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Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Sadie's Song
There she goes somewhere
She gets somewhere today
She gets to where she goes
Because she goes somewhere
She gets somewhere she goes
She's just going where she goes
She gets to where she goes
Then she goes home and that is her home
Then then then THEN and then
That's what she did
Now the monster growled and then it had to eat her up
Then she went fastly as she can!
And there was a puppy then the puppy growled and then bite her
And she had to run away from the dog
But there were friends
And I like the friends
They didn't want to be friends
Then didn't want to be frie-ends
They didn't want to be frie-ends
They were just going backwards
And then she turned around and run away
Until I was done to be
Life! She got to life! But she will be dead if she goes on somewhere
Then she really did run from that monster
She really did run from that monster!
And then she's alive! She doesn't need to be dead!
She doesn't need to be alive! She doesn't need to be dead!!! DOWN HERE!
She doesn't need a girl, she already has a girl, all that she needs to be a girl.
That's all she said.
She didn't need to be dead. She didn't need to be dea-ead.
She didn't need to be dead. She didn't need to be dea-ead.
To be dead.
Before she goes somewhere to her family
Then her family says go back in the valley
Before she goes back in the valley
She sees a puppy, then she said to her mommy
I need my puppy. Until she goes somewhere
She needs to bring, she needs to bring it
Before she goes somewhere
The princess got dead. Gooooooot DEAD.
She got dead, just on her skirt, she needs to gone away
Now her brother was coming to save her
The prince!
Then she came to sing a song with the guitar
And then mother came to sing with the guitar
And Leroy to lick her. And then! She doesn't need to gone.
Gone! She doesn't need to gone!
And then the princess went bowling
Then her dress was so so so long
Then she grew up, and turned into another dog, and then POOF
And it licked Benny, and then Benny turned into a dog.
Then everyone was a dog! And that's how it goes all the way all the way
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
The End of the October Violin Practice Challenge!
Here's a picture of Sadie before her violin lesson today, to go along with the picture of Sadie's pumpkin plan, above. Drawn by Sadie, faithfully and dutifully carved by me.
So -- did you color in all your pumpkins? I have to admit that we here at our house did not! I don't know whether it was the Boston trip or Halloween fever, but we did not faithfully keep track of our practices, even though the chart was right on the fridge, so I'm not really sure whether we practiced enough times to get them all colored in, and I'm not going to guess. My feeling is that Benny has more than enough, and Sadie has about half. So, instead of counting, on November 1, I'm going to give them each a certificate that says "MANY MANY" in the space for the number of practices, and call it a month. Honest, oh that's me. Lame, but honest.
I hope that you have been more virtuous at keeping track than I have! I want to give away this medallion to some marvelous child who has spent October sawing madly away on the violin! If you finished the challenge, please send me a message with a link to your blog, and a picture of your child (not necessary, but I'd like to post it!) My address is jackets at rpsd.com.
A little video from Sadie's lesson! Mrs. Ford was having the girls answer back and forth with their violins:
Sunday, October 28, 2007
NASA Open House and 90th Anniversary
I'm not really sure what the children absorbed. They are 7 and 3, and not really up on composites and air traffic control and 1000 mph winds. Benny loved following the map around and interacting with everyone and asking questions, and Sadie enjoyed the balloon animals and picking up the titanium models of space shuttles and sitting in cockpits. Since they're so young and this was such a dense experience, this trip gets filed with the stuff we do to give them background information when they revisit the subject later. Now they've stood directly under the mechanism used by the Apollo guys to practice docking. Here's Benny standing under it:
I however am old enough (theoretically) to absorb this kind of information, so here's a list of the things I learned:
1. Electron Beam Welding is strange. One guy at one table was telling us that buy building the piece by melting down a wire with a computer, layer by layer, they avoid wasting the metal that would have to be hollowed out and discarded or scraped off and discarded. Another guy at another table was telling us how they scrape off and eliminate everything that doesn't go in the piece, and it gets flushed away because it's all submerged in water. So, huh? Either way, the models were cool. I held titanium! Have I ever held titanium before?
2. They keep NASA brains in big tanks.
3. I have to learn to do balloon animals. The girl that was doing the NASA balloon animals was doing such awesome, incredible, ridiculous, huge, life-altering hats that I was eaten up with envy at her ability. I have to learn to do this, it will definitely improve my parenting, my homeschooling, my entire world. The pictures of that are on my camera, I didn't take any with my phone, but man. You have to take my word for it. She was phenomenal.
4. NASA needs more funding. The word we heard most often from the locals was "budget." This was not said in a hostile, irritated way as in, "Why don't we have a budget?!?!" but in kind of a sweet, sad, nostalgic way like, "I remember when we had a budget..." and then the person would wipe away a tiny tear. All over the facility, we saw scientists trying hard to bend their research to something commercially viable, to make the whole thing profitable, but I just got the feeling that what they really want to do is crunch numbers, try new things, speculate, and be pure scientists.
I suppose this is a conflict which has been going on since the beginning of time, but I just wanted a little less sadness and a little more glee. The next time I talk to a candidate, I'm going to ask not only how they feel about homeschool laws, but also how they feel about NASA. NASA needs buckets of money. And I haven't even started on the appearance of the place -- it looks like a community college, built in the 50s, which has never been improved or expanded, except to add giant wind tunnels. There are rusty pieces of equipment lying around that have just been dragged out and shot, there are containers from trucks rusting behind buildings, the whole place needs a facelift. I know that when there's not enough money for pure science, there's not enough money for cosmetic updates, but still.
I hope that if there are any NASA scientists reading this right now, they don't take this as a criticism. Maybe if there are any NASA scientists reading this right now, they're just glad I got the message in terms of the political significance. I got it.
5. NASA scientists are awesome to talk to. We had a lot of really interesting, informative talks with people who had most certainly given that same talk or explanation, or answered that same question, maybe 200 times already that day. Not ONE person was irritated, not one sounded bored or tired of the repetition, nobody cut off the children's questions or our questions. Every single person was totally nice and kind and smart and helpful. And that's saying something.
6. There is a whole lab devoted to breaking stuff! There are huge, interesting, insane-looking machines designed and used for ripping things apart. According to science, you have to break something to see how strong it is. That makes sense metaphysically too. I liked the breaking machines.
7. Composites are made by combining fibers with a matrix. I have nothing to add to that statement, because that is the total sum of my learning on that topic.
8. I like the show "Big Bang Theory" on TV. Do you watch it?
9. I must not have been paying attention. What is wrong with me that I didn't learn 10 things at NASA? I feel like I should be able to say something about flight simulators or acoustics or heat shields, but you know I would just be googling it after the fact, and that would be cheating.
10. Dan now thinks I know lots of people. I ran into blogging friends, and playground friends, and karate friends, and all kinds of friends. You might conclude that I am such a social butterfly that the percentage of the population of Southeast Virginia that attended NASA's Open House, when applied to my number of acquaintances, produced a large number of attendees that I knew. OR, you could assume that the type of person I know is the type of person most likely to go to NASA's Open House. And that would be good research. Here are some blogging buddies we ran into outside the Journey to Tomorrow exhibit, where the kids saw a live moon rock:
Thank you, NASA, for a very interesting Saturday. If I didn't learn enough, it's not because you didn't try, and there's always Dan, who absorbed and processed more information than the rest of us put together. We are nerds, we are superfans, we are technology dorks; of course we had a good time. NASA, we love you. Just tell us who to vote for!
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Stockley Gardens Arts Festival
On Sunday, safely back from our trip and eager to enjoy the hot Virginia weather after our stint in the frozen north, we walked down to the festival to look at the art and pat all the dogs.
We saw lots of art. Here was my favorite canvas (the one on the right):
Benny got his face painted to look like Leroy. Very effective:
Sadie and Benny both had some shaved ice. Benny invented a watermelon/chocolate combo, which sounds nauseating but was actually really good, the remains of it that I was asked to finish anyway. Sadie went with a more traditional strawberry:
So, I put it to you. Is this not an acceptable substitute for the festival carnival death-trap situation? Where they ride on the wooden roller coaster with the squivering nuts and trembling bolts? Where they sit on the creaking ferris wheel which has to be held up on one side by a local farmer? The one with the dancing bear, half eaten with mange, straight from Russia, who's wearing a frilled collar stained with his own rabid drool and the blood of his most recent victim? And eat chocolate tacos made out of silicon and drink lemonade from actual human skulls? Okay, not the Russian bear, but you get the idea. Can I not count this as our carnival experience for the season? There were painted faces, frozen treats, dogs galore, and Benny even got to do his crazy dance (inexplicable, and I didn't video it, unfortunately) in front of a big audience at the "folk singers with guitars" stage.
I'm counting it. Pungo Strawberry Festival, you're dead to me.
Monday, October 22, 2007
How to Get Your Three-Year-Old to Practice the Violin with Joy
Or your child has just eaten the frosting off three cupcakes and you think the addition of one more chocolate molecule would turn her into a giant squid. Here's a game to play with a violin practice that will make it fun and sugar-free.
1. Make your programs!
How many times do you want your child to repeat her assignment? In Sadie's case, we are working on the very first part of variation A, and I want her to go through it six times per practice. So we made six programs. The programs were each 1/3 of a sheet of paper, and they said TUKA TUKA STOP STOP in big letters. Of course, this is a good time to practice letters. You will also need a sheet of stickers, any size, for later.
2. Collect your audience!
Walk through the house, with a megaphone if you have one, calling, "Who wants to come to a violin show?" Collect whichever dolls/toys/animals are interested in the performance. Arrange them like an audience, and distribute the programs. Of course, your violin student will want to participate in all this, as is right and proper and educational.
3. Start the show!
Give the child a big introduction and let him/her take over. You be the audience. Maybe the dolls will heckle, and have to be subdued. Maybe the animals will have many questions about the parts of the violin. Maybe the action figures will shriek for more, more, more Twinkle Little Star.
4. Bring on the stickers!
Every time the child plays the song (in Sadie's case the first phrase of Twinkle, all the way through, with violin hand and bow hand working together) she gets a sticker to put on the program of one of toys. Beware -- all the toys will clamor for a sticker and demand a certain one, or a certain color, and be difficult. When every program has a sticker, the practice is over, EVEN IF THE CHILD WANTS TO DO MORE. Next time, you can pass out the programs again, and everyone can get another sticker. Until then, Buzz Lightyear and Barbie will just have to hum Twinkle to themselves.
There you have it! Today's method. Is it worth it, for forty-eight tuka-tuka-stop-stops? Absolutely. Dr. Suzuki recommended five minutes with JOY. How we bring about the joy is up to us. Watch this space for more diabolical violin practice manipulations!
Edit: Hey, I just found a very cool post on awesome gadgety violin tricks from my friend Karen.
Interested in more Little Blue Ideas? Try the Idea Box for homeschooling ideas and more.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Salem Massachusetts: City of Witches
Salem has also found a way to control the weather! Our week in Massachusetts so far has been sunny and brisk, but during our stay in Salem it was overcast, chill, and in the evening the fog rolled in off the ocean in such a deliberate way that you could actually see tendrils of fog floating up through the old graveyard. Spooky.
