreement, map, directions etc) will be sent out in due by EMAIL, we don't post anything. if you have a HOTMAIL or GMAIL account check your spam as all the paperwork will go into your spam box. Once you've found the paperwork please move the email into your inbox so you can print it out. It if your responsibility to ensure that you can access the documenation. and return the agreement in advance of the workshop. We reserve the right to refuse participation of anyone without a completed workshop agreement.
Edible Christmas Gifts - Monday 23 December ages 6+£50.00
Children's Christmas cookery workshop.
The children will make edible gifts while you get a morning to yourself to do your Christmas shopping. Suitable for ages 6 upwards, the workshop runs from 9.30am-1pm on Monday 23 December.Learn More
Gingerbread House workshop over 2 mornings, Fri 20 and Sat 21 December£95.00
Two mornings to make, cook and decorate a gingerbread house for Christmas.
The course takes place at our Princes Risborough base on Friday 20 December from 10am-12.30pm and Saturday 21 December from 10am-11.30am and is suitable for 6-14 year olds giving parents the opportunity to do some last minute shopping and wrapping, or just catch up with some quiet time before the festive season hits.Learn More
Saturday morning cooking club - Princes Risborough
Princes Risborough base, run by Beverley from her lovely farmhouse kitchen.
Chose from two classes: 9.45-11am for 13-18 year olds and is suitable for those wishing to complete their Duke of Edinburgh Awards or 11.30am-12.45pm for 5-12 year olds. If either session is fully booked we operate a waiting list. For a taste of cooking club please have a look at our YouTube channelLearn More
Cookery Programme for Children and Young Adults
Children's cookery course to do at home with Beverley's subscription cookery programme
Each month we'll send you delicious, seasonal recipes by email, some will be linked to Beverley's YouTube channel too, so you can learn to cook at home.Learn More
Saturday morning Children's Cooking Club - TRIAL session£20.00
Sorry - Sold out
Trial session for Saturday morning cooking club at Princes Risborough 9.45am or 11.30am class.
For taster of the club please check out our YouTube channel as this is filmed at the Princes Risborough clubLearn More
Healthy Eating Practical School workshop£25.00
Healthy Eating and Themed Cookery workshops for schools incorporating food prep, hands on cookery and worksheets to be used during or after the event. The team will come to your school and help the children cook based on your cookery facilities, we can bring some equipment such as induction hobs, and cook up to 3 items with the children to be eaten after the workshop or taken home afterwards.Learn More
Fairtrade event for schools£150.00A 1 hour cooking class in your school teaching children how to cook sweet and savoury items using seasonal fruit and veg, including worksheets linked into the curriculum so these can used for Ofsted inspections. Minimum booking 8 children. Learn More
Cooking Club for schools£9.95A 1 hour cooking class in your school teaching children how to cook sweet and savoury items using seasonal fruit and veg, including worksheets linked into the curriculum so these can used for Ofsted inspections. Minimum booking 8children. Learn More
Senses workshop for schools£39.50A full day workshop exploring the five senses, this ties in with KS1 curriculum and is ideal for schools running 'Senses' as a topic. The workshop runs from 10-2.30pm and location is flexible so we can either come to your venue or we can arrange the venue close to our cookery schools. The children will make their own lunch as part of the workshop so cooking facilities are necessary. Minimum booking 15 children. Learn More


text:
Our Services:
- Free in home consultations to determine your optimal rental value of your property
- Advertisement of your rental property
- Careful screening of applicants including credit, background, rental and eviction history
- Disbursement of rent
- Full knowledge of and compliance with SC Landlord Tenant Act by licensed property managers
- Collection and holding of security deposit in trust
- Periodic home inspections
- Coordination of all maintenance
- Processing of legal evictions
- Responses to all 3rd party requests (HOA, annual service contracts)
- Completion of full property turnover between tenants
The Muse Realty Difference:
Your home is one of your most valuable investments. Entrusting it to the right property management company is one of the most important decisions you'll ever make. At Muse Realty, we understand how valuable your home is to you and caring for your home is our top priority. That's one reason why we don't dabble in other real estate ventures. Some companies thrive on home sales and do a little rental business on the side. At Muse Realty, we believe the only way to care for your home like you would is to give it 100% of our attention. That's why we specialize only in property management and home rentals. Click below to get a free estimate of your property's rental value from one of our property management experts!
