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The word itself looks so unpretty when typed out that my spell-checker rejects it as incorrect, a quick look at Webster confirms it's a valid word, however. This post isn't meant as an insult, so please don't take it as such, my affection for these foods is unwavering. But in these snap-happy times we live in, everything's got to be picture pretty, and as you'll soon see, that's not always the case. Despite the title of my post, I think that each of the following dishes offer their own brand of beauty; after all beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and all.
Ravioli Verdi at La Nuova de Pasteleria
This is the House Specialty at what I call the little neighborhood restaurant, only because I've been coming here since I was in college, but the place has been around for much longer than that. For some reason, I'm always alone when I end up eating here, but I never mind and I enjoy myself every time. I just don't eat the desserts because they always seem to taste old.
Sometimes I have the antipasti or the chicken liver pâté, partnered always with a good glass of wine. When my hunger has more of an edge to it, then I order the Ravioli Verdi. Though the pasta squares are normally green ('verdi'), sometimes they run out so the squares are made with regular wheat flour. No matter, because the pillows – all six, sometimes seven of them, are completely blanketed in tomato sauce. Luridly orange like the orange color of appetite, the sauce is just sour enough before being tamed with a touch of sweet and cream. It's also pleasantly chunky, mimicking the al dente texture of the pasta pillows hiding a cache of soft spinach and ricotta.
Risotto in Squid Ink at The Black Pig
My first time at The Black Pig (TBP) was very upsetting. I was eating with six other people, two of whom were chef-restaurateurs. We must've ordered nine dishes and we were unhappy with the majority of them. The egg in my Poached Egg & Mushroom Puree dish was beyond overcooked – twice! So I didn't bother asking for a third. Then we all wondered why the bone marrow that came with the Oven-Baked Local Pork Belly looked like it had been scooped out, fried, then returned to the bone. (Months later, the chef tells me why and though I can't agree with his method, I respect his creativity).
So when my friend from San Francisco comes over for a visit and asks me to take her to TBP, I have my apprehensions. Turns out I'm the one in for a surprise.
The Risotto in Squid Ink is a stunner, and the inspiration for this article. A moat of moist, black rice holds aloft angulas (baby eels) and delicate rings of crisp calamari. The stark darkness is surrounded by a ring of caper jus and so every spoonful is a synergy of crunch on soft on salty and briny, then at the very end, a zing of citrus to prepare the palate for more pleasure.
Peanut Butter, Banana, and Apple Crumble at Draft
This gastropub always pleases me and its desserts especially, never disappoint. There aren't many places in Manila where I can get "spoonable" desserts – those lapped up and loved with a spoon – and now Draft has three of them.
This latest dessert has a mouthful of a name: Peanut Butter, Banana, and Apple Crumble. Its components are undecipherable, deluged as they are in that – dare I say it again – devastatingly delicious caramel sauce. Reams of peanut butter run rings around a mash of apple and banana amidst bites of a powdery crumble, then a breath of cinnamon. The dessert itself is warm, a blissful counterpoint to the creamy coolness of the ice cream melting away atop. I love this dessert so much, I can't care less how it looks.
Cookies from The Wall St. Baker
Lara Martirez tells me that she named her home-based artisan cookie bakery, The Wall St. Baker, because her favorite place in the world is New York, and her day job is "banking/trading in a well-known investment bank in the Philippines." She adds that, "I don't know of many traders who have a baking sideline." I reply that she'd be surprised, she's not the first trader to have contacted me. I assume that the pressure cooker environment of such a job does indeed merit a stress release activity. Ah, if only cookies were currency!
Lara's cookies are what I look for in this sweet: moist, chewy, lots of flavor. I've already told her that I think she needs to work on consistency since most of her cookies are unevenly shaped, and there's much that can be done to improve their appearance. Still, these cookies are a terrific alternative and the options she offers are so creative.
In photo from top to bottom: s'mores, s'mores on "steroids", cookie butter chocolate chip, salted caramel double dark chocolate chip, and "once you go black".
Addresses of establishments mentioned in this post:
La Nuova de Pasteleria
San Antonio Plaza, McKinley Rd., Forbes Park, Makati
02 867.2370
The Black Pig Charcuterie, Bar & Restaurant
2/F The Commercenter Alabang, Commerce Avenue. Corner East Asia Drive., Filinvest, Muntinlupa City.
02 808.1406
Draft Gastropub
Various locations.
The Wall St. Baker
For orders: 0917 623.6323
On Instagram: wallstreetbaker


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Without a medium like YouTube on which to emerge, "Best Friends" would not be half the masterpiece it is today. The lyrics tell a simple story of friendship and loyalty, an epic poem for the internet age, whose accompanying home-made music video works some sort of strange, star-making magic.
Krispy Kreme is the prototypical Internet star; a testament to the self-made megastar with a decent command of video-editing software and a catchy tune. We should all be so lucky as to have a best friend like Krispy Kreme.

subset: commoncrawl


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Friday, December 16, 2011
The Power of Writing
In my "It Gets Better" video, one of the ways I recommended that young people deal with the bullying they're subjected to in school is to keep a journal. I suspect anyone who's never kept a journal, or written anything before, wouldn't understand why writing about how you feel is important.
Then I came upon this today, which illustrates, better than I could ever explain, the power of writing. The quote is from "Butches of Belfast, and then some," written by Ivan Coyote, and published in issue #479 of Xtra!, dated December 15, 2011.
Coyote writes:
Last month in Belfast. Writing workshop in a quiet old pub and theatre on a brick-lined lane in the downtown core. She walked in way early, wearing a flannel shirt, sensible pants and work boots. Didn't say much, but what she did say was that she came from a big family of storytellers, always with the stories them, but that she had never ever written anything down, on account of her terrible spelling and grammar. And I do mean terrible, she said.
About an hour later, after we all talked some about the importance of everyone's individual story, I told them all to just write for 15 minutes. Then I watched her, her shoulders set so fierce and arms determined, scribbling mercilessly onto page after page of a small lined journal, tears streaming unstopping and silent out of her eyes and down her open Irish face so hard. I don't know anything about what she wrote, and didn't ask, but holy, was it ever a thing to watch. To watch her write and cry like that. I could feel her relief in my own bones.
In writing, there's always the risk you'll feel the pain, go places you never wanted to--release the terror and the torment. Write it down. Honor your story. Honor yourself. Whether you're a bullied teen or an isolated, lonely senior, your story has value. Your words have value. You have value. Discover that today.
Write it down.
(To read the full piece from Ivan Coyote, one of my favorite columnists in Xtra!, please click here.)
2 comments:
- AnonymousDecember 20, 2011 at 1:53 PM
Sometimes I can feel myself holding in when I write. I need to be able to stop that.ReplyDelete
Ben, I was surprised to read your comment and had to ask myself, what prevents a writer from being totally honest when he writes, particularly if, presumably, he's writing only for himself (that is, no one else will ever see what you wrote).ReplyDelete
A couple of thoughts came to mind:
1). You're not used to pouring out your emotions on paper. I've journaled for so long that it's very natural for me to hold nothing back. Plus, I've always believed that, if I was going to journal, I wouldn't withhold anything (otherwise, there's no point in journaling). I'd release it all, even if I didn't like what I released. Which leads me to my next point.
2). You're scared of having to face whatever you write. Yup, I understand that, believe me. Sometimes, when something happens to me that I don't particularly like, I don't write about it in my journal the same day (unless I still need to work through it). But, sooner or later, it all comes out--everything. Because I want to document it. And because I need to get it down and release it.
So my suggestion? Keep writing. Don't stop. You may hold back now, but I believe over time, you'll begin to trust yourself more. And you'll be able to face what you write more and deal with it better than you can now.
Remember, what you write in your journal is for you only. No one else will ever see it. If you can't be completely honest with yourself, who can you be honest with?
If you don't mind, keep me updated on how your journaling is going. I'd really like to know and to help you in any way I can.
Thanks so much for leaving this comment and for your honesty. I know your misgivings are not unlike those a lot of people experience. Still, I hold firm that journaling will be the best thing you ever do for yourself, if for no reason than it will help you develop your writing style (which can only improve your writing in everything).
Good luck.


