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Article published at https://community.linuxmint.com/tutorial/view/2405, reprinted here
Doing research on possible laptops for Linux, I did not select laptops where the hardware simply can just function. Many times, the hardware does work, but far less effectively than it does on Windows. Companies like Dell, Lenovo, and Ubuntu provide lists of Linux-compatible laptops, but unfortunately, Linux drivers for those laptops can often be much worse than available Windows drivers. In this article, I select laptops where the hardware works on Linux as well as it would work with Windows drivers, if not better on Linux.
My favorite Linux laptops are the Clevo barebones laptops. This is because hardware in those laptops is usually generic or widespread, so in most cases, special drivers are not required for optimal functioning. There are many kinds of up-to-date Clevo laptops available from several online stores (http://rjtech.com/shop/index.php?dispat ... ory_id=189).
Driver information for most Clevo laptops is available at (http://s472165864.onlinehome.fr/anyware ... r=manuels/) I have thoroughly searched the manuals and found that all the drivers have an official Linux equivalent.
The downside is that the hardware may not be specialized to the extent you wish, but for me, this is a price to pay for having decent drivers.
FSF Approved Thinkpad Libreboot Laptops:
The Free Software Foundation maintains a list of approved laptops that run on 100% free software which "respects your freedom". This means that the all the software is free to use and edit, even the bootloader software (libreboot). There is a list available at (https://www.fsf.org/resources/hw/endors ... ur-freedom).
The downside is that the hardware is a decade old, but this is the price to pay for fully free software.
Recommended Linux Mint Laptops - also explains how I selected my choices
Questions about hardware,drivers and peripherals
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text: Although last year's competition with Blockbuster seems to be put to rest, with Netflix's increased focus on their Watch Instantly on-demand Streaming service, potential competition from Apple TV and other online video services threatens to make the kind of dent in their business that Blockbuster was only able to manage for a few short months. Whether these services can actually manage to become profitable without the traditional DVD rental business still at the core of the Netflix business model remains to be seen. If they are, don't expect Netflix to rest on their laurels.

subset: commoncrawl


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By: Idabel Allen
Genre: Fiction
"It all comes from the root. And Grover McQuiston was the root of it all."
My mother always says, "your roots give you wings." While that may be true, for me, the roots in this story serve another purpose altogether. The shared roots of the McQuiston family give them a communal tap on crazy.
Grover McQuiston, Allen's main character, IS the root of his family. He's the root of their problems; the root of their secrets; the root of their hatred and the root of their neuroses. And, for 99% of the book, he's the root of all evil.
First, let me tell you what I like about this book:
The author, Idabel Allen—in very few pages—drew the character of McQuiston with no ambiguity. I knew who he was and what he was immediately. I've known men just like him, in my life. Strong, large and in charge; meaner than a s***house rat and, just a little bit crazy. Respected because he's feared. Feared because he's earned it.
The author brought McQuiston to life for me. The same could be said of all the characters. There was little flourish needed or offered. Her characters are tangible and relatable. Weird. But, real.
Allen's character, "Aunt Althea" is my Aunt Sis. A firecracker and a kitten all wrapped up together. Allen had to have spent some time on my Aunt Sis' front porch to have written her so well.
Her imagery is also spot on. She drew a picture of a family farm that lived and breathed for me. I pictured the white farmhouse with the sprawling farm lands behind and I could smell the manure and hear the women laugh as they snapped peas on the porch behind white railing. I felt the breeze that moved the corn around on its stalks. This brought home to me some very real and enjoyable emotions and memories. In this, she did an excellent job.
Also, as silly as it may sound, I liked the cover. I believe it was done by: Kimberly Fahey. Once I started reading the book, the cover made sense and made me laugh out loud.
Now, let me tell you what I did not like:
Characters and story-lines were introduced…awkwardly. It's hard to give examples without spoilers. But, let me try:
One character has been missing from the main story for decades. DECADES. Yet, just happens to show up, out-of-the-blue (like a couple of others) to bring to a head some family drama and spill some secrets (just like some of the others and all in the same 12-hour period). PERHAPS, with a little more build up (WHY NOW?) it might not have been so…jarring. I don't know. As it happened, it was as if a magician pulled her out of a hat and dumped her in the story because he didn't know what to do with her next. It was unbelievable and… awkward.
Now that I think about it, the same could be said for ALL the characters introduced into the story, after those who lived on the farm.
Once things got rolling, it was like a boulder rolling down a hill crushing everything in its path. Don't get me wrong. I understand the concept of building tension and then resolving issues. However, there was very little actual build-up of tension. Everything before the resolution was a little too…ambiguous(?)…too bland. Think of a roller coaster with no apparent upswings, no hills to climb, no rises. You're just riding around—for a very short time—on the flat boring coaster tracks watching the scenery and then, all-of-a-sudden there's a cliff you weren't expecting. The drop-off lasts for just a few heartbeats, if that, and then it's over and you're rolling back into the station wondering, "that's it?".
Five, maybe six different secrets/issues/problems/challenges between as many as seven to eight different relationships were faced, defeated and lives were changed in just a chapter or so. While I sometimes enjoy succinct writing…this was a little too laconic. Slam-bam, Thank You ma'am. Too much. Too quick. Too short. I felt like I'd been gang raped by a bunch of leprechauns and then left to clean up before church.
Look, I'm not trying to be crude or cruel. The story has good bones. I think had the author focused on just one issue—there were plenty to choose from—and built her story around that ONE family secret, it could have been amazing. As it was, the story was all over the place. It was unfocused and unrefined. It was roller-coaster jarring without the excitement and thrills. Instead, it was just kind of painful and boring.
That said, the author has talent. See Above^. She needs focus and restraint, patience and a little bit of experience with roller coasters and she'll be great.


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A friend of mine mentioned on her FB page the other day that there were empty beer crates going for $2 at a local bottle shop.
Of course I immediately went on Pintrest to see what cool ideas there were on there for using aforementioned goods.
I have a couple of cardboard boxes upstairs for storing the little one's books in (the main bookcase is downstairs) so they can access them easily.
These now look ragged and ugly and I thought what better use for the beer crates than turning them into book boxes!
After sourcing them this is what I came up with:
So much prettier! I used some old tester pots for the paint - super cheap - and I left the inside plain for 2 reasons,
a) because I like the colour!
b) because I thought the paint may be a little sticky and stick to the books
Now on to making the little boy's box :-)
As Miranda's mother would say 'such fun' (if you watch Miranda you'll get that joke! If you don't watch it .. YOU SHOULD! It's HILARIOUS!!)
Sima J


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Next 10's Green Innovation Index, International Edition for the first time analyzes and ranks the economic and energy performance of the world's 50 largest greenhouse gas emitting nations. While the US ranks high in investment in clean energy and electric vehicle ownership, it also leads in having the highest energy consumption and emissions, but we are improving.
"Some of the world's largest economies are now decoupling economic growth and energy use, actually growing their GDPs [gross domestic products] while shrinking their carbon footprints. Last year marked the first time we've been able to say conclusively that a drop in global carbon emissions was caused by something other than an economic down[turn]," said F. Noel Perry, businessman and founder of the nonpartisan nonprofit group Next 10.
The report will be officially presented next week to an international audience including business and government leaders and journalists at a reception at the Hotel de Talleyrand in Paris, during Climate Week.
Here are some US-related highlights:
- We are #1 in clean technology innovation, with the most private investment with $8.2 billion in venture capital (2014) and the most patents (19,000 in 2014) worldwide.
- US clean tech investment rose 74 percent from 2013-2014.
- We are #1 total GDP of any country (slightly less than EU combined), and 16th in carbon intensity (emissions per GDP).
- #1 in total renewable electricity generation of any single country (behind EU combined).
- #15 in total share of electricity from renewable sources.
- We are among the highest (#44) in total energy use per capita, though we improved with a 10.4 percent decrease (1990-2012).
- #1 in EV (electric vehicle) sales (2014), with more than one-third of global sales.
- US average monthly residential electricity bill did not increase, while industrial bills fell 34 percent and commercial bills fell 2 percent (1993-2013).
- With 4.5 percent of the world's population, the US follows only China (19.4 percent of world's population) in total GHG (green house gas) emissions from energy consumption.
- The US cut GHG emissions per capita by 17 percent while GDP per capita grew 37 percent (1990-2012), whereas China increased emissions by 222 percent and GDP per capita grew 604 percent.
"This year's Green Innovation Index, International Edition tracks a clear shift to clean energy around the world. Although fossil fuels still represent a significant portion of our overall energy use, many analysts believe we have reached an important tipping point—globally, we are now adding more capacity for renewable power annually than fossil fuels," said Doug Henton, chairman and CEO of Collaborative Economics, which developed the Index for Next 10.
The report shows how this transition is playing out for the world's top 50 emitters of greenhouse gases. Among these nations, plus California:
- Spain, Germany, Italy, California, Philippines, EU, Belgium, Netherlands, UK and Greece have the greatest share of electricity from renewable sources (in order).
- France leads the world in lowest carbon intensity (of top 50 emitters); Uzbekistan is highest (GHG per GDP).
- After the US and EU, Japan, South Korea, Germany, and California lead the world in clean tech patents. EU follows the U.S. in clean tech patents (11,330 v. 18,937 in 2014), and clean tech venture capital ($1.028 billion v. $8.208 billion in 2014).
- The US (with California), California, EU, China, UK, Singapore, France, Canada, India and Israel (in order) are the top ten in clean tech venture capital (2014).
This week marks the kick off of Climate Week in Paris—a historic gathering of worldwide business and policy leaders that will highlight business and policy solutions for decarbonizing the economy.
Source and Photo: PR Newswire, Justin Pickard through a Creative Commons License


