text:
Music: I'll Attack – 30 Second to Mars
Disclaimer: I own nothing!
Summary: He was sick and tired of every bloke that ever crossed their path thinking they had a chance with her. Marcus/Hermione
by: atruwriter
Marcus Flint was a possessive man by nature. He held his position in Quidditch in great regard and anybody who put that in jeopardy was quickly reminded of why he was the best beater in the league. The same could be said of most things; if Marcus treasured it, it wasn't to be touched, looked at or thought of. Perhaps it was the Pureblood in him, or the Slytherin higher-than-all-others mentality that he'd lived with for seven long years. He couldn't pinpoint it to one thing. He'd grown up with a father who was very strict and made sure that his son knew what was his and how it wasn't to be used by anybody but him.
As the years progressed, there were only two great loves in Marcus' life; Quidditch and his girlfriend. They were the most unlikely couple to most; a Slytherin and a Gryffindor that seemed to clash more than meet. However, their relationship was not quite as complicated as some might think. She loved her books, he loved his Quidditch. She hated cooking, he enjoyed it. She loved baking; he couldn't find the patience for it. Where she fell, he rose and vice versa. They made up for their misgivings, which came in handy since he had many. She could be obnoxiously intelligent while he was incredibly laid back. He could hold a conversation on most any topic; he just didn't go searching for mental stimulation like she did. He was stimulated more by the rush of the game and when he wasn't, he found it in her.
She was a beautiful creature, perhaps not in the most conventional of ways. She didn't have flawless skin, but a spatter of freckles across the bridge of her nose. Her hair was thick and bushy, a waterfall of curls that his hands loved to grip and wrap around tightly as they spent quality time creating that rush in the privacy of their bedroom. Or in some cases, the not so private back porch of their house, the counters in their kitchen, the floor by the fireplace, the sunken bathtub, the stand up shower, the guest rooms, the pantry when guests were over, the backyard beneath the old oak tree, and various other places outside of their home.
They met at a pub, shortly after a loss for his team and a win for her friend Weasley's team. The annoying group was celebrating loudly in the back while he was sulking at the bar. She came up, flushed and in need of water when she spotted him glowering over his four lined up shots of Firewhiskey. Stealing one, she knocked it back easily and sat down beside him to congratulate him on a game well played. Surprised and a little miffed, thinking she was actually teasing him, he turned to tell her off, instead finding his tongue grow three sizes too big. She was really quite pretty. She was smiling at him genuinely and she didn't seem put-off by his brutish scowl at all. She seemed much tinier than him; a short, slip of a girl compared to his 6'3 tall frame of all muscle; wide shoulders, slim waist, rock hard in every place that counted. At that moment, however, despite his stature, celebrity, and background, he felt incredibly small compared to her; so pretty and free and completely comfortable sitting there next to him.
He grunted his thanks, unable to unfurl his tongue.
Her eyes glittered with laughter before she took another shot from in front of him. She lifted it to him and his large, calloused hand wrapped around a shot glass, raising next to hers to clink lightly.
Seven more shots would be shared between them while she listened to him retell the game, telling her exactly what he thought he did wrong and how he could rectify it next time.
"You remind me of Wood," she told him, eyes thinned in deep thought as she nodded. "So driven by the game."
He shrugged, frowning. "Wood," he muttered.
"You don't like him?" her tone was more curious than surprised.
"I don't like any of my competition," he told her, lifting a brow as if he couldn't understand why she wouldn't know that.
"But why?" She shook her head. "They're doing just the same as you. Playing the game. Do you think they dislike you as well?"
He shrugged. "Dunno. Don't care."
She frowned. "Well I doubt it. Oliver is a nice enough man."
Marcus snorted. He had the childish urge to ask her why she wasn't drinking with him then, but instead knocked another shot back to keep himself from making a fool in front of her.
"So where are your friends then? Why are you out here glowering alone?" she asked curiously, turning sideways in her seat and crossing her legs.
"Best mate Adrian had a date, rest of the team went home, I guess. I dunno." He sighed, moving his glass around in a circle, watching as it slid the excess water around it into a puddle.
"Are you hungry?" she asked suddenly, her hand falling to her stomach and a frown marring her face. "I'm starving and those boys'll be busy for some time. You want to get something to eat? I'd like the company if you're interested."
He was so shocked he simply paid the bill and stood up with her. He wasn't her type at all. Admittedly, he didn't know of anyone she dated, but he knew that girls like her didn't go for blokes like him. He was gruff and moody and he didn't talk much. He wasn't the most handsome bloke, even with magically transformed teeth and the various hair removing techniques his manager made him go through so he'd be more appealing to the masses as a pro Quidditch star. He was all rough edges and gruff personality. He hadn't shaved in a day or two and so he likely had quite the shadow around his jaw, his hair was still a little damp from his shower after the game and he was wearing very casual clothing compared to her fashionable outfit.
She looped her arm with him as they left, looking all the more small against his side. He had to look down to talk to her now, which was spent listening more than speaking really. But he liked watching her face light up as she spoke, her hands moving around rapidly and her eyes lighting up each time she glanced up to catch his gaze. "Oh, where would you like to go? Anywhere in particular?"
He shrugged. Food was food to him.
"Right," she said, pinching her lips in thought. "How about the Three Broomsticks then? Haven't been there for awhile."
He nodded. "Sounds good to me."
"Right then. Off we are."
She apparated them both with a small pop and he was surprised to find himself just a foot from the door. She opened it for the both of them, ushering him in before her. She scanned the room for a place to sit; it was quite busy really. She grabbed his hand and brought him back as she spotted a spare table. He kept his eyes off the people around him, sure that they all must be staring in shock that he could possibly manage to catch that attention of such a beautiful, brilliant witch. He'd had his share of brainless groupies that could barely say more than, "I like fame, want to go back to my hotel?" So he wasn't low on offers, just on those reaping the benefits of both beauty and intelligence.
They ordered something to eat, sitting across from each other, her comfortable while he squirmed in discomfort. "So," she said, lifting a brow at him. "Tell me something about yourself."
And somehow that started his tongue moving. Since the subject was him, he really didn't have much to hide. He could focus on himself and not be so entranced by her and found his mouth opening easily as he spilled little facts about his life and family. She listened earnestly, quite interested in what he had to say, despite the fact that his life really wasn't all that enthralling. She was respectful enough, however, not to yawn or change the subject, simply laughing at funny stories and reaching out to touch his forearm when there were darker parts.
They ended up spending most of the evening sitting at the back booth of the Three Broomsticks, discussing family, friends, their school days, work, and life in general. He laughed more than he ever had before. She wasn't put off by his brooding manner or his rather gruff appearance. He noticed more than once that she actually shivered at his coarse, husky voice, her eyes falling to half mass. He later realized that his voice did things to her; made her squirm in her seat and rub her thighs together. She also loved his hands, how rough and calloused they were, scraping against her soft skin.
That night started something never expected; a bond between the two of them that would go on for another six years, leading up to this night. Where she stood next to him at a Quidditch banquet; it was a week before the Quidditch World Cup where he'd be playing for the British National Team as beater. She was dressed elegantly in a dark red floor length gown that whispered over her curves gently. His hand sat possessively on her far hip while her hand covered his, thumb stroking the top. Potter and Weasley were around somewhere, probably avoiding the fangirls lurking everywhere. He was stuck listening to Crawford chatter on and on while barely hiding the way his eyes seemed drawn to Hermione's chest rather than her face. He'd already put up with four other blokes hitting on her. One of which grabbed her arse while they were dancing, a second that "accidentally" brushed her breast with the back of his hand while trying to brush away something on her shoulder. A third tried to kiss her which ended with a broken nose on his part and a scowl for Marcus as she led him away from the scene. Drunk or not, if another bloke tried to get in her knickers he was going to Avada someone.
He'd been dealing with it for ages. She was a well known witch that had grown quite attractive and had the brains to keep a man interested in more than just a quick shag. But she was his witch and he was more than a little tired of blokes who seemed to think they could best him and take her away. She may not have a ring on her finger, but she was completely taken. Most knew, most accepted, but there were a few daredevils who tried their luck at outdoing the snake and suffered the consequences for it.
"Oh Marcus, it's just the drink that has them all this way. I'm sure they'll all be owling us their most respectful apologies in the morning," she told him, her hand running up and down his back soothingly.
He scowled deeper. She really didn't quite grasp just what an important and worthy woman she was. He couldn't imagine how many chaps would give everything to be in his place. Admittedly, he knew he wasn't worthy either. She deserved someone smarter, better looking, less surly. But she loved him, for reasons he didn't know, and while he didn't say it often, he loved her too. He'd put up with his fair share of ribbing from former Slytherins, shocked to see that he had won over the Gryffindor princess. And he'd ignored the persistent voices telling him one day she was going to leave him, that she was using him to make someone else jealous (like Weasley). Six years she'd never given him any hint that what they had wasn't going to last. She'd been to his every game, ranted over all of his injuries, listened to his long spiels over good and bad games, and even put up with the likes of Malfoy and Zabini.
"Respectful," he heard a familiar voice snort and turned to see his best mate, Adrian Pucey standing nearby with a flute of champagne. "Right, it'll probably say something along the lines of, 'So sorry about last night, Flint . But really, could you expect any less? Beauty and the Beast was a fairytale, my friend. Can't blame a bloke for trying.'" He lifted a brow, grinning winningly.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "How much have you had to drink, Ade?" she wondered, her nose wrinkling. "And I had no idea you were so interested in Muggle children's fairytales." She scowled. "Beauty and the Beast, I'm really getting quite tired of the reference." She smiled up at Marcus wickedly and he shifted on his feet, mind wandering to the last time they spoke of the subject.
Rita Skeeter had written a scathing article about the two of them being more like Beauty and the Beast and that he was actually holding her captive through the Imperious curse. He'd wanted to take her head off with his beater's bat, but Hermione had quickly distracted him. "A beast, really?" She climbed into his lap, her mouth curling with a smirk. "Well, perhaps in bed. You can be rather…" She pulled his head forward, her lips ghosting over hers with a raw meld of gentle and harsh. "Rough," she breathed out before nipping his bottom lip. Her fingers slid up the plains of his face, sliding into his hair and gripping it tightly.
His hands slid up her legs, squeezing her thighs as they pushed up her nightgown. Her eyes fluttered as the coarse palms of his hands wrapped around her hips tightly, drawing her down into his lap.
She gasped against his mouth, her tongue trailing over the seam of his lips. "Personally, I rather prefer the wild side of you." She slid her body up against his and he could feel the curves of her breasts against his bare chest. A hand slid up her back, pushing the straps of her nightgown off and tugging her top down until she was gloriously free of any hindrance. He leaned down, kissing a path from her collar to the valley of her breasts. He watched gooseflesh fan over her pale, porcelain skin as his stubble grazed her. His lips slid to the left, wrapping around the rosy center of her breast, mouth quirking with a smirk as she gasped and arched against him.
"Marcus," she cried, breathlessly, her hands gripping his hair tight.
"Marcus?" he heard again, but now from a loud and annoyed male voice.
His mind wandered back to the present and he cleared his throat, eyes landing on a peeved Adrian . Hermione was smiling up at him mischievously, as if she knew exactly what he'd been thinking of. "What?" he asked, tone harsh.
Adrian rolled his eyes. "Nice time to just zone out on me, mate. Coach wants all the players up at the front," he said, nodding toward where Coach Perkis had a bunch of blokes and two women huddled together.
Marcus sighed but nodded. His arm fell away from Hermione who smiled at him encouragingly. Sometimes, it still rather surprised him that she could be so supportive and so caring of him when he didn't appear to be the type of person who appeared to want that kind of attention. He only appreciated it in her. Not even his mother fawned like she could. It took a few years for him to grow used to her attention and even then, he sometimes felt like he didn't show her enough consideration back. But she never said anything, never told him he ignored her or should say he loved her more often. It was likely one of the reasons they worked so well together. She didn't want to change him.
He made his way to the front, scowling at those around him. He nodded at the coach, standing between Crawford and Adrian, impatiently waiting for the introduction to begin and end. He hated these things; always had. Could care less whether or not there was a big gala every Quidditch cup. He'd much rather be back home, relaxing in bed with his girlfriend. 'Course home wasn't entirely peaceful lately, either. Not with his mother constantly owling him to ask when he was finally going to make Hermione an honest woman. At least she'd stopped sending the family ring with every note as a hint. It wasn't that he didn't want to marry Hermione. It was more that he wasn't sure she wanted to marry him. Sure, she'd stuck around six years, but some days he felt as though it was all just some tease by the Gods; that they'd take her away and laugh in his face. She was far too… everything for him. She never said so and she'd never implied that he was less intelligent or lacking in looks. But he saw the blokes that looked her way and they were all far more than him. Less gruff, easy to talk to, book smart, and had more to talk about than Quidditch.
Still though, she always turned away from their advances. "I'm happily seeing someone," she'd tell them with a firm shake of her head. Or, "No, thank you, I'll be celebrating with my boyfriend this evening. I'm sure there's a lovely single woman here who would enjoy your company." She'd then babble on about who she knew that wasn't dating for the time being, often asking if they knew Luna Lovegood and then calling the dreamy blonde over to meet her potential suitor, who then became flabbergasted and uncomfortable, leaving shortly thereafter. It was fun to watch, at least the outcome of every offer each man tried. Though seeing them hit on her always stomped on his last nerve. He couldn't count how many noses he'd broken or the many times he'd scared the wits out of a chap just for ogling her. Still, no matter what he did, it seemed there was always another willing to step up and try.
Marcus barely heard the coach going on about what a great team he'd put together that year. His eyes were focused on Hermione, standing in the crowd, a glass of champagne in her hand as she listened sincerely to his coach, smiling and clapping appropriately. He nodded when his name was called, did his best to show some semblance of a smile when the cameras turned his way, but mostly waited for the attention to finally end. He'd lost track of Hermione somewhere in the flash of the bulbs and an uneasy feeling settled in the pit of his stomach. He knew she could handle herself; he just didn't like the idea that she had to. He spotted Potter and Weasley by the refreshments, apparently in a deep discussion with Hermione nowhere in sight. He watched Adrian walk off with a buxom blonde, winking back at his best mate as his hands roved down to her arse. The crowd from the front had dispersed, going back to the festivities while he was left wondering where his girlfriend had disappeared to.