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this is a technical question.
I'm trying to host a java application on my VPS. The Java source code is this: pastebin com/1Pm3iqdx
What it does, is that it creates a socket on a specified port allowing users to connect to that specific port through a telnet prompt. I can host it just fine on my own PC and connect as expected.
The app listens on port 10834.
When I telnet to my VPS address at that port, the connection is refused. Are the ports closed or...?Code:[root@tobiass ~]# netstat -a Active Internet connections (servers and established) Proto Recv-Q Send-Q Local Address Foreign Address State tcp 0 0 *:ssh *:* LISTEN tcp 0 0 localhost:smtp *:* LISTEN tcp 0 0 tobiass.vpslink.com:ssh 0x573bec04.henqu2.dyna:6257 ESTABLISHED tcp 0 0 tobiass.vpslink.com:ssh 0x573bec04.henqu2.dyna:6423 ESTABLISHED tcp 0 52 tobiass.vpslink.com:ssh 0x573bec04.henqu2.dyna:boks ESTABLISHED tcp 0 0 *:10834 *:* LISTEN tcp 0 0 *:ssh *:* LISTEN tcp 0 0 localhost:smtp *:* LISTEN


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Call us or email us if you don't see your product!
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Chile de Arbol, "birds beak" is a medium-heat chile with a similar heat profile as mild cayenne. Its flavor is both smoky and earthy, giving depth to Mexican and Cajun cuisine. These are available whole, de-stemmed, flaked and powdered for your convenience.
Additional information
|5 lbs


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The best hope for achieving significant savings in medical costs is through the elimination of unnecessary or duplicative procedures, which waste hundreds of billions of dollars a year. Government attempts to set boundaries inevitably run into cries of "death panels" and rationing, along with prideful reactions from many doctors, who assert the right to test patients as they see fit. But so many factors complicate that decision — from patients' demands to doctors' financial interests and fear of lawsuits — that a system without limits is untenable. It's also unhealthy, in the sense that some patients are exposed to unnecessary risks.
That's why it's welcome that the medical profession — encompassing the people best qualified to set guidelines — is starting to take responsibility. Nine medical specialty groups, including the American College of Cardiology and the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation, recently released a list of 45 tests and procedures that patients usually don't need. Other medical specialty groups must follow suit, and even then those who've already weighed in should dig deeper for workable best-practice guidelines.
Then, last week, the Brookline-based Lown Cardiovascular Research Foundation went further, partnering with the New America Foundation on the first major conference to dedicated to "Avoiding Avoidable Care." The 100 or so doctors in attendance addressed many of the steps necessary to reduce unnecessary treatments.
Defensive medicine was something attendees returned to time and again, and with some justification: A neurosurgeon, for example, has an 18 percent chance of being sued each year. Given that a malpractice suit can take five or six years to settle, the specter of litigation is always hanging over that discipline.
And yet, overall, defensive medicine amounts to only about $46 billion a year, or about eight days of annual national health care spending, according to Kennedy School economist Amitabh Chandra. That's not small potatoes, he noted, but neither is it the biggest driver of unnecessary care.
So what are the larger reasons for over-testing and over-treatment? David Newman, an emergency physician and director of clinical research at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, identified one as "scienciness," which he described as doctors being very knowledgeable about the array of tests they could order but not the likelihood those tests will actually reveal anything of value.
Others said the way doctors are trained puts an emphasis on excessive testing and on acting rather than opting for a wait-and-see approach. "Medical school and graduate education are failing us," lamented Dr. David Goodman, director of the Center for Health Policy Research at the Dartmouth Institute.
From the audience, David Himmelstein, a primary care physician and professor at City University of New York, brought up a topic that had, at least until that point, gotten short shrift. "Virtually everything we talk about as over-utilized is a reflection of a procedure that makes some corporate entity a great deal of money," Himmelstein said. Why? Well, cardiologists, for example, can make substantial sums by interpreting the imaging work they order, and even bigger amounts if their practice owns the expensive imaging equipment. Himmelstein's observation hung a little uncomfortably in the air.
It was left to Don Berwick, former administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, to frame the challenge and the consequences the medical profession faces. Noting that some $11 trillion will be spent on unnecessary care over nine years, Berwick said that for universal health care to work, waste simply must be wrung from the system.
"We need the profession to rise to this," said Berwick. "It is only the people who give the care who can change the way is delivered."
He's certainly right about that. If patients are to trust that cost-conscious health-care decisions are in their best interests, the change has to start with, and be explained by, their physicians. That's why, despite the enormous challenge, it was heartening first step to see a roomful of medical professionals grappling with over-testing and over-treatment in a serious way.


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The Denver Broncos are churning out the victories like clockwork these days, while the Raiders are wondering when they're going to win just one more game. Such is the nature of how these two teams are headed in opposite directions.
Raiders quarterback Carson Palmer said the Raiders aren't real close to winning games right now, which counts as quite an understatement.
"I wouldn't say that we're on the cusp of it," Palmer said. "I wouldn't say it's really close. Obviously, with some of the scores of these games and each week is something different. It's been a handful of different things that have stopped us from being successful on offense, and I know you've just got to keep grinding, keep working."
Head coach Dennis Allen said he liked what he saw from his team tonight.
"Our team fought tonight," Allen said. "We came up on the short end of the stick. The Denver Broncos were the better team tonight, but our guys fought and that's what I want to see the remaining three games of the year. I want to see our guys fight and compete because that's what it takes to win in this league."
— Tight end Brandon Myers caught one pass for 7 yards on Thursday night. That's quite a turnaround from the 14 for 130 he recorded against the Cleveland Browns four days earlier.
The Broncos did a nice job of keeping tabs on Myers the entire game. Palmer targeted Myers only twice all night. On the one Myers didn't catch, cornerback Champ Bailey intercepted the pass and returned it 18 yards.
— Rookie Rod Streater turned in another solid game. He caught four passes for 100 yards, including a nice grab of a pass in double coverage that turned into a 58-yard gain.
Streater amassed 96 yards receiving against the Browns and quietly is turning into Oakland's most-reliable receiver.
Fellow rookie Juron Criner caught two passes for 24 yards. The only other pass thrown his way was right on the money, but Criner failed to haul it in.
For the record, it would have counted as a nice catch by Criner. I'm sure he'll be the first to admit that he should have caught the ball. However, it's likely that it won't be considered a drop.
Darrius Heyward-Bey and Denarius Moore combined for nine catches for 125 yards. Heyward-Bey turned one of his receptions into a 56-yard touchdown by making a nice move near the sideline and finding a clear lane to the end zone.
— Running back Darren McFadden finally made his much-awaited return after missing four straight games with a high-ankle sprain.
As it turned out, McFadden looked no better than he did the first eight games when he averaged 3.3 yards per carry.
McFadden broke free for a 36-yard run at one point, but he averaged only 1.6 yards on his 10 other rushes.
Meanwhile, the Broncos backs racked up 143 yards on 36 carries, with Knowshon Moreno totaling 119.
"We wanted to give him an opportunity to get the ball and we did that … ," Allen said. "The touchdown down there in the red zone on the screen play (to McFadden) was an outstanding
— The Broncos controlled the ball for a whopping 37 minutes, 19 seconds Thursday night. That's one of the many benefits of having Manning at the control and the ability to complete a high percentage of passes.
Manning completed 26 of 36 passes for 310 yards and one touchdown. The Raiders sacked Manning three times, but almost every time the Broncos needed to convert a third-down play, Manning found an open receiver and kept alive drives.
Palmer actually finished with a higher passer rating than Palmer, for what it's worth, which isn't much. He completed 19 of 30 for 273 yards and two touchdowns.
Palmer's decent showing was undone by the interception and a fumble at his own 2-yard line, which set up a Broncos touchdown that turned the game into a one-sided affair.
"Being backed up like that, I've got to throw the ball out of bounds," Palmer said.
— Cornerback Phillip Adams did quite a fine job in extensive action tonight, with starter Michael Huff leaving the game with a wrist injury.
On one play, Adams recovered on a play that looked to be a sure touchdown and made a diving interception at the goal line.
"I was just doing what I was told to do," Adams said. "It wasn't anything too crazy."
Adams played much better than Ron Bartell, the other starting cornerback. Time and again, Manning went after Bartell, and he enjoyed great success.
It's unclear the extent of Huff's injury. However, Adams made a convincing case for more playing time the final three games.
"I just keep working," Adams said. "I just keep working every day and I try to put myself in the best positions possible for my teammates. They hold me accountable, and I hold them accountable. I always want to be where I need to be for them."
— Second-year quarterback Terrelle Pryor was among the 46 players active for the Raiders for the second straight game. And, for the second straight game, Pryor did not play a single down.
At some point, the Raiders need to take a look at Pryor, especially if a game reaches the point where the outcome has been decided. That time should have been when the Broncos extended their lead to 26-7 late in the third quarter.
As it were, Palmer played the entire game for the 13th straight time.
"We've had a package in for Terrelle in both games," Allen said. "But, again, like I said, we had 47 plays in the game tonight, so the situation didn't play out. Terrelle will continue to be on our active game-day roster, and we'll continue to carry a package of plays for him."
— Allen spoke with the media for the first time since he returned from Texas, where he was with his family as his father passed away.
Allen departed for Texas after the Browns game Sunday night and returned Wednesday morning. His father, Grady, died Tuesday morning at the age of 66.
"I went home on Sunday and took my father off life support, and that's not easy to do," Allen said. "So, was it hard? Yeah, it was hard. But I know my father would want me to be here with this football team. And I wanted to be here with this football team. I'm sure you guys can imagine that it wasn't an easy situation."
Allen received widespread support from the Raiders, other teams and fans during his trying time.
"A ton," Allen said. "A ton. I received a lot of support from a lot of different people. This organization has been outstanding to me, as far as that's concerned. The players, the coaches, as well as countless friends, family, even people around the league, have been very supportive of this situation."


