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We are on day EIGHT of a 30-day eating challenge.
A week ago I made a deal with Big Brother. If he would try a new food each day, for 30 days in a row, I would get him a reward. I told him he could earn a 20 dollar reward, and Daddy upped it to $29. It has to be 30 days in a row of trying a new food, the agreement (not sure he will want to hold to it, now that we are in it) is that if he misses a day, or refuses a day, he has to start over at Day One.
I have waited to blog about it, or really to talk about it, because I wasn't sure how it was going to go. But we have seven days under our belt and are on day eight!
I am so excited that Big Brother is finally getting to a place / stage / age where earning a reward works; for the longest time star charts (tracking behavior) and working towards a reward just didn't click with him, or at least not 'long term' enough for it to help us accomplish anything. Now, however, he is starting to engage in 'earning' rewards be it money or legos or a new book (once, a mom can hope though, right).
With the prompt of earning a sticker, and working towards his reward Big Brother has tried BRISKET and STEAK (both of which he has discovered he loves) as well as Mac and Cheese (which he really did not like). It comes as no surprise to me the boy that loves crab meant would love steak.
There have been a couple of nights when it was really a challenge for him and he got rather stressed about it; but for the most part he has been willing and cheerful about trying his new food. Even asking me "Have I tried my food yet today". The foods he discovered he liked (not pizza) he has willingly eaten more of; eating an adult sized serving of steak to my surprise and joy.
I am hopeful we can make it though all 30 Days. I don't have grand expectations; and I am trying my best to help him. Last night he did not want to try rice and chicken, so I let him try a fresh peach. It WAS a new food, he has never (since being a baby eaten peaches but, as Daddy pointed out, it is not like the other foods he has tried. Nevertheless we are trying to create success not failure so I am willing to be agreeable. I really want us to make it all 30 Days so Big can earn his reward; I feel that will set the stage for future success, and I feel that is as important, or maybe even more important, than getting 30 new foods into him in 30 days.
If we make it though the 30 days; my next challenge to him is going to be 3 to 5 bites of a "not his standard" (non-preferred) food (something from the general family dinner). It won't have to be a totally new food (like this 30 Days) but it will have to be something he generally doesn't eat. But, I get ahead of myself; right now I am hoping to get though 30 days.


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National Federation of
Flemish Giant
Rabbit Breeders
Club History
Breeding Blue and Black Flemish Giants
By Cathy Caracciolo
Breeding Blue and Black Flemish Giants
By Cathy Caracciolo
It is no secret that many "Old time" Flemish Giant breeders do not breed and show the Blues. They consider them difficult (bordering on impossible!) due to the fact that maintaining bone and size is not easy. Most blues from the past could never be compared to the Sandies and Fawns of today in type, size or bone. And they are right. But the Blue color is a beautiful and unusual variety that should be appreciated and improved before it is lost.
The Blue variety was accepted to the ARBA Standard in 1919, the same year as the Whites (and before the Fawns!). They were very popular in the 1920's and 30's but fell out of favor over the next 40 years, much to the detriment of the gene pool.
The blue is a recessive color that takes a genetic "back seat" to any other color present. So maintaining the proper blue is difficult if the "wrong" colors are bred together. But color cannot supersede the considerations for type and bone. Over the last 20 years, it has been difficult to find Blues with different genetic make-ups. They have been bred in small pockets around the country, and it is only with great effort that breeders got to share their gene pools. Out of necessity, some lines tended to be inbred (or tightly line bred) to the detriment of the variety. The gene pool was very small and mixed (some breeders called it "polluted") with other colors. But a few hardy souls are trying to change that. The number of Blues appearing on the show tables is way up in the Northeast right now, and they are finally getting some recognition. Over the last few years, ARBA is seeing a rise in the number of Blues being registered and Grand Championed (for the first time in over 10 years!). In 2004, at the ARBA National Convention, the Blue Flemish Doe that took BOV got very serious consideration for Best in Breed, with an honorable mention by the judges.
When starting out, you may not be able to get Blues that are perfect, but know what you should be working towards. If you get a Blue Flemish with excellent loin/hips but lacking in the shoulders or length, then look for a complimentary (Blue/Black) Flemish that has what your animal is missing. If you have good length, look for one with the bone or rise you need. And have patience. It may take several generations to see real improvement. Be very particular with what you keep for breeding. Weigh your litters as they grow. Start evaluating them at 6 weeks for bone and rise. At 8-12 weeks, only keep the best one or two. One advantage to the Blues and Blacks, you know if you have a good base color from the onset!
My research and personal experience has reinforced what I was told years ago by some of the more established breeders (Not counting the ones that told me to forget the blues and get a real Flemish!). Blue should only be bred with Blue or "Self" Blacks. Genetically speaking, a rabbit's color is either an "agouti" or a "self". "Agouti" refers to a banded hair shaft, or multiple colors in the coat (giving the appearance of rings in the light gray, banding in the Sandy and Fawn, and flecking in the Steel). A "Self" rabbit is one solid color. In Flemish, the "selfs" are Blue, Black and White. As mentioned, Fawn, Light Gray, Sandy and Steel Gray are agoutis. A "Self Black" is a solid Black rabbit with only Black or Blue in the generations behind it.
The Blue color is described in the Flemish Giant Standard as a deep, rich, slate blue color with consistent color over the body and head. They are the only variety with the Blue/Gray eye color. The Blue is, genetically speaking, a dilute black. So crossing those colors will produce consistent Blues and Blacks. The problems occur when introducing an "Agouti Black" that appears to be a solid (Self) Black but "carries" (descends from) Light Grays or Steels. Since breeding Light Grays and/or Steels can produce Blacks, most blacks today carry the agouti gene (even though they may look solid black). This is why an honest pedigree is so important to breeding good blues. A Black that carries agouti genes will severely affect the Blue color, throwing "Steel Blues" (Blue with white ticking), white ear lacing, white toe nails, wrong eye color, poor under color, etc, all of which are disqualifications on the show table. Keep in mind that ear lacing and ticking may not show up until the rabbit is 6-10 months of age. So it pays to know what's behind your lines so there are no surprises. I've been disappointed a few times raising what I thought was a promising young Blue, only to have it develop white ear lacing or white ticking on the body.
Keep in mind that finding a totally self Black is almost impossible, (referred to as the "Holy Grail" for a Blue breeding program!). But if you are looking for a Black to use with a Blue breeding program, look for one with as little "agouti colors" as possible in the pedigree. Or consider a Black out of a Blue Breeding program.
If possible, I have always used a Black in every second generation with my Blues. This keeps the Blue a deep rich color as described in the Standard. To explain, if I do a Blue/Blue breeding, those offspring will be bred to a Black. Offspring of a Blue/Black breeding will be mated with a Blue, if possible. I say "if possible", because nothing is perfect and it can be difficult to maintain the variety and numbers of rabbits needed. But always keep in mind that you owe it to the animals to breed the best you can, and as close to the Standard as possible.
A short word on pedigrees… that piece of paper that diagrams what's "behind" your rabbit. It usually only show 3-4 generations, including the lead rabbit. Hidden or recessive genes can be carried for many more generations than what's printed on the paper. A case in point… one of my first Blue/Black breedings produced a pair of Whites. They were beautiful (and they got me started with my separate White lines…) but why did they come out of that litter? There were no whites on the pedigree! It took much research and the cooperation of other dedicated breeders, but we found a white behind BOTH parents, 11 and 13 generations back. That is a long time to carry a recessive gene! (Just for your information, for a white to show up in a "non-white" breeding, BOTH sire and dam must carry a white gene. In breeding White to White, you will ALWAYS get White.)
Keep accurate records on each breeding and what comes out of it. Sometimes two "so-so" animals will throw the most amazing offspring. Know your animals and what's behind them. Good breeding will show in your animals and reflect on the show table. Shortcuts and quick fixes won't work. Persistence and patience will. Develop your stock for the right reasons. Know the Standard and know what you are working towards. And don't be afraid to ask questions. Ask other breeders, get more than one opinion, ask Judges. Don't be dissuaded.
Breeding the Blues and Blacks is not for the faint of heart or the breeder that has to win every time they go to a show. You have to really love the variety and be willing to work towards the goal of producing a rabbit that meets or exceeds the Standard. Know the breed, know the Standard and be aware of the challenge. And from me to you, Good Luck!

subset: commoncrawl


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How often do you committ your plans to the lord?
We are half way through the year and I just realized that my calendar is filled with appointments and deadline week in and week out. Most of those appointments I didn't speak to God about I just said yes. Why is it important to seek God about your plans? God can and will give us wisdom about everything, maybe there is a community group that you want to join and it meets 4x a week. If you seek God before saying yes, he could tell you that 4x a week is a little much for you.
God knows before we know when we are over booking ourselves. I committed to going to the gym 4x a week before work, knowing good and well that I am not a morning person and wouldn't be thrilled about getting up at 6:30am to work out and still be at work by 9:00am.
Now is the time to sit down and lay out your plans before the Lord. He is here to lead and guide us. He is here to give us wisdom and ultimately help us each step of the way. Comment below and let me know how you committ your plans to the Lord and I will keep you all posted on my progress.
Talk soon,


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So how are you getting on with your predictions. Can you compete with the real experts. Out of last weeks games, the top cotestants had 6 out of 8 correct, with some very close winning margins guessed.
Well done last week to SM predicting a draw in Cork v Tipp. Worth the risk for the double points!
Next weeks games are:
Galway v Tipperary
Dublin v Kilkenny
Offaly v Waterford
Wexford v Cork
Limerick v Kerry
Carlow v Westmeath
Down v Antrim
Laois v Clare
Watch for new competition for Galway Senior Club Hurling Championship....out now in www.facetheball.com
News...LATEST!!! >


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Tag Archives: Tom Cruise
Katie Files For Divorce From Tom!
Schlock Of Ages
Japan's Nancy Reagan
She knew Tom Cruise in a former life (he was Japanese). She "eats the Sun". She rode to Venus on a triangle-shaped UFO (and says it's very nice there). She is Miyuki Hatoyama, Japan's new First Lady (or "Filst Rady" – sorry, no way to resist it). And she's absolutely nuts. This woman can deny "pillowing" to the leader of the second largest economy on Earth. Perhaps those plans to let Japan have it's own army again should be put on hold.