Salem is mostly a cute old New England town with narrow streets still laced with cobblestones, little shops and restaurants and those wooden signs with gold letters hanging from cast iron hinges.
But of course, in 1692 and 1693 dozens of women and men were imprisoned as witches, and 19 of them were put to executed. More died in prison and under torture. When you get down to the actual facts of what happened, you find this: Political upheaval in England and local changes in the theocracy created an atmosphere of unrest and instability. Several local children got sick, probably with a disease that we could explain now but they couldn't explain then. Increasing population forced the colonists farther out into the wilderness, making farming more dangerous and stressing people out. People went a little nutty and started blaming every problem in their lives on women, particularly those were were a little isolated, a little different, not so connected to the community core.
The Salem Witch Trials are as good an argument as any you can find for the separation of church and state. Since 1693, all of the accused have been proclaimed innocent, and apologies have been given. So, why does Salem now call itself the Witch City, when the trials were a horrible, embarrassing mistake and an awful blot on our history? Because it looks good on a t-shirt!
It also looks good on a cycling jersey:
Now I will stop pretending that I didn't love Salem, because Dan and I are total Halloween junkies, and having a whole town devoted to pumpkin carving, ghost spotting, drippy red lettering, and pointy hats, was a Halloween junky's delight.
In the old town hall, we watched a reenactment of an actual witch trial, from the transcripts of the accusation of Bridget Bishop. Abigail Hobbs, another convicted witch, was a witness. Benny was very concerned that it was all real, but at the end when we (the grand jury) were asked to vote on whether there was enough evidence to proceed to trial, he voted that there was.
Here's Benny looking solemn outside the house of one of the judges. This is the only actual remaining building that was involved with the witch trials.
On to brighter things!
We ate at Rockafella's, a converted bank. The vault door was open and could be examined at length -- there were lots and lots of gears including a bevel gear and some long thing with teeth on it that Benny said was a worm gear but it wasn't. Since I didn't know what it actually was, I didn't correct him.
The best part of the day for me was not the clam chowdah, but the trip to the original "House of the Seven Gables" and the birthplace of Nathaniel Hawthorne. Here I am by the birthplace:
Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel, The House of the Seven Gables, begins like this:
Halfway down a by-street of one of our New England towns stands a rusty wooden house, with seven acutely peaked gables, facing towards various points of the compass, and a huge, clustered chimney in the midst. The street is Pyncheon Street; the house is the old Pyncheon House; and an elm-tree, of wide circumference, rooted before the door, is familiar to every town-born child by the title of the Pyncheon Elm.
The inspiration for the house in the novel is a real house in Salem, whose 19th century inhabitants (relatives of his) entertained the young Hawthorne often, and suggested that he write a book about the house as it would have been in its original form. It's since been restored to be more like the book than it actually was, with Hepzibah's store on the street side, and also a hidden staircase that goes up through the chimney. Seeing Hawthorne's house and the "Pyncheon" house was amazing for me. It almost made me cry, for reasons I can't completely articulate. Apparently it also made me forget to take a picture with the mobile phone, so all my pictures of the house are on my camera still. If you click the link, you can see it and read about it. Because of course, it is so completely fascinating!
We walked back to the car through the dark, saw a black cat, bought t-shirts with witches on them, and went home completely happy.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Charlestown and Cambridge: The Other Side of the Charles River
Here is the USS Constitution, commonly known as "Old Ironsides":
We went on the tour, so we could go below decks and see the guns and hammocks and things. Benny was an active participant, AS ALWAYS. He was called on to demonstrate how the Navy in those days enlisted 8-year-olds. During our time on the ship a lot of people asked Benny if he was going to join the Navy. His political answer: "I haven't decided yet."
We climbed the Bunker Hill Monument, which has 294 steps, and that is a lot of steps:
Benny asked that we do it again and again. Hmm. No. Very claustrophobic up there at the top.
We had dinner in Cambridge, on Massachusetts Avenue between Harvard and MIT. We decided that eating at typical Harvard hangout would involve a lot of tourists or snootiness, and eating at a typical MIT hangout would involve a vending machine. So we went for in between. Here we are walking around looking at choices:
We settled on a place called, unambiguously, "Middle East."
The falafel was good. Best I've had since Chicago. The hummous (hoomis?) was not all that great, but it was really all about the falafel anyway. Benny ate an entire 1/2 pound cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, onion, and fancy mustard. Sadie ate fries. Both refused the rice pudding and baclava -- fine, more for us.
We took a picture of Benny at MIT, but not one of Sadie at Harvard. She is being so weird about getting her picture taken. Half the time she's posing and preening, half the time she's hiding in Dan's elbow. Mysterious. Here's Benny's brain posing with MIT:
Driving around MIT and Harvard I realized a few things. Dan is an MIT type, and I am not. MIT is tall, metal and glass, no trees, no bricks, no grass (I know, I know, there are trees and grass, but that's the impression I got). Dan really liked it. It made me feel uncomfortable.
Harvard was more my speed -- grass, trees, olde bricke buildingse, and grass. Something I didn't realize: the entire main part of the campus is fenced and gated. I kind of liked that. On the other hand, I wasn't crazy about the people roaming around Harvard. They struck me as too rich and too precious. We went into a coffee joint and there were like forty-three tins of green tea, and people pompously sniffing and comparing and arguing about the relative merits. I did convince an overly monied young lady to purchase a tea called "Pinhead Gunpowder" based on absolutely nothing except the fact that I raved about it disingenuously. Heh.
This is all based on very limited time spent walking around randomly, of course, but I think I like the buildings of Harvard and the people of MIT. Dan had the opposite feeling. So, we are a good match. If our lives had been different, we might have met at that falafel place halfway between on Massachusetts Ave.
I will say, here, that I was offered early acceptance at MIT when I was a junior in high school. I could have skipped senior year and gone straight to college. I was fifteen. This week I found that I love Cambridge -- better than Boston, I think. I love the universities all over the place, I love the feeling of this endless, huge, small college town, all the brains leaking out of the windows -- it is very much a great environment for a nerd like me. But I'm very glad I didn't go to school there. I have always thought, "I could have gone to MIT -- and then what?" I'm now happy to say I have no regrets. I can't put my finger on exactly what, but something about the place made me glad for the choices I made.
My job as a homeschooling mom is to keep the children's options open. I want them to be able to choose where they want to go to school, with all varieties available. Of course, I want them to go to Old Dominion, down the street, so I can still do their laundry. But if they want to go to Berkeley or Rutgers or Oxford or... wherever, I want them to be able to pick what will make them the most happy. And I'm happy to spend a whole lot of time visiting colleges, because I just love making undergraduates buy weird tea!
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
The Boston Freedom Trail is a Harsh Mistress
The Boston Freedom Trail is a red trail of bricks that marches you through several miles of downtown Boston, and drags you past all the most important historical sites along the way. Along the way, you see Paul Revere's grave, his house, and the church where he (or someone else, actually) hung those signal lanterns.
You see statues of Paul Revere. You look at the X-rays from Paul Revere's last hairline fracture. You observe the tree where Paul Revere once sat and ate a sandwich. Then you gaze upon the balcony where George Washington delivered his famous "As I survey the spot where Paul Revere ate a sandwich" speech.
The Freedom Trail begins at Boston Common, the big city park. The first important historical site is the state house with its glowing dome:
Here's the South Meeting House where the Bostonians had their rabble-rabble-rabble meeting before they marched down to the harbor and hurled the tea into the water. Interesting things about this: The Boston Massacre took place right outside this building, and five people died. During the Siege of Boston, when the British were trapped inside the city, they ripped the pews out of the church, dragged in a bunch of dirt, and turned it into a riding ring. Inside, you can see the spot where George Washington stood and said he was amazed that people who revere their own churches so much could so casually defile ours. Good point.
Benjamin Franklin was born on Milk Street. His birthplace is now a Sir Speedy print shop:
See the bust of Franklin, above the second floor?
Here we are in Quincy Market, having lunch and trying to get the sparrows and pigeons to eat out of Benny's hand:
And here's Sadie! She has been hiding in the stroller this whole time, refusing to let me photograph her. Let me say that every building in Boston has stairs, no one can find the ramps and elevators, and I need a flying stroller. At least the baby is happy.
Gelato in Little Italy:
We deviated from the Freedom Trail and its bossy red bricks so we could make a circuit back to the car, via Beacon Hill. Here's Benny on Charles St. I read a smug little explanation online about Charles Street, that boasted there are no neon signs and no franchises. I guess the original Dunkin' Donuts, Ritz Camera, and 7-Eleven must be on Charles Street then. And the Freedom Trail doesn't even go down it!
Benny found a shoe repair guy doing work on a boot in his little basement workshop -- it was really cool. We looked for simple machines. Benny rapped on the window and I said, "Don't knock on the glass!" You know, because it scares the shoe repair guys! Turns out shoe repair guys aren't puffer fish -- he smiled and waved at Benny.
Here's Benny at the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health. I have no caption for this:
They were filming a movie on the lagoon side of Boston Common. I peered and peered and peered to try and figure out who the stars were... WELL! We researched it when we got back to the condo. The blonde I saw was Kate Hudson and the Ben Afflecky looking person I saw was Dane Cook! And the movie was Bachelor #2. Neat! I saw a chicklit movie getting filmed! I'm totally almost famous now!
Sadie tried to sneak onto the movie set, disguised as a stroller, but they busted her. DARN. So close.
So, that was our four mile hike around the city of Boston. Two many burial grounds for Benny, and too many stairs for me. I failed to take a picture of Benny making an angry, outraged face at the plaque in the sidewalk on the site of America's first public school. His favorite thing was the huge dry fountain outside the old North Church, which he said was a racetrack, and in which he took many laps. Sadie's favorite was the duck that chased her in Boston Common. My favorite was the South Meeting House -- RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE!!!!!
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Suzuki Violin Workshop with Judy Blank
Watching the master classes was pretty incredible -- Mrs. Blank was like a doctor -- listening to each child play one song, diagnosing some certain issue, and giving the child a small, specific change that they could make in just a few minutes to improve their playing. Of course, all of this had to happen while using the most positive language, never making the child feel criticized or like there was something wrong. It was amazing how she accomplished this in such a short time with each child -- every one of them made a noticeable improvement. Truly a gift.
Here are some videos and pictures from the weekend:
Sadie was the smallest in her group and also the only girl! Sadie's group class with Mrs. Morton:
Mrs. Morton's early book one class doing Perpetual Motion:
At the first Play-in, playing Allegro like mosquitoes and elephants:
Benny and Mrs. Blank playing the first Seitz in Suzuki Book 4. Mrs. Blank had lots of silly stories to go along with the music, to help the kids understand the phrasing. We particularly enjoyed the one for Gavotte in G Minor which was all about the death of multiple goldfish.
More videos on my YouTube Channel.
Here's Sadie in her art class:
Benny and Sean hanging out between classes:
Sadie's group class:
Benny standing up for Seitz at the final play-in:
Benny and Mrs. Blank:
More photos on my Flickr.
We were very grateful for the experience. It made for a very interesting weekend. I think all the kids had a great time and will be looking forward to next year.


