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If you've read much of my work, you might have noticed I like to have a little fun with what I call "dates from hell." We've all had them, right? And if you answered no to that question, let me congratulate you. It takes a very special person to get through life without at least one date from hell on his or her resume.
The excerpt below is from my latest, Blink, and it showcases the date from hell one of my characters, Andy, has before re-connecting with Carlos, the man he's never forgotten. Are you nervy enough to share one of your own dates from hell in the comments below? I'd love to hear about yours!
I have just taken a sip of the expertly-made cocktail, reveling in its briny chill, when I feel someone tap me on the shoulder.
I turn around to face Chet. I smile and think that the picture he used on the site had to be at least a few years old. It's okay, I think, we all want to put our best foot forward. The guy before me still has the beard and the baseball cap I saw in his profile pic, but the beard that was flecked with gray on OkCupid is now fully silver. He also didn't wear glasses in his profile picture, but now a pair of wire-rimmed oval frames shield his muddy-brown irises.
Which is not to say he looks bad. He doesn't. Just older. He's still cute, with a kind of high-school wrestling coach vibe about him, augmented by his outfit—an Abercrombie and Fitch jersey, cargo shorts, and workman's boots. I try to hold in any judgment I know I would make if I were sitting here with Jules observing him, about a man trying a bit too hard to look manly and young. We would laugh into our drinks and for sure Jules would say something like, "Mutton dressed as lamb."
I slide off the stool, smiling, to shake his hand.
He grabs my hand and uses it to pull me into a bear hug, planting a too-wet kiss on my neck, which startles me. I move back and hop up on my stool, give a little laugh. I want to admonish him for being fresh, as my mom would say, but instead I ask him what he'd like to drink. "I'll get the first round," I say, holding up my glass. "Since I've already started."
He orders a Bud Lite and sits down beside me. Immediately, one of his hands goes to my leg, just above my knee, and rests there. He looks me up and down, and then does it again. His grin, a little lewd, never wavers. I wonder if a wolf whistle is in store. I begin to have my doubts about Chet but again, remind myself to withhold judgment. He just got here, after all. Give the guy a freakin' chance!
"Man, am I glad I sent you that message. It's so nice when they look better than their pics." He leans back on his stool to check me out again and I have to admit, he's making me more uncomfortable than flattered. Much as I admired my reflection in my condo building's front door before heading over here, I am not all that. I'm relieved when the bartender, a blond in a black V-neck T-shirt who could be Alexander Skarsgard's twin, sets Chet's beer before him.
"You want a glass with that?" the bartender points to the sweating brown bottle.
Chet winks at the kid and asks, "Do I have any other options?" I groan inside.
The poor bartender just looks confused. Then he smiles. "I don't know. I think we've got an aluminum bowl in the back if you'd be interested."
Chet shakes his head and reaches into his wallet and throws a ten on the bar, in spite of my having said I'd treat. "Keep the change, stud."
The bartender grabs the cash from the bar and gives me a look. In the look, we're both saying something along the lines of "Do you believe this character?" He hurries away, presumably to wait on less flirtatious and younger men. Or maybe to find out what the Jeopardy! response is to the answer displayed on one of the monitors: Arizona's motto, ditat deus, means he "enriches."
God, I think, the answer is God. A fella I fear whose help I'm going to need to call upon before this night is over.
I turn to the guy I agreed to meet, based only on about a dozen or so lines of type and a decade-old (at least) photograph and try to make the best of things. "So Chet, do you come here a lot?"
He shakes his head and crinkles up his nose, as though he'd smelled something bad. "Nah. I just picked this place because it's kind of neutral, you know?"
I shake my head.
"Pretty boys. Bright lights. Nothing too extreme."
I think I see. "Good for meeting for the first time, huh?"
He leans in closer to me and slides his hand up farther on my leg toward my crotch. "Right." He leans even closer and growls in my ear. "If I like the guy, we can always go someplace else."
Like your place? I wonder, but don't say. I lean back and away from him. He smells like cigarette smoke, Old Spice, and booze. I laugh and am embarrassed when it comes out a little high-pitched. I try to get him back on course. "So, where do you like to hang out?"
"So to speak?" He raises his eyebrows and laughs as though I said something filthy and then I realize he's making my reference to 'hanging out' into something lascivious.
Why didn't I call Jules and set something up? You know, the old saw where she would call a half hour after I meet my date and, if it wasn't going well, I could say there was an emergency at home and I had to go?
"Yeah. Do you go to any other clubs?"
"Me, I like the leather bars." He stares at me and I wonder if he's expecting me to rush in with something like, "Oh me, too! I left my harness and chaps at home."
"Yeah," he says. "There's no pretense there."
Really? Men standing around in biker gear trying to look butch? Okay….
"What I mean is," Chet continues, "They don't have game shows on the TVs, for Christ's sake. Or run show tune videos like that joint down the street. They're just about what we're all here for."
Although I know what he means by 'what we're all here for' I ask Chet anyway, "What's that?"
"Come on, Andy!" He rubs a hand over my chest and tweaks a nipple. I pull back. I can't keep the scowl off my face. Undeterred, he leans forward once more to whisper throatily, "Fuckin' and suckin'."
I grab his hand, still on my chest, and return it to him, placing it carefully on his leg and nowhere near his crotch.
"I mean, why do gay men come out to the bars? To meet fuck buddies, right? We might as well be honest about it. I know I am. I like the leather bars because even if I don't meet a guy to bring home, I can always wander into the backroom and get a little somethin'-somethin'." He laughs. "You know what I mean?"
I've had enough. I think I know this is going to go nowhere. Same old story. I feel a little sad. "No, I really don't Chet. When I go out, and it's not that often anymore, it's to meet up with friends, laugh, talk, have a few drinks."
"And then go off to your bedroom and do the nasty."
I sigh. I'm impatient now. "Well, I'd be lying if I said that never happened, but it's usually more of a thing about circumstances turning a certain way, rather than something planned."
"I was kind of planning on you and me getting together tonight." He jerks his head toward the door behind him. "I live just around the corner. On Cornelia?" He says, in a softer voice, "Got the sling all set up."
I laugh. "We have an optimist here!"
"What? You agreed to meet up with me."
"And that means I agreed to have sex with you?"
"Well, yeah. That's what guys go online looking for, right? I mean, what else is there?"
I wanted to answer—romance, companionship, friendship, maybe, just maybe, finding true love. But I have a feeling that our Chet here is too far-gone for any of those responses to resonate. Concepts like love and friendship would be lost on him. I don't think his thought processes go any higher than above the belly button. It's kind of sad, really. Like his clothes, I suspect Chet is stuck in a kind of faux masculine adolescence. At the end of the night, when he's alone and covered with sticky lube and his latest conquest is but a memory, does he ever hunger for more?
"For some, I guess, not much." Finally, I allow myself to touch him, putting a hand on his shoulder. As much as I am a big old introvert and hate confrontation of even the mildest sort, it's not that hard to be honest, because I know at the end of what I have to say, I'll be free. "Listen, Chet, I think you and I are after different things." I gulp down what remains in my glass and set it back on the bar. "I'm gonna take off. Thanks for coming out to meet me."
He sneers. "What are you after? True love?"
I get down from the bar stool and stand, facing him. "Yup," I say and turn to walk out the door.
"Good luck with that!" he calls out behind me. "You're gonna need it." He pauses. "At your age."
He laughs and my consolation is that no one laughs with him. I slip outside into the exhaust-choked air, feeling like I can breathe again.
Life can change in the blink of an eye. That's a truth Andy Slater learns as a young man in 1982, taking the Chicago 'L' to work every morning. Andy's life is laid out before him: a good job, marriage to his female college sweetheart, and the white picket fence existence he believes in. But when he sees Carlos Castillo for the first time, Carlos's dark eyes and Latin appeal mesmerize him. Fate continues to throw them together until the two finally agree to meet up. At Andy's apartment, the pent-up passion of both young men is ignited, but is snuffed out by an inopportune and poorly-timed phone call.
Flash forward to present day. Andy is alone, having married, divorced, and become the father of a gay son. He's comfortable but alone and has never forgotten the powerful pull of Carlos's gaze on the 'L' train. He vows to find him once more, hoping for a second chance. If life can change in the blink of an eye, what will the passage of thirty years do? To find out, Andy begins a search that might lead to heartache and disappointment or a love that will last forever….