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45th Parallel is an imaginary line, commonly
Now it's very unlikely you understood the last couple of sentences. I don't, and I wrote them. Herein lies the problem: Roger, with a deadline to write to and a rather restrictive word limit, was tasked with explaining this idea to the readership of The Telegraph. Not that there's anything wrong with them, but nobody had even come up with the idea of a wave function before 1926, and to this day we still don't actually know what one is. Yet, somehow, he had to sum up hundreds of years of scientific endeavour (and an awful lot of uncertainty) in nine hundred words.
|An idea too big to cram into a small space of a few words
So Roger did what any journalist would do, and hacked at the material until the square shaped peg fitted into the round hole. With a lot of handwaving and some obfuscation, he produced a passable article. The sum over all paths (or histories) approach to quantum mechanics is painted as definitive, inflation is described in only the most cursory of ways, words like wave function and path are thrown around without definition. The readership comes away from the article with the perspective that they've learnt something; Roger's done his bit for public education and science keeps on being funded. The article may have raised many more questions than it answered, but everybody's happy. Except me, because then at dinner parties, after a few glasses, marketing executives try to tell me how amazing Schrödinger's cat is
|Mad Men dinner party
|Some really rather reasonable questions
|A over simplified map of the London Underground -
you'll never find our house by relying on it
It is very important to remember this. Think back to when you last read an article on a topic you know a lot about. If that was so long ago you've forgotten, go find one then come back. There are going to be just as many errors or simplifications in things you know about as those you don't. The real problem comes when we, the reader, forget to take what we consume with a pinch of salt. In an age of social media, where the democratisation of journalism has led to blogs like this, where bias and ulterior motives are ever present, it is very important to be critical of what we read. Understand the limitations of your own knowledge, and do not trust things simply because someone you like wrote or retweeted them.
|A notoriously ethical journalist


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"Hanna and everybody, get those ribs down now!"
Why has she picked me?
I am in a ballet class. It is 10 in the morning, and the teacher, American dancer Janice Redman, is walking around the ballet studio looking as skinny as a squirrel in winter. She is in her sixties and dressed like real ballerina – in black leggings, black woolen shorts and a tight top. Her hair is short and turning grey. A cancer survivor who has lived in Finland for decades, she has a mean sense of humor, and I love it.
We are in an old building, Alexander's Theatre in the middle of Helsinki. It is cold outside, yet 30 of us have chosen to come to this class early on a Saturday morning.
As I lower myself into the first plié, I realize that it has been 29 years since my last ballet class. I wonder if Janice will pinch our butts with safety pins as my teacher did when I was 6.
I get the chills. She is playing "What a Wonderful World".
The start is easy. First position, second position, arms up and down. Yes, I still remember. I smile. But when the positions get harder, her voice gets stronger. How can such a small person have such a booming voice?
"Hanna and everybody, work on those muscles in the back of the legs!"
Why has she picked me? There is a lady next to me who cannot tell her arms from her legs.
I tense my muscles.
Is everyone looking at me? I bet they are.
I soon notice that it is hard to control the hamstrings. But I have no time to think, since the next order echoes in the room:
"Hanna and everybody, do not lean forward!"
Sachéts, revelés, grand pliés.
We are now at the bar. Thank God, I have something to hold on to. Will I start sweating? No one else looks sweaty. I want to be a gracious ballerina, not a sweaty mother of two.
Yet, for a brief minute, I do feel like Bambi. Gracious. I am doing well, yes?
Janice starts walking around.
She knows anatomy like a medical expert and talks to us about our body parts as if we were all intimate. She wants fluidity. She wants us to be dancers. She is not happy with what she is seeing.
"Most of you are thinking you look ridiculous. Don't worry. You all do!"
She looks at me.
"Hanna and everybody, get those ribs down now. What is it Hanna, do you love your boobs?"
Well, now that you ask, yes, actually, I do.
The last part of the session begins. It is now 11:30.
To my horror, she wants us in the corner. I know what is coming. The lousy ballerinas will move from corner to corner, something I have always hated. Four people at the same time doing a series of ballet movements with everyone else watching. Those awful mirrors. They show everything.
I hide myself behind the more talented girls. They always go first. As I work to back away from the teacher, the talented girls move as close to her as they can.
They want to be praised.
Who doesn't?
We travel from one corner to the other. I move as fast as I can. "Oh my God. I should charge you more from having to watch this," Janice groans.
I cringe.
But after the third round, I find myself laughing.
After all, I am 42. This is just a ballet class. Hanna and everybody just having fun.
When we gather in the center of the room to wrap up, I have regained my self-confidence.
Second position, grand plié, what a wonderful world. My ribs are down. My boobs are down, and I get the chills again.
And as I walk out of the room and thank the Master in the hallway, she touches my shoulder, smiles and says:
"I only teach those who want to learn."
Thank you for picking me.
Janice passed away 20th of March, 2014. This ballet class was held a half a year before that. I wrote this piece right after her class, not meaning to publish the text anywhere. I only showed it to Janice. This is the only piece I've ever written in English, I think.


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Spread the word, Infor CRM has some exciting Support updates for FY16! Read all about the new programs, support plans, upgrades and renewal process.
Q1 FY16 reconnect program- extended through Q1 of FY16
If you have been off Support for more than 6 months, you have these two options to get back on Support:
Option 1: We will waive all of the back support fees and reinstatement fees owed provided you make a two-year go-forward Support commitment. Both years must be paid up front.
Option 2: We will waive all of the back support fees and reinstatement fees owed provided you make a three-year go-forward Support commitment. Each year will be invoiced annually.
Maintenance renewal due date
To continue the process of bringing Infor CRM into our standard billing practice, we are working to send out our Support renewals 90 days in advance of the due date, which is 30 days prior to the maintenance expiration date. This is designed to help give you additional time to review your invoices and ask questions. It can also help allow for sufficient payment processing time. Most importantly, this process is designed to help protect you from any unexpected support entitlement issues.
Co-term policy
Infor's current co-term policy for add-on orders states: "Each time a customer licenses new software, the customer will be required to purchase a full year of add-on Support." Applicable license fees and support fees for that initial one-year period will be due upon execution of the order form. In the event the customer had committed to a longer period of Support (e.g. a multi-year Support commitment), fees are due and payable per the terms of that agreement.
At the time of the first renewal of the "add-on" Support, a customer's assigned subscription services manager (SSM) will work with the customer to co-term the add-on Support with existing Support. These Support amounts will be listed as separate line items on the customer invoice. This separation is designed to allow customers to delineate Support costs, in the event there is internal cost allocation for a specific project, location, etc.
Infor Xtreme Support
Infor Xtreme Support is designed to be user-friendly and includes tools such as web chat, customer communities, and instant notifications to help customers find the answers to their questions.
The next generation of software support is here:
The Infor Xtreme Portal features almost 1 million Knowledge Base articles.
Infor Xtreme supports more than 25,000 users every day.
Portal Support is available in 8 languages.
The average tenure of our Support staff is 10.3 years.
Infor Xtreme won the Confirmit ACE (Achievement in Customer Excellence) Award for the seventh year in a row
Upgrade your Support plan
Three levels of Support are currently offered. CRM customers can upgrade from Bronze Support to one of these three great plans:
Xtreme Standard: 24×5 support for an unlimited number of incidents
Xtreme Premium: 24×7 phone support for critical incidents
Xtreme Elite: Dedicated account manager oversees and prioritizes your Support


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A few weeks ago I was sorting through a very old cupboard of equipment at VC and found a stash of old and antiquated camera's.
Most of which where not much interest – the sort of thing you can pick up at any car boot for pence. However, amongst the hoard, I spotted a particularly fine Box Brownie – not the usual really old type either, but an all together snazzier more beautiful version. The Brownie F to be exact.
This golden beauty stared up at me and begged to be freed from her prison and I was happy to oblige. However, this was only part of the treat, inside, lay the ultimate gift – a film! I love it when I find an old camera that still has a film in it – in fact, you can often find me riffling through the camera's in charity shops – just in case one contains the golden nugget of an undeveloped film. Rarely, however, do I come up with the goods.
This find was especially exciting because it was a Medium Format film and I had literally no idea where it had come from, who had donated it to the college or when the film was taken…so I developed it.
The film was starting to degrade quite badly and there were only 3 exposures that actually were images – after that, it is like the camera died.
What I love about a find like this is that all you have of the person whose camera and film it was – are the images you develop from the negatives. The only information and insight into their lives are contained here in a chemical reaction with light. A fragment of their time is given in those negatives for someone like me to look at, make judgements from and share a very small part of their life. No doubt at the time of taking the photo's, the photographer would not have considered a stranger would be developing them years in the future, most probably they were private images for a private audience.
I particularly love this set of images because it is almost as if they are the lust mutterings of a dying camera. It degrades as the images progress – finishing with a cough of light and marks as though it were the last breath it had left.
What we can get about the owner from the images on the negatives I do not know – but I thought I would share them with you along with my thoughts.
This find has inspired me to dig out my other found negative collection and see what treats they have in store.
I wonder what conclusions people might draw about my life based on a small selection of photo's they may one day come across.
I also wonder why it is so interesting to peer into other people's lives we don't know and never will.


