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Gukovskii, Matvei
Gukovskii, Matvei Aleksandrovich
Born May 8 (20), 1898, in St. Petersburg; died Feb. 6, 1971, in Leningrad. Soviet historian; doctor of historical sciences (1939).
Gukovskii graduated from the Leningrad University in 1923 and became a teacher there in 1934 (a professor from 1937). During 1946–69 he was the director of the Scientific Library of the State Hermitage; in 1959 he became head of the subdepartment of medieval history in the history department of Leningrad State University. Gukovskii made an especially important contribution to the study of the Italian Renaissance. He was a member of the International Institute for the Study of Leonardo da Vinci (Raccolta Vinciana) and the Institute of Leonardo da Vinci (Amboise, France).
WORKSMekhanika Leonardo da Vinchi. Moscow, 1947.
Ital'ianskoe Vozrozhdenie, vols. 1–2. Leningrad, 1947–61. "Rozhdenie i gibel' ital'ianskogo Vozrozhdeniia." In the collection
Tr. Gosudarstvennogo Ermitazha, vol. 8. Leningrad, 1964. Leonardo da Vinchi, 2nd ed. Leningrad-Moscow, 1967.


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I'm Actually A Little Surprised He Didn't Show Up Dressed As A Vampire
Does he not still have that vampire costume from Dark Shadows? "Yeah, no. I don't. Even I don't want to be reminded about that mess" whispered Johnny Depp.
When I heard the words "And later on in the show, a performance by the Hollywood Vampires" during a commercial break last night, my first instinct was to run and grab my second-hand embarrassment snuggie. Sure, it's just an old Popples sleeping bag that I've rigged to cut off all light and sound for when shit gets too humiliating, but it gets the job done. And when faced with the possibility of watching Johnny Depp define desperate cool dad in front of millions, I don't want to take any chances.
I don't know if Johnny Depp is the Hollywood Vampires' mascot or what, but he should be. Nothing says "A sinister being has drained me of my hotness" like Johnny Depp's face. But I will say this: the Hollywood Vampires' pseudo-tribute to Lemmy wasn't as bad as I thought it might be. Their performance was kind of like watching Johnny Depp, Joe Perry, Alice Cooper, and Duff McKaagan play Rock Band in the 7th layer of Hell, and that's not the worst, right?
The good news is that if the Hollywood Vampires go on tour, they'll always have a place to stay in Australia. While shuffling along the red carpet last night, Johnny admitted/mumbled to 7 News Sydney that Barnaby Joyce – Australia's Minister of Agriculture and the dude who threatened to send Boo and Pistol Depp to the Rainbow Bridge – recently offered to let him stay at his house. Yikes, be careful what you wish for, Barnaby. You'll need every environmental scientist in Australia on hand to quarantine the critters Johnny Depp leaves behind in your bed sheets.

subset: commoncrawl


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Puyo Puyo Tetris is a crossover of two fundamentally simple but super addictive puzzle games into a single package – Puyo Puyo (referred to as Puyo Pop in the West) and the timeless Tetris – mashed together into a variety of modes in a colourful, anime style.
While I think it's safe to assume that everyone is familiar with Tetris, Puyo Puyo hasn't reached the same level of familiarity. Puyos drop in sets of two coloured blobs, and the aim is to connect four or more of the same colour together so that they disappear. The skill in Puyo Puyo is to chain these groupings in a way that clearing one grouping will result another grouping being cleared, and so on.
The game features a story mode, and while I don't understand a word of Japanese, the plot clearly doesn't take itself seriously at all. Commencing with Tetriminos falling from the sky, the main cast is based on Tetris blocks and Puyos – with other characters including a giant fish, a robot and a wonderfully cool bear with a scarf.
It's easy to skip the dialogue and get to the action if you prefer, and you are left with 70 different stages (approximately half of which are battles with other characters). These stages provide an introduction to the modes on offer and you will notice a gradual increase in difficulty as you progress. Should you find something too tricky, failing a stage four times gives you the option to skip to the next level.
Each stage has three stars available, with the first awarded for clearing the level and the other two for beating a goal – typically granted for winning within a set time or reaching a high score. Each game rewards you with in-game currency which can be used towards unlockables such as alternate player voices or different puyo and tetrimo display types.
While you can just play standard Puyo Puyo or Tetris should you wish – you can select either of these directly from the start screen – the game offering standard Puyo Puyo, Puyo Puyo Fever and Tiny Puyo Puyo modes, as well as the typical Tetris options of 40 lines, marathon (150 lines with and endless option) or ultra mode (3 minutes), the greatest interest is in the variety of battle modes.
Battle modes enable you to either face a CPU opponent at a set difficulty (handily colour coded on a scale from yellow to red) or a consecutive mode – where you face successive opponents of increasing difficulty.
Versus mode is a standard competition (featuring the standard Puyo Puyo and Tetris) where you are free to compete against the same or different discipline, while Swap mode has the game switch between the two.
Big Bang is probably the weakest battle mode, with the player on the Puyo Puyo stage plays 'fever mode' – effectively a series of pre-set chains that require completing within a time limit – whereas on the Tetris side you are presented a series of lines to clear with Tetriminoes. When the time runs out, the better you performed, the more damage you do to your opponent. The problem is that the Tetris side is incredibly easy and effectively requires no skill at all.
Party mode is a standard in puzzle games – here you compete for the highest score in a set time limit and a series of power-ups are interspersed in the game field, activated when they are cleared. These power-ups provide a variety of effects, such as impacting your opponent or boosting your score.
A totally new mode for this game features a mixture of Puyo Puyo and Tetris on the same field, and is probably the most complicated to get your head around. Puyos sit on top of Tetriminoes, which drop through Puyos to the bottom. Clearing lines or forming Puyo groups within a short timescale enables you to build chains with either.
When you are facing Puyos against Tetriminos, the games features slight adaptations to balance them together – for example you can instant-drop Puyos to the bottom, while the Tetris side features a gauge to store attack drops. I found that you can build attacks with Tetris much quicker, however a high Puyo Puyo attack chain will do much greater damage, which helps keep things relatively balanced.
The game features 4-player multiplayer via either the internet or ad-hoc. While Puyo Puyo Tetris is compatible with the PlayStation TV, unfortunately the game does not support offline multiplayer, which is a shame, albeit an expected one.
There weren't that many people online, but I didn't struggle to get a game as long as I wasn't too picky over the mode I wanted to play. I did find a very small amount of lag when clearing lines – although this is likely due to my competitors being based in Japan. A word of warning though, I found the typical standard online to be very high, so expect a challenge.
The game allows for a huge amount of customisation, however this is the main area where a lack of Japanese knowledge can be a struggle. Edit difficulty (handily colour coded), change game timers, starting difficulty levels, activate hard drops and edit visual setting such as the background or display of Puyos and Tetrimos are the variables available for you to change. One fantastic feature is that the game allows you to save replays of your games for reminding your victories, high scores or great escapes.
While the game is obviously in Japanese, I had very few struggles with navigating most of the game (aside from occasionally forgetting the standard Japanese switching of circle and cross for select and cancel) – the gameplay itself requires little explanation, and the use of pictures, typical menu layouts and occasional English words mean that this is probably one of the most import friendly games you will encounter.
Puyo Puyo Tetris is a fantastic combination of two great puzzle games. It looks great and super vibrant, offering a massive selection of modes, and competitive multiplayer. Unfortunately, a release outside Japan appears to have been blocked by Ubisoft obtaining the exclusive license for console and handheld Tetris games outside of Japan for Tetris Ultimate, however I'd definitely recommend picking this up on an import if you have any interest in puzzle games.


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Download Registration Form
Download Registration Form (Spanish)
STUDENT/STAFF RATIO: 9 to 1, Average enrollment: 34 students
DROP OFF: between 8:30 and 9 AM.
PICK UP: 12 Noon, Counselors will stay until the last student is picked up (12:30 pm). Parents/Guardians/Baby sitters will need to show ID in order to pick up students.
BOARD GAMES: The summer rec program has a variety of age-appropriate board games to offer to the students who attend the summer program.
CARD GAMES: The card games offered to the students will be age appropriate and include the following:
ARTS & CRAFTS: Ty-dye T-Shirt day; Coloring Books with markers and crayons; and other crafts that are part of a themed week.
VARIOUS ACTIVITIES: Chalk games, jump rope, GaGa Court, Fishing in the canal.
SPORTS THEMES: Tag football, basketball, soccer, kickball.
THEMED WEEKS: Dr. Seuss/Oh the Places You'll Go, Sports Jersey, Super Hero, Disney, Harry Potter, Talent Show.
Field Trips/Friday events:
- Liberty Pizza (students will make their own pizza)
- OwowCow (ice cream)
- Movie at the Justice Center
- Grand Faloons
- Water Wednesday
Download Registration Form