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'All Is Lost' Takes the Words Out of Robert Redford's Mouth
When director J.C. Chandor first started thinking about writing a script about an older man on a boat, he dismissed the idea as ridiculous. "Nobody cares about stupid boats," he remembers thinking.
But he couldn't get the image, and the symbolism, of the guy and the boat out of his head. So, in 2011, before his debut film "Margin Call" came out to rave reviews, Mr. Chandor started writing a screenplay about this man and his boat. The resulting film, "All Is Lost," stars Robert Redford as a character referred to in the script only as "Our Man." He's a handsome, athletic guy in his mid-70s who finds himself stranded in the middle of the Indian Ocean, 1700 nautical miles from the Sumatra Straits, after an ill-fated collision between his 39-foot yacht and a floating shipping container. Over the course of the nearly wordless 107-minute film, let's just say the situation goes from bad to worse.

subset: commoncrawl


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Whether you're looking for advice about buying a second-hand car or simply want to drool over sumptuous versions of coffee-table books, you'll find an app that does the job. There are also several very useful iPad apps that help resolve motoring problems. Add these to the toolbox.
1 The Official Ferrari Opus HD (£3.49)
This app gives the faithful the full story of Italy's greatest car maker in typically passionate style. More than 1,000 photos join video clips and text to celebrate and explain the firm's success.
2 F1 2011 Timing App (£19.99)
One for Formula 1 obsessives, this app gives users access to the same live track position data that the teams and commentators use during the race. The action is displayed on computer-generated representations of the circuits, which allow you to follow your favourite driver or keep an eye on a particular corner. There are plenty of statistics too, of course.
3 iClarkson (£4.99)
The motoring motormouth's own app includes a range of content to entertain Top Gear fans. There are dozens of car reviews including comprehensive statistics, a virtual version of Jeremy's drum kit and copies of his newspaper columns. It's an interesting attempt by Penguin, his publisher, to manoeuvre the Clarkson brand on to the iPad.
4 PetrolPrices Pro (£2.99)
With petrol prices breaking records, this app could save you a lot of money over time. It grants access to a premium database of petrol station locations and prices. There is data on more than 11,000 sites, and you can search according to your current location if you're running low in an unfamiliar area.
5 Parker's Car Price Checker (£5.99)
The motor trade Bible is now available for iPad, and is a must-download if you're in the market for a second-hand car. Simply enter the car's registration to get a reliable, up-to-date valuation that can be adjusted for mileage. If you're selling your car it will give you guide prices for a part exchange or private sale.
Parking Aid (59p) Quick way to mark your car's location using GPS, and which will guide you back later.
Dynolicious (£7.49) Measure your 0–60 acceleration and horsepower so you can check tweaks.
DashCommand (£29.99) Turn your iPad into a realtime performance monitoring display with this app. Streetcar (free app, requires membership) All you need to use the pay-as-you-go car hire service.
Cams Ahoy! Europe (59p) Directory of fixed speed cameras that uses your iPad's GPS for alerts.
Viper SmartStart (free) Remotely lock and unlock, start the engine and alert you if the alarm goes off.
JamCam (£1.19) Live access to the Highways Agency's traffic camera network so you can check out flow.


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Sam Bailey has slammed the X Factor for favouring sob stories over talent, according to a newspaper report.
The X Factor favourite is also quoted as suggesting that she has missed out on six years of fame by not mentioning how ill her father was when she auditioned for the ITV series back in 2007.
Sam, 36, stormed into tonight's final after powerful renditions of Edge of Glory by Lady Gaga and a duet of And I Am Telling You with Nicole Scherzinger on Saturday night's show.
But according to the Daily Star Sunday it took her six years to summon up the courage to have another crack at the talent show after becoming disillusioned when producers told her she was not good enough the first time around.
"I didn't have a lot of belief in the show many moons ago because, for me, the people I thought were relatively good never made it," Sam is reported to have said.
"I auditioned in 2007 when my dad had about a month to live.
"I didn't mention it because I didn't want it to be about my dad dying.
"I sang in a little room for about 30 seconds and got told to go home and come back next year. "I never did it again because I had lost all belief in the programme."
She is reported to have added: "I know so many people singing in pubs and clubs now who can p*** over half the people who have been on this show – it really gets my back up."
Former prison warden Sam is reported to have said of her initial crack at the hit series: "I bet if I had mentioned back then that my dad was poorly I probably would have got through – I would have been in the final.
"I probably would have won it. That's how I perceived it to be.
"This year they've taken the prison officer thing as my story.
"To be honest I wasn't going to ever go back but I did this for me and I did it for my family, because my kids were enjoying watching it so much."
Sam, from Leicestershire, faces Nicholas McDonald in the 2013 X Factor final tonight .
Mentor Sharon Osbourne is said to be furious that Sam's debut album, should she win, will be made up of cover versions .


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Having gone east, now west, to Westfield Stratford's eviler twin, Westfield London in White City/Shepherd's Bush. We'll skip over Manet exhibition as irrelevant (absinthe?), and the walk via the Haunch of Venison to Bond Street underground and the Central line. Indeed we'll skip over the greasy spoon breakfast I'd been aching for for a couple of weeks.
The main thing is a long walk in dusk through to Goldhawk Road – which enduring Googlemap and iMap fail as I could quite orientate the map with the territory and went three quarters of the way around a major roundabout. I'd planned to walk to Notting Hill and Chiswick, clearly not smart to do from Shepherd's Bush, so settled for an off-license that sold Mocada (Notting Hil) and the long walk to Chiswick. I have a vague memory that I would be paying homage to The Falls. So be it.
The Duchess of Cambridge appears to be always on the point of becoming a brewpub – the opposite of always already – and have still not reached it, but have a number of handpumps and a CAMRA discount. Whilst Sambrook's is local, and Marlow Rebellion is tasty, I ended up with a Shardlow England, marking some sporting event. Okay, but not great. Quite a large pub, I suspect several rooms knocked through.
Darkness settled as I left Goldhawk Road for Stambrook Road, and the left turn at Turnham Green, that revealed, as I feared, that the District Line was out of action, but at least gave me the opportunity to check out an Oxfam Bookshop. The offle, an Oddbins, had a range of Moncada, so I settled for a Notting Hill Golden Blonde. I need to return here in daylight, to check out the Hogarth and his Dog statue, and perhaps another look at the Lamb, hidden away down Barlew Mow Passage. This is an L-shaped bar, part devoted to food, and the brewery at the end closest to Chiswick High Street. A row of empty pumps didn't inspire confidence, nor did two or three Shepherd Neame brews, but there was a Lamb Dark Ale. I wasn't impressed, I have to say.
I worked out that I was two hours' walk from Victoria, and whilst I could walk back to Shepherd's Bush, it made more sense to walk to West Kensington for the District Line. I had an increasingly insistent bladder, but the toilets were closed in the shopping centre I found. It was a relief, as it were to find Hammersmith was open for the Picadilly Line, and I got back to Victoria, missing a train by a minute.
Time, then, for the Cask Pub and Kitchen, a pint of Redemption Urban Dusk – dark, smoky – and Redwillow Faithless XVII – a beetroot stout, of all things. Still, I'm no stout fan. Plenty of time for a stroll back to the station, and a bottle on the train. Next up either north or south – Highgate or Herne Hill… Although Haggerston is tempting.


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How Important Is the European Economic and Monetary Union in the Foreign Trade with the EU-27 Countries? Empirical Evidence from Spain
Martinez-Campillo, Almudena, Sierra-Fernandez, Ma. del Pilar, European Research Studies
1. Introduction
The internationalisation process experienced by the Spanish economy during the last years represents one of the main structural changes that have enabled a very brief transition from a slow-growth model, with a very high level of protection and intervention, to a fast-growth model, open to international competition. Such internationalisation process has evolved in clear parallelism with the growing integration in the European Community, being trade activity its main growth factor for the whole of productive sectors.
A number of relevant events have occurred in the consolidation of the integration process from Spain's entry in the European Communities. The first one would be agreed and ratified between 1992 and 1993 with the entry into force of the Maastricht Treaty, by virtue of which not only the European Union (EU) is officially created, but also the free circulation of persons, services, goods and capitals is definitely fostered among the 12 states that formed part of the EU at the time (Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, France, Greece, Holland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal and United Kingdom). Therefore, this Treaty represents a crucial step in the economic integration process by creating a large internal market free from barriers, to which three new members are incorporated later (Austria, Finland and Sweden), in January 1995, forming together the so-called EU-15.
The second pillar in the integration process took place on January 1st 1999, with the creation of the European Monetary Union (EMU). That involved the institutionalisation of a central authority responsible for defining and implementing a common monetary and exchange policy, as well as managing the new community currency; the Euro, although the unification did not become effective until 2002, when the Euro started to circulate as single legal currency in 12 of the 15 EU member countries (3). At present, four other countries are sharing the common currency, what forms a Monetary Union with 16 European countries (4). With the definitive implementation of the Euro, the commercial relations among partners have been consolidated, apart from eliminating the transaction costs linked to the exchange rate fluctuations.
Until 2004, the strengthening of the European Community focused on the consolidation of the economic and monetary integration process among the 15 Western European member countries. But another essential event happens that year with the incorporation of new members to the EU. On May 1st 2004, 10 new countries enter the EU (Czech Republic, Cyprus, Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta and Poland, the EU-10), which have different economic, politic and social roots, as well as a very heterogeneous profile compared to the traditional EU-15, forming together the EU-25. The enlargement process continues with the incorporation of Bulgaria and Rumania (EU-2) on January 1st 2007, framing the current EU of 27 member states (EU-27).
The chronology of these events linked to the European integration process offer an important potential as a driving force of the Community's bilateral trade. That explains the beginning of the period of study in 1993, with the Maastricht Treaty entry into force, and its end in 2007, the last year with public available data and when the joint effects of the above-mentioned events are already evidenced in commercial relations among member states (5). In this context, our work aims to contribute to the literature by filling a gap in the study of the international trade of Spain during that period: the empirical modelling of the exports from the big Spanish region of Castilla y Leon to the rest of the EU-27 countries.
The three specific objectives of this paper are as follows: First, to analyze the factors that have influenced the volume of exports from this region to the rest of the Community countries during the last years. Second, to find out if the economic and monetary events linked to the European unification process have affected that export flow. …