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BENEFITING: Sea Research Foundation Inc.
EVENT: MYSTIC AQUARIUM'S 4th ANNUAL SEAL SPLASH
EVENT DATE: Feb 18, 2017
Join the fun and take the plunge to raise money for Mystic Aquarium's Animal Rescue Program!
We hope you will join the hardiest of Mystic Aquarium's friends and jump into the Long Island Sound, all to raise much-needed funds for Mystic Aquarium's Animal Rescue Program.
Registration and check-in begins at 10:30am with music and refreshments. Plus, meet the stars of our Animal Rescue Team who are making a difference in the lives of animals every day!
Register before January 31st, 2017 and receive a free Animal Rescue Tote bag!
Noche Mexicana
Help us kick off Seal Splash; join us for drinks and dinner at Margaritas Mexican Restaurant for Noche Mexicana on Thursday February 16, 2017. Download (or print) this flyer and 20% of your pre-tax dinner and drinks will go to support Mystic Aquarium's 4th Annual Seal Splash!
New Prizes This Year!
Raise $150 in addition to your registration fee and receive a hooded sweatshirt. (Please select a t-shirt size when you register, so that we know what size you want) There are prizes for the top individual and team fundraisers.
Community Fundraising Challenge!
Teams of Police, Fire and EMS personnel-Show off your civic pride by forming a Seal Splash Team! Top fundraising municipal team will win five (5) complimentary family memberships to be given to deserving families within your community.
Enjoy the "coolest" event of the year for a good cause!
Mystic Aquarium's Animal Rescue Team acts as first responders for animals in need along the 1,000 miles of coastline throughout CT, RI and Fishers Island, NY. Our team of staff and volunteers provide specialized and compassionate care for the rehabilitation of stranded and injured animals with the ultimate goal of releasing them back into their natural habitat. To date the Aquarium has responded to more than 1,500 stranded seals, whales, dolphins, porpoises, sea turtles and even a manatee.


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When my daughter was about seven years old, she asked me one
day what I did at work. I told her I worked at the college-
that my job was to teach people how to draw. She stared
back at me, incredulous, and said, "You mean they forget?"
– Howard Ikemoto
I vividly remember how when I was little I never got over the time my mom pointed out that you were supposed to keep your colors INSIDE the lines in the coloring book. I never wanted to color after that. It had gone from play to work instantaneously.


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Nutrition Services Prices Payment
Nourishing Growth
Growing minds need fuel to remain focused and open to learning. To support the physical and educational needs of our students, FWCS Nutrition Services is adopting a new federal reimbursement program (Community Eligibility) for student meals.
FWCS will be offering breakfast and lunch in elementary and middle schools at no cost to families. This program will also include Centers for Academic Success at Nebraska and Anthis.
Important Points Regarding Community Eligibility and Nutrition Services:
- Free and reduced-price textbook applications forms must be completed for all students applying for free textbooks for the 2020-21 school year. Complete the form online here. Parents are welcome to visit Student Services in the Grile Administrative Center, 1200 S. Clinton St., or FWCS Nutrition Services Center, 3211 Ludwig Road, for computer access. Please call Nutrition Services 260.467.2055 for further assistance.
- Free and reduced-price meal and textbook applications will need to be completed every year for all high school students desiring meal assistance.
- Although students no longer pay for meals, they will have to pay for a second milk or milk for home-packed meals. Students can continue to use their prepaid meal account or pay at the time of purchase.
- All Smart Snack (a la carte) purchases in the middle and high schools will require payment at the point of sale.
- Parents/guardians will continue to be notified of low and negative balances in their high schools student's accounts.
Free- and Reduced-Priced Meal Applications
FWCS is accepting applications for the 2020-2021 school year beginning mid-July 2020.
A new application must be filed each school year to continue program eligibility.
Approved applicants can receive assistance for both meals and text book fees.
- Click here to view the USDA Income Eligibility Guidelines.
- Click here to access the Free and Reduced Meal Application.
- Click here to access Helpful Application Information.
Please call Nutrition Services to receive further instruction for filing an application or inquiring about eligibility.
Lunch Prices
FWCS meals served as part of the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs are offered to students at the following prices:
- Elementary Breakfast: No Charge
- Elementary Lunch: No Charge
- Middle School Breakfast: No Charge
- Middle School Lunch: No Charge
- Centers for Academic Success: No Charge
- High School Breakfast: No Charge
- High School Lunch: No Charge
- A la Carte Milk: $.50
- Adult Lunch: $3.65
Other Payment Options
In addition to the new online payment system, Nutrition Services accepts cash and check as payment options for meals. We encourage students to put money on account at the beginning of the school year. Parents may specify how money on account is used - for meals & a la carte items or for meals only.
Online Meal Payment
You can now pay for your students' meals online!
- Access MySchoolBucks.com by clicking the link.
- Things to know:
- From this site you will create your account and add money to your child's school meal account. All you need is your child's name, student ID number, and school ZIP code.
- If you have more than one child in the District you can handle all online prepayments from the same online account.
- Payments may be made through an existing PayPal account or with a major credit or debit card.
- In order to cover the bank costs associated with the online prepayment service, MySchoolBucks charges a convenience fee of $1.95 per transaction. Parents placing money into multiple meal accounts will only be assessed the $1.95 fee once per deposit transaction.
Charge Policies
- Charges for a' la carte purchases are not permitted
- No charges are allowed. Cafeteria Managers will instruct students to borrow money from a friend or call his/her parent or guardian requesting money.
All unpaid charges at the end of the school year will remain on the student's account the next year - it is the parent's responsibility to pay these charges.


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Is there any way to install the Motorola USB drivers on Windows 8? I downloaded MotoHelper, but it won't install, saying that the OS Version is unknown. Is there some other way to get ADB to see my Droid X, or can I somehow extract the drivers from the installer?
I am not worried about stability - just playing around with the OS for now. Unfortunately, not being able to do Android development is making it less than fun.


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Indonesia Forest Fires - Orangutans In Danger
Over the past few weeks we have kept you updated with regards to the fires which have been raging in the forests around the Samboja Lestari Orangutan Rescue Centre in Indonesian Borneo. Unfortunately it is not just the immediate area around Samboja that is in danger from the blaze as Indonesia as a whole is infamous for its peat fires, so we wanted to take the chance to delve a little deeper into why this is such a problem in a country where the wildlife is at real risk from this issue.
For decades now Indonesia has been an advocate of the "slash and burn" approach to farming. This means that Indonesian farmers have been intentionally setting fire to areas of rainforest to create room for farmland, and this then means that they can grow highly profitable produce such as palm oil which is used in hundreds of everyday foods and cosmetics. The countries small scale farmers are legally allowed to burn up to 2 hectares of land, although the enforcement of this law is lax, and many burn much more than this in an illegal attempt to grab extra land. Many of the farmers in the area are so poor that they will do anything to try and ensure extra income even though it is illegal and has the potential to harm the wildlife in the local area.
Whilst these fires are often done in a controlled way by the farmers, they can often unintentionally spiral out of control. This is down to the face that a lot of Indonesia's soil is peat; a mixture of decaying leaves and branches which when dry is highly flammable. Fires in these peat-lands can continue to grow for weeks until they are out of control. All the while these fires are burning they are releasing huge amounts of toxic carbon dioxide and other fumes into the air. Once these fires have taken hold, the only real way for them to be extinguished is through heavy rain. That is why the fires this year have been so prominent and destructive. Indonesia has been suffering from a lack of rain at the exact time the fires have taken hold. Nigel Sizer, the Global Director of the forests programme at the World Resources Institute said: "In many years, these fires might only last a week or two. This time they've lasted almost two months." This quote alone shows the devastating impact that these fires have had on the country, and as a result the wildlife in it.
This photo shows the amount of smoke coming from the peat fires in Indonesian Borneo.(Credit to Nasa Earth Observatory)
As the fires continued to gather traction and ripped through the rainforests in the country, the Orangutans and other animals which call them home began to feel the effects. Many became displaced and homeless as a result of these fires, and an area which was once a safe haven for many different species of animal is now razed to the ground. The fire itself is not the only worry for the local wildlife. The smoke and toxic air that have been create due to the flames is perhaps the biggest threat to animal lives in the forest. There is no escape from the fumes, and the Orangutans, amongst other creatures, have been inhaling them and suffering greatly as a result. These animals are becoming very ill or even dying. Thankfully for the animals help is at hand. BOS Foundation (together with the Central Kalimantan BKSDA) have rescued and confiscated 8 Orangutans who were forced to leave their forest homes because of the fires.
Whilst it may seem like there is no clear way to solve this complex issue, thankfully the Indonesian government has recently taken steps to lower the risk of forest fires. Last week the countries president Joko Widodo introduced new policies to try and prevent the fires from happening again. He announced that Indonesia needs to stop allowing development on peatlands, meaning that if it is strictly enforced fewer fires would be created due to fewer sections of rainforest being set alight to clear for farmland. Widodo also stated that he was pursuing a "one map initiative." This would clarify land ownership throughout Indonesia and resolve conflicts which are already taking place over who is allowed to profit from the land. These conflicts are often the cause of the fires, so by eliminating this as a problem the likelihood of fires being as commonplace is drastically reduced.
The fires in Indonesia this year have claimed lives, both human and animal, and unless these changes are implemented and the attitudes of people in the country start to adjust to what is needed, things will never change. The government has begun to tackle the problem, and we need to hope for the residents of Indonesia, both those causing the fires and those who are suffering from them, that they follow through on their plans and make the changes required now.
Thankfully the fires around Samboja Lestari are extinguished now and the Orangutans are safe, but the Sanctuary is still recovering. They need your help, so if you can donate to aid their recovery then please do just that! If you want to visit the Samboja Lestari Centre and help with the rehabilitation of the Orangutans who reside there, then you can do so by visiting the project site and finding out more information here ! Help by volunteering now!


