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You can be confident that the information you give us will be kept internally and in strict confidentiality.
Metrinex may collect and store information about your visit on an anonymous, aggregate basis. This information may include the time and length of your visit, the pages you looked at on our website, and the site you visited just prior to coming to ours. We may also record the name of your internet service provider. We only use this information to measure activity on our site and to develop ideas for improving its content.


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What is an Elder?
Elders are assistants to the pastor who is the spiritual leader of the church. Elders help facilitate and strengthen the working relations of the church. They ensure the preaching and teaching is true to the doctrine of the church and the Gospel. The head elder is an existing elder or one who has served previously and has been selected and then approved by the church members. Elders are men chosen from the membership of the church who are considered to be well-grounded in their faith and are willing to serve others, express their thoughts, and are mature enough to listen to others and understand their needs or requests. There is no set number of elders for a church congregation. To accomplish these duties, each elder is assigned a portion of the membership of the church. This aids with church communications as well as building a relationship with the church members. Elders will:
- Assist the pastor in physical and spiritual needs.
- Maintain contact with the church members.
- Inform the pastor of members' needs and assist as needed.
- Inform members of congregational activities and opportunities.
- Obtain feedback from members.
- Support the church's programs and missions.
- Ensure teachings from the pastor and Christian educators comply with LCMS doctrine.
For further information about elders, please refer to the church's by-laws and to your Bible. Elders in the Bible did not serve exactly the same role as elders today, but today's elders strive to stay true to the original spiritual guides.

subset: commoncrawl


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Chance to Shine cricket.
Year 6 have had the amazing opportunity of working with ' Chance to Shine' learning how to improve their cricket skills. George, our coach, taught us how to improve our performance and learn the basic principles of the game. Each session was challenging, fun and fast-paced. George was hugely impressed with the enthusiasm of our year 6's and the sessions were eagerly anticipated each week. With the cricket World cup this year, 'Chance to Shine' have definitely whet our appetites for this tournament to start.
Here are some quotes from some of our pupils:
' I really loved the sessions. I liked how he changed the game each week - the variety!'
' I definitely have a greater interest in cricket. I couldn't do it before but now I can.'
We had a hugely successful girls' football tournament at Wallingford school. Our Year 5/6 girls came first and third and our Year 3/4 girls can first! Well done girls for superb play and excellent team spirit.
Our year 5/6 took part in the partnership netball tournament at Wallingford school. Our A team played 5 matches and won each match except for 1. They missed out on first place by a goal. Our B team came fifth in the tournament and were superb, considering it was the first time they have played as a team. The drew two matches and lost three. Well done Lacey for scoring a hat-trick in the final game.
What a hugely talented and creative bunch of children we have at Fir Tree! To kick off the World cup fever, Fir Tree children were asked to bake a cake to represent a country taking part. Can you recognise the countries in the picture below? Japan, Germany, Sweden, Mexico and Portugal.
A huge well done to Evie Taylor and Maia Bridgeman-Hughes for winning first place for upper and lower school. Money raised will be used to purchase P.E resources. Special thanks to some of our Sportsleaders who stayed behind after school to sell the cakes.
In anticipation of all the mince pies we might eat over the festive period, Year 6 took part in a 'Jingle Jog'- a 3k run/ walk around the school field. We calculated that 3K was 1.8 miles and 7.2 laps of our field. In freezing conditions, with plenty of festive cheer, Year 6 had a brilliant run chasing Santa and the naughty elf around the track- well done Year 6 for great festive spirit!
Here at Fir Tree, our aim for PE is to promote a love of sport and encourage life-long participation.
Our PE curriculum and provision aims to develop children's competence and confidence by engaging them in a range of physical activities which can become a central part of their lives; both in and out of school.
Within their PE lessons, students develop a wide range of skills and the ability to apply them in competitive game situations. They reflect on their own and other's performances and find ways to improve them and learn the value of healthy, active lifestyles.
At Fir Tree, we strongly believe that PE helps pupils to develop personally and socially by working as individuals, in groups and in teams; developing concepts of fairness and of personal and social responsibility. They take on different roles and responsibilities, including leadership, coaching and officiating.
During their time at Fir Tree, our children follow a varied programme which includes opportunities to represent the school competitively at various sports, including: football, hockey, tag rugby, netball, cricket, swimming and athletics.
Examples of PE within lessons
Ash Class have been enjoying Dance lessons with the Sports Leaders from Wallingford School. We have learned to choreograph dance routines and enjoyed moving to the music.
We have also been learning hockey with Mr Gair. We started by holding the hockey stick correctly and progressed to stopping the ball and controlling it along a line.
Extra-curricular PE
Fir Tree School would like to say a big thank you to Mark Brett of Haynes Car Care Centre who helped fund the new football kit for the school. Speaking to the children and hearing some of their responses about giving a sense of belonging and pride to represent the school make all the hard work and effort to participate in competitions, worth it.


text: Flash QR codes Flashing QR codes is now possible with Genius Scan. How to flash a QR code with Genius Scan? 1 Open the Genius Scan camera 2 Place the camera in front of the QR code. A green header will appear. Tap "Open" if you want to follow the link or "Close" if you don't. 3 The website will open automatically If the QR-code represents a phone number, Genius Scan will let you call it. If it's simple text, you will be able to copy it to your clipboard.


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Tag Archives: cure
preparing for surgery
There are a million different ways to prepare for surgery. One way is to not prepare. Another way is to distract oneself with movies and friends until the day of, and that day is easy because you just wake up … Continue reading
Posted in blogs Tagged 20-something, cure, stress, surgery 14 Comments
suddenly i'm on chemo again
Yesterday I embarked on a new phase in my treatment. After all the anguish I experienced making this decision, after all the time and energy I spent going back and forth between my oncologist and my second opinion, it seemed … Continue reading
Posted in blogs Tagged change, chemo, cure 7 Comments
second opinions
It was a little scary but strangely refreshing yesterday to find myself at a different medical center in a different part of the city. In a year and a half I haven't yet sought any second opinions. Now, with the … Continue reading
Posted in blogs Tagged chronic, cure, second opinion, transplant 2 Comments
control freak
As you have, by now, seen, there are a lot of ups and downs and in-betweens that come with having cancer. Maybe this is the case with just life in general. Either way, when I write frustrated posts like yesterday's, … Continue reading
Posted in blogs Tagged control, cure, vegan 3 Comments
crazy sexy options
I watched the young-adult-cancer documentary last night and I must admit that I got a little sucked in. As you know, I don't get easily sucked in by answers for wellness or alternative cures or really by anything that has … Continue reading
Posted in blogs Tagged chemo, crazy sexy cancer, cure, kris carr, liver, transplant 13 Comments
the (other) cure
In my effort to be a well-informed patient, I (and my sister) decided to watch the documentary Burzynski, about a doctor who apparently cures cancer. I have received lots and lots of emails about this particular alternative cure, so I … Continue reading
Posted in blogs Tagged chemo, chronic, cure, watermelon seeds 7 Comments
to or not to: become vegan
I thought I made peace with my diet choices this summer. I attended a cancer cooking class, tried being vegan for a week, and watched the documentary Forks Over Knives. After doing all of this, I determined that I wasn't sure who … Continue reading
Posted in blogs Tagged cancer, causes, cure, vegan, vegetarian 11 Comments
the cure
I think grad school has ruined my idealism. Before I started grad school I used to believe in things that couldn't necessarily be proven definitively in academic journals and with studies. Now, in my classes and in my papers, we … Continue reading
Posted in blogs Tagged cancer, chemo, cure, nutrition, research, watermelon seeds 8 Comments


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What sparked your interest in science?
I don't have a good answer to this question....basically I always have liked science.
What attracted you to UC Berkeley?
The strong student community of MCB sold me on UC Berkeley. In addition, I enjoyed talking to all the faculty I met at interviews. I could tell they all prioritized mentoring and teaching the graduate students.
What are you currently working on in the lab?
In the Corn Lab, I'm able to combine my interest in the power of CRISPR-Cas9 tools and my interest in ubiquitin regulation of cellular processes.
Describe your ultimate dream/goal for your future.
After graduate school, I want to work in management consulting for a few years to gain business experience. Ultimately I want to work in business development for biotech companies.
When I'm not in the lab, I can be found...
Hiking in Tilden Park!
If you could go back in time and give yourself a piece of advice during your first year in graduate school, what would you say?
Keep your eyes (and ears) open! I hadn't considered the Corn Lab before my first rotation, but eventually I realized the lab could be a great fit for me. And it definitely is!


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When you are trying to control your diabetes through diet you need to ensure you are doing the best you possibly can to ensure you are achieving the best glucose levels possible. You should always ensure that you are eating a well balanced diet amongst other things. If you are not eating a well balanced diet then you are likely missing out on some of the nutrients that you badly need in order to be as healthy as possible.
First, you really need to ensure you are consuming plenty of fiber. The reason for this is because fiber has been linked to having the effect of helping reduce glucose levels in the blood, which any diabetic will agree can help control diabetes.
While the exact reduction varies depending upon the exact amount of fiber consumed, you must consume a great deal more fiber than the average diet would ever dream of consuming.
Freshness Counts
Next, you really need to ensure you are eating as many fruits and vegetables in your diet as you possibly can. If you can drink a vegetable juice then this would help reduce the amount of actual vegetables you would need to eat at your meals and is a little easier for some people to handle who do not usually consume large amounts of vegetables.
If however, you are used to eating vegetables then you should continue to eat a lot of vegetables as well as plenty of fruit.
Watch Fats
In addition, it is a really good idea to limit the amount of fats that you are eating. Most people tend to eat too many fats in their diets, which can be a very bad thing. Instead of adapting your diet around your fat intake, you should reduce your intake to no more than 30% of your diet.
If you cannot do this immediately, then attempt to make some small changes in your eating habits until you reduce your fat intake to the 30% level. This is not always something easy for everyone to do, so it may well take some major adjusting before you are able to readily handle the reduced fat content.
Get Your Doc on Board
You should discuss your proposed diet with your doctor to ensure that it meets your exact nutritional needs without adding too much sugar, glucose, or fats to the diet.
If you are unsure whether your diet meets your exact nutritional needs then you should not even begin the diet without consulting with your doctor first. Because your diet can greatly affect the outcome of your diabetic symptoms, you should always take great care in making sure your diet is as well planned as possible.
While you are structuring your diet, it is important to remember you cannot truly control diabetes with diet if you are unwilling to stick to the diet. This means you should not commit yourself to eating habits that you know you will not be able to stick to. For example, if your idea of a vegetable is a French fry, then you should not set up your diet with eating six servings of vegetables a day.
Instead, you should structure your diet so that you start with 1-2 servings of vegetables and work your way up to your goal servings per day. With plenty of thought into a good diet, controlling diabetes with diet is not as bad as it may initially seem.