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With the 22nd Buddha's Day and Multicultural Festival just around the corner on 20th and 21st May, there is inspiration to be had on many levels. Melbourne residents and visitors with an interest in or curiosity about Buddhism have a fabulous opportunity to celebrate Buddha's Birthday, as well as Melbourne's multicultural, multi-faith society.
As with everything else in life, there are many ways to celebrate and we think this is a great opportunity to have fun while learning about the Buddhist philosophy and principles. Why not dip your toe into the city's celebrations, create your own, or both? Below we have some fun ideas for how to celebrate both Buddhism and Melbourne's multicultural society, but first let's take a look at the origins of Buddhism:
What is Buddhism?
Buddhism (from 'budhi', meaning 'to awaken') is considered to be more a way of life, or a philosophy, than a religion. Originating approximately 2,500 years ago, Siddhartha Gotama became the Buddha we've heard so much about. He did so by becoming enlightened, and today that coveted state has attracted 300 million followers to Buddhism.
So the story goes, Siddhartha was born in Lumbini, Nepal, in 563 BC. Despite being born into a royal family, he quickly decided that he wasn't motivated by luxury, status and wealth, so at 29 years old he left the family home in search of deeper meaning and happiness. For six years he meditated and studied the various teachings of his time, until he discovered what is called 'the middle path': the state of enlightenment. Buddhism was born, and Siddharta taught its principles ('Dhamma', meaning truth) until he died at 80 years old.
The Buddha is famed for not requiring worship, but promoting self-discovery, inner peace and love. Although today there are many followers who kneel to express gratitude to statues of the Buddha, it is intended to be more of an acknowledgment than a prayer. The revered principles simply encourage followers to lead moral lives, to be mindful of their thoughts and actions, and to aim for both understanding and wisdom.
Monks tend to be a common sight in Buddhism, but there are also nuns. In Buddhism, a 'bhikkhunī' or 'bhikṣuṇī' is a fully ordained female monastic, while the male monastics are called 'bhikkus'. The Buddha taught that women are as capable of reaching nirvana as men are, and it is written in the scriptures that bhikkhunis came about after Buddha's aunt and foster mother was ordained the first one.
So now you have a little background on Buddhism, here's how you can get involved in its birthday celebrations:
Go to the festival on Buddha Day, 2017 – 20th and 21st May
Whether you're looking for community, education, celebration or even just inspiration for your own Funky Buddha party, why not visit the Buddha festival in Melbourne? This major event has been happening every year for the last 22 years straight, and is intended to commemorate the Buddha's birthday.
Held in Federation square, Buddha's Day and Multicultural Festival showcases many traditional Buddhist ceremonies; there will be 'bathing the Buddha', a tea meditation, a twilight light offering ceremony and an interfaith ceremony.
It will be a lively affair too – you'll get to hear all kinds of cultural music and there will be dance performances to watch and tai chi classes to attend. No Buddhist celebration would be complete with a passing on of the principles, so expect prayers for world peace, social and spiritual well-being lectures. If you're bringing the family along, you might want to take part in some of the children's activities, or visit the animal farm.
Last but by no means least, the food is not to be sniffed at! There is going to be a 'Taste of Asia' vegetarian food fair stretching the length of the river terrace and mouths are already watering in anticipation!
Hold your own Buddha or multicultural party
The Buddha was a compassionate being and he advocated inner peace and happiness. A 'dead cert' route to happiness is inviting your friends and family round for a celebration, and there are several ways you can do it. You can fully embrace the Buddhist way, being on your best behaviour, or you can give a nod to tradition but do things your own way. We like this two 'night and day' ideas:
Buddhism 'by the book' day party
Find out what it's really like to be a Buddha by holding your own Buddhist celebration and living as monks for a day. Buddhist robes are called 'kāṣāya' and are thought to have come from India. Traditionally orange or red in colour but with variants in other countries, these sets of robes were created for the devotees of Siddhartha Gautama and are the most common of all the Buddhist robes.
Kāṣāya were originally made up of discarded material, the pieces of which would be attached to form three rectangles, placed over the body in a uniform way. These three cloth sections make up what is known as the 'ticīvara' (triple robe).
Dress the part as Buddhist monks, get yourself a Tibetan singing bowl and hold meditation sessions in the backyard sunshine; make the most of the outdoors by hiring a Tai Chi instructor to see if you and your friends can locate your inner zen together! If you don't want to hire an instructor, learn some moves on YouTube and pass them on to your friends.
This makes for a great opportunity to learn something new about the traditions of Buddhism. Whether you go to the festival or not, learn about some of the traditional ceremonies online and hold them in your home. You could have a copy of the Tibetan Book of the Dead and other Buddhist teachings laying around on coffee tables; a documentary screening or two about famous monks like the Dalai Lama could grab guests' interest, as might inspirational quotes pinned up on walls.
Serve up a buffet of Asian vegetarian dishes and let's see if anybody wants to return to 'normal' by the end of the day! If you're mischievous in nature, set your guests a pre-party challenge: for purposes of both fun and visual authenticity, hold a sponsored 'shave your head' event and raise some money for charity.
Multicultural monk's night off
Again, take a leaf out of the festival organisers books and go multicultural. There is so much scope and you can dip into many faiths for inspiration… in a tongue in cheek manner of course! You might decide to extend your Buddhist day party into a night off for your monks, so your scene may already be set.
Either way, take things a little more 'multicultural' by decorating the walls with hanging printed sheets of the Buddha; perhaps some colourful Hindu deities like Shiva, Vishnu or Ganesha would be fitting, and these are also great to keep hold of for ornamental purposes or bedspreads! Have plenty of Buddhas and other religious figurines dotted about the premises, and lots of candles and incense.
Start the night off by getting creative: make some papier mache buddhas and paint them, or just do some painting on paper. Another fun idea would be to create some temporary symbolic tattoos with face paints or henna. For example, the Buddhist unalome symbol is a popular tattoo that reflects the trials and tribulations on the path to enlightenment, and it is relatively easy to recreate on skin. Who knows? You might be thinking about the real deal before the night is out!
Don't forget, this is the monk's night off so there will no doubt be a few nuns wanting to sneak into the party. They'll need to dress the part too, incase the Pope or a Priest turn up and catch them in regular attire!
There is some great music available online for a party vibe, while staying aligned with your cultural efforts; try downloading some cool Thai music like Sounds of Siam, or put on some fabulous dance music with Indian influences by electronic bands like Entheogenic or Vibrasphere.
Try your hand at making a Thai Food buffet. Learning Thai recipes is a smart move anyway as this irresistible, rich food will serve you well at other dinner parties, or when trying to impress a date! Dish up your Thai food buffet with some simple Pad Thai recipes, sticky rice, rice noodles or lovely Penang and Massaman curries wouldn't go amiss; Thai coconut soup is simple and tasty, and you can make desserts out of bananas, coconut milk and rice.


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The United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) have placed their commitment to a right-wing free-market agenda at the centre of their general election campaign. Launching their manifesto today (13 April), they promised to abolish the top rate of income tax, scrap national insurance and transfer two million public sector jobs to the private sector.
UKIP's manifesto also calls for a five-year freeze on migrants settling in the UK, boot camps for young offenders, withdrawal from the European Union and a ban on the niqab (or Muslim face veil) in public and in certain private buildings.
UKIP will stand candidates in 550 constituencies, but will not campaign against sitting MPs who are opposed to membership of the European Union.
The party seems to be attempting to appeal to right-wing voters who may feel alienated by Tory leader David Cameron's claim to have moved his party to "the centre ground". They may also capitalise on anti-immigration and anti-European sentiment.
But UKIP are likely to find themselves competing for votes with the British National Party (BNP), who share many of the same policies.
"It really is time for some straight talking," said UKIP's Nigel Farage, who is hoping to win Buckingham, "We are skint. We need some massive cutbacks in the public sector. We can't have our own immigration and asylum policy if we remain members of this European Union."
The UKIP leader, Malcolm Pearson, claimed that withdrawal from the European Union would save up to £120 billion per year, although it is not clear how he arrived at this figure.
UKIP's deputy-leader, David Campbell Bannerman, said that trade with other European countries would be replaced by trade with "our kith and kin" in the Commonwealth.
Whereas UKIP has in the past focused on cultural and political loyalty to Britain, their approach on this occasion seems to be primarily economic. They claim that they could cut £50 billion of public spending each year through policies that include abolishing free television licences for older people, scrapping student loan subsidies for those on lower incomes, freezing grants to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and cutting civil service staffing by 10 per cent.
Other parties have questioned whether such savings are really possible, even with such heavy cuts.
UKIP would also scrap various projects to tackle climate change, based on their 'sceptical' stance on whether climate change is caused by human activity. This position marks them out from the vast majority of both politicians and scientists.
Also on Ekklesia: 'UKIP and the BNP – What's the Difference?' by Symon Hill http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/11611


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New review
Anger & Conflict Management Pocketbook
Teachers' Pocketbooks(from 5 reviews)
Techniques for managing angry pupils and defusing explosive situations in classrooms, corridors and playgrounds. What to avoid as well as what to do and say in challenging situations.£9.99 (no VAT on this item)
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Ever passing waves in cooled thoughts.
Memories retraced by the mind of unforgotten experiences.
The sun, penetrating the branches of emotions.
The warmth beneath my feet, as travels made, my footprints left behind in the sands.
The passing waters, removing the trace as I let go, each passing foot letting my imprint be unseen.
Though the shore brings me to decisions unknown, I continue upon the path through the coast, unbeknownst.
Read my soul upon the shadows cast. But see the light reach the horizon.
My reflection seen upon the waters.
Catch me not in the deep, though you find me searching for treasure.
An ever passing dream, reality holding me with a single breath.
Life, hold me close, for love knows not surrender.


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Every Christmas, there are certain books that my family pulls off the bookshelf. They are absolute must-reads for Christmastime, like Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol or Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas. However, occasionally between stealing the last can of Who Hash and God blessing everyone, I need to read something that will take me out of the holiday while still capturing the holiday spirit, if only for a moment. Here is a list of classic novels that includes the holidays, but are about so much more.
Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott
This classic novel begins with a heartwarming Christmas scene, but it takes you through several seasons in the March girls' lives as they face each blessing and trial together. The love and support the March girls give each other through the years illustrates the importance of family.