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kirs10 wrote:If you would like, I would happily run it!
Tenkyougan wrote:But by posting stupid posts, the entire forum might look stupid. Y'know?
Idiocy infects.
Tenkyougan wrote:Therefore, it is best to avoid rather than to ignore. And kill is better than avoid.
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TODAY'S eldest Thirteeners have only the dimmest personal memory of this Lost Generation, the ex-flappers and veteran doughboys whom they vaguely recall from childhood as the burned-out old codgers of the 1960s and 1970s. But when they see old movies and newsreels, they know the Iabel fits: Kinetic Lost, as in Jimmy Cagney and Charlie Chaplin. Evil Lost, as in Boris Karloff and Edward G. Robinson. Adventuresome Lost, as in Humphrey Bogart and Douglas Fairbanks. Mischievous Lost, as in Mae West and the Marx Brothers. Tough Lost, as in "Give 'Em Hell" Harry Truman and "Blood and Guts" George Patton. However you slice it, this was a generation short on preachers -- but long on battle-scarred survivors.
The last time the word "lost" was attached to American youth was in the aftermath of the First World War; it certainly never was applied to Boomers -- who, if anything, grew up a little too "found" for most people's taste. But today the word is staging a comeback in descriptions of today's youth. Does the parallel fit?
For a start, take a look at the social mood in which the Lost Generation grew up. Can we find any similarities between 1890-1910 and, say, 1965-1985? Turn-of-the century America's mood was euphoric for the coming-of-age Missionary prophets but terrifying and disorienting to children. It was an era of widespread substance abuse, when alcohol consumption rose rapidly and newly popular drugs like cannabis (sometimes sold in candy and drinks), heroin (praised by many doctors), and cocaine (back when Coke contained the real thing) went entirely unregulated. It was an era of rising immigration, a trend that reached its peak during precisely the decades (1900-1919) when the young Lost were entering the labor market. And it was an era of prosperity mixed with a crisis of confidence -- when America suddenly became aware of long-standing institutional failures, when "good government" became synonymous with committees and process, when urban wickedness was blamed for destroying the family, and when Deweyesque educational reforms were in vogue.
All this might sound familiar. And what about the kids themselves?
Were they, perhaps, just a wee bit "bad"? Like Thirteeners, Lost kids grew up with a nasty reputation for crime and violence (popular magazines featured stories like "Bad Boy of the Street" and "Making Good Citizens Out of Bad Boys"). From the decade just before to the decade just after 1900, the number of magazine articles on "juvenile delinquency" skyrocketed.
Were they considered a little dumb? Like Thirteeners, the Lost showed little or no improvement in academic prowess from first birth cohort to last. When young Lost men took the first IQ tests, during the First World War, the results shocked the nation by showing that half the draftees had a "mental age" under twelve. During the 1920s the so-called "threat of the feeble-minded" turned many older voters against foreign immigrants (then a code phrase for stammering young workers) and prompted a Missionary psychologist, Henry Goddard, to apply "moron," "idiot," and "imbecile" as technical terms in identifying gradations of youthful stupidity. When the Lost came to fill America's elder age brackets, in the mid1960s, the gap in educational achievement between Americans over and under age sixty-five was the largest ever measured.
Did they show a bent for self-destruction? Like Thirteeners, the Lost had unusually high suicide rates during their youth, higher than for any other child generation ever measured -- until Thirteeners themselves came along. One cause of their low collective self-esteem was an inability to excuse their own failures in the marketplace (something that came easily to the generation born just before them). They were, according to F. Scott Fitzgerald, "a new generation dedicated more than the last to the fear of poverty and the worship of success."
Did they have a passion for making and spending money? Like Thirteeners, these kids grew up glorifying self-sufficiency. The word "sweatshop" was coined for them, and the motto "It's up to you" was coined by them. They entered the cash labor market as children at a higher rate than any American generation before or since. Unsupervised by parents or government, they liked to work for themselves (as newsies, bootblacks, scavengers, messengers, cashboys, piece-rate homeworkers). With work came money: the Lost built America's first big children's cash economy around candy stores and nickelodeons.
Politically retrograde? Other people called them that. Coming of age, new-breed Lost women disappointed middle-aged suffragettes (who were furious at reports that young women voted for Warren Harding because he was handsome), and their men turned a deaf ear to such older campus-touring radicals as Jack London and Upton Sinclair. Fitzgerald afterward observed that it was "characteristic of the Jazz Age that it had no interest at all in politics." Starting in the 1920s, the Lost blossomed early into this century's most Republican-leaning generation.
Like Thirteeners, the Lost learned early that you have to be tough to survive, to flaunt the physical, to avoid showing fear. Like Thirteeners, they had to grow up fast. "At seventeen we were disillusioned and weary," Malcolm Cowley recalled. Like Thirteeners, they came of age with a reputation for shamelessness ("This Flapper of 1915," the older H. L. Mencken commented, "has forgotten how to simper; she seldom blushes; and it is impossible to shock her"). Like Thirteeners, they were nomadic as young men and women, drawn to cities, to markets, to risk, to the dizzying glamour of new technologies. Like Thirteeners, they expected and received little assistance from government. And like Thirteeners, they constantly heard older people tell them that their chapter of history was likely to close the book on human progress.
The "Lost Generation" tag (invented by Gertrude Stein and used by Ernest Hemingway) became popular during the age wars that escalated after the First World War and during Prohibition. The newfound Missionary emphasis on values and decency found its natural target in the "bad" Lost youths -- their lust, drunkenness, violence, and "Black Sox" corruptibility. General "Black Jack" Pershing took brutal action against doughboy deserters. Judge Kennesaw Mountain Landis sentenced hundreds of younger (and no longer inspirational) Wobblies to hard time, and then turned his attention to cleaning up baseball. The taint followed young adults through what Frederick Lewis Allen later called "the Decade of Bad Manners," an era of gangsters, flappers, expatriates, and real-estate swindlers.
The Lost fought back with just the sort of sarcasm, ridicule, and cynicism that was bound to rile their elders. Through the 1920s embittered thirty-year-olds fought ideology with desperate hedonism, babbittry with endless binges, moral crusades with bathtub gin and opulent sex. "America was going on the greatest, gaudiest spree in history," Fitzgerald bubbled -- and John Dos Passos cried, "Down with the middle-aged!" In his 1920 Atlantic Monthly article "'These Wild Young People,' By One of Them," John Carter observed that "magazines have been crowded with pessimistic descriptions of the younger generation" -- but added, "the older generation had certainly pretty well ruined this world before passing it on to us." Almost everything young adults went in for in the twenties -- heavy drinking, loud jazz, flashy clothes, brassy marketing, kinetic dancing, extravagant gambling, sleek cars, tough talk -- sent a defiant message to pompous "tired radicals" (as young writers tauntingly called them) about the futility of searching for deeper meaning.
Later on, after the Lost entered midlife with a crash (the Great Depression), they changed character completely. In families they joined their elders in protecting children almost to the point of suffocation. In the media they were the Irving Berlins and Frank Capras who pushed the culture back to practicality and community.
In politics they turned isolationist and conservative, becoming the Liberty Leaguers and Martin, Barton, and Fish types whom FDR and his white-haired Cabinet blamed for impeding many New Deal crusades. Their two Presidents (Ike and Truman) were get-it-done old warriors, known more for personality than candlepower. At the peak of their earning years they tolerated a crushing 91 percent marginal income-tax rate to support the Marshall Plan for world peace and the GI Bill for a younger generation of veterans. As elders, they took pride in having ushered in the prosperous "American High," even while younger people accused them of being cynical, rock-ribbed reactionaries. Back in the 1950s and 1960s America's old people were extremely poor relative to the young, yet repeatedly voted for candidates who promised to cut their benefits.
PRIOR to the Missionaries and the Lost, America was home to three earlier pairs of generations matching the Boomer and Thirteener types, dating back to the very first Old World colonists. The experiences of these ancestral pairs give us important clues into how the attitudes and behavior of today's Boomers and Thirteeners could change over the decades ahead.
The lessons to be learned from earlier Boomerlike generations are these: Once they fully occupied midlife, they turned darkly spiritual, seeking the cerebral and the enduring over the faddishly popular. Once in control of public institutions, they stressed character and serenity of soul over process and programs. They approved of social punishments for violators of deeply held values, preaching morality and principle (which, as they grew older, became increasingly associated with age) over fun and materialism (which became increasingly associated with youth). Entering old age, they used their reputation for moral leadership to bring final closure to whatever problem America faced at the time, even at the risk of catastrophe. Whether the peers of Abraham Lincoln or of Sam Adams or of John Winthrop, they had all come of age during eras of spiritual awakening -- nothing like the eras of history-bending cataclysm they all presided over as elderly priest-warriors.
History suggests that the Thirteener life-cycle experience is something else altogether. Every time, the Thirteenerlike generations started out life as risk-taking opportunists, picking their way through the social detritus left behind by their Boomerlike predecessors. And every time, reaching midlife at a time of national crisis and personal burnout, they underwent a profound personality transformation. Their risk-taking gave way to caution, their wildness and alienation turned into exhaustion and conservatism, and their nomadic individualism matured into a preference for strong community life. The same unruly rebels and adventurers who alarmed the Colonies during the 1760s later became the crusty old Patrick Henrys and George Washingtons who warned younger statesmen against gambling with the future. The same gold-chasing forty-niners and Civil War brigands whom Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. called a generation whose "hearts were touched with fire" became the stodgy "Old Guard" Victorians of the Gilded Era. The same gin-fizz "Flaming Youth" who electrified America during the 1920s became the Norman Rockwells and Dwight Eisenhowers who calmed America during the 1950s.
All these generations repeatedly found themselves in situations that are becoming familiar to
Thirteeners. When something went right, they always got less than their share of the credit; when something went wrong, they always got more than their share of the blame. In contrast, the Boomerlike generations always found a way to claim more than their share of
the credit and accept less than their share of blame. Small wonder, then, that the Boom types kept stepping in and out of generational arguments.
If history tells us that the Boom-Thirteenth quarrel will worsen over the coming decade, it also suggests when and how this new generation gap could resolve itself. The experience of their like-minded ancestors suggests that once Boomers start entering old age, they will ease their attacks on Thirteeners. Once they see their values focus taking firm root in American institutions -- and once their hopes are fixed on a new and more optimistic (post-Thirteenth) generation -- Boomers will lose interest in the quarrel. As they enter midlife, Thirteeners will likewise tire of goading Boomers. As they change their life tack from risk to caution they will quit trying to argue about Boomer goals and will focus their attention on how to achieve their own goals practically, with no more hurt than is absolutely necessary.
The key to a favorable resolution of the Boom-Thirteenth clash may lie in one of its inherent causes. To find this cause, visit America's hospital nurseries or day-care centers or primary-school classrooms, grades K through 5. It's the fledgling "Millennial Generation" of Jessica McClure and Baby M, of Jebbie Bush and Al Gore III, whose birth years will ultimately reach from 1982 or so to sometime around 2000. Recall that one big reason Boomers are so intent on policing Thirteener behavior is to clear and clean the path for these Babies on Board to grow up as the smartest, best-behaved, most civic-minded kids in the history of humankind -- or, at a minimum, a whole lot better than Thirteeners. And while Thirteeners would hardly put it the same way, they, too, are eager to reseed the desert that was their youth and help the nation treat the next round of kids to a happier start in life.
Has this happened before? Yes -- most recently when today's GI seniors were children. Midlife Missionaries fussed mightily over these kids, praying that they would turn out as good as the Lost had been bad. And by all accounts that's just what the GIs became: from the sunny optimism of Pollyanna to the team spirit of the Rooney Garland teen films, from the good deeds performed by the uniformed CCC to the globe-conquering accomplishments of soldiers whom the Missionary General George Marshall lauded as "the best damned kids in the world." GIs responded to the sacrifices of their parents with respectful deference.
America still does not treat children very well. Older generations still burden them with mounting debt and decaying public works, and tolerate an economic order that condemns many more children than older people to poverty and unmet health-care needs. But look around. From bipartisan proposals to increase Headstart and Medicaid funding for toddlers to surging popular interest in elementary schools, from the crackdown on deadbeat dads to the call for infant safety seats on airplanes, a national consensus is emerging that the childhood world must and will be repaired. It won't happen in time to save today's inner-city teens and $7-an-hour twentysomethings, but maybe it will in time to save the wanted, Scoutlike kids coming up just behind Bart Simpson.
If, slowly but surely, Millennials receive the kind of family protection and public generosity that GIs enjoyed as children, then they could come of age early in the next century as a group much like the GIs of the 1920s and 1930s -- as a stellar (if bland) generation of rationalists, team players, and can-do civic builders. Two decades from now Boomers entering old age may well see in their grown Millennial children an effective instrument for saving the world, while Thirteeners entering midlife will shower kindnesses on a younger generation that is getting a better deal out of life (though maybe a bit less fun) than they ever got at a like age. Study after story after column will laud these "best damn kids in the world" as heralding a resurgent American greatness. And, for a while at least, no one will talk about a generation gap.


