text:
Bethlehem Area School District
Community Service Program
Parent/Guardian Acknowledgement and Waiver
[View This Letter in Spanish]
Dear Parent/Guardian,
This letter is to inform you of the Bethlehem Area School District Community Service graduation requirement. This requirement states that all students must complete 60 hours of Community Service with a non-profit organization. Once the sixty hours of Community Service have been completed, the student will be awarded .5 (1/2) credit. This is a mandatory requirement for graduation.
Working together with your child's School Counselor, our office provides information about meaningful opportunities for service and documents the student's hours towards the graduation requirement. The BASD Community Service Program provides students with the opportunity to explore careers, develop leadership skills, acquire life skills, and foster community participation and responsible citizenship their service hours. This program is an invaluable experience for students, regardless of their future plans.
Our office gathers information from over 200 non-profit organizations throughout the Lehigh Valley and surrounding areas. This information is available to you online at bit.ly/BASDCommServiceHome. In addition to our website, we also have open office hours where students are invited to meet with us find out more about upcoming opportunities.
Please be advised that while we attempt to collect information about these nonprofit agencies and their volunteer needs, we do not verify the accuracy of this information, nor do we oversee these agencies. Rather, it is you and your student's responsibility to research and identify a Community Service site that meets your student's needs.
Prior to your student participating with an agency, we must receive a completed copy of the "Request to Volunteer". If you choose to complete Community Service Hours at an agency not listed on our website, you will need to have Section B and the rubric completed by the agency and submitted prior to your volunteer work.
Please also see Bethlehem Area School District Policy 139, located at http://www.boarddocs.com/pa/beth/Board.nsf/Public, which outlines the Community Service Program in further detail.
Please note that this is a new procedure starting in the 2015-2016 School Year. All students must have the "Request to Volunteer" signed and submitted prior to volunteering with an agency in order to receive credit for their hours. Please contact our office with any questions.
Alicia Cruz
Community Service/Service Learning Coordinator
610-867-5843 ext 53172
610-691-7200 ext 50172


text:
|2004-06-06, 02:55
|Link #141
Just Married, Oct. 28th!
Join Date: May 2003
Age: 40
Now, I honestly do agree with much of your list here, I dislike most of those titles. However, you don't list any reasons. You state that you don't like the show, then you pretty much state that your opinions are self-justifying and that there is no room for disagreement. There's plenty of valid reasons to dislike any of the shows you list, but you don't name any of them. Then you go on to contradict yourself at the end of your post. If you really want people to take your opinions seriously, you really ought to give more thought to the way you present them.
|2004-06-06, 20:00
|Link #142
Lord Chairman God King
Anyway, I hope you realized that some people don't like the kinf of animatio used of this series (ie. Me.) As for the sequences, do you really think they're that well done? Sure the OVA has a fairly good framerate allowing it to flow, but it doesn't help if it confuses te living crapp out of you.
[quote]So, the show sucks because it's not aimed at the 20+ crowd? I'm personally not a Digimon fan, but I like a lot of anime that's not neccessarily aimed at an audience of my age. There's bound to be a lot of more valid reasons for you not to like the show. Not liking a show because of it's intended audience is exactly like saying it's stupid for Americans to like anime, because it's aimed at a Japanese audience.
Actually, I meant the series overall. This is the chart. Please note I didn' get to see the Japanese version:
Digimon season one: It was average. Then came.......
Digimon season two: What the hell happened?! It was doing well for a dub until now. I hate Davis because he;'s one of the biggest assholes I've ever seen in anime to date, the new characters are spineless, also characters who were intresting are wussies used to advance the plot for Mr. Asshole to shne along with Sir Agnst-a-Lot (AKA: The Digimon Emperor.)
Season 3: Meh-ish......
Season 4: This is almost as bad as season 2. I don't know why they didn't stop after season 2, but the fanboys wouldn't allow such a thing and made it go on until the end of season 4 when it finally ended for good.
FLCL: First of all, Haruko is a manipulative jerrk who used Naota to get what she wanted. Mamimi existence still confuses me because she adds little to nothing until episode 6. Naota agnsts about nothing. I'll admit I like wierd anikme such as Excel Saga.), but this anime just left me confused on what the hell was going on. On;y really 2 likeable characters:
1. Guy with Big Ass Eyebrows (He tried to warn Naota about Haruko because he knew that she was using him.
2. Naota's dad (he was amusing, but still confused abou episode 4.)
Canti was justa DeM (Duex ex Machina) added in for more baffeling questions for me.
Another thing, what's with the stock school mates? Must every anime have one until it's considered an anime? There was only one important stock class mate, but she's only really important in episode 3. It took me 7 times watching that episode until I found out why the crowd broke out into a fight. I don't have time for head-scratchers. I need to watch more anime.
FLCL episode 6 spoiler!
So it's just an anime about advertising for The Pillows, the reasom why I wanted to watch it. In general, it's just too wierd. It makes Excel Saga seem sane and understandable.
Naruto: It's a been-there-done-that anime. I'm sick of this done in so many anime and Naruto doesn't help.
The characters:
1. Naruto is a whiny annoying concieded main lead (go figure). When I read the manga I thought that Naruto was about 13 to 16, but he's really 10. This shot down my "deep tough guy voice heory" to, instead he was done by a girl (I should've known, after all, it's Shonen Jump.)
2. Susake is probably my most hated anime character up to date. He's not cool, handsome, intresting, or likable. He's every stereotype I hate in anime all in one package. I'm really tired of his "I'm too good to be with these guys" attitude, and if I hear anyone say he gets nicer later on, well I don't care because I get only 2 to 3 chapters a month to read and it started in about November 2002 in the US.
3. Sakura: Yeppie, yet another bitchy character who lusts over the angsty one. She acts like Susake is the greatest thing since sliced bread and sh treats Naruto like crap. Why must I continue my search for a pink-haired girl in anime that doesn't piss me off?
4. Takeshi (or whatever is name is) : Anout time for someone who doesn't suck to come. He is actually cool. Anyone who can tower over Susake is great, and he's also their teacher. He's not annoying, angsty, or whiny.
5. The rest: Don't really remember the others, but who cares?!
DBZ (Comes with long, dragged on battles and fanboys) + Ninjas - Sayians + Vegeta's (DBZ) and Kaiba's (Yu-Gi-Oh!) "I'm the best attitude" with Susake - Stupid deaths and resurrecting from the dead like Jesus 100000 like Krillen from DBZ = Naruto
How many times can they repeat the same thing over and over again until they stop? The World may never know.
|2004-06-07, 03:44
|Link #144
Just Married, Oct. 28th!
Join Date: May 2003
Age: 40
It is different to dislike the style something is drawn in, than to dislike the drawing itself. In the same way, you may have very valid reasons for disliking a well animated show, that has nothing to do with how well done the animation is.
Perhaps you didn't like the pacing of the scenes, or the composition of the shots. Perhaps things happened too quickly for you, and you missed vital points that left you confused from that point on. Perhaps you didn't like the drawing style, many people confuse that for disliking how well they are drawn or animated.
There are even different styles of animation itself. What moves, how it moves. Do the characters have defined joints or wobbly tube arms that happen to bend in a similar fashion to real arms? How much squash and stretch is present? How realistic or fantastic is the motion portrayed?
I'm not questioning the fact that there is something there that you don't like, just what exactly what that something is.
As for me being an animator, it is unfortunately by skills only at this time. I went to school for animation, graduated (with heaps of praise from my 2D animation instructors, if I may toot my own horn just this once), and immeadiately found a ruined and desolate job market that holds no future for all but the best, and most experienced, and even many of them are left out in the cold. Right now I'm trying to get into illustration, design, and a bit of comics. If nothing else, I'll try and settle into a comfortable video game design position somewhere, after building up a name for myself with freelance work.
|2004-06-15, 00:44
|Link #145
Join Date: Jun 2004
Name your top Anime's here!
This'll b good for me. Also next to it, name what genre it is/why you like it.
You don't need a top 10, 5, hell you can write 6. Just name some.
and depending on some answers that's what I'll honestly go download. Your advice/input is going to mean alot so
Me? My list won't go huge but so far....
1. Naruto! I don't think i'll find anything better- sucks i've caught up to 87 now. Now I wait
|2004-06-15, 01:27
|Link #146
Disabled By Request
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Cali
I like to make posts before threads get moved, since this one will probably go in the General Anime thread.
But top Anime? You're crazy if you think nothing is better than Naruto.
Go check out things like Scrapped Princess, Monster, Witch Hunter Robin, Hunter x Hunter, Fullmetal Alchemist, Ghost in the Shell, Infinite Ryvius, Noir, Madlax, Planetes, Konomini, Hellsing, Gungrave, Juuni Kokki, Samurai Champloo, Rah Xephon, Bakuretsu Tenshi, Last Exile, One Piece, Trigun, Shingetsutan Tsukhime... I think I could go on...
I made a list of favorites, Naruto was 2nd to last Although I do technically -like- Naruto, it'll set your level of judgement too low to like anything else, when there is so much better stuff
And make sure to read the forum rules please.
|2004-06-16, 00:11
|Link #150
_=_Mada Mada Dane_=_
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Back in the States
1) Monster
2) Cowboy Bebop
3) Full Metal Alchemist
4) One Piece
5) Full Metal Panic Fumoffu
1) Millennium Actress
2) Princess Mononoke
3) Grave of the Fireflies
4) Spirited Away
5) Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' On Heaven's Door
|2004-06-16, 14:12
|Link #152
Lord Chairman God King
Vital points? Yeah, right. This makes the fastest, most confusing anime around look sane and able to keep up with. I've seen more plot and character development in one episode of Pocket Monsters than in the whole series of FLCL. (and thatt's just downrigh insulting. For shame, GAINAX. For shame.) I was being nice giving it 3 stars. I should've just stuck with the 2/5 originally.
Last edited by OutPhase; 2004-06-16 at 14:25.
|2004-06-16, 18:11
|Link #153
Join Date: Dec 2003
FLCL ... this one was stylin. Pretty original ... weird ... and quite cool I thought. The animation wasn't crappy ... it was intended to be that way. Different ... but not crappy. The concept was hip happenin. 6 eps of orgasm.
Berserk... simple and deep at the same time. Seems like a slicem up action anime ... but it makes you fall in love with the characters. It brought out emotions towards the characters ... wheather you hate Griffith or love the band of the Hawk ... And ofcourse there are the simple scenes where you get you check out people get sliced by an 8 foot sword.
Cowboy Bebop ... gotta love the space cowboy. The music ... the characters... the scifi world. A chopped storyline ... that eventually comes together and ties it up. The ending of this show was quite powerful too... that last lines went down as one of the the saddest moments in anime for me.
Hellsing ... totally badass main character. Alucard was so damn cool I didn't care too much about the flaws at the end. Some of the secondary characters like Alexander and Walter were also quite amazingly cool.Some complain that there was no character developement with Alucard ... but in this case I wasn't looking for any. He was perfect and didn't need any change. The only beef I had with Hellsing is that it just sorta ended ... it could've easily gone for another 5 eps. And finally ... I loved the whole concept of nosferatus and newage vampire slayers.
For my last one ... I'll list a movie ... Akira was what got me into anime and it's still the most amazing anime movie I've ever seen. This classic deserves my #1 slot.
|2004-06-17, 02:00
|Link #154
Pain & Determination
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: somewhere in north cali
My top 6 Anime
Fruits Basket
Chrno Crusade
Jungle wa itsumo hare nochi guu
Cowboy Bebop
top 5 overatted anime
DBZ (takes like 5 hours to power up)
DB GT (Goku really really really anoying because he never starts with his full ability)
Onegai Teacher (bad love story...(he likes her because she's pretty and she loves him because....he's nce?) and I hate that ugly tellatubbie looking retarded thing that acts like sumomo from chobits)
Pokemon (......)
|2004-06-17, 15:12
|Link #155
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Kent UK
Age: 36
Top 5
Thats hard!
The top 5 I'm watching at the moment are:-
1) Naruto
2) Gantz
3) Bakuretsu Tenshi
4) Tenjou Tenshi
5) Kyou Kara Maou
Top 5 of all time, not including one's I've already answeres :-
1) Ruoroni Kenshin
2) Trigun
3) Hellsing
4) Outlaw Star
5) Blue Gender
and not forgetting Beserk which I love too!
|lists, top five
|Thread Tools