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The Super League war was the corporate dispute that was fought in and out of court during the mid-1990s between the rugby league football competition of Australasia.[1][2][3] After much court action from the already-existing ARL to prevent it from happening, Super League ran one premiership season parallel to the ARL's in 1997 after signing enough clubs disenchanted with the traditional administration to do so.[4] At the conclusion of that season a peace deal was reached and both Leagues united to form the National Rugby League of today.
Prior to News Corporation's Super League proposal, the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) and Australian Rugby League (ARL) had planned to rationalise the number of Sydney teams. In July 1986 The Daily Telegraph reported:
Following the expansion of the competition throughout the 1980s and '90s many clubs were not financially viable in the long term. The NSWRL solution was to eject them from the competition when they no longer met prescribed criteria. Although Newtown were ejected from the competition at the end of the 1983 season, attempts to remove Western Suburbs were unsuccessful after court action. Thereafter the NSWRL introduced an invitation-based system whereby it could fail to invite a club, thus excluding it. This left clubs without the security of continued participation in the premiership.
On 9 April 1992 A blueprint for the expansion of Rugby League was tabled by the Premiership Policy Committee of the NSWRL, followed in August by an Organization Review, by Dr G. Bradley, which was distributed to the premiership clubs. The Bradley Report, as it became known, was central to the ARL replacing the NSWRL as the governing body of the premiership. The report concluded that:
Each club received a letter of invitation for the 1995 season on 2 May 1994. Included were a number of admission criteria including the ability to "attract a minimum average home attendance of 10,000 people". Brisbane Broncos transferred a 20% share of their company to Northern Rivers Ltd, the new shareholders received the following:
News Corporation had been involved with rugby league since 1985 when a News subsidiary took charge of the merchandising division of the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL). They were responsible for wholesale and retail sales of jerseys, footballs, socks and other memorabilia. The net income of the marketing division rose from $700 in 1982 to $700,000 in 1991.
In the early 1990s News Corporation began to acquire the broadcast rights to popular sports in order to build pay television viewership. Significant purchases included:
At this time in Australia Optus began competing with Telstra for the local telephony market. Both carriers developed comprehensive strategies involving the rollout of billions of dollars worth of cable capable of providing the end user with additional services, including Internet and pay television.
In 1993 Kerry Packer had purchased the broadcasting rights for rugby league on free-to-air television until 2000 for $80,000,000, with pay television rights included for free. Despite the fact that there was no pay television service launched in Australia at the time, overseas experience had shown that once pay television became available in Australia, these rights would be worth a substantial amount of money to the game. News approached the ARL in 1994 with a view to purchasing the pay television rights. "We're looking for Pay TV rights. You can still have free-to-air rights," News Limited Chief Executive Ken Cowley told Ken Arthurson. Cowley was advised to consult with Packer. Whilst rugby league would receive no additional benefit on their pay television rights, Packer was in a position to on-sell these rights for a substantial profit. This was later done in return for a 5% stake in Optus Vision, valued in the late 1990s at approximately $150,000,000.
Pay television was introduced to Australia in the mid-1990s with cables being laid down by Optus and Telstra. Each of these telecommunications companies was aligned with a pay television company: Optus with Optus Television (partially owned by Kerry Packer's Publishing and Broadcasting Limited and Seven Network) and Telstra with Foxtel (owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation and the then Government-owned Telstra). Both Foxtel and Optus sought the exclusive rights to rugby league. Telstra did not consider a lack of rugby league product as acceptable, and the decision was made that rugby league had to be included on Telstra's cable.
On 6 February 1994 Packer declared himself to be the owner of all broadcast rights for rugby league in Australia, and that all clubs, as members of the ARL, were bound by it. He threatened to "sue the arse off" any club that stepped out of line. In 1994 the NSWRL invited News to appoint a nominee to sit on the NSWRL Board. The Australian Rugby League (ARL) offered News naming rights to the first grade competition for $8,000,000 in cash and kind. The ARL would not budge on the cash component being a minimum of $4,000,000, and News rejected the offer, as it believed the in-kind component, which would mainly come from Ansett (in which News had a controlling stake), would exceed $4,000,000.
In 1993 at an ARL general meeting, Brisbane Broncos CEO John Ribot had put forward a proposal to play the Grand Final in Brisbane. In 1993 the Broncos had moved out of Lang Park and into the 60,000 capacity ANZ Stadium (the main venue of the 1982 Commonwealth Games). With ANZ able to hold almost 20,000 more than the league's then Grand Final venue, the Sydney Football Stadium, and with the Broncos now winning premierships, Ribot proposed not only moving the Grand Final to Brisbane in anticipation of a higher attendance not seen since the days of the Sydney Cricket Ground, and to also play the game at night to maximise television ratings and profits. The proposal was denied by Arthurson and Quale who refused to move the league's showcase game from Sydney. Ribot, Wayne Bennett, and the Broncos went away from the meeting believing that despite all of their advantages over the traditional Sydney teams, the Broncos would never get a fair deal as long as the competition was run by the Sydney based establishment.
In May 1994, John Ribot first discussed with some of the club's high-profile players the possibility of a hypothetical new competition with higher salaries.[5] The structure for an alternate rugby league competition was outlined in an internal News document entitled Superleague on 12 August 1994. The objective was to form a News-owned company called Superleague Limited that would establish an elite Australasian rugby league competition with 12 privately owned teams, four of which would be owned by News. An internationally televised World Club Series would also be contested amongst clubs from Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. News would receive a 15% management fee, profit sharing from the clubs it owned and other benefits. Revenue would be derived from sponsorship, free-to-air and pay television rights, gate takings and merchandising. The projected operational profit was $5 million by 1997 and $12 million by 1999 .
One objective of the proposal was "to ensure that no other competition could exist in competition to Superleague". Accordingly, it was considered necessary to have at least four teams based in Sydney in order to maintain the game's largest base, and to ensure that all teams were privately owned. To ensure this outcome, the following steps were outlined:
The document noted that the co-operation of players and some clubs was essential for the new competition. It acknowledged that compensation might have to be offered to unwanted players and teams, and that it would be difficult to use current names and logos.
On 17 October, the board of the ARL resolved to hold a special board meeting to discuss several issues, including Super League and a "reduction in the number of Sydney teams". Three days later ARL Chairman Ken Arthurson warned the Brisbane Broncos that they faced expulsion over their involvement with Super League. He told the Sydney Morning Herald that "the League has the right, as you well know, to deny admission to any team in the Winfield Cup". Nonetheless, reports of a proposed breakaway competition continued, and on 6 November Arthurson rang Quayle from England and instructed him to inform the President of each club that he wished to discuss the signing of 3 to 5 year loyalty agreements in order to continue playing in the premiership.
A meeting was held between Arthurson, Quayle, Cowley and Graham Lovett at the offices of News on 10 November. After querying the rumours of a breakaway competition, Arthurson was informed by Cowley that News would like to see a twelve team competition "with or without" the ARL, and that News was "seeking a slice of the television cake". Four days later, Arthurson had a further conversation with Cowley in which he stated that he would "never give ground on... the idea that in any game in which News Limited participates, the control of the game must rest with the ARL". Cowley replied that a proposal was being prepared for the ARL. In a meeting with each of the clubs, Arthurson reiterated that "the one thing that was not negotiable was the fact that we would never be a party to the accepted authority of the game losing control". He concluded that as "we've got all the players tied up and all the clubs tied up, it's pretty difficult to" start another competition.
News began developing the Super League proposal for presentation to the ARL and its clubs, the final draft of which was presented to News representatives on 13 December. It concluded that the economics of an Australian Super League were attractive compared to the existing competition. Three strategies where identified for its implementation:
The proposed structure of the competition included:
Arthurson responded to this proposal saying that it was "totally unacceptable" and reiterating that each club "had signed an agreement drafted by the League's legal advisers committing themselves to remaining with the League for the next five years and not to play with any other organisation."
On 22 December, News sent five clubs - Brisbane, Canberra, Newcastle,
News presented its proposal to the ARL on 30 January. The key points were.
This Super League proposal was an alternative to the existing ARL plan of a 14 team competition outlined in the Bradley Report which the ARL was already in the process of implementing. However, a solid financing would be made available to the League. In terms of Free-to-air television (FTA) rights, Kerry Packer retained the rights to the 20 team competition and would have been eligible to bid for the FTA rights to the new 12 team Super League.
Three days later, the ARL faxed a letter to each club three delegates to a meeting on 6 February to obtain "their position in relation to the 'Super League' proposal and the League's role, if any, in that proposal" and to give the clubs "some certainty about their future". At this meeting, News presented the Super League proposal concept to the clubs' representatives, reaffirming the role of the ARL. After the News representatives had left the meeting, Arthurson confirmed that the ARL "does not want to be part of the News proposal" and sought from each club a statement of its position. The clubs that had not signed a confidentiality agreement with News expressed their commitment to the ARL, whereas the representatives of Brisbane, Canberra, Newcastle and the Western Reds indicated that they would only play in a competition owned by the ARL. All clubs were then reminded by the ARL's solicitor, Colin Love, that "you all signed an agreement to remain loyal to the League for the next five years... (and) this agreement will withstand any legal challenge". A motion was unanimously carried that "it be recommended to the Board of Directors of the League that any clubs not signing the new Agreement by 9 am on 8 February 1995, or in the case of the Western Reds, by 9 am on Thursday 9 February 1995, be expelled from the 1995 competition." News was then informed that the clubs had unanimously rejected the Super League proposal.
On 7 February 1995, the ARL faxed a letter to each of the clubs, accompanied by a draft deed that was to be signed by 9am the following day. The letter stated that:
The coercive approach employed to signing this legal agreement was ruled in later litigation to be in breach of the Trade Practices Act.
It should be noted that Mr John Ribot gave evidence that he had a telephone conversation with Mr Cowley shortly after the meeting of 6 February 1995. In that conversation, Mr Ribot expressed the view that, having regard to the ARL's attitude at the meeting, it would not be possible to proceed with the Super League competition in its then form. According to Mr Ribot, Mr Cowley had replied that he would like Mr Ribot to speak to Mr Smith "about putting a different proposal together to progress the matter". Mr Ribot also gave evidence that about a fortnight after the meeting of 6 February 1995, he had several conversations with Mr Smith. Mr Smith had indicated that he needed to put in place a strategy to overcome the ARL's refusal to support the Super League proposal.
In the weeks following the 6 February meeting with the ARL, Messers Cowley, Smith and Ribot offered players and clubs huge sums to bring them across to the new competition.[6]
At least one loyal club took the view that Super League, perhaps in an altered version, was not out of the question. In a letter dated 16 February 1995, Mr Hudson, the chairman of the board of Manly Warringah, wrote to Mr Quayle: "there are great advantages for News Limited in getting their current proposal, or some version of it, finally accepted. Hence, we feel that the proposition is not 'dead and buried' and that attempts to de-stabilise the competition will continue. There is a vulnerability in this which News Limited have identified. Their twelve (12) team competition has just four (4) teams in Sydney. They can see that a Sydney club can only survive with great difficulty financially and logistically, against the competition provided by one city clubs, and now (for Brisbane) a two (2) club city. If the situation of the eleven (11) teams in Sydney is not addressed in some way by the League, the threat of a take-over, or such like, will continue to loom large. We suggest that a plan to address the problems of the eleven (11) Sydney clubs vis-a-vis their colleagues in other cities and in other states is urgently needed." The letter went on to request that the question of the Sydney clubs be considered by the Premiership Policy Committee on an urgent basis.
The committee did consider the letter at its meeting of 14 March 1995. The meeting (at which Mr Quayle was present) unanimously agreed that the "future structure of the Winfield Cup competition should contain fewer Sydney clubs". The committee also expressed the view that "the Board should convene as soon as possible to demonstrate leadership on the issue of fewer Sydney clubs".
The Premiership Policy Committee decided to push forward with a plan to reduce the number of Sydney teams before any player, coach or club had moved to Super League. The ARL had handed out loyalty agreements for the clubs to sign, then immediately went about a plan to get rid of clubs.
In the meantime, a meeting of the board of the League, held on 20 February 1995, received a report from the League's solicitor, Mr Love, that all clubs, except Brisbane and Canberra, had signed Loyalty Agreements. The board agreed to accept the amendments proposed by Canberra and to have Mr Love continue to negotiate with the Brisbane Broncos on outstanding issues. Agreement appears to have been reached shortly thereafter.
In mid-March 1995 a meeting took place between Mr Cowley and Mr Arthurson. The minutes of the ARL's board meeting of 24 March 1995 record Mr Arthurson's report of that discussion. According to Mr Arthurson's account, the discussion had been cordial. Mr Cowley had assured him that News would still be pursuing the principle of Super League, but had given an assurance that any proposals in respect of its establishment would be made directly to the ARL and not to the clubs.
On 16 March 1995 (2 days after the Premiership Policy Committee had already committed itself to a reduction of clubs), Mr Arthurson wrote to each of the clubs, referring to the meeting with Mr Cowley. The letter included the following: "Mr Cowley has given me an assurance that, even though News Limited supports the principle of a Super League, any further approaches to clubs will be made through the Australian Rugby League. I accept that these assurances were given to me in good faith and I will keep you informed of any further developments if we are approached by News Limited in the future. That is the positive news. Unfortunately, I have also been presented with evidence that representatives from some clubs have been speaking with representatives of News Limited in relation to the participation of these clubs in a Super League, after the clubs signed the loyalty deed. It is important that all clubs realise that those clubs which have had discussions with News Limited regarding the Super League proposal after signing the loyalty deed, are likely to be in breach of their obligations in the deed. As Chairman of the Australian Rugby League, if I receive evidence of any clubs having any further discussions with News Limited or any other party in relation to their involvement in any other competition, I will consider such involvement a serious breach of the loyalty deed and I will be recommending that the ARL consider the expulsion of those clubs from the ARL competition and legal action under the deed."
On 23 March 1995, a meeting took place within News. The participants included Messrs Cowley, Smith and Ribot, together with Mr Rupert Murdoch. The notes for discussion at that meeting were in evidence, although not referred to by the trial Judge. The notes, which were presumably seen by Mr Murdoch, state that the first attempt to build an Australian Super League had been unsuccessful, because News had made some wrong assumptions. In particular, it had been assumed that the threat of clubs defecting to an alternative competition would pressure the ARL to accept the concept and that the ARL had the ability to grant television rights to News. News' position had been weakened because the clubs did not think that News would follow through with a rival competition outside the ARL. Moreover, Mr Packer had dominated events, in large measure because of his threat at the meeting of 6 February 1995 to sue clubs in the event of breach. This threat had "spooked" club officials. What was needed, according to the notes, in order to set up a competition in 1997 or, perhaps, 1996, was a second, more aggressive approach. Building an Australian Super League to capture television rights would cost $60 million over four years. Super League would be owned and operated by News.