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The Great Depression – Color Photos
Recently the Library of Congress released 1600 color photographs of the era spanning the 1930s and 1940s. Included in these photographs are many photos of the Great Depression, with a focus on rural areas. The collection culminates in the 1940s, showing how the United States and its people mobilized to support the war effort
This photo is my favorite out of the collection. Partly because it is food-related, but partly because *I* can relate to it. In my mind, if the prices were changed, this could be a rural grocery store in Somewhere, America. Why are these photos, this post, relevant to Chef Herman's adventures? Because… part of my blog's mission is to educate about our food and where it comes from. So many people are disconnected from the source of our food. I feel that looking back at these photos shows an America where more people had more input into the food system, and indeed, local foods were the norm, not a new movement.
Let me know what you think, both of this photo or the entire collection!
Related Articles
- Library of Congress Photos Put a New Face on the Great Depression (dailyfinance.com)
- The Great Depression Looks A Lot More Familiar In Color Photos Than It Does In Black And White (businessinsider.com)


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In the last few weeks it became clear that Microsoft's experiment in China with a so-called "chatbot" known as Xiaoice was a resounding success.
According to a report in the New York Times, folks chat with Xiaoice when they have been "dumped in a relationship, are experiencing depression or been laid off. As Xiaoice is a virtual platform, people can chat for extended lengths of time with her. Users feel she has excellent listening skills, a great sense of humor and so called ability to love you unconditionally."
Steven Hawking, British theoretical physicist, cosmologist, author and Director of Research at the Center for Theoretical Cosmology within the University of Cambridge, among other notables, has predicted that advancements in robotic research and artificial intelligence threaten human existence.
It's a concern that we are not willing to acknowledge, perhaps, because we are still trying to figure out what people are going to do as everyday work suddenly disappears.
That machines may someday reduce the size of the workforce, and require a different skill set is not a new concern. But this is not just an economic issue. It's a moral issue about human existence.
Yet, when more of us are told we might die if our heart is not replaced with a robotic version soon, a technique on the rise around the world, most people would opt for the surgery. While, at present, such operations are only temporary until a biological heart transplant can be made, the robotic alternative is gaining favor.
We already have robotic hands, feet, eyes, and are working on replacing brains too. Soon there is nothing in our human bodies that cannot be replaced including sensitized skin.
If you can afford the transplant, why not?
Bill Joy, cofounder of Sun Microsystems, is most troubled by full body transplants where "the human race might easily permit itself to drift into a position of ... dependence on the machines that it would have no practical choice but to accept all of the machines' decisions ... people will let machines make more of their decisions for them, simply because machine-made decisions will bring better results than man-made ones."
Talking with Ray Kurzweil computer scientist, inventor, futurist, director of engineering at Google and author of the influential book The Age of Spiritual Machines, which has been translated into 9 languages and was the #1 best-selling book on Amazon in science, Joy became even more concerned for the existence of the human race.
Kurzweil, believes that machines will be more intelligent that humans in a relatively short time, and because of advances in artificial intelligence, one's history, experiences, emotions, consciousness, etc. can be downloaded making the decision to transplant more agreeable. If it extends one's life another 100 years or more, most people will accept the basic idea whether they are able to control their brain or the mechanized brain takes charge.
According to Danny Hillis, cofounder of The Thinking Machines Corporation, this transition from man to machine will be evolutionary and somewhat seamless. It will come at a time, as he told Scientific America, "that our technology has actually now gotten so complicated that we actually no longer do understand it in that same way ... it's perfectly capable for the Internet to do something that nobody in the world can figure out why it did it and how it did it; it happens all the time actually. We don't bother to and but many things we might not be able to."
Is it already too late? Or can we insure the survival of the human species?


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The off-the-shoulder trend is certainly overwhelming. At fashion weeks, spotting a girl with baring shoulders is really a piece of cake, as loads of fashion bloggers, IT girls and editors were wearing the kind of dresses and tops, subtly telling the world the girls' charm.
Why should we go for the off-the-shoulder trend? Surely because the garment makes us look sexy and charming. No one will criticize you for 'overexposure' because showing off your beautiful shoulders and collarbone is definitely not a crime! Yes, I know this is highly seductive, so boys you better hold on!
If strapless items make you feel insecure, then the feminine and cool alternative – off-the-shoulder – should certainly make its debut! Compared with the strapless ones, off-the-shoulders tops have more varieties, including cropped tops, loose blouses, and decent shirts…By carefully mixing and matching, I am assured more awesome styles can be fantastically presented.
It is VERSATILE! An off-the-shoulder top should go well with any bottom pieces in your wardrobe. Matching it with denim pants, hot shorts, flowy skirts, or even maxi skirts should be fine, and the upshots it brought out are always stunning. Just see how elegant the style is while mixing Essential's floral off-the-shoulder blouse with a studded black skirt.
Vintage styles are being revisited again and again, therefore you need shoulder-baring pieces to infuse some retro touches into your everyday outfits. Wear the vintage off-the-shoulder top with a pair of denim flares, you can be as stylish as any Hollywood celebs! Whilst bare-shoulders is not only feminine, it is enormously cool and decent that can showcase your own bold statement.
Lastly, shorts and camisoles are not the only items which can cool you down, showing off your shoulders can be a nice method to cool off in the hot summer season. A flirty shoulder-baring dress should be one of the best items for the coming hot season, as it is soft and sheer, undoubtedly being a top pick for poolside parties and summer vacations.
Feminine, sexy, and elegant – I think no one can resist this wonderful piece. If you don't have one with you now, don't worry, just simply pulling down a bit your shirts can already style the hottest off-the-shoulder trend!


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"For the sake of conversation, set aside principled opposition to racism, religious bigotry and systematic violations of the constitution. Let's say we want the biggest counter-terrorism bang for our buck on the domestic front? How much do you think we accomplish by harassing the local Muslims in Tennessee when they want to build a mosque or a local community center with a swimming pool? Or passing laws outlawing Sharia? Again, stated like that, it seems pretty friggin' obvious.
Virtually all of what passes itself off as awareness of the threat of Islamic extremism is little more than mindless forms of petty harassment that probably have no effect whatsoever other than some small and incremental increase of the marginalization that is likely the largest single driver of sympathy with violent extremism abroad. You don't even need to get to all the principled reasons for combating Islamophobia. You can just oppose it on the general level of its complete unproductiveness as a tool to actually combating the minuscule but real threat of violent extremism among American Muslims." --Josh Marshall.