Experts on Your Side:
At Muse Realty, our dedicated staff has decades of experience and expertise at your disposal. Our 5 Property Managers are each fully licensed in the state of South Carolina. We specialize in property management and home rentals, so you can rest easy knowing that you'll get superior service and undivided attention.
The Affordable Option:
We are proud to offer one of the most affordable and simplest price structures in the property management business. We realize that the last thing you need is to be nickelled and dimed at every corner. We charge a simple 10% monthly fee with absolutely:
...NO hidden fees
...NO start up fees
...NO leasing fees
...NO marketing fees
...NO relisting fees
Superior Service:
Good customer service can be hard to find in the home rentals industry. You won't have that concern at Muse Realty. Our goal is to provide excellent service to each of our owners and tenants. Muse Realty is locally owned and operated which means we're invested in our community and place a high value on serving our neighbors well. We'd like to think that's why our occupancy rate is consistently well above 97%.
Each of our home owners receives the full service property management experience. You shouldn't have to wait until the end of the month to receive your rent check. That's why we cut checks at the beginning of the month. Concerned about unexpected maintenance items? We have an established network of the most thorough and cost effective vendors in our area. So you can enjoy life and let us take care of the details.
Each of our tenants receive superior service. We offer multiple methods of payment including online bill payment. We also feature a 24 hour call service because we know that problems don't just happen from 9 to 5. Tenants will always receive prompt, friendly service you'd expect from someone who lives in your community.
Areas We Serve:
Muse Realty is one of the largest providers of home rentals in the York County, SC area. We offer property management services in Rock Hill, Fort Mill, Tega Cay, Lake Wylie, Indian Land, Clover, York and the surrounding areas.


text:
Located approximately 180 kilometers off the Rio de Janeiro coast, Pioneiro de Libra FPSO can process up to 50,000-barrels of oil and 4-million cubic meters of associated gas per day. The well test is planned to evaluate, for one year, the dynamic, subsurface behavior of the oil reservoir and enhance the consortium's knowledge on resource.
"It's a positive step to begin this early production test at Libra, as the dynamic data will be valuable to optimize the consortium's future development plans and maximize the value we can create from this prolific field," said Andy Brown, Upstream Director for Shell. "We continue to focus our deep-water expertise to both support Petrobras in our Joint Venture operations as well as building our own operated portfolio and delivery in Brazil."
Shell has a 20-percent stake in the consortium developing the Libra area. Petrobras operates the field with a 40-percent interest. Total has a 20-percent stake, and CNPC and CNOOC Limited have each a 10-percent interest. Last month in Brazil, Shell and partners won three, 35-year production sharing contracts for pre-salt blocks also located in the Santos Basin including two Shell operated blocks.


text:
Tag Archives: olaplex
Proper Winter Hair Care
Welcome to NY Hair Company
Thank you for visiting NY Hair Company's official website! We are a Las Vegas Hair Salon and have been established since 2004. NY Hair Company has been rated one of the BEST hair salons in Las Vegas! We are located only 5 minutes from the fabulous Las Vegas strip, servicing not only Las Vegas locals, but clients traveling from all over the world! We have the best value and service anywhere near the strip without the expensive Las Vegas Strip prices. We specialize in all aspects of hair including haircuts, haircoloring, platinum blonde and color corrections. Haircoloring services including ombre and balayage color techniques. Texture hair services including silk press, two-strand or flat twists as well as Spiral/Flexi rod services for our clients with kinky textures. Formal hair styling, bridal hair and make-up, waxing and more!