The key elements of the more aggressive approach were to:
a) Sign up all the players required for a ten team Australian competition, at approximately twice their current earnings;
b) Mount a challenge to the "Five Year Agreement" binding the clubs;
c) Credibly mount a rival Super League without the "ARL Establishment", even though the "best" outcome was for the ARL to co-operate.
Clearly enough, Mr Murdoch approved the option of the "rebel competition". Thereafter, detailed planning took place within the News organisation. The planning was recorded in a chart designated as the "war room" chart. The expression "war room" was apparently a reference to Mr Smith's office at News. The planning group prepared a schedule of about 200 target players, considered to be the ARL's "core playing strength" (a phrase used by Mr Raneberg, a consultant engaged by ACP). A "Presenter's Outline" was drafted, setting out, in effect, a sales pitch designed to persuade players contracted to ARL clubs to sign with Super League. Plans were formulated for approaches to be made to players and coaches in various parts of Australia and New Zealand. The plans included making travel arrangements under false names in order to preserve secrecy.
As all prospects to gain the PTV rights via a "friendly" alliance between News and the ARL were eliminated by Arthurson and Packer, News now embarked on a hostile takeover with the intent to pressure the ARL into a joint alliance. The key point being that a "new" competition resulted in new PTV rights being up for negotiation. The plan involved,
Firstly, sign the coaches and CEOs of the targeted clubs.
On or shortly after 28 March 1995, News entered contracts with the coaches of the Auckland, Canberra, Canterbury-Bankstown, Cronulla-Sutherland and Western Reds clubs. Each contract was constituted by a letter, countersigned by the particular coach. The term of the engagement in each case was three years, commencing three months after notice from News but no later than 1 January 1997. Each coach received a signing-on fee on execution of the letter. Mr Ribot acknowledged in evidence that it was very important to sign up the coaches, since they were thought to be instrumental in News' success in signing up players. He also acknowledged that in most cases the approach to the coach was made with the knowledge of the chief executive of the club.
Next, sign the majority of the high profile players at the club. This would then put the club itself into a position where it had virtually no option but to move to Super League as without key playing staff and officials the team would be basically eliminated from the ARL competition through the team reduction process which was already in play.
On 30 March 1995, the present proceedings were instituted by News. That evening, a number of Canterbury-Bankstown players attended a meeting at the request of their coach, Chris Anderson, who had already signed a contract with News. The first the players knew of the meeting was at training, when they were asked to attend that evening. At the meeting, Mr Ribot and Mr Lachlan Murdoch spoke to the players about Super League. Each player was then asked individually to sign a contract with a Super League company, which would require him to play full-time in the new competition. The players were offered salaries of between $150,000 and $350,000 per annum, plus signing-on fees of between $50,000 and $100,000. The salaries, in general, were very much greater than the payments they were entitled to under their contracts with the Canterbury-Bankstown club. The players were not permitted to consult with their managers or families, nor were they permitted to take the contracts away with them. In the event, seven players signed contracts that night. The last contract was signed well after midnight. Each player who signed was handed a cheque for the amount of the agreed signing-on fee.
More or less the same process was repeated the following day, when a total of about twenty-six players from the Brisbane Broncos, Canberra and Cronulla-Sutherland clubs signed employment contracts with various Super League companies. In each case the coach supported the Super League approach. The salaries offered to these players ranged from $80,000 to $600,000 per annum. The signing-on fees varied from $20,000 to $100,000. Other players subsequently signed similar contracts, including thirteen Auckland Warriors players, who signed employment contracts on 2 April 1995 in New Zealand.
Mr Cowley, when challenged by Mr Arthurson as to how his actions were consistent with his promise to approach through the front door, replied: "We thought that after we had bought your players that it would have such an effect on you that we would be better able to negotiate with you and come through the front door."
Packer takes over the ARL and demands team reductions.
The board of the League met at 12 noon on 1 April 1995 to consider the Super League situation. Three representatives of PBL (Publishing and Broadcasting Limited; Packer's parent company of Channel Nine) and two from Optus and Optus Vision joined the meeting. Mr Powers, on behalf of PBL and Optus Vision, stated that these organisations would provide human and financial resources to assist the League in stemming defections to Super League. Mr Powers said that Channel Nine and Optus were prepared to commit $13–20 million. He also stated that the quid pro quo would include the League making some changes to accelerate the reduction of teams and the signing of player contracts with the ARL, instead of the clubs. The board resolved, that:
a) the Canterbury-Bankstown, Cronulla-Sutherland and Canberra clubs be requested to show cause why they should not be excluded from the competition;
b) a committee be established to identify and sign players to League agreements; and
c) Mr Leckie, representing PBL and Optus vision, be appointed as a director of the League.
In the course of the meeting, Peter "Bullfrog" Moore arrived. Mr Moore was a director of both the League and ARL. He was also a director and chief executive of Canterbury-Bankstown. Mr Moore had been actively involved in supporting Super League, and in securing the signature of the Canterbury-Bankstown coach (his son-in-law) to a Super League contract. Mr Moore offered his resignation from the League and ARL to Mr Arthurson outside the meeting. His offer was accepted.
Immediately after the meeting, the League issued a press release. This stated that any players or coaches who had agreed to be associated with News would not be considered for representative selection. It also warned that the ARL would vigorously pursue through the courts any player found to have breached his obligations to the ARL. The press release indicated that the League, with the support of Channel Nine and Optus, through Optus Vision, would commit substantial resources to establishing financial incentives for players to play exclusively in the ARL competition.
On 6 April 1995, News agreed to indemnify the Canberra Raiders against any action by the ARL or the League in consequence of the club contracting with News or supporting Super League.
A further meeting of the board of the League took place on 7 April 1995. Among other things, the board discussed the actions of News in completing arrangements with the New Zealand Rugby League and the Rugby Football League. This was a matter of considerable significance to the League, since test matches between Australia, Great Britain and New Zealand had been conducted through the New Zealand and British Leagues.
A document dated 11 April 1995 summarised "deal terms" between the League and ARL and Channel Nine/Optus Vision. This provided for Channel Nine/Optus Vision to fund player contract commitments up to $40 million (This later grew to $93M plus a further $33M). The League and ARL were not to change the competition, format and frequency of the competition in a materially adverse way without the consent of Channel Nine/Optus Vision. The rights period under existing television agreements were to be extended for a further five years, with Channel Nine/Optus Vision to have a first and last right of refusal. Channel Nine/Optus Vision's funding commitment was non-recoupable, except as follows:
a) If the League and ARL agreed, it could be recouped over time out of fees received for television rights;
b) It could be recouped out of monies received by the League and ARL for assignment of player contracts;
c) The commitment could be used as a set-off against the cost of exercising the right of refusal for renewal of the television rights agreement.
News continues the pressure on clubs to jump to SL and take on all litigation risk.
During April, News made a concerted effort to sign up target clubs. By this stage, some had lost key personnel to Super League. Club representatives were told that if they did not join Super League, they would face rival clubs established in their area. Advertisements appeared in the media, giving publicity to the fact that prominent players had signed with Super League. News also placed advertisements advising players who had signed with the ARL that their contracts might be set aside because News had signed the English and New Zealand Rugby Leagues. Frequent meetings took place between News representatives and "rebel" clubs to obtain their support in implementing the proposed arrangements. In particular, meetings took place between News representatives and those clubs on 13 and 18 April 1995.
7 Clubs signed to Super League on 20 April: Auckland, Brisbane, Canberra, Canterbury-Bankstown, Cronulla-Sutherland, North Queensland and the Western Reds. Penrith signed on 3 May.
Extract from Super League Club Deed:
Clause 3 (a) provided that, subject to certain conditions, News agreed to indemnify the club (inter alia): "(i) from any liability that Club may incur to ARL and or NSWRL under the Commitment Agreement or the Loyalty Agreement or both by reason of club entering into and delivering this deed or observing or performing the provisions hereof on its part to be observed or performed". By cl.4(a) News also agreed to indemnify, again subject to certain conditions: "each of Club's directors and officers (each "Indemnified Party") from any liability that Indemnified Party may incur to ARL, NSWRL, Club, Club's members or any other person by reason of Club entering into and delivering this deed or observing or performing the provisions hereof on its part to be observed or performed". Deeds in this form were executed by Auckland, Brisbane, Canberra, Canterbury-Bankstown, Cronulla-Sutherland, North Queensland and the Western Reds. The deeds were expressed to be operative for periods of between three years (for example, Cronulla-Sutherland) and nine years (for example, Brisbane). Subsequently, on 4 May 1995, Penrith entered into a deed in similar terms, although the indemnity was wider, extending to liability under any joint venture arrangement. On 12 May 1995, the existence of the deeds to which the eight clubs were parties was publicly announced.
A total of 307 players and 10 coaches entered into Super League contracts. Of those, three players subsequently had their contract cancelled by agreement and four players had their contracts cancelled following proceedings in the New South Wales Industrial Commission. Consequently, at the date of the hearing of the appeal, 300 players were parties to the current Super League contracts. None of these had proceedings on foot seeking cancellation of the contracts. We were told that 42 of the 300 contracted players had signed on or prior to 2 April 1995. (On 1 April 1995, the League and ARL announced that it would be signing players in competition with Super League.) Counsel representing the intervening coaches and players prepared a schedule listing the 300 players. The schedule specified, in each case, whether the player was party to an ARL club contract and, if so, the year in which the contract expired. A summary of the contractual status of the 300 players is as follows:
(i) Players who never had ARL club contracts - 28
(ii) Players who had ARL club contracts expiring in 1995 or earlier - 109
(iii) Players who had ARL contracts expiring in 1996 or later - 163
Of those in the third category, 30 had contracts expiring in 1997 and only 7 had contracts expiring later than 1997.
In 3 February 1995, the Brisbane Broncos started Federal Court action against the NSWRL over salary cap rules. On 30 March 1995, News commenced legal action against the ARL, NSWRL and six clubs, alleging breaches of the Trade Practices Act.
The teams that signed to News were:
A new competition, to be called Star League, was announced on 1 April 1995 comprising these teams and the Adelaide Aces (later State of Origin and the World Cup.
On 25 September 1995, the ARL commenced legal action in the Federal Court of Australia to stop the new competition beginning in 1996. Justice James Burchett handed down his findings on 23 February 1996.[7] He found that the ARL owned rights to all club colours, logos, names and jerseys. Justice Burchett said that News had acted with "dishonesty" and "duplicity".
Formal orders were given in the Federal Court on 11 March 1996 to prevent any alternative rugby league football competition being held until 2000.[8] The scope of these orders was reduced on appeal to the Full Court on 13 March 1996, but still precluded the start of the Super League competition.[9] Rupert Murdoch described the court decision as "1-nil at half-time".
All Super League teams forfeited the first round of the ARL competition, except for the Auckland Warriors, who claimed two uncontested premiership points from their unplayed match against the Brisbane Broncos. Most Super League players played in the ARL season of 1996, with the notable exception of St George's Gorden Tallis who sat the season out, and did not play again until he joined the Brisbane Broncos in 1997.
British Rugby League boss Maurice Lindsay announced on 20 March 1996 that a new competition named Global League would be created, using the same players as the now-banned News competition, and featuring clubs such as the Cronulla Dolphins (instead of Sharks), Canberra Vikings (instead of Raiders) and Penrith Cats (instead of Panthers).
On 4 October 1996, Federal Court Justices John Lockhart, Ronald Sackville and John Van Doussa set aside all of Justice Burchett's previous orders, clearing the way for the Super League Telstra Cup to commence in 1997.[10] ARL Chairman Ken Arthurson wrote, "I was furious, hurt, bewildered... I felt as if had been run over by the Southern Aurora." Lindsay, who led the British game into Super League was ecstatic at the victory, comparing it to "winning a cup final".[11]
The ARL appealed but their case was dismissed on 15 November 1996 in, according to Arthurson, "less time than it took to play a half of football." Following the court decision, Kerry Packer met with Rupert Murdoch to resolve their differences over rugby league, and on 17 January 1997, Packer's Nine Network announced that it had secured free-to-air broadcast rights for Super League. On 22 January 1997, Ken Arthurson announced his resignation from the ARL.
With twenty-two teams playing in two competitions in 1997, crowd attendances and corporate sponsorships were spread very thinly, and many teams found themselves in financial difficulty. On 23 September 1997, the ARL announced that it was forming a new company to control the competition in 1998 and invited Super League clubs to participate. On 7 October, Rubert Murdoch announced that he was confident that there would be a single competition in 1998, and on 19 December 1997, representatives of clubs affiliated with the Australian Rugby League gathered at the Sydney Football Stadium to decide whether to accept News Limited's offer of a settlement - eventually voting in favour by 36 votes to 4.[12] As a result, in the following months the National Rugby League (NRL), jointly owned by the ARL and News Limited was formed. The conditions of this merger controversially included an agreement to reduce the number of teams competing in the NRL to 14 by the year 2000.
In 1998, Packer's Nine Network secured the free-to-air broadcasting rights for the NRL until 2007 for $13,000,000 a year. In 2001, C7 Sport unsuccessfully attempted to buy the pay television NRL rights until 2006 for $72,000,000 per annum. After News resigned these rights, and acquired the AFL broadcast rights, C7 was shut down in March 2002, leaving Fox Sports as the only Australian pay television sports network. As a result of the failure of C7, its owners commenced legal proceedings against parties, including Fox Sports, Foxtel and the NRL Partnership, for damages of $1 billion. In 2008 the case was dismissed.[13]
The free to air rights were renewed in 2005 until 2012 for an amount of $40,000,000 a year.[14]
Foxtel was originally half-owned by News Corporation and half-owned by Telstra. On 30 October 1998, PBL purchased a quarter share in Foxtel from News Corporation for $160,000,000.[15]
Due to legal costs, the Australian Rugby League posted a $9,500,000 loss in 1996. News Limited has claimed that the entire Super League exercise cost them $100,000,000, however, an article in the Australian Financial Review on 5 August 2005 has put the cost at as high as $560,000,000.
Brisbane Broncos
Gold Coast Titans
New Zealand Warriors
South Sydney Rabbitohs
Canberra Raiders
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
North Queensland Cowboys
St. George Illawarra Dragons
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Melbourne Storm
Parramatta Eels
Sydney Roosters
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Newcastle Knights
Penrith Panthers
Wests Tigers
Australia, Canberra Raiders, Sydney Roosters, Ryan Girdler, Parramatta Eels
National Rugby League, Brisbane, Queensland, World Club Challenge, North Queensland Cowboys
Penrith Panthers, Melbourne Storm, Sydney Roosters, Newcastle Knights, Gold Coast Titans
New South Wales, Queensland, Association football, Yorkshire, Australian rules football
Wigan Warriors, St Helens RLFC, London Broncos, Sheffield Eagles, Warrington Wolves
Canberra Raiders, Brisbane Broncos, North Sydney Bears, Sydney Roosters, North Queensland Cowboys
New Zealand national rugby league team, Rugby league, Fiji, Fiji national rugby league team, Suva