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WASHINGTON — Mitt Romney, true to his roots as the son of an auto executive, was talking about cars.
It was May 2006. Mr. Romney, the Massachusetts governor, was chatting up his Montana counterpart about his vision for an energy-efficient car of the future — lightweight and narrow, with tandem-style seating, so that two vehicles could drive side by side in one highway lane.
"He was getting animated about all these little cars that would be driving around in these lanes," Brian Schweitzer, the Montana governor, recalled in an interview. Mr. Schweitzer, a Democrat, laughed, thinking about how Republicans might react. "I said, 'Mitt, if you ever run for president, don't ever talk about that again.' "
Today, as the Republican nominee for president, Mr. Romney is far more apt to talk about oil drilling than energy-efficient cars. He has presented a plan to open up more land and coastline to oil and gas drilling, grant speedy approval to the Keystone pipeline to transport crude oil from Canada to the United States, end wind and solar power subsidies and curb regulations that discourage burning coal for electricity. It is an agenda far different from the one he outlined in his early days as governor.
He populated his Massachusetts administration with environmentalists, including one, Gina McCarthy, who now runs the clean air division of the Environmental Protection Agency under President Obama. He railed against the "Filthy Five," high-polluting power plants in the state. He issued a "climate protection plan" and lauded it as "among the strongest in our nation." Under his direction, Massachusetts helped create a regional cap-and-trade program — anathema to most Republicans — intended to cut the greenhouse gas emissions that scientists believe cause global warming.
But at the last minute, Mr. Romney refused to sign the greenhouse gas pact that his aides had spent more than two years negotiating; industry opposed it, and some former Romney policy advisers say his political team feared that it would doom his chances for the presidency. A current campaign policy adviser, Oren Cass, said Mr. Romney simply evaluated the proposal and "concluded the costs imposed on the economy would be too high."
Today in Massachusetts, environmentalists credit Mr. Romney with helping to promote smart growth and reducing air pollution by putting in place tough regulations curbing certain toxic emissions from power plants. They also praise him for signing into law a bill embracing oil spill prevention measures. But many feel betrayed by his surprise reversal on the climate change pact.
"He was ahead of his time and very progressive," said Jack Clarke, who was appointed to an ocean management task force by Mr. Romney and now directs public policy at Mass Audubon, a conservation group. "But by the end of his administration, he seemed to have gotten Potomac fever. The conservation agenda he had didn't seem to be a core conviction."
A Policy Develops
Mr. Romney got an up-close lesson in conservation growing up in the Detroit suburb of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., where his father, George, ran the American Motors Corporation. The car company, which like its competitors marketed big, gas-hungry cars, was struggling. George Romney turned the company around by marketing the Rambler — a boxy, no-frills but fuel-efficient vehicle. Time Magazine put him on its cover.
"One of the most anticipated announcements at our house every year was the winner of the Mobil Economy Run, and Rambler often won because it achieved 30 miles a gallon or more — not bad even by today's standards," Mr. Romney wrote in his book, "No Apology." "Dad called his competitors' cars 'gas guzzling dinosaurs,' a term that he helped make popular."
Decades later, when he was governor, Mr. Romney remarked to an adviser, Rob Gray, that "we'd be a lot better off in this country if we had European gas prices" because Americans would buy more energy-efficient cars. He also invited Amory B. Lovins, the head of the Rocky Mountain Institute, a nonprofit research organization devoted to energy efficiency, to meet with him in Boston. While Mr. Lovins "shared his vision of a 75 m.p.g. hybrid automobile built with high strength steel and composites," Mr. Romney wrote, "I shared my own dream for a super-efficient commuter vehicle."
When Mr. Romney ran for governor in 2002, he fashioned himself "in the tradition of New England Yankee Republicans," Mr. Clarke said — a tradition in which "the environment is a nonpartisan issue."
He was animated by ideas like smart growth and sustainable development, former aides say. He wanted high-density housing clustered near public transportation, pedestrian-friendly urban areas and parks. To carry out his vision, he created an Office for Commonwealth Development, headed by an über-secretary who would integrate policy in housing, transportation, energy and the environment.
The man Mr. Romney installed in that job was Doug Foy, who had spent 25 years at the helm of the Conservation Law Foundation, an advocacy group that had sued Massachusetts numerous times on matters ranging from air pollution to cleaning up Boston Harbor. Mr. Foy says he found Mr. Romney "intellectually struck" by environmental concerns, though he filtered them through a business-friendly lens.
He would ask, "Is there a role for government, or do you just let the market rip?" Mr. Foy recalled.
Mr. Foy's hiring rankled business executives. Environmentalists, though, were thrilled.
"It was like Nixon to China," said Ian Bowles, a Democrat who later served as energy secretary to Deval Patrick, the current Massachusetts governor. "Here was a left-leaning Republican who was going to be able to accomplish things on the environment that Democrats had not been able to do. Here's the C.E.O. of the most powerful environmental group, going to take on a super-secretariat with the governor saying all the right things on greenhouse gases, smart growth and the clean tech industry."
One of the first issues Mr. Romney and Mr. Foy tackled involved an aging coal plant in Salem that was spewing dirty particulates and was required by state regulations to clean up by 2004. The plant's owner wanted extra time. The governor said no; three weeks into his administration, he denounced the company at a news conference.
"He strongly wanted to clean up the air," said Eric Kriss, who founded the private equity firm Bain Capital with Mr. Romney and followed him to the Statehouse to become finance secretary. The governor and his entourage drove to Salem, where Mr. Romney confronted angry pickets — coal workers who said he was costing them their jobs.
"I will not create jobs or hold jobs that kill people," Mr. Romney thundered. "And that plant, that plant kills people."
'No Regrets' Strategy
By the time Mr. Romney took office in January 2003, Massachusetts was already developing a "climate protection plan" focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Back then Mr. Romney — who has said he believes that "climate change is occurring" and that "human activity is a contributing factor," though he is not certain how much — simply avoided the question of the scientific evidence, which prompts skepticism from some conservatives. "We didn't have a big conversation about the science," said Sonia Hamel, who advised Mr. Romney on climate change.
The resulting 53-page document, released in 2004, laid out a blueprint for what Mr. Romney called his "no regrets" strategy. It called for, among other things, reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2010 — a pledge adopted in 2001 by a bipartisan group of New England governors — and it promoted hybrid cars and "clean, fuel-efficient vehicles for the state fleet." Mr. Romney argued that no matter what people believed about climate change, the measures would be good for the economy.
In New York, another Republican governor, George E. Pataki, wanted to do even more. In the summer of 2003, Mr. Pataki invited Mr. Romney to participate in regional negotiations to develop a cap-and-trade program — a market-based trading system to regulate emissions from power plants, in which businesses would buy and sell pollution credits — for states in the Northeast. Mr. Romney said he was open to the idea.
Power companies and other businesses lobbied against the plan, saying it would drive up electricity costs. At a clean energy conference in November 2005, though, Mr. Romney spoke favorably of it. "This is a great thing for the commonwealth," he said, according to The Boston Globe, arguing that the pact would prompt businesses to develop clean and renewable energy technology.
But the following month, after more than two years of intense negotiations among Massachusetts and eight other states — Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont — Mr. Romney started getting cold feet. Ms. Hamel, who was leading the negotiations for Massachusetts, said Mr. Romney's chief of staff, Beth Myers, insisted that Mr. Romney would sign on only if the deal included a limit on what power plants would have to pay to emit pollution — a condition that New York and several other states opposed.
Ms. Myers declined to be interviewed. Ms. Hamel saw Ms. Myers's involvement as a sign that Mr. Romney's political team was concerned about how the plan would affect his presidential ambitions. Franz Litz, the chief negotiator for New York, said he viewed Mr. Romney's new conditions as "a ruse."
But Mr. Kriss, the Bain co-founder, said the process simply reflected Mr. Romney's decision-making style.
"I think he just didn't get comfortable at the very end, but he didn't want to stop a creative activity," Mr. Kriss said. "It was like that at Bain Capital. He would let some partner pursue some deal, and at the end he would say, 'I know you worked on this for six months, but we're not going to do it.' "
The other states eventually went ahead without Massachusetts (and Rhode Island, which also dropped out), and the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, known as "Reggie," became the first market-based regulatory program in the nation focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Massachusetts has since joined under Mr. Patrick, but in New Jersey, Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, has announced his intention to drop out.
On Dec. 12, 2005, in an interview on national television, Mr. Romney embraced drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge — a position that, like his withdrawal from the cap-and-trade negotiations, aligned him more closely with the right wing of his party.
A few days later, the governor informed the people of Massachusetts that he would not be seeking re-election — a sign, many residents believed, that he had set his sights on the presidency.


