text:
and sloe gin fizz
May 26, 2012
my original goal was to blog every day
while i was in the greater portland area.
i also promise myself i'm going to eat better and exercise.
let's get real for a moment,
and see if i can tell you about my trip.
hmm . . .
day one was a beach adventure/excursion/extravaganza,
a sunny day of photography, sandy toes, and general irreverence.
and of course what day at the beach is complete
without a dead sea lion in a front loader?(sea corpse has a very distinct scent)
i spent the day with tina and her two lovely daughters
who reminded me that teenagers are really just adults
with fewer miles under their belt.
(is that a mixed metaphor?)
when we returned,
i met tina's other children:
apparently, chickens love to eat kale.
who knew?
the rest of my days were a blur of
cozy fires
and knitting.
i managed to finish up my spruce forest shawl,
and the rain gave way just long enough for a photoshoot.
i even found a couple models to zhoosh up the shot.
the yarn is marine silk sport in the 'spruced' color way.
i've given up trying to photograph the true color of this yarn;
the silk content and sea cell make it impossible for an amateur like me.
what i love about this color way is that the dye breaks at some point in the process, leaving patches of blue and yellow in the yarn. this process is apparently unpredictable, and therefore the color way has been discontinued. blue moon will, of course, make it upon request. i highly recommend it, especially in this yarn. just make sure to get it all at once if you want your skeins to be at all similar.
this shawl is beautiful when finished,
but the beauty is matched by it's fussiness.
i do not care for nupp-knitting,
or the bottom up construction.
it was, however, worth it;
the results speak for themselves.
with one shawl completed,
i decided to dust off my shetland tea shawl.
it was the first lace project i ever cast on
and will soon celebrate its third birthday!
i can't abide its w.i.p. status any longer.
so i grabbed a cat and got to work.
the cat was really there for moral support.
she's not good for much else.
but even with the support of a cat
i could barely complete a round a day.
those last few rounds have so. many. stitches!
knitting all those stitches
i became hyper aware of the silence,
the sound of the rain falling on the deck,
heck, i could even hear the humming birds at the bird feeder!
apparently, i must've had a crazed look in my eye or something
because tina could tell i was getting a little stir crazy.
so she put me to work in the barn.
i learned a heck of a lot in there,
most of which i can't tell you.
what i can tell you is
it's fucking hard work.
i can almost guarantee none of you realize how much work actually goes into the whole process, unless maybe you've worked in a factory. i worked about a half shift and i was pooped.
it's basically a yarny sweatshop in there.
(literally. it's hot in the barn)
that little bit of work really helped me to appreciate just how special hand painted yarns are. we're lucky to knit in a time when we have easy access to such beautiful yarns. i would much rather give my money to people who are working their asses off to make something unique and special. i know exactly where my money's going and, to me, it's worth the cost. but that's just me.
the next day
i got to play instead of work
and dyed all these rare gems.
it pays to know the lady with a barn.
we ended my visit with a binge at gino's.
if you live in or around portland,
you must go to gino's
the tiramisu alone is worth it.
we chose gino's because deb accuardi owns it and also works at blue moon.
she's an amazing cook, knows a heck of a lot about gardening,
and had been cracking my ass up all week.
if you meet her,
ask her about her salamander story.
i almost peed in the car when she told it.
(i want that tiramisu recipe deb. stat!)
i think that just about covers it.
i survived an epically turbulent flight,
swung by my parents house to pick up mr. mo,
and am thoroughly ensconced in my apartment . . .
. . .asking myself why i don't live in portland.
saturdays are for blogging
January 21, 2012
i've made a promise to myself
that i must knit at least an hour every day
and i must blog at least once a week
because i love myself,
and i love my blog.
i haven't been doing so well with the knitting every day promise
but i refuse to fail on the bloging once a week.
so i here i am,
setting aside my huge pile of work
to show you some progress.
for a long time now,
i have been admiring the work of spillyjane.
there's something about her designs that i just love.
if i had to put my finger on it, i'd say it's her color combinations.
i feel pretty comfortable saying they aren't typical, and yet,
they totally work.
it's been pretty easy for me to resist casting on one of her designs.
for one, i have a terminal case of second sock syndrome,
which can easily evolve into second mitten syndrome.
but also, while i love her designs,
i just didn't see myself wearing any of them.
i love them and thought they'd look amazing on other people.
just not me.
that is until i saw these bad boys.
one look and i was harassing her to publish the pattern already.
(really. i emailed and tweeted her. i was pushy)
a copy found it's way into my mailbox
and away i went.
here where they stand:
and here are my thoughts:
1) i love colorwork. i. love. it.
2) i love this pattern. i am thoroughly enchanted with the chart. more than once, i have talked to it with a kind of cutesy voice i use to show affection to mo or other adorable mammals. i am not ashamed.
3) i'm glad i went up a needle size. otherwise the mitten would not fit.
4) this does have me worried about row gauge, however. i hope they don't end up too long. i refuse to do them math to find out.
5) i have some concerns about the thumb construction. i have very strong feeling about how mitten thumbs should be worked. however, spillyjane makes her living on mittens. i do not. i'm gonna let go and let god on this one.
6) the lighter of the contrasting colors could be little more contrasty. however, i did that on purpose. i love the fact that there's enough contrast to tell that those are skulls without having my mitten scream, "look here! skulls on a mitten!" sometimes my plans work out.
7) i'm knitting them two at a time (on separate needles) in order to avoid second mitten syndrome. so far, it seems to be working. it has instilled in me a kind of "race" like feeling where i can't let the other mitten get too far ahead. weird? yes. but it's working.
8) a while ago, i wrote a post in which i listed my concerns about shelter. i decided it was high time i actually tried it out, and the fact that spillyjane used it to knit these mitts seemed like the perfect excuse. now that i'm knitting with it, i have some opinions:
a) i love how it looks. the color is impeccable and the subtle rustic heatheryness of it speaks to the old school knitter in my heard.
b) however, i'm not a big fan of it's hand when i'm knitting with it. yes, it's very light, and while i usually love the feel of a wooly yarn, something about this particular blend . . . well i just don't care for it.
c) it's also very easy to break which makes me worry about how it will hold up with wear. it didn't actually break while i was knitting with it. i don't cut my yarns to switch colors, i just break them. and shelter breaks with very little effort. i'm hoping the fact that the mittens are knit at a very tight gauge will help with the ware factor.
d) i do like the fabric this pattern creates with this particular yarn. it's knit on much smaller needles than one would normally use. i think it works because the yarn is so lofty. and quite frankly, i feel like shelter would knit more accurately to a dk gauge than a worsted anyway, another reason i think this pattern/yarn combo works with such small needles.
e) i don't know if d) can be said to be representative of how the fabric will feel for other projects knitted at the recommended gauge.
f) my hypothesis is this yarn would be great for an old school textured sweater, but i doubt i can afford it at this point. american made ain't cheap!
g) all that being said, when i try the mittens on, they feel comfy and warm. i plan to use them as my driving mitts. i do not regret buying shelter for this project, i think they're beautiful, and i recommend other people spend the cash to give it a go at least once. but i just don't see myself buying it again.
9) do you think jared flood will blacklist me for this?
10) have i mentioned i love these mittens?
(i think the back is my favorite part)
i've also got this little lovely going:
pattern: spruce forest by nancy bush
i have a serious love hate thing going on with this shawl.
this is the story:
for about a year now, i've wanted to design/knit a lace shawl in marine silk sport in my absolute favorite blue moon color way, 'spruced'. i wanted it to be a triangular shawl and i wanted it to be a kind of 'tree' shaped lace pattern. the fact that i am not a designer and don't yet intuitively understand how lace works meant that i was seriously struggling to realize this dream. then along comes fucking nancy bush and designs a perfect fucking shawl. (i am not above thinking that somehow she stole the idea using some kind of psychic probe while i was in her sock class). i hate that it's a bottom up shawl and that, because it is, all the trees will point upward exactly as they should.i hate the nupps that make it so fucking adorable and perfect that i can't help but be delighted every time i purl 5 together on the 'resting row'. despite the fact that they totally slow me down and are frustrating, i hate that i love them. (and hate that i would never have thought to put a nupp in shawl, even though they are clearly amazing) i hate that there is a solid garter border because i absolutely believe in a thick garter border and bam! there it is.
and god damn i hate that there's a perfect looking slip stitch edge so that when i have to pick up stitches for the lace edging, it will be a snap.
god damn nancy bush and her perfect fucking shawl pattern!
i shake my fist at you in gratitude, bitch!
i'm knitting this shawl as a present for someone who i really like and i think deserves to have it. really, i shouldn't be blogging about it, but shit, i need all the material i can get. i don't have time for secret knitting!
so that's what's on the needles bitches.thoughts?
** ps i am thoroughly annoyed with the fact that i am unable to capture the true color of 'spruced'. it is much greener than the photo, and has a subtle blue hue in it. my guess is it has to do with the silk and sea cell content being all reflective. any help from my photography peeps?
packed my bags last night, pre-flight
July 27, 2011
tomorrow evening, i'm on a plane to portland.
i am going to the summit.
tonight i'm knitting my little wrist off.
like many a student before me
i didn't do my homework.
i'm cheating a little,
making it work,
using sport weight yarn on 2.75mm needles
rather than fingering weight on 2.25mm needles.
it's just like that old trick of adjusting your margins
in order to meet the minimum page number.
(like you never changed your margins and watched the sun come up)
i promise, mr. habit,
it'll be ready in time for class.
i usually take better pictures than this.
it's just . . .
my iphone was handy
and i need to finish this homework
and my summit sock probably won't fit
and i have a shawl to finish by august 1st
and i've been packing for days
and i leave pittsburgh in a week
*pant* *pant* *pant*
i'm ok now.
in any case,
this is my class schedule:
9:00am photographing your fiber – franklin habit
7:00pm opening night reception
9:00am knitted tessellation: playful and powerful patterns in practice – franklin habit
3:00pm hizsocks: making socks manly – stephen houghton
10:30pm sock hop
9:00am tvaandsstickning/twined knitting – nancy bush
5:15pm this. but only to document, not participate. as if!
7:00pm this is your brain on knitting – stephanie pearl-mcphee
9:00 am fleece on your feet – judith mackenzie
so if you see me in class,
or wandering around the convention center,
(do you think the harlot ever cheated on her sock homework?