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Linux and X-Windows Programming assignment help
Linux Programming Assignment Help Linux is an os much like Windows or MacOS. It is the computer system software application that runs applications and the user to access the gadgets on the computer system to carry out wanted functions. The user provides the guidelines which are transformed into codes and after that carried out by the device to get the wanted outcome. Linux came into being in 1991when it started as a operating system to servers. A kernel in itself does not make an operating system, however with GNU's existing tools it made a total operating system. Linux has actually ended up being extremely popular amongst UNIX designers, due to the fact that of its mobility to lots of platforms, the resemblance to UNIX, and its software application license which is totally free and open. The services and federal governments of numerous nations are benefitting from the security and versatility of the operating system.
The X-Windows environment
One of the significant distinctions in between the Microsoft Windows and X-Windows systems is that X-Windows is client/server based. This has a considerable effect on networked makers, as the application might be running on the server, yet showing windows on a customer device. The X Window System (typically described as X or X11) is a network-transparent visual windowing system based upon a client/server design. Mainly utilized on Unix and Unix-like systems such as Linux, variations of X are likewise readily available for numerous other os. It was established in 1984, X is not just still feasible however likewise is in reality the basic environment for Unix windowing systems. The obligation and stewardship of X is presently in the hands of the X.Org Foundation; the X.Org application of the X Window System is consisted of with the majority of the significant Linux and totally free Unix circulations. Till 2004, the basic variation of X was XFree86, established by the XFree86 Project. New licensing constraints enforced by XFree86 caused the switch to X.org. The obligation and stewardship of X is presently in the hands of the X.Org Foundation; the X.Org application of the X Window System is consisted of with the majority of the significant Linux and totally free Unix circulations. Till 2004, the basic variation of X was XFree86, established by the XFree86 Project. New licensing constraints enforced by XFree86 caused the switch to X.org. In Linux the visual user interface is not a part of the os. The visual user interface discovered on the majority of Linux desktops is supplied by software application called the X Window System, which specifies a gadget independent method of handling screens, keyboards and guideline gadgets.
As of 2013, a brand-new window system called Wayland is beginning to end up being functional, and numerous circulations have actually stated they will at some point move to it, though there is still no clear schedule. Work is being done to port GTK+ and QT to Wayland, so that existing popular applications and desktop systems would require very little modifications.Cross-platform describes the capability of software application to run on more than one platform with similar (or almost similar) performance. The term platform can describe any of numerous things, or to a mix thereof, depending upon the scenario: (1) the kind of running system (e.g., FreeBSD, Linux, Mac OS X, Solaris or any of the different Microsoft Windows systems), (2) the kind of processor (e.g., x86, PowerPC, SPARC or Alpha) and (3) the kind of hardware system (e.g., mainframe, workstation, desktop, ingrained or portable). An essential consider X's hardware self-reliance is that it works with a lot of presently readily available video cards.
A window system, likewise called a windowing system, is a collection of software application that makes it simple to make the most of the window development and other graphics abilities of a computer system. It keeps an eye on all the application programs that are being utilized, the windows that are connected with them, and the status of input and output from those applications. A graphic engine is software application that is utilized by application programs to draw images on computer system screen screens. X Window (or X11) is the low level windowing system (the equivalent of the Win32 API under Windows) offered with Unix/ Linux and Mac OS X. According to this page, X11 is an alternative under Mac OS X (on my Lion-based system, X11 is readily available by default). We offer 24/7 assistance for Linux and X-Windows Programming Assignment help & Linux and X-Windows Programming research help. Our Linux and X-Windows Programming Online tutors are offered online to offer online assistance for complicated Linux and X-Windows Programming projects & research to provide with in the due date. Linux and X-Windows Programming assistance is readily available by knowledgeable tutors round the clock.Email based Linux and X-Windows Programming Assignment help services are offered 24/7. Please send us your Linux and X-Windows Programming assignment requirements at Computerscienceassignmentshelp.xyz or publish it online to obtain the instantaneous Linux and X-Windows Programming tutor assistance