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India took on hosts Spain in the last match of Tri-Nations Hockey Tournament at Santander, after both of them lost their respective matches against Great Britain. Great Britain defeated India (3-1) and Spain (2-1) to finish first, while Spain defeated India (2-1) in the last match of the tournament to finish Second. India lost their both the matches and finished Third.
India played better hockey in first half, looked inspired by their last match before the London Games. After a scoreless first half, the match became more tensed, which saw 6 temporary suspensions (2 green and 2 yellow cards for hosts, while one of each for India).
Spain controlled the game from the starting of second half, kept possession, reached to Indian goal. David Alegre (43rd Minute) and Miquel Delás (61st Minute) scored on penalty corners to earn a lead of 2-0 for the hosts. However, India pulled one back through VR Raghunath in a Penalty Corner in 64th Minute of the game to 2-1, and ran out of time in search of equalizer.
Results of the Tri-Nations Hockey Tournament at Santander, Spain: Continue reading →


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[block]30[/block]A Mission for Michael Review
A Mission for Michael (AMFM) is a substance abuse treatment facility that offers residential programs for adult male clients who require dual diagnosis support. With homes in Dana Point, California and the surrounding areas, AMFM uses the sober living and Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) style of treatment. Clients reside in off-site housing while attending outpatient treatment at the clinical facility in San Clemente.
A Mission for Michael was created by Tripp Smith, who lost his son Michael in 2007. Michael struggled with substance abuse and co-occurring disorders and took his own life. Inspired by a desire to help other young men, Smith joined forces with two of his friends, Richard Granese, MD, who was the Chief of Psychiatry at a local hospital and Drew Fisher, a CADC. They started A Mission for Michael to help men find sobriety, mental stability and rebuild their lives.
Accommodations and Food
There are three sober living facilities where the clients reside during their time in the program. The homes, known as The South House, Central House and North House, offer beach views and spacious quarters that give each client a sense of home. Each home fits about six clients in the two to three shared bedrooms. There are master bedrooms in each home with a private bathroom, and shared full bathrooms throughout. These facilities are large, two story, elegantly decorated houses with living rooms that are complete with leather couches and chairs, and entertainment centers. The kitchens have state of the art appliances and dining rooms with long, dark wood tables. Game rooms with books and magazines, breakfast nooks and balcony space round out these luxury accommodations.
Additionally the clients are provided with nutrition and cooking classes by the on-site chef that prepares three meals daily.
Treatment and Staff
Every client receives an individualized plan after the initial bio-psycho-social assessment. There are also weekly sessions with a staff psychiatrist in order to properly monitor progress and provide medication management. The programs offered at this facility last between 45 and 90 days, and consist of a structured PHP to Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) treatment schedule.
The first phase of treatment is the PHP, which entails six hours of group and individual therapy Mondays through Fridays at the main office. This usually lasts a little over a month and if the client progresses, the following phase is the IOP that meets three times a week for about three to four hours at a time. All the men are required to and participate in group and individual therapy and recreational activities. There are up to eight group sessions per week that cover relapse prevention, anger management and coping skills, and weekly family session that incudes counseling and classes.
Therapy approaches include CBT, DBT and Motivational Interviewing (MI), in addition to holistic and mindfulness techniques. The clients also participate in daily 12-step meetings on and off campus, and work to establish a support community and sponsor. In addition to the therapy modalities there's is also a focus on the relaxation and meditation, and holistic options like art and music therapy.
There is an extensive staff at AMFM that offer many years of experience in the behavioral health and addiction fields. This includes medical staff, Master's-level therapists that are LADCs, LPCs, a nutritionist, yoga teachers and meditation instructors, and even a therapy dog named Bailey.
Recreation and exercise are key components of these programs and the clients often partake in beach days or attend sporting events. There are private on-site yoga classes, and membership to a local men's only gym.
There is an aftercare program through AMFM that includes ongoing group and individual therapy sessions, as needed.
In Summary
A Mission For Michael offers a home-like environment near the beach where men who are striving to obtain a new focus can get their thoughts together and start to work on sobriety. The program is run by medical professionals is a distraction-free atmosphere, with a special emphasis on co-occurring disorders. This is a great choice for men in Orange County struggling with addiction and mental health issues.
A Mission For Michael Location
647 Camino de los Mares, Ste 201
San Clemente, CA 92673
A Mission For Michael Cost
$31,000 (45 days). Reach A Mission For Michael by phone at (949) 489-0950. Find A Mission For Michael on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn
Do you have a complaint or review of A Mission For Michael to add? Use the comments area below to add you're a Mission For Michael review.


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Vessel Built for Wheelchair-Bound Sailors Sinks Off Massachusetts
An 88-foot sailing ship designed for wheelchair-bound sailors sank Wednesday morning off the coast of Massachusetts, a day after two men were rescued in a dramatic scene straight out of Hollywood, a U.S. Coast Guard rescue swimmer told FoxNews.com.
The vessel, Raw Faith, sank 166 miles southeast of Nantucket, Petty Officer Connie Terrell told FoxNews.com. She said the water there is 6,000-feet deep and the ship is not considered to be a hazard.
Coast Guard officials received an emergency position-locating beacon signal from the vessel on Monday after the Raw Faith departed Salem, Mass., en route to Bermuda. A Coast Guard helicopter crew rescued two men from the ship on Tuesday afternoon and brought them back to Air Station Cape Cod in Bourne, Mass., officials said.
Two Coast Guard cutters were diverted to assist the vessel, which encountered waves up to 15 feet and winds of up to 30 knots. After weather conditions prevented the Coast Guard from delivering additional safety gear, both members of the crew abandoned the vessel and were later hoisted aboard an MH-60 helicopter.
Randall Rice, a 17-year Coast Guard veteran, said waves up to 25 feet and wind gusts reaching 50 mph contributed to precarious and potentially life-threatening conditions as he saved the ship's captain, George McKay, and another man who was not immediately identified.
"She was getting hit by some pretty hard waves, like 25-footers," Rice said. "I just went, 'Wow.' I was pretty impressed by it. If you've ever seen the 'Pirates of the Caribbean,' that's exactly what it looked like. It was a really rough ride."
Rice said the ship had taken on about two feet of water by the time the Coast Guard arrived. Following the rescue, Rice said he immediately saw the "uncertainty" in McKay's face.
"It's like he lost his house, it's pretty much the same thing," Rice said. "Emotionally, as we were flying back, I could definitely see it in his face. It's just uncertainty."
According to the ship's website, Raw Faith, which was launched in 2003, was designed and built by McKay to be wheelchair accessible.
"Her broad flat decks and wide open interior make it easy for a full participation sailing adventure," the website reads. "Through free sailing adventures, the Captain hopes to bring the rustic and romantic life at sea within the reach of those in wheelchairs."
The inspiration behind the ship's design comes from McKay's oldest child, Elizabeth, who has spent most of her life in a wheelchair due to Marfan syndrome, a genetic disorder.
"After experiencing mountains of bills, restrictions on field trips and family outings, and intra-family stress, the McKays decided to build a sailing vessel that was wheelchair accessible," the website reads. "Thus Raw Faith's mission today is to offer free sailing adventures in order to provide a fun and safe environment for the wheelchair bound and their families to learn how to sail, meet others with similar life situations, and have a fantastic adventure."
Attempts to reach McKay were unsuccessful.


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Events for June 24, 2019
Events Search and Views Navigation
- No events scheduled for June 24, 2019. Please try another day.
All public programs and tours are cancelled. Our office will remain open to staff and scheduled visitors. We will be monitoring developments of this situation closely and taking precautions wherever possible.


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Track Premiere: Throneless – 'Born in Vain'
December 7, 2017
Swedish doom outfit Throneless operate in the realm of crushing doom/sludge with a hint of psychedelia. Their new album Cycles is a lesson in low-and-slow riffing, flattening rhythm section and distant-but-clear vocals, as you can hear on their new song, "Born in Vain."
Clocking in at nearly ten minutes, "Born in Vain" encompasses everything you could want in a doom song, before fading out into feedback.
Cycles will be out via Black Bow on March 23.
The post Track Premiere: Throneless – 'Born in Vain' appeared first on Decibel Magazine.
Source: News3


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Yes, you're looking at the Official Bird of Madison, Wisconsin! Not the real, live pink flamingo, but indeed the plastic ones. And why not? Plastic pink flamingos have dotted our landscape nationwide ever since they were created in the late 1950's. Bold, very pink and oh so tacky as to be really cool, these ornaments can really make a difference in your landscape design.
Originally embraced by thousands of working class families as a way to dress up their front yard, today there are even upscale models that can make a statement almost anywhere. These two below are particular favorites for back yard décor:
How about something like this for a more Hawaiian twist?
Real flamingos can flock in groups of hundreds, even thousands of birds. These flocks are actually called a flamboyance. Fitting name I think. You can get that flamboyance effect in your yard as well. Plastic pink flamingos are sold in packs of 50 for those special occasions where you really want to attract attention.
They're great for fundraisers, parties, and well social events anywhere you want guests to know that they have arrived! Of course, we know that the flamingos have arrived as they have their own fan club. It's called the "International Society for the Preservation of Pink Lawn Flamingos". Truth can be stranger than fiction… For the even more upscale customer who has a sizeable pool, lake or ocean to swim in, I give you the Pink Flamingo Pool Float.
When only the best will do.