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Blessed with talent and physical maturity, the kids who skated in the All-American Prospects Game on Saturday night make hockey look easy. But there's nothing simple about earning the right to pull on a Team USA sweater.
That's why it means so much to the lucky ones who can.
"Wearing that jersey is just an honor," forward J.T. Compher said in First Niagara Center. "It's amazing just to put it on in national competition. It's so much fun. It's something that I try not to take for granted."
USA Hockey's famed National Development Team Program (NDTP) makes sure its players know the country's hockey history. The organization also provides the blueprint for becoming part of that lore.
"They run a tight ship over there," said forward Tyler Motte, one of 16 players who came to Buffalo from national team headquarters in Ann Arbor, Mich. "The school, the rink, they make sure you get everything done. Everything is kind of to a T over there, a lot of details, but they do it right."
Founded in 1996, the NDTP has seen 211 of its players drafted by the NHL, and 60 played in the league last year. The kids who took part in Team McClanahan's 5-2 victory over Team Housley in front of an announced crowd of 5,519 hope they showed they can add to the numbers.
"You can see with the development program how that's helped in developing kids," said Phil Housley, one of the coaches for Saturday's inaugural event. "It started in '96, and it produced a lot of first-rounders (45). Not maybe the overall depth in the draft, but certainly we're producing a lot of higher-impact players."
A look at the daily schedule explains why. The players go to public high schools in Ann Arbor until 1:30 p.m. That's followed by a two-hour practice. It's off the weight room after that. USA Hockey also conducts life skills classes for the prospects.
Then, every weekend, it's time for games. The under-18 team competes in the United States Hockey League, the country's premier junior league.
"It was a good experience being able to see what they do there," said Team Housley goaltender Hunter Miska, who is in his second season with the NDTP. "The workout was unreal. That was my biggest part probably. I came in there at 146 pounds and I left at 171, so it was great."
The results in international competition have been as tangible as Miska's weight gain. USA Hockey has claimed seven gold medals, including the last four, at the under-18 world championships since 2002. The under-20 world junior championship team has won gold and bronze the past two years, the first time the United States has earned back-to-back medals in the 35-year history of the tournament.
"With all the kids from all 50 states playing hockey, it's an honor just to be mentioned in the top 23 (on the U.S. under-18 team) and the 40 here in this game," Motte said.
The pride of being part of USA Hockey, and by extension the All-American Prospects Game, was evident in every conversation with the players. They're honored to follow in the footsteps of Americans such as Patrick Kane, Ryan Kesler, Nick Foligno and Jordan Leopold.
"There's so much to look up to," Compher said. "It just gives you so much hope to know that it's been done, and if you put in the work that you can do it."
Housley, who represented the United States in 11 international competitions, is thrilled to hear the next generation values the red, white and blue as much as he did.
"That's great to hear that the kids are honored to be a part of this hockey game," Housley said. "Anytime you get to represent your country it's a great honor, whether you're a player or a coach."
email: email@example.com


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This introduction video, via KCKRS, is perhaps the greatest semi-official compilation of cheap Canadian stereotypes known to man.
Toronto FC was in KC last night to play Sporting Kansas City—both are in something called Major League Soccer—and evidently KC's video department did not have the usual zip file of opposing team head shots for introductions.
So they had player photos that included Dudley Do-Right, Bob and Doug McKenzie, Justin Bieber, and a cup of Tim Horton's. Watch 'em above. They're funny. Canada's the worst.
Toronto FC Have The Most Amazing Jumbotron Lineup Video Ever [KCKRS]


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Mall name:
3 South Tunnel Road, Asheville, North Carolina - NC 28805
Phone number to Asheville Mall mall
828 298 0012
Hours (mall)
Monday - Saturday 10:00 am - 9:00 pm, Sunday Noon - 6:00 pm.
Driving directions
Other stores in Asheville Mall:
Looking for another location of aerie store?
Go to aerie store locator to see all aerie stores


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Artist description:
10%ink left
Flash Draw Created Jul 11, 2008 470 x 338px Unless noted Copyright 2008 IIII.
We encourage you to submit a comment and let the artist know what you think of this drawing. Please log in or join to post a comment.
Post a comment
Haha ;D Too funny Love it!!! Collect
cannot resist felines, particularly adore Siamese cats..bravo!!!!!5/5.and.fav..
Is the fish biting the cat or is it just me? Lol! The bowl that the cat and fish are in looks so clear and realistic. I love how you drew the water in it and how the cat looks like it is struggling. The cat looks so fuzzy, poor thing haha. 5/5 & fav.
omg so brilliant idea wow,love this so much.5/5.
LOL this is so cute and funny xD 5/5 :D
ohh it so cute wonderful job! :D 5 hearts-collection-favs
OH NO! LOL! "Stop biting my tail!" LOL! Great work! 5++++++++++
soo cute
my cat did that one time!
hahahaha This is so funny!!!!! 5/5


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Last of the Wild Project
Project DescriptionThe Last of the Wild Dataset of the Last of the Wild Project, Version 1, 2002 (LWP-1) is derived from the LWP-1 Human Footprint Dataset. The gridded data are classified according to their raster value (wild = 0-10; not wild >10). The ten largest polygons of more than 5 square kilometers within each biome by realm are selected and identified. This dataset is produced by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and Columbia University Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), and is available in the Interrupted Goode Homolosine Projection (IGHP) system.
Information provided by http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/gateway/guides/lwpv1_lwighp.html


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. Knitting Literature
Knitting Literature
Category: favorite books
Back in school, I was a bit of a bookworm. I once got in trouble for reading a "Magic Tree House" book during 3rd grade math class. My books often had spaghetti sauce splattered on the pages, because I read during dinner (and breakfast, and lunch). I walked through the supermarket aisles with a book in front of my face, and occasionally apologized to inanimate objects. (I know what you're thinking: "This girl must've been so popular and cool!")
Well, I still love books, and now I get to order books about knitting for all of you to enjoy! Some of my favorites are books about books — knitting books based on literature. Today is a perfect day to be cozy at home, curled up with your knitting or a good book (or both, thanks to audiobooks!), so let me show you a few of the books from our shelves.
Literary Knits by Nikol Lohr is the book that first got me started on knitting patters from literature. This is a bookworm's dream — a sweater inspired by The Metamorphosis (complete with beetle yoke), a cozy hood designed for Lyra from The Golden Compass, and even a blouse that provides and answer to every Jane Austen fan's burning question: WWEBW? (What Would Elizabeth Bennet Wear?)
The next knitting literature book to capture my fancy was Green Gables Knits, by Joanna Johnson. This book of "patterns for kindred spirits" brings alive the world of L.M. Montgomery's red-haired heroine with patterns for all of your favorite characters. I especially like the simplicity and thoughtful details of these patterns — Matthew's Vest is quiet, dignified, and classic, while Diana's Hat is pictured in a delightful shade of raspberry. Green Gables Knits also includes wonderful vintage photographs of places mentioned in the series, as well as quotes paired with each of the patterns.
The most recent addition to the collection is based on both literature and a very popular TV show. Sherlock Knits, also by Joanna Johnson, features Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous detective, but you will notice the strong resemblance of the male model to a certain uniquely-named actor who stars in the current BBC series. I doubt it's a coincidence (the universe is rarely so lazy), but I'm not complaining. And the patterns are nice to look at, too. The Scotland Yard vest is especially striking, and the houndstooth print would make for a fun, engaging knit.
I hope you're all staying safe and cozy today! What are some of your favorite books — knitting or otherwise?