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"You want to see me? I want to see 20% for ratings!"
In the drama, Oh Jeong Seh who has many scenes with Park Yuchun is called "wife". They may look like brothers but they both first met when they were shooting. They greeted each other for the first time at the filming site without time to match their scripts because of the pressing time. Though they were once indifferent to each other, they quickly became couple-like brothers just like in the drama.
Oh Jeong Seh: "It's been not only a month that I met (Park) Yuchunnie but I feel like we are long time friends. He's a cheerful, healthy and very polite friend. I like him well as my dongsaeng. He also looks like a grown-up, so much you don't feel his young age.
When I look at Yuchunnie and (Yoo) Seungho, I think about how amazing these young friends are. Even though the script comes out late, they handle perfectly these much lines and feelings. Though their characters consume a lot of feelings, they are truly praiseworthy as I watch over them."
Source: Sports Donga via Nate
Translated by: Sheena
Shared by: JYJ3
Tagged: Missing You, Oh Jung Se, Yoochun


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Depending on your needs, term coverage can be purchased so that it is in force as long as you need it. This type of insurance is commonly purchased for guaranteed periods of 10, 20, or 30 year terms. This provides for much flexibility. You may want to have insurance in place for at least 30 years, ensuring that your kids are grown and out of the house before expiration. You may want to provide income for a surviving spouse, should something happen to you. Term provides that flexibility, and does so on the cheap.
One of the biggest objections that we hear in the insurance industry is that term premiums are often wasted. The reason being, most individuals feel like they will outlive their 20 or 30 year policies. And many of them will, so they want an alternative. The downside to term lcoverage is that when the term is over the insurance policy expires worthless. To answer this objection, the insurance industry has introduced a new product called return of premium life insurance. This product commonly comes in the form of a rider, which insurers that if you dont die youll receive all your premiums back at the end your policy. This win-win situation comes at a cost, however, many return of premium policies can add 60%, to premium costs. For some, the protection of family and premium dollars, if youre fortunate enough to live are worth the extra cost. Most of the time we recommend a straight term policy, for those looking for the lowest cost.
For young families learning about personal finances, life insurance planning should be at the forefront. It offers the protection you and your family need most, and it does so at a great price. It pays to go with an independent insurance agent or to search online, in order the most attractive term life insurance rates. Since there is no tie to any one specific insurance company, they can compare a number of insurance companies to find you the best rate.
Term life insurance premiums are determined by a number of things. For obvious reasons, your health and your age are major factors in determining your insurability. The farther you go out in years, also plays a role in the insurance costs. If youre a relatively healthy 25-year-old, and just need a life insurance for a period of 10 years, term coverage is very inexpensive. If youre a 55 years old, and want a policy that will ensure you for another 20 years, the costs will be more expensive, but still reasonable when compared to whole life. Regardless of your specific situation, term is often the answer, should you need insurance for a specific period.
When it comes to the most fundamental steps of personal finance, term life insurance is one of the essentials. This is especially true for young families who are starting the personal finance evaluation process. Term life insurance is a very valuable tool for those families who need financial protection at a reasonable cost. All other protection options come at a higher rate, which is just not an option for young families, just getting started, making this type of insurance one of the most widely utilized forms of insurance available today.
Creator. Introvert. Certified travelaholic. Tv geek. Beer lover. General zombie evangelist. Award-winning web ninja.