text:
The act authorizes the American Battlefield Protection Program to partner, administer grants, and undertake studies to preserve our battlefield heritage.
1-12 of 12 results for ""
The California Preservation Foundation CPF is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving California's diverse cultural heritage and historic places.
Heritage Documentation Programs include the Historic American Buildings Survey and Engineering Record and the Historic American Landscape Survey.
The International Council on Monuments and Sites is an international organization dedicated to conservation of the world's monuments and sites.
NAOP is the only national organization solely dedicated to preserving the Olmsted legacy by providing advocacy, research, and education.
NAPC is a nonprofit organization dedicated to building strong local preservation programs through education, advocacy, and training.
The NCSHPO coordinates SHPOs and their staff and communicates and represents the SHPOs with federal agencies and national preservation organizations.
Each of the 2500+ National Historic Landmarks represents an outstanding aspect of American history and culture, whether a building, site, or district
The Technical Preservation Services (TPS) office of the National Park Service is responsible for historic preservation policy and guidance.
The Cultural Resource Geographic Information Systems Facility (CRGIS) uses GIS and GPS technologies in documenting and managing cultural resources.
The American Battlefield Protection Program promotes the preservation of significant historic battlefields associated with wars on American soil.
The Civil War Trust is a non-profit organization devoted to the preservation of America's endangered Civil War battlefields.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Snowflake Skull
$ 40.00
Product Details
1 pair of black acrylic snowflake dangle plugs with silicone O-rings.
Hand painted black settings measures about 24mm.
Will remain the same on all plug sizes.
Acrylic laser cut image measures about 2"x2" long.
Items are HANDMADE TO ORDER.
Production time frame is 7-10 business days, M-F ONLY, excluding holidays.
Tracking information will be issued once order is ready for dispatch.
International buyers are responsible for any custom taxes on packages.
Please read our Shipping Timelines & FAQ section's, before purchasing.


text: Have you considered original art as a wedding gift? Create a memorable and unique Wedding Registry for Art with Mishkalo. Choose from hundreds of quality artwork such as The Color Fields 1 by Mishkalo Artist Frederick Nitsch. You choose the artwork you like and your guests can crowfund your unique wedding gift.