He did nothing to hide his scowl as he forced his way through the crowd, eyes scanned faces for her familiar brown eyes and warm smile. He finally caught sight of bushy brown hair and turned abruptly to get to her. There was no way he could confuse her thick brown locks for anybody else's. She was leaning against the bar, motioning to the busy man behind it to get her a water when he wasn't bogged down. Next to her was a smirking man with wandering eyes. His hand kept reaching out, brushing her shoulder, stroking her arm. It wasn't until he tried to wrap a strand of her hair around his finger that Marcus finally snapped.
There was a tiny voice of reason whispering in the back of his mind that he should calm down, sounding quite a bit like Hermione's rational voice actually. He ignored it entirely. When he was close enough, his hand wrapped around the front collar of the man's shirt and shoved him a foot back. "Sod off!" Marcus told him, sneering.
"Steady, mate, jus' tryin' to give the lady a goo' time," the man told him, glowering.
"She's not interested."
The man smirked mischievously. "I think she is. I think she be getting' wet jus' thinkin' 'bout it." He nodded his head toward Hermione and licked his lips lewdly. "How 'bout it then, beauty? You want a real man t' satisfy the ache between your—"
Marcus' fist collided so heavily with the man's face; the entire room went silent at the cracking noise. There was no stepping back and taking a deep breath to calm himself now. There was no reasonable voice telling him that he and Hermione could just walk away. All he saw was red; which was understandable seeing as he was beating the bloody shite out of the man before him.
He felt the knock against his chin but it didn't faze him much. He'd been hit with bludgers worse than that. Grabbing the front of the man's robes he lifted him up only to slam him back down against the floor harshly. Hands were yanking him back, trying to pull him away from the heavily bleeding arsehole that he'd laid out and was happily turning into mince meat.
"Marcus!" he heard through the angry fog that clouded his mind. It was her voice and it wasn't just in his head this time. His fist stopped mid-blow. He could feel blood dripping down the end of his knuckles. He was panting, his chest heaving, the black clouds that surrounded his vision fading. The flashes of cameras were catching it all and people were standing around, staring down in shock. "You've proven your point!" Hermione announced.
With a sneer, Marcus let go of the man's robe and stood up, shrugging off the hands of Potter, Weasley, and even Adrian.
The man on the floor moaned in pain, rolling over to spit out a gob of blood.
His jaw clenched in anger, his body tense with the fury rippling through his veins. He was sick and tired of every wizard out there thinking they could treat her like she was some prize to be won. She was taken. She was his. And he wasn't going to let them have her. Ever.
Without saying anything, he turned around and took Hermione's hand. A loud pop reverberated around the house as they side-along apparated into their bedroom. He knew she was mad; he didn't have to see her to know. Her hands were likely on her hips, her foot tapping against the floor angrily and her hair frizzing slightly with her temper. He tugged off the stifling tie around his neck and tossed it away, undoing his robe a little so he didn't feel so harnessed. He sat down on the side of the bed and leaned forward, elbows perched on his knees as he glared down at the floor, knowing what was coming.
"You can't just attack every man who pisses you off!" she shouted shrilly. "I understand that male posturing is something relevant in all Quidditch players, but honestly!" She stomped her foot. "He was a little drunk, Marcus. I'm sure after I politely declined he would've pissed off. But nooo…. You had to stake your territory, or- or- prove your manliness. Whichever!"
He rolled his eyes, frowning.
"Well?" she asked, impatiently.
He looked over at her from the side of his eyes, one of his brows lifted questioning. Well what?
"What d'you have to say for yourself?" she asked, lips pursed and cheeks flushed with anger.
She always looked rather exotic when she was mad. Her body taut as a bow, her chest heaving, her skin flushed. His lower body reacted instantly to the image and his eyes narrowed slightly, head tipping to one side as he surveyed her body. Gods, she was downright sexy. The man back at the bar saw only a fine shag, but he… he saw much more than that. He knew every sensitive spot on her body; he could find each one with his eyes closed. He knew what made her toes curl and her head fall back in passion. He knew what made her mewl and moan and beg for more. He knew what dirty words turned her on and that she was never one to just take it, but to fight for dominance each time. He could feel the heat coiling in his stomach. His anger was still there, still simmering at the very edge, but his want for her was competing for his attention now.
She recognized the glint in his eye and lifted one finger as if in warning. "Marcus…"
He was off the bed and pinning her to the wall so fast she barely had enough time to gasp. Her had her hands clasped with his and pressed tightly just above her head. Her feet were off the floor, her thighs spread apart and her heat pressed up against his robe covered bulge. "He got what he deserved, 'Mione," he said through grit teeth, his lips a mere hair's breath away.
She was panting, staring into his eyes that were quickly glazing. "Violence is never the answer," she whispered with much less zealous than she probably meant to.
"It's the only thing these blokes seem to understand," he replied, his tongue darting out to lick her top lip, making her shiver against him, her eyes falling to half-mass. "They should never touch you. Hell, they shouldn't even look at you," he sneered.
She shifted her hips, rolling them against him. "So possessive," she murmured, leaning her head forward and taking his bottom lip into her mouth, nibbling at it, slow and torturous.
One of his hands slid away from hers, traveling down her arm until it was grazing the side of her neck, walking the curve of her breast, and finally at the hem of her robes. He pushed them up to above her waist, revealing her long, slim legs and small black lace knickers. He trailed his forefinger over the apex of her thighs; she was already damp for him. She bit down on his lip as he teased her, fingers sliding along the sides of her panties.
"I'm not going to apologize," he informed her with a growl.
"You never do." Her head fell back, hitting the wall slightly as he tore her knickers away from her. She could always magic them back together if she really wanted to. He tossed them to the floor carelessly before smoothing his hand up her soft, shaking thigh.
"Maybe they'll learn this time," he said, kissing up the slope of her neck, nipping at her skin and grinning as she arched into him.
She snorted indelicately. "You said that when you put Clint in St. Mungo's or when that other drunk chap wouldn't stop grabbing my arse," she reminded.
"Well the message just isn't getting through their thick heads," he sneered. He pressed into her harder, grinning as she moaned against the pressure between her legs. His other hand slid down from hers to part her robes at the front, revealing her pale blue bra. He pushed the cup out of the way and wrapped his hand around her breast roughly, squeezing and massaging it as he kissed along her jawline. He could feel his few days of whiskers grazing against her skin and felt her shiver at the feeling.
"Just because they keep trying," she choked out, eyes fluttering and teeth biting down into her lip as she moaned. "D-doesn't mean that I'm ever going to agree." Her arms looped around his shoulder, fingers gripping his neck and his hair. She tugged at his robes, as if telling him to get them off. Quickly; now.
Instead of answering her plea, he kissed down her chest until he found the rosy center of her breast and took it into his mouth, teeth digging into the soft flesh around them. She cried out, her hands tightening in his hair. Her hands fumbled at the shoulder of his robes, managing to push them down some. He had to lift his arms away from her to get them out. Her fingers dug into the tensed muscles of his biceps, gripping them harshly, her nails scraping at his skin. He shifted his hips away from her just enough to let his robe fall to the ground, leaving him standing in nothing but naked glory.
His hands found the sleeves of her robe and tugged them away, his mouth venturing up to taste her shoulders and her arms. He could feel her breasts pressing deliciously against his bare chest; so smooth against the hard plains of his torso. Her hands fell down from his arms, trailing down his sides, fingers delving into the muscular sculpt of his body. Were they on the bed, she'd be kissing a familiar path all over his stomach; her tongue tracing the muscles and delving into his navel.
He didn't have the patience to take her robes off entirely, instead tugging her thighs up higher on his waist until her legs wrapped tight around him, ankles clasped just above his arse.
He found her mouth once more, kissing her hard and desperate. And then he was thrusting into her, deep and thick. She whimpered against his lips, nipping his tongue as it explored the roof of her mouth, tickling her. One of her hands fell low to his back, holding tight as if to encourage him to keep going, while the other tangled in his hair, gripping it and tugging it each time he sunk into her. He broke away from her mouth, his lips heatedly tracing down the front of her neck as her head fell back. Her hips rotated with his, meeting each of his thrusts knowingly. She was so hot and wet and tight around him; it was driving him mental with desire.
He wasn't her first, he knew that, but he was her last. When the war was still a high priority, she'd had a brief romance with the Weasley twins and later tried dating Viktor Krum again. Despite most assumptions, she and Ron Weasley never got together, thankfully. And then Marcus met her in that bar and it was all history after that. The first time they shagged, it was after his team had a big win and she'd met him in the locker room to congratulate him. Luckily, it was empty at the time and the shower came in quite handy. They moved in together after two years of dating, much to Mrs. Weasley's and his own mother's disappointment. They were adamant on marriage before cohabitation. Then again, neither probably agreed with sex before marriage either. Not that he much cared. The Weasley family wasn't his biggest supporter, by far, but they accepted Hermione's decision and didn't meddle. Well, not enough to actually break them up. Ginny often hinted that Hermione would be better off with her brother and Mrs. Weasley always mentioned some nice bloke Hermione might like. They gave up after four years though. Now six years into their relationship, everybody was just waiting for them to make it legal.
For six years he'd put up with the lustful glances. The overconfident expressions of men much better looking than him, thinking they could get her flat on her back anytime. The glint of impending triumph in their eyes and the want for a little competition. But she wasn't a game to be played. They all wanted to say they'd beat out Flint for his girlfriend and nobody had won so far. And so the game became more interesting. If it wasn't Hermione telling them where to shove it, it was Marcus shoving his fist in their faces. He thought after six years, his point would be clear, but apparently not. Would a ring on her finger really make any difference? She wasn't telling him it was what she wanted. She wasn't reminding him that all of her friends were happily married and she wasn't. And never once brought up the Flint family ring when he sent it back to his mother. She just accepted things as they were. He suddenly wondered if that should worry him. Didn't she want to marry him? Didn't she want to be his always? Shouldn't she be asking him for the ring and the marriage and the promise?
He thrust into her harder, suddenly even angrier than before. Did she really only want him for however long? Sure she hadn't accepted those other men, but she wasn't exactly telling him he was going to last either. His teeth grazed down her chest, nipping rather harshly at her skin, suckling it and laving it with his tongue. One of his hands gripped her hip while the other was pressed against her shoulder blade, drawing her closer.
They were making the walls shudder. The pictures were rattling, one even fell, and the loud noise of them hitting the wall echoed around their house. He could feel her quivering tightly around him and his resolve was breaking down. But still, he kept his pace. In and out, hard and deep, better and better each time. She was whimpering his name, nails scraping his back. He slid an arm beneath her and lifted her up a little higher against the wall, giving them a new angle that had her arching her stomach against him and groaning. He shook his head as worries of one day she might be calling somebody else's name, her heat might be surrounding somebody else, her hands might be clutching another man's body. He pressed into her deeply before pulling them against the wall and stumbling toward the bed. She lay sprawled across the blanket, her arms out and her hair lying around her hair in a halo of dark curls. Her eyes were surprised for only a moment before they fell shut as he pistoned into her. Her knees drew up and he threw one of her legs over his shoulder, his hand holding the back of her thigh as he hovered over her, his head falling and his mouth finding the pebbled center of her breast once more. His hands held her sides, thumbs stroking her ribs. Her fingers tangled in the bedspread beneath her, curling the blanket up beneath her fingers.
Could anybody else make her moan like that? Make her cry out and wiggle in want? To bite her lip so hard it nearly bled or her insides quiver and shake, tighten and grip. Would anybody else ever kiss her flesh or touch her breasts or sink deep inside of her? He sneered. Never!
His body clenched angrily and his hands tightened against her sides. He could feel her skin become slick beneath his fingers, could see the way her chest heaved with her panting, could feel her thighs tighten. He lowered his upper body against hers, stretching her leg farther back as he let his lips hover just above hers.
"You're mine," he growled possessively, nipping her lower lip and panting into her mouth heavily. "Always." He sunk into her deeper, harder and she moaned loudly, hips bucking up to meet his. "We'll get married. Tomorrow, yesterday, I don't care. And then… Then they'll bloody well learn… They touch you, they die." He kissed her harshly; teeth gnashing, tongues tangling, lips swelling. "You're mine!"
She nodded, eyes fluttering. "Gods, Marcus, yes," she called out as he drove into her. Her hands gripped his back, nails digging in.
"Mine, mine, mine," he murmured, over and over, as he kissed her neck, her shoulders, suckled her breasts, marked her with his teeth and tongue and touch.
She managed to turn them over somehow, her leg falling from his shoulder to sit curled against his side. Her hands wrapped around his biceps, pinning him to the bed beneath her. Her head ducked low and her mouth kissed from his navel to his neck, teeth nipping, tongue licking, lips caressing. Her fingers flexed against his muscled upper arms as she lifted and fell, enveloping all of him inside of her. He thrust upward, unable to simply lie there and take it. The meeting of their hips became erratic and he smirked as her back arched and her head fell back, pressing her breasts out in an erotic image. He lifted up onto his elbows and took one of her breasts into his mouth, teasing it as she rose high in ecstasy and crashed heavenly over the waves of pleasure. "Mmm, yes! Marcus! Marcus! Marcus!" she sobbed, her fingers finding his hair and weaving through it, holding his head against her breast.
The quivering of her heat around him sent him over the edge and he bit down against her soft flesh as he broke. His arms wrapped around her body, holding her close, hands gripping her slick back, fingers digging in. He could feel the ends of her hair brushing against the back of his hands, so soft against his rough skin. His eyes fell shut and he panted against the valley of her breasts as his body became consumed with the incredible sensations gripping his every nerve. As quickly as it had taken him, it felt as if it dwindled and he was falling back to the bed, exhausted. He took her with him and felt her soft body fall bonelessly against his chest. He could feel her heart heating erratically against his chest.
Reality crashed down on him and he closed his eyes tightly, scowling into the darkness of their bedroom. Sweaty and rather weak, he lay beneath her, arms encircling her tightly as if worried that if he let go, she'd leave. Him and his pathetic attempt at asking her to marry him. It wasn't even a question really. He'd more of ordered her to love him for the rest of their lives; ordered her to his and his alone. It could've just been the incredible waves of ecstasy that had her simply letting him decide their future and now that it was over she'd realize what he'd said and answer in the negative. Her body was so soft against his and light as she lay sprawled over his chest.
"You're mine," he told her, but this one held less certainty, almost a question. As if her answer would decide everything.
It seemed like an eternity before she answered and his hands held onto her a little tighter, thumbs stroking her skin.
She whispered sleepily against his chest, "And you're mine." That said it all.
He smirked, holding back the sigh of relief. Yes, he was.
A/N Finally! I can get this out. Took me forever but I got some time and it just spilled out. Marcus was a very interesting character to write. Hope you enjoyed this!
Thanks for reading! Please leave a review; it's very appreciated.
Much Love,