Please call us to book your next hair service appointment!
(702) 432-3333
4825 W Flamingo Rd, Las Vegas, Nv, 89156
Protecting your hair this Summer
Summer time in Vegas means swimming and enjoying the sunny skies to most, but for some it's all about fighting with your hair to keep it in it's best possible condition. The sun, heat, water (including pool chemicals) and more can damage your hair. There are ways to keep this from happening by using proper products at home and doing proper treatments at the salon. These are NY Hair Co's favorites that we carry!
Biotin Pills: Biotin is a vitamin you can take orally to improve your hair and nail growth. It strengthens and thickens the hair and nails making it stronger.
(Available for Retail)
Milk Shake Incredible Milk Leave in Conditioner: This leave in conditioner offers 12 benefits to you hair: Repairs all hair types, Frizz Control, Prevents Split Ends, Heat Protection, Long Lasting Hair Styles, Detangles, Natural Shine, Adds Body and Volume, Easier Ironing, Protects Color, Protects from UV Rays, Smoothes the Cuticle. It can go on wet or dry hair after showering (or even swimming!) Instead of using spray sunscrean to protect your hair, causing it to become greasy and smelly, you can use an actual hair product to protect your hair any time you go outside!
(Available for Retail)
Matrix Biolage Dry Shampoo: Washing your hair every day not only dries your hair out but it also strips any artificial color, causing fading. Avoid washing more than twice a week for longer lasting color and healthier hair. To cut the greasy, dirty look you can use dry shampoo inbetween actual shampoos. This product absorbs oils and any odors that the oils may cause. It's easy to use as well! Spray on the roots of your dry hair (focus on spots that are oily) and work in the product with your fingertips for best results. Viola! Simple and effective! Added bonus?? It creates lift and body to your roots giving your hairstyle the extra bump it may need!
(Available for Retail)
Matrix Biolage Hydrasource Shampoo and Conditioning Balm: This is the Best Seller at NY Hair Co, and for good reason! This Shampoo and Conditioner Duo Set are BOTH Paraben free and extremely hydrating without making the hair feel greasy. They are both safe for color treated hair so you can get the moisture without the fading! The conditioning balm is a great conditioner and detangler. These products are formulated with Aloe, Cupuacu Butter, and Apricot Kernel Oils to moisturize your hair for long term results instead of using Parabans to coat your hair making it appear healthier temporarily.
(Available for Retail)
Matrix Total Results Alternate Action Clarifying Shampoo: This clarifying shampoo is our favorite for one big reason; it removes product buildup WITHOUT stripping the hair of it's natural oils. This product is perfect for swimmers, as it has a chelating agent that helps remove chlorine and other mineral deposits from the hair (added bonus for blondes, no more swimmer green hair!). Shampoo with this product for 1-2 minutes before rinsing to remove any buildup and follow with your favorite conditioner for best results!
(Available for Retail)
Milk Shake Integrity Intensive Treatment: This intense mask with have your hair hydrated and bouncy in no time! Using Muru Muru Butter and Coconut Oil, this mask is safe for all hair types and significantly reduces frizz, leaves hair conditioned, detangles, and the end results are soft, radiant, and healthy hair. After shampooing, work the Intensive Treatment into your hair for 3-5 minutes before rinsing for best results.
(Available for Retail)
Matrix Color Gloss Treatment: The Matrix Color Gloss Treatment is a zero lift, ammonia free hair treatment that adds ceramides/proteins and natural shine back the your hair while sealing the cuticle. This treatment also comes in a few color refreshers (black, browns, reds, coppers, and special toners for blondes) to add to your treatment to add pigment to your hair while improving the overall health. Normally this service at NY Hair Co starts at $45, but when done with any other service the price drops to $35. Results last from 1-3 months depending on proper home care and product use.