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Citing complaints by landowners, the Kerala Forest department is felling over 1,000 trees on 41,000 hectares in Wayanad
While everywhere afforestation is the buzzword, the Kerala Forest Department has been asked to do the opposite in Wayanad district. The department is on a massive tree felling spree, axing centuries-old Indian rosewood, 'Veeti' or 'Eeti' in local parlance, in Wayanad Colonisation land assigned to ex-servicemen seven decades ago.
More than 200 rosewood trees, of a total 1,094 identified for the purpose, were felled in a few weeks and the remaining will face the axe soon. Spread over 41,000 hectares in Muppainad, Ambalavayal, Nenmeni, Sulthan Bathery and Noolpuzha grama panchayats in the district, the land under the Wayanad Colonisation Scheme was assigned to soldiers who fought in the Second World War by the British government in 1947.
While the land belongs to the veterans, the valuable rosewood (Dalbergia latifolia) trees and teak, however, are the property of the government as they were reserved and vested with the State government when the title deeds were formally granted to the landholders in 1969.
Dried trees
The State government in 1995 decided to fell the trees. Reason? Owners of the land requested the authorities to fell the dried trees as they were posing a threat to their life and property. The government also decided to provide Rs. 4,500 a cubic metre to the farmers as compensation. Many teak and a few rosewood trees on the colonisation land were felled between 1995 and 2000. The compensation too was hiked to Rs. 10,000 a cubic metre in 2005.....Read more
Source web page:The Hindu


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You might not know who David H. Chow is yet, but he's definitely someone to keep an eye on. This engineer-turned-pastry chef is becoming known for his unique hand-crafted products, which combine the world's top chocolate couvertures with locally sourced and produced raw ingredients.
His namesake company, currently in its early stages, offers products that are meant to challenge your tastes and perceptions. His line of confections include a Green Tea and Sesame chocolate bar, Fine Gold
Last month David celebrated the launch of his product line at All The Best Fine Foods, a speciality food shop in Toronto. I visited the shop, along with a handful of other food journalists, for an interactive chocolate-making experience.
There were three stations set up in the shop, with ingredients that ranged from tame to fantastic. David encouraged us to taste the ingredients before deciding which ones we wanted to include in our custom chocolate bar. It was fun to try new ingredients like freeze-dried tangerines!
Of course, not everything was my cup of tea… Enter the Tonka Bean. Oh my gosh, I'm so glad that I didn't put the entire bean in my mouth! I bit a small piece off to taste it, and the only words I could come up with to describe the flavour of this spice was "fire" and "soap". Although, some of the other ladies in attendance said that sounded fairly accurate.
It must be ok in small doses though, because the winning chocolate bar creation of the night had Tonka Bean in it. (Congrats to Jen Chan for winning!).
I opted for a combination of dried apricots, roasted pistachios, honey saffron toffee, pink peppercorns and sea salt. I was worried about how it might taste, since it looked more like a granola bar than a chocolate bar, but it was surprisingly delicious! So much so, that I actually might attempt to make this at home… my best friends sister is a pastry chef so maybe she can help me out.
David makes a variety of really cool confections, from elaborate easter eggs to adorable (giant!)
#Valrhona chocolate strawberries. I don't know about you, but I'd be happy to receive one of his treats as a gift.
*hint* *hint*
To grab some of David's goodies for yourself, head over to All The Best Fine Foods at 1101 Yonge Street, Toronto. You can learn more about David H. Chow here.
This is not a sponsored post.
I attended a media event about these products.


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Social media training is important for a business as it can allow them to reap the rewards and also prevents the likelihood of mistakes. So, how do you go about it?
- Creating A Social Style Guide
One of the most important aspects to social media training is finding a style for the outward-facing content to solidify your company's character and identity. This is potentially the best starting point for any training as it places all people on the same page. The only problem is finding the correct style guide to define the company's brand. If, for example, you are operating in an industry that requires professionalism on a daily basis it will be easier than if you are working with freelance startup developers. The challenge is to find the balance between professionalism and easy-going issues, and agents of social style guides are able to offer this.
- Defining Social Goals
When creating a social media training guide, it is important that you keep the social media objectives in mind. For example, what are you searching for regarding a Facebook presence? If the goal is an increase in audience interaction, then the agents will need to increase the number of wall posts that are intriguing to the consumers. If the goal is to increase an email target list, it may be worthwhile to create an incentive for subscriptions and have the agents announce these on the wall regularly.
- Setting Parameters And Grant Freedom
No two individuals are the same and, similarly, no two social media agents will write using the same approach. This is why have a style guide is useful as a type of template; however, it does not mean that you store a set of terminology or phrases for staff members to copy and paste. Using the guide, it is possible to identify the company's overall voice and encouraging the agents to be creative, while still offering them depth to the company's presence. It is also recommended that agents sign off the wall posts with their names or the departments to increase presence and acknowledgement.
- Opt For A Probationary Period
It is true that practice will make perfect, and this is particularly true in the world of social media marketing. Giving agents a probationary period will ensure that the individual is able to comment on the wall posts, but first, they should submit their responses to an individual who is higher up to ensure the post is up to speed. Direction and editing from superiors will help new agents become accustomed to the company's style and branding sooner rather than later.
- Mandating Social Frequency
You should not leave a phone ringing indefinitely in the office – this is a sign of poor customer service. For the same reason, it is essential that you do not leave wall posts on social media pages unanswered – it is a sign of poor digital customer service. In fact, this is far more detrimental than an unanswered telephone call because the question or request is viewable by thousands of individuals on the internet. Do not allow the page to become unattended at the page's visitors gain the impression that you do not care for your consumers.
To avoid this issue, it is recommended that all agents engage on the social marketing page regularly addressing all concerns posted. The good thing about this is that your public display of customer service will increase customer loyalty; therefore, improving a positive reputation and credibility.
- Teaming Up
When the company's staff members have passed through the initial probationary period, it is recommended that you have more than one person responsible for the social media page. A team with two or more individuals are able to edit and moderate the content offering a robust and refined presence.
It is often a good idea to choose one person that is more focused on social media with another who has knowledge of traditional marketing. The social media specialist will also in social media practices, while the marketing professional will ensure the professionalism of the company's brand. If the content has not been reviewed by at least two sets of eyes, do not let it go public.
- Taking Cues From The Professionals
If the business is making its entry into the social media market, it is recommended that you peruse at least one dozen or so of your rival brands. Take the good ideas, leave the bad ideas, and all your company's unique voice to all of the content. Getting someone in to help with your social media training can help. Custom employee training programs based around social media can make notable differences to businesses looking to make the most of social media. Implementing an approached will help the team care for the social media training procedure from recruiting of agents to production of the content and upholding of the media content being set out on the websites.


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At Blood in the Sun this past weekend I had he luxury to see an amazing Beastman army up close and personal. Not only does it look fricken awesome, it plays well too as it scored 2nd place overall. The army is the prize possession of one Mr. Johnny HPB Hastings (Point Hammered). For anyone that hasn't been living under a rock this is part of the army that took first place at the Adepticon Fantasy Team Championship this year.
I've been playing fantasy since 1997 and I can honestly say that this is the prettiest army that I've ever seen in the flesh. Every model is lavishly painted in extreme detail and the conversion work is nothing short of amazing. So when you can spare a moment I highly recommend that you head on over to the The Wild Herd and check it out for yourself. Also, his latest army WIP can be found at Orctonnia.
Do Not Miss 2020 Week 19
12 hours ago


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Happy Birthday!
You got it...Thank you...
Thank you Tracey.
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Belated my fellow Broomfield hag!! :-)
Hope it was happy!
So sorry I am a day late. Hope you had a nice birthday!
I hope you have a good one!
Happy Birthday!
Hey neighbor...how have you been?
Senior Death Hag
Renowned Death Hag
Death Hag
Junior Death Hag


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Having investigated Nyarlathotep, one of the investigators thinks he has a lead: a man in the Appalachian Mountains of Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, something happens on the way there.
On November 12, 2017, I ran the new 7th Edition Call of Cthulhu group with an original scenario to end out the semester and the short campaign: "The Lurker in Tunnel 13." Players were John, Jacob, Austin, and Katelyn.
Audio of the game session is here: https://archive.org/details/RPPRCPCoCTheLurkerInTunnel13
The role playing journals of the game session are here:
Additionally, a playlist of 12 videos of the game session and a highlights video can be found here:


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How to Develop a Successful App: Some Tips based on Strava
Competition is what drives us to become more excellent. If there is some healthy competition, you would always strive to be better than them. That is actually the philosophy behind the creation of the Strava App. Originally created as a run tracker, Strava has, since then, been upgraded with new features that can help competitive people track some vital information. This app is actually one of the most popular fitness trackers on the market. In fact, even Google has app designers their own "Google Fit" app based on Strava's design.
Now, what made it successful? Well, it is actually a combination of things such as:
a) The App is free to install and more features can be unlocked by subscribing to a premium plan
b) Has trackers for nearly every sport such as swimming, climbing, running, etc.
c) Has a sizable community of sporty, athletic, and competitive individuals
d) Has a clean and intuitive interface
e) A unique feature that lets people motivate others through praise. If more people praise you for your performance, you will then be hailed as King/Queen of theMountain
f) The app is focused on inclusivity and there really is no discrimination within the community Strava didn't achieve its success just based on sheer luck; there is actually a lot of work involved in the app creation process. If you want to know how to be successful like Strava, here are some strategies that can bring you the same success:
1. Ask Yourself for an Idea
Every app development process starts with an idea, and for you to gain one, you need to ask yourself the question, "what will my product bring to the people?" Basically, you have to ask yourself questions about how you can best develop something that will help your target demographic. Aside from asking yourself questions about your audience, there are also a few steps that can you help conjure up an app idea such as Business Analysis, Market and Competitor's Research, what your Unique Value Proposition is and Prototyping, Testing and Feedback.
a) Business Analysis- Ask yourself if your app idea is something that is really needed on the market
b) Competitor Research- Look at application with similar features and think about how to make yours much better
c) Value Proposition- What is the main feature of the app?
d) Prototyping, Testing, and Feedback- Create many prototypes until you get the most stable version
2. Use Social Media for Promotion
Social media has become a perfect avenue for app developers to promote their products. Use popular sites such as Facebook, Reddit, and even Youtube to market your application. Create a brief description, add photos and videos, and even provide a link to the download page so that curious people can download and install your app.
3. What is Your Monetization Plan?
You can tell if an app is successful if it has many app downloads and the developer is raking in a lot of revenue. As the developer, what will you do to monetize your application? Strava, for example, employs a subscription-based model where there is a "Basic" and "Premium" plan. You can copy that or you can use either in-app purchases or in-app advertising models as well.
App success is really all about doing the right things- from creating an idea to using the right monetization scheme. Use all the tips in this article and I promise you that you will get good results for your own app.


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State Treasurer Denise Nappier points out in a letter to the Journal Inquirer some important differences between her view on expanded bonding authority and that of Governor Dannel Malloy.
In the course of her letter, Ms. Nappier shoves a boney finger in the governor's chest and warns, "… when legislation is enacted that will result in unnecessary additional costs of issuing state bonds, and may jeopardize investor confidence in our bonds, it is my duty as state treasurer to speak out against the measure and urge corrective action."
Mr. Malloy wants expanded bonding authority for the Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority. Ms. Nappier wrote that she had always supported the consolidation of two quasi-public authorities, the CHEFA and the Connecticut Higher Education Supplemental Loan Authority, and she heartily agreed with the governor that the consolidation would enhance efficiency. "However," she writes, "CHEFA's new authority to issue bonds for UConn is unnecessary, costly, and may confuse investors and undermine their confidence in existing UConn 2000 bonds."
Apparently, Ms. Nappier had shared her misgivings with Mr. Malloy to no avail.
The new bill just signed into law establishing a new bonding process is, Ms. Nappier stresses, "duplicative of what has been in place for 17 years, and that will surely cost taxpayers much more than what the treasury, as the public financing arm of the state, has provided. Higher costs would result from CHEFA's administrative fees, as well as likely higher interest costs. Based on comparisons we have done, this new duplicate process could result in additional expenses of more than $8 million on a typical $200 million financing."
The original UConn 2000 program, Ms. Nappier notes, as initially proposed was a 10-year, $1.25 billion venture. However, the program had been extended a few times, ballooning the cost to $2.5 billion over 23 years. Partnering with the university, Ms. Nappier's office has issued almost $1.9 billion in new money bonds to sustain the program.
Bonding legislation, Ms. Nappier points out, is exceedingly complex and subject to change. Mr. Malloy and the Democratic dominated General Assembly, Ms. Nappier asserts, ignored "serious implications for expanding CHEFA's bond-issuing authority.
"This begs the question: Why did the treasury's attempt to call attention to another ill-advised and poorly crafted provision to grant CHEFA new authority to see UConn bonds fall on deaf ears?
"Simply put, when legislation is enacted that will result in unnecessary additional costs of issuing state bonds, and may jeopardize investor confidence in our bonds, it is my duty as state treasurer to speak out against the measure and urge corrective action."
Ms. Nappier had advised Mr. Malloy of the legislation's shortcomings, which he and legislative gate keepers in the General Assembly chose to ignore.
In her letter, Ms. Nappier washes her hands of the predictable consequences: "That the governor chose to ignore my advice will be at his doorstep."
Republicans are somewhat astonished – though delighted -- by Ms. Nappier's very public quarrel with Mr. Malloy. Republicans, shooed unceremoniously out of the room when the governor's office was hammering out its budget with Democratic Party leaders and union officials, have yet to suggest that the governor had loftily ignored the treasurer's seemingly sound advice because he may have thought she was a Republican.


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I took some Benedryl because my face and body are all itchy twitchy and I'm clearly allergic-ing to something unknown. I would like to say it's the damn cedar tree in the sanctuary, but it started before I got here, so I can't really blame it on that unless I want to argue precognizant allergies. (Ooooh, great band name! Precognizant Allergies!)
I am never sure if Benedryl will make me super-jittery or sleepy.
I am now BOTH. How is that even possible? BODY. STAHP. STAHP WITH THE CONFUSE.


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Family Reunion Cruise Packages
When you start shopping, compare locations and lengths of time as you choose what will work best for your family reunion. Most of the cruise lines have 4-, 5-, and 7-day itineraries starting from major ports across the United States and around the world. You can go shorter too: Carnival has a trip called a Cruise to Nowhere that's only 2 days and departs from either New York or Norfolk -- the focus is on enjoying your time on the ship.
Next, choose your group accommodations. According to Cruise.com, a group cruise is any group sailing together using eight or more staterooms. That number can be easy to reach for a family reunion: The members of each household will take often one or two staterooms each. The pricing of the trip for each family member starts with the size, deck level and location of the stateroom. You'll hear these terms used to describe your stateroom choices:
- Interior -- the room doesn't have windows
- Oceanview -- the room has a porthole or picture window
- Balcony -- the room has a private balcony
- Suite -- the largest rooms on the ship, often with luxurious extras
If you only look at the per-stateroom price, features and prices vary significantly between cruise lines and ships. For example, you could sail Holland America for seven nights in New England and Canada in a deluxe suite for $3,799, or you could sail Carnival in the Bahamas in an oceanview room for less than $300 [sources: Holland America, Carnival]. Don't let these prices fool you, though: When you come together as a group, cruise lines offer many special packages and significant discounts.
After you do this preliminary research, there are two approaches you can take to getting more information and estimates. One way is to contact each cruise line to ask for a vacation planning kit and some customized estimates for your group. This gives you lots of information but takes longer to research. Another approach is to use a travel agent -- agents can help you narrow your search, offering special advice and services customized to your specific family reunion.
As you get estimates and move closer to booking your family reunion cruise, be sure to ask about the following options for your package:
- Costs for your special group events onboard, like private dinners
- Extras and bonus offers, like discounts on shore excursions or shipboard credit to spend at shops, spas, and bars onboard
- Deposit and payment plans for each family member, to avoid a one-time bill up front
Before you make reservations and start to plan activities for your family reunion cruise, check out the important tips on the next page.


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On some sites, pics are blank with a blue icon in the top left corner--by clicking on, picture opens in full size. Can anyone recomend a fix? Thanks
I hope i inserted the screne shot of the blue icon correctly.
I assume you are using Internet Explorer? If so, what version?
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, and against the worldly governors, the princes of the darkness of this world...
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Mickey Mouse guitar yesterday and linking to a previous Guitarz post about the Mickey Mouse club Mousegetar, I found the above-pictured Selco Skiffle Junior plastic toy guitar (or maybe its a ukulele) on eBay UK - the design of which has been borrowed from the Mousegetar. I'm thinking that the Skiffle Junior was originally intended as a plastic Mousegetar - look closely at the design - you can still see the outline of Mickey Mouse's face. Note also that the tuning pegs resemeble Mickey Mouse ears.
The Skiffle Junior dates from 1956. Perhaps they were just going along with the current trends. To begin with Disney was popular, then the Skiffle craze came in and so they altered the design. A few years later they would issue the more famous Selco Beatles plastic guitar.
Currently listed on eBay UK with a starting price of £45.
G L Wilson
© 2011, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!