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- Audio
- Video
- Photography
- Smartphone
- On Sale
Shoot amazing videos usingprofessional camera equipment. Enhance your movie-making experience with accessories for different shooting conditions, styles, and devices.
Shooting great videos requires more than just putting the camera in place and letting it record all the action. Most of the time, you have to move with the lens and find new perspectives to immerse the viewers in your visual story. Having the right gear and accessories will help you bring your vision into life. Here's a list of our recommended add-ons that will level up your production value.
Rods and brackets let you mount other video-making gears and accessories to your DSLR camera. They can be used for attaching two or more devices at a time, such as lights and microphones.
Matte boxes block stray light that may otherwise cause lens flare and haziness. You attach it to the end of a lens like a lens hood. The difference is that unlike lens hoods, matte boxes have adjustable, movable flaps. For professional use, we recommend the Movo MB400 MK II, a lightweight and durable matte box made from machined aluminum and high-grade plastic. Aside from reducing glare, it also lets you change the filter in front of your lens easily.
If you're into filmmaking, you're probably familiar with the follow focus, a mechanical system that helps camera operators pull focus precisely. DSLR users may opt for a follow focus system with hard stops and adjustable gear rings. This machinery gives additional creative control when using cameras that don't have auto-focus capabilities or when shooting in low light environments where focus lag can happen.
Crystal clear audio can elevate people's viewing experience and make documentaries, vlogs, and sports montages into an impressive sensory experience. Any video can tell a story, but it's the audio quality that lets viewers become part of it as if they're with you when you shot the scene. Achieve this with the best microphones and audio recording accessories to go with your camera. If you use a GoPro, we recommend mics, adapters, and gears that are specially designed for pocket-size cams. For DSLR users and professional videographers, shotgun mics, lapels, and audio systems are best.
If you're a vlogger, investing in a mobile setup is a smart way of keeping up with the high demand for social media content. Shoot, edit, and live stream videos on the go without spending too much time post-processing a lot of badly lit or shaky clips. Smartphone video accessories can take away the need to over-edit, as they help ensure that you're capturing upload-worthy footage every time.
We have several smartphone video kits composed of vlogging essentials like a small shotgun mic, rubberized grip handle, and Bluetooth remote. You can start with a basic mic, rig, and wrist strap bundle or get a complete smartphone video kit that comes with a tripod, mic system, and LED lights.
Some of the important things to consider when choosing camera stabilizers and video rig systems are weight, balance, and versatility. Some stabilizers are made specifically for smartphones, action cams, or DSLRs, as well as particular shooting styles. If you use multiple devices and want a stabilizer that's compatible with all each of those, get one that can accommodate various shooting styles.
Sliders let you take smooth panning shots. They can be a simple, manually operated rail or a motorized system with wireless trigger controls for shooting in stop-motion and timelapse modes.
Handheld stabilizers enhance stability for multi-angle video filming. They can come in different shapes and forms, with the U-shape design being the most common for low angle action shots. They are great for gliding and zooming shots for sports and artistic applications.
Did our recommendations help? Shop for your video-making companion today and start filming!


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|How it looks just out of the box.
|Salad ingredients, unpacked.
The tomato sherry vinaigrette was surprisingly zippy and might have benefited from cutting back on the acids or upping the amount of honey (I thought about whisking in some of my own honey, but decided I should try the recipe as provided). Also, a bigger tomato wouldn't have gone amiss as my shallot and tomato were about the same size and the shallot overwhelmed the tomato when they were mixed into the dressing. (I did think about using one of the tomatoes meant for the "Cheesy Quinoa Stuffed Tomatoes," but figured I'd regret trying to stuff a tiny tomato later).
The Husband and I both agreed that the seared salmon was totes delicious and I was very pleased to learn a new method for cooking salmon. Previously, I'd always avoided cooking salmon in a skillet (unless I was poaching it) because I couldn't figure out how to do so without overcooking the fish. Obviously, you cook the salmon flesh-side down.
Would I make this seared salmon salad again? Definitely ... but would definitely dial the bitter greens back a bit! And not forget the butter lettuce!


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Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Automated quake proof cycle storage Tokyo style
This is Eco-Cycle it stored bicycles 40 feet underground in an automated bike vault. The structure sits on pillions which makes it quake proof err let`s settle for resistant.
Here you experience the new technology used for parking your bicycle. Its stored underground to make space to park as much as possible, using an electronic card you can put it in and get it back.
cool idea, what happens if the entrance caves in?... archeologists find a big pile of bikes 1000`s of years from now
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1. The descendants of a common ancestor; a family, tribe, people, or nation, believed or presumed to belong to the same stock; a lineage; a breed. The whole race of mankind. (Shak) Whence the long race of alban fathers come. (Dryden)
naturalists and ehnographers divide mankind into several distinct varieties, or races. Cuvier refers them all to three, Pritchard enumerates seven, Agassiz eight, pickering describes eleven. One of the common classifications is that of Blumenbach, who makes five races: the Caucasian, or white race, to which belong the greater part of the European nations and those of western asia; the mongolian, or yellow race, occupying Tartary, china, japan, etc.; the Ethiopian, or negro race, occupying most of Africa (except the north), australia, Papua, and other Pacific islands; the American, or red race, comprising the indians of North and south America; and the malayan, or brown race, which occupies the islands of the Indian Archipelago, etc. Many recent writers classify the Malay and American races as branches of the Mongolian.
2. Company; herd; breed. For do but note a wild and wanton herd, Or race of youthful and unhandled colts, Fetching mad bounds. (Shak).
3. (Science: botany) A variety of such fixed character that it may be propagated by seed.
4. Peculiar flavor, taste, or strength, as of wine; that quality, or assemblage of qualities, which indicates origin or kind, as in wine; hence, characteristic flavor; smack. A race of heaven. Is it [the wine] of the right race ? (Massinqer)
5. Hence, characteristic quality or disposition. And now I give my sensual race the rein. (Shak) Some . . . Great race of fancy or judgment. (Sir W. Temple)
Synonym: lineage, line, family, house, breed, offspring, progeny, issue.
Origin: F. Race; cf. Pr. & Sp. Raza, It. Razza; all from OHG. Reiza line, akin to E. Write. See Write.
1. A progress; a course; a movement or progression.
2. Esp, swift progress; rapid course; a running. The flight of many birds is swifter than the race of any beasts. (bacon)
3. Hence: The act or process of running in competition; a contest of speed in any way, as in running, riding, driving, skating, rowing, sailing; in the plural, usually, a meeting for contests in the running of horses; as, he attended the races. The race is not to the swift. (Eccl. Ix. 11) I wield the gauntlet, and I run the race. (pope)
4. Competitive action of any kind, especially when prolonged; hence, career; course of life. My race of glory run, and race of shame. (milton)
5. A strong or rapid current of water, or the channel or passage for such a current; a powerful current or heavy sea, sometimes produced by the meeting of two tides; as, the Portland Race; the Race of Alderney.
6. The current of water that turns a water wheel, or the channel in which it flows; a mill race.
The part of the channel above the wheel is sometimes called the headrace, the part below, the tailrace.
Origin: OE. Ras, res, rees, AS. Raes a rush, running; akin to Icel. Ras course, race.