(Available as a Service Only)
Olaplex Treatment: Olaplex is the only product scientifically proven AND holds multiple patents proving it physically rebonds your hair internally. Think of this service like this: you shatter your wrist. You can either get surgery and have your wrist heal completely with no loss of mobility and will fully heal OR you can just get a cast, and MAYBE your wrist will have partial mobility. Wouldn't you want the surgery?? Olaplex is basically surgery for your hair! This product is silicone free (unlike its impersinators like B3, Uberliss, etc which all contail oils and different forms of silicone) so it doesn't coat the hair for a temporary fix. It fixes the bonds (even when added to color services!) for long term effects, can be done as often as you'd like (you can't over-do Olaplex!!), and all it does is benefit your hair. Want to transform your haircolor? Olaplex helps us push your hair past the norm, getting you desired results with little to no damage! Each treatment costs $45, so why not fix your hair for a fraction of the price of other treatments that claim they do the same, but really don't?
(Availabe as a Service Only, Take Home #3 Conditioner is available)
About Olaplex! Our favorite tool for hair coloring
Go Blonder. Push the envelope further without compromising the integrity of hair. From the photo shoot to the salon chair, colorists are set free from the fear of damaged hair.
You can use Olaplex as a tool or a new service. The choice is yours. As a tool, use the Olaplex Bond Multiplier No.1 adding it to lightener or color and finish by applying Bond Perfector No.2 after color is rinsed from the hair to dramatically reduce breakage with every color service.
The ORIGINAL chemistry that multiplies bonds and cross-links broken bonds. There can only be one!
We started by finding two of the world's leading PHD's in Materials and Chemistry that had never worked on hair products before, Dr. Eric Pressly and Dr. Craig Hawker. With this fresh outlook, this dream team invented a single ingredient chemistry, that is free of silicone or oils, that links broken bonds in the hair during and after chemical services making them stronger than they were before. It may all sound like the same old mumbo jumbo, but check out what top colorists are saying about Olaplex all over social media. As they say, the proof is in the pudding."
What to know when going lighter…
It's that time of year to go lighter!!
Just a friendly reminder, yes, we are #olaplex stylists, but that doesn't mean we are magicians and can take you from black box colored hair to platinum in one try. Yes, it IS possible, but we care about the integrity of your hair, so it is always best to split any drastic lightening service into at least two appointments. This way, you can keep all your hair without having gummy or fried broken ends. As a perfect example, here is the evolution of a well known face in the celebrity world. Her stylist took it slow and she has beautiful healthy hair now. It's always best to do it right the first time around, instead of pushing your hair past it's breaking point. We want you to have your dream hair, and we will work with you until you get it!


text:
First County Bank was awarded the Healthy Workplace Silver Award for their "Working on Wellness" program by The Business Council of Fairfield County!
In 2014, BlueBack teamed up with First County Bank to create and implement a "Working on Wellness" program to inspire employees to live healthy lifestyles. This year the program will include FitBit exercise monitors, a health fair and partnerships with local yoga studios and gyms.


text:
Barcelona Restaurant & Bar
263 E. Whittier St., Columbus, OH 43206
Lunch, Monday - Friday: 11am - 2:30pm
Dinner, Sunday - Thursday: 5pm - 10pm, Fri & Saturday, 5pm -11pm
Happy Hour
Monday to Friday: 5pm - 7 pm
At Barcelona we work hard every day to present great atmosphere, incredible service, a warm environment, and above all, wonderful food. To achieve these goals, we do the following every day: we bake all of our breads and desserts from scratch in our kitchen, we serve only the freshest products, and we offer you daily entree specials competitively designed by our passionate and talented kitchen staff. We further attribute our success to our service staff, unique, colorful individuals dedicated to exceeding your expectations.
Barcelona is located in the heart of historic German Village. When you visit us, take some time to explore this wonderful community. German Village is full of unique shops and beautiful homes.