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Having a couple of hours "free", I thought I'd trial run my recent purchase of Ganesha Games "Flying Lead" ruleset. With their "Songs Of Blades..." (SoBH) rules being the one I play with the Arabiansquire for Fantasy skirmishes and having also MDRG, the changes hopefully wouldn't be too brutal but different enough to capture the flavour of the action.
Anyway, thoughts after the report.
Forces were kept small to around 250pts.
Beat Cop: 26pts Q4+ C2 - Pistol, Handcuffs
SWAT Member: 80pts Q3+ C2 - Flash Bang Grenade, Pistol, Shotgun, Body Armour, Handcuffs, Personnal Comms
SWAT Sniper: 134pts Q3+ C3 - Semi-auto Rifle with Scope, Body armour, Marksman, Sniper, Personnal comms
Capri: 112pts Q3+ C3 - Large Cal. Pistol, Leader, NCO, Steady Under Fire
Mafia type (x2): 56pts Q4+ C2 - Large Cal Pistol, Sawn Off Shotgun, Mook
Street Thug: 15pts Q4+ C2 Strong, Mook
|The Cops entered the industrial area from the South Eastern corner. The Villains could be set up anywhere on the board.
|Meanwhile one of the shotgun welding ganger members tried to move round behind the cops, but the SWAT sniper saw him and gunned him down.
|With the police officers stalling or being drawn out in the centre of the site, Capri and an enforcer moved in from the northern edge where they'd been hiding.
|Meanwhile PC James spotted a second thug lurking in the eastern building shadows and brought him down with a single cap from his pistol.
|With the SWAT member giving chase into the building and no ambushing companion now available, the escaping thug droped down prone behind a crate and crawled for a back ladder.
|With lead flying round his ears, PC James steadied himself and squeezed off a shot at the shotgun wealding goon, taking him out. Capri, finding herself now in sights surrendered, and the remaining thug ran off.
On reading, Flying Lead doesn't seem that different to SoBH. There are different special rules to take into consideration, but basically SoBH with everyone having bows.
Guns are dangerous, kids! It's been commented on that in SoBH that an extra combat stat can make a heck of a difference. Well in Flying Lead (FL) all gun attacks carry an added C bonus - a pistol is C+1 whilst a Sawn-off shotgun carried a whopping C+3 at medium range. Gun ranges are usually double that of SoBH ranged attacks, so the standard medium range weapon has a full strength attack at 2xMedium range. Also the SoBH "knocked back" combat result has been replaced, for ranged attacks, with a duck back/go prone result. Our lack of modern (ie gun) gaming experience showed with this latter one, as we could have been taking shots to keep the enemy down or ducking for cover. Especially as you can now move and shoot in one action for a only a C-1 penalty.
There are obviously loads of rules we never touched on - vehicles for one, overwatch for another, but this was a first trial game and I wanted it to stay within the boundries of SoBH (ie 2 small groups).
Still great fun and recommended.


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Total sanitation in Nakuru slums
Realising the right to total sanitation in Nakuru's slums
Many of us are used to having a toilet in our homes. Some of us have two or three. In the Nakuru slums, one toilet - a simple pit latrine - is shared by up to 240 people. Imagine what that must be like.
Practical Action's ambitious project, funded by Comic Relief, will improve the quality of life for slum communities of 190,000 people, by providing access to safe, hygenic toilets and hand washing facilities.
In addition the project will establish mechanisms and capacity within local institutions to enable them to implement this approach in the remaining slums in Nakuru and more widely across Kenya.
Country: Kenya
Locations: Kaptembwo and Rhonda low-income settlements of Nakuru Municipality
Date: January 2012 – March 2015
Project Manager: Patrick Mwanzia
Implementing Partner: Umande Trust
Funder: Comic Relief
Evaluation highlights: Realising the Right to Total Sanitation in Nakuru, Kenya
An overview of the Realising the Right to Total Sanitation project that ran in Nakuru, Kenya from 2012 to 2015, including key activities and innovations, challenges faced and lessons for future practice.
- Download (549KB)
Nakuru is the fourth largest town in Kenya and the capital of the Rift Valley province. The current population of Nakuru is estimated at 600,000 of whom 190,000 live in the slums of Rhonda and Kaptembwo. Currently, less than 10% of residents here have access to sufficient sanitation facilities of adequate quality. The main sanitation facilities are simple pit latrines. On average 37 people share a latrine, but in the worst cases a single latrine is shared by more than 200 people. Due to poor construction, low coverage, poor maintenance, improper use and dilapidation, open defecation still happens. Women have problems disposing of sanitary waste for themselves and children.
These conditions form the perfect environment for diseases and poverty to flourish. Children have multiple illnesses which has a detrimental impact on their health, development and education. People do not like these conditions, but have become resigned to them because they can't see how the situation can be improved. Our work aims to help them realise the community can do to address the problem themselves.
Community led total sanitation
What is needed is a solution which lasts and becomes part of normal life. We are adopting a Community-led Total Sanitation (CLTS) approach to help trigger residents and landlords alike to take action. The ultimate aim is to create access to sanitation and hygiene facilities for all, and to ensure that everyone in the community effectively use and look after their toilets.
Working with local authorities and landlords
Although the Municipal Council have set by-laws requiring all landlords to provide on-site sanitation, there is little incentive for the landlords to invest in their properties because the tenants are very poor and can only afford low rents. Providing landlords with access to loans and toilets appropriate to this situation will enable them to meet the sanitation requirements whilst still keeping rents affordable. To do this we are working with landlords, financial institutions and the private sector to develop new, affordable credit schemes and loan cost-recovery plans.
Community health volunteers
To support this, we will work with 140 community health volunteers, at least 100 artisans, and at least 20 pit emptiers who are all critical to making the system work effectively. Pit emptiers are predominantly young men who work emptying and cleaning pit latrines, constructing pit latrines or removing solid waste and blockages from latrines and drains. These workers provide a critical public service and yet currently face a myriad of problems. They lack both finance and awareness of appropriate technologies for sanitation. They suffer stigma and discrimination. Providing them with training to provide the services the community requires is a key part of this project. It will improve their own health, will enable them to provide an essential service to their community and raise their status.
By the end of this project
- There will be no open defecation or flying-toilets in 4 out of 6 zones in the settlements (8 villages out of 13).
- 60% of residents have access to adequate on-plot sanitation (from 10%) and at-point hand-washing facilities (from 15%) and the communities have the organisational capacity and financial access to complete the remaining 40% after project.
The project will improve the environment and lives of the 190,000 people living in the slums of Ronda and Kaptembwo. By the end of the project 60% of the residents will have access to good standard toilet (secure, safe, hygienic, well maintained, with hand-washing facilities, etc). This will rise to 100% within a year of the end of the project.
By the end of the project, 2,690 new toilets will have been constructed and 4,200 toilets improved. There will be no open defecation or flying-toilets in 4 out of 6 zones in the settlements (8 villages out of 13). 60% of residents have access to adequate on-plot sanitation (from 10%) and at-point hand-washing facilities (from 15%) and the communities have the organisational capacity and financial access to complete the remaining 40% after project.
Our minimum standards:
- 1 toilet per 4 households (within UN ratio of 1 toilet to 20 people)
- Structure providing security and privacy to users
- Surfaces that can be cleaned effectively
- Sufficient lighting
- Capture systems appropriate to the needs of the residents, including ease of use for children and the elderly, and soil conditions
- At-point hand-washing facilities.
Improvement in sanitation facilities and reduction in open defecation will:
- reduce the incidence of disease
- reduce income loss through sickness and medical expenses
- improve the health and development of children
- increase income to community based sanitation providers through demand for services
As importantly, the success of this project will establish the mechanism (i.e. policies, financial instruments, processes and plans) and capacity within local institutions (community, government, finance, private sector sanitation service providers) to enable them to implement the approach in the remaining slums in Nakuru and more widely across Kenya.
Evaluation highlights: Realising the Right to Total Sanitation in Nakuru, Kenya
An overview of the Realising the Right to Total Sanitation project that ran in Nakuru, Kenya from 2012 to 2015, including key activities and innovations, challenges faced and lessons for future practice.
- Download (549KB)
Practical Action at the 38th WEDC international Conference
At the 8th WEDC International Conference 2015 dubbed "Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Services Beyond 2015: Improving Access and Sustainability", Practical Action Eastern Africa presented the lessons learned following the successful sanitation intervention project Realising the Rights to Total Sanitation in Nakuru, Kenya.
These findings have been used to inform policy at county level on the need for sanitation investment and appropriate resourcing of the sector which in the past had been shadowed in ball-pack water supply investment plans.
Practical Action at the 36th WEDC international Conference
During the course of the conference we took the opportunity to showcase the CLTS approaches that are taking place right on its doorstop in Kaptembwo and Rhonda. To do this we:
- Held a side event with residents, community health volunteers, project staff and others to learn from them about their experiences.
- Presented a paper on our work on Solid Waste Management in Nakuru.
- Led a capacity development workshop so that participants could go and see first-hand the challenges and opportunities of working on CLTS in an urban context out in the communities.
Urban community-led total sanitation: A case study of Nakuru
Paper presented at the WEDC conference 2013. Authors: P. Mwanzia & W. Misati (Nakuru, Kenya).
- Download (871KB)
WEDC Side event on Urban CLTS, Tuesday 3rd July 2013.
Notes on the Side event 'Realising the Right to Total Sanitation: Hybrid CLTS Nakuru's Experience.' Practical Action and Umande Trust.
- Download (190KB)
Poster - Urban Citizen Led Total Sanitation (UCLTS) and Technology Justice: The Nakuru Experiences
- Download (329KB)
Blog: Sanitation in Nakuru's low-income urban areas
We had two very interesting activities on our last day at the WEDC conference in Nakuru, Kenya. In the morning, we made an exciting visit to a Rhonda area in Nakuru, in order to learn about the initiatives of Practical Action and Umande Trust there ...Find out more
- Find out more about Community Led Total Sanitation on this video
Blogs from our water and sanitation projects
Climate Crisis. The New Reality.
Beating drought with ingenuity, Turkana.Climate change is leading to increasingly frequent and more severe hazards and disasters. It's something that is effecting us all but varies in se...
Read more
Menstrual Hygiene Day 2019: It's Time for Action
One Vision Creating Countless Hope.Entrepreneur Lily Akhter. From a destitute victim of river erosion to a successful entrepreneur, it's not been an easy path for Lily Ak...
Read more
Learning from failure: the untold story
Absorbing failure and learning from it is not always easy. Building on failure is even more challenging and requires great strength of character. This Practical Action story has remained untold for...
Read more
Fashion comes at a price
The impact of the fashion industry on water resources in Bangladesh
Bangladesh is the second largest garment exporting country in the world. Around 80% of the country's earnings come from the Re...
Read more
Dying for the loo
Helen Bosibori she looks tired; almost beaten. Her eyes scan the yard: "When it rains the waste flows all over the place," she says. "Alfred and the other children step in the filthy water and they go back into their homes and take it in with them."
Alfred is nearly three. He is one of the children who live in the tiny rooms which surround the yard. He is sitting on a mound of concrete and stones, which used to contain the communal toilets he and his 40 or so neighbours shared.
A year ago the toilets collapsed in Helen's yard. Now they lie on the floor like a huge festering blanket, attracting flies.
Helen lives in Kaptembwo, a slum area of Nakuru, Kenya. Within the yard where Helen lives are a dozen or so families living in unimaginably cramped conditions, each sharing a single room, with two long drop toilets between them which smell horrendous.
Between March and May it often rains heavily. Because the toilets are just a hole over a pit, they flood and the filth floats up and covers the yard. Children throughout the slums of Nakuru hate this time of year because their parents won't let them outside to play.
When this happens, and at other times if there is a long queue to use the toilet, desperate children have to relieve themselves in a bag. The bags (known locally as flying toilets) are then thrown away in the streets.For thousands of people in Kenya, living in a street with flying toilets is nothing special. Living in yards with revolting communal toilets from which shit and used sanitary products float up to your doorstep isn't unusual. Children suffering from diarrhoea and cholera are common. This is normal.
Helen Bosibori, aged 30, lives here with her four children. She runs a small shop just at the front of the building. She might look beaten, but it's clear she's not; she's raging.
"I wouldn't ever have imagined my children having to grow up in this kind of environment. It offends me that my children have to come into contact with all this. Around twice a month they get sick. They have bowel problems, diarrhoea and they vomit and cough a lot. My eldest girl wants to be a doctor, my oldest boy wants to be a pilot and my smallest one wants to be a teacher but with illness they miss school regularly. I know if my children have to miss time off school they will not be able to become what they want in the future, but living here makes this happen."
For Helen Bosibori, Practical Action's project may have just arrived in time. "If there is a concentrated plan to improve the situation in this area it would make me very happy. I would just like to see and live in a better environment so my children are able to be the best they can be."