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Saturday, January 30, 2010
Charlie's Shoes
I've tried to avoid featuring any one label too frequently, but am making an exception today. Even though I have already featured Tin Pan Alley this month, this one just came my way, and I'm too enamored of it to wait to share it. Seeing the names of each side of this record, I knew that either one of them (or both) could be a killer of a weird, wonderful number.
What would you think, upon seeing "Tin Cans, Tin Cans, Tin Cans" and "I'm Sorry I Put on Charlie's Shoes" as the potential hit tunes on this double A-sider? Especially with the extrodinary Phil Celia doing the vocals on each? (I've featured Phil Celia a few times both here and in my WFMU posts. I encourage you to seek out those previous posts, as Celia's other offerings are also excellent, deeply weird records.)
In my opinion, the winner of the blue ribbon is "Charlie's Shoes". It's got a peppy setting, a nice combo backing, and some truly peculiar lyrics, which are fairly well locked into the 1950's setting into which they were born.
That's not to say that "Tin Cans" isn't also in the running. It's got a downright odd melodic setting (although it's also one I've had trouble getting out of my head), a jazzy feeling, and some more deeply idiosyncratic lyrics (I, for one, have never thought of tin cans as being lonely). Plus, it features a solo (a very nice one, too) played on an instrument that I'm pretty sure I've never heard given a solo on a song-poem record before. I'll let you discover the details of that magic yourself.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
These Are Real Pros?
Here's one for the "what the hell" file. "The Real Pros" were, of course, whoever the Cinema Label people got for that particular session. No doubt there were actual pros on this session, but you'd be hard pressed to prove it based on the lifeless performances captured on this 45.
Of course, on the song "Yesterday's Love", they were working with some of the worst lyrics I've ever heard (even including songs written by Mac Davis). Upon hearing this for the first time, I stared at the speakers in disbelief. Yes, today's offering is one of those periodic "car crash" song-poem offerings, at least in my opinion. See what you think. (Apologies for the horrible condition of this record - it came to me that way.)
I actually bought this record because of the promise in the title of the flip side, "This World's Tribute to Elvis Presley" (the use of "This" instead of "The" in that title cracks me up).
Alas, although it, too, is fairly ridiculous, in the end it's just another fairly bad song-poem. Aside from more barely adequate musicianship, it's distiguished only by it's subject matter, which may cause it to be of more interest to some listeners.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
For All You Rodd Fans
While I try to deal with a sudden (and significant) computer problem which cropped up in the last couple of days, here's a nice single from the early days of the Preview label, from none other than Rodd Keith. The A-side is a nice piece of country flavored pop, titled "Tear Drops". I really like the interplay between Rodd and the backing vocalists on the bridge, particularly on the unlikely line "combing my hair".
The flip side, "Lonesome For You", is not nearly as interesting to me, sounding a bit like the bland material that Mitch Miller produced for Guy Mitchell in the early '50's. It does, however, have the benefit of having been written by one Flossie Waltz, who is (or was) the rare person whose name could also be a dance step.
Thursday, January 07, 2010
What Dance Did You Dance on New Year's Eve?
Happy New Year, everyone!
Here's a nice dance record that I wished I'd thought to share before your New Year's Eve parties, because I'm sure it would have gotten everyone out there dancing the "Chicken Neck Boogie". Today's song poet went way out of his or her way to find rhyme's with "Cookie", even though the reason that word was chosen appears to be because it rhymes with "Boogie", which it clearly doesn't (rhyme, that is). Ellen Wayne's cool, smooth performance is really too good for this material:
The flip side, "Too Too Late", also by Ellen Wayne, is beat to hell, and I've tried to clean up the sound as best as I could. This is a pretty standard late '50's ballad, without too much to recommend it either way, aside from one truly sloppy note on the solo. I do wish that the composer, one Mr. or Ms. "Neckers" had been the composer of "Chicken Neck Boogie" though, but that's probably too much to have asked for.
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Padres' bullpen stunned and stung in epic loss
SAN DIEGO -- The decisive seventh inning of the Padres' 16-13 loss to the Mariners Thursday night didn't feature a singular defining moment that changed the game.Instead, the San Diego bullpen -- which came undone as the Padres relinquished a 10-run lead for the first time in franchise history --
SAN DIEGO -- The decisive seventh inning of the Padres' 16-13 loss to the Mariners Thursday night didn't feature a singular defining moment that changed the game.
Instead, the San Diego bullpen -- which came undone as the Padres relinquished a 10-run lead for the first time in franchise history -- fell victim to a string of seven consecutive two-out singles. Over a span of mere minutes, a five-run lead had evaporated into a four-run deficit.
Simply put, nobody stopped the bleeding.
• Did You Know: 10 stats from crazy game
"Someone just has to hop on the mound, execute a pitch, get the job done," Padres manager Andy Green said afterward. "I know everybody out there is giving everything they absolutely have. ... It snowballed at that point in time.
"We had plenty of opportunities to get guys out. It wasn't necessarily Robinson Cano and Nelson Cruz every single at-bat. We had guys -- on their end, you gotta tip your cap -- but we had opportunities to get those guys out."
The inning started with the typically reliable Ryan Buchter on the hill. The rookie southpaw, who has taken hold of the seventh inning job this season, entered the game having allowed just two runs in 23 1/3 innings.
He recorded two outs, but loaded the bases, before giving up a single to Kyle Seager. At that point, Buchter had thrown 34 pitches, with three consecutive righties due up for the Mariners. Green signaled to the bullpen.
"Nobody wants to come out -- It doesn't matter the situation, it doesn't matter if it's left-on-left, right-on-right," Buchter said. "Everybody wants to battle and compete. I don't think there's anybody in this clubhouse that thinks they should've come out of the game depending on matchups."
Two of Buchter's bequeathed runners scored. He would finish, having allowed four runs on two hits, a walk and a hit batter.
"It just goes down to doing your job," Buchter said. "It started with me in that inning. I didn't do my job. It led into the next guy."
The "next guy" out of the left-center-field bullpen was right-hander Brandon Maurer, who entered the game having allowed nine runs over his previous six outings.
Maurer didn't record an out, as Dae-Ho Lee, Chris Iannetta and pinch-hitter Stefen Romero recorded a trio of hard-hit singles.
Said Maurer: "I was just trying to do too much out there and stop the bleeding, trying to make that perfect pitch and leaving the ball up."
For the past year, Maurer has served as the Padres setup man -- and generally a reliable one. But given Maurer's recent struggles, Green said the club will now "re-evaluate ... where his spot is right now and help him succeed in that spot."
As for the decision to go to a struggling Maurer with the game on the line in the seventh, Green said it was a mix between matchups and Buchter's high pitch count.
"[Maurer] had three righties in a row, then it was a switch-hitter followed by a couple lefties, so it was conventional, in a sense," Green said. "And I have plenty of faith [in Buchter] to get a righty out. I think it came down, more than anything else, to pitches. He was laboring to a degree today, and you expect somebody else to hop in and help him out."
After Maurer, left-hander Matt Thornton got the ball. By then, the Mariners' comeback felt inescapable. Shawn O'Malley singled to give Seattle the lead, before Norichika Aoki and Franklin Gutierrez capped the seven-single rally by extending that advantage to four.
The bullpen's struggles spoiled a second consecutive strong night from the Padres' offense, which scored at least 10 runs in back-to-back games at Petco Park for the first time in franchise history.
Center fielder Jon Jay -- the biggest offensive contributor with a career-high five hits -- was quick to support his beleaguered bullpen.
"We've just got to keep on going," Jay said. "The bullpen's picked us up all year, and it's just one of those days. We've got to show up tomorrow and be ready to go for a new series."
But, credit to the relief corps: They shouldered their share of the responsibility for a loss in which the Padres recorded a season-high 20 hits and received five strong frames from starter Colin Rea.
"Colin battled, our hitters did great," Buchter said. "We want to reward those guys. We've got to go out there and grind it out."
Added Maurer: "It's tough. We let the guys down tonight."
AJ Cassavell covers the Padres for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @ajcassavell.


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My name is Veronica Francisco and I'm an outgoing English teacher from Barcelona, Spain. I'm 36 years old and I must say I love my job. I work in a primary school called Bogatell and I teach English mainly to1st, 2nd and 3rd graders (children aged 6-9).
I also hold a degree in Audiovisual Communication and I'm currently doing a Master's Degree in Educational Leadership and Management at UB.
I'm keen on sports, especially running, swimming and mountain trekking.
I have created this blog to share ideas, handy resources, lesson plans, etc. related to ELT. I hope you all enjoy my site!


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|Return to Tax Industry News
|Defending Public Safety Employees' Retirement Act
Post Date: 7/2/2015
|Last Updated: 7/2/2015
|Cross References
- Public Law 114-26
- IRC §72(t)(10)(B)
In general, IRC section 72(t)(1) imposes a 10% penalty on the distribution from a qualified retirement plan or IRA if the taxpayer has not yet attained the age of 591/2. There are numerous exceptions to this early distribution penalty. One exception is for a distribution to a qualified public safety employee in a government plan. Under this exception, the 10% penalty does not apply to a public safety employee who has separated from service after attaining the age of 50.
The definition of "public safety employee" for purposes of this 10% penalty exception means any employee of a state or political subdivision of a state who provides police protection, firefighting services, or emergency medical services for any area within the jurisdiction of such state or political subdivision.
New Law: Under the new law, effective for distributions after December 31, 2015, the definition of "public safety employee" also includes any federal law enforcement officer, any federal customs and border protection officer, any federal firefighter, or any air traffic controller described in section 8331 or section 8401 of title 5 of the U.S. Code.
The new law also eliminates the need for the plan to be a defined benefit plan. Under the new law, a distribution from both a defined benefit plan and a defined contribution plan can qualify for the public safety employee exception to the 10% penalty.
Print Version: Click here for a printable version of this document.


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Cheryl Cole was spotted arriving at the Arts Club in London today (March 11) for the press conference to announce she is returning to the X Factor – UK – as a judge.
I am partly surprised because she said that she would never return to the show which made her a national treasure; but on the other hand she's been out of the limelight since she was fired from the US version back in 2011.
Arriving with a grinning Simon Cowell, the singer, who is now blonde, wore a chic Lela Rose black crepe dress featuring a cage-like guipure lace overlay with a peplum detail from the Pre-Fall 2013 collection
Clubmaster shades and a statement pair of tri-colour Christian Louboutin 'Decollette' striped snakeskin pumps, as seen on Naomie Harris and Kate Hudson, rounded out her look.
Are you happy to see her back or are you surprised that the X Factor is still considered relevant? I'm going with the latter.
Credit: Style.com & Getty


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Possible loss of Jones brings dire forecasts
By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Staff Writer
By Ferd Lewis
The apparent departure of University of Hawai'i head football coach June Jones would put "the athletic department behind the eight-ball," former UH athletic director Hugh Yoshida said last night.
Yoshida, whose eight-year term preceded current athletic director Herman Frazier, was part of a chorus of athletic figures who expressed concern about where a stunning exit by Jones would leave the state's only Division I-A athletic program following its history-making 12-1 season.
"It would be very disappointing," said Yoshida, who hired Jones away from the San Diego Chargers in December 1998. "It is a big blow to the program at a point where it was getting to the cutting edge."
Football is the financial engine for the 19-sport athletic program, bringing in more than a quarter of the revenue that it takes to run the $23-million athletic program.
"Certainly it leaves a huge hole for the program," said Jim Donovan, executive director of the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl and a former associate athletic director and football player at UH.
Prominent booster Walter Dods said announcement of Jones' departure "is heart-breaking to me. He (Jones) is a very special guy and he's done a lot for Hawai'i. You can't really measure how much he's done for the university, the football team and the state."
State Rep. Mark Takai D-34th (Newtown, Waiau, Pearl City), a former UH swimmer and frequent critic of Frazier, said, "I think (a loss of Jones) means a step back, not only for the athletic program, but the entire state."
Nevada coach Chris Ault said, "I'm sorry to hear he's (apparently) leaving. He's been a lot of fun to compete against."
Tennessee Titans' offensive coordinator Norm Chow, who has been prominently mentioned as a figure to be considered if there were to be an opening, said yesterday, "I've not given it one thought." Chow, a Punahou School alum and a former offensive coordinator at USC and Brigham Young, said, "I'm focused on our game with San Diego."
The Titans play the Chargers today in the AFC playoffs.
Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo suggested the Warriors "should look within their program for a successor," if Jones leaves.
"They've got a number of qualified guys on their staff, coaches that were there to help June build the foundation."
Staff members said Cal Lee, Rich Miano, Dennis McKnight and Jeff Reinebold of the current staff would be the most likely candidates. Ron Lee and George Lumpkin are also likely to stay, staffers said.
Niumatalolo said "you need somebody who knows what Hawai'i is about, what the Aloha spirit is about."
Defensive coordinator Greg McMackin, quarterbacks' coach Dan Morrison and running backs coach Wes Suan are among the most likely to follow Jones.
Staff members have said as many as six assistants could join Jones, if he follows through on plans to go to SMU.
Reach Ferd Lewis at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Did you know that Santa Ana College has scholarships for high school students who will enroll full-time at the school?
They do! And the application is fairly simple, releasing your academic records to the different scholarship reviewers who need to see your transcript. It's available online or in the Student Services office. And even better, it gives priority to AB540 students!
The deadline is April 9, 2012, so if you're a high school student matriculating in Santa Ana College, make sure you send in the app. You don't want to miss out on this free money.
And once you're a SAC student, make sure you check back in with Student Services in the fall. The school has their own Scholarship Booklet that you do not want to overlook. That's another easy way to get money to cover your fees so you can focus on your schooling to complete your program or transfer to a four-year college or university.