text:
A couple of days ago, I taught my very first philosophy for children in my daughter's school. It is a bilingual (Dutch-English) international school in Amsterdam, and it has a very international group of students. The children were in upper primary, aged 9 to 11. I'll here describe how I approached teaching the class, and the children's and parents' reactions. First, I convened with the teacher about a suitable topic. They have a subject called "intercultural competence" which has different themes. The theme now was the Dutch dike system, which is a wonderful system of shared governance, instated after a deadly flood in 1953. So we decided that I would teach political philosophy (Locke, Rawls, Nozick), to have some connection with the dike system.
I started the class by letting children come up with examples of rights they enjoyed, and we explored some
of these examples a bit further (e.g., their right for schooling, healthcare, and several children mentioned women's rights, freedom of speech), which gave me the opportunity to briefly introduce some relevant people, e.g., "John Stuart Mill also thought freedom of speech was important, because…" We talked about what justice would be, and I introduced Plato's concept of justice.
The children were then divided into five groups of about five each (teacher helped to put children in groups that liked being together and worked well) to simulate the state of nature (source of this exercise here).
We imagined we were in a little Dutch neolithic village, where the only food for winter was a pond with fish (simulated by a paper bag with 15 cardboard fish, about 5 cm long each). Each family was to catch fish they would dry for the winter. If they caught 3 fish they would be comfortable, 4 was too much, but 2 was too little. If the group had only 2 fish, one member (a child or elderly person) would likely die. The settlement was told that they needed to leave 2 fish so the pond could repopulate next spring, and were told how many fish there were in the bag. They were then asked to calculate if that meant there was enough for everyone.
Once they established (quickly) that this wasn't the case, the children could discuss in their groups how many fish they took, before I went around with my bag. They were not allowed to talk to the other groups, and they could not see how many fish the others had taken until everyone had taken their share.
Continue reading "My first experience teaching philosophy for children " »


text:
Taste Spoon
Taste Spoon
A small spoon ideal for salting, spicing and tasting as you cook. Because each spoon is hand carved, no two pieces will look exactly alike.
To care: Wash with warm, soapy water then wipe dry immediately. Not dishwasher safe. We recommend periodic refinishing with our Board Butter to keep things in heirloom condition.
Add To Cart


text:
QR Code
Quick Response code - a specific matrix barcode
License: CC0 Public Domain
Note: If you intend to use an image you find here for commercial use, please be aware that some photos do require a model or property release. Pictures featuring products should be used with care.
268,681 free pictures
3,162 users online
Public Domain Pictures.net created by Bobek Ltd. Copyright 2007 - 2019 by Bobek Ltd. Registered in England and Wales No. 5951382


text:
Little Boxes on the Hillside: the housing crisis and history
The UK is in the midst of a housing crisis. More people want a house than can afford to buy one, and in the rental market prices are out of line with salaries in many places. As a historian of cities and urban development, I'm taking a moment to consider what the problem actually is, and whether the suggested remedies will actually solve it.
More people want a house than there are houses available: basic market economics pushes the prices of houses up. In the UK the issue is also complicated by geography. There are empty houses, and properties languishing on the market. I'm not just talking about luxury flats in London owned by foreign investors (although this is perhaps part of the problem I doubt it's a large proportion). The unwanted houses are in towns where the mill or mine closed down decades ago and employment opportunities are few. So the problem cannot be framed as simply "UK needs XX,0000 new houses per year" when the demand is for houses specifically within easy reach of London (and to a lesser extent Birmingham, Bristol and Manchester). All these cities have brownfield sites that could be effectively converted to housing, and that is certainly something to be encouraged.