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Animation World Magazine, Issue 3.4, July 1998
Annecy's First Annual
by Buzz Potamkin
Annecy this year was, je n'est sais pas--how do you Americans put it?--you know, well, just different. It didn't feel like Annecy (not crowded enough), it didn't work like Annecy (in other words, it was actually efficient for the most part), and with the absence of any unified give-away T-shirt, it didn't really look like Annecy (although, in the ages-old European tradition of the great unwashed mass of citoyens, it did smell like Annecy). In fact, I think anyone who entered the Bonlieu Theater or Imperial Hotel this year was whisked away to another location, far from those dazzling memories of yesteryear; all the way to a Festival and MIFA that will forever be changed by becoming the centerpiece for the creation of the Euro-Studio.
Before I left New York for this trip, I had a chance discussion with an old friend about the Annecy he knew 25 years ago or so. An Annecy that was a window on the quirky world of animation, an Annecy that brought together every other year the tightly knit but loosely organized artistes d'animation for a chaotic week of film watching, gossip and good living. (His most vivid memory is of being crushed as the then communist--and starved for luxuries--Eastern Europeans stampeded over him to devour the capitalist canapes at the annual picnic on an island in Lac d'Annecy.) That Annecy is gone.
The marketplace--MIFA (acronym for the French version of International Market for Animated Film)--has taken over. It is MIFA that has pushed Annecy to be an annual, even at the cost of the festival's ASIFA International accreditation. Before I am accused of being a hidebound conservative of the worst kind, let me say that being an annual is not all bad. It cuts down to 12 months the time it takes me to catch up with people who live a few blocks or a cheap phone call away, it allows me to ascertain more quickly which of the horde of shows "in production" one year were never actually started, and it perks up my diet with Savoyard cooking on a more regular schedule. And, not the least, it underscores the way in which the center of the international animation business has moved to Europe.
Festival director Jean-Luc Xiberras, who spent little time at the festival due to illness, made an appearance on the MIFA floor, where he was warmly greeted by many delegates and friends. Photo by Ron Diamond. © AWN.
Those of you who remember my thoughts on Annecy `97 (AWM, 7/97) will not be surprised to read that my thoughts on Annecy `98 reflect the continuation of this trend to Euro-Animation. The lower-than-last-year attendance of Americans only underscored the obvious nature of MIFA as an Euro-Event, and the focus on co-production within Europe became the main theme of the conversations that surrounded every table in the bar and on the terrace (when the weather allowed) at the Imperial Hotel, not to forget the $100 a plate lunches and dinners at the haute cuisine restaurants lining the lake between Annecy and Talloires. (However, it is ironic that these conversations did take place predominantly in English, even among Europeans, or at least that's true for most of those I witnessed.)
And these conversations were more to-the-point than in previous years, as the producers and distributors present at MIFA got down to the serious discussion of picking each others' pockets (or the pockets of each others' governments in most cases). And there was the problem.
This year's festival brought together two generations of animators. Pictured: Disney legend Joe Grant with recent Oscar winner Jan Pinkava.
Photo by Ron Diamond. © AWN.
Here is a composite of several conversations I had with dismayed French producers: "Our European Community market is bigger than the U.S., our advertisers have money to spend, but the constant contention between our national authorities over local content and production location makes it very difficult to mount a pan-European show. We may make a French-content show in France, with a Spanish co-distributor providing finance, and have it be very successful in the ratings in France, but what does that mean to someone watching the show in Spain? Plus the Spanish may make a Spanish-content show that rates well there, and even have an English co-producer, but what does that do for an audience in England? Our market is big, but your market in the States is really the only `single market,' that the press and politicians keep promising us here. We can make a show that is a success in one country, or even two or three, but we still have to discover how to create a show that will be a true European show in the way that your American shows satisfy your large market in the States."
Which brings us back to the festival, and the search for creative content. And this year it was a search. The annualization of the Festival may not have caused a drop in the number of entries, but the quality was not up to the standard of last year or `95. The commercialization of the European animation industry has removed many of the better minds and hands from the independent film arena, and the selection this year was the proof of that pudding. However, this trend should now reverse, and I for one have great hopes for the Festival next year (or perhaps the year after).
Jean-Luc Xiberras catches up with Annick Teninge, who was assistant director of the Annecy festival before joining AWN as general manager in 1996.
Photo by Ron Diamond. © AWN.
And why should that trend reverse? Most American studios were not only absent from MIFA, they have even abandoned for the most part the frenzied search of previous festivals for Euro-talent to fill the no longer empty chairs in Burbank, Phoenix and Florida. There is now a chance for Euro-talent to stay in Europe, and make shows for the home market, even to aim for the "single market" Euro-Show that is this year's Holy Grail. The Euro-Show is a strong contender for the future of animation.
After many years of talent loss to this side of the Atlantic, the drain is slowing, even reversing. The Euro-Studio can now become a reality, with strong creative and production skills honed on the past decade's experience of sub-contracting and co-producing with North American partners. The Euro-Exhibitors, even those owned by US media conglomerates (Nick, Fox Kids, Cartoon Network, etc.), are responding to the possibility of a pan-European creative synthesis, and spend a fair amount of time and energy looking for Euro-Shows. "We're Europeans, the network is European, we program for Europeans," says Finn Arnesen, Cartoon Network's London-based VP Programming and Development, "and we're out there looking for cartoons that have the unique flair and style of European humor."
Mark my words. Before too long, the creative, audience and marketing success that gets the cover of Time and Newsweek will be the Euro-Show. While it is not an Euro-Show (it has solely English roots), and it isn't animated, Teletubbies isn't far off the mark. But the next South Park may well be Parc du Sud.
A list of this year's festival winners is also included in this issue.
Buzz Potamkin is an award-winning independent producer, best known for The Berenstain Bears and Dr. Seuss. Before he escaped L.A. for New York, he had been president of Southern Star Prods and then executive vice president of Hanna-Barbera Cartoons.
Note: Readers may contact any Animation World Magazine contributor by sending an e-mail to email@example.com.
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Brace yourselves, because I'm about to talk about a genre of game I haven't even played. I'm also going to be pretty critical of said genre, and offer ways I believe would improve the genre and turn them into games I might actually want to play in future.
Battle Royale games have become ridiculously popular lately. For those who don't know, the Battle Royale is a genre of video game that borrows its main idea from films like Battle Royale (duh) and The Hunger Games. Players are dropped, often by air, into a vast map of open fields dotted with houses. When they drop, they have no supplies. Players must scavenge the map for weapons and armor to equip themselves, in order to stand a chance against the other players in the map. Last man, or in some cases, last team, standing wins.
It sounds like a brilliant idea, and its popularity is understandable. Even when I first watched Hunger Games I thought it might make a solid game (yes Battle Royale fanboys I understand it came first, shut the fuck up about it). The latest iteration of the genre, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is, as of this writing, sitting at number one on the top selling list on Steam. I haven't played it, and after watching many Youtube videos and listening to some criticisms from a certain person (not famous, a friend of mine) whose opinion I regard quite highly, I won't be playing it. But the idea for this little post came out of that conversation I had.
You see, my main critique of these games comes from the map design. By necessity, the maps of Battle Royale games are massive. It gives the players the time they need to gather their supplies before they meet and kill each other. But they're also often incredibly boring, consisting of mostly rolling fields, dotted with trees and hills and the occasional clusters of houses. The sheer size of the maps (or often, map) in these games is often a point of pride for the developers, because it seems like gamers as a group have developed this idea that bigger is better. But it's not. Massive maps don't help gameplay, they hinder it. Almost every gameplay I've seen has been people running around alone for half an hour, only to be shot from across an open field and die. The only wins I've actually seen are from people who never encountered anyone until the very end, where they killed the last guy in a quick and boring firefight to win.
Now I'm sure there are other stories of much more exciting wins. I know a few people who would love to jump to the defense of this genre, but I'm not writing this post to shit on the it. In fact, I actually think it has great potential, it just needs the devs to stop being lazy and actually put some imagination into it. So I have some ideas that might improve any new games that prop up in this genre. I believe these ideas would lead to a broader, more fun experience.
Make the maps smaller and denser.
Big maps aren't applaudable because they're big. I think games media have somehow conditioned people into believing this with the size comparison charts of all the GTA games, and various other series' maps. The general consensus seems to be 'bigger is better', but I don't believe that's true in the slightest.
Making the maps of battle royale games tighter and slightly smaller (it wouldn't need to be too much smaller honestly), with more buildings, perhaps even a city, would discourage camping of open areas, and offer cover from those who do inevitably camp. A tighter, city styled map would make for more intense experience and could eliminate the need to forcibly push players together through the closing ring mechanic.
Add some lore.
Lore is wonderful. It doesn't have to be central to the game, but nice placement of lore makes all the difference. Take Warframe for example. That space ninja grind-fest has the potential to be the most boring thing ever after a while, but they've kept a lot of players hooked and playing just based on some very tiny lore hints. Like seriously tiny lore hints. It literally has a single page on its fan made wiki. Like two fucking paragraphs of lore is all it has but it makes the game all that much better.
Why are these people being flown to this island? Why are they forced to kill each other? Is it entertainment? Population control? Like I get that it's just a game, but a little lore goes a long way. After all, Battle Royale and the Hunger Games aren't interesting because of the central event, but rather the circumstances surrounding it.
Give them some character for God's sake.
Jesus H. Christ if I have to see another one of these games where you play as baby's first character model I'm gonna kill myself. I get it, you want to focus on the mechanics. You want to shit out microtransactions to make dat cash money. You want to do the least amount of work and still end up on the top of the Steam best sellers list. But you shouldn't settle for generic. Add some flair, some panache. A lot of this can come from my previous point of adding lore. Is your game set in a post apocalyptic society that somehow still has working planes and dumps their criminal scum on an island to kill each other. Is it some sort of future blood sport where people watch others kill each other for the lulz? Either way, there are opportunities to pour some life into your games. Add some in-universe advertising if its a blood sport. Make the buildings more ruin like and run down if it's post-apocalypse. Just give your world some thought so it feels less like an Arma mod and more like an actual standalone game.
For real, it's really not too hard to delve into your imagination for the last two recommendations. The hardest part about them is the map design, which is a seriously difficult thing to get right. Map design is a goddamn art and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. However, map design isn't taking rolling hills and plonking down clusters of buildings at random intervals. That shit is lazy as fuck and you can do better.
I know I know, 'if you can do better why don't YOU make a game?' We all know that ol chestnut. So I'll tell you what. I can't shit out games because I don't know how to code, that's not my expertise. But what I can do, is shit out a game concept right here in this post.
The year is 2100. The divide between rich and poor has increased dramatically, unemployment is high, crime has skyrocketed. The prison population is increasing exponentially and there is no more room. That's where the Death Games come in. Prisoners are chosen at random to compete in the newest craze to sweep the nation. They are locked together in an enclosed, themed arena filled with weapons. They must fight to be the last man standing. The winner gains his freedom. As the Death Games gained popularity, corporate sponsors took notice and began sponsoring arenas, prisoners and even entire prisons for the Death Games.
You see that? It's pretty fucking cliche, but at least it's better than, 'a bunch of soldiers duke it out because…'. This scenario also adds the opportunity to stretch map design skills by having different arena themes. Some could be buildings, some could be forested areas, some could be cities. The corporate angle adds opportunities to plug your game full of satire ads that play on the silliness of the games world. There's so much more potential for a game that has even the most minimal of lores. Just with some simple effort establishing a lore for your game would give it such a wider range of artistic design. Now obviously I don't develop games. If I did I probably wouldn't be writing this barely functioning blog. But I feel like my ideas aren't too far-fetched. I look at games like PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds and the DayZ standalone and I just see missed opportunities. I see such great potential bogged down by lazy devs with little imagination. I would love to see a game in this genre really give it a good go, and make a game I might actually want to play.
Also as cliche as that little blurb I did is. If you wanna make it you gotta totally hire me to be the loremaster or something. I need the cash bruh.