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All in a name
A couple of weeks ago I was discussing a well known architect with some of my friends when someone in the group referred to him by a name I had often heard but couldn't quite reconcile with the same person. His name is Edward and everyone calls him Teddy. Previously I had convinced myself that his middle name was probably Theodore and thought no more about it but that night I decided to ask my friend if I was right. "Because Teddy is short for Edward." I thought he was kidding. Apart from sharing an E and a D, where did the rest of the letters come from? Then I remembered another famous architect called Sandy whose real name was Alexander and I decided to ask about that too. "I don't know why, but yeah Alexanders are called Sandy," my friend confirmed. I tried to join the dots on that one. Xandy? Sandy? Who knows? Our conversation that night shifted to other odd shortened names. Richard and Dick; William and Bill – the obvious ones – then we got bored and changed the topic. Continue reading


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Ohio State isn't the only university that has a contract with Nike, Inc., but it's one of only two universities piloting a Nike fitness class this semester.
The course is similar to a boot camp or a body challenge class, but emphasizes teamwork in a group setting, said Alice Adams, fitness programs coordinator at OSU and instructor for the new fitness class.
The class, called Nike Training Club, is held in the RPAC's South Gym on Wednesdays from 5:45 to 6:45 p.m., and has filled to its maximum of 60 people for the past two weeks the class has been offered, Adams said.
The class was developed by Nike Master Trainers, Nike spokeswoman Lisa Beachy said in an email.
Nike Master Trainers are personal trainers certified by Nike to work with Nike athletes and develop workout plans.
The fitness class is an in-person workout that's based on and uses Nike's Training Club app, but is presented in a group setting with more partner work, Adams said.
The Nike Training Club app is a personal training app that provides workout plans for its users and encourages them to connect with others.
The app has been downloaded 16 million times, Beachy said.
While the class is designed to be challenging, Adams said anyone of any fitness level can join.
Because Nike created the class and the class is still being piloted, Nike is fully involved with the process, Adams said.
"(The class) works just like any of our other sponsorship deals that we have with group fitness," Adams said.
Adams said the RPAC has previously worked with companies like Aveda Salon and Victoria's Secret Sport.
Although OSU has a current contract with Nike, Adams and Beachy both said the contract had nothing to do with the reason OSU was selected for the contract.
OSU signed three separate seven-year contracts with Nike in August 2007 that were extended last year to last until July 31, 2018. Those agreements are set to gross OSU nearly $46 million.
During the first class, Nike gave away water bottles and hand towels, Adams said.
Students who attended the third class were given the opportunity to test Nike's latest cross-training shoes.
Beachy said Nike chose to bring the class to OSU and the University of Texas at Austin because it thought that they were "two of the most physically active campuses in the country."
The class came at no additional cost to the university, as adding a fitness class happens nearly every semester, said Kristen Smith, assistant director of sponsorship and stewardship for OSU's Department of Recreational Sports.
Some students said they enjoyed having the opportunity to participate in the class.
"I really liked (the class). I liked the intensity. I would do it again," said Emma Curtis, a first-year in chemical engineering.
Stephanie Fabry, a third-year in chemistry, said she appreciates the teamwork aspect of the class.
"I liked being partnered up, it was fun to root each other up," she said.
Adams said she thought the class would appeal to a wide variety of people.
"With the idea that everyone is an athlete, the class does attract everyone, from the person who has been in the RPAC maybe only once in their life to the high school athlete who maybe is just missing that challenge, that competitiveness, whatever they're looking for," she said.


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Qualified Instructors
Chief Instructor Bob Simpson has over 20 years of teaching experience and has been teaching driver safety for over 7 years. Bob is prior owner of SmartRider Motorcycle Safety Program and Driving School in Poughkeepsie. Â Â Bob has successfully taught countless numbers of new drivers how to operate a automobile correctly and safely.
Bob is a member of the Dutchess County Traffic Safety Board, and a New York State Emergency Medical Technician.


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This recipe for pumpkin strudel is a very serious rival to regular apple strudel. Consider this.
The apples are replaced with grated fresh pumpkin and the walnuts with toasted pumpkin seeds. Instead of confectioners sugar dusted on top, this baby gets a generous pour of sweet and fragrant pumpkin ale simple syrup which it eagerly absorbs and becomes a simultaneously moist and crunchy treat. Sort of like baklava.
One of my favorite ways to incorporate beer into desserts is to make a simple syrup with it. Whether making beercicles, sorbet or another recipe, reducing a sweeter craft beer to release most of the alcohol, concentrate the flavors and boost the sweetness level with brown sugar or honey is an easy and effective way to cook with beer.
In the case of this pumpkin strudel, the simple syrup strategy is more than befitting for the pumpkin ale. You may already know about how Chris and I are not too fond of pumpkin ales to drink, but love using their flavors in a variety of sweet or savory recipes. Due to the subtle pumpkin spice notes and typically pronounced sweetness. Pumpkin ale simple syrup is just about the best thing you can do with the beer style. Just our thoughts.
When choosing a pumpkin beer for this recipe stay away from pumpkin IPAs or pale ales with high IBUs (unless you are intentionally looking for bitterness). Most of the time these ales are on the sweet side and you will not need to worry about concentrating bitterness but issuing the warning just in case. I used a pumpkin ale with cranberries added which contributed a bit of welcome tartness, or rather brightness to an otherwise spice heavy brew.
As to the main ingredient of the strudel filling, I recommend using a pie pumpkin, however this recipe will work with butternut squash as well. Grating (vs dicing) your choice of winter squash allows a higher percentage of it to get coated with brown sugar and cinnamon and the flavors marry in a steamy blanket of phyllo fortified with melted butter.
I just love how unpretentious this pumpkin strudel is. It does not have to look pretty, it does not require finesse on your part to eat, it is just there to satisfy. Cannot go wrong with that!
The texture is such a part of the experience too. You have the crunch of the pumpkin seeds amidst the softness of the pumpkin flesh (not mushy, still a touch of firmness to it), wrapped in the buttery crispness of the phyllo sheets and drenched in the delicious pumpkin ale syrup. It is sooo good you guys. And it is not only to be considered a dessert.
My personal preference is to eat pumpkin strudel for breakfast with a cup of strong coffee, but I can do so in the afternoon with the same success. Because I only make it in the fall I tend to eat copious amounts of it. On several occasions it has outright replaced dinner:)
This recipe is Craft Beering's contribution to 2017 Virtual Pumpkin Party organized by Sara from Cake Over Steak. A recipe roundup where a
number large number of food bloggers share original recipes featuring pumpkin as key ingredient.
It is Craft Beering's first time participating in this annual 'explosion and celebration of pumpkin recipes' as the organizer calls the #virtualpumpkinparty. Pretty stoked because we already had a chance to see what the contributors are bringing to the table. Awesome dishes, cocktails too. Head over there to check out everyone's contributions. You will find sooo many recipes (from past years too) that your pumpkin culinary horizon is sure to expand. Guaranteed:)
Pumpkin Strudel (with Pumpkin Seeds & Pumpkin Ale Syrup)
- 1 packet about 20 sheets of phyllo dough
- 2 1/2 cups of grated pumpkin
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds toasted preferred
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 stick unsalted butter may not use it all
- 1 12 oz pumpkin ale
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- Follow the instructions of your phyllo dough packaging and thaw one of the packets from the box (about 20 sheets).
- Carve out a few slices from a pie pumpkin, clean the seeds and remove the skin, then grate using a box grater until you have enough to fill 2 1/2 cups.
- If your pumpkin seeds are not toasted, toast them in a pan over medium high heat.
- Add the grated pumpkin, brown sugar and cinnamon and stir a few times until you see the sugar beginning to melt. Remove from heat.
- Turn the oven on to 350°.
- Melt the butter.
- Roll out 5 sheets of phyllo dough. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with 1/4 of the pumpkin/sugar/seeds mixture leaving the edges free of mixture.
- Place 5 more sheets of phyllo on top, brush with butter and sprinkle another 1/4 of the mixture.
- Fold the short sides of the phyllo dough inwards and then roll the layers (like a burrito).
- Repeat the above steps with the remaining 10 sheets of phyllo and remaining mixture.
- On a parchment paper lined baking sheet place the two strudel rolls and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the phyllo dough turns golden.
- While the strudel is baking, prepare the simple syrup.
- Bring the pumpkin ale to simmer in a sauce pan and add the brown sugar. Let reduce for about 10 minutes, remove from heat and let cool down.
- Once the strudel is finished baking let it cool down.
- Drizzle with pumpkin ale syrup (generously) upon serving. The phyllo will absorb the syrup and the strudel will become moist and even sweeter. Consider adding a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.


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Considerations to Make When Choosing O Shot Clinics
Women need to be provided with o shot services. So many benefits can be enjoyed by those who get access to o shot services. Among the many advantages that can accrue to one those women who get exposed to o shot near me services is that they are not prone to pain during sex. Also, women who use the o shot services are able to have young and smooth skin on the outside. The women also have a very tight genital in case they were thought to be loose before. There are so many o shot clinic available to the females. The choice of a clinic may be very difficult to reach. There are however several factors that can be considered when choosing an o shot clinic for the females. Reading below you will get to know some of the factors that can be used to choose an o shot clinic.
The doctors should have better professionalism for the clinic to be considered. The doctors offering the o shot service should have enough skills in the area. They should be well trained in the provision of o shot services. This entails going to the best schools that offer education on the provision of o shot services. The doctors should also be offered continuous training to make them well equipped to offer the services
To choose a good o shot company one can look at the charges of the o shot clinic. The clinics charge their services at different prices. The charge of one clinic can be higher than that of another clinic. Most of the clinic that charge high process are assumed to be offering quality services to their customers. There is a possibility of clinics that ask for lower prices to be offering low-quality services. You need to look for a clinic that offers fair prices. The customers should not get any problems paying the fair prices, here!
Before you choose an o shot clinic one can look at the recommendations on a certain clinic. The more the positive reviews about an o shot clinic the higher the chances of customers choosing the clinic, click here for more. The opinions of past customers of the clinic may be used to know how efficient the clinic is on the provision of its services. You may look at the website of the clinic if they have one to know the reviews about the company. You need to consider the views of other customers in choosing an o shot clinic. The more the reviews that clinic has the more the number of customers that it has.
You need more about how to make so many considerations when choosing an o shot clinic.