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ILO Mekong Sub-Regional Project to Combat Trafficking in Children and Women
Project by the International Labour Organisation, regional office of Asia and the Pacific. The website offers good and extensive information resources on trafficking and economic exploitation of Women and Children in the Mekong region (Cambodia, China (Yunnan), Lao PDR, Thailand and Viet Nam)
Project to Combat Trafficking in Children and Women (TIWC) is part of the ILO effort to achieve full ratification and development of ILO Convention 182 (Elimination of Worst Forms of Child Labour)
The project addresses trafficking in children and women preventively and holistically and is designed for and implemented at sub-regional level, incorporating five different countries. Sub-regional, national, provincial / district and community level are actively inter-linked in the project through regular cross sharing of information, and reporting on lessons learned in targeted sites in such a way that they inform future policy making.
TICW Phase II has formal collaboration agreements with Save the Children UK and the International Organization of Migration.
Website offers all their publications free in pdf format for easy download
Contact Details:
Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RO-Bangkok):
11th Floor, United Nations Building
Rajdamnern Nok Avenue
P.O. Box 2-349
Bangkok 10200, Thailand.
Tel: +662.288.1234, Fax: +662.288.1735 or E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com


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Dan's hobby/obsession
Workouts and musings from a recovering CPA who returned to swimming after a 20 year absence (Div III, Claremont/Mudd/Scripps--Claremont, CA) and picked up a couple other sports in the process and became a summertime triathlete & a wintertime swimmer.
I swim mostly on my own, but occasionally practice with the Monroe Y Masters team. Many workouts are lifted from other websites, though I have started designing my own workouts recently and welcome suggestions.
I'm looking forward to a fun winter swim season before shifting gears (again) to running and triathlons in the spring and summer. This summer I will be participating in Ironman Canada and need to devote some time to cycling to pull it off successfully!


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The Living Heirloom® Collection brings Hawaiian Heirloom jewelry to life. Uncurling hāpu'u fern tips and vines of royal maile, wrapped intimately as one, embodying love, honor, respect and new beginnings.
14K yellow and white gold necklace, 30" in length "Living Heirloom" Design, 27mmView full product details
Hawaii, with its temperate climate, exquisite beaches, and wondrous landscape has become one of the world's premier travel destinations. It's not surprising that upon visiting, travelers wish to take home a souvenir that represents the magic of the islands. Owning a piece of beautiful hand-crafted coral jewelry or a selection of Hawaiian Heirloom Jewelry is the perfect way to take home a little of the culture and tradition of the Hawaiian Islands.
Hawaiian Heirloom Jewelry originated in the late 1800's when Queen Victoria of England presented Queen Kapi'olani and Princess Lili'uokalani with a gift of gold bracelets with black enamel engraving. The Hawaiian Queen and Princess were so inspired by Queen Victoria's gift, that they had similar jewelry designed to reflect their own rich Hawaiian heritage. Thus, over 125 years ago, the tradition of Hawaiian Heirloom Jewelry was born and continues today as a treasured collectible and a symbol of Hawaiian culture and tradition.
Maui Divers Jewelry offers a wide variety of custom-designed coral and traditional Hawaiian Heirloom Jewelry in 14KT gold. Coral creations are offered in black coral as well as gold and rare deep-water pink and red corals. These designs often feature pearls and other precious gemstones. Hawaiian Heirloom Jewelry is available with conventional island inspired engravings or can be customized with contemporary personal messages. All pieces are created with precise care and attention to detail. Each individually crafted piece is guaranteed for a lifetime.


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Its become a bit of a traditional for the EFW Team to treat ourselves to an annual day out to the Wembley for the League Two play-off final each May. Some of the teams we've seen have made lasting impressions with us and we've end up following their every move, whereas others, we've unceremoniously tossed straight back in the sea. Since we saw them lose 2-3 to Stockport in the 2008 final, Rochdale AFC have put their foot firmly in the lasting impressions camp.
We certainly don't want to see them again at this years final though. Having famously spent 35 years in League Two/Division Four/Basement Division call it what you want, Dale are now - as I type - top of the league, 8 points clear of Rothers in fourth place with just 18 games to play.
If Rochdale do gain that illusive promotion, then manager Keith Hill will surely become the biggest thing to come out of the town since Cyril Smith. Their fans in Lancashire keeping everything crossed that this team really could be the 'Dale of the Century'.
To celebrate their efforts this season and to help spur them onto success, we dialled up Colin Cavanah, Editor of RochdaleAFC.com to find out a bit more about The Dale:
What is the best thing about supporting Rochdale? The best thing about supporting Rochdale is that we are a million miles away from the Premiership. We're supporters, not customers, and we genuinely feel like we're part of the club. We enter each season believing we have a genuine chance, and each game with the hope of victory, rather than these Premiership sides celebrating wildly at goalless draws.We do things properly, live within our means, and when things get tight, we budget accordingly.
And the worst? The worst thing is competing amongst a set of clubs who operate under a different set of rules. Teams who make signings above their station, prospering as a result before going down the easy route of administration not long after. When we reached Wembley in 2008, we did so despite having to sell our top scorer. Opponents Stockport beat us, yet found themselves unable to pay their way within weeks. Until the FL get to grips and start relegating sides, it will continue to happen.
What is the RAFC support like in terms of numbers and noise? In terms of home supporters, we get anything between 2,500 and 3,500 depending on all the usual factors like League position, weather, time of the year etc. Like most sides in our division, home support is usually quiet at the best of times, with the vocal support usually coming on our travels. For a few years, we've had the best away support in terms of percentage of home support apparently.
What is the away allocation given to fans at Spotland and do any teams in League Two ever fill that? Rather bizarrely we give our best stand to away fans, meaning that they have over 3,500 seats for away supporters. It's not been filled for a League Two game as of yet, but a couple of sides have come close. Hartlepool probably were the closest when they came chasing the title a few years back.
Who have been the best fans to visit Spotland this season? It's always tough to judge the best away fans. In terms of noise produced, it was undoubtedly Accrington Stanley, but they're an example of one of those horrible facebook group created sets of supporters which always feel a little bit manufactured. Sadly, they've inspired a number of copycat groups at other League Two sides.
Who are RAFC's rivals? Can't look further than Bury on this one. Separated by about six miles, it's one of the closest derbies in English football (ignoring those where it's 2 teams within the same town or city). The geography of so many football clubs in the North West area can see rivalries come and go depending on who is in the same division. For many supporters, Oldham remain the long term rivals but we've not played them in a League in most supporters' lifetimes.
Sadly, there has been crowd disorder in recent games with Bury hasn't there? I think that's giving it too much importance. It's the usual story that the heavy police presence allows certain groups from both clubs to act all mouthy and play the hard man routine knowing full well that the Police have things well under control and that there's no chance of breaking through the Police lines for an actual confrontation. Unfortunately, the 99% majority suffer with pub closures and early kick offs because of this.
Do the majority of people in Rochdale support the local team? Yes. Apart from they think the local team is United or City. You get many a City supporter in Rochdale pubs, complaining that United fans don't come from Manchester ignoring the obvious irony. I suppose given our history, we don't do too bad for supporters, with the crowds these days massively up on the crowds I grew up with back in the 1980's.
What is Rochdale like as a town? It's not great. It perhaps speaks volumes that the most successful thing about the town is the Football League's least successful club.
What pubs would you recommend in town if the EFW team came to visit Spotland? Spotland is a great trip if you're coming for a drink. There's not many clubs with a proper, genuine, not club owned pub built into the ground (The Dale Bar), and there's a pub about thirty yards from the away end turnstiles with a chippy en route (The Church Inn). Slightly further afield is the Cemetery which is legendary in the real ale circles.
Tell us about the Dale Trust. It's not as well run as it used to be. Seriously, they do a fantastic job and are very well respected within the fan base. I think they've got the correct balance between working with the club and working on behalf of the supporters. There's no ambition on their part to own the club, but there's enough shareholding to allow them to stick their nose in and have their say. Perhaps just as importantly, the club themselves look upon the Trust in a very positive way, and are happy to work with them.
Famously, you've spent 35 years in the same division - a fact you must be sick of. There is going to be on helluva party if you go up this season isn't there? I don't think anyone can actually predict the sort of scenes that there'll be. All these years have led to a very cautious outlook, and we're not going to make any sort of preparations as to what might happen. Let's wait for it to be mathematically certain first.
What has been the best moment in RAFC history to date? From a personal point of view, it was the season where they introduced relegation from the Football League. At one point, we were dead and buried - six points adrift at Easter. However, a little lad called Lyndon Simmonds joined us on loan from Leeds and provided us with one of the most remarkable comebacks to ensure League survival.
Do you like the fact you share the ground with the local rugby league club - The Hornets? In an ideal world, yes. It's allowed both clubs to obtain grants to improve Spotland from a ramshackle shed into a super little stadium. However, the last few years have seen the Rugby Club been nothing but trouble, with their lack of contribution over the years a real sticking point for a large number of Dale supporters. When they went into administration last year, we lost out to the tune of around £80,000.
Can you sum up Dale in a Tweet of less than 140 characters? Is that like a Facebook status thing? This dog is currently having its day.
I think most neutrals outside of Bury will join us in wishing Dale all the best for the remainder of the season. The EFW Team have definitely got the last game of the season - away to Barnet on May 8th - inked in our diaries.
Thanks to the Rochdale Observer for the photos and of course Colin for being so generous with his time.