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Monday, January 3, 2011
Film Review: TALES OF ORDINARY MADNESS (1981, Marco Ferreri)
Running Time: 101 minutes.
Notable Cast or Crew: Ben Gazzara (THE KILLING OF A CHINESE BOOKIE, THE BIG LEBOWSKI), Ornella Muti (FLASH GORDON, OSCAR), Susan Tyrrell (FLESH + BLOOD, FAT CITY), Tanya Lopert (FELLINI SATYRICON, PROVIDENCE), Roy Brocksmith (TOTAL RECALL, TANGO & CASH, ARACHNOPHOBIA). Based on the book by Charles Bukowski (BARFLY, FACTOTUM). Music by Philippe Sarde (TESS, QUEST FOR FIRE, THE TENANT). Cinematography by Tonino Delli Colli (ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST; THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY; SEVEN BEAUTIES; SALO; LACOMBE, LUCIEN).
Tag-line: None.
Best one-liner: "You owe me a beer, bitch!"
Bukowski entreats us to the continuing adventures of an old man who'd rather be getting drunk than chasing the Great American Wet Dream, but Marco Ferreri's got other things in mind.
I like Ferreri. His well-known experiments in debauchery and mid-life ennui (LA GRANDE BOUFFE, DILLINGER IS DEAD) might lead one to assume that he'd be perfect for tackling the gutter ramblings of Charles Bukowski, but the marriage isn't quite ideal. Bukowski himself was displeased with the end result, and it's not difficult to see why: largely missing is the lunatic energy, bursting humor, and casual flow that makes his poetry and prose so readable and compelling. Ferreri's film, as a whole, often feels lifeless and pretentious (save for a few extremely choice scenes), an atmosphere which finds itself at odds with the designs of Bukowski's writing.
Furthermore, Ben Gazzara- who's one of the finest actors of his generation- is unfortunately miscast. Unlike Mickey Rourke's depiction of the same character in BARFLY, you believe that Gazzara has responsibilities. It's important to believe that the Bukowski-cypher floats through life's misfortunes, dirty jobs, and stiff drinks with a charmingly psychotic indifference: a woman met at the bar could represent free lodging, a church could represent an auspicious place to take a shit, getting arrested for a crime one didn't commit could represent a great opportunity to sleep off a hangover.
As Gazzara tackles these situations, he comes across as a semi-classy guy who's merely slummin' it. But Bukowski's alter ego does not slum–the gutter is simply his natural habitat, a place for "the defeated, the demented, and the damned- they are the real people in this world, and I was proud to be in their company." To make matters worse, costume designer Nicoletta Ercole puts him in cardigans half the time. Cardigans, of all things. (To read some more of my personal disdain for cardigans, read almost any of my Michael Ironside reviews.)
But I don't mean to completely razz this film as there are a lot of nice things going on, too. First and foremost would be the Susan Tyrrell scene. Now, if anyone was born to be a Bukowski lady, it was Susan Tyrrell. Her genius in films like FAT CITY and FLESH + BLOOD has been oft discussed on this site. No one (except possibly Glenda Jackson) can quite so perfectly embody the concept of 'sewer pipe babe' like Tyrrell. Her bit here is that of a leopard-print sarong-wearin', zany purple eyeshadow'd, sleazy, skeezy, sleeeezy lady that our hero meets on a bus.
He follows her back to her apartment whereupon wine-with-a-price-tag is quaffed and Tyrrell reveals her penchant for narcolepsy (?!).
There's some nauseating sex, and then the cops show up.
All in a day's work for Tyrrell, who can effortlessly pendulate from mysterious beauty to grotesque hag in a matter of seconds, and without the benefit of a 'makeup change.' In short: acting. In a world where most of my favorite character actors are men who- either by choice or by Hollywood's designs- are not afraid to hit rock-bottom... to get ugly, it's refreshing to see an actress willing to let it all hang out. I see performances by such talented ladies as Susan Tyrrell, Grace Zabriskie, Glenda Jackson, Isabella Rossellini and the like, and it saddens me that there aren't more in their ranks- or at the very least producers, writers, and directors who believe in female character actors who are willing to step up to the plate and deliver.
Anyway, much of her brilliance is subverted by our actual female lead, Ornella Muti, a model-turned-actress whose good looks obviously escape scrutiny, but unfortunately the same cannot be said for her connection to Bukowski's material.
Though she certainly engages in Bukowski-friendly activities.
For being a "two-bit, mentally unwell, L.A. hooker," she certainly plays the vampy, Euro-chic card a few times too often. By the time her unusual compulsions and backstory are finally visited and explained in depth, I found myself too disconnected to care.
But again, this is balanced out by some positive elements. I haven't yet had a chance to mention that the production design is phenomenal. Every wallpaper stain, rug discoloration, and blazing cheapie lightbulb has been carefully overseen, and to great effect.
There are a few more scenes of note, as well– when Gazzara spends the night in a random, unlocked vehicle at a used car lot, he is rudely awakened in the morn' by the lot owner and his sadistic 9-year-old son who beat him with ball bats, repeatedly. This is the kind of bizarrely dreamlike (yet harshly naturalistic) scene that should have populated the entire film, not just a few select segments.
Gazzara bears the brunt of the little runt's perversion.
There's also an unusual (albeit too brief) incident whereupon our unshaven hero has an inexplicable run-in with a robot (!?) which I have no choice but to applaud.
Perhaps the next logical step is a Bukowski sci-fi?
While it certainly possesses the occasional flash of genius, on the whole, TALES OF ORDINARY MADNESS (and Gazzara) mishandle the spirit of Bukowski, but it's not from a lack of tryin'. If the entire movie had been fueled by Susan Tyrrell's deranged enthusiasm, perhaps it would have had a chance, but I couldn't help but constantly- and unfavorably- compare it with Barbet Schroeder's BARFLY and marvel at the fluency and straightforwardmess with which Schroeder and Rourke managed to translate Bukowski to film.
-Sean Gill
4 comments:
- J.D. said...
Hrm. Never seen this one much less heard of it. I do dig Gazarra and it's shocking that he's miscast, here. He certainly do scuzzy as evident with his leering father character in BUFFALO '66. Have you seen FACTOTUM where Matt Dillon adopts the Bukowski persona? I myself haven't check it out but heard good things. And it's got a killer cast ta boot...
- January 4, 2011 at 4:21 PM
- Sean Gill said...
It's tough to explain. Gazzara isn't bad- he's never BAD- nor does he fail to nail pure scuzziness. The problem probably lies with Ferreri's direction, actually- you just get the sense that his sordid lifestyle is something temporary, that he's planning on doing something respectable later. And though his beard is grizzled and shirt untucked, you get the idea that he cares about how he looks. Whereas for me, the power of the Chinaski character is that he eschews mirrors entirely, doesn't care about open wounds and sores and the like- his sense of self is in his mind. He (literally on occasion), lives on the edge- eat, drink, and be merry 'cause tomorrow we might bite it. I see all of that in Schroeder-directed Rourke, but only fleeting touches of it in Ferreri-directed Gazzara. And I'm probably just touchy about it because of how taken I've become with Bukowski's writings in the last couple of months.
I have heard about the movie version of FACTOTUM, and will definitely have to see it at some point. Not sure how well circa 2005 Matt Dillon (I'm a bigger fan of grittier, 80's Dillon) will nail the Chinaski role, but Lili Taylor and Fisher Stevens seem tailor-made for it. And I do love anything with Adrienne Shelly, R.I.P.
- January 5, 2011 at 4:03 PM
My favorite comment about Gazarra's performance in this movie comes from Bukowski himself.
"He had appealing eyes like a constipated man sitting on the pot straining to crap. I liked the eyes. But take that away and he was too comfortable. Nice macho guy, but self-pleased, not insane at all. Probably a great variety of ass had cooled him out."
- November 23, 2011 at 10:10 AM
- Sean Gill said...
That's a fantastic quote, sums it up perfectly. I do love Gazzara, though– he's just not quite Chinaski.
- November 23, 2011 at 12:35 PM