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Mixed Feelings on Climate Change (for some)
Trendency Research shows how much partisanship and age dictate the issue
|the b|e note
|Apr 25, 2019
a Trendency Research Feature
presented by Reality Check on WURD, airs Monday - Thursday, 4-7pm ET, streamed live at WURDradio.com, in Philly on 96.1 FM / 900 AM | #RealityCheck @ellisonreport
a Trendency Research original | Stefan Hankin | @LPstrategies
In November 2018, a federal report involving 13 federal agencies and more than 300 leading climate scientists warned of the potentially catastrophic impact of climate change. President Trump dismissed the findings at the time by simply saying, "I don't believe it."
This diverging of viewpoints is not a new phenomenon, but as is the case with many issues these days, partisanship tends to dictate how you view an issue. For many Americans, the existence and human-related causes of warming temperatures is a matter of science. Others, like the President, deny its existence and/or argue warming temperatures are caused by natural changes in our environment.
To gain a deeper insight into where the public stands, we decided to ask them. The wording of questions on topics like climate change can often have a heavy influence on the results, and we attempted to keep it as neutral as possible. Our panelists were asked to allocate between warming temperatures being driven by human activities and natural changes. The exact wording was:
When thinking about warming temperatures on our planet, what percent do you believe is due to human activities and what percent do you believe is due to natural changes?
In our platform, respondents are not asked to choose between one position or another but instead allocate their views out of 100 percent. The numbers on the graph above represent the Average Allocation for each position. Said in another way: the average respondent-allocated 56% of warming is due to human activity, and 43% due to natural causes. Taking this into account, we find Americans, in general, believe human activity is the leading cause of climate change.
Still, the margin is not large, showing a bit of insight into why this issue continues to be argued in Congress and in the public square.
Given our approach to these questions, we are not only able to see where our audience is on a specific issue or concept overall, but also how strongly they feel about each position. Diving into these numbers on the question of warming temperature we see bigger differences than what the averages tend to show. Looking at the allocation for human behavior, we find that 46% of adults feel strongly about human activities' role in climate change compared to just 28% who feel as strongly about natural causes being the biggest driver of higher temperatures.
Interestingly, the largest group within the support scale for natural causes' role are the 35% who have a weak opinion on this side of the climate change equation.
While we find this interesting in and of itself, the more practical application is that not only is there a much larger number of adults feeling strongly that humans are the biggest drivers of climate change (almost a 2:1 ratio), but there is a much larger proportion of Americans holding moderate to weaker opinions on the effects of natural causes (55%) a significantly larger number than the 37% who hold weak opinions on human behavior.
As mentioned at the beginning, there is a clear partisan divide on this issue.
In the charts above we see that the vast majority of Democrats (70%) feel strongly that human behavior is the major driver of increased temperatures. Republicans, on the other hand, are on the opposite end of the spectrum with just 15% sharing this strong opinion. It should be mentioned that while about a third of Republicans give human behavior a zero, a majority (51%) believe that it has some effect, even if they don't believe so strongly. When it comes to natural causes we see a similar pattern with Republicans and Democrats. Just 5% of Democrats feel strongly that temperature rise is due to natural causes, while a majority of Republicans (53%) feel this way strongly. As we saw above, a majority of Democrats (55%) feel that natural cycles have some effect, although they do not feel this way strongly. Also worth mentioning is that 39% of Democrats feel that natural causes have zero to do with temperature increases.
While partisan divides are not exactly shocking these days, we were a little surprised at how clear the pattern was when looking at generational differences. Indeed, the younger the voter, the likelier they are to have a strong opinion on humans' role in climate change. These are important differences to keep in mind and our expectation is that this pattern will continue and reaction to this issue will vary greatly depending on the age of the person discussing this issue.