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Thanks to eOne, we have 3 x prize packs consisting of an INSURGENT DVD and T-Shirt to give away INSURGENT is available on Digital, DVD, & Blu-Ray from August 12th
Official synopsis:
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text:
Listen to his story about meeting President Obama.
« December 2014 | Main | February 2015 »
Listen to his story about meeting President Obama.
Posted at 04:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
It seemed like an innocent enough suggestion by a government speechwriter, on Twitter: Why doesn't the Professional Speechwriters Association collect and publish research on the effect speeches can have on an audience?
Then why did blood rush hot into my face?
Because this is exactly the kind of expectation of the head of an association that turns heads of associations gray, and shrinks them until their blazer sleeves go down to their knuckles.
As head of the PSA, I suppose I am bound to nod solemnly, and assure this speechwriter—he is a dues-paying member after all, whose interests and needs I am sworn to serve, whose opinions I'm obligated to consider—that his suggestion is a good one and that we will be looking into publishing more studies quantifying the effects of speeches very soon.
So I tweeted back, "In short, because most such research is b.s., and speechwriters know it."
And my face cooled down, right away!
I also asked the speechwriter to cite a Huffington Post article he had cited that purportedly proved that the recent State of the Union Address boosted President Obama's favorability rating 15 percent. As expected, the study proved no such thing. It showed that people liked this SOTU better than last year's, and it increased SOTU watchers' confidence in the president's policies by 15 percent (less than last year, actually).
Oh, and "the opinions of State of the Union watchers don't represent the view of Americans as a whole. Democrats are far more likely than Republicans to watch Obama's speeches, as Republicans were more inclined to watch during the Bush administration. Most Americans don't watch even parts of the State of the Union Address, and it has proven unlikely to affect presidential approval ratings."
So this speechwriter wants me to find more shabby, flabby, phony "research" like that, and publish it noisily and frequently on the PSA website and spray it all over the Internet so that speechwriters can join all the other soft professions—HR, PR, marketing—that stream continuous lies about how it's a proven fact that if only you appreciate members of their associations, you'll get rich and famous and everyone will love you.
I've always appreciated speechwriters for knowing, more than members of other communication disciplines I've covered, that the main measure of a successful speech is simple: The boss liked it.
"I agree with you, most of the research is BS," the speechwriter acknowledged in a followup email. "But I still have hope that there might be something out there quantifying the impact we know speeches can have or maybe just qualifying how they work best. I think it would be a very valuable contribution from the PSA for us speechwriters to have when arguing for the relevance of good speechwriting, storytelling and preparation when in competition with sales, PR or press."
The speechwriter is relatively young, and European. So it's likely he never read his H.L. Mencken, who wrote about the American "Cult of Hope," which seems to have crossed the Atlantic in the century since Mencken named it:
"Unluckily, it is difficult for a certain type of mind to grasp the concept of insolubility," Mencken said. "Thousands of poor dolts keep on trying to square the circle; other thousands keep pegging away at perpetual motion. ... These are the optimists and chronic hopers of the world ... It is the settled habit of such credulous folk to give ear to whatever is comforting; it is their settled faith that whatever is desirable will come to pass."
I am not calling a member of the Professional Speechwriters Association a "poor dolt." But I'll be damned if anyone will call me or our membership conniving enough to seek and distribute the work of said dolts, optimists and chronic hopers to further our professional interests. (Which wouldn't have any effect if we tried to do it.)
Here at the PSA—for as long or as short as I'm in charge—we're gonna keep it real. If we run across some research on the effects speeches have on audiences that offers some real insight, our members and their clients will be the first to know. Otherwise, we're going to help speechwriters get ahead the way speechwriters have always gotten ahead: finding clients who want to communicate, and having the chops to give those clients the help they need.
Meanwhile, I'm no more hopeful of tripping over the study that quantifies the beneficial effects of speeches than I am fearful that Harvard will come out definitive proof that speeches do more harm than good.
Posted at 04:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Harper's still has it. Over a double scotch last night on the night flight home from the Vital Speeches home office in Phoenix, Saul Bellow derided my curmudgeonliness (in an excerpt from an essay in 1951):
The idea that we are at the degenerate dwarf-end of history is one that [a writer] must reject as he rejects his own childishness. Writers have a conservative tendency, in the literal meaning of the word, and are hostile toward the future. The future may destroy, or ignore, their premises, their beliefs, their assumptions, all that they have received from the past.
But just as I was resolving to embrace every shiny new thing from brand journalism and Bruno Mars, Wendell Berry said I'm perfectly justified—nay, heroic!—in resisting no less a force than the Industrial Revolution itself!
My premise is that there is a scale of work at which our minds are as effective and even as harmless as they ought to be, at which we can be fully responsible for consequences and there are no catastrophic surprises. But such a possibility does not excite us.
What excites us is some sort of technological revolution: the fossil-fuel revolution, the automotive revolution, the assembly-line revolution, the antibiotic revolution, the "green revolution," the genomic revolution, and so on. But these revolutions—all with something to sell that people or their government "must" buy—are all mere episodes of the one truly revolutionary revolution perhaps in the history of the human race, the Industrial Revolution, which has proceeded from the beginning with only two purposes: to replace human workers with machines, and to market its products, regardless of their usefulness or their effects, to generate the highest possible profit—and so to concentrate wealth into ever fewer hands.
This revolution has, so far, fulfilled its purposes with remarkably few checks or thwarts. I say "so far" because its great weakness is obviously its dependence on what it calls "natural resources," which it has used ignorantly and foolishly, and which it has progressively destroyed. Its weakness, in short, is that its days are numbered.
Having squandered nature's "resources," it will finally yield to nature's correction, which in prospect grows ever harsher.
So should I embrace the future despite the fact that it may destroy my premises? Or should I continue to remind my readers and myself that my "premises, beliefs and assumptions" are timeless if homely economic and human truths that we have had enough oil to ignore for the last 200 years?
Honestly, I never liked any of Bellow's books anyway.
Posted at 09:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Writers (and other people) should remember that every honest person can be made to be fascinating on at least one subject. Usually that subject is the person's work—the area of life where they have been forced to conduct a close, daily longitudinal study.
Most people do need to be drawn out, and once drawn out they need to be steered because they often have a hard time knowing what's so compelling about their daily grind.
Why am I thinking about this right now? For a magazine article, I'm working on a story about a man who I think has one of the most fascinating jobs in America. I'm at that nervous stage in the reporting when I have too much truth to get across in too few words, and I'm afraid a I'll die trying and the article will die with me. I remind myself that I've done this before. I've writtten interesting stories about people with far grimmer jobs—but jobs that give them "time to think," as my favorite Chicago bartender puts it in this delicious Chicago magazine profile that I wish I'd written.
Most of the best stories I've done have been about people working seemingly prosaic jobs, like Ernie Casper, hairpiece maker:
There are no windows in Ernie Casper's double storefront at 6033 N. Cicero Ave., and that's probably for the best, considering the business he's in.
"When you come in to buy a hairpiece, you're scared," Casper says. "Your hands are sweating."
Casper's first goal in closing a hairpiece sale is making sure the customer never has to utter the unhappy words, "I need a hairpiece." Casper welcomes the man warmly, ushers him back to a barber's chair—free haircuts are another sales technique—and after singing and whistling his way through a haircut, he eventually gets around to saying, "I'd like to show you something."
Before the customer knows it, his bald scalp is covered in one of the many dozens of differently shaped, sized and colored hairpieces that Casper keeps in stock.
But the hairpiece the customer finds himself looking at is not the best fit Casper can find for him, nor even the second-best fit. Casper says that men always find fault with the first hairpiece they see. So if he gives a new customer the best he's got, "then there's nowhere to go."
Once the customer inevitably rejects the first rug, Casper shows him a second. Now the customer is warming up and ready to rave when he sees Casper's third and final contribution—the one he has had in mind for the customer all along. If he has done his job right, in some cases all that's left for Casper to do is make a few adjustments to the hairpiece and "cut it in"—that is, trim it and style it so it blends perfectly with the customer's hair—and teach the man how to wear and care for the piece properly.
Or Paul Frisbee, the stand-up comic who made his living trucking in a GMC Jimmy to disconsolate hotel bar gigs throughout the Midwest, and felt sorry for Jerry Seinfeld:
The Chicago-based comedian, who is one of hundreds of nameless stand-up comedians roaming various regions of the country playing big-city comedy clubs and small-town hotel bars, believes big names like Seinfeld and Ray Romano and Jeff Foxworthy and Paula Poundstone have lost something precious that they can never have back: the ability to know, for sure, whether they're still funny.
When an audience pays big bucks to see a big-name comic, they want to laugh and they feel they should laugh, he reasons, so unless the celebrity is absolutely dreadful, they do laugh. By contrast, every time a no-name road comic gets up in front of an audience, Frisbie says, "you're daring them not to like you. You have to make them like you. And the nice thing is, when you're not famous, you earn it every night. It's a wonderful rush."
Or the aging Joffrey Ballet dancer Deborah Dawn:
Dawn, who also teaches during summer layoffs at the Joffrey school in New York, often has occasion to advise young dance pupils on how they should approach a career in dance. In a word, carefully. "It's a difficult world," she tells them. "You're vulnerable to elements of judgment from inside you and outside you."
What she does not tell them is more revealing: "I don't tell them that every one of their hearts is going to be broken. I don't say only one of you will make it. I say, 'I want to feel you.'"
What Dawn also does not tell her students: A career in dance precludes many other options in life. The low wages, the layoffs, the rigorous rehearsal schedules and the intense competition makes life difficult for dancers who want to have families. ...
[Dawn] was married once, to another dancer. When he quit dancing and went to law school, he wanted kids and she wanted to dance—a disagreement that split their marriage, she says. Though she says she's looking for a relationship, she says she doesn't regret not having had children. Indeed, she expresses no regrets at all about her life in dance.
Asked about other possibilities in life she might have missed because of her devotion to dance, Dawn replies, "What other possibilities?"
Yes, I can do this. I can write about people and their work.
I can do this for the rest of my life.
It is my work.
Posted at 04:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Speechwriter Alex Marklew offered a quote from Lord Beaverbrook that I'd never heard before: "Creative writers are two a penny. Efficient hacks are very rare."
Posted at 03:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Like "amazing" and "awesome" (and not to mention "amazeballs" and "awesome sauce") ... "rant" is over-used these days. A "rant," ladies and gentleman, is not a clever social critique on Gawker with a few swear words in it. A rant requires some stomping around.
Posted at 06:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
The following post originally appeared on Writing Boots in February 2010. Five years later, the big boys are again spending many millions in conference fees, private-jet fuel and caviar the World Economic Forum for the annual clustermucketymuck. —ed.
Kurt Vonnegut wrote an essay not long before he died in which he called the world's leaders what they are: the "guessers," on whose grand public hunches rest the fate of us all. Aristotle, Ivan the Terrible and Hitler were three of the variously successful guessers from history that Vonnegut named.
But the guessing goes on, wrote Vonnegut, even after the information revolution:
Persuasive guessing has been at the core of leadership for so long—for all of human experience so far—that it is wholly unsurprising that most of the leaders of this planet, in spite of all the information that is suddenly ours, want the guessing to go on, because now it is their turn to guess and be listened to.
I thought of that essay as I read a Huffington Post piece called "Davos Confidential," written by Eric Schmidt, simultaneously a direct supervisor of the information revolution and the guesser-in-chief at Google.
He's at Davos right now.
He starts out on a somewhat defensive note:
It's easy to sneer at Davos as a place where the rich, powerful and famous come to talk to each other and arrogantly put the world to rights. But there has been little sign of arrogance at recent gatherings. Nor any settled view of how to overcome the challenges our world faces. If there is a global conspiracy underway at Davos, no one has yet let me in on the secret.
Instead Davos mirrors the uncertainty in the world in general. The real story this year was not arrogance but anxiety over how we could channel turbulent global forces in a more positive direction so that everyone gains.
Oh, no. So these days our guess is as good as the guessers'?
Back to Vonnegut, who listed some of the influential guesses we've been laboring under in recent years.
The poor have done something very wrong or they wouldn't be poor, so their children should pay the consequences.
That's correct.
The United States of America cannot be expected to look after its people.
That's correct.
The free market will do that.
That's correct.
The free market is an automatic system of justice.
That's correct.
And back to Schmidt, who concludes his essay by talking about the "principles central to Davos," which sound familiar:
Principles such as the benefits of free trade, free societies and free speech and, above all, open collaboration between business people and politicians who recognize that with freedom should come responsibility. Yes, the world has critical challenges, especially in 2010, but I believe that in these Davos values lie our solutions. It's this hope and optimism that will ensure I keep coming back as long as I am invited.
Davos values? Hope? Optimism?
You know what it sounds like?
It sounds like he's guessing.
Posted at 04:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Maybe you saw my little satire about Aaron Sorkin calling b.s. on borderline phony and downright treacly New York Times account of the writing of the State of the Union Address.
Gawker writer Alex Pareene takes it further, gleefully savaging the Times piece graph by fatuous graph—the article really is full of blarney—and then lamenting the over-glorification of the presidential speechwriter, which he says "probably all dates back to the cult of Kennedy, and JFK's partnership with Ted Sorensen. But political rhetoric has inarguably declined in literary quality since the 1960s about as much as it had already declined, by then, since the 18th and 19th centuries."
And now? Sez Pareene:
Modern political speechwriting is not a high-minded pursuit for brilliant talents. Aaron Sorkin should be shot into space for perpetuating this bullshit fantasy that still enamors hacks like Cody Keenan. Writing a 6,000-word presidential speech is a process that bears only a mechanical resemblance to writing 6,000 words meant to be read and appreciated by normal humans. Some political speechwriters may also happen to be good writers, but they would have to achieve success in a field other than political speechwriting to prove it. (Former Obama speechwriter Jon Lovett, for example, is funny on Twitter and a good political columnist. Neither of those things were evident in his work as a speechwriter.)
I am not arguing that any untrained schmo off the street could write a State of the Union address. Modern political speechwriting is certainly a skill, and one that requires experience and practice to master. It is not, however, a literary endeavor. It is marketing, and not even particularly imaginative marketing. Advertising people who call themselves "creatives" do more actual creative work than political speechwriters. Do the people who write statements of risk for pharmaceutical ads walk around swishing single malt in tumblers and comparing themselves to The Lost Generation? (Well, they probably do, but they are wrong.)
Political speechwriting is an exercise in the proper arrangement of cliches and platitudes, with a bit of "messaging" of policy ideas to appeal to as wide an audience as possible. Speeches like the one the president will deliver tonight are designed to deliver pleasant inanities (The State of the Union is Strong) and sell certain carefully audience-tested proposals as vaguely (or misleadingly) as possible. The State of the Union is less written than it is designed, structured and organized around applause prompts and camera cues.
The cheap thing to here is to point out that writing overwrought rants at Gawker probably isn't a high-minded pursuit for brilliant talents either.
More substantively: Judging speechwriters based on the literary quality of a State of the Union Address is like judging a poet based on whether her grocery list rhymes. As I wrote on HuffPo yesterday, the State of the Union Address is not a speech.
Most importantly, we must ask: In the scheme of things, precisely what harm is done by even the most egregious once-a-year over-praising of presidential speechwriters? The other 364 days a year, these folks work in a windowless basement cranking out an unthinkable number of high-profile speeches every month, every week, every day.
Why do you think David Axelrod and Obama say these asinine things to the Times about how Keenan is like Hemingway and Mike Royko? (Axelrod says Keenan "reminds me of some of the folks I grew up with in the old days in Chicago journalism — those hard-bitten, big-hearted, passionate writers who brought the stories of people to life.")
They do it to throw the writer a fucking bone, and keep him from leaving to employ his creative writing skills doing much less taxing, more lucrative work for the private sector!
And why do they want so badly to keep him on board?
Because he is incredibly valuable and hard to replace!
He knows a ridiculous amount about the boss, the protocol and the style of remarks for various occasions from the SOTU to the annual Thanksgiving turkey pardon, where to find information and stories and anecdotes, how to get things apporoved, how to avoid gaffes, and a bunch of other things I don't even know about. And in the middle of that daily (and nightly) shitstorm, they know how to turn an occasional original and memorable phrase or make a rigorous argument for changing immigration policy, raising the minimum wage, or altering our relationship with Cuba.
Speechwriters don't compare themselves to Hemingway. Their bosses do, for the same reason they give them windowless offices: to keep them off the ledge.
Really, Pareene, what's the harm?
Posted at 11:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
So where are we, after 267 hours of speechwriting, 568 pundits and several screwdrivers self-served in 55-gallon drums? An administration speechwriter asks me what I thought of the speech (he "liked it," and also thought the Republican response was the "least-bad one I can remember"). I refer him to the below. Honestly, I hate the SOTU. (As George Will does, over on Fox, calling the whole spectacle "degrading.") I like President Obama. So I liked the speech pretty well.
And unless anyone sees any reason for me not to, I'm just about ready to turn to the Australian Open tennis tournament.
Gerald, good night.
SOTU rebuttal, by area dad: "Country's a goddamn mess, and this is the explanation we get. Complete load of horseshit." (H/t to new area dad Shawn Bannon.)
Schumer says President Obama "felt strong, and good."
Gerald in Norway, are you awake? Text me if you're still awake and tell us what you thought of the speeches!
Stepford Wife action going on here.
We were about halfway through Joni Ernst's speech when the drugs began to take hold.
Red Oak!? I buy all my suits in Red Oak!
I think "middle-class economics" is the enduring concept, if there is one, from this speech. That, and "I know because I won them both."
I always time my buzz perfectly for the SOTU, but not quite right for the GOP response. So I have a hard time listening to it, and my criticisms aren't terribly substantive. In 2010 I wrote, "An empty cab drove up, and Bob McDonnell got out and gave this speech." In 2011, I compared Paul Ryan to Eddie Haskell and called him a "bedwetter." And in 2012, I presciently observed, "The water shortage was the only thing anyone will ever remember from the Rubio speech."
Well, readers, what did you think? I'm left feeling ... tired. Vodka now!
Oh no he didn't!
Referring back to 2004 Democratic National Convention speech. "Over the past six years, the pundits have pointed out ... that my presidency" hasn't fixed the division between red and blue. And people claim that not only my faults are to blame but the vision itself was naive. "I know how tempting such cynicism may be. But I think the cynics are wrong. I still believe that we are one people."
Lists evidence from his presidency.
Up to us in Washington to live up to American citizens' example. Up to us to: "Appeal to one anothers' basic decency instead of one anothers' basest fears. ..." "If we're going to have arguments, let's [make them] worthy ..." etc.
"Is he going rogue?" asks Cristie from the other room, with this "lecture"? Carter lectured the American people and got beat for it.
Obama is lecturing the legislature (and the Court, I guess) ... and will get away with it.
I'm not writing these things down because I think they're effective. I'm writing them down because if I don't, I won't listen.
Gitmo: "It's not who we are."
Values: We use drones as little as possible, we defend Muslims and free speech and fight persecution of women, GLBT and are generally awesome sauce not just because it's right but because it makes us safer.
Pentagon sez climate change is threat to national security. "We should act like it."
A Chicago correspondent texts, "Is that contraption/drink holder in front of Boehner from Area 51? Zoltan! P.S. The Blackhawks are up 3-0."
Cristie, on the proposal to reward corporations who invest in America: "He says that every fuckin' time."
Now we get into the apparently unavoidable List of Shit.
"Let's set our sights higher than a single oil pipeline ..." This is LBJ, operating the public way.
What a simple and sane and too-rare appeal: Hire a veteran because veterans are good workers.
The Washington Redskins should be renamed, the Washington Boehners.
Is he fucking staring down the Republicans for not standing up over equal pay for women? "He's on fire!" bellows Cristie from the living room.
"Middle-class economics." A new term, and about time—only 30 years after "trickle-down economics." Will it stick?
I'm fixing to go out and celebrate! And just as I get ready to make that crack, Obama jokes, "That's some good news, people!" My communicator pal Allan Jenkins remarks, "I'm not sure it's a good idea to have a smart-ass giving the State of the Union, but it sure does work."
"They were young and in love in America. And it doesn't get much better than that." Not bad, Cody Keenan.
"The shadow of crisis is past. The State of the Union is strong." The speechwriter's days were long.
I'm no fashion expert, but Michelle certainly is wearing what I'd call a zipper-forward get-up tonight.
Seriously. Where is Gergen? I would do a pay-per-view of him watching the speech in his living room. Or him watching the Washington Wizards game in his living room, during the speech.
Ballzy commentary from Blitz: "So it's almost like the president will be taking a sort-of victory lap right now."
Missive from a speechwriting pal who lives in Washington but who can still see out. He shares Dan Pfeiffer's brag that "We posted the speech ... [because] the public should see it when press and Congress get it .... Changing a SOTU traditon forever."
Asks the rhetorician rhetorically, "Does anyone really give a shit?"
Wolf Blitzer just breathed between saying "John" and "Kerry," and then he added: "This is going to be a long night, but it's going to be an exciting night."
Tom Foreman informs us that we, too, can participate during the speech in the Digital Dial Test."
(A shout-out to a jetlagged, sleepless pal who just called me from Oslo, Norway. Hello Gerald!)
I can't believe how much I miss David Gergen. I always saw him as the only adult in the studio.
Jay Carney is an avatar of Jake Tapper's penis.
Actually, Michelle looks like she's in a shit mood.
As we prepare to witness the president and the first family exiting the White House portico, it occurs to me to marvel at the impossibility of imagining (and the endless trying to imagine) what it would be like to be in that position, day in and day out for four or eight years. Is there a chance Obama is not coming out because he's checking out ESPN and still in his socks and grumping off to Michelle about the SOTU, "I'm just not feelin' it tonight."
Written during a previous SOTU: "Fox is using the terribly scientific 'bing pulse' graph to see which of Obama's lines inspired orangutans to masturbate and which made them pick their asses."
This year, CNN is using this embarrassing "technology."
Jake Tapper is an avatar of John King.
At Fox, they're all screaming at each other hysterically about who, exactly, is gonna kill all these fucking asshole terrorists. I understand where they're coming from.
Facebook indicates that I am the only dipshit I know who is watching this coverage right now.
Where is Gergen? If he wasn't going to be on, couldn't he have lent his comb-over to Smerconish?
John King is an avatar in real life.
Tom Foreman is an avatar in Second Life.
If life made any sense at all, Anderson Cooper would appear, during his SOTU coverage, with Kathy Griffin.
To avoid seeing pre-released excerpts of the pre-written Republican response to the State of the Union Speech, I'm headed back to the liquor cabinet.
When they asked me three months ahead of time whether I wanted to know whether I was having a boy or a girl, I was all, "Totes McGotes!" But I choose not to read these pre-released speech excerpts. (However, wouldn't it be cool if my wife would pre-release excerpts of our fights?)
BREAKING: Writing Boots has learned that Aaron Sorkin just read this passage in The New York Times story about how SOTU writer Cody Keenan consulted with White House speechwriting colleague Ben Rhodes when he was stuck with the speech …
Mr. Keenan had spent 15 days holed up in a hotel room in Honolulu as the president vacationed nearby, and seven more in a windowless office in the basement of the West Wing trying to turn a blank computer screen into a 6,000-word State of the Union first draft. The lonesome process had finally gotten to him.
So the burly 34-year-old former high school quarterback left his White House office and trudged in the freezing rain to the nearby apartment of one of his closest friends in the administration, Benjamin J. Rhodes.
It was after midnight, but Mr. Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser and the writer of many of the president's foreign policy speeches, was up reading "To Kill a Mockingbird" to his 4-week-old daughter. The two men poured two single-malt Scotch whiskies and, with the baby resting quietly, began triage on Mr. Keenan's prose. By 5 a.m., a more succinct draft was on its way to the president.
It was after midnight, but Mr. Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser and the writer of many of the president's foreign policy speeches, was up reading "To Kill a Mockingbird" to his 4-week-old daughter.
… and Sorkin called bullshit.
In fact, he called bullshit on three levels.
First, Sorkin said that no one has ever spent 22 days "holed up" writing any 6,000-word document, let alone a list of policy proposals for a president who has already done this five times. Figuring 12-hour days (the minimum to meet the definition of "holed up"), that means young Cody spent 264 hours writing these 6,000 words. "That's 22 words an hour," Sorkin said. "I fart 22 words an hour."
It also strained Sorkin's rubber credulity that, finally lonely after 22 days of solitary confinement, Keenan staggered out into the freezing rain after midnight. "Some schlock," said the creator of Sam Seaborn, "I will not eat."
And then young Keenan finds young Rhodes "reading To Kill a Fucking Mockingbird to his four-week-old daughter?" shouted Sorkin incredulously. "No wonder the kid was 'resting quietly.' She was probably pretending to be asleep, lest these goody two-shoes geeks start reciting 'I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.' God help me, what have I done?"
This is the Hour of Lead. While we wait for Chill—then Stupor—then the letting go ... it seems well to honor the poor speechwriter, without whose senseless slavery the State of the Union would no doubt have been abolished half a century ago. Last week, the Professional Speechwriters Association, of which I am the distinguished executive director, released its Founding Member Survey, which as far as we know amounts to the most authoritative study ever done on the speecies scribus orallus.
Only PSA members get the full scoop, but here's the executive summary: Speechwriters feel lucky, troubled, worried, lonely and hopeful.
Speechwriters, it turns out, are not very different from you and me.
Settling in for another thoughtful, professional analysis of the State of the Union Address.
(Photo credit: Scout Murray)
Despite the decline in SOTU viewership from the 67 million viewers that President Clinton drew in 1993 and 52 million that President Obama got for his first SOTU in 2009, there will still be 30 million watching tonight, according to Politico.
And I don't even know what I'm wearing yet!
Vice President Biden is seen installing a fog machine near House of Representatives Rostrum in order to jazz up SOTU. "I wanted to do this thing up right with a whole laser rig and shit," he tells The Onion, "but that would've set me back mucho dinero. But don't you worry; Uncle Joe knows a few tricks with strobes that'll get the crowd going."
Huffington Post publishes my SOTU preview, "The State of the Union Address is decadent and depraved."
If White House chief speechwriter Cody Keenan drank while he wrote this year's State of the Union Speech, why wouldn't I drink while I listen to it? Join me here tonight for as I attempt to match the incoherence and vulgarity, decadence and depravity of this annual Washington ritual. Speech starts at 9:00 eastern; tailgating will commence a couple hours before.
Posted at 05:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
No one in Chicago likes our mayor, Rahm Emanuel. An election's coming up and he'll probably get re-elected because he is slick and well-backed by corporate interests. We are afraid of crossing slick corporate-backed dudes. We have this funny feeling that if we reject them, they'll pull their slick corporate money out of our town and everything will immediately rust out and fall apart and our property values will go down and we'll spend the rest of our miserable lives staggering around in burlap smocks.
But it really is true that no one in Chicago likes Rahm. At least, I've never spoken with a single Chicagoan who said, "I like Rahm!" (And though Mayor Daley had many critics, some of them vociferous and most of them justified, you heard lots of people exclaim—sometimes in an apologetic, confessional way—"You know, I love Mayor Daley!")
Why does no one like Emanuel?
The old rhetoric professor Jerry Tarver used to talk about a colleague who was "so pompous that he could say 'good morning,' and it seemed as if he was taking credit for it."
That's not quite it with Rahm. It's not that he carries himself with too much self-love. It's that he regards the rest of us with ... well, he seems to talk to his constituents as if he's caught a pair of senseless and not very clean eight-year-old boys fighting in the dirt, and pulled us apart by our hair. Now it's time for a lecture. He's trying to be as patient as he can ...
We know the job is frustrating, Rahm, but you begged and begged and begged and begged us for it. And you bought it. And so now you own it. And you can't manage to appear grateful and happy and game, at least some of the time?
No, you're too fed up with the dumb-ass citizenry and its endless naive questions.
Well, we know how you feel, because we're parents too.
So we don't like being talked to like kids.
Posted at 05:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)