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First published back in June of 2017, Darkwater Syndicate's anthology 'Shadows And Teeth: Volume Three' offered up another batch of terrifying tales of grisly horror and nail-biting suspense.
Foreword – R. Perez de Pereda – 3 Pages
Author and Editor Ramiro Perez de Pereda is back with another entertaining foreword for this next instalment in the Shadows And Teeth series. Here Pereda examines what is at the very root of a damn good scare. To do this, he zeros in our two main strengths: our ability to figure things out, and our aptitude for spotting danger before it can plunge its incisors into us. With the removal of one, Pereda ponders the resulting repercussions. From here everything comes back around on itself, as Pereda returns to our inherent fear of both shadows and teeth, before signing off with a quick appreciative nod to a handful of the contributors in this third volume.
Cannibal House – Guy N Smith – 30 Pages
Linford House had been on the market for almost three years before Jack Enfield bought it at a rock bottom price. It's true the property required a lot of work. The remote rural house hadn't been lived in for years and it was obvious that even when it had been occupied, the owners had carried out little in the way of maintenance. Furthermore the place stank of a weird odour which Enfield couldn't identify. Not only that, but Enfield's springer spaniel, Ellie, seemed permanently ill at ease in their new home. However it' when he discovered the human skeleton hidden away in a priest hole above the kitchen ceiling, that Enfield began to think his purchase of Linford House, no matter how low the price had been, was potentially a bad move. A feeling that escalated further when Sergeant Williams of the local police force confirmed that the skeleton had belonged to a woman. And it appeared the woman's flesh had been eaten away by what could only be a cannibalistic killer…
What a way to kick-start a horror anthology - having the opening story by a legendary veteran of the genre. And what an absolute cracker it is. From start to finish this is textbook Smith. The rural setting is spot on. The growing unease surrounding Linford House is paced out to near perfection. The characters are all down-to-earth and all the more believable for it. In a nutshell, it's a haunted house tale that pushes the nastiness a good stretch further than the vast majority of its peers. Pure, undiluted horror entertainment through and through. Absolutely love it. As I said, what a way to kick start the anthology.
The House Wants What The House Wants – Adam Millard – 32 Pages
They'd found the perfect student house. From the minute they'd arrived to look around the property, Craig had been dead set on taking it. And Craig was right, it was perfect. A stone's throw from the college campus, a pub just across the road, plenty of room for the five of them, and a greenhouse for growing some wacky backy out back. The rent was an absolute bargain too. They'd quickly gotten the deposit down to secure their new digs. Within a few days the five of them had moved in and everything seemed to be going well for them. Then eight days after moving in, things became strange. Very strange indeed. It all started with the house being ransacked. All their stuff getting trashed, and for no apparent reason other than for the sake of mindless vandalism. But that was just the start of it. Things were about to get a whole lot odder…
Millard's imagination is a force to be reckoned with. Some of the weird and wonderful shit this mohawked madman comes up with – its mindboggling. But you can't help but love it. Take this fucked-up-head-trip as an example. It all starts off pretty much on the level. Five college mates all moving in together. I remember this very situation in my own past. Getting excited after securing 'the perfect house'. Those crazy booze-filled first few days of living there. Only Millard's taking this premise, and allowed an atomic-sized brain-surge to decide where the story's going next. So expect nothing but weird lunacy and tongue-in-cheek horror to flow like Special Brew down a tramp's gullet. It's bizzaro with a smattering of the horrific to mop up the juices with. It's a story that doesn't take itself seriously for one second, and it's so much more entertaining for it.
Tree Huggers – Nathan Robinson – 34 Pages
The eight of them had chained themselves to the trees as an act of protest against the bulldozers and chainsaws that were supposedly coming the next morning. The trees were going in order to clear the land for an exclusive housing estate to be situated by the lake. So, not only had the eight of them chained themselves to the Abcastle Oaks that they were trying to save, but they'd also tethered themselves to the chain with a smaller, second chain, and then swallowed the keys to show that they really meant business. The protest had been Clementine Loft's idea, but Ziggy Moonstone had been the one to suggest swallowing the keys. Such a further act of defiance was typical of Ziggy. But they'd all followed suit in a show of solidarity. However, just as the last of them had swallowed their key, they'd noticed a strange blue-tinged meteorite-like object flashing by overhead. No huge explosion followed confirming the impact, although it must have crashed down close by. But, as the group of protesters were soon to find out, what they'd witnessed was no meteorite. What they'd just seen landing close by was far worse than a mere lump of rock falling from space. And the thing was hungry for flesh and blood…
Gorehounds are you ready? Man is this just the tastiest chunk of gore-soaked B-Movie Sci-Fi Horror. Think 'Xtro' (1983) copulating with a proper 80's style pulp horror creature feature. One with a giant earwig like beastie sucking all the wet goodness out of you. Fuck yeah, this is the real deal. This has every slither and slurp and flesh-slicing grimness that you're hoping for. It's unashamedly pulpy with plenty of viscous gore and screaming teen bloodshed splashed about a shadowy dark woods. Author Nathan Robinson knows how to entertain a horror loving audience. It's cheap and tacky and oh so bloody enjoyable. There's absolutely no pandering to a highbrow audience here. It's just all about the sci-fi horror thrills and spills and gruesome-as-fuck kills. Absolutely loved this one from start to finish. Spot on mate. Spot on.
No Thanks – Antonio Simon Jr – 18 Pages
Danny Pannacotta had found the perfect way of getting out of things. If something cropped up in life that he didn't like - say a credit card bill or a parking fine - then he'd just say "No Thanks" to it, and the problem would go away. How and why it happened, Danny wasn't all that bothered with. It just did. It nullified the situation. Made everything just about sweet as a nut for good old Danny Boy. So he'd started having fun with it. Getting himself some expensive stuff and then simply "No Thanksing" the bill away. Worked a charm every time too. But, with his thirty-sixth birthday approaching, it was time to settle a bigger score. It was time to give his boss and all his good-for-nothing colleagues at work a nice big slab of comeuppance. And then he'd just no thank you away the repercussions. Simple…
Author Antonio Simon Jr isn't one to stick with a tried-and-tested run-of-the-mill premise. If it's been written before, then he's not going to touch that idea. Instead, what you get with a Antonio Simon Jr story is one that's one-hundred-percent born out of the man's quirky imagination. Nothing's ever normal in his world. Rules are twisted and bent for his own strange purpose. There really are no boundaries. And that's exactly what you have here. In essence it's a tale about a previously straight-laced office worker who, for reasons never disclosed, gets his wishes granted. Well, not exactly. He gets to nullify stuff. Say "No Thanks" and it'll simply go away, whatever it is. Of course it's not going to be a story about saving the world from poverty or climate change or anything of that ilk. Nah, Danny Boy's not going to use his newfound abilities for any such good. Instead, in the space for a handful of days, he goes from getting more and more expensive stuff, to flipping out and going all 'Falling Down' (1993) on our asses. It's as quirky and imaginative as it is witty and entertaining. Furthermore Antonio has a way with describing stuff. A quick-witted prose that is instantly engaging. The end result is a black-as-coal-comedy that'll keep you grinning like a madman until the bitterly-sweet end.
A Missed Phone Call – Nicholas Paschall – 26 Pages
Gwen walked out of her gymnastics class to find two missed calls on her mobile. The first was her clearly already drunk mother wanting her to pick up a bottle of red on her way home. The other was from an unknown number. No doubt a pesky cold caller wanting to sell her some crap she didn't want. She'd called her mother back, planning to pick up a bottle of wine en route, purely to keep the peace. The unknown number could go jump for all she cared. But as she made her way to Palmer's Meat Market where she'd get the wine, she'd almost walked straight into one of the creepiest guy's she'd ever seen. Something about the guy, in his high collared overcoat and wide-brimmed hat, creeped her out rotten. Minutes later, in Palmer's shop, she'd turned around to find him once again standing right behind her. Who was this creep? She'd gotten out of the shop and round the alleyway sharpish. Which is when she saw the painfully emasculated youth cowering behind a dumpster. A young boy who would all of a sudden jumped her, sinking his razor sharp teeth in her neck, and feasting on her spurting lifeblood…
One particular phrase comes to mind when reading Nicholas Paschall's offering - "I didn't see that coming". And trust me you'll really not predict half the gut-wrenching twists that Paschall has in store for you in this blood-thirsty tale of vampirish glut. It's one of those tales where you're just pulled along with the snowballing momentum of the piece, only to be derailed time and again as you're flung onto a whole new dirt track that seems to push you deeper and deeper into a mindboggling nightmare. Yeah, you've guessed it, Paschall's vampires aren't your boring-as-sin suave and sophisticated blood connoisseurs. These badboys are savage as fuck. However the story's not all about some twenty-year-old teaching assistant dodging the razor-sharp fangs of the undead. Instead Paschall weaves in a whole 'Blade' (1998) style of mythos, with an elaborate and well-executed backstory to boot. Somehow it's all crammed in there, and it plays out with a concentrated tightness that gets you tearing at the pages until that oh so fucking clever-bastard ending rears its head. Yep, didn't see that coming!
Bernadette – R. Perez De Pereda – 26 Pages
Locked away in a monastery in La Rioja, Tomás Martin Maior felt powerless to help. All he could do now was write to his brother and try to warn him of the danger his brother was in. The danger everyone was in, should no one act upon his words. For, although he loved his niece deeply, she had to be killed. There simply was no other way. If not for the sake of her immortal soul, then for the safety of countless others residing in Aragon. Bernadette must die…again. Tomás knew this. He knew it was his fault. He should never have trusted the words in the grimoire. He should never have summoned the djinni. And he should never have bargained for his niece's life back. But he had. It was all done now. And so, because of him, Bernadette must die…
R. Perez De Pereda breaks his own ruling of never having a story in a book you've done the foreword for, and steps up to the challenge of continuing Shadows and Teeth's unbroken run of delivering top-notch original horror. Good job he's damn good at this writing lark. For what we have here is a dark and exquisitely demonic tale that seeps into your very core with twisting tendrils of proper old school demonic horror executed flawlessly. It's got all those textbook elements going for it – a Spanish monk dabbling in the dark arts, a hook-handed deacon, and a djinni that's just so fucking influential it makes you cower inside. Yeah, the plot's pretty straight forward – you've got a seriously ill lass who the misguided monk is trying to save by summoning this djinni, only for it all to go horribly pear-shaped. On paper it sounds pretty run-of-the-mill horror. I get that. But it's in Pereda's wordsmanship, how he projects the djinni and the hauntingly surreal way the demon converses with the monk. In a nutshell, what you have here is a story perfectly suited for a dark stormy night with just a candle and crucifix for company.
Picture Not So Perfect – David Owain Hughes – 40 Pages
Adam knew his parents hated him. Previously he'd thought it was all in his head, until the night when his dad had gotten drunk and told Adam how much he'd damaged his mother's insides when he was ripped from her at birth. Hearing that confirmed it. Adam wasn't just ugly, he wasn't just an unfortunate deformity, he was a monster who his parents wished had never been born. Knowing this explained why his father treated him the way he did. Why he beat him time and again. So Adam would spend as much time as he could in their garden doing his art. Of course there were other benefits in being out in the garden. There was always a chance that he might see their neighbour's daughter – Eve – out there. His drawings and Eve were the only things that kept him from taking his father's shaving blade and slashing it across his lumpy, malformed throat. Although the picture he was currently working on was special. He was drawing Dorian Wilde – the golden-haired warrior that Adam believed lived inside of him. The beauty he hoped was in him. The beauty that maybe Eve saw. And the strength that maybe he'd one day have…
Goddamn does David Owain Hughes weave some fucked-up stories. And this one's no exception. In essence what we have here is a story about some poor deformed young boy who's bullied by the local roughians and treated horrifically by his equally cruel and uncaring parents. But there's beauty and strength inside this unfortunate young boy. And soon enough, it comes shining through, along with plenty of delicious comeuppance for those that treated him so badly. It's a reasonably straight forward plot. However, interestingly, Hughes has wrapped this whole story up with a strange 'Adam & Eve' thing going on, along with a completely messed-up reimagining of Oscar Wilde's 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' (1890). Yes indeed, this is a strange concoction of oddly layered inspirations that somehow all seem to merge into a truly entertaining and surprisingly readable story that's just so utterly, unmistakingly David Fucking Owain Hughes. Loved it.
The Screaming – Richard Ayre – 40 Pages
After learning of his great uncle's death, Felix MacKean had flown over from his home in Massachusetts, all the way to Strathcarron in the Scottish Highlands to work out what he was going to do with the estate he'd recently inherited. He'd not seen Castle Doon for a good fifteen years, ever since he'd left for the US. In reality it wasn't so much a castle than a fortified manor house. And as he approached the property, it seemed that Doon had been the one waiting for him for the last four months. And now he was here, it was as if something embedded in the castle's history was waking. Felix had been told that his uncle had died of a heart attack. Although, as he was soon to learn, no one local had seen the body. The death certificate was signed by a doctor in Glasgow, and his uncle was buried the day after. No wake. No funeral. No open casket for the Laird of Strathcarron. It was as if someone didn't want anyone to see the body. Except someone did see. Someone saw what happened to Felix's uncle the night he died. And it was no heart attack. However it wasn't until Felix was woken in the middle of the night that he realised there could well be something wrong with Castle Doon. At some point the screaming had started. And as he gradually succumbed once more to slumber, a thought weaved its way drunkenly through his mind. The screaming had seemed to be drawing closer…
There's just something about the Scottish Highlands that makes it such a perfect setting for a creepy-as-hell supernatural horror story. Whether it's the isolated location, the fact that so many of the impressive properties are steeped in history, or maybe it's the numerous local legends that have been passed down through the generations – whatever the reason – having a bleak Highlands backdrop for a horror is rarely a bad move. Ayre's capitalised on the qualities afforded by the isolated locale with the skill and understanding of a writer who knows exactly what he's aiming for in his tale. Like with a lot of Ayre's work, there's a very noticeable James Herbert influence embedded within his style of writing. Again, it's another aspect that works in perfect harmony with the Scottish backdrop. However, the real strength in the short undoubtedly comes from the mounting unease that Ayre's managed to inject into it. From the moment Felix first steps inside Castle Doon, a very real sense of foreboding starts to edge its way to the surface. And when the Death Bogle – the screaming banshee of the piece – reveals itself, it's like being shoved in front of an out-of-control careering lorry. A proper, old school supernatural horror that, like Pereda's earlier offering, is another absolute perfect accompaniment for a stormy winter's night.
Cruciform – J.S. Deighan – 46 Pages
The ritual to bring the demon to Earth had been within his capabilities – though admittedly unsophisticated in its crudeness. Semen, blood and urine contributed to the demon's summoning, in a foul trio of his essence, released one at a time into a wooden bowl with assorted etchings of sex positions that seemed to favour the male's view and pleasure. On his second attempt, when the gates to the abyss had opened, Mark had finally managed to pull a demon through the void and into his home. Overwhelmed with his lustful achievement, he'd orally raped the demon, then used, abused and toyed with her as if she had been any other female, human or otherwise. For about his person he had a potent weapon for use against the armies of darkness. A small wooden box containing a medal, engraved with the image of Saint Benedict bearing the famous cross. A blessed artefact that was capable of warding off many demonic spirits. It had kept the demon at bay since it had been ripped from its dark domain. However Mark knew his actions would not go unnoticed in Hell. But he had his motivations. He had his plan. Dominance was the key. Dominance was everything…
Holy shit is this a dark and blasphemously twisted offering. Think Clive Barker meets William Holloway, with a 'Hellbound: Hellraiser II' (1988) style plot going on. It's all pretty grim and unnervingly dark. However it's in Deighan's visceral descriptions of the unholy acts performed - the stench of shit, sweat and semen – that the tale eventually overwhelms you. It's a magnificent display of how to drown the reader in Hell. The imagery brought about through Deighan's words is so incredibly vivid it'll leave you breathless – if only it wasn't so unnerving. I kid you not when I say this is one of the darkest shorts I've had the pleasure of reading. But amongst these blasphemous acts, we have a whisper of a plot that's so shrouded in mystery you'll struggle to detect it. As the story unfolds, little in the way of a proper explanation is provided, and you're left scrabbling around in the dirt for any clues as to the reasoning for such diabolical actions. Even as the story comes to its quite abrupt ending, many aspects are still painfully unclear. Whether this is purposeful or not I have no idea. But the effect is one of bewildering bafflement combined with an overwhelming desire to scrub yourself clean afterwards. Indeed, it's a story that demands a second read. And it's a tale that'll drag you into its darkness, caking you in the blood and grime of Hell's eternal abyss, only to spit you out in a fog of mystery and fucked-up confusion. Steven Deighan - if your plan was to mess with your readers whilst grubbying their souls, then I'd say you've well and truly achieved you mission. Hats off to you.
(Sub) Routine – Duncan P. Bradshaw – 45 Pages
Oliver knew he wasn't supposed to touch the locked doors and cupboards in the house. It led to bad things. Never had there been a time whereby doing so had ended well for him. In the gloom of the house Oliver could just about make out the locks. At the top of the staircase, in the hallway, the padlocked door brought back all those difficult memories. His parents. Their skin pulled taut across their shattered skulls. Oliver didn't like to think about those images. And he didn't like to dwell on the writhing, squirming things. Bugs and beetles and dirt. He had his chores to do. He had to keep the house clean. Floors, surfaces and blinds. Clean, clean and clean. It was all part of the routine. All regimented. All part of a strict schedule he always stuck to. Because everything in Oliver's life was set by the clock. Waking up, his chores, eating, leisure time, sleeping. All part of the routine. All dictated by the grandfather clock that chimed away in that empty, murky, godforsaken house…
You've just gotta love Bradshaw. His tales are always so jacked-up with originality. His writing's always got an instantly detectible taste of uniqueness about it. And his style of prose is always different. No two stories from the man - this mad professor of horror - are remotely similar in any way. And this here voyage into an introspective lunacy is no different. It's weird and fragmented, bombarding the reader with a mishmash of vivid images from behind the eyes of a veritable looney toon. Like a jigsaw where none of the pieces ever seem to fit right, you spend the vast majority of the tale trying to make some sort of sense from the images you're presented with; impulsively trying to arrange the madness into some sort of understandable order. Flashbacks and nightmares muddy the water further, until you're wading through a veritable quagmire of taunting oddness. Our delusional narrator suffers from some hardcore OCD. He's damaged and lost in a world of repetitive chores. But there's something behind it all. A trigger. A reason. And Bradshaw coaxes the badness out like pus from an infected wound, until we're left with nothing but an open and gradually cooling wound to reflect upon. Damn that was gloomy. Damn you Bradshaw. Damn you.
The anthology runs for a total of 338 pages.
© DLS Reviews