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Okay, I admit it. I am also a fan of JLo. She and Dolly have a lot in common in some ways, but are totally different in music and lifestyle, I'm sure.
But yeah, I am a member of a JLo fansite. I buy her fragrances and love her products and stuff.
I wish Dolly would come out with a fragrance. I think I will start another post on that subject


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Commercial, Products, Regulatory
By Staff Writer | September 27, 2013
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Bell Helicopter has selected aerospace and defense industry filtration systems manufacturer Donaldson to provide engine protection on the 525 Relentless. Under the contract, Donaldson will begin supplying transmission oil filter assemblies for the main rotor gearbox, tail rotor gearbox, intermediate gearbox and reduction gearbox in 2014. The Bell 525 will also feature factor-installed options for inlet barrier filter (IBF) systems for protection of the Bell 525 Relentless twin GE CT7-2F1 engine and Honeywell RE100 auxiliary power unit. Prototypes of the new IBFs are currently in the design phase, with delivery scheduled for early 2014 in time for the first flight of the Bell 525 Relentless.
Related: Engines News


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Using Microsoft Dynamics CRM, companies can empower employees to increase sales, improve service, enhance customer satisfaction and retention, and drive greater value from every customer relationship. Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Unleashed presents start-to-finish guidance for planning, customizing, deploying, integrating, and managing Dynamics CRM in your unique business and technical environment. Authored by two leading Microsoft Dynamics implementers, this book systematically explains how the system works, why it works that way, and how you can leverage it to fullest advantage. Drawing on their unsurpassed experience with Microsoft Dynamics, the authors present clear examples, proven best practices, and pitfalls to avoid in using every significant Dynamics CRM capability. This book s far-reaching coverage ranges from Dynamics CRM s sales, marketing, and customer service features to its automated workflows; from Outlook and Office integration to reporting and security. Along the way, the authors offer independent insight into Dynamics CRM s most powerful new features, from its improved interface to its new mail merge and data migration tools. Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Unleashed is for every IT professional who intends to work with Dynamics CRM, regardless of their experience with Dynamics or other CRM solutions. The authors thoroughly introduce all the basic concepts and techniques you ll need, while also providing example-rich, realistic coverage of advanced Dynamics customization, extensibility, and integration: information that is available nowhere else. DETAILED INFORMATION ON HOW TO Set up, configure, and maintain all facets of Microsoft Dynamics CRM in any organization or industry Thoroughly understand both the on-premise and hosted versions of Dynamics CRM Make the most of Dynamics new features, including email, the Outlook client, Internet Facing Deployment (IFD), and relationships Manage sales leads, opportunities, accounts, contacts, marketing lists, sales collateral, campaigns, quotes, orders, and invoices Improve customer service by integrating schedules, cases, contacts, product/service information, and more Build powerful automated workflows that streamline key sales tasks and liberate salespeople for more effective selling Efficiently administer and secure any Dynamics CRM implementation Drive greater value by integrating Dynamics CRM with Microsoft Office productivity tools Customize and extend Dynamics CRM using Visual Studio, .NET, and third-party plug-ins and add-ons ON THE WEB: Download all of this book s examples and source code at www.informit.com/title/9780672329708Wolenik, Marc J. is the author of 'Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Unleashed', published 2008 under ISBN 9780672329708 and ISBN 0672329700.[read more]
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Microsoft has announced the immediate availability of Windows HPC Server 2008 R2. This server offers new capabilities for powerful analysis.
"This release of Windows HPC server is a key step in our long-term goal to make the power of technical computing accessible to a broader set of customers, with capabilities across the desktop, servers and the cloud," said Bill Hilf, general manager, Microsoft Technical Computing Group. "Customers in all industries can use Windows HPC Server as a foundation for building and running simulations that model the world around us, speeding discovery and helping to make better decisions."
Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 technical advancements inlcude:
- A comprehensive and integrated solution. With Windows HPC Server, customers have an end-to-end HPC platform and do not need to spend additional time and money to piece together multiple technologies. It provides a streamlined experience for administrators and users because it is interoperable with the Microsoft IT infrastructure many customers have invested in and use today, such as Active Directory, SharePoint Server, Microsoft System Center, and Microsoft Office.
- New capabilities for more powerful analysis and computation. HPC Services for Excel 2010 in Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 reduces calculation time of huge, complex spreadsheets by orders of magnitude. For example, calculation of a workbook with 1,700 records dropped from 14 hours to less than three minutes. In addition, customers can now turn spare processor cycles on Windows 7-based workstations into desktop compute clouds that expand the capacity of Windows HPC Server clusters.
- Growing application support. Hundreds of technical computing applications currently run on Windows HPC Server 2008 R2, with a sixteenfold increase over the past two years.
The cloud is a key pillar of Microsoft's Technical Computing initiative. At the High Performance Computing Financial Markets Conference, Microsoft demonstrated how customers will be able to burst HPC workloads from their on-premises datacenters to the cloud for elastic, just-in-time processing power. In the near future, the company will release an update to Windows HPC Server that allows customers to provision and manage HPC nodes in Windows Azure from within on-premises server clusters.
At the conference, Microsoft also highlighted another tenet of its Technical Computing initiative: Simplifying the development of HPC applications for the new generation of distributed, or parallel, computing resources on client systems, server clusters and in the cloud. With Windows HPC Server 2008 R2, Visual Studio 2010, and partners such as Intel Corporation and NVIDIA, Microsoft is providing an integrated parallel computing platform upon which developers can efficiently design, test, and optimize parallel code for deployment on client, cluster or cloud computing resources.


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By Julie van der Poel Feb 25, 2013 0
Seeking Crystal Ball
First published November 7, 2011.
There have been times in my life when I would have given anything to have a peek into a crystal ball. I find this transition phase of Cameron's development to be such a moment. I'm one to those people who need a plan. I obsess over details of that plan, and see it through to the bitter end. I'm finding myself struggling to make a plan for Cameron's future, even though I so desperately want to. If I could just peek into a crystal ball that would show me what Cameron will be like three to five years down the road, it would make life so much easier!
You would think that being the parent of a child with disabilities would require that I develop a fair amount of patience along the way. Not so much, especially when it comes to planning Cameron's future. Having the vast world of the internet at my finger tips has not helped matters. I find myself Googling the most obscure things in an attempt to find a clear path for Cameron. Just for example's sake, I've found myself researching: course offerings from community colleges, US News & World Report's college ranking website (for highest acceptance rates), and car safety data in the event Cameron passes his written exam and needs to buy a car. I've drawn the line at looking up rents for nearby apartments, but there are days when I'm tempted. Of course, this is all rather pie in the sky. It's not as if I have unlimited access to cash to fund these endeavors. Could I please just have a peek in that crystal ball to see if Cameron will be able to earn an income to support himself? If Cameron can't get by with the typical amount of support a young adult gets from their parents, then what? Will postsecondary education provide him anything more than a few schedule entries on the days he attends class? Or will he suddenly experience some sort of developmental milestone, and actually be able access curriculum in a fully integrated setting?
It's interesting how my thought process has changed over the years. I've gone from thinking postsecondary education would be a wasted effort for Cameron, to considering the possibility of him attending a four-year college as a non-degree seeking student. But as my path matures, it makes me that much more anxious to see where it will come out. I realize even a crystal ball affording me a peek into the future might not be enough to squelch my anxiety. I'm probably looking for something more along the lines of the Gwyneth Paltrow movie, Sliding Doors. In this movie, we get to experience two versions of the heroine's life based on dumping the loser boyfriend or sticking with him. Wouldn't it be grand if we could see how our futures would be altered for all those major decisions? Would paying for a couple of years away at "college" help Cameron grow socially, emotionally, and academically? Or would the money be put to better use spread across more time while he lives at home?
Ah well, if this were a Hollywood production, it would have plenty of potential for sequels. But alas, I must make these decisions without a crystal ball and without a Hollywood ending. I'll just have to make do with good old fashioned gut instincts. Wish me luck!