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NBC Picks Up Windfall
By Jim Benson
NBC has picked up the pace of its midseason 2005-06 series announcements on the eve of the fourth place network's appearance Sunday and Monday before the nation's TV critics in Los Angeles.
Entertainment President Kevin Reilly, who is expected to go solo in selling the press on the the network's fall schedule, describes the latest pick up, the drama Windfall, as having "dueling themes of dreams coming true and 'be careful what you wish for.'"
The series, from Regency Television, involves "money changing everything for a group of 20 young adult friends who pool their cash to buy and win a record $386 million lottery jackpot -- only to see their initial ecstasy tempered by the thorny, romantic and social complications caused by instant wealth."
Executive produced by Laurie McCarthy (Felicity, CSI: Miami), the ensemble cast includes Luke Perry of Beverly Hills, 90210 fame.
In May, NBC announced that it also had designated two new comedy series for mid-season, Four Kings and Thick and Thin. Earlier this month, NBC announced that it also had picked up Book of Daniel for midseason.
The television industry's top news stories, analysis and blogs of the day.
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Monthly Archives: April 2011
Bren's Wednesday Recap
Captain America #617: It basically really sucks to be Bucky Barnes right now (as opposed to all those other times when it's been totally awesome). He's still locked up in the Gulag as punishment for having been brainwashed and reprogrammed … Continue reading
Posted in Wednesday Recap Tagged Avengers, Captain America, Power Man and Iron Fist, Secret Avengers Leave a comment
Chad's Recaps of Wednesdays Past
Been working and traveling and even both at the same time. Making up for lost time with this post. Buying this week's comics on Saturday. Butcher Baker #2 I'm not sure about this one, but I'm sticking with it for … Continue reading
Posted in Wednesday Recap Tagged Butcher Baker, Concrete, Dark Horse Presents, Frank Miller, Super Dinosaur, Xerxes Leave a comment
Paul Davis Lyons' Photo Review of Super Dinosaur
Posted in Photo Review Tagged Super Dinosaur Leave a comment
We Got Reviews: Orc Stain
I first tried to review the first four issues of James Stokoe's comic as a video filmed by Paul but came off as sounding like Chester A. Bum. So another attempt one trade paperback later and a new issue out … Continue reading
Posted in We Got Reviews Tagged James Stokoe, Orc Stain 2 Comments
Wednesday Recap
Brightest Day #23 Fuuuuuuck yooooouuuuuuuuuuu!!!!!! The Boys #53 Thank youooooou! Orc Stain #6 Fuuuck yeaaaaah!!! I'll be writing more about this later.
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We Got RACE Issues
The gang gets together to discuss the issue of race in comic books. Update: All four parts now loaded up.
Posted in Episodes, Videos Tagged Black Lightning, Black Panther, Blue Beetle, Brother Voodoo, comic-con, comics, DC, Doom War, Dust, Dwayne McDuffie, Ethnic Groups in Comics, Ethnicity, Falcon, Green Lantern, John Henry Irons, Justice League, Luke Cage, marvel, Milestone Comics, Minorities in Comics, Muslim Batman, Nighthawk, race, race in comics, Racism, Static, Steel, Storm, Supreme Power, Vixen 1 Comment
(Last) Wednesday Recap
Sick most of last week. Missed purchasing an apparently sold out Caligula #1. Luckily, I found this: Butcher Baker: The Righteous Maker #1 Joe Casey is one of those writers I know more from his interviews than his actual work, … Continue reading
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"Federalism should be able to maintain unity among all. But this does not mean that we should boycott regional voices and the voices of ethnic groups." — Khil Raj Regmi
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW JERSEY — We were not surprised to learn that President Rudy Duterte admired Iloilo Governor Art Defensor as mentioned in a Philippine regional newspaper recently.
In 2015 when Duterte visited Defensor in the Iloilo Capitol, the future Philippine president sent former Cotabato governor and now agriculture Secretary Manny Pinol as his advance party.
Duterte was aware he would be late in his appointment with Defensor because of tight schedules in his Iloilo sorties.
Duterte knew Pinol was in good speaking terms with Defensor, a fellow Ilonggo, thus the former Davao city mayor was confident Pinol would be a perfect emissary.
"Diin na si Mayor Duterte?" Defensor asked Pinol as he entered the Office of the Governor. "Manong Art, on the way na sila na traffic lang. Nag press con pa sila didto sa Diversion Road."
While waiting for Duterte, Defensor signed some papers on his table.
Pinol was entertained by prominent capitol officials led by Board Member Demy Sonza and Provincial Administrator Raul Banias.
"Mayor Digong (Rudy Duterte) has so much respect for Manog Art (Gov. Defensor). He believes that Manong Art, being a seasoned public servant, can understand the depth of his advocacy about federalism," Pinol told Sonza and Defensor's subalterns who surrounded him and took photos with him.
When Duterte arrived about 45 minutes later, Defensor accorded Duterte, who belonged to another political party, with a warm welcome.
They did not talk about politics. Duterte made known his intention why he was there and why he had been going around the country: to promote federalism.
Duterte did not seek Defensor's support for his presidential bid (Duterte had repeatedly rejected calls from supporters to run for president saying he was only interested to promote federalism).
He enumerated the reasons why there is a need for the country to shift to federal form of government. Defensor, a veteran lawmaker and expert in political science, lent his ears to Duterte.
Duterte knew that Defensor was one of the only few public officials in the country today who have not been tainted with corruption.
At the back of Duterte's mind, whether federalism will snowball, Defensor can survive because he believes that the Iloilo governor is clean and untarnished as a public servant.
Duterte knew his visit wasn't a waste of time because he was explaining his platform to the right person.


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Fast Track BABTAC & GUILD Course
Nail Art is spectacular and fun! In this stunning new course, you learn how to create 20 brilliant designs which covers the basic techniques you'll need for creating your own masterpieces. Your tutors are simply the best.
Resources will be provided by Blueline College; however, students are prompted to arrange for their own models for the duration of the course.
Upon successful completion of the course and its assessments, students will be awarded a Blueline College certificate, and will be certified by BABTAC and The Guild of Professional Beauty Therapists.
|Course Duration
|Course Price
|Kit Price
|1 Day
|Babtac & Guild
|20% £56.00
Previous experience is not necessary just the dedication to succeed!
Course Content:
- Anatomy and Physiology – Skin and Nail Structure
- Bones of the lower arm and hand
- Nail Growth
- Health and Safety
- Sterilisation
- Hygiene
- Contra-indication and Contra actions
- Consultation
- Nail Shapes
- Tools and Equipment
- Nail Finishes
- Aftercare advice
- Demonstration
- Practicals


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Dim Mak Pool Party at Dream Hotel
It's March in Miami and the massive entertainment combo that is Winter Music Conference and Ultra Music Festival is upon us – Miami Music Week! Everyone knows that the best DJs in the world come and showcase their talents to a massive fan base that anxiously awaits each and every […]
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Jesus is Good News…
…especially for the marginalized, sick, poor, and forgotten. Working toward more justice and mercy in our community and the world has been at the core of New Covenant Fellowship since we first began meeting together in the mid-1970s.
Mentoring and Education
Jesus gave life-changing instruction to fishermen, women, tax collectors, and uneducated crowds. We believe the gospel goes hand-in-hand with education in addressing injustices in the world. We support after-school and mentoring programs in Champaign and in the Mississippi Delta, prison education in California, and college-level education in North Korea and China.
CU 1-to-1 Mentoring ~~Spring Initiative~~Griot Arts~~Academic Peer Education Project
Shelter and Housing
Jesus relied on community generosity for shelter, identifying with the needs of the homeless. We support local emergency shelters with our volunteer time and funding, and partner with organizations that build and repair homes in support of homeownership.
CU Men's Shelter~~Austin's Place~~Courage Connection~~Habitat for Humanity
Hunger and Health
Jesus attended to people's basic needs by feeding the hungry and healing the sick. Food and healthcare continue to be pressing needs in our communities today. Our involvement with the Christian Community Development Association informs and inspires our partnerships with local ministries addressing these needs..
Champaign Cty Christian Health Center~Greater Community AIDS Project~Eastern IL Foodbank~Bridges of Peace Intl
A "justice incubator"
We see the NCF building as a space God has given us to share with mercy and justice organizations so they can grow into their potential. In the past decade, the Daily Bread Soup Kitchen and the CU Men's Emergency Shelter have each used our building as a stepping stone—enabling them to envision the need and expand their services. The Greater Community AIDS Project (GCAP) begins operating their food pantry Feb 13, 2019 in our building. We are excited for this new partnership!
Emerging Ministries
We don't always know what our "next thing" will be, but we're praying and looking to see where God is at work in the community and how we might be able to come alongside and support that work. Our annual Thanksgiving offering enables us to support new ministries and respond to NCF members' passion for service. Meanwhile, our Family Fund helps us address basic and emergency needs in our wider fellowship network.


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Notification can be done by filling out the online form below. You may also leave a message on the 24-hour attendance line at 720-561-4802.
The online form below can also be used for prearranged absences. All pre-arragend absence notification must be done at least two weeks prior to the absence. In lieu of the online form, a Pre-arraged Absence Paper Form can be filled out and returned to the office.


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Hey all! So sorry I have been gone for wayyyy to long. I have not even had the chance to catch up on everyone and what you are all doing. I will, I promise.
I have been a sleeping beauty. When I get home from work I make dinner, take a shower, and hop in bed. I literally fall asleep within 5 minutes of me resting my head on my pillow. So needless to say between work and sleep there has been little to no time.
We are still in New York! We have not moved yet but are planning on heading back to New Jersey here in January. So our life never stops.
We are getting ready to head to Florida next Friday for Christmas! We are so excited. It will be wonderful.
The baby is doing great. We get to find out if it is a boy or a girl next week!!! Also Trent turns 29 next week. Soo much going on so little time.
I love you and miss you all!!! We will talk soon.