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The Raid: Redemption (what the lead character is redeeming is never quite explained) might be the best pure action movie ever made; a balls-to-the-wall non-stop thrill ride, blah blah blah. It was the story of Rama (played by my wife's secret Indonesian boyfriend Iko Uwais), a rookie SWAT team member that gets stuck on a impossible mission to raid (that's why it's called The Raid) a crime-ridden apartment building and capture the ganglord that lives at the top of it.
It's awesome. You should watch it.
I'll wait.
A sequel was not only to be expected, but to be relished. Of course we want to see a repetition of the closed-system brilliance of the first movie. I can just see the studio executives relishing at the cash cow potential: Let's put him in a bigger building this time! Or maybe a train? What about a plane? What if the whole movie was set in one of those little clown cars and Rama has to fight 256 circus professionals to win the day?
We'll never know how my ideas would have worked out, as director Gareth Evans has veered so far away from the tone of the first film, that I'm not even sure he was ever involved with that movie in the first place. The lead character is the same, and he's played by the same actor…and that's about it.
We join him about 5 minutes after the first film. He's congratulated on a job well done, and as a reward is given the worst assignment of all time: He's got to go undercover as a Jakartan mobster, infiltrating an Indonesian crime syndicate that's in a permanent state of détente with a Yakuza clan that's set up shop in their country. Why a rookie SWAT team grunt with no undercover training is given this extremely difficult task is not explained, and SHAME ON YOU FOR ASKING.
After 3 years in prison as a bit of a "get-to-know-you" mixer, Rama is ready for his new job: Protecting Ucho (son of the boss of the Indonesian mob, played smolderingly by Arifin Putra), as he shakes down pornographers for protection money. Ucho isn't really satisfied with his lot in life, and spends the rest of the movie as a mutated Sonny Corleone (but without that character's competency or loyalty), angrily bucking against his father's complacent authority. Things escalate, and then everyone beats everyone else up.
The end.
Now, this is a still a kicking movie, as my wife likes to call martial arts films. Gloriously so, in fact. If you liked the incredible martial arts action sequences of the first film, then you're set here, and are guaranteed to get your moneys worth. They are absolutely incredible, and there's also a car chase that is so definitive as the new raised bar for that particular trope, that I almost expected them to dig up Steve McQueen's corpse and pee on it at the end. Evans absolutely makes his bones here as the premier action film director of our time. How every studio on earth isn't breaking down his door to direct their terrible franchises, is beyond me.
But it's a vastly different film from the first installment, both in plot, and in tone.
Where the Raid was contained, the Raid 2 is wide-open. Where the Raid was utterly simple, the Raid 2 is maddeningly complex. And since Gareth Evans opens up his plot, he leaves it wide open for the types of questions that the first film cleverly skirted:
1) Why are there no police in Indonesia? These guys tear up half the county with nary a siren to be heard.
2) Why do no professional gangsters in Jakarta seem to own or use guns? Do they not know how to use them? Is there a metal shortage? If a guy ran down the street at me with a baseball bat, I wouldn't think "Ah, let's engage this gentleman in fisticuffs". I'd think "Ah, he's dead, since I've already shot him in the head, and isn't it silly to be a gangster with a baseball bat?"
3) This is a follow-up to question 2: Where did everyone learn martial arts? Is there a massive school in Jakarta that just trains all potential gangsters to be Pencak Silat bad-asses? If I led an army full of martial arts masters, I'd like to think that I'd be a little more ambitious than shaking down karaoke bars for protection money, but that's just me.
4) Why did Iko Uwais cut his hair? He looked so cute in the first one. (Question 4 submitted by my wife)
This really is one of those rare sequels that outshine the original, but it's kind of unfair to compare the two films, as they are incredibly different. The first is a martial arts film, with a brilliantly bare action movie framework. The second is a full-on gangster epic, which reminded me tonally of modern classics like Infernal Affairs, and New World, though it never quite matches up to those films in terms of character development, or in emotional complexity. It also happens to have a whack-load of beautifully shot martial arts & action scenes in it, which will probably mean boffo box office, but nowhere near the critical cachet of those movies. Fantastic film.
Rating: A