text:
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A Johnson County businessman says he will seek the 2014 Democratic nomination for Kansas secretary of state in an attempt to unseat Republican incumbent Kris Kobach.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Randy Rolston of Mission Hills issued a news release saying he aspires to become only the second Democrat ever elected to the secretary post in Kansas.
Rolston graduated from the University of Kansas and is president and co-founder of Victorian Trading Co., a Lenexa-based mail-order company.
Among his proposals is a plan to increase youth participation in elections by allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to preregister to vote when they get their driver's licenses.
Rolston has given his campaign a $200,000 loan and believes he will have to raise $1 million in donations to defeat Kobach.


text:
Design submitted by Alexander from Russia.
Alexander says: The idea came suddenly. I invented specifically for your contest.
Wrist digital clock made in an elegant stainless steel housing. Under the shock-resistant sapphire crystal is a contrasting color display.
Built-in GPS sensor helps to show just the other side of the planet and the land on which you are now.
Moon – the hour hand. Closing the shadow of the earth – a minute. The exact time is synchronised to the satellite.
I think such a watch fit young active people
Such an idea I've never had. Cool Watch!


text:
When it comes to wine pairing, salads can be tricky: a salad that's dressed with something tart can knock out the flavor of the wine you're trying to enjoy. We asked a few sommeliers from around the country for their tips on the best wines to serve with salads, and all the factors to consider when pairing. Here's what they had to say.
"The main concern here is making sure that the acid in the wine meets or exceeds the acidity in the salad dressing"
"Wines with an herbaceous or vegetal component work nicely with salad, whether it be a Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire Valley (all that fresh parsley and cut bell pepper) or a Gruner Veltliner from Austria (pea shoots and parsnips, anyone?). The main concern here is making sure that the acid in the wine meets or exceeds the acidity in the salad dressing; you might think that a tart wine with a tart vinaigrette would be overwhelmingly, well, tart, but together those two high acid components will wash each other out, and you'll be left with a clean palate, ready to experience the more immediate flavors in the salad. You also want to match the weight in your dressing to the weight of the wine: a salad with a creamier dressing might want a wine with the creaminess of oak treatment. And finally, don't be afraid of a little residual sugar if there are sweeter elements in the salad (whether it be a honey vinaigrette, candied nuts, or fresh fruit). To my mind, one of the greatest salad pairings of all time is a classic Waldorf salad with François Cazin Cour-Cheverny Cuvée Renaissance (the off-dry bottling he makes in exceptional years—if that wine is out of reach, then a good Vouvray Sec or Demi-Sec from a producer like Domaine Huet, Philippe Foreau, or François Chidaine will do just fine!)."—Mia Van De Water (North End Grill)
"Gruner, gruner, gruner! This is my go-to salad wine if we're talking greens, vinaigrette, and veggie-heavy salads. The savory, green tones with celeriac and white pepper notes of a classic gruner are a perfect match for a salad. It enhances all farm-fresh flavors of the a great salad and brings brightness to the finish. Gruner also generally has enough weight on the palate to go with salad that have proteins. There's enough ripeness to balance out a grilled chicken or egg preparation, as well as acidity if you like salmon or blue cheese with your salad. Other great wines that have lovely, fresh green tones that work well with salads: Sancerre, Chablis, Arneis, and even a Blanc de Blancs Champagne."—June Rodil (Qui)
"Salads can be real wine killers: a wine with medium acidity suddenly becomes flabby in the face of zippy salad dressing because vinegar is infinitely more tart than any of the acids that turn up naturally in wine. There are two ways to deal with this issue. The first is to select wines that bite back. Brighter styles of wine (read: higher acidity) will hold their own next to the sourness of, for instance, lemon juice or vinegar. Some wines to consider in this category include: Txakolina (traditionally lean white wine from northern Spain), Muscadet (based on the snappy Melon de Bourgogne grape of the western Loire Valley in France), and Picpoul de Pinet (a white from the Languedoc region of Southern France). Picpoul translates roughly to 'lip stinger,' a nickname referring to its naturally high acidity. Red wines with suitable acidity are harder to come by, but a rose or sparkling rose could do the trick. The other way to address the issue of pairing salads with wine is to make a salad dressing with slightly lower acidity by substituting something like a lower acid citrus (tangerine or Valencia orange, perhaps) or verjus (the juice of underripe grapes). Grapes like grapes, so the verjus is a fun alternative for your next vinaigrette."—Lulu McAllister (Nopa)
"The variety that always comes to the rescue is Riesling. Riesling has high acid to match dressings but a few grams of sugar can go a long way to making the dish more complete. The last few months I have been drinking a lot of Riesling from Karthauserhof, Weiser-Kunstler and Peter Lauer."—Eric Railsback (Les Marchands)
"When it comes to challenging pairings like kale or asparagus or artichokes, a simple way to think about wines is to think: if I were cooking these vegetables, what would I add? I use lemon and salt, so for asparagus, artichokes, kale, I tend to lean to wines that have that citrus and salinity: briney seaside wines like Pigatos from Liguria, or Sardinian Vermentinos, Muscadet or a sharp, acidic, and dry riesling (and yes, of course...gruner veltliner). It's fun, also, to play with smoke (not fire): smoky volcanic wines like a great Fiano or Greco di Tufo can add a lot of texture and depth to a salad, especially with a peppery green like arugula, or a salad with a blue cheese or citrus. That same citrus salad is also fun to pair with a light red like a Freisa from Piemonte: the acidity is already there from the oranges, and then you add the fresh earthier berry that you find in the wine, reminds me almost of a great sangria."—Ceri Smith (Biondivino and Tosca)
"Tart wines are best with salads, since you're often dealing with vinegar and mustard in dressing. You can pretty much pop any white or rosé from the Loire Valley: it's called Le Jardin du France for good reason. Pépière's Muscadet or Trotereau's Quincy are perfect salad wines. Many Italian whites have a subtle neutrality that endears them to vegetables. Pigato (Vermentino) from Liguria has a tight white pepper kick to it that makes it pop with salad. I especially love Punta Crena's Vermentino. Rosé is the other great salad wine, since it mutes the pungency of garlic-forward dressings and finishes clean. One of my favorite combos is Commanderie de Peyrassol rosé and spinach salad with olives, egg and a dijon vinaigrette."—Jackson Rohrbaugh (Aragona)
"White wines are an easy go-to with salad, but I think that is only half of the story. I think higher acid red wines make tremendous salad pairings and for this I look to Italy. Start with kale and balsamic. Throw in some pepper, cranberries, walnuts, and maybe a Pecorino cheese and that sounds like a meal worthy of a Piemontese Barbera d'Alba by E. Pira e Figili. These wines have a tremendous freshness to them, yet with the heartiness of the cheese and the walnuts, the tannic properties of Barbera will have met their foil. Given the old adage 'acid loves acid,' the balsamic dressing will marry perfectly with this higher acid red grape. If the kale were to be swapped out for a less hearty green, such as romaine or mache, one might be tempted to seek out a white wine, but something with high mineral and high acid. I would stay in a Mediterranean country and head to Roussillon, France to enjoy Thomas Tiebert's Domaine de l'Horizon "Patriot" 2011. This German living in Catalunya makes this cuvee from Macabeu and Muscat to satisfy his yearning for the super-crisp mineral, yet floral whites he misses from the Mosel. For this pairing I would swap out a classic dark balsamic vinegar for a white balsamic, which brings the same sweet/sour combo we all love, but with a slightly more neutral flavor profile more befitting a white wine pairing."—Caleb Ganzer (Eleven Madison Park)
"With a super acidic dressing, I would choose a fuller white; perhaps a Chardonnay with some oak aging. If it's a super creamy dressing, I would choose a leaner white with more acid like a dry Riesling or a white from Northern Italy. Then again, if you have a steak or chicken salad, you can go with a light-bodied red, like a Beaujolais, or Arbois from France."—Jessica Brown (The John Dory and The Breslin)