But there are further questions I don't see asked in most of the discussion of the housing crisis. The questions are as fundamental as what we think of as "normal" patterns of residence. One element is a culture that has emerged over generations and seems specific to English-speaking countries, of home-ownership as a prime means of investment and the owner-resident being the normative middle-class position. This has been encouraged by the state in various ways (for instance making mortgage interest tax deductible, which is no longer the case in the UK but still is in the US, and not counting primary residence for means-tested benefits). It is also encouraged more broadly in society, where long-term tenancy (except in social housing) is rare. Real estate is seen as a safe investment - and given the last few decades' massive price inflation on residential property it has definitely paid off for many. In fact, so entrenched has the idea become of homeownership as a retirement plan that lifetime tenancy is seen as a social problem (as it is not in, for instance, Germany or Italy).
This social focus on home-ownership as a standard life goal is part of the explanation for the housing crisis, but we need to also recognise changing social patterns of residence - and consider whether proposals to address the crisis will anticipate how society may change further.
The type of housing people want changes. Even a generation ago, it was normal for a middle-class family to have a 3 bedroom house, with one bathroom, and to raise a family in that space (and it was affordable for single-breadwinner families). The expectation of multiple bathrooms, a bedroom for each child, and the amount of personal space now considered "normal" in suburban residences only came to be seen as normal once it became affordable for a significant proportion of the middle class (notably, once households with two working parents also became standard).
This does not mean that the suburban tract is always the answer, though. The UK already has some traces of the larger problem in America, of unsaleable suburban houses, while millennials prefer to live in the city.
The proportion of the population living alone has also increased. This has shaped the development of new housing, with more studio and one bedroom flats, and in many suburbs the conversion of houses to multiple dwellings. But we don't know that this trend will continue. It is historically not "normal" for significant numbers of adults to live alone. It only became normal, again, once it became affordable for a large-ish cohort during a particular historical window.
In the early twentieth century, single adults in cities often rented a room from a family, or lived in residential hotels. In high-demand cities like London or New York, these would seem like an ideal answer to some of today's housing pressure, but the residential hotel is largely a thing of the past (as is the lodger). After the Second World War, such residential models dropped in popularity as people moved to the growing suburbs, and living in a residential hotel ceased to be seen as "normal". Meanwhile, cities imposed various laws to drive these housing types away, in the case of the hotels often in favour of more lucrative corporate development. But we must remember that the regulations only shut down the lingering elements of the residential hotel model already waning in popularity (most residents were elderly long-termers). Cities would not have been able to legislate successfully against a housing type that was still popular with a significant number of urban residents. Urban authorities could turn this around, particularly in the age of Air BnB, and offer ways for the residential hotel to become viable again - and perhaps again seen as normal.
For new development, the challenge is providing more housing which is both affordable and of a kind that people actually want. This may seem obvious, but the difference between the architecture people want and what they're offered can be stark.
What the UK could also work on is expanding transport infrastructure so that houses (currently empty) in smaller towns could be viable for commuters. The money being spent on HS2 could have been better assigned to reopening some branch lines, to towns that have been cut off from railways since the 1960s.
While the demand is there for more houses, I am not convinced that this can ever be fully addressed. This is cynical, but I suspect that much like Parkinson's law of tasks expanding to fill the time available, that housing demand will expand as more houses are built. As long as the population keeps growing, we will never have "enough" of whatever type of housing is currently in demand. (This is even before we consider the environmental impact of increasing urban sprawl and the morality of encouraging it).


text:
Book recommendations
10 books to read before you're three
July 27, 2016
Did you know that 90% of brain development happens before you reach three? Make this time count by reading with someone special in your life everyday! To get you started, here's a list of 10 books everyone should read before three.
- Maisy series by Lucy Cousins
- Froggy Green by Anna Walker
- Boom Bah by Phil Cummings
- Where is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
- Not a Box by Antoinette Portis
- The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
- We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen & Helen Oxenbury
- Giraffes Can't Dance by Giles Andreae
- Spot series by Eric Hill
Did we miss your family favourite? Tell us on our Facebook page.
Also check out 10 books to read before you're one and 10 books to read before you're five.


text:
Fine poetry at expats.cz
Jan 12, 09:06 (Filed under: People, Poetry )
Chris Crawford, one of the hosts of Prague's Poezie a Provokace open mic series, has posted one damn fine poem over at the expats.cz lit forum – so fine that I felt compelled to send him sms kudos for it just now.