subset: commoncrawl


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5 Christian Views on Creation
As Christians, we believe God created the world.
But, there are many sincere questions as to the details of creation, like, "Is the world really less than 10,000 years old?" "What was the LIGHT created in Day 1, and how did it differ from the Sun, Moon and Stars, created on Day 4?" Within the Christian community, there are several prominent views on Creation, and in this message, I explain 5 of them.
For instance, one of those views is Theistic Evolution; some of today's most widely read Christian authors like Timothy Keller, NT Wright, William Lane Craig & Phillip Yancey believe the world came about through billions of years of God-guided evolution, and that humans come from hominid ancestors (apes).
Hope you find an hour, and learn more of the 5 views on Creation.
PS. I am a Young-Earth Creationist, which is a minority view within the Christian community. This is not a message where I defend my view on Creation, but rather share on the different views that are present within the Christian community.


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Contact Us
Call us anytime at 800-278-5575. From outside the US, please call 203-698-0291.
Fax us at 877-278-5579. From outside the US, the number is 203-698-2064.
Our address is; Ortho Traction Pads, 3 Old Clubhouse Road, Old Greenwch CT 06870
Personal Attention
We keep track of your preferences and can offer good suggestions, too. We make it fast and easy for you to place an order, online or on the phone, and we are always responsive to your feedback. And we are very friendly!
Of course you can have samples! Call us at 800-278-5575 for a sample of something similar to what you are using now, so you can compare ours and theirs side by side. Or try a sample of something completely new.
No Minimum Order
Most people order in multiples of 5's and 10's, but you can order any amount you want; we have no minimum quantities. Feel free to mix it up by ordering a few styles so you'll always have the right piece on hand when you uncover.
Always In Stock
One of the best things about running our own workshop is that we can make plenty of inventory to guarantee that you will never be backordered. Never.
Custom Orders
We can customize any style to meet your particular needs. Just call us and we'll figure it out together. If you like to use something special for most of your cases, we'll make it up and keep it in stock just for you.
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Refund/Return Policy
We are happy to accept returns and exchanges at any time. Simply return the item (in a bubble envelope or box, please) and we will refund your money or send you a different item as you wish.


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Learning for Good helps you to achieve effective working practices for good causes and social change
Learning for Good works primarily with organisations whose purpose is public service, health care, education, humanitarian work, community development, or campaigning against injustice and poverty. We offer consultancy, advice and support to improve how people work together.
Are you looking for ways of helping people deal with retrenchment, restructuring and new ways of working? Do you have teams of people who are struggling with conflict? Or are you part of a community group working across boundaries to achieve social change?
Learning for Good is directed by Rebecca Nestor, a consultant, facilitator and leadership developer with experience of the realities of management and leadership in higher education and the public sector, and of activism and volunteering on climate change. See Rebecca's CV.
To support you in your aims, Learning for Good can bring:
- insight, empathy and perceptiveness – understanding people's motivation, organisational challenges and solutions
- flexibility – from strategic HR to individual coaching and support to business planning
- twenty years' senior experience of professional learning and development in a leading university and the public sector
- voluntary sector experience – trustee work, volunteer management
- qualifications – MBA, FCIPD and training in the unconscious aspects of work in organisations
- a reliable network of associates with similar levels of experience and expertise
What we offer
Support for community groups
We can work alongside you to create high-performing teams and help you with strategic planning.
Employee engagement and leadership on the climate crisis
Courses, reflective spaces and community-building to help staff and managers engage with climate change in their day-to-day work.
Values-based management and leadership development
From programme design and delivery to individual workshops.
Support for individuals and teams
Mentoring, coaching; one-off team awaydays and strategic planning sessions, and longer-term consultancy support for organisational change and transition, or to help with 'stuck' dynamics.


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It's been over 35 years since Frank Abagnale was on the run from the FBI. His early life inspired the Steven Spielberg movie "Catch Me If You Can". Frank's part was played by Leonardo DiCaprio. Between the age of sixteen and twenty one Frank carried out a brazen fraud spree posing as an airline pilot, forging checks, always staying one step ahead of the law.
But it all caught up with him. He was eventually captured, prosecuted and went to prison for five years. After he got out of prison Frank went on to work for the FBI and American Express as a security consultant. He was able to turn his life around and do something very positive with his talents, helping the FBI and major banks understand how identity thieves think.
In this video interview with The Guardian, Frank describes some of the techniques an identity thief might employ by exploiting publicly posted information on popular social media sites.
Over the past several months there have been many high profile data breaches at major U.S. retailers. The reports have been all over the news. Identity theft and data breaches are on the rise. When a data breach hits, one wrong maneuver can put you in the path of fines, litigation, customer turnover and brand erosion. Experian Data Breach Resolution can steer you through the storm. For more information on Experian Data Breach Resolution call 1 866 751 1323.


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Awkward Dadly Photos
Pictures are worth a thousand words, but awkward pictures are worth a thousand awkwards.
You've probably seen some of the pics from our friends at awkwardfamilyphotos.com, but you're missing out if you haven't seen the hilarious titles, captions and backstories that go with the crazy photos.
Their site is like the Smithsonian of utterly terrible family photos, and they have it all broken down by category. We were delighted to discover they have a DAD section. Here's a sampling of 15 hilarious pics…
Rise And Shine
The burden of fatherhood.
She's Got Pull
Enjoy the ride.
A Message For Dad
Sorry, Dad. You'll have to wait until June to get some love.
Just The Facts
"This is a photo of my sister (the murderer), my brother (the reporter), and my Dad (the victim). The way I've heard the story told, as I was still a few years from being born, they lived next to a reporter for the local news channel and one day, my dad decided it would be funny to stage this picture…complete with "blood stains" on his back. The back of the picture actually says, "Just the Facts, Ma'am, 8/01/75."
Up A Creek
It's a beautiful thing when a father and daughter can share a moment like this.
"At a family birthday party, I thought I would do the fatherly thing and play a little soccer with my daughter. As I approached her to try to steal the ball, she sent a rocket in my direction. I was okay after writhing on the ground for a few minutes. We switched to football for the rest of the afternoon."
His cry sounded so much like a laugh.
The cleaners lost his shirt.
Freeze Frame
Question is… how did the baby make it to the top of the pile?
The Family Business
You can never start passing on your knowledge too soon.
This is what happens when you forget to take out the trash.
Never fall asleep on the job.
Baby Bjorn
Here's to the man who always knows how to improvise.
Potty Training
You're never too old to learn.
Beauty Sleep
She was the apple of his armpit.
You'll probably never be able to harshly judge bad photos of you or your family and friends the same way again.
Check out all the awful goodness on awkwardfamilyphotos.com
You could spend days on their site. Wow.
Keep up with Awkward Family Photos on Facebook.
Your Facebook feed needs just this kind of funny.