text:
The crocodile lounge
Filled with cool kids, and a very hip vibe, this lounge is sure to force you to make new friends, or at least an opponent for the classic game machines in the back room. Courtesy of your drink, you will get to enjoy a freshly made personal pizza pie. Although a little bit crowded and loud, this lounge had a very relaxed and open charm to the atmosphere. It may have been the people.


text: This Edmonds, Washington home sits on a high bluff above the Puget Sound. The home, although at 2,000 square feet, was originally designed for one person. Living spaces are found on the main floor while the master bedroom and office are on the second floor. Aluminum-framed glass, brick, cement stucco and Western Red Cedar were the main building materials.


text:
Khabarovsk Territory
Khabarovsk Territory, administrative division (1989 est. pop. 1,800,000), 305,000 sq mi (789,950 sq km), Russian Far East. Situated in the eastern and northeastern extremity of Siberia, the territory is bounded by the Sea of Okhotsk in the east, the Maritime Territory and China (Heilongjiang prov.) in the south, and the Kolyma range in the north. It includes the Jewish Autonomous Region. The mountainous territory is crossed by the Dzhugdzhur and Bureya ranges, where gold, oil, tin, and coal are extracted. Grain and potatoes are grown in the Amur valley, and in the north there are reindeer herds and fur trappers. Herring, flounder, and salmon are caught along the coast. Major cities are the capital, Khabarovsk, the industrial center Komsomolsk-on-Amur, and the ports Sovetskaya Gavan and Nikolayevsk-on-Amur; 75% of the total population (Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Jews, Tatars, and Yakuts) is concentrated in the cities. The territory was founded in 1938 and reorganized in 1953 and 1957. For history, see Russian Far East.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2023, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: CIS and Baltic Political Geography


text:
Thank you for visiting the Department of Corrections website. Your privacy is very important to us. Our policy is to collect no personal information about you when you visit our website unless you affirmatively choose to make such information available to us.
When you visit our website, our web server automatically recognizes only the internet domain and IP address from which you accessed our website. This information does not result in the identification of your personal e-mail address or other personal information. We do gather information regarding the volume and timing of access to our website by collecting information on the date, time and website pages accessed by visitors to the website. This information is collected to improve the content of our website, and individual visitors' personal information is not identified.
If you choose to share personal information with us, by subscribing to an e-newsletter, sending us a message, or filling out an electronic form with personal information, we will use the information only for the purposes necessary to conduct government business with you. However, under Florida law, e-mail addresses are public records. If you do not want your e-mail address released in response to a public-records request, do not send electronic mail to this agency. Instead, contact this agency by phone or in writing.
In addition, any information you provide may be saved for a designated period of time to comply with Florida's archiving policies and may be subject to disclosure as required by State or Federal law. Please note that Florida's public records law requires that all information received in connection with state business be made available to anyone upon request, unless the information is subject to a specific statutory requirement.


text:
(CNN) - Days after the Colorado movie theater massacre, President Barack Obama on Wednesday forcefully spoke out against gun violence, making perhaps some of his strongest comments yet as president on the issue.
While the president said he stands by the Second Amendment and recognizes the traditions of hunting and gun ownership in the country, he told a crowd at a gathering for the National Urban League in New Orleans that there is work left to be done in tackling the problem.
"I also believe that a lot of gun owners would agree that AK-47s belong in the hands of soldiers, not in the hands of criminals," Obama said. "That they belong on the battlefield of war, not on the streets of our cities."
The president has largely steered away from talking about gun laws. While he visited the families of victims in Aurora, Colorado on Sunday, he did not wade into the political debate over gun legislation that dominated national dialogue over the weekend.
Talk of gun rights was also largely absent from Obama's speech in the aftermath of the Fort Hood shooting in 2009 and after then-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and others were shot in Tucson, Arizona, last year. The president mentioned gun safety only in passing after the Tucson shootings to describe the polarizing nature of the issue.
Two months later, he wrote an op-ed outlining a plan that included enforcing existing laws and rewarding states that provide the best data about gun owners. But until Wednesday, he had mostly refrained from making public comments about the issue.
On Wednesday, however, Obama emphasized a need for background checks and the prevention of "mentally unbalanced" individuals from obtaining guns. He faulted opposition in Congress for lack of progress made in reducing violence.
"These steps shouldn't controversial. They should be common sense," Obama said, though without elaborating too specifically on measures of enforcement.
"We should leave no stone unturned and recognize that we have no greater mission as a country than keeping our young people safe," he added.
Speaking aboard Air Force One as the president flew Sunday to meet with families of those killed, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Obama did not have plans to push for new legislation in light of the Colorado shooting.
"The president's view is that we can take steps to keep guns out of the hands of people who should not have them under existing law. And that's his focus right now," Carney said, adding it was too early to determine how the issue would play in the election.
Obama's silence on gun rights in the days after Aurora caused some critics to question the president's position on the issue. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Sunday pointed to Obama's 2008 campaign promise to reinstate a federal ban on assault weapons.
"The president has spent the last three years trying to avoid the issue, or if he's facing it, I don't know anybody that's seen him face it," Bloomberg said on CBS News, also calling on Mitt Romney to lay out his vision to reduce gun violence.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee said Monday that he also saw no need for new laws and reiterated those comments on Wednesday, saying a change in legislation won't stop those who truly want to do harm.
"I don't know that I'm going be able to find a way to prevent people who want to provide harm from being able to purchase things that can carry out that harm. What I want to do is find the people that represent a danger to America and find them and keep them from having the capacity to use or buy things that can harm or hurt other people," Romney said in an interview with NBC News.
Obama on Wednesday, echoing similar refrains, said that government can only do so much in terms of preventing violence.
"Even as we debate government's role, we have to understand that when a child opens fire on another child, there's a hole in that child's heart that government alone can't fill," the president said Wednesday, stressing the role of families, teachers and community leaders in the upbringing of children.
- CNN Chief White House Correspondent Jessica Yellin and CNN White House Producer Gabriella Schwarz contributed to this report.
"Besides the advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation, the existence of subordinate governments, to which the people are attached and by which the militia officers are appointed, forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition, more insurmountable than any which a simple government of any form can admit of." - James Madison, Federalist No. 46, 1788
I'm glad I have my AK already.
I agree that I don't "understand" myself why someone would be inclined to want to own an AK-47. However, let's assume they were illegal. Does anything really think the Colorado shooting would have been avoided. No, I'm not asking for what ifs. Like well, let people would have been hurt. What if he used an IED instead? My point is. If someone wants to kill, an AK-47 is not required. Today their are just as much dangerous weapons out there. Like even a dump truck.