subset: commoncrawl


text:
J.R.R. Tolkien Timeline
Tolkien's birth
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born to Mabel Suffield and Arthur Tolkien in South Africa on January 3, 1892.
On February 17,1894, Mabel gave birth to Hilary Arthur Reuel Tolkien, J.R.R's only brother.
When Ronald (J.R.R)'s health worsened in 1895, the Tolkiens (except for Arthur, who had to stay in order to wrap up business) left to Southampton.
On February 15, 1896, Arthur Tolkien, in South Africa, died due to a severe hemorrhage.
Tolkien's childhood in South Africa
". . . many months later, when Ronald was beginning to walk, he stumbled on a tarantula. It bit him, and he ran in terror across the garden until the nurse snatched him up and sucked out the poison . . . Nevertheless, in his stories he writes more than once of monstrous spiders with venomous bites" (Carpenter 14)
"During the first year of the boy's life Arthur Tolkien made a small grove of cypresses, firs and cedars. Perhaps this had something to do with the deep love of trees that wood that would develop in Ronald" (Carpenter 14)
Tolkien's childhood in England
Since his father (the sole source of money) was dead, J.R.R. and his family went to live with the Suffields (his maternal grandparents).
In the summer of 1896, the Tolkiens moved out of Birmingham to the hamlet of Sarehole (located in the English countryside).
Tolkien's childhood fears
"An old farmer who once chased Ronald for picking mushrooms was given the nickname 'The Black Ogre' by the boys . . . they began to pick up something of the local vocabulary, adopting dialect words into their own speech: 'chawl' for a cheek of pork, 'miskin' for dustbin, 'pickelet' for crumpet, and 'gamgee' for cotton wool. This last owed its origins to a Dr. Gamgee, a Birmingham man who had invented 'gamgee-tissue', a surgical dressing made from cotton wool." (Cartpenter 21)
Adoption into stories: "Old farmer" = (Farmer Cotton; individual who chased Frodo Baggins when he (Frodo) tried to steal mushroom) ; "Dr. Gamgee" = grandfather of Sam Gamgee (companion of Frodo Baggins; protagonist of The Lord of the Rings).
Tolkien's education at home
"Mabel soon began to educate her sons, and they could have had no better teacher - nor she an apter pupil than Ronald, who could read by the time he was four and had soon learnt to write proficiently." (Carpenter 21).
". . . his favorite lessons were those that concerned languages. Early in his Sarehole days, his mother introduced him to the rudiments of Latin, and this delighted him. He was just as interested in the sounds of the words as their meanings, and she began to realize that he had a special aptitude for language. (Carpenter 22).
"His mother taught him a great deal of botany, and he responded to this and soon became very knowledgeable. But again he was more interested in the shape and feel of a plant than in its botanical details. This was especially true of trees. And though he liked drawing trees he liked most of all to be with trees. He would climb them, lean against them, even talk to them." (Carpenter 22)
Tolkien's childhood books
"He was amused by Alice in Wonderland, though he had no desire to have adventures like Alice. He did not enjoy Treasure Island, nor the stories of Hans Anderson, nor The Pied Piper. But he liked Red Indian stories and longed to shoot with a bow and arrow. He was even more pleased by the 'Curdie' books of George Macdonald, which were set in a remote kingdom where misshapen and malevolent goblins lurked beneath the mountains. The Arthurian legends also excited him. But most of all he found delight in the Fairy Books of Andrew Lang, especially the Red Fairy Book, for tucked away in its closing pages was the best story he had ever read. This was the tale of Sigurd who slew the dragon Fafnir: a strange and powerful tale set in the nameless North." (Carpenter 22)
Tolkien's first experience with grammer
"'I desired dragons with a profound desire,', he said long afterwards. . . . When he was about seven he began to compose his own story about a dragon. 'I remember nothing about it except a philological fact,' he recalled. 'My mother said nothing about the dragon, but pointed out that one could not say 'a green great dragon', but had to say 'a great green dragon'. I wondered why, and still do. The fact that I remember this is possibly significant, as I do not think I ever tried to write a story again for many years, and was taken up with language.'" (Carpenter 24)
Tolkien in elementary school
In September of 1900, J.R.R. Tolkien entered into King Edward's School.
In order to prevent Ronald from walking several miles between the countryside home and school, the Tolkiens moved from Sarehole to Birmingham.
Due to school conflicts, Ronald Tolkien was transferred to King Phillip's Academy for a short period.
Tolkien learns some philology
". . . he especially remembered 'the bitter disappointment and disgust from schooldays with the shabby use made in Shakespeare of the coming of 'Great Birnam Wood to high Dunisiane hill'; 'I longed to devise a setting by which the trees might really march to war" (Carpenter 28)
Section about the "trees might really march to war" analogous to section about Ents & the march to Isengard
"By inclination, his form-master Brewerton was a medievalist . . . if a boy employed the term 'manure' Brewerton would roar out: 'Manure? Call it muck! Say it three times! Muck, muck muck!'. He encouraged his students to read Chaucer, and he recited the Canterbury Tales to them in the original Middle English. To Ronald Tolkien's ears, this was a revelation, and he determined to learn more about the history of the language." (Carpenter 28)
Tolkien's mother dies
"The New Year (1904) did not begin well. Ronald and Hilary were confined to bed with measles followed by whooping-cough, and in Hilary's case by pneumonia. The addition strain of nursing them proved too much for their mother, and as she feard it proved 'impossible to go on'. By April 1904 she was in hospital, and her condition was diagnosed as diabetes." (Carpenter 29)
"(At the beginning of November 1904), (S)he sank into a diabetic coma, and six days later, on November 14, (s)he died." (Carpenter 30)
". . . Perhaps (his mother's) death also had a cementing effect on his study of languages. It was she, after all, who had been his first teacher and who had encouraged him to take an interest in words. Now that she was gone he would pursue that path relentlessly. And certainly the loss of his mother had a profound effect on his personality. It made him into a pessimist . . . Nothing was safe. Nothing would last. No battle would be won for ever." (Carpenter 31)
Related to philosophy of The Lord of the Rings: Middle-earth is never, ever, ever free from evil. The Silmarillion states that Middle-Earth is destroyed and all live in Valinor (quasi Middle-Earth) after the death of Morgoth (by Túrin, son of Thor).
Tolkien lives with his mother's aunt-in-law (in urban Edgbaston) along with his brother Hillary.
"His feelings towards the rural landscape, already sharp from the earlier severance that had taken him from Sarehole, now become emotionally charged with personal bereavement. This love for the memory of the countryside of his youth was later to become a central part of his writing, and it was intimately bound up with his love for the memory of his mother." [Carpenter 32-3]
Tolkien in high school
"[Headmaster] Gilson also encouraged his pupils to make a detailed study of classical linguistics. This was entirely in keeping with Tolkien's inclinations; and, partly as a result in the general principles of language" [Carpenter 34]
"It was one thing to know Latin, Greek, French, and German; it was another to understand why they were what they were. Tolkien had started to look for the bones, the elements that were common to them all: he had begun, in fact, to study philology, the science of words." [Carpenter 34]
Tolkien studies all languages (Studies Chaucer, Beowulf, Old Norse, Gothic)
"He continued his search for the 'bones' behind all these languages, rummaging in the school library and exploring the remoter shelves of Cornish's bookshop down the road. Eventually he began to find – and to scrape enough money to buy – German books on philology that were 'dry-as-dust' but which could provide the answers to his questions. Philology: 'the love of words'. For that was what motivated him. It was not an arid interest in the scientific principles of language; it was a deep love for the look and sound of words, springing from the days when his mother had given him his first Latin lessons . . . [A]nd as a result of this love of words, he had started to invent his own words" [Carpenter 35]
Tolkien begins to (at age 14) to create his own languages, namely 'Nevbosh', a language filled with Gothic and Norse words.
Tolkien falls in love w/ Edith Bratt
Tolkien starts the Tea Club.
Tolkien goes to Switzerland
Tolkien in Oxford Tolkien goes to Oxford on a scholarship
Tolkien starts writing (poem 'Wood-sunshine'), modeled after several different authors.
"In 'Wood-sunshine' there is a distinct resemblance to an episode in the first part of Thompson's 'Sister Songs' where the poet sees first a single elf and then a swarm of woodland sprites in the glade; when he moves, they vanish . . ." [Carpenter 48]
See Elves in The Hobbit
Taught by Joe Wright
"[Being taught by Joe Wright, Tolkien] managed to find books of medieval Welsh, and he began to read the language that had fascinated him since he saw a few words of it on coal-trucks. He was not disappointed; indeed he was confirmed in all his expectations of beauty. Beauty: that was what pleased him in Welsh; the appearance and sound of the words almost irrespective of their meaning. He once said: 'Most English-speaking people, for instance, will admit that cellar door is 'beautiful', especially if disassociated from its sense (and its spelling). More beautiful than, say sky, and far more beautiful than beautiful'." [Carpenter 56-7]
Tolkien starts advanced languages (new): "He abandoned neo-Gothic and began to create a private language that was heavily influenced by Finnish. This was the language that would eventually emerge in his stories as 'Quenya' or High-elven. That would not happen for many years; yet already a seed of what was to come was germinating in his mind" [Carpenter 59]
Tolkien graduates from three-year prog. with second-class honors and proceeds to study philology in graduate school.
Tolkien reads Cynewulf – "'I felt a curious thrill,' he wrote long afterwards, 'as if something had stirred in me, half wakened from sleep. There was something very remote and strange and beautiful behind those words, if I could grasp it, far beyond ancient English'." [Carpenter 64]
Tolkien reads the Völuspa – "The most remarkable of all Germanic-mythological poems, it dates from the very end of Norse heathendom, when Christianity was taking the place of the old gods; yet it imparts a sense of living myth, a feeling of awe and mystery, in its representation of a pagan cosmos. It had a profound appeal to Tolkien's imagination" [Carpenter 65]
Tolkien sees Edith (again] (he was previously banned to see him by Father Francis, his guardian)
Tolkien reads Morris (NOTE: Mirkwood is the name of the great Necromancer's forest in The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy) "Written partly in prose and partly in verse, [Morris's book] centers on a House or family-tribe that dwells by a great river in a clearing of the forest named Mirkwood, a name taken from ancient Germanic geography and legend. Many elements in the story seem to have impressed Tolkien. It's style is highly idiosyncratic, heavily laden with archaisms and poetic inversions in an attempt to recreate the aura of ancient legend. Clearly Tolkien took not of this, and it would seem that he also appreciated another facet of the writing: Morris' aptitude, despite the vagueness of time and place in which the story is set, for describing with great precision the details of his imagined landscape. Tolkien himself was to follow Morris' example in later year." [Carpenter 70]
Tolkien visits Cornwall (NOTE: This is the location for the Sea in The Hobbit and LOTR) " 'Nothing I could say . . . could describe it to you. The sun beats down on you and a huge Atlantic swell smashes and spouts over the snags and reefs. The sea has carved weird wind-holes and spouts into the cliffs which blow with trumpety noises or spout foam like a whale, and everywhere you see black and red rock and white foam against violet and transparent seagreen.'." [Carpenter 70]
Tolkien begins to create works with Quentya (language of the high-elves): "He had been working for some time at the language that was influenced by Finish, and by 1915 he had developed it to a degree of some complexity. He felt that it was 'a mad hobby', and he scarcely expected to find an audience for it. But he sometimes wrote poems n it, and the more he worked at it the more he felt that it needed a 'history' to support it. In other words, you cannot have a language without a race of people to speak it. He was perfecting the language; now he had to decide to whom it belonged." [Carpenter 75]
Tolkien creates Valinor (Land of the Gods in the Silmarillion) "This, he decided, was the language by the fairies or elves whom Earendel saw during his strange voyage. He began work on a 'Lay of Earendel' that described the mariner's journeying across the world before his ship became a star. The Lay was to be divided into several poems, and the first of these, 'The shores of Faery', tells of the mysterious land of Valinor, where Two Trees grow, one bearing golden sun-apples and the other silver moon-apples." [Carpenter 76]
Tolkien marries Edith
Tolkien continues war, and gets to know soldiers [Tolkien is an officer] "Discussing one of the principle characters in The Lord of the Rings he wrote many years later: 'My 'Sam Gamgee' is indeed a reflection of the English soldier, of the privates and batmen I knew in the 1914 war, and recognized as so far superior to myself" [Carpenter 81]
All of Tolkien's friends die [except C.S. Lewis]
Tolkien after World War II
Continuing the last wishes of the T.B.C.S (the society he had founded with his friends at St. Edwards), Tolkien decides to create a whole society.
[Founding precepts of the LOTR] " 'I [Tolkien] had a mind to make a body of more or less connected legend, ranging from the large and cosmogonic to the level of romantic fairy-story – the larger founded on the lesser in contact with the earth, the lesser drawing splendor from the vast backcloths – which I could dedicate simply: to England; to my country. It could possess the tone and quality that I desired, somewhat cool and clear, be redolent of our 'air' (the clime and soil of the North West, meaning Britain and the hither parts of Europe; not Italy or the Aegean, still less the East), and, while possessing (if I could achieve it) the fair elusive beauty that some call Celtic (though it is rarely found in genuine ancient Celtic things), it should be 'high', purged of the gross, and fit for the more adult mind of a land long steeped in poetry, I would draw some of the great tales in fullness, and leave many only placed in the scheme, and sketched. The cycles should be linked to a majestic whole, and yet leave scope for other minds and hands, wielding paint and music and drama" [Carpenter 90]
[Researching, not inventing] "When he wrote The Silmarillion Tolkien believed that in one sense he was writing the truth. He did not suppose that precisely such peoples as he described, 'elves', 'dwarves', and malevolent 'orcs', had walked the earth and done the deeds that he recorded. But he did feel, or hope, that his stories were in some sense an embodiment of a profound truth . . . Tolkien believed that he was doing more than inventing a story. He wrote of the tales that make up the book: 'They arose in my mind as 'given' things, and as they came, separately, so too the links grew . . . yet always I had the sense of recording what was already 'there', somewhere: not of 'inventing'." [Carpenter 91-2]
Influences from language: "As to the names of persons and places in 'The Fall of Gondolin' and the other stories in The Silmarillion, they were constructed from Tolkien's invented languages. Since the existence of these languages was a raison d'être for the whole mythology, it is not surprising that he devoted a good deal of attention to the business of making up names from them"
Tolkien creates Sindarin, precursor to Quenya
[Development of 'what is real?'] "As the years went by he came more and more to regard his own invented languages and stories as 'real' languages and historical chronicles that needed to be elucidated. In other words, when in this mood he did not say of an apparent contradiction in the narrative or an unsatisfactory name: 'This is not as I wish it to be; I must change it.' Instead he would approach the problem with the attitude: 'What does this mean? I must find about." [Carpenter 94]
Tolkien gets a son (November 16, 1917)
Tolkien writes story of Luthien & Beren
Tolkien gets job in the OED (Oxford English Dictionary)
Tolkien gets a professorship at Leeds University
Tolkien gets second son (October 1920)
Tolkien writes poems: "Another, 'The Dragon's Visits', describes the ravages of a dragon who arrives at Bimble Bay and encounters 'Miss Biggins'. A third, 'Glip', tells of a strange slimy creature who lives beneath the floor of a cave and has pale luminous eyes" [Carpenter 106] : Dragon ~ Smaug, Miss Biggins ~ Bilbo Baggins, Glip ~ Gollum
Tolkien gets a third son (Christopher) 1924
Tolkien becomes a professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford (1925)
Tolkien gets a daughter (1929)
Tolkien's Late Life
[Tolkien's Workplace] "The shelves are crammed with dictionaries, works on etymology and philology, and editions of texts in many languages, predominant among which are Old and Middle English and Old Norse; but there is also a section devoted to translations of The Lord of the Rings into Polish, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, and Japanese; and the map of his invented 'Middle-Earth' is pinned to the window - ledge." (Carpenter 4)
[Tolkien's view of The Lord of the Rings] "He explains it all in great detail, talking about his book not as a work of fiction but as a chronicle of actual events; he seems to see himself not as an author who has made a slight error that must now be corrected or explained away, but as a historian who must cast light on an obscurity in an historical document."
[Tolkien's Voice] "He has a strange voice, deep but without resonance, entirely English but with some quality in it I cannot define, as if he had come from another age or civilization" (Carpenter 5)