subset: commoncrawl


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Thursday, March 21, 2013
Sports day
I give up......
When LM started school we were told that they have a sports days but kindy kids did not need sports clothes or shoes....
Ok I am fine with that.....
Then 2 weeks after the kids started school we get told kindy kids need black joggers and sports shorts..
Get it straight will you.....
Being sick as usual I couldn't go to the shops so I looked at Target on line to see what they had.I manage to get these "Crusty Demons" joggers for $29 and they sent them to our store for pick up no charge.In all it took 5 days.I wasn't worried if they were crap because I would just get a refund but I need not worry because they are great.
Kev picked up the shorts from the uniform place-no problem...
I took LM's picture wearing them on Sports day check out the face he gave me....
Just want to crab him and smother him with kisses ha ha
So I guess I have just had my first experience of schools telling us the "night before"syndrome
Great 13 more years of this crap
Do you get this problem at home and how do you deal with last minute pop ups ?
Posted by dee -@ The Old Fat Hen at 6:36 PM
2 comments:
I love reading your comments and would like to Thank you for taking the time to leave them.
Dee x
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


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The New and Improved Romie Futch
Our Research Notes series invites authors to describe their process for a recent book, with "research" defined as broadly as they like. This week, Julia Elliott writes about The New and Improved Romie Futch from Tin House.
My debut novel, The New and Improved Romie Futch, describes the plight of a floundering South Carolina Taxidermist who, one drunken evening, replies to an ad and becomes a research subject in an experiment conducted by the Center for Cybernetic Neuroscience in Atlanta, Georgia. After neurologists download the equivalent of a humanities PhD into his brain, the enhanced taxidermist returns to his small town to revolutionize his dioramas and win back his ex-wife. After his return, Romie develops an Ahab-caliber obsession with bagging Hogzilla, a monstrous feral hog that may have escaped from a biotech lab.
Among other things, this novel allowed me to synthesize my upbringing in a rural South Carolina town with my experience in academia, equipping my inner hick with hifalutin diction and critical theory that hopefully express the surreal complexities of living in the contemporary South, a world in which the Internet floods the brain with diverse forms of information, where the boundary between science and sci-fi is blurry, where "reality" is a jumble of tech-mediated experiences and encounters with the natural and post-natural worlds. In this novel, I was able to combine years of academic research with more casual investigations of brain-enhancement technologies, modern taxidermic techniques, and contemporary hog-hunting culture.
The New and Improved Romie Futch allowed me to make practical use of the eight years I spent in grad school studying contemporary fiction, creative writing, critical theory, and Renaissance lit. Every so often, I visit the cache of unpublished essays I wrote in my youth, marveling at the absurd intricacy of abstruse arguments that .0002% of the English-speaking population would find relevant. Romie's transformation from a clever small-town hesher into a cerebral Renaissance man allowed me to revisit critical theory in a more vibrant and practical context.
In the novel, Romie's mind expands with each new download, beginning with enhanced vocabulary and rhetorical tropes, moving on to mastery of the traditional Western canon, and concluding with an understanding of critical theory and postmodern lit. The last installments not only interrogate the canon, but also, ironically, arm Romie and his fellow guinea pigs with theory that helps them make sense of their own institutional subjection and what Romie calls "the clusterfuck of the 21st century." For example, among the array of "knowledge sets" downloaded into Romie's brain, Foucault's concept of the Panopticon and Harraway's formulation of the cyborg become centerpieces of both Romie's new identity and his taxidermic dioramas. After he returns home, he challenges the "Disneyesque" romanticism of life-like mounting styles by creating animatronic dioramas that incorporate mutant and biotech specimens. He even builds "a four-foot reproduction of Jeremy Bentham's eighteenth-century prison," the so-called Panopticon, equipped with a "central inspection house" that "enabled guards to potentially check on any given prisoner at any minute of the day or night, instilling a compulsive fear of perpetual observation."
For Foucault, this architecture provided an analogy for modern hierarchical surveillance. As Romie fills his miniature prison with stuffed biotech lab rats and mutagenic squirrels and frogs, he explores both human subjugation and the ecological problems of the 21st century post-natural world.
In the novel, Romie receives "a series of bioengineered artificial intelligence transmissions" (or BAITS), during which "technicians install biotech brain parasites (Naegleria fowleri), nanobots that rebuild Romie's neural pathways, making his brain compatible with the master biological computer and 'wetware' accessories that transfer data 'nanobiotically.'" Before coming up with this scheme, I read dozens of internet articles and research abstracts describing potential methods for creating "brain-computer interfaces" and downloading artificial intelligence into the human brain — articles describing neurofeedback training, electrode-studded brain-computer-interface caps, and implantable microchips containing "terabytes of data" (whatever the hell those are). One article described brain-mapping by decoding patterns with fMRI scans and transferring abilities and knowledge from one person to another. Other hypotheses involved downloading info into the mapped "jellyware" of the brain via compatible "wetware" computers. To me, the most disturbing potential method involved using configurations of nanoparticles to penetrate cells, "control ion channels," and revamp neural pathways.
In order to understand the culture and craft of Romie Futch's occupation, I visited a couple of South Carolina Taxidermy Association shows, which featured the kind of romantic "wilderness" scenes that Romie mocks with his postmodern taxidermy dioramas. I read how-to articles on the internet and watched slews of YouTube videos, both serious documentaries and DIY home masterpieces like "WILD BOAR HEAD CAPING AND FLESHING**********VERY GRAPHIC VIDEO." Perhaps the most helpful resources, however, were online taxidermy supply stores, which provide an elaborate and surreal array of artificial "lifelike" components, many of which have vivid details and poetic names. For example, among the thousands of products offered by McKenzie Taxidermy Supply are "Van Dyke's Wild Boar Eyes . . . , premium quality aspheric glass eyes blended with soft marbleized veins and precise species coloration." Browsing earliners, jawsets, chemicals, and mounting and tanning supplies gave me the best understanding of how wild animals are deconstructed and reconstructed into static works of art.
As a person who has never shot a gun, I had to figure out what kind of firearms and ammo Romie would use to hunt the various animals he slays to create his dioramas — precision became especially important when his obsession with Hogzilla, a one-hundred-pound feral boar who may have escaped from a biotech lab, kicks into high gear. Of course I spent hours poring over online hunting tutorials — both written and on YouTube. But the best venues for conveying the contemporary hog-hunting fever (particularly since ferals have become a nuisance), are online message-boards and forums, which combine the old-school romanticism of epic beast-slaying with a slew of fancy new technologies. Not only was this research entertaining, but I was bowled over by the knowledge, wit, and lyricism of some of the "tusker" enthusiasts who ranged from primitivists who worked with arrows and spears to "night hunters who installed remote-operated corn feeders and rifle-mounted target illuminators." The hunters were bursting with know-how and strong opinions, like one bow-and-arrow expert who opined that shooting hogs from a helicopter isn't "real hunting" but "vermin control." I also spent entire afternoons exploring gun catalogs and online hunting supply emporia, which sold, among other things, special hog attractant potions like Feral Fire™ Sow in Heat Spray.
Could I take out a feral razorback with a Savage .45 loaded with safari-grade ammo? Nope. Could I skin and flesh a boar, pickle its hide, reassemble a mishmash of real and fake parts, and reupholster it into a convincing beast? I seriously doubt it. Could I hold my own among a group neurologists and computer scientists researching brain-computer interfaces? For five minutes, tops. Finally, could I manage a critical essay titled "Deconstruction and Slippage of the Post-Lacanian Phallus in Moby Dick"? The lameness of that mock title speaks for itself. But hopefully The New and Improved Romie Futch conveys a convincing picture of critical theory, brain enhancement technologies, taxidermic techniques, and contemporary hog-hunting culture.