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Geotextiles Market To Surpass $125 Billion By 2020
Global geotextile market size is likely to be valued at USD 8.24 billion by 2020; as per a new research report by HexaResearch. Increasing use in soil reinforcement activity coupled with growing application scope in road & railway development is likely to drive market growth.
Favorable government regulations in countries such as China, India, Brazil and UAE supporting application development and employment creation in manufacturing industries is likely favor geotextiles market growth. Lack of manufacturing standardization coupled with fluctuation prices of raw materials such as polyester and polyethylene is anticipated to challenge trade opportunities and profitability.
Nonwoven geotextiles were the largest consumed product segment and accounted for over 65% of the total volume in 2013. Low cost and factors such as absorbency, mechanical strength and liquid repellency make nonwoven products to be widely preferred in the industrial applications. Woven products were the second largest consumed product and are likely to witness significant gains, at an estimated CAGR of 9.0% from 2014 to 2020.
Key Players:
Prominent companies involved are Royal TenCate, NAUE, Low and Bonar, GSE Holdings, Argu America, Fiberweb, Tenex and Fibertex.
Browse Details of Report @ https://www.hexaresearch.com/research-report/geotextiles-industry
Key report insights suggest:
- Global geotextiles market size was estimated 2389.2 million square meters in 2013 and may register 4323.7 million square meters by 2020 growing with an estimated CAGR of 8.9% from 2014 to 2020.
- Road construction applications dominated the market and accounted for 43.5% of the total volume in 2013 and likely to witness significant growth rates. Laying road foundation and increasing road life span by strengthening weak soil are factors likely to drive demand for this application. Drainage application is likely to witness above average growth rates with an estimated CAGR of 8.9% up to 2020.
- Asia Pacific dominated the regional market and accounted for 43.1% of the total volume in 2013. Increasing infrastructure spending which involves construction of dumps, highways & dams in China and India are likely to drive regional demand. North America is likely to witness above average growth rates of 9.0% from 2014 to 2020.
Global Geotextiles Product Overview (Volume, Million Square Meters; Revenue, USD Million, 2012 – 2020)
- Nonwoven
- Woven
- Knitted
Global Geotextiles Application Overview (Volume, Million Square Meters; Revenue, USD Million, 2012 – 2020)
- Roads
- Erosion Prevention
- Drainage
- Others
Global Geotextiles Product Overview (Volume, Million Square Meters; Revenue, USD Million, 2012 – 2020)
- North America
- Europe
- Asia Pacific
- RoW
Browse Related Category Market Reports @ https://www.hexaresearch.com/research-category/sensors-and-controls-industry