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So much ink has been spilled–especially over the last several years–about the rise of China that I wanted to devote a blog to the subject.
I won't bury the lead: I believe China is more likely another Japan than another United States on the rise. My goal is not so much to tell the future–I don't know what will happen–as much as it is to cast doubt on the overwhelming consensus of China's inevitable rise to supremacy.
What consensus you might ask? That China's economy will inevitably surpass the U.S.'s in the next 10, 20, or 30 years; that China will surpass the U.S. in technological superiority; that China will surpass the U.S. militarily; that China will surpass the U.S. in every way possible, it seems.
All of these things very well may come to pass. But, it is not written in the stars, and the consensus view is almost entirely built on an extrapolation of current trends–a technique of forecasting which is almost never accurate.
As an interesting illustration of forecasting difficulty, I'd like exhibit #1 to be Paul Kennedy's excellent book, The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers. Now, granted, this book came out in 1987, when Japan's ascendancy was widely accepted as given, but it's a wonderful example of how someone extremely knowledgeable in a specific field can suffer from the biases of extrapolation.
In his book, he speaks of the 5 centers of power at the time: the U.S., the U.S.S.R., Japan, China and the European Economic Community. He spells out how clearly Japan is surpassing or going to surpass the U.S. in computers, robotics, telecommunications, automobiles, trucks, ships, biotechnology and aerospace.
Please understand, he was writing in 1987, when Japan Inc. was thought to be unbeatable, buying up property all over the world, technologically unstoppable. He didn't know Japan would fall into an economic funk a mere two years later where Japan's economy wouldn't grow for the next 22 years (nor did he see the fall of the U.S.S.R. coming, and even seems to poo-poo the idea). So much for Japan Inc. and extrapolation of the past.
But, really, how could anyone really think that Japan would surpass the U.S. in computers and software? Or biotechnology and aerospace? Yes, Japan has definitely done better in robotics, automobiles and ships, but to provide such a long and overwhelming list as a historian? A bit naive, I think.
The consensus view on China reminds me in many ways of the view 20 years ago of Japan. Don't get me wrong, Japan and China are very different stories, but people's perception seems to be similar.
Just as China's centrally planned economy and "state capitalism" (an oxymoron if there ever was one) is seen as the wave of the future and a better way to govern, so Japan's Ministry for International Trade and Industry (MITI) and it's coordination of economic activity was seen as a huge advantage over the U.S.'s capitalism.
Just as China's production of engineers and scientists is seen as an unstoppable force, so was Japan's. Just as China's high research and development budget is seen as superior, so was Japan's.
Just as China's high national savings rate is seen as an advantage over the U.S.'s consumption, so was Japan's. Just as China's superiority in aptitude tests is seen as intellectually over-powering the U.S.'s poor scores, so was Japan's.
I believe people make these extrapolations because they don't really understand the sources of growth. They simply expect the recent past to keep going, but it almost never does.
Just as Japan's extraordinary growth came from adopting western technology and industry and having huge western markets to sell to, so does China's. If either Japan or China had had to create these industries from scratch, as the U.K. and U.S. had done, the growth would never have materialized. And, just as Japan's economy has demonstrated over the last 20 years, if China ever has to rely on it's own consumers and businessmen for innovation and growth, you'll see growth fall off a cliff.
Neither Japan nor China invented the Bessemer process, or assembly lines, or transistors, or binary computer logic, or almost any of the other major innovations which allowed them to grow. They got it all from the west.
And, this brings me back to my blog of two weeks ago, where I said that return on capital is the most important concept in finance. You see, neither Japan nor China view return on capital as a primary concept. Japanese businessmen are frequently on record saying that the U.S.'s focus on shareholder returns is ridiculous. China is a communist state that sees returns on investment as a mere means to other ends.
The U.S. and U.K., at least during periods of innovation, let returns on capital as determined by individuals allocate resources, instead of some central planning bureaucracy. The U.S. and U.K., thanks to intellectual greats like Adam Smith (a moral philosopher, not economist), recognized that human potential was unlocked when individuals were able to pursue their self-interest, as long as there was a rule of law and, specifically, protection of property rights.
Good luck finding that intellectual framework in Japan or China.
In forecasting the future, this return on capital concept is vital to accuracy.
If the U.S. abandons its focus on return on capital (as the U.K. has in most ways done), good-bye growth and innovation, good-bye technological and military superiority, good-bye world leadership.
If Japan adopts a focus on return on capital at the individual level, which I believe is possible over time (perhaps in the next decade) welcome back growth and innovation.
If China adopts a focus on return on capital at the level of the individual–an unlikely route, in my opinion–it can become a leading state. Without that focus, growth will eventually crash and burn as it did in Japan (China is witnessing a boom in real estate, just as Japan did before its crash–coincidence?).
Forecasting China or U.S. over the next 30 years seems a bit silly without a focus on return on capital, but the consensus opinion is that it's a done deal–China will be supreme.
I beg to differ because I don't believe large population, numbers of engineers, test scores or central planning are the lifeblood of growth, but the innovation of individuals who produce high returns on capital for their own benefit.
Nothing in this blog should be considered investment, financial, tax, or legal advice. The opinions, estimates and projections contained herein are subject to change without notice. Information throughout this blog has been obtained from sources believed to be accurate and reliable, but such accuracy cannot be guaranteed.


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Landscape photographers presented in this article defined the genre for what it is today. They explore the beauties of nature for the astonishing visual results. Much like portraiture and fashion photography, landscape photography is an almost mandatory genre for photographers during the formation of their professional careers. And not just photography - nature has always been a great source of inspiration for artists of all kinds, since the dawn of time. Its beauty, wonders, endless secrets, remarkable variety and vastness beyond imagination grace so many canvases, papers, screens, shape many stones and metals, and are told through endless streams of words. And it is because of its characteristic that depicting it the right way became a form of art, especially in photography. It might look easy, but there are so many factors determining breathless landscape photography - from the amount of light (the famous "the golden hours") to the choice of lens, exposure, format, color range, position, framing… And the just right combination of these elements creates all the incredible interpretations of landscape we witness through the evolution of contemporary photography. Whether they're black and white or color images, they often end up in the fine art photography category for their great impact and extraordinary appeal.
Want to learn how to master landscape photography yourself? Here's our book tip!
Editors' Tip: Digital Landscape Photography: In the Footsteps of Ansel Adams and the Masters
Landscape photography truly is art and science combined. Legends like Ansel Adams and his contemporaries Edward Weston and Eliot Porter pioneered this form of expression to perfection, and now, the second edition of the bestselling book Digital Landscape Photography: In the Footsteps of Ansel Adams and the Masters will demonstrate what can be learned from the working processes of these masters, and how their lessons on light, composition, and mood can be applied today. As one of Adams' natural successors in the field, Michael Frye's own photography provides many stunning examples of the results that can be achieved. This new edition is enhanced with more discussions of the Zone system, including information about testing your digital camera's true dynamic range.
Featured image: Ansel Adams - Wilderness, CA. June 2012, Near Thousand Island Lake, via Jeff P
I really can't even think of landscape photography without Ansel Adams. The American photographer was, and still is, widely celebrated across his beloved homeland, for preserving the country's natural treasures through his photographs. Ansel Adams was also an environmentalist, which is so visible in his work.
His images are full of detail, depth and very contrasted, thanks to a technique called Zone System, which he developed to determine proper exposure and adjust the contrast of the final prints of his photographs.
He also founded Group f/64 (referring to exposure value), consisting of seven other fellow photographers, like Imogen Cunningham and Edward Weston. The group promoted a new Modernist aesthetic based on precision in exposure. Ansel Adams died in 1984, at the age of 82.
Featured image: Ansel Adams, Wikimedia Commons; Ansel Adams - The Tetons and the Snake River, 1942, Wikimedia Commons.
You probably heard of Andreas Gursky because his 1999 photograph, Rhein II, held the record of being the most expensive photograph in the world, having been sold for $4.3 million in 2011 (the first place is now owned by Peter Lik's Phantom). This German photographer works in color, and his images are fairly large and almost abstract in composition, geometry and, just, perfect. Andreas Gursky translates nature into textures, lines, shapes and chunks of colors of impossible explanation, even though there actually is one. Aside from taking advantage of elevated shooting points, he digitally manipulates his photographs, eliminating the unnecessary elements of it in order to create his visions, untouched by man. Many times, his works call to mind great works of impressionism and pointillism.
Featured images: Andreas Gursky, Wikimedia Commons
Like August Sander was in charge of making an archive of German citizens of the 20th century, Bernd and Hilla Becher's job was to document the country's disappearing architecture. They were a married couple of conceptual artists and founders of the Dusseldorf School of Photography, whose images of buildings and other industrial structures immersed in nature were done with such dedication and attention to detail. Many consider their photographs to be portraits, rather than documentaries. Often constructing a collage, the photographs of Bernd and Hilla Becher called for the preservation of many of the buildings they immortalized on paper, and for several of them, they secured a bright future and existence.
Featured images: Bernd & Hilla Becher receive the Erasmus Prize 2002 from Prince Bernhard (the Netherlands). Photograph- Courtesy of the Praemium Erasmianum Foundation, 2002, Wikimedia Commons; Bernd, Hilla Becher, Lime Kiln, Harlingen, Northern Holland, 1900, via BM .
In my feature on Sebastião Salgado, I reviewed the extraordinary career of this brilliant artist. Strongly and clearly influenced by Ansel Adams, he creates imagery that takes your breath away.
What adds additional value to his work is the fact that his photographs capture nature from all around the world, its hidden corners and the most remote areas, unspoiled by humankind.
The art of Sebastião Salgado lures in black and white contrasts, light, shadows, rich details and amazing views, and he too has a hidden agenda - to save our planet's dying wildlife. His series Genesis, created between 2004 and 2011, salutes human communities that continue to live in accordance with their ancestral traditions and cultures. He lives and works in his homeland Brazil.
Featured images: Sebastião Salgado, Wikimedia Commons; Sebastião Salgado - Pedaços, via cvpts
If there's a photographer who used the medium to make proper abstract works, then it's Mario Giacomelli. This Italian photographer was self-taught, whose art was inspired by the Neo-Realist films of Rossellini and De Sica. His images of the community of Scanno are as famous as his images of landscape, in a strong contrast that turns almost everything into black and white photography, and where only small details are left undefined by the exposure. The aerial images of fields and arable land are a proper form of abstract, black and white images that look like pencil drawings and are often unrecognizable at first glance. Mario Giacomelli is celebrated in Italy, and his works are part of many museum collections, like the MoMA and the MET in New York.
Featured images: Mario Giacomelli, Wikimedia Commons
Galen Rowell was an American wilderness photographer and climber, who began doing professional nature photography in 1972. The same year saw his cover story in National Geographic. Considering himself a great adventurer, he was also a writer of topics regarding humanitarian and environmental issues and mountaineering, having published eighteen books and numerous magazine articles. Many of his photographs depict natural events that have to do with light, such as thunderstorms and rainbows and other optical phenomena. The photos of Galen Rowell are of great beauty, where landscapes are soaked in color and glow in all their power. He was killed in a plane crash near the Inyo County Airport in Bishop, California, on August 11, 2002, along with three other people.
Featured image: Image via National Geographic
Mostly known for his still lives of vegetables taken in the studio and for, you know, being one of the most influential photographers of all time, Edward Weston also produced some of the world's most famous landscape photographs.
His fascination with highly detailed forms and shapes, highlighted by just the right amount of light, make his images so realistic and alive - you feel like you can almost touch them.
For a period of his life, he was a companion of Tina Modotti, and the two artists influenced each other greatly during that time. His photographs were very curated, characterized by long exposures calculated by the exposure meters, carefully printed in platinum and from 1946, carried out from a brand new Kodachrome filmstrip. Edward Weston died in 1958, ten years after being diagnosed with Parkinson's.
Featured images: Edward Weston after receiving a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1937, via cea +.
Sandra Senn is a Swiss photographer who mostly works with composed elements of architecture and nature.
But when there's no architecture, her images depict the pureness of landscape.
Against the natural background, Sandra Senn selects an alteration compared to the image of the uncontaminated nature through its human intervention: dams, slopes with chair lifts and snow cannons, artificial bathing vessels and gravel pits. At this point she adds and edits a shot with medium-format real landscapes on the computer. Mostly she captures that moment in which the intervention made by the subject standing in the picture illustrates the country itself. Sandra Senn currently lives and works in Berlin and Zurich.
Featured image courtesy of sandrasenn.com
Where there's artistic landscape photography, there is Per Bak Jensen, Denmark's leading photographer in the field. Born in 1949, he was one of the pioneers of landscape photography, and what's extraordinary about him is that he never manipulates his photographs once they have been taken. They show nature's true state, depicted through very polished, yet untouched images. Per Bak Jensen is known for his series of Copenhagen's parks, cemeteries and areas around museums and monuments, deserted and haunting. His art was once described as "metaphysical realism", where the photographer creates surreal scenery out of pure realism. He is also the master of turning banality into exceptional, carefully choosing the subjects of his work.
Featured image: via galleryhip
Lois Conner is an American photographer who uses the 7" x 17" format for her platinum-printed cityscapes. She has worked in countries like Vietnam and China, where she got particularly inspired by Ming dynasty paintings. Lois Conner also explored the American West and the Native American Reservations, working and camping along the way. Her architectural photography address the infrastructural changes caused by the economy. The panoramic format of her photographs allows her to incorporate a great amount of detail in a frame and to depict cities and its difficulties, as well as those of the countryside. Lois Conner had numerous exhibitions in many noted museums worldwide, and her work can be found in many important collections.
Featured images: St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York, 2010. Courtesy of Gitterman Gallery; Cappadocia, Anatolia, Turkey, 1989. Courtesy of Gitterman Gallery. All images used for illustrative purposes only.
Bristol, United Kingdom
Neuchatel, Switzerland
Brooklyn, New York, United States of America