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Greg Bird, former Grandview star, starting for Yankees in AL Wild Card Game
Former Grandview High School star Greg Bird will be starting at first base for the Yankees in their American League Wild Card game against the Astros on Tuesday.
The rookie Bird, 22, was called up to New York's main roster in August. He showcased his power during the regular season, hitting 11 home runs in 157 at-bats, while batting .261 and driving in 31 RBIs.
"It's a special feeling. Just to be able to come up and help these guys out. I followed them all year … just being able to come up and help," Bird said in an interview with YESNetwork.
The Yankees host the Astros at 6 p.m. Tuesday. The game will be shown on ESPN. The winner will take on the Kansas City Royals Thursday.
It's #TanakaTime as the #Yankees look to walk away with AL #WildCard victory: http://t.co/ihy5o7hK6A #Chasefor28 pic.twitter.com/XhigDOFulW
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) October 6, 2015


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Some use Photoshop to correct their photos. Some use Picasa to fix their pics. PXN8 is a free, online service that lets you apply simple operations to an uploaded (or online) photo before letting you download it again or shuttle it off to Flickr.
Probably most useful for occasional jobs where the more advanced tools are not to hand, or you can't be bothered to mess with them.


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See map: Google Maps
Flying Scot, Hull #4313, 1987, solid and well found, no soft spots, cracks or damage; new mainsail and jib (used less than 10 times), excellent spinnaker with sheets and pole (also older mainsail with reef points); Tee Nee trailer with new axle, bearings, hubs (less than 150 miles), lights, winch and bed rollers all new. Cockpit cover, sail cover, anchor and line, 4 life jackets, rudder lift kit, centerboard refinished, down haul, paddle, wind vane, some spares, etc., etc. Boat, rig, equipment, sails, trailer all in very good condition. Complete and sail away ready. $5,000. Call 860-526-2576


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Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) were 2.46 billion euros ($2.84 billion), just below the 2.48 billion euros forecast in a Reuters poll as the value of the British pound and the Chinise renminbi hit profits.
Auto sales rose 5.9 per cent to a new quarterly record.
The return on sales at BMW's automotive division narrowed to 9.4 per cent from 9.5 per cent a year earlier, in its target range of 8-10 per cent, financial results published on Tuesday showed.
The BMW Group reaffirmed its cautious full-year forecast of achieving slight increases in sales volume in the Automotive segment and group profit before tax in 2016.
It warned of high levels of upfront expenditure for new technologies, intense price competition and rising personnel expenses.
BMW has seen sales momentum slow down in China, the world's biggest car market, as it prepares to launch new models like the long-wheelbase version of the X1 offroader.
In the first quarter, sales of Mercedes' passenger cars there jumped 36.4 per cent in the first quarter of this year compared with 11.2 per cent China growth for BMW.


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Help prepare meals for Neighbors on the Streets
|Wednesday, September 20th, 2017 from 4:45pm to 5:45pm (CT)
|Come in through the side door, 602 Looney Ave., Memphis, TN 38107
|Number of Registrants
|1 out of 10
|Registration Opens
|February 22, 2017 at 4:12pm
|Registration Closes
|September 20, 2017 at 5:45pm or or when space runs out.
|Event Description
Each week we make up to 100 to-go bags with nutritious and filling food to hand out on the streets. On the 3rd and 4th Wednesdays we are in need of volunteers to arrive at 4:45pm for prep. This is a great activity for the whole family!
Location: Come in through the side door, 602 Looney Ave., Memphis, TN 38107
|Destiny D.