text: When a mine or quarry floods, the downtime can cripple mining operations. Rain for Rent works hard to ensure your operation never misses a beat. Evaporation systems, dewatering, dust control and track-out control are just some of the ways we can partner with you to mitigate risk and keep your operation on track. Safety is our number one priority. We are MSHA trained, HDPE fusion certified, certified mechanics, OSHA 30 certified and we conduct daily JSA meetings.


text:
Description:HP Office Connect Wireless Travel RouterPart Number(s)
Manufacturer Part# JF092A
Overview:With the lightweight travel router you can create a private hot spot and share secure high-speed internet access wherever a broadband internet connection is available. 802. 11G supports 54 MBPS data transfer rates five times faster than the speed of 11B networks for rapid throughput of even large multimedia files and is backward compatible with 11B users.


text:
From the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan to Chang'an in ancient China, from the city-states of Renaissance Italy to Alexandria, Baghdad, London and New York, the world's great urban centers have always been crucibles for change and engines of innovation.
And the phenomenon is no less vital today as young, digital, high-growth businesses have become increasingly critical to the economic success of the cities they choose to locate in.
Vibrant startup ecosystems are important not only for growth and jobs but also for a city government's ability to solve local problems and run itself well. For a number of cities embracing this growing sector of their economies, a positive feedback loop exists between innovation and entrepreneurship outside city hall and good governance—including both policy and delivery—within it.
Once relatively closed and insular environments, leading municipal governments around the world are now looking to engage with outside ideas and innovators to support their growth, improve city services and create new solutions to complex problems—revolutionizing the way the city works and engages with citizens.
However, this kind of transformative change is often difficult. Traditional policy-making approaches, characterized by inertia, process complexity and bureaucracy, can make keeping pace with a rapidly shifting technology environment difficult. City governments also often lack the direct policy-making power and budgets to bring about change in areas most important to entrepreneurs, such as access to talent, capital and attractive standards of living.