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Ever since the inbound methodology was introduced to the world, content has reigned king. As you undoubtedly know, content marketing is all about providing readers with valuable information, neatly packaged into an engaging story.
But the web is becoming increasingly crowded with content and it's becoming more and more difficult to get noticed. And so marketers must continually ask, "How can I break through the noise?"
New Web Content Every 60 Seconds
Source: SmartInsights
As I will argue in this post, the answer lies in creating snackable, easily digestible content with strong visual components — otherwise known as visual marketing.
Visual snacks are what today's internet users want to consume more than anything. And visual content is more likely to receive engagement, to be shared and to drive action.
Luckily, getting started with visual marketing doesn't have to mean reinventing your entire content library. By taking a fresh look at the content assets you already have — white papers, e-books, landing pages, digital brochures and more — you can improve and update your content to make it more visually engaging.
First, let's look at some numbers that demonstrate the sheer importance of investing in visual marketing right now.
Why should I use visual marketing?
Consider the following points:
Content marketing should be about ease of use for the reader. The human brain processes images up to 60,000 times faster than text. Think about it. It takes hours and hours for a novel to evoke the same levels of emotion that a film can evoke in only an hour and a half.
The same goes for your sales and marketing content. Compelling images and video allow your visitors to absorb and understand your value proposition much more quickly.
The more engaging your content is, the more likely it is to generate and convert leads. When Dropbox first uploaded that (now iconic) magic pocket video onto their homepage six years ago, conversions skyrocketed by 33 percent. The video did what a text-heavy product page or list of features could never do: visually demonstrate a technically complex cloud service to non-tech-savvy people in a way that both made sense and entertained.
The lesson is clear. The more engaging your content is, the more likely it is that your visitors will consume it and eventually develop an interest in your product.
You have very little time to capture your audience's attention. In an analysis of 650,000 articles, Sumo found that the average visitor reads only 25 percent of an article's text. And as attention spans continue to decrease, even that number is likely to dwindle.
Visual marketing helps to reverse this trend by allowing you to grab your audience's attention more effectively. A powerful image can get your message across in a mere fraction of a second. And in today's world, usually a fraction of a second is all you have.
Visual marketing helps reinforce the message your content is aiming to convey. According to research shared by HubSpot, when people hear or read information, they're likely to remember only 10 percent three days later. However, if that same information is paired with a relevant image, people retain 65 percent three days later. That's an increase of 55 percentage points!
If you pair your copy with relevant imagery that supports your message, it will vastly increase the chance that your labors produce lasting impact.
Visual marketing is more likely to be shared on social media. In a recent survey, BuzzSumo found that articles that include an image once every 75 to 100 words receive double the social media shares as articles with fewer images. Putting a greater focus on visuals will increase social shares, which means more eyes on your content.
Visual marketing is becoming one of the most popular and effective marketing trends. A recent report published by Social Media Examiner found that 37 percent of marketers believe visual marketing is the most important form of content for their business, second only to blogging at 38 percent.
Source: SocialMediaExaminer
You can also look at the flip side of this: 63% of marketers don't yet realize the importance of visual marketing, meaning you have a chance to get ahead!
How do I incorporate visual marketing into my content strategy?
Hiring a team of developers and designers to enhance your content is one option, albeit an expensive one. A common misconception about visual marketing is that it requires lots of creative expertise — but that's not necessarily true.
There are many easy-to-use tools (some of them free) that can help any marketer or brand owner create visually compelling content (or transform existing content) themselves.
But regardless of whether you have a team of professionals, or you're doing it all yourself, there are a few best practices to keep in mind while (re)creating content:
- Keep it relevant and helpful. Don't just add images for the sake of it. Pictures should reinforce your message and add value to your content. The same goes for animations, background videos and other visual effects. If you overdo it, these can become a distraction instead of a distinguishing crowd puller.
- Keep it short and snackable. Remember to make things easy on your reader by keeping the text to a minimum. Don't use words where you can use relevant visuals to communicate your message instead.
- Keep track and iterate. This goes without saying. Everything you create should be measurable, and all your changes should be kept track of — whether it's a video, landing page, brochure or anything else. Testing variations will reveal what works and what doesn't.
Do this and you'll increase views, grab more attention, boost engagement, boost shares, communicate your value proposition faster and leave an impression that lasts longer.
Do it really well, and visual marketing will positively transform your content efforts. Your content will work harder for you — helping you stand out from the crowd and reach your readers with material that really resonates.
About the Author: Daan Reijnders is the Co-founder and CEO of Instant Magazine, a content management platform that amassed 1000+ clients all over the world in under 3 years. He's a digital marketing veteran with years of experience in managing both SaaS companies and creative agencies.


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Research & Success
The success of Core-Plus Mathematics is more than anecdotal. For the last 20 years, field-test evaluations and independent research have demonstrated the dynamic ways that Core-Plus Mathematics is an invaluable educational resource. Through a collaborative effort blending the expertise and insights of mathematicians and statisticians, evaluation specialists, classroom teachers, and the curriculum developers, the Core-Plus Mathematics materials were designed and developed with the intent to support problem-based, inquiry-oriented, student-centered classroom activity informed by theory and research on teaching and learning.This has enabled the Project to produce an innovative, coherent, and effective approach to the mathematical education of high school students that ensures college and career-readiness.
An Instructional Foundation Backed by Research
Since the first edition, Core-Plus Mathematics has delivered a student-centered, inquiry-oriented approach to math instruction. Hear Beth Ritsema, Author and Professional Development Coordinator Core-Plus Mathematics, talk about why the program's unique instructional foundation works.
Field Testing
The CCSS Edition of Core-Plus Mathematics builds on the strengths of the previous editions, which were shaped by multi-year field tests in 49 schools in 13 states. Each text is the product of a three-year cycle of research and development, pilot testing and refinement, and field testing and further refinement prior to publication.
Efficacy Research
The studies at the right, together with additional efficacy studies listed in the annotated Core-Plus Mathematics Project Research Bibliography, have focused on published editions of Core-Plus Mathematics and its effectiveness when implemented in a broad and diverse array of school settings. These significant comparative studies and the qualitative evaluations listed below have been reported in the most prestigious U.S. and international journals, including the Journal for Research in Mathematics Education and Educational Studies in Mathematics. Unique among curriculum development efforts in the U.S. is the five-year longitudinal study reporting the effectiveness of Core-Plus Mathematics on numerous different measures. Its significance warranted publication as a volume in the IAP Research in Mathematics Education Series.
Qualitative Evaluations
Complementing the efficacy research studies of the Core-Plus Mathematics program is a set of qualitative studies focused on content analyses of the program and on the professional development and instructional practices of teachers using the program.
School-Based Reports
Evaluation reports prepared by teachers at schools using the Core-Plus Mathematics program provide valuable information to the development team in terms of the effectiveness of the curriculum and areas that may profit from continued refinement in future editions. These school-based reports highlight some of the additional affordances of using Core-Plus Mathematics and often provide important trend data and information on special outcomes that were of special interest to the district.
Research Summary
Overall, the continuing pattern of research findings indicates that Core-Plus Mathematics students perform significantly better on measures of conceptual understanding, mathematical thinking and reasoning, and applied problem solving, and perform as well or better on the SAT and ACT Mathematics tests than comparable students completing more conventional programs. Additionally, Core-Plus Mathematics students have elected to enroll more frequently in advanced mathematics courses and have more positive attitudes and perceptions of mathematics and its usefulness.


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Dr. Ajith Perera – Unsung Hero Crowned at Sri Lankan of the year 2016
Posted on November 13th, 2016
Dr.Tilak S. Fernando
The country's most influential opinion leaders were amongst the VIP guests of a very distinguished gathering at the 'Sri Lankan of the Year' awards ceremony held recently at the Hilton Hotel.
It was an event of international standard and an initiative of Ada Derana, a premium news and entertainment media network of Sri Lanka.
This award I dedicate as a tribute to the ABILITY within the disability of all." – Dr. Ajith C. S. Perera, when presented with this APEX award by Mr. Nalaka Gunawardena (left) and Mr. Dayan Gomes (right).
It had been designed as an exhaustive, rigorous and credible platform to recognise and honour individuals and groups whose dedication, commitment efforts and achievements in their chosen fields have far reaching influence on the country, positively impacting the local community and helping to profile Sri Lanka among the international community.
Winners were nominated across multiple categories as Sports, Unsung Hero, Global Entertainer, Entertainer, Global Scientist, Entrepreneur, and Global Businessman.
History making occasion
What was most significant to note here was that it was the first time ever in this country, inspite of over 20% of the population experiencing restricted ability, that a person with a dis-Ability and confined to a wheelchair was befittingly recognised for his 'Ability within dis-Ability' and appreciated for his outstanding achievements and significant voluntary contributions to this country and its people.
Dr. Ajith C. S. Perera was adjudged the unanimous undisputed winner as 'The Unsung Hero' and the award presented to a standing ovation.
It was mentioned here that: It was an honour received by Dr. Perera not in any way on sympathy but purely on merit and earned with unreserved commitment to the promotion of accessibility to the built environment and thereby to the enhancement of the quality of everyday life of all persons with the widest possible range of abilities".
Dr. Perera playing eight different roles over 17 consecutive years in a voluntary mission of national importance, is the pioneer fighter to open the road to rights for all by design.