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The Ten Levels of enlightenment according to a buddhist
A wonderful idea about enlightenment through meditation. 🙂
When I stumble upon a true philosopher like Julien Matei then I Maitreya both laugh and shed a tear of happiness at the same time.
"Cause if the receptivity is not there, "caring" leaves one totally drained…
He he he. Attitude must be heal the ones who want to be healed. 😉
"Stop discarding the seriousness of Life, relegating it to some kind of inane kindergarten affair!"
Only a child, or a child like mind, wanting to know the truth, can learn and understand how serious it is. It makes it all the Children's affair.
"The funny thing about humans is not that they hide their ugliness, guilt and darkness, but that they are terribly ashamed of and therefore conceal their beauty, innocence and light…"
That is only because they cannot see it. How could they see it when they were taught to live in mental darkness? We must all find their light that can exist in every moment and tell them about it!
"The clearer and wiser you are, the bigger the likelihood they´ll turn you into a mirror of their stupidity and insanity."
How would "they" do that and who is "they"?
The organization Illuminati suggests illumination, enlightenment. Judge for yourself what is the truth about this! Beware of that there is a problem with illumination if you are really stupid.
There are people wanting a "new age" with a new religion and a "new world order" where you potentially become the slave and they become the masters.
This is however not what Allah wants. Allah wants Oneness, Pure Love, Truth and Prosperity for all, not just for a few.
Judge for yourselves if Russel Brand is a new fake Messiah or a real one!
Signs of a fake Messiah:
– Big ego.
– Will be displayed in the evil greedy monkey's media.
– Will encourage peaceful protest, avoiding real enlightened peoples takeover.
– Personal relations with the powerful and the rich.
– Other signs of "Illuminati"
Real enlightenment comes from meditation and leads to less ego, courage and pure love, leading to a feeling of Oneness with all living beings where people, animals and plants are treated with respect.
Real enlightenment leads to real truth-seeking, real science, leading us all to real enlightenment, not fake capitalist science or fake capitalist spirituality. Real enlightenment will lead to balance with nature, equality, prosperity for us all and for future generations.
Pure love
Ha ha ha. 🙂 The old religious Theodicy problem. The probelm is hereby solved.
Evil exist because you are a living being and therefore in fear of death and in this fear will act evil. When you through meditation realize the endlessness of the Universe and the logic of courage and you in courage act like Allah wants, in oneness, truth and pure love, then you create Allah's heaven on Earth and you create prosperity for all, for nature and for future generations.
When all humans have real intelligence and ability to follow Allah there will be no more evil. This is possible, but it takes some eradication of evil greedy monkeys acting like vermin on our planet. That is the solution of the problem. Nothing more, nothing less. We as humans can evolve, but evil greedy monkeys can not evolve further. Allah looks down on them and their false religions and they must be eradicated as the vermin they are.
The state of Oneness and goodness can not be achieved by passiveness, but only by being active with both feet firmly fixed on the ground in reality with friendliness, not through blind belief. Truth must be searched and found in all things and the beginning of this is meditation in solitude, finding pure love. The next step is critical searching for truth, enlightenment, the third step is acting on truth. The reward is prosperity for all human kind.
The evil-doers kill for money and power. Take them down in what ever way you can! Do it peacefully with democracy or with violence if no peaceful means can be used!
The evil-doers kill presidents, they kill peaceful honest generals protecting their people, protecting democracy and they kill people by dropping bombs. The evil-doers corrupt democracy in hidden rooms. They claim to do it for their country, but the truth is that such behaviour can never be good for any country or its future generations long-term, because the evil-doers do not care for balance with nature and this means it can never be good for anyone, not even for themselves or their own children. Their children and future generations will suffer from their actions. Having much money is no protection for their children, on the contrary, it is a curse in disguise.
The silly thing is that all evil-doers do evil out of fear, fear that leads to greed and greed that leads to evil which leads to more fear of being killed. Therefore meditation is the only way out. Meditation leads to peace, real love and real courage.
The evil-doers fund wars that are only in their own short-term self-interest, not for Allah, and they know it, and they know the punishment. The punishment is living this life like a dirty dog in a spiritual emotional sense. Still, even a dog, even a dirty one, can have a better spiritual life than these evil-doers ever can unless they re-wire the brain.
There is an easy way out. Follow me! I am the teacher. Begin to do good with your money and your property long-term! Then your pitiful life will change for the better, even if you did evil before, because all did evil, even if they are aware of it or not.
And if you think you did no evil, then wake up! Somebody put these individuals into power again and again, someone submit to their fraud, someone was too afraid to say no, someone did not enlighten other people to avoid conflicts, someone was too afraid to loose a job or a wife. Remember that sometimes when you loose you did not loose, you won, and you planted seeds with your deeds.
Beware my friends! Truth and enlightenment can not be spread without the evil being upset, but they need to be upset before they can heal. You must be courageous and not fold! Stand your ground! Stand firmly on both feet and speak your mind and remember to be as friendly as you can when they are angry with you, because they are not angry with you but with truth itself, they are angry with Allah! When they understand this then Allah wins. Then you plant Allah's seed that will eventually grow inside their hearts and inside their minds!


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Akhand Hossain (
The Singapore Economic Review (SER), 2011, vol. 56, issue 01, 61-77
This paper adopts the Johansen approach to cointegration to estimate a narrow money-demand function for Indonesia with annual data for the period 1970–2007. Empirical results suggest that there exists a cointegral relationship between real narrow balances, real permanent income and the deposit rate of interest. The recursive and rolling regression results suggest that the narrow money-demand function has remained largely stable irrespective of ongoing financial reforms in Indonesia since the late 1980s and/or financial crises in the late 1990s. The Quandt-Andrews breakpoint and the Hansen-Johansen stability tests results however suggest that the narrow money-demand relationship had a structural break in the early 1990s. This corresponds to a period of time when the banking and financial reforms in Indonesia took effect. The Chow breakpoint test results suggest that there was also a structural break in the money-demand relationship during the financial crises of the late 1990s.
Keywords: Indonesia; narrow money-demand; Johansen cointegration approach; Quandt-Andrews breakpoint test; Chow's breakpoint test; the Hansen-Johansen stability test (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
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November 15, 2016
Some estimates suggest that fraud attacks on US online merchants rose 11% after the October 1, 2015, EMV liability shift. In absolute numbers, the value of fraudulent online transactions is expected to balloon from $10.7 billion last year to $25.6 billion in 2020.
It appears that the EMV transition had the effect it was expected to have and fraudsters have indeed turned their efforts towards weak links – such as CNP transactions – putting e-commerce under fire. There are, however, measures, that can mitigate the risks of CNP payments fraud, which The Reserve Bank of Boston laid out this Thursday in the report titled "Getting Ahead of the Curve: Assessing Card-Not-Present Fraud in the Mobile Payments Environment."
The study suggests that enabling EMV chip card acceptance at POS reduces card-present counterfeit fraud by removing the opportunity for fraudsters to compromise payment card credentials. However, this is driving fraudsters to attack the more vulnerable online and mobile CNP channels with weaker authentication protocols, at a time when consumers are increasing their use of mobile phones to make CNP purchases.
We will further review six recommendations from the bank that address various aspects of CNP fraud prevention. The hallmark of the list is that half of the recommendations are insisting on the necessity for collaboration between various participants of the ecosystem in various ways: sharing data, best practices and collaborative development of security standards.
M-commerce is mostly considered to be an extension of the business, which leads to security measures being standardized across channels without considering the hallmarks of those channels. Meanwhile, risks associated with mobile m-commerce differ from e-commerce due to specifics of the environment and a different set of factors influencing the m-commerce experience.
It leads to the necessity to consider additional security approaches to prevent and manage mobile CNP fraud. For mobile-focused businesses, it is critical to implement appropriate methods to monitor fraud in their e-commerce and m-commerce channels and apply mobile-specific fraud management tools that leverage the unique capabilities of mobile devices.
Channel-specific monitoring generates rich data that can provide more detailed information on the customer device-specific behavior, addressing the need to manage fraud holistically across customer entry points. Businesses should also use the data collected from fraud tools to build a profile of a legitimate versus a fraudulent customer in the mobile CNP channel.
There is no silver bullet when it comes to security controls and methods, and the most effective systems rely on a mix of those to ensure security. Companies should analyze available tools and choose the ones that best fit their CNP fraud strategy. Such sources as NIST, FFIEC and 3DS 2.0 specifications and related network operating rules are proposed to be helpful in conducting an analysis.
Despite the migration of the US payments card from magstripes to chip cards, magstripes are still widely used. Customer habits are difficult to change and the presence of a magstripe and a chip on a card may lead customers to still habitually use the stripe. Professionals from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston suggest the elimination of magstripe as a measure to address major card vulnerability because when swiped instead of dipped, the card is susceptible to counterfeit card fraud.
In the current CNP environment, many smaller e-commerce merchants may have weak authentication controls that provide fraudsters with the opportunity to make fraudulent purchases with stolen counterfeit card numbers. There is also the risk that a counterfeit card number will be provisioned to a mobile wallet and used to make fraudulent purchases.
"Overall, reducing potential vulnerabilities in other payment channels benefits the mobile channel as well, as they are all connected and used by consumers.
Collaborative efforts are known to have a positive effect on business growth and development. It also applies to the payments industry, where market participants recognize the need for more inclusive collaboration and information sharing to reduce overall payments fraud, and CNP specifically.
Today, company-specific data is shared mostly only with governmental agencies and industry associations. As a result, valuable data remains contained in the circle of particular market participants, while cross-industry sharing could drive higher efficiency in fighting fraud.
In the retail payments environment, FIs often see fraud or suspicious activity faster than merchants because of the robust risk management tools and fraud monitoring systems they have to support compliance with financial services regulations. Financial institutions are also the primary point of contact by cardholders when fraudulent activity occurs.
For businesses to be able to boost their security capabilities, cross-industry data sharing is a necessary element of collaboration. The need for more effective information sharing expands beyond the CNP environment to the entire payments ecosystem. The broader industry needs to identify ways to improve the value and timeliness of fraud data that will also help the CNP environment. All stakeholders also have an obligation to support continuous customer education regarding secure mobile payment practices and should engage collaboratively in developing consistent materials and messaging.
Collaborative efforts should go beyond sharing information to sharing best practices identified in use case analysis. Risks associated and experienced by one party of the payments ecosystem will translate into risks for all other parties, which means that best practices of fraud prevention should be shared with mid-sized and smaller/micro m-commerce merchants and CNP third-party/non-bank mobile solution providers.
It might be difficult to assess risks created across market participants due to the lack of consistency to how they evolve or operate. Hence, all third-party relationships should be carefully evaluated before an agreement is executed as well as on a recurring basis. Large e-commerce merchants and processors should recognize that sharing some of their best practices and experiences using different fraud tools for CNP payments with the smaller, less sophisticated, or newer mobile/e-commerce businesses will have a positive impact on the entire CNP environment.
Knowledge sharing across ecosystem can help reduce overall fraud and increase consumer confidence in making mobile and online purchases.
The major stakeholders should coordinate efforts to develop best practices targeted at the smaller m-commerce merchants, determine effective ways to reach out to them and communicate this information.
Issuers, merchants (POS and e-commerce), acquirers, card networks, processors, PSPs and WSPs should collaborate and coordinate initiatives to identify where gaps exist in current proprietary and open standards and practices.
All members of the ecosystem should share their unique expertise to facilitate the enhancement of technology standards, as well as guidelines and best practices, to improve the security of mobile and e-commerce CNP payments, particularly in such areas as authentication, tokenization and encryption for data protection.


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Jul 25, 2017
This is a longer episode this week where I talk about meeting a fellow introvert and conversations about beards!
Jul 18, 2017
In this episode, I am going to talk about a couple of things I do to prep for a flight.
Jul 11, 2017
In this episode, I will be talking about one of the ways I survived a conference
Jul 4, 2017
Apps that introverts might find useful and how I use them.