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The Genius of Ambiguity
William Empson, Volume 1: Among the Mandarins
William Empson was a prodigy. He arrived at Magdalene College, Cambridge, in 1925, with a scholarship in mathematics: his college supervisor regarded him as one of the best mathematicians he had ever had. In 1928, however, he switched to English, under the supervision of I.A. Richards, and within a year or two a paper that he wrote for Richards while he was still an undergraduate had evolved into one of the great works of modern criticism—Seven Types of Ambiguity.
By that time he had also made a name for himself with the poems he had begun publishing in Cambridge magazines. The best of them were not only promising, but fully achieved: dazzlingly clever, but with an imaginative boldness that went far beyond mere pyrotechnics. For a moment, before the emergence of Auden, it looked as though he might prove to be the most gifted English poet of the coming generation.
He lived on into the 1980s, and he went on writing—poetry (although only fitfully) until he was in his thirties; prose until near the end. But if he had died in 1930, when he was only twenty-three, his place among writers who count would still be secure.
John Haffenden's two-volume biography, of which the first volume has now appeared, has been more than twenty years in the making. Haffenden has tracked down innumerable sources (many of them in China and Japan, where Empson once taught), and spoken to hundreds of surviving witnesses (some of them only just in time). He has also edited Empson's poems—his notes are a major feat of illumination—and several volumes of Empson's lesser writings.
The first installment of the biography is spirited and humane, with a fine sense of both Empson's personal quirks and the social settings within which he lived and worked. The one obvious problem about the book is its length. Haffenden takes 570 pages (and that doesn't include a hundred pages of copious notes) to get his man to the age of thirty-three. In comparison many major biographies of more important literary figures—Richard Ellmann's Joyce, say—look like triumphs of compression. A case could no doubt be made for including virtually everything Haffenden has. The side issues are often engrossing; the incidental details tend to have a gossipy charm. But life is short. It is not so much that readers are likely to be bored as that potential readers are likely to be deterred.
Haffenden can fairly claim that Empson himself "dearly loved biographical enquiry." He would have no truck with those critical schools (with at least one of which, the "New Criticism" of the 1940s and 1950s, he was often wrongly identified) which held that for the reader, an author's personal history is irrelevant. As Haffenden points out,
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Your new mayor of Minneapolis is Jacob Frey
Jacob Frey, an attorney, former competitive distance runner, and first-term Minneapolis City Council Member, has been elected the next mayor of Minneapolis.
Incumbent Mayor Betsy Hodges was eliminated after the fourth round of tabulation, and the division of her voters' ballots gave Frey a majority result over runner-up Raymond Dehn, a DFL legislator from north Minneapolis. Frey never trailed in the contest.
"It signals a call for change, and unification, and love," Frey said in a Wednesday afternoon press conference after the results were announced. "Yes, we are a divided city right now, and we have an opportunity to change it. We have the same end goal and vision."
Frey held a significant but not overwhelming lead after Tuesday night's first count of ranked-choice votes, ranking as the first choice on about 25 percent of 104,522 ballots cast, the highest turnout seen in a city election in decades.
Crucially, Frey not only had the lead, but also appeared as many voters second- and third-choice votes. Hodges and Dehn gained on Frey with the elimination of fifth-place finisher Nekima Levy-Pounds in round three, but support for Tom Hoch (knocked out in round four) broke heavily for Frey, who gained almost 10,000 that round, while Hodges and Dehn picked up around 3,300 votes each.
Hodges was defeated in round five, and a fairly even split of her votes gave Frey a comfortable 57 percent to 43 percent margin over Dehn.
Frey, who filed to run for mayor in late 2016, outraised and outspent all but one of his opponents in the race, reporting a total of $588,000 spent through October 31. Only Tom Hoch, the former head of the Hennepin Theatre Trust, had more to burn, with more than $718,000 spent. Hodges had spent about $375,000 toward her re-election by that date, while Dehn ($100,000) and Levy-Pounds (about $39,000) spent far less.
The resolution of the mayor's contest means the city's vote counters will move on to other elections: Shortly after the announcement Frey would lead the city, DFL-endorsed Steve Fletcher was announced as the winner in Frey's former district, Ward 3, where Fletcher defeated the Socialist Alternative candidate Ginger Jentzen.
Ballots are still being tabulated in Ward 9, where incumbent Alondra Cano woke up Wednesday morning with a large lead over second-place Gary Schiff, and Ward 4, where City Council President Barb Johnson and challenger Phillipe Cunningham were neck-and-neck after round one.
*UPDATE: Cunningham has been declared the winner in Ward 4 after a second round of counting, which saw third-place finisher Stephanie Gasca eliminated, and her votes divvied up. Though Johnson, a 20-year incumbent (whose mother previously held the same north Minneapolis seat) had a slight lead after round one, Cunningham collected the majority of Gasca's votes to cross the majority threshold.
Cunningham has become the second transgender candidate ever elected to office in Minnesota. The first one found out she won last night: Andrea Jenkins, the DFL-endorsed former city staffer, poet, and oral historian of transgender history, won handily in ward 8 in south Minneapolis.
Also still too-close-to-call are Ward 1 and Ward 11, where incumbents Kevin Reich (46 percent, first place after Tuesday night) and John Quincy (35 percent, second place) were in close battles to hold their seats. In the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, Abdi Warsame held off a stiff challenge from Mohamud Noor, in a campaign that had turned ugly in its final days.
Almost certainly losing his seat is Blong Yang, the north Minneapolis council member who came under fire for aligning with police following the Jamar Clark shooting in 2015. After one round of voting, Yang is nearly 10 points behind Jeremiah Ellison; Ellison, the son of DFL U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, is an artist and activist who took on a visible role during the Clark protests.
Check City Pages for more election updates as they become available.


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How can this research institution benefit the local community?
That's the question Students Determined, a progressive campus political party, wants to ask the campus community and if elected, address. This year, in the third iteration of the slate, they are running two executive candidates and twelve of a potential thirteen candidates for AS Senate.
Students Determined Presidential candidate Lesly Figueroa centers much of the slate's platform on the idea of a "rooted university." She and External Vice Presidential Candidate Refilwe Gqajela believe that whether this means outreach to local high schools, conversations with members of labor unions, or establishing affordable housing in the local area, they should be all be done with the local community in mind.
"The idea for our slate and progressive values is being really holistic in saying we want a student-centered university and we also want students to be cognizant of where we are and the effects we have on local communities," said Gqajela.
Figueroa said that this year's iteration of the Students Determined slate aims to serve as a continuation of their predecessors' policies, but they will be focusing more explicitly on basic needs security, transportation, access/retention, and critical evaluation of any UCOP investments.
"We're definitely going to have fresh initiatives, but we definitely want to build on the work student leaders on this campus are already doing," said Gqajela. She made clear that this isn't limited to the work done by the Associated Students, but work done by the various student leaders involved on the Students Determined slate, many of whom do not have student government experience.
"Students have recently been less apathetic and started saying, 'How can I get more involved?' It's important to make sure that the generations after me are entering this University with better retention efforts I had," said Figueroa.
Miguel Tapia, a candidate for campus-wide senator, strongly identifies with Figueroa's understanding of access and retention efforts. Tapia has been involved with student government and activism since first arriving at UCSD, serving in roles such as the Chairperson of Education and Awareness for the UConsent campaign and currently, as Chief of Staff for the Office of External Affairs. They plan to work with Gqajela to restructure the Associated Students in order to amplify the concerns and say of orgs comprised under the Student Affirmative Action Committee umbrella (BSU, MeChA, KP, etc).
What seems to be central to the Students Determined platform is consistency around serving the local community and increasing diversity among the student body: what could be summed up as access and retention. Not only do they maintain a consistency of this platform in their executive roles, but their candidates for senate positions aim to do the same — even those from seemingly opposite fields like social sciences and biological sciences.
Freddy Arriola, the current Chair of MEChA, is running for Social Sciences senator. Arriola has been heavily involved with working with campus administration in developing sanctuary policies for the university, and planning for UCSD to become a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). His platform focuses on increasing cultural competency workshops for students who want to enter areas such as medicine or public health. He also plans to increase the visibility and accessibility of internships in the social sciences by hosting a Social Sciences career fair and mixers throughout the year.
Counter to the assumption that a senator from the social sciences does completely different work than a senator from the biological sciences, the Students Determined candidate for the Biological Sciences Senator, Brenda Alvarez, aims to focus on access and retention work, in addition to her platform that is more specific to the academic department.
Alvarez, a third year student majoring in Human Biology, aims to draw from experience both as a pre-med student and working as a Campus Diversity Engagement Coordinator at SPACES. She aims to collaborate with organizations focused on biological sciences and the career center in order to better cater to student needs and increase students' awareness of other majors in the biological sciences, like Ecology and Marine Biology.
Central to the platform of the slate, Alvarez also aims to work with the Biological Sciences Mxntorship & Diversity Committee to make sure it follows through on its commitment to diversity and mentorship for underserved students in biological sciences, including high school students in the San Diego community.
Both Figueroa and Gqajela believe that UCSD is a city in itself, referencing both the campus's commercial areas and residential areas. But they also think that we also need to consider the impact of our actions on the local San Diego community as a whole.
"One thing that Berkeley has is what was meant to be affordable housing off campus… those folks are able to afford housing in that area," said Gqajela. The Students Determined platform aims to tackle housing insecurity by looking to other campus models. Both Executive Board candidates expressed an interest in working with Housing*Dining*Hospitality (HDH) to create off campus housing solutions for students. However, they also believe it is important to work toward options for community members in the greater San Diego area that need affordable housing.
Katya Avenado, candidate for Off Campus Senator, aims to work with Resident Assistants directly to help students find housing off campus and prepare for the transition from on-campus housing to off-campus housing. She also said she plans to work with the University Centers Advisory Board to provide healthier and cheaper food options for commuters, as well as, installing refrigerated lockers for those who are on campus all day and need to store their food.
With regard to transportation, Figueroa was blunt about her thoughts.
"The reality is that parking is going to get worse. That's the reality," said Figueroa. "But we do have to think about how are we going to mitigate that. We need to think about alternative transportation," she said, advocating for bike sharing programs and more frequent bus routes. Leony Mijares, another candidate running for Off Campus Senator, is specifically focused on working with MTS to re-route local busses to more active student bus stops in the La Jolla area.
As the voting period approaches, Students Determined are attempting to resolve an outstanding issue with the election's system and clarify their stance on what it means "to be progressive."
The primary representative for the Students Determined slate is Figueroa, however the ASUCSD elections manager, Janani Natarajan, currently identifies both Figueroa and Gqajela as independent candidates and if this distinction holds, they will appear this way during the voting period.
"I'm still waiting for a response to where are we at, where are we going. I have not been contacted," said Figueroa, who has filed a grievance with Natarajan about this distinction. "We're just trying to move forward."
Ultimately, Students Determined aims to be a coalition slate of many students who might not normally have gotten involved with student government, like current MeChA Chair Freddy Arriola and current BSU Chair Refilwe Gqaejla. Although initially Gqaejla didn't see student government as a platform for her work, she now sees it as a way to empower the UCSD community.
"Folks are here to fight for themselves. People free themselves. People push and mobilize and have agency to do things for themselves instead of people doing things for them," said Gqaejla.
Although both slates identify as progressive, Figueroa believes there is a significant difference between "true progressivism" and "fake progressivism."
"Looking at our slate… it's a true community slate," Figueroa said. "When I talk about true progressiveness, I'm talking about empowerment. We are a coalition. We are a team."
The 2017-18 AS elections are scheduled for April 10 through 14. Polling stations and online voting will close Friday at 4 p.m.
Executive Board:
Lesly Figueroa – President
Refilwe Gqaejla – Vice President of External Affairs
N/A – Vice President of Campus Affairs
Academic Senators:
Brenda B. Alvarez – Biological Sciences Senator
Colin Feeney – Engineering Senator
N/A – Arts and Humanities Senator
Natasha H Morgan-Witts – Physical Sciences Senator
Freddy Arriola – Social Sciences Senator
Campus-wide Senators:
Aseel Sherif Ali
Sné Lochan
Selena Friedman
Miguel Angel Tapia
Ronald Huang
Transfer Senator:
Kristiana M Cuevas
Off-campus Senator:
Leony Cristy Hermosilla Mijares
Kat Avendano
Gabe Schneider is the editor-in-chief of The Triton.