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Anyone know when the new kits gonna be out sick of waiting now !!!!
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Children and pupils
You are planning an unforgettable day full of action, fun and adventure? Then we recommend you the wildlife and Leisure park Klotten as the right address.
Especially for you we have created a special group offer:
The price of 22.50 euros per person doesn't only include the admission and all the attractions and demonstrations, you must not care for food and drink. You are welcome in our park restaurant.
There you can choose from two different tasty meals.
This offer is valid for groups of children and pupils (4 to 14 years), min. 20 people per group. A well-timed announcement in advance is necessary!
Phone: +49 (0) 26 71 / 6 05 44-0
Fax: +49 (0) 26 71 / 6 05 44-29
Or use our contact form. We will get in touch with you.


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As demand spikes for potassium iodide in the wake of Japan's nuclear crisis, U.S. poison control centers are starting to receive reports of illness in people who've ingested the drug aimed at protecting against radiation sickness.
At least seven people have reported reactions to the drug, often called by its chemical name, KI, including two who said they were suffering from serious symptoms including vomiting, racing heart and dizziness or vertigo.
That's according to Jessica Wehrman, a spokeswoman for the American Association of Poison Control Centers, which tracks reports from 57 poison control centers nationwide.
Japan earthquake
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- Another setback in effort to control Japan reactor
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- MH370 Pilot is a Hero, His Grieving Sister Says
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- Images of chaos, destruction
Radiation has not been detected in the U.S., but some worried Americans are already hoarding the pills — and apparently taking them already — as a precaution. Wehrman said poison control centers have received nearly 130 queries about protection against radiation exposure and the crisis in Japan.
As a result of the spike in demand for the iodide pills, the Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers to be wary of fake claims for drugs to prevent or treat effects of radiation. Consumers should watch out for websites or retail outlets pitching fraudulent products, including dietary supplements, food items, or products claiming to be drugs, devices or vaccines, the agency said.
A text message poll of 98 physicians in California, Oregon and Washington, conducted by Truth On Callfor msnbc.com, found that 18 percent of doctors had fielded questions from patients this week about the health impacts of radiation exposure, and two were asked for potassium iodide.
Panic could spark a "mini-epidemic" of potassium iodide ingestion and overdoses, predicted Dr. Leonard Wartofsky, spokesman for the Endocrine Society and a thyroid expert.Story: Brain scan overdose offers glimpse of radiation threat
He warned that the drug could cause serious reactions in some people and even backfire in the case of an actual emergency, putting people past a two-week window of safe dosage. After that period of time, the drug can induce severe hypothyroidism, a condition that essentially shuts down thyroid function.
"It is inappropriate, foolhardy and dangerous to be taking iodine supplements at this time," Wartofsky said. "It's very important to hold off until it's absolutely necessary."
Medical and government officials have stressed that the risk of radiation reaching the U.S. is negligible, and that the risk of any health effects is less than that.
"There has been no directive from either the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or from state health departments that anyone in the United States during the Japan earthquake or during its aftermath should take potassium iodide," said Dr. Al Bronstein, medical director at the Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center.
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But that hasn't stopped Americans from rushing to buy the non-prescription drug that protects the thyroid gland from exposure to radioactive iodine. All three manufacturers and suppliers of federally approved potassium iodide in the United States sold out of the drug earlier this week. New supplies won't be available until mid-April, said Alan Morris, president of Anbex, Inc., which makes IOSAT 130-milligram tablets.
The drug works by filling the thyroid gland with potassium iodide, which leaves no room for the radioactive iodine, which can cause cancer. It does not protect against other effects of radiation exposure.
But even if radiation were to reach the U.S., potassium iodide should only be taken in the event of actual exposure or the threat of immediate exposure, not as a preventive measure, Wartofsky said.Story: Demand for potassium iodide spikes; nukepills.com is there
Troy Jones, who runs the site www.nukepills.com, says he sells about 250,000 doses of potassium iodide most months, both pills and liquid. Demand has spiked in the past during threatening events, but nothing like the response to Japan's crisis, he said.
How much radiation is dangerous?
Radiation is measured using the unit sievert, which quantifies the amount of radiation absorbed by human tissues. One sievert is 1,000 millisieverts (mSv).
In the U.S., the average person is exposed to about 6.2 millisieverts a year, mostly from background radiation and medical tests.
Facts about radiation exposure:
- A person would need to be exposed to at least 100 mSv a year to have an increase in cancer risk. Exposure to 1,000 mSv during a year would probably cause a fatal cancer many years later in five out of every 100 people.
- Total body CT scan: about 10 mSv.
- Mammogram: about 0.7 mSv.
- CT colonography: about 5 to 8 mSv.
- CT heart scan: about 12 mSv.
- Typical chest X-ray: about 0.02 mSv
- Dental X-ray: 0.01 mSv.
- Coast-to-coast airplane flight: about .03 mSv. Airline crews flying the New York-Tokyo polar route are exposed to 9 mSv a year.
Sources: Reuters; New England Journal of Medicine; American Cancer Society; World Nuclear Association and Taiwan's Atomic Energy Council
In the event of a nuclear emergency, potassium iodide is most useful in protecting infants and children younger than 18, whose bodies are most vulnerable to the effects of radioactive iodine, according to the CDC.
Adults older than 40 are warned not to take KI unless contamination with a very large doses of radioactive iodine is expected. They're at the lowest risk for developing thyroid cancer after radiation exposure and at highest risk for having allergic reactions to KI.
Taking potassium iodide can be harmful to people who are allergic to iodine, those who have certain skin disorders and people with thyroid diseases including goiter, Graves' disease or autoimmune thyroid disorders.
Side effects from KI can include upset stomach, rashes and inflammation of the salivary glands.
"It's always balancing the risk and the benefit," Wartofsky said. "There is absolutely no risk at the present time."
© 2013 msnbc.com Reprints