text:
Inauguration 2009: Weekend of Destruction Day 1
I almost feel like the CNN team with all the Inaugural posting we have going on right now. DC Metblogs certainly has things covered with our team captain Anthony throwing parties at midnight in order to stay up and try and get to today's concert. We also have Metblogs creator Sean in town who's also chiming in with his perspective.
That also means that I won't be remaining quiet this weekend, in fact I've already declared my weekend a "Weekend of Destruction." That means every day til Wednesday will probably be a day I will rock out- leading to a destruction of my health, morals, and what little social life I had to begin with. It only makes sense I declare this a Weekend of Destruction- after all DC is technically in a state of emergency.
So let me share with you my nightlife last night.
While DC has been pretty satisfied with the extended bar hours, the crowds are only starting to come out. On my way to Dupont Circle the metro was packed from the Caps game that just ended however I did see a lot more suitcases than usual in my crowded car. I also noticed that there were a whole lot of tour buses dropping folks off when I got to Dupont.
The Big Hunt was terribly crowded but I was out pretty early at the point- the crowds grew as the hour approached midnight- luckily there was still a whole lot more nightlife to go.
I met up with some friends at Columbia Heights house party which was ok but the keg was kicked soon after my arrival and my crew and I were soon walking over to The Wonderland Ballroom which would of been cool since I've never been there but when we arrived we found out they were one of the unlucky ones that decided not to go for the late night license.
That reminds me, make sure you check out the Washington Post's list of bars open late so you don't make the same mistake we did.
We ended up grabbing a taxi over to U-Street where Local 16 was finishing up a priviate Inaugural party on their deck (it looked really nice all tented and heated.)
It was great being able to stay out til 4 AM last night- what I didn't like was trying to get a taxi to get myself back into Virginia. It appears that a few cabs that we stopped didn't want to leave The District. Concerns over security? Did anyone else encounter this?
Well today should be a little more chill- unlike Anthony I won't be heading out to the concert but I will be enjoying the Ravens/Steelers game tonight and maybe try out another neighborhood.


text:
Third party data processing
To improve our offer, we have information about user behavior by third parties processed.
Here we offer you the opportunity to individually agree to each individual data processing by third parties.
You can adjust these settings at any time in our cookie settings.
Cookie settings
Newsletter subscribe (Unsubscribe anytime)
If you want to subscribe our newsletter simply fill in your E-Mail-address and click "subscribe".
Newsletter unsubscribe
If you want to unsubscribe our newsletter simply fill in your E-Mail-Address and click "unsubscribe".


text: 'The Corporate' is an energetic corporate track that features real guitars, pianos, drums. and electronic accents. The instruments build as the song progresses, finishing with an inspirational ending. This song is perfect for promotional videos, commercials, advertisements, movie trailers, film scores, TV ads, YouTube videos, corporate presentations, and much more!