Actually, Chris has posted quite a number of damn fine poems and prose pieces in the forum since its humble beginnings two or three (or more?) years ago, back when I was moderating it. I don't think it's up to me to give away all the aliases he's had over the years – Chris, if you're reading this, use the comments section below to post the names folks should look for, you've got a body of work in the expats.cz lit forum that deserves attention.
* * *
A poem: open to burn
Dec 14, 06:00 (Filed under: Poetry )
c'est dommage: it's too bad, and obviously abnormal, though I could be wrong:
love is a word, love is a chemical imbalance, love is a swordfish, a genie's wish and
a spilled glass of burgundy on white shag carpeting;
I don't know whether it's good or bad that
tight bleached jeans and cowboy boots, sports bars and discotheques,
fashion magazines, double headers, office towers,
Sunday morning mass, the top-20, the national anthem –
all inspire me with the dumb grey stillness of a constipated storm cloud.
there is no hope, possibly, for comfort
for anybody, with a few exceptions – others who tried and ultimately failed
(but came so close to succeeding):
Poe, Plath, Hemingway,
Jones, Bonham, Moon,
Phoenix and Cobain.
there are those who simply took the shit the world gave them
and threw it right back with brilliance:
Burroughs and Bukowski come immediately to mind.
these types, the reciprocators, still exist
in various pockets, holes and cracks of this world:
morning disk jockeys, pit bull trainers, graffiti artists, buskers,
shoot fighters, pimps, pop stars. . . .
I guess the trimming of fingernails is significant
and a moth bouncing off a dying lightbulb
in a dusty room at four a.m.-
wanting the beauty, but not quite willing to burn for it;
or a cemetery of classified satellites and tincan coffins,
that coast the muddy orbit of your heart with their engines,
with their sour engines
that lick you and drift away
to the less certain tune picked off a broken Stratocaster;
or carrying heavy loads just for the hell of it
while smashed on good port, through all those styles and stares and points of view
that pull and violate your belly like the sorrow of fresh lost love.
and the spotlight, it's never on,
rainsong and loss, loss. . .
redbacks, paperbacks, thighmasters;
unemployed, uninspired, unimpressed,
Hoon lying prone, tattoos fading into the bones.
a postcard from Vegas, okay, that'll do,
or a rejection slip from Heaven, stamped by God's secretary,
or a couple of wasted sluts ripping each other apart in a dark bar
thick with old love songs and impossible dreams.
and, usually, I can ignore it, comfortable at the bar
my tongue a pasty white, my eyes a lazy red
standing there thinking about Cohen and Miller and McCullers
and sometimes even Kerouac,
and conjuring up the sound of R.E.M: Half a World Away
maybe the Hip's Every Time You Go.
waitaminute, I don't give a shit, and it's too bad.
I sometimes meet up with a woman I once thought I was in love with,
back when she was the editor of a university newspaper.
she tells me I'm usually right in my opinions
I'd rather not have opinions;
the world seems somewhat easier to live in when you don't have to think about it.
yesterday I found myself under clouds in a park near the city center,
wanting something, needing something and
feeling something, and making my way out
I ran into an ex-girlfriend who always laughed a dull laugh;
she says she is happy, now, but she still bores me, and all around us
there were trees:
trees for birds to breed in, trees for dogs and bums to mark, trees waiting patiently
for their leaves,
patient as the spiders in the corners of my window and reaching.
then her last words disappeared, each of these words as temporary as seconds
with no tangible remains – it meant nothing to me – and I started walking home, wondering where it was,
and I knew what to expect:
a silent telephone, the neighbour's radio, a headboard slamming into the wall,
a well-hidden scream.
then, it was a little strange,
I considered the love tragedies
that I have watched during the old love songs in the bar,
close to Shakespeare, close to Dickinson, close to Chopin. . . .