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Make, learn and talk about needle lace.
Time: May 16, 2019 at 5pm to May 19, 2019 at 2pm
Location: Rolling Ridge Retreat Center
Street: 660 Great Pond Road
City/Town: North Andover, MA 01845 USA
Website or Map: https://www.nelg.us/event-322…
Event Type: class, and, retreat
Organized By: New England Lace Group
Latest Activity: Feb 9, 2019
Taught by Carolyn Wetzel. Frisado de Valladolid is a rich needle-made lace of colored silk stitched over real gold or silver passing thread. It was made in and around Valladolid (north of Madrid) starting from the 1500s, when Valladolid was the political and royal seat of power in Spain. It is characterized by loops of gold or silver thread that embellish the surface and edges of the lace. Motifs were elaborate floral and/or geometric styles.
In this class beginning students will make a small 3-lobed medallion that can be used as a pendant or brooch, in order to learn all the steps of the process during the weekend so that it can be completed at home. The instructor will provide authentic Spanish gold thread for the project and show examples of domestically available gold thread alternatives. There will be a $5.00 kit fee to cover the cost of the needles, pattern materials, and gold thread (payable to teacher in class).
Continuing students will work on a more elaborate design based on a historical piece (contact instructor before class for details). Suitable for beginners, as well as more experienced needle lace makers.
This class is part of an Annual Retreat organized by the New England Lace Group.


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If you can recall around 1st November this month i posted about the leaked image of the Gionee M7 Plus and we were officially waiting for the launch . The good news is that the Gionee Maraton M7 has been launched with mouth watering features .
The Gionee M7 Plus comes with a wireless charging support ,sports a 6.43 inch, 18:9 aspect ratio display , powered by a Snapdragon 660 SoC processor . It also comes with a massive 6GB RAM alongside a 128GB storage capacity .
It also comes with a dual rear cameraa of 16MP and 8MP , and a front camera of 8MP, it supports 4G LTE , has a rear finger print scanner and packed up with a 5000MAH battery .
Gionee M7 Plus is required to cost around $665 (about N242,725 in the Nigeria).
➽ DISPLAY: 6.43-inch (2160 × 1080 pixels) 18:9 FHD+ Full Dispaly AMOLED 2.5D bended glass show
➽ HARDWARE: Octa Core Snapdragon 660 14nm Mobile Platform (Quad 2.2GHz Kryo 260 + Quad 1.8GHz Kryo 260 CPUs) with Adreno 512 GPU
➽ PLATFORM: Android 7.1.1 (Nougat) with Amigo OS 5.0
➽Dual SIM (nano+nano/microSD)
➽ CAMERAS: 16MP back camera with f/1.8 gap, double tone LED Flash, 8MP front camera
8MP forward looking camera
➽ OTHER FEATURES: Fingerprint sensor
3.5mm sound jack, FM Radio
Measurements: 166.5 × 81.6 × 8.7mm; Weight: 241g
4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 air conditioning (2.4 + 5GHz), Bluetooth 5.0, GPS + GLONASS, NFC .
What do yo think of the monster phone?


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Here are the hottest sneaker trends everyone will be wearing in 2019
The chunky sneaker obsession won't be going away any time soon.
Last year, ugly sneakers reigned supreme in the fashion world, and now that 2019 is here, you'd think the thick-soled sneaker trend would finally die down right? Wrong. Luxury brands like Versace, Fendi, Acne Studios, Burberry and high-street brands like Zara, Puma, Adidas, Topshop and Asos are continuously churning out flashier versions of this trend left and right, with '90s platform silhouettes (the kind Emma Bunton or Baby Spice would rock during her Spice Girls days) and mash-up styles like Calvin Klein Marvin and GmbH x Asics Gel-Kayano take center stage.
Our favorite pair: The coral shade, Fendi multicolor technical mesh sneakers (around B24,970) are versatile enough to pair with your everyday outfit, while the Undercover x Nike Air Max 720 (B6,400) bright yellow upper with speckled sole detailing will definitely turn heads. In a good way.
Gucci Flashtrek
Ugly "dad" sneakers was also one of last year's hottest trends among sneakerheads and looks like it won't be going away anytime soon. This year, however, this sneaker silhouette has expanded into hiking territory, and the result is even wackier and dare we say, uglier than ever (yes, "ugly" still has its moment in fashion). Leading the trend are the blinged-up Gucci Flashtrek (B56,000), the chunky Givenchy Jaw (around B15,240) and Asics GEL-Kayano 5 OG (B4,900).
Our favorite pair: The minimal chic Dior D-Connect sneakers in neoprene (around B31,250). For more affordable options, we'd go for CAT Intruder in "Biking Red" (B5,450).
Adidas Continental 80
With '80s neon fashion one of the hottest trends this year, it's no surprise that everyone—from A-list celebrities to fashion editors to your style savvy colleagues—are swapping their plain white sneakers for shockingly-bright neon ones. While we'll always remain loyal fans to style staples like Adidas Stan Smith and Converse Jack Purcells, we do admit that these neon kicks are pretty sick. Looking for a cool pair to add to your sneaker collection? The Nike Air Max 97 SE (B6,400) comes in a ton of ultra-bright colorways, while the retro Adidas Continental 80 (B3,800) in "Semi Frozen Yellow" is bold and beautiful.
Our favorite pair: We prefer to go for subtle with this trend—the Adidas Consortium Ozweego "Era Pack" (B4,500) are mostly covered in white, but the three neon stripes on the side with pops of orange on the heel are striking enough to get you noticed.
UA Anatomix Spawn MK11 "Sub-Zero"
The groovy and vibrant tie-dye swirls are back in all its glory this year, as seen on the spring runways from luxury labels like Prada, Stella McCartney, Proenza Schouler, Balmain and R13. The hippy patterns have not only made a splash across practically all wardrobe staple pieces—t-shirts, jackets, sweaters and jeans, you name it—but the design has also swirled its way down to sneakers. Standout kicks include the highly coveted Pharrell x Adidas NMD Hu Trail "Holi" (around B7,840) and Stella McCartney "Eclypse" rainbow sneakers (around B15,820).
Our favorite pair: Under Armour's fresh take on the tie-dye with its limited edition Anatomix Spawn MK11 "Sub-Zero" are absolutely gorgeous. For a more affordable and easier-to-cop option, look out for Nike React Element 55 in tie-dye colorways (around B4,100) and Vans Tie Dye Authentic (around B1,900).
Nike React Presto "Psychedelic Lava"
As sneaker silhouettes get bulkier and chunkier, colorways also get extra brighter and bolder. Aside from electrifying neon hues and psychedelic tie-dye washes, colorblock sneakers are clearly having its big fashion moment—and from what we've seen flooding our Instagram feed, the endless array of options will definitely make you lust for a pair. Be sure to check out Puma RS-X "Colorblock" Sneakers (around B3,450), NikeLab x Sacai "LDWaffle" (B5,800) and the '90s vibe Adidas Originals W Falcon (B4,700)—these kicks will give even your most boring outfit a stylish edge.
Our favorite pair: We say just slip on a pair of Nike React Presto "Psychedelic Lava" (B4,600) and call it a day.
Converse Chuck 70 "Neon Wave OX"
Ever since we were introduced to the Nike Flyknit and Adidas Primeknit in 2012, lightweight, knitted sneakers have become the new normal. For the tech-conscious, the 3D-printed-sole Adidas Alphaedge 4D (B12,000) and the innovative self-lacing Nike Adapt BB (around B11,200) are among this year's highlights, but if you're eyeing for an everyday shoe that doubles as a fashion statement, the Converse Chuck 70 "Neon Wave OX" (B3,390) can do you no wrong.
Our favorite pair: The bold and unapologetic Adidas Originals "CRAZY BYW X" (B7,000). Need we say more?
Adidas Originals. G/F, Siam Center, Rama 1 Rd., 02-658-1733. BTS Siam
Cat Footwear. 1/F, Topshop, CentralWorld, Ratchadamri Rd., 02-613-1660. BTS Chit Lom
Converse. 2/F, Atmos Bangkok, CentralWorld, Ratchadamri Rd., 062-726-9999. BTS Chit Lom
Dior. M/F, Siam Paragon, Rama 1 Rd., 02-610-6799. BTS Siam
Fendi. M/F, Siam Paragon, Rama 1 Rd., 02-610-9287. BTS Siam
Gucci. M/F, Emporium, Sukhumvit Rd., 02-664-8200. BTS Phrom Phong
Nike. Carnival, Siam Square Soi 7, Rama 1 Rd., 099-216-4445. BTS Siam
Puma. 2/F, Siam Paragon, Rama Rd., 03-837-0731. BTS Siam
Stella McCartney. M/F, The EmQuartier, Sukhumvit Rd., 02-021-2111. BTS Phrom Phong
Undercover. Upperground by Carnival, 3/F, CentralWorld, Ratchadamri Rd., 02-252-7372. BTS Chit Lom
Vans. 1/F, Siam Discovery, Rama 1 Rd., 02-658-0022. BTS Siam


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Bitstarz is a bitcoin casino with a mobile-friendly design. The site supports mobile devices and a download is not required to place a wager.
Because the casino is a bitcoin casino, users can retain online anonymity the entire time they are playing. When users are registering, they will only be asked for a desired user handle, password and email address.
I like their setup and interface although I wish that they will accept Ethereum in the future. Not just ETH, but other alternate crypto coins as well. Like Monero, Dash etc. This would transform them into one of the best crypto based gambling websites around.
I feel like I am winning more here than at other online casinos. They offer great bonuses, and withdrawals are super fast and hassle free. They also offer a free NO DEPOSIT bonus for new accounts. You get 20 free spins on their fruit zen, with a forty times rollover requirement before you can cash out. They also feature live dealers for games like baccarat, roulette, and blackjack, which can smooth over any potential issues.
Bitstarz is a believer in honest gaming. Because their system uses Softswiss, they have a provably fair certification. This certification has been proven by passing the tests performed by iTech Labs.
Security for Bitstarz Casino's live games is similar to a real world casino – never re-using a deck, marking used cards, and so forth. One thing that all players, regardless of the currency they use, can rest assured of is that Bitstarz is a totally safe.
In conclusion, If you are looking for a safe environment to gamble, a huge amount of games on the same platform, the best games, anonymity, provably fair games, quick deposits and withdrawals, and the best customer service, Bitstarz is the obvious choice.