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It's trouble time for Ruggedman as Naira Marley supporters and Nigerian youths are pissed at Naira Marley's arrest. Due to the fact that Ruggedman initially warned Naira Marley about the 'yahoo yahoo' songs, Ruggedman receives death threats from Nigerian youths for being a 'snitch'.
However, Ruggedman has come out to say that he is happy that Naira Marley got arrested, and this gave people the impression that Ruggedman was responsible for Naira Marley's arrest. Ruggedman defended himself by saying that he had no hand in the arrest, but no one believes this as Nigerian youths have come out to threaten him with all series of implications.
Users on Instagram have commented on his post to lay death threats and insult him for being a 'snitch' and breaking the 'bro code'.
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Read the comments below:
The post Trouble Looms For Ruggedman As He Receives Death Threat From Nigerian Youths For Reporting Naira Marley appeared first on Nigerian Celebrity News + Latest Entertainment News.


text: MOVIES Box Office Report: 'Avengers' Gives 'John Carter' a Double-Feature Boost at Drive-Ins 11:39 AM PDT 5/8/2012 by Pamela McClintock FACEBOOK TWITTER EMAIL ME The Disney disappointment zoomed back up the box office charts after being paired with the Marvel blockbuster this weekend. While most of the world was paying attention to The Avengers over the weekend, fellow Disney pic John Carter was making its own news. PHOTOS: 28 of Summer's Most Anticipated Movies John Carter zoomed up the domestic box office office chart from No. 38 the week before to No. 12 -- thanks to being paired with The Avengers at more than 150 drive-ins across the country. John Carter -- which resulted in a $200 million loss for Disney -- grossed $1.5 million and was up a staggering 1,223 percent over the previous weekend. The film's domestic gross is now $70.8 million, while it has grossed $208.2 million overseas. Those are big numbers, but a hefty production budget and marketing spend put Disney into the red. PHOTOS: 'John Carter' Premiere Red Carpet Arrivals It's common practice for drive-ins to offer double features. Usually, however, it doesn't boost the older film's bottom line to such a degree. But Avengers did such massive business -- the film opened to $207.4 million, the biggest opening of all time --that it made a difference. The average cost of a drive-in ticket is $8. Studios don't disclose how they divvy up the ticket sales between two films playing in a double feature. FACEBOOK TWITTER EMAIL ME Pamela McClintock firstname.lastname@example.com PamelaDayM


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Course, Parking, Toilets & Hydration Stations
The Discover Whitewater Series courses will showcase the City of Whitewater! Beginning at the Whitewater Aquatic and Fitness Center and Whitewater High School and traveling through the city to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater to see the Warhawk athletic complexes and Perkins Stadium. It will then travel through Fairhaven's Prairie Village, back to the new Starin Road and through the Whitewater Industrial Park and Whitewater University Technology Park. Finally, the course winds through the Southeast part of the city back to the Aquatic Center/High School for the post race party.
Course Maps
2019 Half Marathon & 5K Combo Map
Half Marathon Course Elevation
Half Marathon Turn by Turn Directions
Half Marathon Relay Turn by Turn Directions & Exchange
Half Marathon Relay Shuttle Map
Other important route information:
Our races (with the exception of the Fit Kid Shuffle) will be led by a Kubota. For the Half Marathon we will also have a back of the pack volunteer team of walkers. The Half Marathon will have a back of the pack vehicle to drive participants if needed. The 5K will be Kubota led and a back of the pack team of volunteers. Racers are responsible for knowing course route.
Finish vehicle will follow last participants through the end of the event.
Course time restrictions will be upheld.
Course will contain mile markers.
We will have free parking for runners and spectators along with a shuttle service from parking lots that are further away from the high school. See parking map above.
Hydration Stations
There will be 1 pre-race hydration station. The Half Marathon / Relay features 10 hydration stations, 2 stations on the 5k Course. Hydration stations will be stocked with Gatorade, followed by water.
The finish line will feature water, chocolate milk, pretzels, and fruit (free for all finishers). The 1/2 Marathon Relay Exchange Point will also have water, chocolate milk, pretzels and fruit available for participants. Additional food and beverages will be available at the Post Race Celebration area (841 Brewhouse).
Optimal Hydration Plan for Marathoners
Toilet facilities will be available at the start, finish, and along the entire course. See map above.
Finish Line Area
Finisher medals, food and beverages for race participants will be located at the finish line on the WHS track. Participants will be asked to move to the post race awards area until the post race awards ceremony begins at 9:45 a.m. (5K) and 10 a.m. (Half Marathon). See map above.
Spectators will NOT be allowed onto the track or into the finish line area. Spectators will be able to view and cheer on finishers from the bleachers adjacent to the finish line (behind the fence) or on the bleachers near the press box.