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The best news to come out of Cincinnati this year is Pete Rose being inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 2016
It's being billed as "Opening Night" on Sunday by the MLB, a night game matchup between the Mets and the Royals to pickup where the World Series left off nearly a half a year ago. Along the way though, two day games were added to the schedule and now people think that Sunday is actually Opening Day, which technically it is, but the MLB wants you to think Monday is actually the real Opening Day. Confused? Yes, thanks to a couple of day games added to the schedule we actually will have real baseball to watch all day on Sunday so we can be happy for that whatever the MLB calls it.
The Phillies though will begin their season on Monday at 4:10 PM in Cincinnati and the final cuts have been made to the Opening Day roster with a few surprises added to the mix. The starters will be Jeremy Hellickson for the Phils vs. Raisel Iglesias for the Reds.
Here's the 25 player roster that will start off the season for the Phillies:
Jerad Eickhoff
Jeanmar Gomez
Jeremy Hellickson
David Hernandez
Dalier Hinojosa
Charlie Morton
Hector Neris
Aaron Nola
Brett Oberholtzer
James Russell
Daniel Stumpf
Vincent Velasquez
Carlos Ruiz
Cameron Rupp
Andres Blanco
Emmanuel Burriss
Maikel Franco
Freddy Galvis
Cesar Hernandez
Ryan Howard
Darin Ruf
Peter Bourjos
Tyler Goeddel
Odubel Herrera
Cedric Hunter
5 players are on the DL: Aaron Altherr, Cody Asche, Matt Harrison, Mario Hollands, Michael Mariot
The surprise player to make the team is Cedric Hunter, who was a non-roster invitee to Spring Training. He impressed manager Pete Mackanin and was humbled by the opportunity and hopes to make the most of it.


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How to Look After Your Nails
Explore this Article Steps Questions & Answers Related Articles
wikiHow is a "wiki," similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 33 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has also been viewed 110,493 times. Learn more...
With all the responsibilities people have with work, family, social engagements etc., most people do not have a lot of time to spend on their nails. At the same time, however, neat nails add to a clean and professional appearance. The good news is that you do not need to spend a fortune to have nice looking nails.
1Keep a good diet. This will help you with many other things, not just your nails.
2When applying lotion to your hands make sure to rub some into and around your nails.
3Keep your nails even. If you find that some of your nails are super long while the others are broken-off, trim or file them back to match.
4Gently tap your nails on a hard surface such as a table. This can strengthen them.
5Use as little nail polish remover as possible, and never use a polish remover with acetone in it.
6Biting your nails will make them look ugly and uncared for, and can hurt if you bite too far! Use an anti-nail biting cream or polish on your fingernails, so that when you go to bite your nails it tastes bad. Once you get out of the habit, you can stop using the cream.
7Trim your nails regularly, though how often will depend on how quickly your nails grow and how long you want them.
8Soak your nails every other week or so in warm water and a moisturizing soap. Clean them using a soft nail brush. You can also soak your hands in some baby oil that has Vitamin E which would help to keep your hands soft.
9Give yourself a mani-pedi at least once a month to keep your hands and feet looking nice. You can get a professional mani-pedi once in a while if you like, so long as you make sure the salon is sterile.
Community Q&A
QuestionHow do I make my nails grow longer?KatyyyyCommunity AnswerAlways moisturize your nails with cuticle oil or olive oil, protect your nails with nail polish or strengthening polish, and have patience.
QuestionHow do I get the skin around my nails to look nice?Community AnswerThe correct term for the skin around your nails are called cuticles. If you are thinking about trimming your cuticles, DO NOT. If you want your cuticles to look nice pre-manicure, use an orange stick to push back your cuticles. To soften them pre-manicure, use cuticle oil, lotion, or Vaseline.
QuestionHow can I get my nails to grow quickly when they are weak?Community AnswerYou might want to use some type of oil on your nails. This article has some good tips: how to make nails grow faster.
QuestionI have ridges on most of my nails that sometimes split. How can I look after them more carefully?Community AnswerYou can use a good cuticle oil or simply olive or coconut oil to strengthen the nail. Apply throughout the day as needed. To avoid splitting and breaking them, try to be more careful with your nails. Don't scratch off tags or push buttons with them; use a tool or your finger instead. You might even want to consider getting a gel manicure to help protect your nails.
QuestionIs it possible to get the pink part of my nail longer? I have long nail beds, but the pink part is small. What can I do?Community AnswerYes. Push your cuticles back twice a day, at night and before you get out of bed.
QuestionHow can I make my nail's surface hard?Community AnswerMake sure you are eating a healthy diet and taking vitamins. Weak nails can be a sign of a vitamin B deficiency. To make your nails harder, try a strengthening clear polish, such as one from Sally Hansen.
QuestionHow do I prevent myself from biting my nails? I've tried anti-biting cream, and that didn't work; I've also tried putting Band Aids around my finger, but I got bullied for that.Community AnswerTry the methods in Stop Biting Your Nails.
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- Painting your nails can help prevent splitting and cracking, but let your nails have a break once in a while. Having nail polish on all day every day will damage your nails.
- Toe nails are much tougher than finger nails. Every few weeks, soak the feet and scrub gently using a exfoliating shower gel. This will help toenails soften and help rough skin on the heels of feet. Don't forget to use lotion to keep feet soft.
- If you have long nails, clean out any dirt that gets under them. It does not look good to have black fingernails.
- Wear rubber gloves before doing dishes. This will protect nails from the detergent.
- Before bed, apply lotion to your hands and feet and put on cotton socks and cotton gloves. The gloves and socks will keep the lotion on, help it absorb, and keep it from getting on your sheets. Never use rubber gloves for this - your skin needs to breathe and it can't in rubber.
- If you have a hangnail, don't rip or bite it off as this can tear skin as well. Instead, cut it with nail clippers.
- Use clear nail varnish as a base coat so the nail varnish you put on top doesn't stain or discolour your nails.{{fact|center]]
- If you bite your nails look for a long lasting clear nail varnish with bitrex in it; doctors use bitrex in nail varnishes because if you try to bite your nails it will taste horrible!
- Use Aloe Vera nail growth and strengthener every week after manicuring nails and cuticles. Next, wash your hands in soft soap then thoroughly lotion them for over one minute.
- Always be careful when using nail polish and nail polish remover. Don't inhale the fumes and if any is swallowed contact your poison control center immediately.
- Leaving nail polish on too long can cause lack of growth as air cannot get to them.
- Nail biting can lead to hang-nails, fungal infections, thread worms and other problems. Letting nails grow too long is also a problem and looks unattractive.
Article Info
Categories: Nail Care
In other languages:
Español: cuidar tus uñas, Deutsch: Seine Nägel pflegen, Italiano: Prendersi Cura delle Unghie, Русский: следить за ногтями
Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 110,493 times.
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Swerfal needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 49 designs submitted by 7 freelance designers.
St. Mary Central High School
Catholic High School in Neenah Wisconsin. Our name/logo is the Zephyrs, a passanger train that was popular years ago. We offer over 20 different sports and countless other co-curriculars opportunities for our students.
This new logo is what we will use as our "brand" for St. Mary Central. Our old train logo is just old and somewhat boring. We are looking for new and fresh and exciting!
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


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We are back in my hometown for the next two weeks. Even though I think I know this area pretty well, things have changed since I left for college back in 2008. Bruno and I decided to do some exploring and ended up at a new (at least new to me) coffee shop that a reviewer claimed had "the best chai tea latte in all of Ohio." I have not had every chai tea latte in Ohio, but it is the best chai tea latte I've had.
I was voted most likely to never come back when I graduated from high school. I don't have the yearbook for that year — 18 year old Ali was "too cool" for that — but there's a picture of me in a yearbook rolling a suitcase with my superlative written underneath. I was really proud of that superlative at the time, but in hindsight I suspect it had more to do with my willingness to hate the "provincialism" of the area. I'm not proud of that.
Hometowns are complicated places. Not everyone really has one. I'm talking about the type of place where everyone knows everyone. Your teachers taught not only your siblings, but also your parents, your aunts and uncles, and all your cousins. When you tell someone your last name, they say "you must be this and that" because your last name means something to people. Its the type of place where a stranger says "you look/act so much like your mom/dad" because, yes, they know them. I do not remember my graduating class number, but I do not think it was over seventy. I knew most of them since kindergarten. That can be stifling. It was stifling.
I spent much of my life wanting to escape. And yet, strangely, it is still a place I refer to as "home." As in, "I'm going home this weekend" or "I'm back home for the next two weeks." And while I do not want to move back (hard to imagine any political theory jobs popping up around here!) it is no longer a place I want to escape.
Part of it is because I see how much this place made me. I have a college friend that joked about me that you can take the girl out of the small town, but you can't take the small town out of the girl. This is probably true. I cannot imagine knowing how to work hard on my dissertation if I had never worked on a dairy farm. The high school experiences — getting busted by the cops for having a football party when I was a sophomore, regularly skipping class, regularly partying (often in barns and cornfields) in some ways led me to run arms wide open into discipline and routine. But they also made me empathetic when other people mess up. I get it. I was there in high school. Time spent working in the local factory (and my father) gave me a blue collar sense of humor and I know that. For every delicious foodie meal I'll ever have, I'll never be too stuck up for the local greasy bar pizza.
When I'm here I feel reconnected with the important things — faith and family. While the anxieties of dissertation writing, planning to teach my very first college class, the really shoddy academic job market never really truly leave, they seem like lesser problems. The important thing is to make sure I spend time with my younger, still in elementary, middle, and junior high school sisters. The important thing is to make sure I stop by and see one of my best friends who just had her fourth baby and let her know she is a total bad ass for becoming a mother again. It is watching my nephews for a week because their babysitter is on vacation. I'm not too busy for loving people when I'm home.
While we were driving to this coffee shop, I told Bruno, "I just feel so relaxed." We were driving along the country roads listening to the John Denver song of the same name. I've been working hard and getting back on a routine. The fourth chapter is swinging along. This was not the relaxed state of doing nothing on a beach. It feels like the relaxation of having your priorities straight. Time spent in a hometown can do that for you.
xo, Ali