text:
Halle Berry & Nahla: Pretty in Pink
Halle Berry drops off her adorable 3-year-old daughter, Nahla, at preschool on Friday (August 5) in Los Angeles.
Nahla, wearing a cute pink floral printed Gap dress, was later picked up by her dad, Gabriel Aubry.
Halle was recently granted a restraining order against a 27-year-old man who was charged with burglarizing her home last month.
A judge ordered the man, who pleaded not guilty to felony stalking, to stay 100 yards away from Halle for the next three years.
FYI: Nahla is using her favorite Skip*Hop Zoo Lunchies insulated lunch bag in the cute pink Mouse style!
15+ pictures inside of Halle Berry and Gabriel Aubry dropping off and picking up Nahla at preschool…


text:
Send Results to This Email:
Street Address:
Street Address:
Tracy Lindow has rejoined The Centre Group human resources firm as a senior consultant following several years in Germany. As a senior consultant, Lindow will help organizations improve their bottom line through human asset development by leveraging compensations strategies, executive search, employee attitude research and leadership skills development.
Hometown: Germantown
Experience: Lindow is a seasoned human resources professional with extensive experience as a generalist. Prior to consulting, she held leadership positions in health care, manufacturing and insurance/financial services companies. Lindow was the director of human resources for a national behavioral health care chain, where she was responsible for employee relations, staff training and development, and compensation/benefit administration.
Family: Married to Mark Lindow. Three children: Jake, 15; Caleb, 12; and Anna Claire, 8.
Favorite quote: "The Serenity Prayer" by Reinhold Niebuhr. "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference."
Favorite movie: "The Blind Side"
The sports team(s) you root for: Memphis Grizzlies, St. George's Gryphons
What's playing on your stereo right now? Justin Timberlake
Activities you enjoy outside of work: Group fitness, reading, watching my children play sports
What talent do you wish you had? I wish I had the innate ability to paint and create works of art.
Who has had the greatest influence on you and why? I was raised by two wonderful mentors, my parents, Clyde and Barbara Ballard. My mother spent her adult life fighting a medical battle with multiple sclerosis. She taught me how to deal with life's obstacles with a positive outlook. My father is a man of integrity with a heart of gold. Together they taught me to value education and to work hard.
What led you back to The Centre Group HR? After a leave of absence due to my husband's job in Germany, I was eager to return to the firm. I feel privileged to work with the professionals of The Centre Group HR, who always invest their time to understand the unique environment of each client and recommend solutions tailored for the circumstances.
What do you consider your greatest accomplishment? Personally, my greatest accomplishment is successfully orchestrating the overseas move of my family for an expatriate work assignment and then returning with very few hiccups.
What do you most enjoy about your work? I thoroughly enjoy the variety of my work. Each day is filled with the HR projects of our different client organizations. I might facilitate a training program, work on a policy manual, conduct an HR audit and manage an opinion survey all in the same workweek.
If you could give one piece of advice to young people, what would it be? Strive to be a lifelong learner. If you aren't growing your skills, you will stagnate and eventually become obsolete.
Leslie Phillips has joined Dunavant Global Logistics Group as director of business development. Phillips has more than a decade of experience in logistics and transportation, most recently serving as an account manager and sales representative at C.H. Robinson.
Dana Wilson has been promoted to vice president of BRIDGES' Bridge Builders program. Wilson has worked at BRIDGES since 2008, most recently as director of strategic initiatives. Staci Franklin has joined BRIDGES as vice president of communications. She previously served as the executive director of communications and broadcast services for Memphis City Schools.
Dr. Robert Kozma, First Tennessee Professor of Mathematics at the University of Memphis, has been named a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Kozma was chosen for his contributions to pattern-based computation on large-scale networks and random graphs.
Dr. John D. Brophy, Dr. LaVerne R. Lovell and Dr. Vishad Kumar have joined Semmes-Murphey Clinic. Brophy and Lovell are former principals in Brophy & Lovell Neurosurgical Clinic. Kumar formerly served as a neurologist with the Wesley Neurology Clinic.
Alex Wellford has joined RKA Construction as project manager. Wellford, who was previously a contractor with Hood & Wellford Construction Inc., will oversee day-to-day operations and manage residential projects at the custom homebuilding firm.
Dr. Richard W. Phillips, president of Southern College of Optometry, has been appointed to the board of trustees at Milligan College in Milligan College, Tenn. Phillips graduated from Milligan in 1974.
Karolina Grabowicz has joined Mercer Capital as a financial analyst. Grabowicz, a certified public accountant, most recently served as an audit and assurance services senior auditor at Ernst & Young.
Dr. Michael H. DeShazo is retiring from Semmes-Murphey Clinic, where he has been an associate since he began his career in 1977. DeShazo also serves as a clinical assistant professor in the University of Tennessee Health Science Center neurology department.
Copyright 1995 -
by The Daily News Publishing Co. Inc. - All Rights Reserved


text:
The retreading process isn't much different when it comes to retreading wide base tires, but the cost of the tires improves the ROI on your tire-buying dollar.
We want to know what your experience has been and what your thoughts are about re-treading wide base tires
Here's some information we found on the truckinginfo.com website about retreading wide base tires:
Wide base tires aren't cheap. Not that duals are cheaper, but in a single wide base tire you have an investment approaching the cost of a pair of standard tires.
Minimizing the life-cycle cost of those big wide tires almost demands that they be retreaded. Even though the market for wide-base casings remains tight, there's better value in retreading than turning them in for credit after just one service life.
The same ROI calculations apply to standard tires as wide-base tires, but the numbers are bigger. If you can get two lives from a tire and a retread, it's ultimately better value than buying two new tires over the same time and mileage.
There's little difference in retreading a wide-base tire, provided the retreading shop has the tools to accommodate them.
"Obviously with the wider tires, some of the machine settings change and the larger tires are a little more difficult to handle, but the general retreading steps are the same," says Matt Schnedler, retread product marketing manager for Bridgestone Commercial Solutions.
However, he notes that not all retreaders can handle wide-base tires. "It does take equipment such as buffers and hubs/rims that can be set up to handle the wider tires. This equipment is readily available, but not all retreaders have the equipment installed in their facilities."
One facility that does is DLS Retreading in Fort Mill, S.C. The recently opened, 70,000-square-foot facility is the first all-new ContiTread licensed truck tire retreading facility in the U.S.
Brian Luhrs, the shop manager at DLS, says the most critical piece of equipment is the buffing machine. In days gone by, experienced operators could buff a tire down by hand and do a very respectable job. Luhrs, a veteran machine operator, says newer machines offer an even more precise buff and are easier to set up if they have all the settings in a pre-programmed menu.
"The type of buffing machine can make a difference to how well the tread goes on, and the evenness of the stitch," he says. "Obviously the newer the machine the more technology they offer, like more precise measuring, that sort of thing. That's critical with a buffer. More accurate measurements get you a better fit and it takes the guesswork out of the job."
Given the costs involved with the wide-base casings and treads, Paul Crehan, director of product marketing with Michelin Truck Tires, advises fleets to use care when selecting a retreader to handle their assets.
"The retreader should be reputable, trained, have experience with wide-base retreads and casings and be focused on quality," he says. "As well, fleets that are new to wide-base tires should recognize the importance of training the staff and remaining current with the training. These retreads are obviously larger, heavier and represent twice the value of a dual."
Proactive maintenance
A successful retread program, for any type of tire, starts with casing preservation. If you want a quality retread, you have to start with a quality casing. That means one that has not been run flat, abused or improperly repaired. All the experts we spoke to for this story agree that wide-base tires do not require anything different or out of the ordinary when it comes to tire maintenance, but they all say extra diligence pays off.
"Although there are not specific recommendations for these tires, the same considerations for retreading standard tires should be taken into consideration on wide-base tires," Schnedler says. "Fleet specs such as removal depth and number of repairs are specific to each fleet and change depending upon the application and should be set as part of the retreading program."
As Michelin's Crehan points out, there are specific tire management procedures, which need to be addressed whether retreading wide-base or standard tires. Each has specific tire maintenance procedures for the casings.
"Tire related failures can be proactively avoided with a tire pressure management program," Crehan notes. "Roadside events can be prevented. A tire management system will alert the driver to any concerns prior to a failure and eliminate potential events, thus protecting the fleet's tire and casing assets."
An important part of any tire maintenance program is the decision on what tread depth to pull the tire, whether new or retreaded. Maximizing miles out of a tread demands leaving the tire in service as long as possible, but running the treads down too thin increases the chance of casing damage due to penetrations or stone drilling.
Considering the up-front cost of wide-single tires and the value in a prime casing, leaving an extra 32nd of an inch of rubber on the casing is a bit of insurance against casing damage.
"The policies a fleet adopts should address their specific use, delivery range and type, type of roads traveled, climatic zone, time sensitivity of the loads, local, and extra wear versus casing balance," says Crehan.
Wide-base retreading is still relatively new – less than a decade – and wide-base tires are still a fairly small chunk of the tire market, so it's not surprising that many fleets do handle wide-base retreading differently.
"Fleets tend to be more reserved when retreading wide-base tires," says Todd Labbe, general manager for Commercial Retreading at Goodyear Commercial Tire Systems. "Our team works with fleets to implement tighter repair and retread specifications into Goodyear's GTRACS system if these fleets are not using wide-base tires that contain our DuraSeal Technology."
DuraSeal can seal punctures of up to 1/4-inch in diameter in the repairable area of a tire's tread, which can dramatically reduce the frequency of puncture-related pressure loss incidents. That buys fleets an extra measure of confidence in their casing quality.
The number of retreads a fleet can expect from a wide-single casing depends on the application and a few other factors, but there's no reason to assume any less than two – usually a drive retread and then a trailer retread.
"Wide-base casings can be retreaded for multiple lifecycles, provided that the casings pass initial inspection and meet customer specifications," Labbe says. "Currently, we are seeing fleets retread wide-base tires once or twice in some applications in order to help minimize their tire cost per mile."
Back when wide-base single tires were new to the market, Luhrs recalls some sidewall problems that led to a number of casing failures. "Everybody thought it was the retreads that were failing but it was the sidewall of the casing," he says. "That's no longer a concern, but the memories linger."
High-quality wide-base casings are able to be retreaded several times, so the original casing's quality should factor in the decision when selecting the right new tire, Labbe says.
"At the end of the day, each fleet will have its own specific requirements of what it is looking for in a retread," he says. "It depends on the fleet's type of operation, casing management, turnaround time, availability of the necessary product, level of dealer service and the fleet's geographic location."
Unless you're based in some part of the country where wide-base tires aren't popular and you don't have the dealer support, retreading the big tires is a very viable option. Don't, however, expect to find many retreaded wide-single tires just floating around in the open market. Schnedler says the casings are in pretty short supply.
"The fleets that use the WBS tires try to get the most of their casing assets and retread them," he says. That doesn't leave too many out on the open market."