text:
Category Archives: Bulgaria
Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a parliamentary republic in Southeast Europe. It borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east.
Analysis: Bulgaria's Shale Gas and the Wider Geo-Economic Game
Posted by mb50
In mid-2011, the Bulgarian government announced it would provide shale gas exploration licenses to Chevron for the Northern part of the country. Under the terms of the agreement the company would pay around $30 Million USD in order to begin its project. Initial findings pegged assumed reserves anywhere from 300 BCM up to 1 TCM. These prospects presented for shale gas were quite significant, not just for Bulgaria but for the whole of Europe. It should be noted that reserves likely extend to the neighboring state of Romania, which is just a few kilometers from the country's Northern borders.
Nevertheless, soon NGO's and various environmental and citizen's groups started campaigning against shale gas exploration, citing the dangers of hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracking). These campaigns took the form of street protests, Internet broadcasts and intense lobbying of local councilors and politicians, which eventually forced the government to retreat from its original plans that spoke of making Bulgaria the shale gas champion in Europe.
The Center Left party (Socialist) in Bulgaria that is often perceived by outsiders as pro-Russian took a leading role in opposing shale gas research. In the Bulgarian Parliament two judicial initiatives were submitted with regards to this.
The first was drafted by three members of parliament of the Socialist party that proposed a complete ban on research and exploitation of any shale gas reserves in the country. The second initiative was drafted by the incumbent government and called for a moratorium on the exploration of shale gas until a new environmental-friendly method is found.
Media reports from Bulgaria have often mentioned the initiatives both by the Socialists and the environmental NGO's to be linked to the interests of Russian gas companies, namely Gazprom. In fact the Minister for Economy and Energy, Traicho Traikov, went as far as saying in public that behind all protests, powerful energy import interests are to be found, indirectly pointing the finger at the Russians.
It is important to note that Ivaylo Kalfin, a leading Socialist politician, organized the local movement against shale gas in Northern Bulgaria where Chevron was to explore. Moreover, two out of the three Socialist MP's that drafted the judicial initiative against shale gas had signed in the past when they were in government important energy deals with Gazprom. The third MP has business collaborations with a consultancy that supports the construction of the Belene thermonuclear power station, which was awarded to the Russian company, but has been "frozen" as a project over the past two years.
Furthermore, it is widely known that the current Bulgarian government is seen as anti-Russian under Premier Boyko Borizov, who has effectively frozen many bilateral agreements with Moscow, ranging from Burgas-Alexandroupoli oil pipeline to the South Stream pipeline gas project to the Belene nuclear station. Thus, the question arises: why did the Bulgarian government decide to stop a project that may eventually lead to the diversification of its energy dependence from Russia?
The answer is that Bulgaria has already started a whole range of initiatives in order to decrease its dependence by interlinking its system with that of Greece and Turkey and by bidding for a pipeline route in the Southern Corridor through its territory. Also, Russia exerts considerable influence in Bulgaria and it is likely that Borisov's government decided that it is the best not to oppose Russia any further, bearing in mind that the opposition against shale gas exploration in the country was not solemnly coordinated by Moscow and really had strong domestic social support against it.
A third answer is that strong domestic energy interests, that are anti-Russian but also pro-natural gas, have played their role in undermining shale gas explorations. These interests are in favor of importing natural gas from markets such as Azerbaijan, thus they viewed shale gas as their opponent as they have traditionally viewed Gazprom as well.
The story though does not end in Bulgaria alone. On the 26th of January, Borislav Sandov, one of the leaders of the opposition against shale gas, made statements in the Bulgarian media and supported protests against shale gas exploration in Romania as well. There was a protest at the Romanian Embassy in Sofia and it seems that Bulgarian and Romanian NGO's are coordinating their activities. In parallel, the government in Romania is battered by an ongoing wave of protests by state unions and workers against its economic policies, and the ability of Bucharest to resist yet another campaign against its policies is decreasing. Lastly, the especially harsh winter period in both Bulgaria and Romania with temperatures in major cities reaching minus 32 degrees Celsius and with a considerable number of casualties, has increased significantly the natural gas imports from Gazprom, which seems in any case to be the only sure winner from all of these developments and the current failure of shale gas explorations in these particular countries.
Related articles
- Bulgaria: Socialist Political Opponents Seek to Revoke Chevron Shale Deal (mb50.wordpress.com)
- Bulgarian government, preparing a full ban on shale gas drilling (robbiz1978.blogspot.com)
- Exxon Shale Failure in Poland May Lengthen Gazprom's Shadow (mb50.wordpress.com)
- Bulgaria cancels Chevron shale gas permit (reuters.com)
- Greece Investigates Shale Gas (mb50.wordpress.com)
- US Shales: Whether its a Revolution of Evolution, Shale Gas Delivers (mb50.wordpress.com)


text:
At Yucca Mountain, deadlines take precedence over science
Don't ask questions when you don't know the answers: That's the rule of thumb for trial lawyers who don't want courtroom surprises.
The Bush administration has a different rule of thumb when it comes to the science of storing nuclear waste: Ask as few questions as possible, and ignore answers you don't like.
Until January, I served as a member of the U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board, exploring the safety of a proposed national, high-level, nuclear waste storage facility at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. Congress created the nonpartisan 11-member board to provide technical advice about Yucca Mountain to the secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy. Its members — all scientists and engineers with expertise relevant to Yucca Mountain — were appointed by the president from a list submitted by the National Academy of Science.
The board concluded that the present design for Yucca Mountain is deficient, and unless it is changed, the nation's high-level waste repository is likely to leak. Our conclusion has been ignored.
For the Bush administration, the development of Yucca Mountain for nuclear storage was a foregone conclusion. The Energy Department is spending over a half-billion dollars on Yucca this year, almost all of it for getting a license application in to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission by the end of 2004. The administration wants to begin construction as soon as possible, and is committed to burying waste by 2010.
The big reason for the rush is that the nuclear industry is desperate for the government to take nuclear waste off its hands. The industry sees the waste problem as standing in the way of relicensing old reactors and building new ones. It's pushing the Bush administration hard, and the administration seems all too anxious to respond. The result is a clear case of the tail wagging the dog. Protecting the public should come first.
Unfortunately, designing the Yucca Mountain repository turned out to be far more complex than had been anticipated. There's been one surprise after another. Yucca Mountain was selected as the site because it is located in the desert, and it was thought the arid climate would keep the waste dry. It turns out the mountain is wet. It was thought that the water wouldn't move the waste underground very quickly. Wrong again: Water moves through the mountain so fast that in order to meet the regulatory requirements for isolation from the biosphere, the Energy Department had to add better-engineered waste containment canisters to the design.
It now turns out that those canisters are likely to corrode. Every member of the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board I served on reached that conclusion, and it was the essence of our report delivered to the Congress and the secretary of Energy last November. The report was ignored.
In its haste to meet deadlines, the Bush administration has a pattern of putting politics ahead of science. History reveals plenty of examples of how that approach can lead to disaster. During the Reagan administration, the Challenger space shuttle was lost because its O-rings froze. NASA engineers knew of the problem, but management wanted to keep the launch deadline. Last year, a presidential commission concluded that the shuttle Columbia was lost for similar reasons: Management put deadlines over safety.
I hope my resignation from a review board shouting in the darkness will bring attention to what's going on at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. Here's my advice: Slow down. The nuclear waste is going to have to sit for thousands of years. We might as well take the time to make sure we bury it safely.
I also think President Bush should instruct the Energy Department to build up science programs instead of shutting them down. If the science shows that the project can be accomplished, then by all means apply for a permit. It is true that the science might once again bring up new problems. There's no way to know in advance — that's the nature of science.
But for now, there's no technical reason to rush. The urgency is entirely political. A sound repository is probably achievable, if time is taken to get the science and engineering right. Meanwhile, nuclear waste can be safely stored for many decades on site in dry casks, giving us time to find a reliable, long-term solution.
Rushing ahead with a flawed design is a mistake. Unfortunately, it's a mistake the Department of Energy is rushing to make.
Paul P. Craig is professor of engineering emeritus at the University of California at Davis, and was a member of the Nuclear Waste Technical Review from 1996 until January 2004.