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premature ejaculator - Controlling Premature Ejaculation With The Help Of Hypnosis
is something that is seen in men and it as believed that about 40% men have the problem of premature ejaculation. This problem is said to be
quick ejaculation
(or escape of sperm in a very short time), where a person ejaculates within two minutes or less, if this is the case then a person is said to have premature ejaculation. This is common in two kinds of people, the ones who masturbate on regular basis or the person that is having a sexual intercourse for the first time. A first timer won't be counted as a
premature ejaculator
as he was having sex for the first time, during this course he might have enjoyed the ultimate experience for the first time where his excitement level had reached a great height and due to this he might have ejaculated in a very quick time. However this should not be made a habit. The case with the person who masturbates on regular basis might be that he is masturbating at a great speed and ejaculates in a quick time. This way his orgasm is taught to ejaculate instantly, this will occur during sexual intercourse where the person won't be able to have long sex, discomforting his partner who might have not finished with sex. Other cases of premature ejaculation could be related to a medical condition.
premature ejaculator
I know you have more questions. This article only scratches the surface of a problem that is truly epidemic! Learn all you can about how to cure
premature ejaculation
by visiting the website below.
If you are tired or stressed your muscles are harder to be controlled. That is why if you are making sex in a position which is not simple you'll be more excited than usual. In those moments you are exposed to finish. You can solve this problem, the
premature ejaculation
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For more on premature ejaculation cure and how to stop
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Without a doubt, online programs are really the first line of fire against
Premature Ejaculation
and represent one of the fastest, most modern, and efficient therapies to solve this problem.
3. Even if my problem is caused by the imbalance between the serotonin and dopamine receptors, I also have to do these exercises? Of course, apart from correcting this imbalance, if you can't recover the normal tonicity and strength of the PC muscle, you won't be able to regain control over the reflex. Regardless of the cause of the PE, strengthening the PC muscle is vital to regaining control over the reflex.
Do yourself a favour and go to Google and do a search for sex positions. I don't want to recommend any particular one because every man is different. Just experiment and see what works for you.
The ejaculatory reflex starts in the urethra and consists of a series of involuntary contractions that force the sperm out of the seminal vesicle and out of the penis. This reflex is controlled by the Pubococcygeus (PC) muscle.
Premature ejaculation
is a well-known sexual problem in our days. Because of stress many men are not capable to offer sexual pleasure to their partner because they finish to early. This could harm not only your sexual relation but also the relation with your partner. Sex is an important thing for all the people in our days. That is why is important to know the reasons why you suffer and how you can solve your problem.
Distraction The first thing that I tried was distraction. It's not a great method but it does work. Most guys already try this in some form or another. For instance, they imagine a very unattractive woman to prevent them from ejaculating early! I would recommend you try something else such as a mental exercise or a brainteaser.
4. Where can I find a PE program nowadays? The most modern PE programs are the natural treatments offered online. There are several online centers that offer serious and extremely effective programs, including some dedicated to treating PE Level 4.
You can read by yourself more tips on Stop
premature ejaculation
info page. Vlad Mercori wrote many different articles which are read daily by the users which are searching the best advices to solve their sexual problem. You can read one of the most visited websites which was made by him to make an idea and maybe to find what you need to be more happy: Overcome
premature ejaculation
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Millions of men suffer from premature ejaculation. You too can try a revolutionary new treatment risk-free by visiting the website: How to Cure Premature Ejaculation
5. Are online programs really efficient? These programs have the ability to avoid the trauma and the anxiety caused by making an appointment with a professional, while also enjoying the benefits of a customized diagnostic and a scientific treatment.
If you want to learn some techniques to prevent premature ejaculation then you've landed in the right place. For 9 years I embarked on a personal quest to get rid of my own
premature ejaculation problem
s. Discover just some of the methods I tried, in this article.
Also around the internet there are many treatments which can prevent
premature ejaculation
. Natural or not most of them are working and some websites which are promoting these kind of pills are offering great tips about how you can overcome this problem.
Alternatively, try looking for condoms that contain anesthetic. Both of the big manufacturers, Trojan and Durex, make these condoms. These will definitely buy you a few extra minutes in the bedroom.
Condoms These methods are especially good if you want to protect yourself from disease e.g. casual sex or a new partner. You can start by looking for the thickest condom that you can find. This will take the edge off your "hypersensitivity".
First of all you can try to think at something else.Of course don't try to think about your naked grandmother because this can kill your erection.If your mind is not concentrating about :" how should I last longer?" I am pretty sure that you'll be fine. Also try to find the most relaxed positions as I told you. Another way to delay the crucial moment is to satisfy yourself before that relation. In this way you'll be less excited.
Natural Methods Ultimately, these methods worked for me but none of them gave me a permanent cure for my PE. Eventually, through much soul searching, I was able to create a natural training method. Within just a few days, I was able to achieve a "plateau" state where I could hold off my ejaculation for as long as I wanted to.
Premature ejaculation has one more important cause other than the above stated, the one that is related to a persons mind. Many people try and take a
premature ejaculation
treatment pill that will allow them to have an erection for longer, however this has to be consumed every time before having sex. Why not remove the root cause of
premature ejaculation
, your mind. Your mind is the one that directs you to the
premature ejaculation
. A first timer will feel a sense of urgency in order to finish sex before the chance is lost. In this case your mind forced you to do two wrong things, firstly finish of the intercourse quickly before the chance was lost and secondly, when you finished your sex quickly your partner was not satisfied. Even a person that masturbates hurriedly will have
premature ejaculation
where your mind has got the idea of finishing ejaculation within less than two minutes.
Then it is your mind that needs healing. The best treatment related to mind is hypnosis. Hypnosis will act as a
premature ejaculation
cure for you. This will be available for you in the form of mp3; you can download this from the Internet and once done you can start using it. This mp3 content will deal with your mind allowing it to learn the proper way of dealing with sexual intercourse. At the time of sexual activities this will help you in getting delayed ejaculation and allowing you and your partner to enjoy sex. Mp3 contents consist of hypnosis and many have got amazing benefits from it so why are you waiting, get yourself treated now. Control the condition before it leads to serious compatibility problems.
2. Is it possible to regain control over the ejaculatory reflex? The control over the ejaculatory reflex can be completely regained in a simple manner and just as easy as any treatment to recover muscles. A precise exercise chronogram must be followed in order to achieve the correct operation of the PC muscle.
If you're reading this, you probably suffer from
premature ejaculation
(PE). If you take a couple of minutes to read this text, you can change your sex life forever. As soon as you finish reading this article, take additional action to fight this problem! Don't let this opportunity slip away. Some reading can make a difference between being a
premature ejaculator
and enjoying a healthy sex life. Believe me! You will be happy you did the research. And, most importantly, your sexual partner will be thankful too!
Different Positions Now this is much better. Did you know that most couples only practise and handful of different positions. And did you know that the most common ones often lead to
premature ejaculation
Almost 75% of Men Suffer From Some Type of
Premature Ejaculation
. 5 frequently asked questions regarding
Premature Ejaculation
: 1. What is the ejaculatory reflex?
And let me tell you, this did not involve doing any Kegels or muscle exercises.
Embarrassed because you're not the wild stallion lover that your woman really desires? Don't feel sorry for yourself - you can do something today about it. Let me show you the no less than 16 different techniques that I used over a period of 9 years to cure my premature ejaculation at http://www.EjaculationSupremacy.com
Flora Itta
Learn More about Premature Ejaculation
FAQ - Ways to Stop Premature Ejaculation and Improve Your Staying Power!
There are many ways to stop premature ejaculation, and none of the effective ones involve pills or creams. I know this because I suffered from early ejaculation for years and tried just about every method under the sun to improve my staying power. The big mistake I made was that instead of learning about the fundamentals of my problem and how to deal with it, I blindly put my trust in any...
How to Control Premature Ejaculation - 3 Explosive Tips to Help You Last Longer in Bed
Premature ejaculation is very common in several males out there. It is a condition where one is not able to control his timing of orgasms. Some people put it in the category of sexual weakness which is incorrect. Premature ejaculation is a very common thing and can be easily controlled by the application of very simple tricks and techniques. Read on to discover some of the most mind blowing ways...
Free Exercises For Premature Ejaculation - Secret At Home Remedies Revealed
If money is tight and you are looking for some free exercises for premature ejaculation then you have come to the right place. There are exercises you can start today in the privacy of your own home that will help to correct your premature ejaculation. What am I talking about? Kegel exercises. Below I will explain what a kegel exercise is and how you can start using these free exercises for...
Premature Ejaculation Cures - Find Out What Works and What Does Not! Increase Your Staying Power!
When it comes to premature ejaculation cures, there are a few that work and hundreds that do not. Perhaps you are like me when I first started and have wasted a significant amount of time and money on things that do not work. You are not alone; I was in your shoes at age 21 and there are many guys I talk to on a daily basis who have done the same thing. If you want to increase your staying...
Premature Ejaculation - Too Little Too Soon
Premature ejaculation or PE can be said to be one very common sexual dysfunction in men who are less than 40 years of age. This condition as defined by many professionals, who treat premature ejaculation, as having ejaculation prior to the wishes of both sexual partners involved. This broad description does not indicate any accurate period for sexual relation and also reaching the climax. That...
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OOTD : WATERFALLJune 27, 2015
It's so wonderful to stroll the sity streets in the lightweight nude waterfall duster coat that flutter in the wind! I received this beautiful waterfall drape jacket from Dresslink some days and thought it would be great to combine it with tan pointed vintage heels, handmade bag and nude matte cat eye sunglasses from Asos. I didn't want this look to be too sugary so I added the faux leather shorts from SheIn (you should know it as Sheinside) and minimal printed white t-shirt also from SheIn< store, I'm pleasantly surprized with it's great quality and cotton fabric. Have a stunning weekend!P.S. Dresslink launched its mobile application, so if you like shopping on mobile you should check it here.
I'm wearing :
waterfall duster coat - Dresslink
minimal t-shirt - SheIn
faux leather shorts - SheIn
cat eye sunglasses - Asos
- June 27, 2015
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