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MILANO BRIDE Women's Retro 1950s Short Sleeve A-Line Cocktail Party Swing Dress
As of 2020-04-08 00:27:52 UTC (more info)
- stock arriving soon
Product Information (more info)
Manufacturer Description
Welcome to MILANO BRIDE!
Milano Bride is a professional shop that focuses on high-end formal dresses. Please do not forget to recommend us to your friends and relatives if you are satisfied with our products!
About the product
All of our dresses are handmade by experienced tailors.Our dress is above 98% similar with photo.
Fabric: 90% Polyester and 10% Spandex
Length: Knee-Length
Features: sexy off-shoulder neckline design, Concealed Zipper at Back, full floral lace pattern
Occasions:Evening Prom Party Cocktail Homecoming Wedding Bridesmaid Dance Graduation and even casual daily wear.
Detailed Size:
S: Bust-32.3" Waist-25.2" Length-35.8"
M: Bust-34.3" Waist-27.2" Length-36.2"
L: Bust-36.2" Waist-29.1" Length-36.6"
XL: Bust-39.4"Waist-31.5" Length-37.0"
XXL: Bust-42.5" Waist-33.9" Length-37.8"
Items may slightly differ from photo in terms of color due to the lighting during photo shooting or the monitor's display.
Small measurement error may exist due to manual measurement.
Contact us when meeting difficulties on how to choose the most suitable sizes, colors or any other problems, and your email will be replied to within 24 hours.
Click 'Add to Cart' above to get the beautiful dress for your special day!
Product Features
Simple short lace dress is most suitable to be used as prom dress, cocktail dress, bridesmaid dress in wedding day, homecoming graduation dress, evening dress, party dress or even casual daily wear in hot summer. Please refer to our size details in Description Part before purchasing or refer to the third picture to choose your correct size. Floral lace pattern, slim waist with bowknot, short sleeves. Off shouder design and A-line waist highlight your body curves. Hand wash in cold water is recommended! Please do remember to choose Milano Bride store. We can not guarantee the quality from other sellers in this listing. For more dreamy dresses, please click in MILANO BRIDE above the Title. Items may slightly differ from photo in terms of color due to the lighting during photo shooting or the monitor's display. Small measurement error may exist due to manual measurement.


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- Katikati Naturist Park, which advertises itself as a place for "clothes-free recreation and relaxation," is for sale.
- The 14-acre park in New Zealand is home to "motel type units, cabins, caravans, fifty-one powered sites, and over twenty tent sites" where nudists can stay.
- Visitors "are expected to go clothes-free whenever the weather is suitable."
Still searching for the perfect last-minute present for the person who has everything? Well, New Zealand is selling a nudist park.
Katikati Naturist Park advertises itself as a place "for clothes-free recreation and relaxation" in northern New Zealand's Bay of Plenty. And it's on the market.
The 14-acre park is located in lush New Zealand countryside, surrounded by kiwifruit trees and located just a couple miles from the bay beaches. The future owners of the property will inherit "motel type units, cabins, caravans, fifty-one powered sites, and over twenty tent sites," where traveling nudists can stay.
Guests can swim in the in-ground pool, relax in the sauna, partake in a game of mini-golf, throw balls on the petanque course or volley a shuttlecock in a game of badminton — as long as they do so nude.
According to the website, the park is a place of community and therefore nudity is not optional. Visitors "are expected to go clothes-free whenever the weather is suitable."
Matt D'Anvers from Coffeys, the tourism property brokers managing the park's sale, insists that it is a family-friendly place. He told Stuff.co.nz that "there are no sexual overtones whatsoever" and those who visit are "simply people who love to run around with no clothes on."
Read more: The best times to visit New Zealand for every type of trip
The brokers advertise the sale as "a unique business opportunity." It is available to lease for $260,000 ($380,000 New Zealand dollars).
However, if you want the park, you might have to fight for it. D'Anvers told CNN they are "expecting strong interest and to date, we have had interest from around the world."
If committing to ownership is a bit too much financial strain, it's possible to visit the park for $10 (15 NZD) per day or $13 (19 NZD) for an overnight stay.
Visit INSIDER's homepage for more.


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Measuring Meeting Success: 6 Key Meeting KPIs You Should Be Tracking
When you walk out of a meeting room, you've typically got a pretty good idea whether it was an effective meeting or not. But usually it's just more of a personal feeling. Ever wondered if there was a more tangible, formal way to measure your meetings' success?
Good news, there is! Tracking these key meeting event KPIs will help assign hard numbers to your collaboration and decision-making effectiveness.
1. Wasted Time
How much meeting is actually happening in your meetings?
The average middle manager spends more than 35% of their workweek in meetings. Let's say those meetings are each an hour long. If each one of those meetings takes 10 minutes to actually get down to business (whether that's because people show up late or due unrelated small talk happening at the beginning of the session), that manager is wasting more than 124 work hours per year. And that's just for one employee. In the United States alone, an estimated $37 billion dollars is wasted on unproductive meeting time every year. Keeping track of how long it takes for your meetings to get started will give you hard numbers for how much of your session is spent being productive.
2. Allocated Time vs. Time Spent
Are you devoting the right amount of time to each part of your meeting?
A clear objective and session agenda are essential components of any meeting with multiple items on the docket. Assigning estimated time values to each topic is a great way to keep the meeting moving, but those values don't mean anything if your team doesn't stick to them. Keeping track of how much time is being spent on each topic will show you how efficiently your sessions are moving.
It will also help you determine which portions of your project might need more attention, how to adjust your agendas for future meetings, and identify items that might merit extra attention or their own dedicated collaboration or decision-making sessions.
RELATED READ: 12 Meeting Room Essentials That Will Make or Break Your Collab Session
3. Meeting Count
How many meetings does it take to get the job done?
Multiple meetings are almost guaranteed when planning and executing a long-term project, especially when multiple teams or groups are involved. Calendar invites can add up quickly when no one is paying attention.
For more than a decade, the amount of time spent in meetings has continued to rise. On average, more than 15% of an organization's collective time is spent in meetings of some kind.
Keeping a meeting count tally keeps everyone accountable. If possible, build smaller meetings and check-in sessions into your overall project plan. A little bit of extra planning on the front end will enable you to keep meetings efficient throughout a project or initiative!
4. Attendance
Who's showing up for your meetings?
Be sure you're keeping track of who is actually attending meetings. Take a look at your invitee list. How many people are you sending your meeting requests to?
Remember, the longer this list gets, the more people you're taking away from individual productivity.
How many invitees are actually showing up? Keeping a close eye on invitee and attendee numbers will allow you to identify large discrepancies between these numbers and adjust accordingly.
RELATED READ: 5 Mistakes Not to Make When Choosing a Meeting Venue
5. Engagement & Participation
Is everyone contributing?
Take a look at that list of meeting attendees you've been diligently maintaining. What percentage of people attending are actually participating in and contributing to the conversation? Are they bringing something to the table that another participant can't? If not, it might not make sense to have them there. Keeping a running list of people that participate in discussions and decision making will ensure you've got the right people at the table.
6. Action Item Count
What are we actually accomplishing here, people?
The best metric of success for any meeting is the status of its action items. Think of this as a running to-do checklist. Make sure you're keeping track of all the new tasks and decisions that come out of each meeting. The way this list expands and contracts between meetings will give you key insights about how much you accomplish, not only in each session but about your projects as a whole too.
Monitor these KPIs consistently and you'll be well on your way to streamlining your meetings and saving your organization valuable time AND money!
Looking for more professional meeting and event tips and tricks to take your event to the next level? Download our FREE ebook:


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Keep up to date with everything that is going on and around our Club.
For a calendar of events at Kalamunda Rangers click on the link below. This will open a new page in your browser.
Upcoming Events
Past Events
Kalamunda Rangers have held a fund raiser for Breast Cancer Care WA.


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Sorry! This position is no longer accepting applications.
Job description / Role
Administrator - IT & Marketing Experience
Our client is a German company founded in 2009 Our client has Branches in Germany, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar and the brand in now growing internationally. Be part of the growth as we are looking to hire a well experience Front Desk professionals with Sales experience.
* Enthusiastically greets each members and guests promptly using the proper greeting for time of day to create a friendly positive entrance and departure to and from the gym.
* Must be able to operate general office equipment including, but not limited to; computer, phones and related media and information devices.
* Ability to communicate and interact with others, both in person and/or by telephone to conduct business, working under time pressure. Re-direct calls as appropriate and take adequate messages when required
* Directs customers and visitors to company location and to concerned staff personal
* Continuously perform all-lead generating activities to book appointments and produce personal training revenue.
* Be actively engaged with our guests. Identify the needs of our guests and meet these needs, aiming to exceed expectations at every opportunity.
* Perform other duties and special projects as assigned by Front Office Management.
* Ensures that guests and appointments are directed to the appropriate fitness consultant in a prompt, professional manner.
* Maintaining HR records, such as those related to compensation, health and medical insurance
* Handling insurance-related issues.
* Communicating and explaining the organization's HR policies to the employees.
* Preparing and processing timely distribution of salary, bonus, increment salary slip, leave encashment and full and final settlements
* Preparing letters such as offer and confirmation
* And handling full HR functions
AED 5,000 to 8,000 per month inclusive of fixed allowances.
Skills & Qualification
* Excellent sales, communication and customer service skills
* Effective listening.
* Microsoft Office, Billing Fax machines, photocopiers, postage machines, multi-line phone systems
* Must have positive attitude and be able to promote a positive atmosphere
* Atleast 2+ years' experience in sales & customer service
* IT Experience and Marketing ( Social Media ) knowledge.
About the Company
italent has been around since 2012, when we saw that businesses needed better talent solutions for their employment requirements. By focusing our efforts on quality products and services that are simple-to-use and innovative, our team brings you the best results without any unexpected additional costs and unnecessary complications. Simply put, we love helping businesses find and keep the right people.