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It's a source of joy, fear, pain, love and much more, but for many women, the primal business of childbirth also comes at a very high price. While universally recognized as a milestone of womanhood, pregnancy and childbirth remain among the leading causes of death of women worldwide; every day, one woman per minute dies while giving birth or soon after. An additional 10 million to 15 million women suffer complications or injuries resulting from the act of giving life.
The true tragedy, however, lies not just in these deaths but in the fact that they are nearly always preventable. There is proof of that in the latest maternal mortality rates for 181 countries throughout the developing and developed world. Overall, rates are slowly declining, averaging a 1.3% annual decrease from 1980 to 2008. Since 2000, leaders in these nations have been working to set and reach Millennium Development Goals to maintain that momentum and accelerate the improvement. For 2015, the goal is to lower maternal mortality by 75% from 2000 rates, but only 12% of countries are on track to meet that target.
The challenge for the nations falling behind is formidable, but the solutions need not be complex. In countries in which maternal health and survival have been improving, the most effective programs have been the simplest and perhaps the least obvious. In Peru, for example, women from remote regions take advantage of temporary birthing homes near medical centers where they can live and access medical services if they need them. Women in isolated villages in India are paid a small amount to give birth in medical centers enticing them to overcome cultural taboos against giving birth anywhere but at home. And investments in education for girls throughout the developing world ensure that fewer teens, who are more likely to develop complications during labor, are forced to marry and bear children before they are ready. Programs to curb the continuing toll of HIV infection, which suppresses the immune system and can complicate birth, are also pushing death rates down.
But these successes, say experts, should not overshadow the fact that most nations are still far from being able to claim victory over maternal mortality. And nowhere is that more apparent than in Sierra Leone, where 1,033 women die for every 100,000 live births, one of the highest death rates in the world. Mamma Sessay, 18, whose story follows on the next pages, tragically joined that group when she gave birth to twins in May.


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joeri Almost 🎈 1 year 🎈! Only 2 more months to go.
For as long as it became possible, 25th november 2015 that is! 👊🏻💥❤
MarJamJars Me too! Member since 2015 and haven't looked back. Bunq only got better and better!
August 4th, 2016 was the day I confirmed my email address :)
Since the 2nd half of 2015
Late... March 2018
2016/2017 not sure
August 23, 2016 👍🏻
August 2017 - this is my only bank account at the moment and I couldn't be happier!
First joined somewhere in 2015/2016 but didn't like the pricing plan then and actually cancelled my account. Rejoined in 2017, but currently in doubt whether bunq is gonna stay my main bank.
R Where is the doubt coming from? Just being curious. 😊
Phil Its not so much doubt, I still love bunq and will keep premium, but my girlfriend doesn't like bunq anymore and we have a shared account which is also pretty much my main account. So we started using the ING shared account again.
That said, ING has made large steps catching up with bunq... Still prefer bunq for now though.
I just see March 2016! Also the first time I heard about it 😋
May 2017?
October 1st, 2016 🙌
November 2015
Unfortunately only January bunq Have nothing from bunq vor🤷🏽♂ But now all the more! 🌈


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Join the San Antonio Association of Hispanic Journalists for our annual journalism workshop.
This year, the workshop will be at Texas A&M University-San Antonio on Saturday, April 16th.
College students and media professionals are invited to attend.
Our plenary session entitled "Presidential Elections and the Latino Vote" will feature U.S. Congressman Joaquin Castro and Texas Secretary of State Carlos Cascos.
Breakout sessions will follow and offer a wide range of training and topics.
On-line registration is available at: http://bit.ly/1WMdCKU
($10 for students and $20 for professionals)
8-9 a.m. – Registration/breakfast
8:45 a.m. (no later than) – Plenary session panelists check in
9 a.m. – Opening and welcoming remarks from Texas A&M University – San Antonio President Cynthia Teniente-Matson and SAAHJ President Diana Fuentes
9:30-10:45 a.m. – Plenary session
11-11:50 a.m. – Breakout sessions A
12-12:50 p.m. – Breakout sessions B
1-2 p.m. – Lunch and networking
Plenary Session
"Presidential Elections and the Latino Vote" — the featured plenary session, moderated by local TV journalist Dillon Collier — will provide an examination of how the largest minority group in the United States is impacting American political parties and the 2016 presidential election. Every month, 66,000 U.S. Latinos turn 18 and become eligible to vote. Although their turnout during other elections has been panned as low and unable to make significant impact, Latino candidates, voters and operatives continue to organize throughout the country. In November's presidential and congressional elections, their participation has been called key. How they turn out, which candidates will best connect with them, what issues will galvanize them and what organizations will organize to coax them to the polls are some of the major questions political experts are discussing as Republican and Democratic candidates press on toward Nov. 2.
Panelists for the plenary session will include Congressman Joaquin Castro, Texas Secretary of State Carlos Cascos, experts on demographics and voting trends from Latino Voting Decisions and the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, offering an exchange of ideas and viewpoints on the top issues that drive Latino voters, the impact of citizenship among Latin immigrants who become eligible to vote, what can be done to get Latinos to the polls and related issues.
Breakout Sessions A
"Overcoming Cultural Barriers" — Even when Latino journalists are afforded a true level playing field for getting hired and advancing in journalism, there are cultural barriers that in many instances prevent or deter them from even trying. Hear from successful veteran and younger Latino journalists about how they encountered such barriers and overcame them.
"Effective Networking" — Panel is geared toward public relations and corporate communications professionals, although journalists can learn a few things from it also.
"Smartphone Photography and Video" — You're at your assignment, and the photographer or video camera operator has just texted you: "Flat tire. Sorry." Thank goodness you have your smartphone. This will be a hands-on seminar on how to get the most out of that lifesaving mini-computer in your pocket.
"Freedom of Information Act" — Utilizing our host university's computer labs, learn how to effectively access the information that the public is entitled to know. This seminar will be offered twice, and seating is limited.
Breakout Sessions B
"Getting a Job in Print and Online" — Hear hiring managers from print publications such as the San Antonio Express-News and the San Antonio Business Journal talk about the do's and don'ts for young and even new journalism school graduates seeking to break into print and online journalism.
"Getting a Job in Broadcast and Radio" — Hear hiring managers from KENS 5 and Texas Public Radio, among others, talk about the do's and don'ts for young and even new journalism school graduates seeking to break into television and radio journalism.
"Blogging" — Sometimes the best way to control the message is to write it yourself, and toward that end blogging is becoming a common tool for both disseminating information and enhancing the blogger's street cred on a range of topics. Hear from successful local bloggers about how to use this vehicle effectively.
"Freedom of Information Act" — Utilizing our host university's computer labs, learn how to effectively access the information that the public is entitled to know. This seminar will be offered twice, and seating is limited.