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Courtney A. Walsh necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 60 diseños de 19 diseñadores freelance.
At the moment I am consolidating the following websites into one centralized hub---the new homebase URL wiIl be called http://www.loonybus.com---a virtual tour site for high schools and colleges to book me as a mental wellness speaker and to showcase my author clips, etc.
Current site being revamped: http://www.lipstickandthongbook.com
Tandem sites: http://www.scribechickie.blogspot.com
I need a look and feel that is fun, funky, empowering, but also something appealing to high schools and colleges as well as treatment centers yet NOT BORING.
NOTE: please work primarily with color scheme of book's cover NOT necessarily rainbow font theme of current website--thanks! http://www.lulu.com/content/1076267
Let's face it...I want to help people...but I also want to sell books. :) I don't think the two goals are mutually exclusive. What would be ideal would be a logo that can be parlayed into a web page template for a central page that is being created by a programmer pal right now. He can incorporate your amazing design, which will be more creative than corporate, into his navigation design for the overall structure of the web page.
Loonybus is a concept...it's about mental wellness with a humorous twist. I am personally trying to destigmatize the taboos around suicide. Irony and satire welcome. I do however also need to be taken seriously by high schools and colleges so nothing so over the top that a high school principal will have a heart attack. Here's a weird thought for inspiration: Think MTV meets Schoolhouse Rock with a little bit of I Love Lucy fun retro with a Sex in the City modern twist and even some polka dots, zebra stripes....mix it up! Yep it's a challenge...but one that could potentially save lives and be seen by millions. But ya know...no pressure. ;) Have fun! Hehe...how's THAT for Loony? I'd like to harmonize with the color scheme of my book's cover but I am open to tweaks and suggestions on streamlining to appeal to a wider demographic.
No yellow...I don't want anything corporate or stiff, nothing grateful-deadish or hippielike, nothing too New Agey...while I enjoy those things they are not right for this particular project. I also don't want to set up a negative, in your face vibe...I am going for approachable and funny not obnoxious or smug. Also..while it's fun to play with a schoolbus theme...not a big fan of yellow. ;)
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.


text: It's January and Cirque du Soleil has arrived in West again. This year they are performing their show called 'Totem' at The Royal Albert Hall, I went to see an afternoon performance last week and even though I've been to see it a couple of times before it still wows me every time! My favourite scene came at the very beginning where acrobats perform breath-taking stunts from a turtle skeleton, it really reminds me of an extreme children's playground! I was also mesmerised by the incredible lighting they have used, the effect is as if the whole stage is washed with water and the synchronisation with the music makes for a truly epic show. I left wishing that I had paid more attention in my gymnastic lessons when I was younger… but totally inspired and uplifted nonetheless – a great thing to cheer you up during this gloomy January weather!


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Census Records for North Carolina
This entry was originally written by Johni Cerny and Gareth L. Mark for Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources.
Population Schedules
• Indexed'1790 (incomplete), 1800, 1810 (incomplete), 1820 (incomplete), 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1890 (fragments), 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930
• Soundex'1880, 1900, 1910 (Miracode), 1920
• 1840: Some records for Stokes County were incorrectly included in the original Tyrell County microfilm records in the NARA archives.
Industry and Agriculture Schedules
• 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880
Mortality Schedules
• 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880
Union Veterans Schedules
• 1890
can you show any names NC was a Confederate state
Slave Schedules
• 1850, 1860
The first federal census was taken in 1790, and all of North Carolina's enumerations have survived except Caswell, Granville, and Orange counties. The 1810 U.S. census of North Carolina is complete except for Craven, Greene, New Hanover, and Wake counties. The 1820 census is missing Currituck, Franklin, Martin, Montgomery, Randolph, and Wake counties. Those schedules surviving for the 1890 population schedules are South Point and River Ben townships in Gaston County and Township No. 2 in Cleveland County. The North Carolina State Archives has either bound original copies or microfilm copies of the extant federal censuses of North Carolina.
Apparently there was no colonial census of North Carolina, but tax records, used judiciously, may be substituted (see North Carolina Tax Records). A census was conducted in 1775 by direction of the Continental Congress, and the enumeration of Pitt County has survived. See Jean Anderson, 'The Census of 1775 as Seen in Pitt County, NC,' The North Carolina Genealogical Society Journal 7, no. 4 (November 1981): 186-96. In 1784 the North Carolina General Assembly requested that a list of inhabitants be taken. Age and sex categories for whites and African Americans are included. Compliance was slow and apparently incomplete, with some counties not responding until 1786. There is some evidence that another census was conducted in 1787; the so-called 1784'87 state census may be two censuses intermingled. Extant portions of the 1784'87 state censuses are in Alvaretta K. Register, State Census of North Carolina, 1784'1787, 2d ed., rev. (1971; reprint, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1978). Additional portions of those censuses have been located since Register's publication. See Helen F. M. Leary, comp., 'Bertie Co., N.C., 1787 State Census,' The North Carolina Genealogical Society Journal 9, no. 1 (February 1983): 32-34, and Jonathan B. Butcher, '1787 Census Return for Pearson's Company, Rowan County, NC,' The North Carolina Genealogical Society Journal 11, no. 4 (November 1985): 253-54.
External Links
- North Carolina Census Records - free up-to-date guide to accessing North Carolina census records. Identifies federal, state, and colonial censuses, as well as substitute records (FamilySearch Research Wiki).


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Google Glass Used to Record New Jersey Boardwalk Arrest
A Documentary Filmmaker Captures Footage of a New Jersey Arrest with Glass
July 9, 2013 -- Computer programmer Henrik Nordberg used it while driving around Berkeley, California. Fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg used it while dressing models before her New York runway show last fall.
Now, Chris Barrett adds yet another video showcasing Google Glass's recording capabilities: taping an arrest in progress.
Barrett, founder of the website PRServe.com and documentary filmmaker, was walking along the boardwalk in Wildwood, N.J., on July 4 while wearing Google's much hyped device.
"I was down to 20 percent battery after the fireworks show, so I thought I may as well hit record and let it go until it dies," he told ABC News.
After passing by a few souvenir stands, he encountered the end of a fight and two men being led away in handcuffs. While other boardwalk visitors whipped out their cell phones and cameras, Barrett slowly maneuvered his way through the crowd, recording the incident with Google's technology. The video of the arrest can be viewed here on his YouTube channel.
He was nearly anonymous while filming the action.
"It was definitely a tense situation," he said.
But hardly anyone noticed him filming. "Only two kids asked, 'Is that Google Glass?'" he told ABC News.
Barrett says his recording demonstrates the potential of Google Glass.
"It's not a memorable video. It's not going to go down in court history. Really, it's a case study to show how it will change citizen journalism," he said.
Google Glass: How the Wearable Gadget Works
The Google Glass video appears to be better than your typical video taken at night. It's also less shaky than a handheld camera since it moves smoothly with the user. "You're your own steady cam," said Barrett.
While the small screen is illuminated during recording, the device doesn't have a red light to indicate to non-users whether it's currently taking pictures or recording video.
However, Google says Glass was built with some other indicators. "We have built explicit signals in Glass to make others aware of what's happening," the company states on its Glass FAQ page. " In each case the illuminated screen, voice command or gesture all make it clear to those around the device what the user is doing."
Still, many people have expressed great concern over Google Glass's privacy policies, including representatives of Congress who have asked Google to better explain its privacy policies.
"If Google Glass takes off, the world may be scary for some people, but with any new technology, people are nervous," Barrett said.


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Syria's almost three-year-old conflict has raged on despite peace talks that began in Geneva last month and the passage of the UNresolution, a rare moment of unity between the West and Russia, President Bashar al-Assad's strongest backer.
Two women and 10 children were among the dead in government air raids on the town of al-Neshabieh, in the eastern outskirts of Damascus, near a railway marking the frontline between Islamist fighters and Assad's forces backed by Lebanese Hezbollah militants, and in the province of Homs to the north.
"Two simultaneous raids hit Neshabieh first. People were pulling the bodies of a women and her two children from one house when the planes came back and hit the crowed, killing another nine," activist Abu Sakr told Reuters from the area.
He said artillery fire from a battalion based at Damascus airport and the nearby town of Mleiha then hit the town. Fifty people were wounded in the combined bombardment, he said.
Photos taken by activists, purportedly at a field hospital in the area, showed a girl's body covered in a white shroud, and the decapitated bodies of several men. Reuters could not independently verify the pictures.
"We barely managed to take the bodies before the artillery hit," said Abu Abdo, a rescue worker at the field hospital.
In Homs province, activists reported air raids on al-Hosn, a Sunni town near the Crusader castle of Crac des Chevaliers in a valley mostly inhabited by Christians, who have mostly stayed on the sidelines in the conflict between Assad and rebels.
The Syrian Revolution General Commission, a grassroots opposition group, said six people were killed in the attack on al-Hosn. Footage showed the bodies of two people amid the rubble, one of whom was identified as a woman.
Another video showed a rocket hitting the densely built-up town, with smoke rising as the sound of a warplane is heard.
In the town of Talbiseh, on Syria's main north-south highway, opposition activists said an air raid killed four children. Footage showed relatives gathered around the bodies, which were wrapped in white and laid on a tiled floor. One man was shown holding the bloodied head of one child and weeping.
On Saturday, Russia and China voted with Western powers for a UNresolution that calls for access for humanitarian aid in Syria and threatens "further steps" in case of non-compliance.
The initial text was weakened during negotiations, with references to the International Criminal Court and targeted sanctions removed. But a call for an end to shelling and air raids in populated areas, a demand for cross-border humanitarian access and the naming of besieged areas were included.
The resolution also condemned "terrorist" attacks by al-Qaeda affiliated groups, which have emerged as some of the most formidable anti-Assad groups, and specifically referred to the Syrian military's use of barrel bombs, which human rights groups say are indiscriminate weapons that mainly target civilians.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a London-based pro-opposition monitoring group, said four children had been killed on Monday by barrel bombs that hit the contested northern city of Aleppo, scene of heavy fighting in the last two days.
More than 130,000 people have been killed and millions made homeless since the Syrian conflict began in March 2011 with peaceful anti-Assad protests whose violent suppression ignited an armed insurgency. The civil war has drawn in foreign fighters on both sides and threatens to destabilise Syria's neighbours.
In Damascus, security forces released leftist dissident Akram al-Bunni after abducting him in the city centre on Saturday and questioning him about recent articles he had written on politics in Syria, his brother Anwar said.
Akram al-Bunni spent 20 years as a political prisoner under the rule of Assad and his late father Hafez al-Assad.
© 2010 Ahram Online.