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You're a man with one basic requirement for the porno you digest: it must contain cute girls. They can pose in bobby socks or blow the entire basketball team in one sitting, but if she's on your screen and you're aiming to be aroused, she's gotta be a cutie. If that's your desire, dear reader, Just Cute Girls is a site purpose built to keep you satisfied. Home to hundreds of sexy young women who pose nude, frolic in the sunshine, and generally present themselves as the kind of youthful, fun loving, lust-filled babes we'd all love a chance to spend a little quality time with, Just Cute Girls is a babe-watcher's paradise.
|Content amount
|Money value
|Downloadable videos
|Overall Score
|Number of movies
|Average length
|14 Min.
|Full length videos
|DRM Protection
|Download Limits
|Video format
MP4 (1920x1080)
MP4 (1280x720)
MP4 (640x360)
|Pic sets
|Pics per set
|Zip sets
|High res pics
|Model Index
Just Cute Girls review | Mr. Pink's Porn Reviews
MrPinks.com review date - 02/01/2017
The pleasures of life can seem far too few at times. Although technology has ushered in a new era of satisfaction for your various senses, sight still hands in there as the greatest method of male arousal. Gawking at babes has long been something we men tried to keep not hidden but not flying in plain sight either. Just Cute Girls asks us not to pretend anymore, to simply sit back, relax, and stare lustily at a roster of amateur erotic nude models that has few serious competitors. On its tour pages, Just Cute Girls promises its members a huge archive of over 600,000 total erotic images now available in amazing 6000px photo frames, along with a video archive touting erotic encounters with models performing stripteases and seductions, posing adorably for your ogling pleasure, bringing themselves the the edge of climax, and generally showing off their incredibly appetizing selves in whatever way will have you throwing your hard-earned money at a Just Cute Girls's membership. With HD videos and HQ photos by the thousands and foxy young models by the dozens, though, it looks worth every drool-inducing, boner-inspiring cent.
The young women appearing at Just Cute Girls are undersold by the designation "cute," when foxy, salacious, slutty, and enormously erotic would work a bit better. Pretty faces and fit bodies abound, but there's plenty of chubby, athletic, super-skinny, and ethnically diverse models here too. Some Asians and Pacific Islanders and Middle-Easterners are peppered in for good measure while a search function provides easy access to all.
Just Cute Girls isn't content to simply show the pretty faces of its girls to you in HD and HQ updates, it bares their bodies and reveals their sexualities and personalities, too! Outdoor by the pool or on the beach, enjoying an al fresco breakfast, or just strolling around in the nude, outdoor shoots are plentiful and very lively. Indoors, things get a little more sedate but remain very steamy with stripteases and masturbation regularly featured.
Just Cute Girls delivers strong audio-visual content in video and photo form. Streaming and downloading at 720p and 1080p HD resolutions, videos offer bright, clear, dynamic viewing, as do the photo galleries, which push even further into hyper detail in their 6016px peak frame size. Photos can be viewed via online galleries and downloadable zipped sets.
Already home to a strong archive of quality softcore and masturbation content, Just Cute Girls keeps growing with the arrival of a new item, either a photo gallery or video clip, every two or three days. The nearly 450 videos and close to 1800 galleries now online offer deep, diverse viewing.
Just Cute Girls could drop the 's' from its name and still work just fine. Updates tend to focus on one, maybe two models for stints of one, two, or even three months. These repetitive updates don't just showcase the same girl over and over but in very similar situations and locations, too. A bit more variety in each model's offerings would be great to see.
Streams don't playback as smoothly as hoped, often stopping to buffer for a few minutes before attempting to play the whole clip. This can quickly get frustrating, as can the video playback not receiving its own page but simply playing as a raw MP4 file in your browser window. When it comes to bells and whistles, Just Cute Girls is lacking.
The bland and lifeless web design of Just Cute Girls would be utterly dismal if not for the girls themselves. Navigation tools are decent but not excellent, with the model index especially needing some extra features. The models that generate Just Cute Girls's appeal are given short shrift with profile pages only offering the most basic bio info.
If you do spot a favorite pornstar babe among all the "amateurs" featured here, she'll likely be featured under a different name than the rest of her adult work. This may preserve a facade of authentic amateurism but well all know these, however little seen they may be, are up-and-coming pros for the most part.
Just Cute Girls is a very simple name for a site with a very simple premise: deliver semi and fully nude pictorials showcasing young women over whom you're likely to not only obtain a roaring erection but attack it manually, too. Models range from tattooed alt.girls to athletic cheerleader types and "exotic" beauties from all around the world, and each offers herself, her body and her sexuality, to the Just Cute Girls camera for numerous photo shoots and video clips. Limited to nude posing, masturbation, and a little lesbian activity, Just Cute Girls is hardly a hardcore epic, but it doesn't really need to be. If you're into gentler, more suggestive adult entertainment there'll be plenty to please you here. If you require something a little harder, there's many other options to choose from but at Just Cute Girls, it's Just Cute Girls.
Copyright © 2020 - Mr. Pink's Porn Reviews - MrPinks.com. All rights reserved.


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Hello everyone. I am new to Java
Welcome to the Java Programming Forums
The professional, friendly Java community. 21,500 members and growing!
The Java Programming Forums are a community of Java programmers from all around the World. Our members have a wide range of skills and they all have one thing in common: A passion to learn and code Java. We invite beginner Java programmers right through to Java professionals to post here and share your knowledge. Become a part of the community, help others, expand your knowledge of Java and enjoy talking with like minded people. Registration is quick and best of all free. We look forward to meeting you.
Members have full access to the forums. Advertisements are removed for registered users.
Hello everyone. I am new to Java
Welcome, calvinkev.
I split your message to a post of its own as it should be. Please read this topic to learn how to post your code correctly along with other useful info for newcomers.


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KPCC film critics Andy Klein and Tim Cogshell join Larry to review the week's new film releases including Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Midnight in Paris, Bloodworth, Earthwork, The Big Uneasy, How to Live Forever and more. Claudia Puig also brings us the best films at Cannes 2011. TGI-FilmWeek!
Guests:Andy Klein, film critic for KPCC and Brand X Tim Cogshell, film critic for KPCC and Box Office Magazine Claudia Puig, film critic for KPCC and USA Today
Live tweeting this week's reviews:


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SUPCO: Product Catalog
August 7, 2006
The 2006 HVACR and Test Instrument Catalog, edition 22, volume 1 is available. Some of the products that can be found in the catalog are: ac hard starts, relays, capacitors, contactors, timers, time delays, motors, duct boosters, fan blades, and pressure switches. Cap tubing, belts, transformers, sequencers, thermostats, furnace igniters, condensate drain pans, valves and fittings, valve tools, and thermostat guards are among the other products listed in the literature. Also provided is a refrigerant temperature pressure chart and an approximate temperature guide for various applications, among other charts. The catalog features over 50 new items.
SUPCO, 2230 Landmark Place, Allenwood, NJ 08720; 732-223-6644; firstname.lastname@example.com; www.supco.com
eProduct 188


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I met Keilah through her online business, Sacramento Sidetracks, which provides reviews and recommendations for families looking for fun things to do in the Sacramento area. I even photographed her family a few years back in this adorably fun session.
But now, when Keilah isn't making sure local families are having fun on their days off, she's busy making sure they find the home of their dreams as an agent at Lyon Real Estate in the Land Park office.
Keilah is full of positive energy and that comes out in how she markets herself; she has awesome promotional chops. When we met at a local coffee shop recently to catch up, she let me know that she would love to get some photos for her real estate career that helped clients get a sense of her warm and fun personality, with a variety of images for different marketing pieces like the custom oil paintings.
A couple of weekends ago we met at the Lyon Land Park office and ventured around Land Park's beautiful neighborhoods to make that happen. Here are some of my favorites…
Schedule your own Personal Branding Session
Get in touch and let's discuss how we can help you sell your / your company's story through beautiful images.


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Flooring - it seems like a pretty straight-forward material to pick for your home, but it's not always that simple. When you combine all the aesthetic choices with what kind of material will work...
Last week we found this old basket in our garage. We had picked it up from the Long Beach Swap Meet years ago and never really done anything with it. Inspired, we set about making it into a cute little "doggie basket" to go under our desk.First we spray painted the basket with silver paint. Without the rust, it looks brand new! We also painted some old furniture legs we had in our garage. (We find ourselves removing furniture legs to add caster wheels to things.)While the paint was drying, we raided our fabric bin. We had been given the cutest dishtowel from Anthropologie that we could never bring ourselves to wipe our hands on.
We found an old pillow insert in our closet (we like The Company Store for buying pillow inserts) and the towel fit perfectly around it. First we folded the towel inside out and sewed closed the sides. We then turned the towel right side out and sewed closed the opening. Ok, ok, we know this isn't the "right" way to sew a pillow. Oh well, it works and it's cute!
That pillow down, we were on a roll. We found some burlap and gray fabric in our scrap bin and used the same technique to make another pillow. On this one, we like the exposed seam because you can see a bit of the frayed burlap.
Then it was time to make the cushion to fill the basket. We have a lot of gray ticking leftover from a window seat project, so we decided to use some of that. We measure the basket and made a simple pillow. We stuffed it with filler and hand-closed it. But guess what? It was boring!
What to do? We went into our craft closet and found a piece of rope. We then decided we were going to add some dimension to the pillow and make it look more like a cushion. We tied the rope on a needle and shoved/pulled it through the pillow, tying knots on either side. Ta da! The perfectly tufted pet bed.
Now it was just a matter of putting them together. We cut some plywood into squares and screwed the legs into the wood. They are really sturdy!
All done! Time to find a model. Tiger the dog loves his new bed!


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I'll admit it: I have a shoe problem. I'm also pretty sure that any of my friends could tell you that I have a ridiculous amount of shoes, most of which I can't wear on a daily basis. I'm not entirely sure when it started, or why for that matter, but shoes are definitely my favorite part of any outfit. Just to give you a better understanding, when I was working on college applications (which feels like eons ago) one of the supplementary prompts was "Why did you do it?" That's a pretty open ended question, with endless opportunities and guess what I wrote about: buying a pair of shoes. It was definitely my favorite essay to write out of all of the supplemental college essays I wrote that year. I hadn't done any other academic work on shoes until my senior year of college when I took a class on the History of Gendered Fashion. I then gave a presentation on the gendered history of shoes starting in the 14th century working my way to the present. (If you ever find yourself bored looking at the Met's collection of shoes was a lot of fun. I highly recommend it.) I know I was critical of the Met's Costume Institute last week but I am always in awe of their shows and their collection and secretly hoping that they'd do a show exclusively on shoes.
Now I'm sure you're asking yourself, "What does this have to do with museums….isn't that what this whole blog is supposed to be about?" Well, my dream has come true and the world has combined two of my favorite things: museums and shoes!
There is an entire exhibition dedicated to shoes at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts that opened November 19th,2016 and will be on display until March 12, 2017. The exhibition is called Shoes: Pleasure and Pain, a very fitting description of any shoe lover's twofold relationship with any pair of shoes. As their press release states, the exhibition was organized by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and consists of over 300 pairs of shoes (110 of which are from the Peabody Essex Museum's collection) "that explores the creative potential, cultural significance and transformative" power of shoes. This exhibition also follows the evolution of technology to reach new heights and creative shapes.
According to the few articles I have found on the exhibition, the show is divided into thematic categories: Transformation, Status, Seduction, Creation and Obsession. In contrast to the Met's understanding of fashion, as telling of the creativity of the designers on display, the Peabody Essex's Deputy Director and coordinating curator Lynda Roscoe Hartigan believes that "Shoes are about the personal creativity of the designer and the person who wears that shoe" because "creation is about communication." In the case of this exhibition, it isn't just the designer of the shoe who makes it famous, it can also be the person who wore it, as is the case of the blue 9-inch heels worn by Naomi Campbell during the infamous 1993 Vivienne Westwood runway show fall. Now this show isn't just dedicated to the innovations of women's shoes throughout history. For any male shoe lover, there are the very noisy slap-sole shoes from the 17th century as well as shoes worn by Elton John and David Beckham. (There is probably more than just three pairs of male shoes, but those are the only ones mentioned in recent write ups)
This exhibition sounds exactly up my alley, combining history and innovation into one show with my favorite subject matter at its epicenter. More importantly, the Peabody Essex Museum shop has transformed into a shoe store for the duration of the exhibition! What could be better than a shoe store in a museum?! Well, how about giving back? The Museum is also running a shoe drive (which closes today) for women's shoes to be donated to Dress for Success Boston. Considering it just closed, I'm not sure how successful the drive was (the last Twitter update stated 657 pairs) but it definitely is a nice way to give back to the community while also helping promote your own exhibition.
What's been frustrating about doing some reading on this exhibition is the lack of images of the exhibition/collection. As seen on the exhibition page, there are just a few images of the shoes in the exhibition but there are no installation photos of the exhibition itself. Considering the exhibition has now been open for almost two weeks, this seems a little unusual. Their press release states that official images and captions could be shared upon request, but that cannot really help their promotion of the exhibition. While I'm the type of person who wants to see the exhibition regardless of the availability of installation images, there are definitely people who want to see how a space looks before going. Even their promotional video doesn't give any clues of what the exhibition looks like. Maybe when the exhibition has been open a little bit longer, some images of the exhibition will surface.
I did notice that the Peabody Essex Museum's Twitter has shared a "Shoe Story" in relation to the exhibition. It wasn't made entirely clear on their Twitter if this is meant to be a promotional event, because there wasn't a hashtag associated with the tweet. Maybe they are sharing stories that were shared with them in exhibition? I definitely think this could be a valuable promotional tool for them though, should they create a hashtag like #pemshoes for people to share their stories and experiences at the exhibition. It seems like the Peabody Essex Museum could be doing a lot more to get their exhibition some internet publicity.
Either way, it seems like a trip to Boston and Salem are in my near future!