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We love this woman so much. Kisses and hugs from Portland to Decatur today. I wish we could be there. xoxoxo
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Birthday Girl!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
I Couldn't Pick Just One To Share
All Dressed Up, No Place To Go
Photos du Jour
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Cupcake Delivery
Who wouldn't want to get Portland's best cupcakes in their mailbox?!?! Saint Cupcake just got awesomer. You can order online and have cupcakes delivered anywhere. How fun?!
The order process is awesome. You can pick the type of cake, the type of icing and the type of sprinkles:
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Dear fellow patrons of Lucy's Table on Saturday night,
I'm sorry. We were "those people" that attempted to pull off a fancy night out, with a newborn. We failed. We had a tough dining experience, and you may have too...sorry. The food was good. The atmosphere (would have been) good if it weren't for MissP's cries. She is sorry too.
We won't do it again...at least not at Lucy's Table...
Rainy Day
It rained today. All day. We did what any Oregonian family of four would do...we strapped on our babies and headed outside. We had a lovely (wet) hike in the rain...
Here are the girls:
Friday, January 22, 2010
Previous posts, like this one and this one, probably make it all too clear that we love the new little playroom. Well, it just got better!
Today's bday girl came by recently and gifted the kiddos with an amazing homemade bunting (made from vintage men's shirts...).
Merci JLo, we love it and you.
Happy Birthday JLo!
Another reason...
...that mama needs a mac....this awesome cover. I need it. I mean, I love it.
Wish List
I wanna vertical booky stacky thing.
I snagged the pix from here.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Design Sponge B&A's
I love before and after's over at Design*Sponge (as I have blogged about in the past).
Here is a recent one that I LOVE! What a big change! I love the ceiling paint job.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Team Tina
I think I am the only person who really liked Tina Fey's dress on Sunday. I think she looked great and I think that dress would be fun to wear.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Ergo Warning
I bought an Ergo baby carrier. You know, cuz we needed a few more baby things around here...(not). Anyway, I bought one.
The instructions warn that it is not to be used by someone who is tired. I thought that was kind of funny.
Invite me...
...to a wedding like this one please
So Tacky It's Fabulous
I think I love this chandelier. I saw it here, you can buy it (for me) here. The artist is from Portland, cuz Portland is cool like this...
Photo du Jour
Monday, January 18, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
Love for Posies
It's kind of a scene...but it is a good scene. I love it.
Keep up the good work team Posie.
I don't do coffee...but I do have 3 unique approaches that I have been trying out - all seem to be working well for me. What are your tricks?
1. Hair accessories. Somehow it is harder to be tired if you have a big poofy flower in your hair, or a sparkly headband...click here for some great options, they are worth the investment. Don't knock it until you try it...
Update: if you see O trying any of these techniques, we have lost it...


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Whanganui River Adventures invites you to join Ken or Thomas, your driver/guide with extensive local knowledge and years of experience on a 4 - 4 1/2 hour tour to the Historic Landmark The Valley of Abandoned Dreams better known as The BRIDGE TO NOWHERE.
Join us on the "best oneday tour" available on the majestic Whanganui River departing from PIPIRIKI, we jetboat upriver for 32kms (55mins) through fern and flax cloaked gorges, along the way your local driver/guides - Ken or Thomas will stop and share with you historical and scenic points of interest along the way.
Four days cycling from Burkes Pass to Lakes Tekapo, Pukaki, Ohau, Benmore and Aviemore. Amazing Mackenzie Basin lakes and canals with Mt Cook in the background, what more could you want to see while riding a bike.
PureTravel Says
New Zealand has been awaiting the adventurers discovery for thousands of years. The Maori people of Polynesian descent first inhabited these two islands, the North and South Island respectively, found solace in the protection of the forest and mountains. The wealth of nature and cultures that make up New Zealand are astounding to the visitor. There is so much to do, from treks to mountain biking to rafting and wildlife viewing, that it could take months to see and do it all. With a little help, you can find the best and most secret places.
Walking & Trekking - New Zealand trekking offers some of the best trekking and hiking (locally called tramping) in the world. For such a small island, New Zealand has everything to offer both the day-walker and adventure-seeking mountain trekker. Its here that you can take a walk through the enchanted forests (as seen in Lord of The Rings) of the southern island. Or, you can try the famous Abel Tasman walk, a stunning 51km long walk and the Queen Charlotte walk to the lesser-known Stewart Island Track.
Visitors to New Zealand will be treated with Mother Natures open arms. People find such a welcome when following the Routeburn Track trek, which takes visitors to Mount Aspiring and Fiordland National Park. If youd like to see the best of the South Island, then it doesnt get much better than this three-day 32km trek. Other popular sightseeing trips take you to rain forests, glaciers, snow-peaked mountains, rivers, volcanoes and the sea. New Zealanders love trekking. As such, you can always find a campsite under the stars or a great place to stay on any one of the wilderness treks.
Culture & History - The culture of New Zealand consists of all sorts of historic and ethnic blends. The first peoples to inhabit New Zealand were the Polynesians. Today, the Maori culture tends to be the strongest sub-culture under the Pakeha Culture, a derivative of British settlers to the area in the nineteenth century, though the differences between the New Zealand British ancestors, the Pakeha, and the British of today are quite different in their own right. There are many other cultures of the Pacific, South and East Asia that make up New Zealand.
New Zealand has a long history of arts, one of the most popular being performing arts, seen alive in the larger towns of Wellington and Christchurch. From the famous Maori based Kapa Haka war dance to the film and music that is representative of modern New Zealand, there is a strong sense of community in a country with less than 4 million people.
Rafting - Rafting in New Zealand offers singles and family alike, novice and experts too, the chance to have a head-on challenge against the water. Several of New Zealands best rivers are only minutes away from the tourist destinations. You and your family can see a part of New Zealand usually reserved for the locals who know the secret spots of the country. You can raft on either the North or South island, though the south has rivers of higher-class ratings.
Wildlife - If youd like the chance to view an actual Kiwi flightless bird that calls out "Kiiwii" during the mating season, or a Whio or Fin Whale, you can find them all in New Zealand. The diversity found here is just as much a wildlife melting pot as any place, bringing together some of the Pacifics coolest animals. There is wildlife in the water, in the forests, in the rain forests and even in the cities.
Mountain Biking - If youre one of the enthusiasts of the ever-growing sport of mountain biking, youll have no shortage of friends in New Zealand. It seems the Gods created New Zealand for those with a heart to play. That said, youd find some of the worlds highest and fastest descents to some of the hardest ascents. You can take a guided tour through some of the best roads and trails. From the Banks Peninsula ride to the Canterbury and Southern Alps to the long Christchurch to Queenstown, youll be able to truly take in the magnificence of New Zealand from the saddle.
New Zealand is in the southern hemisphere and so December and January in New Zealand is hot and dry. Be sure to book your accommodation in advance during this period and the New Zealanders are also taking their holidays at this time.
The North and South Islands have weather patterns of their own with the north being subtropical with daily showers and quite a wet season during the spring.
The south can get cold during the winter and hot during the summer. The western half of the South Island, too, can get drenched with over 100 inches of rain while the east only suffers a third of this.
You can really travel to New Zealand at any time of the year, however. No matter the weather, the sense of adventure will see you through and remember to bring waterproof clothing, some Gortex lined boots and you can trek in any weather.
New Zealand is a trampers dream come true. There are more trails and lodges catering to a variety of visitors, from day-hikers to multi-day trekkers, New Zealand offers something for everyone who enjoys the experience of being in the great outdoors.
If youre only passing through, for instance, and can visit the North Island, then there are walks aplenty. First, give the Walkaremoana Track a try, or delve in farther south to the Tongariro Northern Circuit, sure to test you for endurance. On the South Island, the Milford Track goes for 33 miles. From four to five days, youll scoot around waterfalls, lush valleys and some diverse forests. The Milford Track starts at Lake Te Anau and goes all the way to Sandfly Point. With this four to five day walk, youre sure to see some of the countrys best scenery, though youll need a proper guide to show you the right way.
New Zealand has so much to offer that you can even take a hike or trek and include some days of rafting, kayaking and glacier walking and more. As you travel through the country, youll have all sorts of accommodation to choose from. Try the Kings Gate Hotel Te Anau or the Luxmore Hotel down by Fiordland. From these, you can go for a sail, go golfing, horse riding, fishing, and take day trips to all the outlying islands. In the north of the North Island, you can take ferry rides, walking tours, play golf and sightsee in downtown Auckland.
Other great treks in and around New Zealand are the Lake Waikaremoana hike in the Te Urewera National Park, one of the most pristine and still untouched backcountries of the North Island. Its on this hike in particular that you'll see Maori people living in the bush. The birdlife is particularly amazing, as youll have chance encounters with Kiwis, Kakas, Kererus and the Tui. Swimming in lakes and hiking through rain forests will sum up each and every day.
The Ketapo Hike, additionally, takes you above Lake Tekapo. If youre into clicking your camera at panoramic views, it doesnt get much better than this. Youll have clear and magnificent shots at the Southern Alps and the Mackenzie Basin. With a mélange of glaciers, glacial lakes and flowing grasses, this multi-day hike takes you through some of the best views of the South Island. And, if youve got some experience, you can look into tackling Mount Cook, Mount Tasman or Mount Dampier at 3,755 or 3,498 or 3,440 meters respectively.
Essentially, the three best Great Walks in the northern island put out by the Department of Conservation (DOC) is the Whanganui River Journey, by canoe, float and raft. The Tongariro Northern Circuit goes across some net thermal vents around a sometimes-active volcano. The Waikaremoana Track goes around the lake. Additionally, there are six great longer walks on the South Island too. The Abel Tasman Coast Track is the most visited and done by tourists while the Heaphy Track goes through some deft limestone features and ends on the beach. The Kepler Track, on the other hand, goes through alpine scenery with lakes and rivers dotting the whole walk. The Routeburn Track, Milford Track, and Rakiura Track are some of the most popular local routes in all of New Zealand.
The north and south of New Zealand has rivers galore. If youd like to start off with some of the most challenging, the Class V Wairoa-Kaituna has plenty of drops to satisfy your adventurous streak. If, however, youd like to stick to a classier level III or IV, then try the Tongariro River or the Mangahao River, a dam that only lets out water twice a year. Most tours end this expedition with a quick but exhilarating helicopter ride. Depending on how much time and how much adventure you want, a rafting adventure can easily be the highlight of any New Zealand tour.
There is more than sheep to New Zealand. Though New Zealand is one of the largest exports of various types of wool, youll find that theres still plenty of room left for the other creatures that inhabit these two great islands.
The Black Swan, for example, makes its home in May of the shallow waters of New Zealand. This great black bird, a native species of primarily Australia, has a distinguished red or orange-ish beak and feeds on the grasses next to the banks. If youd like to see water creatures, but of the larger variety, then you really cant get anything larger than the Blue Whale, the largest mammal on earth. Though there are only roughly 12,000 of these great beasts left, it is possible to see them break the surface here. These great whales are noticeable for their great bellow, which can travel over 150 miles under the water.
Some of the best places to view New Zealands fauna are in one of its national parks. With four on the North Island, like Egmont and Tongariro and around ten on the South Island, like Arthurs Pass and Fiordland, youll have plenty of nature to see. In most of the national parks, youll find plenty of birdlife, such as the Yellow-Eyed Penguin and animals, such as the mousy Stout scurrying about. Because there have been humans here for less than ten centuries, most of the parks, too, have an unexplored feeling of quietness not in many other countries.
Geography - New Zealand is part of the region of Australasia. New Zealand also has other dependent territories including Chatham Islands since 1842 and consists of ten islands (capital Waitangi), Cook Islands (capital Avarua), Niue (capital Alofi) and Tokelau. The Kermadec Islands in the South Pacific Ocean have been part of New Zealand since 1887. The five southernmost groups of the New Zealand Outlying Islands also form the New Zealand Sub-Antarctic islands, all of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
This is the complete experience! Explore both islands as you weave your way through this magnificent country. Maximise your time in the wilderness yet still marvel at the iconic destinations. Enjoy true wilderness campsites followed by comfortable eco lodges. More
Explore the twin islands of New Zealand on this exhilarating motorcycle trip which visits Christchurch, Mount Cook, Te Anau, Milford Sound, Queenstown, Franz Josef Glacier, Punakaiki, Hanmer Springs, Blenheim, Greytown, Wellington, Napier, Rotorua, Coromandel and Auckland. More
Join our fully escorted golfing-enthusiasts tour in March 2013 which explores the very best of New Zealand's North Island. More
There is more than sheep to New Zealand! Though New Zealand is one of the largest exporters of various types of wool, youll find that theres still plenty of room left for the other creatures that inhabit these two great islands.
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The kitchen is more than probably the primary a part of the house that we spend our time in nowadays, and thats more than likely not only for cooking and cleansing. The kitchen costs are just one a part of the expenses that are incurred by a family. Kitchen prices are determined by the manufacturers of the products that you are shopping for. Principally, products from the popular manufacturers are costlier. One of many technique of decreasing the associated fee is identifying a mannequin which is made by a popular manufacturer. It may be cheaper in case you ask a carpenter to make a similar one for you. Because of this you will have a kitchen in a model that you just like, but at a value that is cheap.
You'll find that sudden points seem to arise when coping with plumbing in your home. Some of these matters may be fixed with ease, while others can be extra complex. Regardless of the downside you face, it's essential that you are educated on fundamental piping upkeep so that the difficulty will be addressed in a well timed method.
However there are the downsides to residing in San Francisco, from a excessive price of living to seemingly inscrutable visitors and parking. The famous Victorian homes always appeal to a number of attention. Principally due to the Tanner family and their "Full House". It may be because of their iconic architecture. There are even full strolling excursions of plenty of famous Victorian houses throughout San Francisco. It could possibly be an interesting tour if you are into architecture, but personally I prefer to take cab excursions of all the restaurants in San Francisco. So as a result of many of those Victorians are landmarks they require a special degree of element of … Read the rest