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Getting Fit With Quigong
Quigong, technically know as Tai Chi Quigong is based on animal work just as regular Tai Chi. However, the animals that are imitated in these exercises are "warrior animals" and the positions you do imitate them as they would move in a shamanic warrior dance. Unlike Tai Chi, Quigong is a martial art.
One of its main principles is also to learn how to harness the energy of an enemy and have him do himself in by practicing the Law of No Resistance.
Qui means breath and Gong means "dedicated practice" so of course like ordinary Tai Chi this discipline has to do with breathing. It is a generic also in the way it aspires to connect the human through the divine through the use of controlled breathing.
Tai Chi Quigong is rumoured to have been around for about 500 years and is based on the impersonation of animal characters during shamanic dances designed to protect warriors who were at war or hunting. About 1800 years ago, a famous Chinese doctor, Hua To, put together "The Five Animal Frolics" which is what Quigong is based on.
The Five Animal Frolics was created to help people gain more flexibility in their bodies as they get older and to move with purpose and deliberation. It was also designed to correct the way the energy flows in the twelve meridians. These are the same energy pathways that are used in the healing art of acupuncture.
When you perform Tai Chi Quigong you are manipulating your energy centers so that they become open, vitalized and work more effectively. Quigong focuses even more on your breathing than ordinary Tai Chi does. Breathing from the abdomen is emphasized to help the lymph system clean itself out.
Quigong also helps wake up parts of the body that may have fallen into disuse. Blood is restored to all of the muscle groups and general body awareness is greatly increased as is flexibility and strength. It is more vigorous than traditional Tai Chi and it raises your heart rate.
It also helps an individual get rid of "monkey mind". This is the mind that won't stop inventing, creating delusions and acting on wrongful beliefs..
One of the healthier aspects of Quigong is that it can be described as a communal dance. This is because you will almost always be performing these routines in a class with others. This is very healing in itself as bonding with human beings in rhythm and breath is one of the very oldest spiritual and medicinal rituals in the world.
Animal Work and Tai Chi
Tai Chi is historically a form of animal work that is based on animals in nature. As in yoga, many of the postures are based on the stances that animals take. In the twelfth century there was a master named Chang San-Feng. Chang is said to have observed five animals that are also cornerstone animals in feng shui- the-tiger, dragon, leopard, snake, and crane–and then rated them in terms of their dominance. He concluded that the snake and the crane, who find ironic strength in their ability to yield, bend or escape through the air, were the two most powerful creatures. This is why movements in Tai Chi have such poetic names as "White Crane Spreads Its Wings."
The result of Chang's meditations upon the movements of both real and archetypal animals was a set of exercises with postures that took the body of the human through a graceful series of movements that mimic everything from submission to evasion to intimidation. The aggression in some of the postures is why some people think Tai Chi is militant in origin when actually the exercises were created to add some yang (relaxation and open heart) to the yin lifestyle (rigid and restricted) of ancient Chinese shoulders.
No matter how perfectly you are accomplishing the Tai Chi movements and postures your effort is all for nothing if you are not breathing properly while doing them. In addition to moving your limbs you must also breathe out as you go into each movement. There is no huffing and puffing allowed in Tai Chi. These are the same type of deep breaths that you were taught to do in Yoga or Meditation classes. These deep healing breaths help calm and center you as well as massage your internal organs, help your cells get rid of toxins and calm and soothe the mind.
Of course tai chi is more than just a series of perfectly executed postures. Perfection is not the aim of Tai Chi. It is getting from posture to posture that is most important. It is more about improvement at your own pace. Each movement must be flow into the next and the movements are not to be rushed. They are to be performed at a gentle, graceful pace so that one movement flows naturally into another, like the movement of water. Doing these movements with a crowd also helps you to connect to group mind and be in sync with others. In essence it teaches you to go with the flow!
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The stunning and full of excitement ski-resort Copper Mountain is literally a mountain located in Summit County of Colorado, USA. Copper Mountain is a round the year vacation resort. It is locally known as the "Perfect Mountain" due to its natural formation of terrains in a manner that it seems that it has been divided for beginners, intermediate and experts separately. Skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling and snowshoeing are a few of the activities to name that you can enjoy on this peak. Other activities are ice-skating, whitewater rafting and fishing that will give you an amazing time. After a thrilling day, plunge into the night-time activities of Copper Mountain. Hit the local bars and restaurants, and have a great time enjoying the fine dining.
You can spend an electrifying night at the many clubs that have a vibrant and stimulating environment. The luxury condos and hotel rooms will be a treat to you and will add charm to your vacations. In summer you can enjoy mountain biking and hiking on the Copper Mountain trials that are also accessible via the 22 lifts available for your service. You can also have a game of golf in the local golf course or simply enjoy a day relaxing in your condo with the breathtaking scenery of Copper Mountain in front of your eyes.
Your Colorado mountain vacation is made easier by the services of the transportation provided by different car providing services. These companies provide transportation from Denver Airport to Copper Mountain and also the other way round. These companies have settled over the time in Copper Mountain and adjoining areas, where they work according to the needs of the client. The client has a wide range of companies and cars to choose from. Transportation from Denver Airport to Copper Mountain is provided round the clock on when and where basis; as per the requirement of the customer.
One of the leading names that are sought by old as well as new clients is that of Denver Car Service. Denver Luxury Car Service provides transportation from Denver Airport to Copper Mountain, from Copper Mountain to Denver Airport and from Copper Mountain to neighboring areas as well. Transportation from Denver Airport to Copper Mountain has been made easy by Denver Luxury Car Service, who offers their customers a wide range of means of transportation to choose from. We present you with our DIA limousines, DIA shuttles, and Denver taxis. Denver Luxury Car Service provides you with a car service that not only provides transportation from Denver Airport to Copper Mountain but also covers all areas in Copper Mountain and adjacent areas of Colorado. Giving you an option of charging by per mile or per hour, Denver Luxury Car Service is definitely the most economical car service that you can hire without a hitch.
Available for transportation from Denver Airport to Copper Mountain and tourism purpose, Denver Car Service provides you with the best cars in town, which are spic and span, with thriving interiors and driven by the best lot of drivers. The customer being our first and foremost preference, Denver Luxury Car Service is working to give you the best time of your life through our dedicated commitment to you.


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Heinrich Hertz was a brilliant scientist that was fascinated in electromagnetism. In a series of researches, he uncovered a secret behind the invisible waves that would add into the many laws of physics known today.
He was a man who strived to uncover the secret of physics. Many of his theories will be continued and perfected by great minds of science, and all of them still held up until today.
The Scientist's Family
Heinrich Hertz was born in Hamburg, Germany on February 22nd, 1857. He had 5 siblings, and he was the eldest of them all.
His father was a lawyer, who later became a senator and his mother was a physician's daughter. The family had a strong Lutheran faith, which he was raised in.
The Start of His Education
His family pushed for his education. At the age of six, he attended a famous private school ran by Friedrich Wichard Lange.
Unlike other private schools at that time, religion didn't get in the way of education. This school operated strictly and children were pushed to overcome obstacles by working hard.
His brilliance put him on the top of his class. With a natural skill in drafting and drawing, he wanted to become an engineer. At the age of 11, his mother decided to get him drafting lessons at a technical college.
Beginning His Scientific Journey
Unfortunately, universities required him to learn Latin and Greek, which Lange's school didn't teach. That was why he left his private school to seek language, science and mathematics homeschooling.
This was easy for him, as he was also talented in languages. His tutor, Professor Redslob, even recommended him to get a major in oriental languages.
Heinrich Hertz was a hard worker, often learning and experimenting outside his lessons. He made and operated complex scientific apparatuses, which he then used for his experiments.
Rising In the Physics Community
After successfully studying in Munich as a physicist, he moved to the University of Berlin to have a bigger room for experiments; attaining many prizes and eventually a doctorate in physics.
At that university, he will become the man who proved Maxwell's theory of electromagnetism. That theory has been disputed over many years, and this same theory would pave him a path to his most famous discovery: radio waves.
The Electromagnetic Spectrum
With Maxwell's electromagnetism theory as his base, he discovered a new form of waves, radio waves. From here, he discovered the electromagnetic spectrum which physicist will use till this day.
Although it was a major breakthrough, he never thought of any use for the radio waves. He never took any advantage over his discovery, and just wanted to discover its mysteries.
Other than radio waves and the electromagnetic spectrum, he discovered the photoelectric effect and the quantum world. This theory would later be explained by Einstein, which earned him the 1921 physics Nobel Prize.
An Early End
At 35 years old, Heinrich Hertz was suffering from severe illness. In January 1st, 1894 he died at the age of 36 in Bonn. His name was forever remembered and honored as the unit of frequency.


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Pope Charges Journalists On Fake News
Pope Francis on Saturday urged members of the Italian foreign press club to be humble in order to prevent the spread of fake news.
Speaking during an audience for foreign journalists in Italy, Francis asked them to avoid misinformation and underlined the importance of humility in journalism.
During his speech on communication, the pope also reminded the 400-some journalists in the hall the centrality of freedom in journalism and said that a free journalist is "free from conditioning, free from prejudices, and therefore courageous."
Francis then asked the journalists to be on the side of the victims of conflicts and stressed the importance of speaking about the so-called "forgotten wars" that are still on-going, such as the plights of the Rohingyas and the Yazidis.
Last Updated: 18th May 2019


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Knowsley Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is an NHS organisation that brings together local GPs (doctors), nurses and other healthcare professionals from across Knowsley, to assess the health needs of the local population, and then plan, buy and monitor the delivery of the required healthcare services.
Based in Huyton, we are run by elected local GPs and healthcare professionals from the 25 member GP practices across Knowsley.
We work with clinicians and healthcare professionals from local hospitals, mental health and community healthcare organisations, and voluntary and community organisations, to plan and buy the best quality healthcare services, as close to people's homes as possible.
Covering Huyton, Kirkby, Prescot, Halewood and Whiston, we are committed to planning and buying the best possible healthcare services within our budget.
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