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900g wild plums/damsons/eating plumsI/2 lemon quartered lengthways and sliced fine
100g dried sultanas
120g of soft brown sugar, depending on how sweet your wild plums/damsons/eating plums are.
60g of tamaring block
(soaked for 20 minutes in a mug of boiling water then seive and reject the seeds). I added the tamarind infused water to the chutney too. You can used two tablespoons of tamarind paste as an alternative.
3/4 stick of cinnamon
3 large cloves of garlic chopped fine
2dl Apfelessig1/2 tsp of ground paprika
1,5 tsp of salt
(1 tsp of allspice powder/berries)
1 piece of fresh ginger
1 small hot birdseye chillies (seeds removed) chopped fine
5 black peppercorns1 heaped teaspoons of yellow mustard seed
Stone the plums and if big enough cut into slices.
Place all ingredients in a large heavy bottomed (non reactive) saucepan and bring slowly to a gentle boil. Turn the heat down immediately and simmer very gently (tiny bubbles just breaking the surface on the lowest heat) for at least five hours until the mixture has broken down and thickend.
Stir from time to time and more towards the end. If your simmering point is higher than ours, your chutney will be ready sooner. Take a peek every half hour or so. The chutney will thicken as it cools.


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Mebla Dule was a Human female. She was an enthusiastic player of Pazaak who encountered Meetra Surik in the cantina on Citadel Station over Telos IV.
Behind the scenesEdit
Mebla Dule is the only character in KotOR II whose dialog you cannot skip through. This may be an inside joke, however, as even after you beat her three times, and she claims that she will quit the game, you can still play her by saying "I'd like to ask you some questions..." She will continue to play.
If the player approaches her with B-4D4-GE3 she refuses to play Pazaak saying "Never play pazaak with droids".
- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (First appearance)
- "Roll of the Dice"—Star Wars Insider 135 (Mentioned only)
Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.


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It's clear now….. any FPV machine in 2019 will be HD thanks to the one the three HD/FPV combo available (Runcam, Caddx and Foxeer). Here is probably the future best-seller in the 75mm format, i.e.
the new Happymodel Modula 7 HD: https://www.banggood.com/Happymodel-Mobula7-HD-2-3S-75mm-Crazybee-F4-Pro-Whoop-FPV-Racing-Drone-PNP-BNF-w-CADDX-Turtle-V2-HD-Camera-p-1418831.html
This machine on the paper is just amazing… Listen to: 2S/3S compatible, 69g with a 300mAh/3S LiPo, and the more important with a Caddx Turtle 2 !!!! so ready to shoot 1080p@60 (I hope jellofree) with a low latency FPV signal. It's not over, the Modula uses now the same super durable frame as the trashcan… Seems to be the same FC F4 based with smartaudio to control the VTX, a builtin SPI receiver w/telemetry and a current meter. My only interrogation are about the MOSFET… Still some 5A w/peak 6A…. Hummm in 3S I hope it will be ok. The machine will be a direct competitor of the Fullspeed Tinyleader HD (review published pretty soon in D-M) but close to be 17g more lighter !!!
Want to see a first preview ? Check this video…
Hargggggggggg can't wait 🙂
– New Crazybee F4 PRO V2.0 AIO Flight controller 1-3s Lipo Compatible
– 2S for indoor Cine whoop mode
– 3S for outdoor Freestyle whoop mode
– Betaflight support , multi flight mode: ACRO/AIR/ANGLE
– The lightest 1102 brushless motor only 2.7g with double ball bearings
– Powerful and smoothly
– Betaflight OSD support ,easy to get RSSI, Voltage ,current from your goggles(DSMX version no RSSI output)
– Caddx turtle v2 + 1080p 60fps DVR ready
– Camera Angle adjustable
– VTX power switchable 25mw~200mw
– Smartaudio ready , change VTX bands, powers, channels via OSD
– Frsky Non-EU version support NON-EU Frsky transmitter D8/D16 compatible
– Flysky version support both AFHDS and AFHDS-2A protocol transmitter
– DSM2/DSMX version support DSM2 and DSMX compatible Spektrum transmitter
– No RX version support external serial-bus receiver like xm+, crossfire, S-FHSS etc..
– Full telemetry function ready (Frsky Non-EU and Flysky version support)
– Special Breath light ready
– Real Bind and Fly version
– Compatible both for 2s-3s Lipo/LIHV
Package Included:
1x Mobula7 HD 75mm FPV Drone
4x 40mm 3-Blade Propellers ( 4 CW & 4 CCW)
1x 3S 11.4v 300mah 30C/60C battery
1x Propeller Disassemble Tool
1x Screwdriver


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Our Core Values
LS Black Constructors is made up of like-minded, hard-working, down to earth construction professionals, all working toward one goal—to provide best-in-class construction services to our clients. Our passion, dedication, and roll-up your sleeves work ethic are the foundation of who we are and what we do. We approach everything we do with an aggressive, out-think, out-work, out-perform mindset, with our core values serving as our guideline.
We meet challenges head-on and seek to find solutions overlooked by others.
Own It
We are committed to and take pride in our projects and the work we produce.
Team Mindset
We work to foster pro-active communication and integration on all levels because we believe two heads are better than one.
Deliver The News
We don't back away from difficult conversations. We tell it like it is, both good and bad, because we believe communication is the first step toward solutions.
Mind The Store
We are focused on profitability, not only for us but for our project partners–owners, architects, and subcontractors. Because at the end of the day, profits provide security and prosperity that benefit us all.