text:
Advanced Online TV Software 1.0
3600+ TV channels. World wide. Simple easy software. Legal movie downloads.
Mobile TV Software Mobile TV Elite - The Ultimate Mobile TV Software. Mobile TV
sponsored links
All All Video MP3 & Audio
Sort byrelativitypopularity
sponsored links
Get reviews direct on your mobile browser software about the latest software pro
Enjoy the classic Christmas Carols! This little piano let you listen to the...
Sonic Digi Music Prod Software 1.0
SonicProducer is an incredible cutting edge music sequencer with mp3 export.
DUBturbo Music Prod Software 1.0
Make Pro Rap, Hiphop, Techno + Beats Fast&Easy. Mix&Master/ Export High Quality!
The official DLF IPL | Season 5 cricket game on your mobile phones brings you 9
The official DLF IPL | Season 5 cricket game on your mobile phones brings you 9
The army of kings stands to defend their championship title in this exclusive �C
They�ve seek victory in this war, and they shall break all barriers to claim it,
They�ve seek victory in this war, and they shall break all barriers to claim it,
IPL 2012 Kolkata Knight Riders
With the team led by the Bollywood King Khan, the Knight Riders have the support
Clie Jog MP3 Playback Hack 1.1
Control the background MP3 playback with this software.
Ringtones - TV themes collection 1.1
More than 80 ringtones from TV Movies and Series in this software.
This software lets you watch your TV and radio directly on your Windows Mobile.
The Core Pocket Media Player (TCPMP) is a software media player.
The Core Pocket Media Player (TCPMP) is a software media player.
iPeng, the ultimate remote control software for Logitech Squeezebox player.
This software is used to play 3gp videos on your GPhone.
Aurora is our pattern based musical sequencing software for the Pocket PC.
PlayPad Digital Audio Player 1.12
Play audio, mp3 and music with this playlist software.
Pitch Perfect Guitar Tuner 1.20
Guitar Tuning Software for Musicians.
Free tempo software download for musicians
VideoList is your complete movie, video, and DVD organization software.
A Software Guitar for your Pocket PC.
LastFMobile is a software that allows you to stream personalized last.fm radio.
Real Violin is a software that simulate the violin playing on iPhone.
Real Violin Lite is a software that simulate the violin playing on iPhone.
This sound editing software is a full featured professional audio editor.
With the Bluetooth headset to listen to music software.
WRC is a remote control software for Nullsoft's Winamp player.
Great mobile phone accessory software!
This is a software remote control for Centrafuse, an infotainment product by Flu
How To's, software and hardware reviews, and pretty much anything gadget or tech
A paint and drawing software for Android devices. No require. . configurable br
Remote controlling software for Amarok 2. You need additional software on your C
FlowGallery is new photo picking software. Touch a picture and send it.
The software in collaboration with various brand mobile phones, set a variety of
This software is to create the flash animation on the cell phone easily. * This
sponsored links
Find compatible software programs with windows 8
video,audio,data,cd burning.
adobe photoshop 7.0 free download
Produce the highest quality images
Detect and eliminate viruses.
Deliver great digital experiences.
a free and powerful multimedia player
macromedia flash 8 free download
for the web or simple animations.
English - Hindi Dictionary download
English-Hindi and Hindi-English dictionary
mp3 cutter free download full version
Cut and Split MP3 Audio


text:
Key features:
- Be seen with a broad, powerful beam and balanced optics designed for city riding
- Includes Ion 100R, Flare R City, two quick connect brackets, and a micro USB charging cable
- Bontrager Daytime Running Lights feature flash, focus, and range to be seen during the day
- USB rechargeable
- 400m visibility
- Run time: up to 15 hours
|Manufacturer's Part Number
|Store SKU
|Black / Fits Most Handlebars
Displaying reviews 1-2
Super small (about 1.25in), inconspicuous and weigh nothing. I like how headlamp doesnt crowd my handlebars. These are built to last.
I've gotten so many comments on how bright these lights are. Not to mention I've had them 2 plus years and counting. They've been through countless downpours and 2 winters. I'll be buying the same pair when these are dead.
Displaying reviews 1-2
Previous | Next


text:
I believe that, here in the U.S., we have a violence problem, not a gun problem. Media spin skews gun violence statistics by including individual suicides to arrive at their figure of 30,000 annual gun-related deaths. More than half of these (51 to 55 percent) consist of suicide by self-inflicted gunshot wounds. Crime and accidents account for the other half (45 to 49 percent)
Though statistically on the decline in recent years, violent crime has become so widely reported in our society that we are rarely surprised by its occurrence (whether or not a firearm is involved).
The 24-hour-a-day news cycle ensures that even lesser incidents are publicized. Thus we are familiar with and even expect the possibility of criminal activity. For example: find a parked car with a wallet or purse visible inside, and you will automatically assume that car is a target for crime. You think about the possibilities because you are familiar with the risk.
Most of us spend our entire lives avoiding people and places that may put our personal safety in jeopardy. Does someone make you nervous? You avoid them and attempt to keep them away from your sphere of influence. Do you visit the convenience store late at night for a gallon of milk? Though you might, it's not a good idea due to potential risk.
Avoiding violent crime as an individual is far simpler than addressing and correcting its root causes. However, a discussion of those root causes — and what realistically can be done about them — is essential to the current, ongoing debate over Second Amendment rights.
I believe that the larger mental health issue also must be central to that discussion. It's become clear that our health care system allows many troubled individuals to drop through the cracks; lack of insurance coverage for mental health care, lack of funding for state facilities and lingering stigma are all to blame.
Many emotionally distressed people are not diagnosed until their behavior reaches a criminal level, and even then the mental health event will often be categorized as criminal activity only. The criminal justice system is not geared toward recognizing or treating mental illness. Further complicating matters, families and associates of these individuals are often reluctant to discuss mental problems because of embarrassment, guilt, denial or inability to help. Many simply don't want to "interfere."
Unfortunately, I've had personal experience with the devastating effects of untreated mental illness. My father, a lifelong high achiever who retired from a successful career, committed suicide by handgun at the age of 63. Until his meticulously planned death, no one around him suspected a mental health issue. And just six months ago, a former foster son of ours took his own life at the age of 26 after struggling with untreated mental illness for many years. This young man lacked private health insurance and was unable to navigate the labyrinthine public health care system, which basically only treats individuals who are in immediate crisis.
I've found that there is little help available for people with mental health issues unless one has extremely good health-care insurance. Even then, it's a constant fight to get coverage approval. That coverage is usually adequate for early diagnosis of noncritical cases and some initial medical treatment. However, critical cases can quickly result in violent episodes, criminal behavior or suicide before proper treatment can be fully established.
Emotionally distressed persons remain among the most difficult threats to assess. Their contribution to violent crime statistics is equally difficult to determine.
It has been suggested that a mental health database be added to firearm purchase requirements. This sounds like a good idea until you think about its implementation. How do you compile it? What level of incident places one on this list and for how long? Will this database and the potential stigma associated with it discourage individuals from seeking treatment? And, finally, is another database really necessary, since some of the mentally ill may already be in the FBI NICS database for previous criminal behavior?
I believe that if we add mental health screening to firearm purchase requirements, the benefits will be minimal because the mentally ill will find a way around this via theft or fraudulent purchase. Criminals already do so.
The proposed mental health database is a slippery slope for a variety of reasons and has potential for misapplication in other areas once it's compiled, for example, in job applicant screening. Some employers already check credit scores and ask for social media passwords. Why not check mental health records too?
The line between public safety and personal privacy quickly becomes blurry. The intersection of mental illness with violent crime is a dilemma that won't be easily solved. However, awareness is the first step toward solving any problem. It's time for all of us to take a realistic look at the prevalence of violence of all forms in our everyday lives. We can no longer afford to look the other way.
Alvin Walsh lives in Tecumseh, is a pilot for a major airline who is active in airline security, and is certified by the National Rifle Association as a firearms instructor.


text:
8:30 pm
Travelscope "Madhya Pradesh, India - India's Rural Heart" Joseph continues his passage through the heart of India with an expedition to Bandhavgarh National Park's tiger reserve. He then visits the princely town of Maheshwar where he celebrates sunrise and witnesses morning rituals along the holy Narmada River. In the city of Indore he joins the crowds for the Diwali Festival - a celebration of good over evil and the glory of light. D
9:00 pm
Himalaya with Michael Palin "Annapurna to Everest" In the western part of the Kingdom of Nepal, Michael joins a representative of the British Gurkha in Nepal on a recruiting drive. The boys in a village are tested as they dream of becoming rupee millionaires; the girls hope to spot a future wealthy husband. From there Michael treks up to Annapurna Base Camp on Everest, before leaving the mountains for the capital of Kathmandu where he is blessed by King Gyuenandra at the palace. Part 3 of 6G
10:00 pm
Globe Trekker "Georgia & Armenia" Trekker Ian Wright's travels begin in Yerevan, Armenia's capital. He visits the rock-hewn Gerhard Church, Lake Sevan and the Armenian Genocide Memorial in the shadow of Mount Ararat. In Georgia, he explores the capital Tbilisi and the seaside resort Batumi before heading out into the Caucasus Mountains.G
11:00 pm
Outdoor Idaho "Eating Local" Most of our food travels about 1,500 miles before it ever reaches our kitchen tables. But there are a growing number of food producers and consumers who prefer to eat locally grown food; they say it's healthier and tastier. Today, more than 50 farmers markets operate throughout the state, allowing farmers and consumers to meet and learn from each other. It's a trend that harkens back to a simpler time, when communities supported local farmers and people knew where their food came from. Outdoor Idaho explores the growing fascination with eating local.G
11:30 pm
Dialogue "Richard Russo" The Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist talks with host Marcia Franklin.G


text:
The goal for the Lipscomb Bisons and Lady Bisons is to finish higher than their rankings in the Atlantic Sun Cross Country Championships.
In the final conference poll of the season the Bisons head into the championships ranked fifth. The Lady Bisons are rated seventh.
"Our men are ready to go," said Lipscomb cross country coach Bill Taylor. "Our women on paper are the seventh best team. I've scored it on paper. They are ranked where they should be. Now it is a question of whether we can put it all together Saturday and finish higher than that.
"The goal for the women is to finish fourth or better. Is that realistic? I think it is. The goal for the men would be to at least tie the best finish in the conference which is fifth. And that is where we are ranked."
The Bisons will be represented by senior Ryan Chastain, freshman Ashton Fisher, freshman Tim Muller, red-shirt junior Jared Carlson, freshman Jeff Musick, sophomore Hunter Hethcoat, freshman Mike Yang and sophomore Benton Reed.
Chastain was an All-Conference performer last season, finishing sixth in the championship race. The Bisons also finished sixth in the championships as a team last season.
"Anything can happen on race day," said Taylor. "He is capable of winning it. It is not like he has to do this or that, but we are expecting him to be in the top five or six."
Forming the Lady Bisons team are junior Caitlin Anderson, sophomore Catherine Beal, junior Jenny Randolph, sophomore Louisa Van Batavia, freshman Shelby Marvel, freshman Amanda Twigg, freshman Priya Pappu, senior Shannon Shoemake and sophomore Ashley Lehman.
Anderson, who finished 11th last season, was named second team All-Conference last season.
"We want to make it important and we want them to be focused," said Taylor. "I want our runners to have a purpose and to know what they are going to do.
"It is more about being tough. If you don't have the mindset to stick it out, and you don't know what you are going to do, it is not going to go well. The sport is all about intense pain. You have to have a plan to get through that. When the pain hits is when you find out who you are."
The race is hosted this Saturday by Stetson University. The course for the race will be in the Sperling Sports Complex in DeLand, Fla.
Taylor doesn't think his runners will be intimidated because they are running in the conference championships. But unlike other A-Sun sports, where runners finish Saturday will determine All-Conference and All-Freshmen teams.
"We do look at it differently," said Taylor. "There is a lot more strategy. There are fewer people to wade through or block your view. All of the honors are from this meet.
"We look at the races before as practice. We want to do well, but we also treat those races as practice…as opportunities to work on getting better for the championships. Hopefully, we will have our best race of the year there."
Belmont's women and ETSU's men won the titles last year.