I'd prefer to think about it the way it was instead of the way it is
to delay the future, to procrastinate,
like the putting off of shaving,
and despite the fact that I remembered the editor's words,
I think she lied.
but as to the furious late-night rhythm of mothwings on bulbglass
and the nervous shiver of winter branches in an impatient winter wind
I sometimes listen.
* * *
Frat Burlesque
Oct 10, 21:20 (Filed under: Poetry )
Goddamn, I love being ahead of the game, even if we're talking about the dregs of American pop culture. I wrote a poem about the Pussycat Dolls something like two years ago, after reading about them in an article at nerve.com (sorry, I can't seem to find the link to it – I think it's now premium nerve.com content). The author coined two phrases that struck me as being pretty cool: "Maxim: the musical" and "frat burlesque".
I don't know why I felt compelled to write a poem about a band I'd never heard before. I think the piece was more about the article. It evoked a very clear image of a lonely and pathetic, tough-talking, yet not completely deluded, frat-boy or wannabe ladies man, and the poem just sort of wrote itself from there.
Chris Parsons put some blues guitar behind it and helped me turn it into a performance piece. I also performed it with other musicians, but none of the newer versions we came up with could pump up the poem the way the simplicity and sleaziness of Chris' guitar could. Whenever I introduced it, I'd ask the audience if they'd ever heard of the Pussycat Dolls. Nobody in Prague had, so I'd end up giving the poem a lengthy intro.
Well, now the Dolls have a hit thanks to
their thieving skills Tori Alamaze and Busta Rhymes. And after that lengthy intro, here's the poem:
developing mannerisms based on the latest trends
our maxim has become musical
and I don't give a damn about the lyrics
pussy shake pussy take pussy makes the engine
rev into breakdown
whisper how much you love me
as you sing torch songs off-key
to my fellow caveman
bump and swivel and grind
and purr….
your celebrity construction will
grow old and your valleys will
grow rancid with time
oh yes oh yes
why bother thinking about it now
you're young and phenomenal
we're getting sucked into your display
sucked off into heaven
your fine heaven
and my mythology develops strange cravings
and rapid-fire mood swings
as I comb through the gristle
of your finely-shaven delta
in regret recovery repeat
christ, I'm so thirsty and focused
see these stankin pussycat powderpuffs
perfect in their persuasion
pretty in their performance
glitter and garter belts
wild manners stroking poles
while I floss my teeth with angel hair
wanting so much
to stay in this condition
forever, the bar so thick with
you could be mine tonight
you will be mine tonight
much later I'll have you in bed
in the palm of my hand
another stain collected
once I've decorated your face
in the back of the bus
along the skin of your teeth
I've carried you to the peaks of mountains
that have no names
talk to me pussycat
settle into the crack
of my bug-eyed stare
ah I've got you pussycat
settling down so quickly
* * *
Corner office
Sep 14, 05:35 (Filed under: Poetry )
I lean out to feel the sky
the way it gasps
throughout its cloud-pocked expanse
below me, beneath the sidewalks
insects survive
more graceful in the dirt
than we'll ever be.
I drag my weight over sidewalks
on days that are not my own,
watching birds up in that sky
their minds on currents and insects
mating and nesting
the loss gets so apparent
that my time takes on flavor
salted, metallic and final
it's every button on every telephone
every machine
it's the dead pens on my desk
it's what they're serving downstairs for lunch
and in the flat eyes of the service staff and the diners
again the telephones – this time their ringing
red exclamation marks and digital paper clips
beside subject headings
it also tastes like
the bad coffee
that I cram down my throat in lumps.
the varying degrees of activity
stripped of all importance
lay white and cold
like sidewalks
within it all, of course,
shards of love
and life, flickering
flaps through sky
plans in dirt
struts on by in a mini-skirt
we were made for this purpose
we were made to discover beauty and rescue it
from the strongholds of blind ambition.
* * *