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It's Saturday,
May 30th, 2020
logged in
Burning River 100 Race Report 2013 - Running through the ages
Saturday July 27th, 2013
Juli Aistars
Improvement is a wonderful thing, especially when you are getting older...
Burning River is one of my favorite 100s because it is point-to-point, the course changes every year in some way and it has such a varied topography. It is scenic and historic, starting at an old castle and running along the Cuyahoga River in parts. It is a labor of love by both the 3 RDs and the dedicated volunteers.
This was my 3rd running of Burning River and it is the 3rd 100 in the Midwest Grand Slam of Running. A Grand Slam without altitude -- thank you Dale! Anastasia and I decided that we would both run USATF and we would stick together as long as it was mutually beneficial. She is better known as Super Girl Rolek, or "the tutu girl". At one point, I passed a lady who asked why I was no longer with "the pink lady" :) We lost each other a few times but then found each other again. We had a blast, as always. We are both in the Grand Slam and 2 of the 3 women still standing. The 3rd is Karen Erba who I finally got to talk to online, but have not met in person. We are ages 33, 44 and 54.
So I keep getting older, and some ask me how much longer I will run 100s. It is beginning to feel like that question, "When are you retiring?" My answer is, "I intend to run 100s as long as I enjoy them." Translation: "as long as I am addicted." I haven't even reached my number of years walking this Earth yet in finishes, but that IS a lot of finishes...
In 2009, I was 50 years old when I ran Burning River 100. I was DFL, barely finishing at 29:51. Granted it was hot and poured rain all night with lots of mud but I was just not well enough trained for it and I was surprised by how challenging a course in Ohio could be. I struggled and had a pacer for the last 30 miles. I don't believe I would have finished without Julie.
In 2011, I was 52 and ran Burning River in 28:52. The weather was hot but I thought the course seemed somewhat easier than 2009. I was happy with the 1 hour improvement -- but it didn't pour rain all night and they took the little mountain out of the course. Or did I hallucinate the rock ledges hanging over my head as we went 'round and 'round the little mountain in 2009? Julie?
This year, it rained but it was a pleasant rain, not hard, keeping us cool. It was the mud that made it difficult. The course is surprisingly hilly in the single-track trail sections, with roots and rocks. There are also stairs, not as much as Laurel Valley, but there are stairs. There are cinder block stairs, railroad ties, stone steps and wood stairs. There had been rain in the previous week so the rain last Saturday made for lots of shoe-sucking mud. I finished in 26:37, reaching the 50.5 mile mark in 10:40. Mud was my main excuse for a very positive split. But I was happy, because this was a big improvement, even though I am older at age 54 with a birthday looming in the fall...
I used to run events of all distances on an average of 50-55 miles a week. Since recovering from the injuries and 3 months off, I decided to experiment a little. My average is now 70 miles a week. I put in 358 miles in the month of June. A big reason for it is eating differently. Recovery seems very quick these days, even though I am older... I can run 10 miles at a 9 minute pace within a few days of finishing 100. I could not do that in the past. I followed one 100 mile finish with 70 miles the very next week. In the past, I pretty much barely ran the week following a 100 mile event.
So my times are not great on trails, but they are getting better, even though I am getting older.
Val crewed me, though crew can't see the runners often. I had no pacer since I ran USATF. I spent very little time alone though, either running with Anastasia or Ramon. Ramon was always smiling and happy. He asked me if I wanted a date. I thought he liked older women until I realized he was talking about the dates that you eat :). He wore minimal slippers and I stayed with him when he was slipping and falling in the mud as he had no tread on his shoes. He said he had shoes at mile 86 that were better and he would change. He finally got too far behind me and I went on, finding Anastasia again after I had lost her for a while. Then Ramon caught up, looking strong. He stayed with us because he couldn't resist the great company :). When my lights were going dim, he lit the trail for both of us. We found our way together, being very careful not to miss markers. There had been some cases of runners missing aid stations. Except for once when we couldn't find a marker and a whole group of us fanned out to solve the puzzle, the markers seemed good, with a flag about every 1/10 of a mile. There were white arrows on the road, ribbons in the trees in confusing spots, and lots of ground flags on the right side.
Val loaned Ramon his sweatshirt when it was getting cool in the morning. In the last 10 miles, I told Ramon to go ahead if he felt like going faster. He said he didn't want to run too fast or he would sweat on Val's shirt. He is funny... "We can wash it," I said :) Ramon lives in New York city and he is super polite. He thought the surroundings were so beautiful. He loves getting out of the city and on the trails. This was his first 100 mile finish. Congratulations Ramon! Thank you for your great company, for the light, for the dates! :)
I fell in the mud twice. I sat in it and got covered by it as I tried to get back on my feet. The 2nd time, a lady runner helped me up. I didn't want to give her my muddy hand. She said something like, "It doesn't matter, we are all in this together." I didn't thank her properly. If you are on the list, please write to me so I can tell you how much I appreciated your "helping hand".
Gotta love ultras! Gotta love life!
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August 2nd, 2013 12:24 pm
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Photo courtesy of NBC/Peter Kramer
The sounds Black people make are the brick and mortar of the United States. Literally. The enslaved African's singing was a driving force for the free labor that built a young nation and put it at the forefront of empires. Historically, Black Americans have been amongst the primary influencers of music culture. The genres that were born of Black misery, triumph, endurance, protest, and expression have changed the way the entire world sounds. But it's undeniable that many of these songs were and still are shaped by the fatigue of the constant protest that comes with Black existence.
As the son of a Black Southern Pentecostal minister, I've had the privilege of sitting among the serene sounds of praise that birthed a nation of noir notes. Just about every genre that has risen to popularity is from the offspring of the Black church. If you listen closely enough, you can hear Black American beginnings on this continent in our cultural songs: one part culture, one part community, one part family, one part fear of fire and brimstone. The tears that beg to line my face when I hear Mary Pickney's "Down on Me", Janie Hunters' "Jonah", or Mahalia Jackson's "How I Got Over" retrace Fredrick Douglass' words:
"I have sometimes thought that the mere hearing of those songs would do more to impress some minds with the horrible character of slavery, than the reading of whole volumes of philosophy on the subject could do….The mere recurrence to those songs, even now, afflicts me; and while I am writing these lines, an expression of feeling has already found its way down my cheek. To those songs I trace my first glimmering conception of the dehumanizing character of slavery."
It's important to note that the act of this singing was more than entertainment for plantation overseers or solely expressions of sadness. In its purest form, the slave's singing was an act of protest. Its beauty and expression transcends the pervasive hell that was the environment that allowed them to be enslaved.
Black existence is an act of rebellion in and of itself, most especially in art. Black people have sung songs amid the persistent onslaught of struggle in the United States, though not exclusively. Enslaved Africans pioneered music like Cumbia, tango, and rumba across the Americas and integrated self-defense and music in Brazil with capoeira. Here in North America, all of the elements of our African diasporic kin's musical instincts are present in our musical traditions, too.
Since the days of chattel slavery, we've heard as our songs have taken different shapes, changed. Jazz's earliest beginnings in the Congo Square of New Orleans were moments of sanctification, through the allowance of Whites for them to congregate there, to evoke their traditions and make music. Jazz has been consistent in this way over decades. Artists like Nina Simone and Charles Mingus made outspokenness a part of their reputation over the years with songs like "Mississippi Goddam" and "Fables of Faubus". Miles Davis became the embodiment of Black protest to many through his unwillingness to bend to White standards, insistence that Black women grace his album covers, and even making a tribute to "Black Jack Johnson". Other imaginative artists like Sun Ra created other, better worlds for Black people through their music. Some artists like Max Roach and Abbey Lincoln infused what they could into Black protests through their art. In the song "Triptych: Prayer/Protest/Peace", from the classic Black resistance jazz album We Insist, you can hear the waves of emotion Lincoln pours into her vocals. At one point in the song, she arguably sets a shrieking standard for punk rock before the genre officially existed, but not before evoking the symbolic moans of gospel and the blues. The revolutionary nature of Black music always comes back to that starting point.
The blues are Black survival music. While many songs deal with the everyday issues, others from blues' earliest beginnings up to contemporary times are blatantly political. Three songs about my infamous home state of Alabama come to mind: J.B. Lenoir's "Alabama", Lead Belly's "Scottsboro Boys", and John Lee Hooker's "Birmingham Blues". You can find countless songs about Alabama because it was one of the starting points of the "great migration" Blacks made when they left the South fleeing oppressive violence. Furthermore, it was once the cradle of the civil rights movement and Black activism itself.
Much of the music that defines what most know as Black protest songs are civil rights era protest music. Songs like "We Shall Overcome", "A Change Is Going to Come", "We Shall Not Be Moved", and "Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Round" set the stage for what many millennials like myself would come to know as the movement songs. Documentaries like Eyes on the Prize were filled with these songs as soundtrack to the brutality of White supremacist violence against Black people.
I must admit that seeing these images of Black people singing while being beaten ruthlessly felt self-defeating and depressing as a child. The eternal words of Malcolm X, "stop singing and start swinging," come to mind. Though there should not be any diminishing of the importance of any particular type of protest music, the current Black generation has moved toward a more confrontational approach.
The Black children who grew up around "What's Goin On", "Say It Loud – I'm Black and I'm Proud", "Little Ghetto Boy", and "(Don't Worry) If There Is a Hell Below, We Are All Going to Go" would go on to create hip-hop, rap, and contemporary R&B music. Black music has always been gradually becoming more and more blunt. But through the decade leading up to Reaganomics, the the bold lyrics of acts like Sly and the Family Stone ("Don't Call Me Nigger, Whitey"), the Last Poets ("Wake Up, Niggers"), Camille Yarbrough ("Little Sally the Super Sex Star (Taking Care of Business)"), and Gil-Scott Heron ("The Revolution Will Not Be Televised") influenced the generation that would influence us.
I was a toddler during the L.A. riots and I grew up through the '90s. A lot of my younger peers barely even remember 9/11. They were coming of age during a time a time when Nas said that hip-hop is dead and sparked a debate about consciousness within the culture. Therefore it's not surprising to see what's happening musically at Black protests around the country.
This generation of Black protesters singing Lil Boosie's "Fuck the Police" and Archie Eversole's "We Ready" in Ferguson is a reflection of what we're accustomed to. This is the inherited defiance of Black power infused with a lack of concern about respectability politics. Some people among us have come to realize that those who hate our Blackness do not care if our pants are sagging or if we're wearing a suit like Dr. King—we can be killed either way. Despite this revelation for some, it still doesn't sit well with some older Black folks. Barbara Reynolds recently lamented hearing Kendrick Lamar's "Alright" among young Black activists in the Washington Post, writing:
"I listened to the song, expecting it would be as uplifting as 'We Shall Overcome.' I was terribly disappointed. The beat was too harsh; the lyrics were nasty and misogynistic.
'Let me tell you about my life / Painkillers only put me in the twilight / Where pretty pussy and Benjamin is the highlight.'
Instead of imparting understanding, the song was a staunch reminder of the generation gap that afflicts civil rights activism, and the struggle it is going to take to overcome it."
Some things will never be understood or sit well with those who came before us, just like saying 'Black and proud' didn't sit well with my Grandmother. She despised the term 'Black.' But the condescending tone with which some elders dismiss the sounds of Black protest today would have you think we invented profanity, misogyny, and nastiness, all of which are present in the aforementioned genres and many artists I've named. Ironically, the song she laments (and the entire album it's on) is filled with jazz, soul, and spoken word.
Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly, D'Angelo's Black Messiah, and Janelle Monáe's "Hell You Talmbout" are just a few recent musical examples of a rejuvenated young Black movement. These albums and other songs younger Black folks identify with feed protest and rebellion. When I stood watching Monáe perform "Hell You Talmbout" in Chicago, I thought again about how she was taking it back to the starting point, the essence of Black protest music. I could hear the civil rights era, I could hear the blues, and I could hear gospel.
Despite anyone's feelings about our music, White supremacy is the problem and not how we choose to sing about life as we deal with it daily. This generation is going to sing, rap, and play just like every generation that came before it. I'm proud to see a resurgence of many of the elements of our beautiful Black culture always moving toward a Black future. We always change it up while others lag behind, still trying to imitate what we were doing yesterday.
From Africa, all throughout the diaspora, and to this very day we're still making music. Despite everything that's happened we still sound transcendental. I have learned to take pride in knowing my ancestors would be happy we've survived and we're still pushing, unsubdued. That always sounds good.