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For the past few months we've had this bug (PROD only, and unreproducible in any of our other environments) where every now and then we could not get data from our DB. The DB was up and running just fine, but the SqlClient on the web server just could not read the data (we'd get 2 errors: one about trying to read data where a reader was already open, and another about not being able to cast the data from the reader to a certain type). In case you're interested, the exact errors were:
- System.InvalidCasException: Specified cast is no valid. At System.Data.SqlClient.SqlBuffer.get_Int32()
- Invalid attempt to call Read when reader is closed. Somewhere in System.Data.SqlClient as well.
Finally, when the problem got bad enough, I did a little bit of research and concluded that we were seeing the problem because we were not disposing our LINQ contexts correctly. After trying to prove that the problem was in someone else's code (and failing), I quickly concluded that it must be Unity that was not disposing the contexts.
You see, I had assumed that Unity would new up an instance of our db context on every call to resolve, but it turns out that by default the lifetime of the dependencies Unity resolves is the same as the lifetime of the IoC container. In our case, the IoC container stayed alive throughout the entire app (because we needed to resolve stuff in our MVC controllers) and so the longer the app went without a restart, and the more requests it handled, the more we saw the error.
Fortunately, because we were using Unity to resolve all of our dependencies, and because the Unity code was all in one place and well isolated from the rest of the app, it was really easy to fix. All I had to do was write a per HTTP request lifetime manager and plug it into our container. I'll be posting the code for that container soon... but now I gotta go to bed. Looks like we'll have quite a few bugs to fight tomorrow. :)
As promised, here's teh code for the "per HTTP request" Unity lifetime manager:
public class HttpRequestLifetimeManager : LifetimeManager
private string _key = Guid.NewGuid().ToString();
public override object GetValue()
if (HttpContext.Current != null && HttpContext.Current.Items.Contains(_key))
return HttpContext.Current.Items[_key];
return null;
public override void RemoveValue()
if (HttpContext.Current != null)
public override void SetValue(object newValue)
if (HttpContext.Current != null)
HttpContext.Current.Items[_key] = newValue;


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Opportunity is the first side of the fraud triangle we will discuss. This is when there is a situation that would allow a person to do something wrong. These are the weaknesses and procedures to correct them that we usually talk about. Places where someone could get their hands on money and get it out the door. For example, having the bookkeeper sign checks. Not reconciling the bank accounts on a timely basis, or perhaps not reconciling them at all. Not having anyone look at the credit memorandums that are issued. Not paying attention to the accounts receivable that have been written off. Leaving the Sunday offering in a place where one person could get into the offering by themselves without anyone knowing they had accessed the offering. With new bill paying services offered by many banks, having the bookkeeper initiate electronic bill payments is another opportunity. All of these are examples of how money could go missing.
Other opportunities? Not keeping track of how many computers you have. Never checking to see if all your computers and A/V equipment is still around. Not getting competitive bids for supplies or equipment. Buying janitorial supplies exclusively from that "great deal" your custodian found. Pulling cash out of the collections from a special event to pay for costs of the special event. These, along with a long list of other situations are opportunities to commit fraud.
We could characterize all of these illustrations as weaknesses in the internal control procedures. These are the kinds of things you will usually hear CPAs discussing. We will discuss later how ministries can minimize opportunities or at least put boundaries around the opportunities.


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I have only been in Amsterdam 3 days and already I feel at home with this city. Despite the changeable weather, it is showing off in all it's glory! Each canal, each lane way is framed with the last of the summer flowers and other gorgeous foliage.
The buildings in the old city are simply stunning. The Dutch are doing a lot of restoration so scaffolding masks some of the more famous sights like the Royal Palace and the fabulous Reijksmueseum.
I am happy though as I have stumbled across a great bookshop , cheese shop, wine shop and an organic bakery all within 5 minutes walk from where I am staying.
Still haven't found a cafe that can make a decent coffee. Luckily I bought my own!
Love Amsterdam and all the tall people within it. I finally blend in!!!