text:
Our state-of-the-art imaging technologies help us spot problems that are just millimeters in size so we can take care of them before they become big.
Advanced Imaging
Clinical Trials
Is a clinical trial right for you? Learn more about innovative research studies that are available in Greater Lafayette through the Unity Cancer Center partnerships.
We're Putting Cancer on Notice
We have the power and resources to fight cancer right here because getting tough on cancer shouldn't be tough on you or your family.


text:
Help, My Polyamorous Neighbor Hates Me For Rejecting Her Husband — The Fairer Sex Files
Life advice: Don't drunkenly text a picture like this to your neighbor with some slightly-misspelled version of "I made a bedsheet tent, are you still awake?" unless you love opening big, awkward cans of worms. In other news: I'm thinking about installing a breathalyzer on my phone.
So listen, I love my neighborhood. I love it because it is full of trees and uncharacteristically friendly people. A year since moving into my lovely-if-tiny studio apartment in my hometown of Brooklyn, NY, I've met a ton of my neighbors. That's pretty uncommon in New York, and really awesome.
I hit it off quickly with one downstairs neighbor in particular, a man we'll call Rob. Rob was smart, handsome and a writer like me. My friend Michael insisted he was gay, and we spent weeks arguing about it. Then one night I came home and found a note slipped under my door from Rob, which I thought would finally settle it:
So it didn't end the argument, but after that Rob and I hung out several times -- reading each other's work, talking, watching bad TV. It was pleasant! Then one day I ran into him on the stoop...with his wife.
Initially I felt pangs of guilt, because I had definitely been semi-interested in him, though nothing had happened. I quickly let go of the guilt when it was clear that I was the only one who felt weird. The next time I saw him though, Rob continued to flirt and made no mention of his wife, and so in true, Jackie-cannot-censor-herself-even-for-a-second form I blurted out:
"Do you have a...regular marriage?"
He laughed, shifting his feet. "Is it that obvious? No, we're sort of poly."
Ah, polyamory. A concept many of my college friends had experimented with, and been universally burned. Polyamory is a lot like socialism -- it sounds like goddamned utopia, and would totally work and be the best thing ever if it weren't for all those pesky human parts of us like greed, jealousy, and desire.
It's a rare couple that can successfully pull off polyamory -- in fact I have never, ever met one -- but I don't doubt that they exist. If you can be married and love someone and also be totally cool with banging and/or being in relationships with other people, then please email me and tell me how, because that sounds really fun. Maybe.
A few weeks later, I came home from a night out and was pretty tanked and bored, so I texted him at 1am to see if he wanted to hang out, with the above picture. He found me listening to blues records and we made out a little. Once we were kissing, I realized I was just drunk, and he looked a whole lot like Robby from 'Dinosaurs' up close -- I just wasn't really attracted to him. (Plus, he made some comment about how women always call him feminine, which is the quickest way to deflate my lady parts, and also he told me he wanted to "sex me up," which...what?)
I disengaged gracefully, told him I was drunk and he should go home. You know, to his wife. Here's where it gets confusing: Over the next few days he sent me a bunch of needy-sounding texts, telling me that he missed me, and asking when we could see each other again. I wanted to see Rob -- he was my friend and writing partner, and he was fun -- but I didn't want to make out with him again.
I pulled up my bootstraps and opted for honesty. Well, the kinder, edited version of honesty; I didn't find it necessary to mention how much he looked like he was wearing a teenage dinosaur costume when he leaned in to kiss me. Instead I told him that I thought he was great, but I had realized that I was coming to the part of my life where I was ready to be someone's "favorite," and since he already had a favorite, spending romance-y time with him might be confusing or distracting for me. We could totally hang, I assured him, but we would need to just be friends.
He didn't reply for a good couple of hours, even though I saw him through his window while walking my dog (and promptly ducked behind a tree and pretended to be on a phone call. Go team well-adjusted human.) When he finally responded, he sounded injured. He said that he felt rejected, and I was sort of baffled. While I have empathy for the "feeling of rejection when someone says she prefers the company of others to your exclusive company"...Uh oh, another song break time:
Anyway, while I get that and have been there, Rob also had a wife who had like, vowed to love him forever. If marriage is your goal, then all of the other stuff is just extra, once you find your mate, no? Sure, attention from other people is really nice and makes you feel like you've "still got it" or whatever, but ideally the attention of other's should not be what gives you your self-worth, so calm down.
What pissed me off/confused me was not that Rob had asked me to accept his a-typical arrangement with his wife. I was totally fine with that, or I wouldn't have decided to drunkenly pounce on him while Muddy Waters was playing.
Here's what was bugging me: You know that overeager kid in elementary school who always took a second piece of birthday cake before the teacher has made sure everyone had a piece? That's Rob -- if love was cake, he was going back for seconds before everyone had firsts, and you don't do that to your friends, no matter how much you love frosting.
So I told him that (including the cake metaphor which is like SHUT UP, JACKIE) and I gave him an ultimatum: if we were going to be friends he was going to need to let this go or risk pushing me away. I'm not the type of person to hang around in a situation that makes me uncomfortable for very long.
Here's the good news: a few months later, I have successfully hung out with Rob a couple of times, and it hasn't been that weird. Sure, when we sit on the couch we're both thinking about that one time, but he doesn't make an issue out of it, and neither do I. Yay, adulthood!
HOWEVER -- Every time I see his wife, she gives me the stink-eye.
I asked Rob about her, without telling him about the stink-eye part, and he told me that she knows everything. Of course she does, she's his life partner or whatever, it wasn't shocking. He assured me that she has no problem with the fact that we made out, and I believe him. Why? Because she's not giving me the jealousy stink-eye, she's giving me the kind of look you might give someone who dumped your best friend. It's that "you don't know what you gave up" expression, smug and removed. We definitely won't be friends any time soon.
Jackie Mancini is the associate editor of GuySpeed and an unabashed lover of large breasts, porno, foul mouths and loud music. Her childhood diagnosis of Oppositional Defiant Disorder is most likely responsible for her current position as the only female employee of a men's website. Her column 'The [Fairer Se]X Files' appears every Wednesday. You can read more of her work here, and you can also follow her on Twitter.