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Autograph letter signed "L.D. Cinti" to an unidentified male correspondent
1 page. Octavo. Dated Wednesday [?1833-1842]. In black ink. In French (with translation).
Cinti-Damoreau would like her correspondent to tell Mr. [Luigi] Cherubini that a certain Miss Claire Desprez is too ill to take an exam that day, but that he may hear her on Saturday or Tuesday.
"I count on having [Cherubini] hear her on Saturday, when she comes to take my class, unless she is still not well, and in that case it would be on Tuesday."
Slightly foxed and soiled; lightly creased at folds; trimmed; minor annotations in black-purple ink and pencil to upper edge of recto and blank verso.
Cinti-Damoreau "created the principal soprano roles in Rossini's Le siege de Corinthe (Pamyre, 1826), Moïse (Anaïs, 1827), Le comte Ory (Countess Adèle, 1827) and Guillaume Tell (Mathilde, 1829), as well as Elvire in Auber's La muette de Portici (1829) and Isabelle in Meyerbeer's Robert le diable (1831). Although she was the [Paris] Opéra's most highly paid singer, she accepted a more attractive offer from the Opéra-Comique, where from 1836 to 1841 she appeared in a succession of new operas by Auber. In 1844 she toured America with the violinist Alexandre Artôt, and continued to sing in concerts until 1848. She taught singing at the Paris Conservatoire (1833–56) and published a Méthode de chant (1849), other singing manuals and some songs. Her voice, outstanding for its purity of tone and intonation, was likened to a perfect piano, and her ornamentation was stylish and varied." Philip E.J. Robinson in Grove Music Online.
Luigi Cherubini (1760-1842) was an "Italian, composer, conductor, teacher, administrator, theorist, and music publisher, active in France. He took French citizenship, probably in 1794, and was a dominant figure in Parisian musical life for half a century. He was a successful opera composer during the Revolutionary period, and had comparable success with religious music from the beginning of the Restoration. He was made director of the Paris Conservatoire and consolidated its pre-eminent position in music education in Europe." Michael Fend in Grove Music Online.
Item #23721
Price: $250.00 other currencies


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You may have noticed a new addition to the sites detail page on Most Inspired — "Most Used Colors".
Each site that is showcased in the Most Inspired gallery now shows the 10 most used colors.
The colors are automatically extracted from the screenshot, and are shown in order, starting with the most used color.
The most used color is often the site background, and it's no suprise that the most popular color is white, the top 10 is:
More new features are in the works! Stay informed subscribe to our RSS Feed or follow us on Twitter.


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As I write tonight, I'm sitting in the back garden of the holiday let we've rented in Wales. The house is not familiar, but the surroundings are: the bells ringing at St. Mary's Church, now next door instead of across town. The utter lack of the sound of cars, just voices carrying softly as people pass up the lane. Bumblebees buzzing in the jasmine. The odd hum that the washing machines make here as they tumble their very tiny loads of wash.
We are back in the UK. It almost feels like home, but it isn't, not any more. We've really only been gone a bit over six months, and in a way, it feels like it was just yesterday we left, particularly while walking around town. On the other hand, my children have sprouted, British accents completely washed away by the Midwestern inflections they grew up with. They have grown, the children we've left behind have grown – evidence of the time that has passed.
The strongest realization to hit me today is that I feel more comfortable in my skin here than I do back "home" in Illinois most days. I think here is where I started to find myself, and push myself more with the blog and my writing in general. Here I made friends that weren't entirely based on baby playgroups and swim classes, not that that is bad. Here I wasn't just "Sam and Maddie's mom". Which again, isn't bad, just not ALL who I am.
Here in the UK, I had my perspective, my "hook" – the American in Wales. Here, I could offer up a unique point of view for readers in both the US and the UK. The PR firms that I had built relationships with are UK/European based, and while (I think) I still have my UK readership, I'm not physically in the UK, so I don't know what that means for them.
At home, I have felt, at times, like I'm stumbling a bit to find, and refine, my voice again. I think part of that is deciding who I am – in the US, an American back in her homeland. Thankfully throughout all this my follower numbers have grown, something which gives me hope that I am headed in the right direction.
When I leave the UK, I head directly to BlogHer, where I will meet and mingle with about 5,000 other bloggers all in various stages of their blogging careers. There is much to be learned from each and every one of them, be it inspiration, motivation, gumption. I am looking forward to meeting and connecting with other women who share this crazy, often-times soul-baring activity called blogging.
And sure, there will be goodies and parties and whathaveyou. But what I hope to get most out of BlogHer?
It is to connect with others, meet some really great people, and ultimately, gain confidence and find my mojo again.
And while I haven't been to a conference as big as BlogHer, I have been to conferences in the UK, and this is the advice that I will pass on to new conference goers:
Be yourself. Pick out your favorite outfits, your favorite shoes, the things that make YOU feel fabulous. Put on your best smile. By all means, brush your hair and avoid food in your teeth *and we will tell you if your skirt gets caught up in your spanx, thankyouverymuch* but don't go changin'. If you don't have anything that makes you feel this way, I'm giving you permission to shop. But. This is NOT the week to try to learn to wear makeup if that isn't who you are or what you do, or shove your feet into heels if you are a Birkenstock girl.
Wear your sparkling personality instead. That is what is going to make the strongest impression on anybody.


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Pivot is off to a confident start and is excited to keep things moving along. We have a debuting novelist with a well-earned reputation as a Toronto art and culture dynamo, a Pivot favourite returning to showcase some new poetry, and a regular of the Pivot audience who happens also to be not just a Music Guy, but an emerging poet of real talent. It'll be the end of January. It'll be around 8:00 or so.
Cast List:
Paula Eisenstein grew up in London Ontario. Every few summers Paula's parents migrated the family to Gaspe Quebec for a few weeks, where her mother's family was from, and where luckily the ocean got enough into her. She was a champion swimmer and had curly hair. Paula still has curly hair and she still swims. She swims at the Toronto YMCA for an hour, a couple of times a week. Paula's greatest feat was writing her first novel Flip Turn which was published this past November by Mansfield Press. Paula also had writing published in some other publications like Descant and The White Collar Book Anthology. She contributed as an editor to Influencysalon.ca. Now Paula lives in Toronto. Paula never had work published in Room Magazine but she keeps trying.
Jeff Latosik's work has appeared in journals and magazines across the country. He is the winner of the 2008 P.K. Page Award, This Magazine's Great Literary Hunt (2009), and the 2011 Trillium Award for Poetry. He lives in Toronto where he teaches at Humber College. His new project "Sackbut"(an electronic synthesizer created by Ontario inventor Hugh LeCaine in the 1940s) looks at those moments of innovation in our personal and social lives where the possible reorients itself in our view and where we gain a vantage point both on the systemic pressures that work on us and the way in which those pressures, and our language, might be renewed.
James Lindsay is co owner of Pleasence Records. His poetry has appeared in Taddle Creek, Prairie Fire, and the Rogue Stimulus anthology (Mansfield Press). He is also a music writer and regular contributor to Weird Canada and Offerings, Toronto free music monthly.
Pivot Readings at the Press Club
Featuring Paula Eisenstein, Jeff Latosik, & James Lindsay
Wednesday, January 30th
850 Dundas Street West
PWYC. Suggested Donation: $5.00
Hosted by Jacob McArthur Mooney