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Ferrari celebrated it's national 60th Anniversary on Sunday, October 12th, 2014 on Rodeo Drive, in the heart of Beverly Hills, CA. The "60 Fabulous Ferraris on Rodeo Drive" event was one of the world's best car shows this year displaying a prestigious collection of 60 most spectacular Ferraris ever assembled from around the world.
My children, Katrina, Isabella and John Magzanyan and I were invited to attend this spectacular show and my seven year old son, John, was excited the most since his obsession is collecting exotic car toys. It was a truly memorable day not only to my children and I but also Ferrari's most endearing fans and to clients from North America abroad.
"It's like Pretty Woman, but with Ferraris," Councilmember Nancy Krasne remarked Tuesday just before the City Council approved the plan. The council also approved holding an exclusive Gala celebrating Ferrari's anniversary outside City Hall on Saturday, Oct. 11.
About one thousand members of the Ferrari Club of America from different branches nationwide were invited to join the festivities, with the top cars joining in a Sunday ride from Beverly Hills High School to Rodeo Drive for staging. The cars were displayed, along with the hundreds of other vehicles, which were have designated "Ferrari Parking" along adjacent streets. The event featured red as the signature Ferrari color. Also, there were at least two automobiles on display that have never before been seen which one of them was auctioned for charity.
Some of the activities included an unprecedented gathering of Ferrari Club of America cars into Beverly Hills, an arrival parade of spectacular Ferraris led by their chairman Luca di Montesemolo, world premiere of new Ferrari vehicles, first- ever award presented by the City of Beverly Hills and unique experiences including a 360 virtual tour of Museo Ferrari, Tailor Madde village comprised of global partners, etc.
John's favorite Ferrari automobiles were Tom Selleck's Ferrari from Magnum P.I. and Don Johnson's car from Miami Vice.
Ferrari is synonymous with competitions. As a matter of fact, the legendary Italian auto manufacturer exists because of a young Enzo Ferrari who needed to fund his Schuderia Ferrari racing team. So, by offering production cars for sale Enzo pursued his passion and the rest is history.
To learn more about me visit Marina BerBeryan and LA Fashion Judge. To sign up for my fun daily posts visit my social sites listed below.
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SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — A bill to allow transgender students use the same bathrooms and locker rooms is generating controversy as it passed the Assembly Thursday.
The issue over whether kids should be allowed to play for a team according to their gender identity comes from a bill by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco).
"In reality, this is about the safety of our trans students," said Ben Hudson with the Gender Health Center. He says transgender students must have the same opportunities all boys and girls to succeed in school.
"These students are often in fear of their own safety, and their own protection. They're concerned about being bullied in school," he said.
Brad Dacus with the Pacific Justice Institute says it's important to address the concerns of transgender students, but feels this legislation violates the rights of others.
"Whether it's in the bathroom or the locker room where you have someone of the opposite gender coming in and you're supposed to act and pretend they are the same gender when everyone can see that person is not, it's an invasion of privacy," Dacus said.
Parents at the Placer High School girl's soccer game were split on their opinions.
"I don't think it would bother me at all," said parent Anne Brown. "If they feel themselves to be a female in a male body, I don't think anything improper is going to be going on in the locker room."
"You're in the same locker room, you are asking for trouble," said parent Terry Turner. "I'd be concerned about their safety, about what thoughts are going through somebody's head in there with my child."
The bill's next stop is the Senate Education Committee. The same legislation was proposed last year, but Ammiano pulled it to do more education with school districts in the state on the issue.


text: Jim Miller Posted July 25, 2016 July 25th, 2016 Dear Crest Electronics Customers, We have made a good product, but have not developed sufficient additional items to allow us to cover our overhead. I have devoted the past 2 ½ years to try to make this venture successful and failed. We will be closing as of 7-31-16 and I will look for a day job. In the meantime, you can mail any repairs to me at my home at 74 Williams Ave., Jersey City, NJ 07304 and I will do the necessary repairs after my day job. However, I can't do free warranty repairs, so call me in advance for a quote and send a check with the repair plus return shipping costs. The phone number of my portable will remain the same at 201-565-6069, though it will be better to reach me in the evenings. It's been a pleasure to serve you and I look forward to a long time of keeping your equipment in tiptop shape. Yours truly, Navin Shievdayal CREST Electronics Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites


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I've been loving a lot of my newly discovered products lately; but, some of the products mentioned in today's posts are products that have remained staple items in my collection.
As always, face products are on a constant rotation. However, the Chantecaille Future Skin Oil-Free Gel Foundation is still in my #1 winner's spot.
Normally in the mornings, my mind is debating which foundation to use, and much of this thought process is dependent upon what my day is going to be like/where I'm going to be. With the Future Skin foundation, it's my trusty automatic go-to product – it's my favorite right now and forever – unless that's just too dramatic. :) It's the perfect blend between the dewy look and semi-matte look. LOVE.
I've noticed that I'm still loving the wear-time of this foundation. It doesn't wear off or melt away as I've previously read in reviews. Even with the growing humidity in Texas, I haven't noticed any difficulties wearing this foundation. Also, my shade – "Alabaster" – is the best color match I've ever experienced in a foundation. I realize this is not the case for many since the color selection in Chantecaille's range is so limited. I should remind you that the foundation is made in Japan, and perhaps I love this foundation because I've had a long, long love affair with Japanese foundations. Either way, if you get a chance to give this product a try – DO IT.
Along with the Future Skin foundation, I'm obsessed with my Chanel luminous bronzing powder in #907 Sable Beige, MAC blush in "Pink Tea," and setting everything very lightly with the Laura Mercier mineral powder in "Soft Porcelain." A few weeks ago, I skipped powdering my t-zone because I didn't really need to. Unfortunately, the Texas heat is coming on strong now since we're heading into the summer months with full force. ICK.
Lazy days – like Sundays – require minimal effort for getting ready. Because I reserve Sundays for my face mask and bubble bath routine, I try to allow my skin to take the day off from makeup. On days like this, I quickly dab on my Clé de Peau concealer in "Ivory" and dust a light layer of Laura Mercier mineral powder in "Soft Porcelain." If I'm in the mood, I'll add some blush to give my skin some life. But most of the time, I skip it because I'm feeling lazy.
Eye makeup has remained basic but I've been "shopping my stash" lately. I've re-discovered my past favorite MAC eyeshadow in "Hypnotizing" and paired it with my long-time favorite shade in "Handwritten." I still curl my lashes with my KOJI lash curler and use my Shiseido mascara base with my trusty majolica majorca expander frame plus mascara.
I've been skipping liner and anything else complicated. I have added something new – which is the MAC brow set. As a mascara for the brows, it's easy to use this on days when you don't want to meticulously draw in/pencil in/shade in your brows. A few quick swipes and you're good to go – I use the shade "Beguile" which is a dark brown shade.
Favorite lip products as of late includes an oldie but goodie – the Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector 01, which is a light pink shade that's glossy and moisturizing (and non-sticky). When I'm wanting a bit of color on the lips, I've been reaching for my MAC lipstick in the shade "Lovelorn."
What are your current products?
*Pictures taken using CANON POWERSHOT SD1300 IS DIGITAL ELPH (12.1 Megapixels)


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Food Blogging is an emerging trend, which has not only helped hundreds of people creating an identity for themselves but has also impacted the food industry in a very substantial manner. You do not necessarily have to know how to cook in case you aspire to become a food blogger, however, most of the people who enter this industry are the ones who have this internal fascination of cooking new dishes and then blogging about the same.
There are so many magazines all across the globe which have columns on food, and pay decently to the people writing about it There seems to be no evident con as to why one must not start food blogging, unless and until of course, one is not internally inclined towards it But assuming that people are internally inclined towards it and have that zeal to do something big, we decided to make the process easier for you by providing you with tips as to how you must start your own food blogging phase, what things you must keep in mind while choosing the food that you wish to blog about, and most importantly, how can you click some amazing and scintillating pictures of the food so that people seeing it have nothing to do but to drool over it, because isn't that what food blogging is all about, making people fall more and more for food virtually.
The primary thing that every aspiring food blogger should do is to strategize things and that too with a planned approach. It is better to have a streamlined direction being given to your journey rather than having a hay-wire attitude towards it by blogging about anything and everything that comes your way. That needs to be coupled with respectable writing skills because that will bring you on par with people with stupendous experience in this area You would not want to jeopardize your journey even before it has started. Have someone to review your blogs before you go on air.
You need to be very selective about what kind of food you want to blog about, as there are thousands of categories of food these days. For example, if you want to blog about cafes, then you can cover different types of coffees available, etc. It is even advised to be territorially clear, as in, covering your local area that can definitely act as a push for your journey.
Now comes the most important, as well as the most technical part of the entire process, i.e., the photography. You just can't afford to have anything else but some amazingly captured pictures which will force whosoever sees it want to eat the food from the screen itself. Unless and until you aren't aiming for that kind of a response, well, why are you even food blogging then? For the same, it is important to have the right equipment and to be aware of the technical nuances associated with it. Though it is highly recommended, still it isn't necessary to click through a DSLR Camera. Nowadays, a lot can be done over a good smartphone with a good camera.
For example, if you're using a Phone 7+, which apparently has one of the best cameras, there are a lot of iphone 7 plus photography accessories that you can take into use such as external lighting, external lenses, tripod stand, etc. which can make substantial changes to the pictures that you will be clicking. Apart from this, a decent knowledge about how photography is done will definitely come in handy.
Food Blogging is an amazing activity, which genuinely brings smiles to the faces of people, irrespective of the capacity in which they are associated. Make sure you don't cheat and copy other people's stuff. The aim must be to do justice to the activity and spread love around. Take care of this and you are all good to go!