text:
|2012-06-18, 19:49
|Link #1
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Infront of the Anime Shop
Age: 34
Harem Vs. "All Girls" Anime Debate
I wish the MOD will make this a poll thread as well... To start, I tried to watch animes that has an all girl cast like Queen's Blade or some shoujo ai anime but I feel a bit uncomfortable due to the absence of male leads or at the least, male supporting cast. No doubt I love harem because of the girls fighting over a guy.
What do you think? Do you prefer Harem or an All Girls only anime...?
|2012-06-18, 20:00
|Link #2
Last Engage
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Florida
That's the second thread in two days about people being confused by the lack of a male presence. I don't understand this perspective. What is it about a profusion of girls that's so strange? There's always the underlying idea that being full of girls somehow makes it inherently worse, though that's a false premise if I've ever seen one.
I'll bridge the gap between the two types of series listed in the title by presenting examples that had a male viewpoint character in the source material, but excised him completely for the anime version. Koihime Musou and Milky Holmes. These series are some of my favorites, and I think the decision to remove the protagonist actually gave them fairly unique identities. The characters were allowed to be fleshed out through their interactions with each other, free of the standard romance storytelling. (Not to say there wasn't some romance - Sherlock/Henriette and Kannu/everybody are predominant, but there's no confessions, no dates, no any of that stuff.)
Koihime retains most of its roots as a bawdy comedy, but is allowed to embrace its setting a little more strongly. Whereas Milky Holmes, with Opera Kobayashi (and Rei Kamitsu) out of the picture, goes completely off the rails to become one of the greatest absurd comedies in recent memory. Sure, Koihime does have Kada, and Holmes has a pretty major antagonist in its second season, but the shows shone long before that.
I enjoy both kinds of shows, but for entirely different reasons. I've never been much of a shipping person, so I'd say the mostly-female casts appear to me more as they're largely free of that sort of thing, but I still watch most of the harem series that come along anyway. Their comedy and premises and characters can often be just as interesting to watch.
A female presence is nothing to fear.
Addendum: To the kind sir who said I appear to be a "pervert" or "gay" for making this post, I thank you for your input and will attempt to control my obviously deviant thought processes in the future.
|2012-06-18, 20:09
|Link #3
The iDOL(ove Live!)M@STER
All female cast and yuri/shoujo-ai are not mutually inclusive. Likewise, harem and "all girls" aren't completely divorced either (Iono the Fanatics comes to mind). But anyway, the gender of the characters involved in a romance or anything doesn't really matter to me. There used to be a time long ago when I would gravitate toward a series just for featuring girls draped over each other (I'm male and I find it hawt, okay?). These days I just leave my judgments for the work itself. If we're discussing pure aesthetics though then yeah yuri and/or all-female cast is much more pleasant to my eyes (and doujin fodder!) even if the show itself is insufferable to my enjoyment.
|2012-06-18, 20:20
|Link #4
I think the issue why some don't watch "all girl cast" anime is yeah... the lack of males. They may want to see the balance of sexes in the genre ( even in yuri or non romance anime). Some males may feel out of place... Such genres are popular to yuri fans.
On the other hand.... many goes to harem due to romance ( male X female) and ecchi. In this shows, though females are leads, the male supporting cast are doing their roles well in helping the females in their goals which is kinda nice to watch... both sexes are cooperating for the same goal....
My favorite all girl cast anime are K-on and Queen's blade..
|2012-06-18, 20:33
|Link #5
Black Steel Knight
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Indonesia
As for me, I dont like Queens Blade not because of its all-female cast, but the so-so story and (mainly) pointless fanservice. Well, In my opinion, a fanservice scene where none of the characters in it enjoy it, is pointless. So, if you want to give fanservice to me, please give me a representative character who enjoy those (preferably a male). Its okay if pointless fanservice happens occasionally but if that becomes the whole content of the anime (generally speaking) I cant find myself entertained. Thats why I cant enjoy anime like Queens Blade & Ikki Tousen coz even when the sexy girls clothes got ripped to shreds, or theres a bath scene, theres no character to enjoy those lewd scenes (generally speaking), unlike many bath/peeping/accident scenes in harem anime. So, if theres an all-female-cast anime about girls fighting each other, I prefer that it takes the fighting and story seriously like Mai-Hime and Claymore, not just a bunch of fanservice scenes directed to nobody except the audience. You can call me strange for that, but thats what I feel .
|2012-06-18, 20:48
|Link #6
We're Back
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Discord
Age: 30
Then to maintain those fanbase, eventually the show would shift and be all about yuri
|2012-06-18, 21:02
|Link #7
The iDOL(ove Live!)M@STER
Okay maybe I do...
|2012-06-18, 21:17
|Link #8
Senior Member
Magical girl anime alone probably makes this a victory for "All Girls" anime for me.
Throw Saki and K-On on top of that, and it's not even close.
I will say, though, that I generally like a little bit of gender diversity, at least in longer series. Even a minor character like Ritsu's brother can make a show's fictional world seem a touch more realistic to me.
|2012-06-18, 21:35
|Link #9
We're Back
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Discord
Age: 30
The examples of harem series you've given are more comedy/fanservice based than any serious plot, while the yuri series you've given are all more plot driven, so kind of one-sided don't you think?
Wouldn't a better yuri comparison if you're using something like Highschool DxD would be with say- Manyuu Hikenchou ?
|2012-06-18, 21:55
|Link #10
We're Back
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Discord
Age: 30
Ore no Imouto, Bakamonogatari, Utawarerumono, To Aru majutsu no Index, Fate/Stay Night, Suzumiya Haruhi, C3, Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon, Code Geass etc... All of them have serious stories underneath their colorful exterior.
Yes, most of them aren't pure romance comedy fanservice harem series, but then again some of your examples also have more going for them than two girls going at it with each other right ?
|2012-06-18, 21:55
|Link #11
Join Date: Oct 2007
I typically prefer series without male characters at all, because the vast majority of males in anime are incredibly stupid, weak and lame characters that are a detriment to the story/setting.
And while I do enjoy harem, it's typically just for the female cast; the male leads are almost always generic and boring nobodies. They're designed that way for male audiences, apparently, but I'm a woman and just hate weak male characters that are so abundant in anime.
|2012-06-18, 22:00
|Link #12
Stupidity is Bliss.
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: In Hancock's Heart
I prefer All-girls of course -grins widely-
Harem tends to be actually tiring unless the story is in Omnibus format. With that, I don't have to suffer seeing the girls fawning over the Stupid Male Lead at the same time.
|2012-06-18, 22:00
|Link #13
We're Back
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Discord
Age: 30
|2012-06-18, 22:04
|Link #14
We're Back
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Discord
Age: 30
|2012-06-18, 22:23
|Link #16
Okuyasu the Bird
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Alberta, Canada
Age: 27
I definitely would say shows with all-female casts are the superior choice here for me. Despite that, I've watched very few shows with that criteria considering my personal taste in entertainment favors cool male characters. Probably the two I've liked the most with only female characters so far though are Madoka Magica and Black Rock Shooter.
Honestly though, I'd much rather prefer a series with an even or near-even male to female ratio in it's characters. While I do prefer male characters and follow some series with a very high amount of them, I always think they could stand to add some more women sometimes.
When it comes to harems, I can very rarely look at the female cast as anything more than tools to fulfill the wishes and desires of horny teenage otaku. Seldom will I also come across one with a decent male protagonist and a downplayed harem aspect, and when I do that's usually the only real reason for me to pay it any mind at all.
|2012-06-18, 22:28
|Link #17
a small cat
If there would be a poll, then I hope it has the "undecided" option.
Currently watching Smile Precure, which is mostly an all girl anime.
A supporter of the precure franchise in general (except for the Fresh series which garnered all my dislike).
But I've also liked some shows which has male leads like Ore no Imouto and True Tears. Well, True Tears has not left my favorites list in MAL since 2008 and Oreimo would probably last as long.
|2012-06-18, 22:32
|Link #18
We're Back
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Discord
Age: 30
|2012-06-18, 22:53
|Link #20
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Arcadia Bay.
Age: 25
I prefer an all girls cast over a harem. The reason being, as some may have mentioned before, the harem shows generally tend to have a very cliched male and female cast.
On a more personal note the male lead is just too freaking lame and stupid for me to stand and also the concept of several - absolutely gorgeous, if I may add - girls fighting over that same lame guy is just to bizarre for me to accept.
The only harem(if you can call it that) show that I liked was Clannad.
|Thread Tools


text:
(Sci-fi action fans only)
If you're not a sci-fi action movie fan, you can skip this one. Although you might want to help Hasbro, one of Rhode Island's biggest employers, who has a big stake in this one, plus another G.I. Joe movie coming out later this summer.
If you remember the Hasbro board game hit of the same name, don't expect to see any resemblance. Some big, ugly aliens from Planet G, covered in heavy armor and assisted by major weapons, react to an effort by U.S. scientists to "reach out" into outer space, by attacking planet earth. There's a lesson there someplace.
Taylor Kitsch plays Alex Hopper, a messed up brother of a Navy officer who miraculously goes from a potential prison inmate to commanding the Navy battleship that needs to save the world.
The opening scene, where Hopper goes all out to find a chicken burrito for Sam, a pretty young lady (Brooklyn Decker), is one of the highlights of this uneven movie. Sam turns out to be the Admiral's (Liam Neeson) daughter. You can see where this is going.
The aliens destroy Hong Kong and then center their attention on the battleships engaged in war games off the coast of Hawaii.
While the main focus of this two-hour plus movie is the overlong battles between the Navy and the aliens, there are a few interesting subplots.
Gregory D. Gadson, a real life hero who lost both of his legs, plays a depressed amputee who finds a new mission in life. He is terrific.
Then there is the rivalry between a Japanese officer (Tadanobu Asano) and Hopper, which you know is going to turn into a close alliance as they turn their attention to the real rivals.
Pop star Rihanna is strangely cast as one of the crew.
The special effects and the photography are first class. The acting is pretty good. The dialogue is pure corn. Examples: "I got a bad feeling." "If you can't stop them, who will?"
Can our motley crew, led by a loose cannon after his superiors are eliminated, save the world? Maybe, with a little help from some veterans of the USS Missouri.
Rated PG-13, with minor profanity and lots of violence.


text:
Marpenoth the 30th – Uktar the 2nd
Not sure if what he saw was a dream or real, Alecar began to look over the mirror again after he awoke. This time he was sure he had seen something. He was able to see the well in Edgerton where he and Jethro were supposed to meet. Gathering the party, he showed them his discovery. With Ember's help they were able to view whatever they wished. Ember suggested they use it to look around the compound, find their weapons and plan an escape.
Marpenoth the 19th – Marpenoth the 29th
After winning the Battle Royale, the Saboteurs earned the top spot for the main event the following week. With little to do, they spent the time in their cell, looking over the treasure they received, wondering when they could get out of here to use it, and more importantly, who this Mauthereign person was, and why did he have them captured. During the week, Alecar began to study the mirror. He could've sworn that he was seeing flashes of other places within the mirror, but when he looked directly at it, all he saw was his own reflection.
Elaint the 28th – Marpenoth the 18th
Our heroes have made a bit of a name for themselves, and the crowd that turned up for their fight against the Skiurids was one of the largest the arena has had for a weekday show in a long time. They asked around about the Skiurids, but no one would say anything, they'd just laugh and say it'll be a fight like nothing they've ever seen before.
The time came for the fight, and nothing could've prepared them for what came out of the tunnel. From across the square, at firs they couldn't see anything, just some small shadows on the enemy platform. After Tal announced both sides, the party realized that those tiny figures WERE their opponents. Four, slightly larger than average, all black squirrels were standing on the platform. And then they vanished.
Elaint the 14th – Elaint the 28th
The party arrived in Edgerton shortly after noon on the 14th. They could feel how close they were to their goal, and so wasted no time in heading for the barracks. Unfortunately he was out with a guard patrol, and wouldn't be back until later, so they decided to go have a look around town and see if they could find him first. Solaren decided he had had enough of these white cities, and told the other two that he would find them when they left the city.
Eleasis the 22nd – Elaint the 14th
Setting out from Libilas, Ember teleported the party to Fallcrest to begin their journey to Eridell, the seat of the Kingpriest. It was a long ride, as they had become accustomed to instant travel, but since Ember had never been there, they must ride. Not knowing where to look, the party decided they'd first head to the capital and find out where Jethro was stationed.
Eleasis the 11th – Eleasis the 21st
After taking a moment to absorb everything that had happened, Ember realized she had no plan for what to do next. She needed Alecar's help. Taking advantage of the chaos and her natural charm, she convinced the remaining guards that she was in charge, and that anyone who might disturb their rest would meet much the same fate as the queen. Ember and Solaren spend their night, resting peacefully in Jezebell and Violet's quarters, respectively.
Written by CrankyPelican
pair of suns burn bright over the nightless palisades of Sultan Jal'zhar's palace, their rays dancing in the obsidian gardens dappling his grand throne room. With a momentary lament to simpler times, Jal'zhar clears his mind as the mighty iron doors to the throne open, bearing an expected visitor.
Eleasis the 9th – Eleasis the 11th
As Ember lay there, on the brink of death, the memories came back. Memories of white coats, memories of torture and pain, memories of death. She remembered laying on a cold table, being poked and sliced and burned. She remembered her parents faces. Remembered as they burned away in the fire that was forced out of her. Most of all, she remembered her. Trina. The leader of Chimera. It all came flooding back, until it threatened to burst forth. When she awoke, she had only one goal, one purpose… Cumberland must burn.
Eleasis the 7th – Eleasis the 8th
Shortly after the battle for the bridge, Alecar received an urgent call from Lord Jarmaath, via their telepathic link. "Alecar, come quickly to the town square, we're under att—!" was all that Alecar heard. Leaving Lily's body on the bridge, the party rushed towards Estered's Square. Despite the battle, they met little resistance on the way there.


text:
Saturday was Pillow Fight Day, and a ton of people descended on Trafalgar Square armed with fluffy sleep aids and did battle with their fellows. So ferocious was the battering that the pillows started to come apart and coated the ground with a layer of down. Let us know in the comments if you were there – it looks like it was a lot of fun.
Photos from the Londonist Flickrpool by: Tony Lasagne, dave_bass5, Marc Fairhurst, SabineThoele, dave_bass5, youportraits, Where The Art Is, Kat Antosova, amyart86, amyart86 again, SabineThoele and another from SabineThoele. Thank you, all!


text:
The Smilebooth is proud to announce that we're board members for the YEAH! 2012 FREE WEDDING. Visit the website to learn more about who else is involved and enter to win a completely FREE WEDDING IN LOS ANGELES ON AUGUST 19TH 2012
(read this, it's important)
HERE IS HOW IT WORKS...SIGN UP HERE take your time (you DON'T have to do this today, you have until June 19th to enter), be clever, be creative, link to your website / facebook / instagram / twitter / vimeo, make something rad, tell jokes, give us a feeling for who you are, tell us all about how you guys met, what you like to do, what inspires you etc. Once you are signed up you will be in the running. The board will choose 20 couples and the public will vote for a winner (the public will be voting on you based on the information you provide so make it awesome!).
If you are one of the 20 couples chosen by the board, your profile will be put on our blog and the public & the board will vote to determine the winner. You can campaign (like a city councilman), you can get your friends and family involved, make your cat vote, get one of those weird Sarah Palin America buses & maybe you'll WIN A FREE WEDDING


text:
New Year, New Trends: Pale Iridescents
The design trends of 2012 are checked off and accounted for, so now comes the fun part: watching new ideas and patterns emerge in 2013. If the fashion runways are to be believed (and they probably should), then iridescence is on the loading dock.
It was bound to happen. The pairing of metallics and pastels happened in a big way this past year. Marry the two completely and you get shimmery pale materials that catch the light and produce a spectrum of shades. In a traditional home, this trend might surface as pearly white bathroom tile, or pink tinged mercury glass. Those with a more modern sensibility will embrace holographic foils worthy of a Led Zeppelin laser light show. Just think of the DIY projects!
Here's a sprinkling of items, but something tells me we'll see more soon. Keep your eyes peeled.
1. Iridescent Wall Treatment by Sarah Moffat
2. Starstruck Wallpaper by Graham & Brown
3. Pink Metallic Leather Garland by The Six Week Boutique
4. Pastel Glazed Tea Bowl from Leif
5. Metallic Linen Pillow Cover from Decidedly Chic
6. DIY Vase by the Do It Yourself Diva
7. Random* Chair from Pitaya Designs
8. Ovals Pillow from ABC Carpet & Home
9. Piggy Bank from Areaware
10. Iridescent Tile Bathroom by Alan Design Studio
(Images: as linked above)


text:
Editor�s Note: This is the fourth in a series on North Okaloosa County Teachers of the Year.
CRESTVIEW � A sign on Anita Dunn's classroom door lets visitors know the students inside are pretty special � and really loved.
Editor�s Note: This is the fourth in a series on North Okaloosa County Teachers of the Year.
CRESTVIEW � A sign on Anita Dunn's classroom door lets visitors know the students inside are pretty special � and really loved.
"Dunn's Doves" are five kindergarten through second-grade-aged students at Richbourg Exceptional Student Education School.
"But that's chronological age," Dunn said, explaining each student functions at his or her own level.
"They're all so different," Dunn said. "Some are verbal, some non-verbal, some autistic, some Down syndrome, and one who reads at grade level."
Teaching students of diverse abilities takes getting to know each student and shaping an appropriate course of study for him or her, Dunn said.
"It's a progressive monitoring, just like any other student, but on their level," she said.
Some of her students respond to tactile stimuli; others learn through visual aids or physical interaction, she said.
"It's all ways of learning," Dunn said. "They absorb information in so many different ways."
Dunn, a special education instructor of 35 years, has taught at every school level in both district-wide and state-level schools. Fellow teachers at Richbourg selected her as the school's Teacher of the Year.
Richbourg Principal Barry Blackburn praised Dunn's dedication to her students.
"She has a great heart for her kids," he said. "She develops individual curricula for each of her students."
Opening Richbourg ESE in Crestview has been "a blessing" to north county families, Dunn said. Previously, students spent hours each day riding a bus to Silver Sands School in Fort Walton Beach.
Keeping students in the familiar surroundings of their own community is beneficial, particularly as they age, Dunn said.
"Our high school kids who do the job training are working in the community with people they know," she said.
Unknown people, a sudden change of surroundings or unsettling events, such as lengthy bus rides many students took before Richbourg opened, upset some of her students, Dunn said.
"Their behaviors are so complicated," she said. "You don't know what's upsetting them but they can't always tell you."
"The real joy is seeing the students make progress," she said. "When you see them make it, it is a special feeling."
Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes at 850-682-6524 or firstname.lastname@example.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbBrian.


text:
Wrigley's Rooftop Bleachers Struggling in Bad Economy
CHICAGO – The crowded rooftop bleachers overlooking Wrigley Field stand as proof that no matter how bad the Chicago Cubs played, the ballpark was simply not big enough to hold everyone who wanted to see them play.
Until now. Between a national recession and a local team that is just plain depressing, the rooftop bleachers — as synonymous with Wrigley as the ivy-covered walls they tower above — are showing signs that there are limits to what fans are willing to do and pay to see a game.
"Last year, the business was weak on our rooftop and this year is not as good as last year," said Beth Murphy, whose late husband's decision decades ago to cart a lawn chair, a cooler of beer and a barbecue onto his roof to watch a game has made him kind of a founding father of rooftop owners. "With the economy, on top of the Cubs performance, (it) has been tough."
Just how tough things have become is as obvious as the empty seats that dot the privately-owned rooftops, something that had been a rarity over the past few years when the number of rooftop businesses climbed by a third to 16 and the capacity of all of them nearly doubled to 3,000.
Owners, who over the years have transformed the informal apartment building rooftops to gleaming mini-stadiums, say their business is off by as much as 20 percent, and they fear the last month of the season, with the team more than 20 games out of first place, will only get worse.
A big reason, owners say, is that corporations willing to shell out $30,000 to host an outing are tougher to find. Some companies, owners say, don't have the money anymore to spend on the kind of outings that were once routine.
Others are reluctant to host gatherings they fear will put them in line for the kind of public outrage that was directed at auto executives who took private jets to Washington to plead with lawmakers for money.
"You hear about these companies and lobbyists going on extravagant trips and things and that creates an environment where corporations, pr-wise, can't spend money on events," said Mark Schlenker, owner of Brixen Ivy, a rooftop business beyond Wrigley's left field wall.
Then there's the fans' reaction to what is happening on the field.
"Everyone is just demoralized," said Rich Zasiebida, partner of Skybox on Sheffield.
Schlenker said it's even worse than that.
"This is the most apathetic the city has been toward the Cubs that I've ever seen, "he said.
It all adds up to a frantic effort to find customers.
"In 2003, 2004, I had people calling me, excited they found me, basically willing to pay anything if I could squeeze them on a rooftop. ... It was almost like they found an exclusive club, like you were a speakeasy in the 20s," said Schlenker. "This year I have people calling me, and calling every other rooftop to see who has the lowest price and will you beat their price."
That has forced rooftops that routinely sold tickets for $150 a game — a price that includes all the beer they can drink and food they can eat — and well over $300 when marquee teams were in town are now advertising tickets for $100, $69 and lower.
"I called around and the best deal I got was $59 and when I called the Lakeview Baseball Club, they told me $45 and if I had (a party of) 10 or more it was $30," said Kevin Vincent.
Max Waisvisz, a partner in three rooftops, shakes his head at a $30 ticket, but said he and other owners are slashing prices.
The rooftop owners won't say exactly how much money they're making — or not making. But there are signs that things are shaky. Just this year, one of the oldest rooftop businesses, Lakeview Baseball Club, slipped into foreclosure. Another one is on the receiving end of a lawsuit filed by the Cubs for the $211,000 the team claims the rooftop owes it as part of an agreement to share its revenues.
As for the rest, renovating the rooftops into small stadiums complete with flat-screen TVs, state-of-the-art kitchens that serve lobster ravioli, craft beer along with hot dogs and burgers hasn't been cheap. Court documents reveal that the rooftop business in foreclosure borrowed more than $3 million and, according to the Chicago Tribune, had a monthly mortgage of more than $30,000.
Other owners don't want to say how much their own mortgages are, but Waisvisz pointed to two of his multimillion dollar buildings, saying a $30,000 monthly mortgage is "definitely not unheard of."
The owners also say that they're making less money at a time when it's costing them more to operate. One reason is the corporate gatherings are giving way to crowds of fans who want to see how much they can eat and drink.
"If my beer gets warm I'm not going to choke it down, I'm going to get a cold one," said fan Bruce Kowalski, 48, who was at Skybox on Sheffield.
Word that the rooftops are struggling doesn't bother some area residents, who bristled as they watched the them grow taller and more elaborate.
"They're eyesores and they've destroyed some of our views," said Meg Styck.
From across the street, the Cubs are watching their neighbors closely. The two sides have had a sometimes testy history. The Cubs put up windscreens in 2002 that partially obstructed rooftop views and sued the owners, alleging that selling their views of the games amounted to stealing from the Cubs. In 2004, they reached an agreement that calls for rooftops to hand over 17 percent of their revenues to the team.
"We're assuming its a good relationship with the rooftops," said Dennis Culloton, a spokesman for Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts. "And once the Ricketts family puts together a championship team on the field that the fans deserve, everyone's business picture will improve."
Zasiebida said the Cubs don't even have to go that far.
"I think we're going be OK," he said. "You just need a product on the field you can at least stomach watching."