text:
A pork belly-topped cheeseburger, a sandwich stuffed with mozzarella sticks, and a 1,540-calorie slice of cheesecake were among the dishes that a health advocacy group singled out on Tuesday for over-the-top fat and sodium content.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest unveiled the group of "honorees," including Denny's Corp, Cheesecake Factory Inc, Kahala Corp's Cold Stone Creamery, and DineEquity Inc's Applebee's and IHOP.
According to the group, the typical person should limit calorie intake to 2,000 a day, as well as keep saturated fat below 20 grams (0.7 ounce) and sodium below 1,500 milligrams.
Each serving of the award-winning menu items nearly reaches, or even surpasses, these restrictions.
The dishes are mostly twists on the usual suspects of burgers, dessert and all things fried. Denny's "Fried Cheese Melt," for instance, is a grilled cheese sandwich with four fried mozzarella sticks inside. The entree amounts to 1,260 calories and 21 grams of saturated fat, not to mention 3,010 milligrams of sodium.
Applebee's "Provolone Stuffed Meatballs with Fettuccine" adds up to 1,520 calories and 43 grams of saturated fat.
The Cheesecake Factory's "Ultimate Red Velvet Cheesecake" goes beyond the usual by alternating two pieces of red velvet cake with two pieces of cheesecake, racking up to 1,540 calories and 59 grams of saturated fat. And Cold Stone Creamery's "PB&C Shake" (peanut butter & chocolate) has 2,010 calories and 68 grams of saturated fat.
Two out of three Americans are overweight, and such dishes increase their risk of obesity, diabetes, heart attacks and cancer, according to Bonnie Liebman, the center's director of nutrition.
Denny's and Applebee's both said they offered a wide variety of choices. Denny's pointed to its "Fit Fare" menu, and Applebee's to its "Unbelievably Great Tasting and Under 550 Calories" options.
Other restaurants did not respond to requests for a comment.
People often see dining out as an indulgence and a time when they do not pay much attention to their diets.
For more stories like this one,
The U.S. government is trying to push restaurants to disclose nutritional information on their menus. The Food and Drug Administration plans to issue rules requiring restaurants to list nutritional and caloric information by the end of 2011.


text:
Montréal's June Book Club
- The reservation will be under my name
About the book
The Last Story of Mina Lee by Nancy Jooyoun Kim
A "Margot Lee's mother, Mina, isn't returning her calls. It's a mystery to twenty-six-year-old Margot, until she visits her childhood apartment in Koreatown, LA, and finds that her mother has suspiciously died. The discovery sends Margot digging through the past, unraveling the tenuous invisible strings that held together her single mother's life as a Korean War orphan and an undocumented immigrant, only to realize how little she truly knew about her mother."
Interwoven with Margot's present-day search is Mina's story of her first year in Los Angeles as she navigates the promises and perils of the American myth of reinvention. While she's barely earning a living by stocking shelves at a Korean grocery store, the last thing Mina ever expects is to fall in love. But that love story sets in motion a series of events that have consequences for years to come, leading up to the truth of what happened the night of her death.


text:
Environment Radioactivity
To help you control the risk of radioactive contamination in the environment or food chain, SGS carries out radioactivity testing on a range of products. Call our accredited laboratories today.
Measuring the levels of naturally occurring and man-made quantities of radioactivity in the environment is important for human health and the life of ecosystems. By law, radioactivity measurements in foodstuffs and in the environmental must be controlled.
To guarantee that your products will reach your market without delay, you need to know that the levels of radioactivity in your products comply with legal limits. In some cases you may need certification to prove that your products have been tested. Our accredited laboratories can conduct these tests as well as identify solutions for radioactive waste management to control the risk of future contamination.
We analyze a range of products, including:
- Foodstuffs – cereals, vegetables, dairy products, drinking water, milk and liquid sauces
- Cosmetics
- Chemicals
- Environmental samples – air, soil, sediment, sand, flora and fauna, sea water and freshwater
- Hospital and industrial effluents and waste water
- Landfill sites – we check your waste, ensuring it is within the radioactivity limits set for each type of landfill site
- Eco-system monitoring – we conduct studies on an entire eco-system if it is deemed likely to be contaminated, or for environmental monitoring purposes
- Nuclear sites – our experts carry out measurements on old nuclear sites with a view to renovating them
- Organically sourced matrices – if your product is made from natural elements, we can measure its carbon-14 content in order to determine its organic source
Our Multilab ® laboratories use the very latest technology: gamma spectrometry, gas flow proportional counter for alpha and beta measurements and liquid scintillation. Our methods are fast and efficient. They allow us to differentiate between naturally occurring radiation and artificial radionuclides in order to determine any remediation or storage you may need for different types of radiation.
At the end of the process we issue you with a certificate of radioactivity analysis so you can be sure to meet requirements for export of your products. Call our team today to accurately determine radiation levels in your products.


text:
Oscar nominations 2012: List of nominees
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the nominees for the 84th Academy Awards. This year's most nominated film? Martin Scorsese's Hugo, with 11 nominations, followed by Michel Hazanavicius' The Artist, with 10.
Below are the rest of the nominees.
The Oscars will be televised on ABC on Sunday, Feb. 26.
Best Picture
The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
The Help
Midnight in Paris
The Tree of Life
War Horse
Best Director
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Martin Scorsese, Hugo
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life
Best Actor
Demián Bichir, A Better Life
George Clooney, The Descendants
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt, Moneyball
Best Actress
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis, The Help
Rooney Mara, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn
Best Supporting Actor
Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Nick Nolte, Warrior
Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Max von Sydow, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Best Supporting Actress
Bérénice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer, The Help
Best Original Screenplay
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig, Bridesmaids
J.C. Chandor, Margin Call
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Asghar Farhadi, A Separation
Best Adapted Screenplay
Alexander Payne, Jim Rash, and Nat Faxon, The Descendants
John Logan, Hugo
George Clooney, Grant Heslov, and Beau Willimon, The Ides of March
Aaron Sorkin and Steven Zaillian, Moneyball
Peter Straughan and Bridget O'Connor, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Best Animated Film
A Cat in Paris
Chico & Rita
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
Best Foreign Language Film
Bullhead (Belgium)
Monsieur Lazhar (Canada)
A Separation (Iran)
Footnote (Israel)
In Darkness (Poland)
Best Cinematography
The Artist
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Tree of Life
War Horse
Art Direction
The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Midnight in Paris
War Horse
Costume Design
The Artist
Jane Eyre
Documentary Feature
Hell and Back Again
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Documentary Short
The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement
God Is the Bigger Elvis
Incident in New Baghdad
Saving Face
The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom
Film Editing
The Artist, Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius
The Descendants, Kevin Tent
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
Hugo, Thelma Schoonmaker
Moneyball, Christopher Tellefsen
Albert Nobbs, Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston, and Matthew W. Mungle
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk, and Yolanda Toussieng
The Iron Lady, Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland
Music (Original Score)
The Adventures of Tintin, John Williams
The Artist, Ludovic Bource
Hugo, Howard Shore
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Alberto Iglesias
War Horse, John Williams
Music (Original Song)
"Man or Muppet" from The Muppets, Bret McKenzie
"Real in Rio" from Rio, Sergio Mendes, Carlinhos Brown, and Siedah Garrett
Short Film (Animated)
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
La Luna
A Morning Stroll
Wild Life
Short Film (Live Action)
The Shore
Time Freak
Tuba Atlantic
Sound Editing
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse
Sound Mixing
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse
Visual Effects
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Real Steel
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Dave on Twitter: @davekarger
Read more:


text:
It launched Friday morning: Users will be able to find high-resolution pages featuring HD trailers, game play videos and reviews for the latest games. They'll also be posting essential release information, so folks will know exactly when they can get your hands on a game they've been eyeing. The Video game hub launches on PCs 11/15 and will be rolling out to all Hulu Plus enabled devices over the next few months.
Oscar Rohena, Hulu Content Partner Manager, had this to say in a company blog post:
Introducing Hulu Video Games
Those of us who love video games know what it's like to play the latest trailer over…and over…and over again…in anticipation of the game's launch. It can become a problem that borders on an addiction. Before we can get our hands on the latest game, all we have is that lovely… tantalizing… trailer. So we watch, analyze and memorize it until the next one is released, and then we do the same with the next one, and the next one, until the release date finally arrives.
In case it's not clear, we love video games at Hulu. So for this busy video game season, we've got you covered. We've taken a big first step in feeding the game trailer addiction by bringing you the new Video Games hub on Hulu. You can find it at www.hulu.com/videogames.
In the Video Games hub on Hulu, you'll be able to find beautiful pages featuring HD trailers, game play videos and reviews for the latest games. We'll also have essential release information, so you know exactly when you can get your hands on that game you're eyeing. It's available on the PC today, and will be rolling out to all Hulu Plus enabled devices over the next few months.
Smack dab in the middle of the most exciting time of the year for gamers, we've gone back to revolutionary times Boston in "Assassin's Creed III," welcomed back Master Chief with "Halo 4," and gotten a glimpse of future warfare with "Black Ops 2."
Soon, we'll showcase the next generation of video games with the release of the Nintendo Wii U, which brings us game fanatics titles such as "New Super Mario Bros U," "Nintendo Land" and "SiNG Party" to your living room. Even our favorite mouse Mickey is joining the party with "Epic Mickey 2" (and the 3DS title "Power of Illusion").
Next year promises to be a blockbuster year as well with the upcoming releases of "BioShock Infinite," "Dead Space 3," "The Elder Scrolls Online," "Tomb Raider" and "Injustice: Gods Among Us," to name a few. Even "Grand Theft Auto" is back for round five (and yup, we have the newest "GTA V" trailer, right here).
We've just gotten started and there is a lot more to come. Game on.


text:
Jack Black May Star In The Goosebumps Movie, New Story Details Revealed
The long in-development live-action movie based on R.L. Stine's popular horror series Goosebumps is finally taking some major steps towards production, and today it's not only been revealed who is likely to star in it, but also what the basic story is about. The Wrap is reporting that Jack Black is now in negotiations to star in the film, which is set to be directed by Rob Letterman.
According to the new story, the film will have Black playing the role of a "Stine-like author," which presumably means that he will primarily focus on young-adult horror. Problems begin, however, when the stuff that the writer puts on the page begin to come alive and torment him (which kind of makes the movie sound like a scary version of John Candy's 1991 film Delirious). There is no mention of who is responsible for this version of the screenplay, though it was only in 2012 that Sony hired Jack The Giant Slayer scribe Darren Lemke to write a script
While it's a bit hard to explain, there's something about this casting that just sits perfectly with me. I was a big fan of the book series growing up, and loved that they balanced out occasionally legitimately spooky stories with a side of goofiness and fun. Provided that Black doesn't go too far off the rails, which admittedly tends to be the biggest problem with his style, then the star should be a good fit for the tone of the story mixing a fun sense of humor with the intensity that comes with being the lead singer of Tenacious D.
What does give me pause about this project is Letterman's presence as director. He has previously worked with Black two times before, and the results were Shark Tale and Gulliver's Travels (the latter of which was his live-action debut). It's possible that this time around he'll be working from a better script - the story sounds at least mildly interesting - and he's got a better sense of live-action filmmaking, but I'm hesitant to hold my breath.
Black hasn't been doing a ton of film work as of late, but very recently got rave reviews for his turn as real-life serial killer Bernie Tiede in Richard Linklater's festival hit Bernie. He'll next have a small role in the Jake Kasdan-directed comedy Sex Tape with Jason Segel and Cameron Diaz, and will be returning to voicing Po in 2015's Kung Fu Panda 3.
Are you looking forward to the Goosebumps movie? Answer our poll below and let us know what you think of the story and Jack Black's potential casting in the comments section.
This poll is no longer available.
Your Daily Blend of Entertainment News
NJ native who calls LA home and lives in a Dreamatorium. A decade-plus CinemaBlend veteran who is endlessly enthusiastic about the career he's dreamt of since seventh grade.


text:
Before you subscribe an insurance you need to realize how insurance firms job. To assist know that we now have presented an in depth outline of Insurance Firms Business Design according to internet research and chatting with some friends which are experts and work towards the insurance policy expert field. Let's breaking down the version in parts:
- Underwriting and making an investment
- Declare
- Marketing and advertising
Underwriting and investing
On natural terminology we are able to say that the insurance policy Firms business model is always to gather far more benefit in superior and investment earnings compared to the worth which is expended in deficits and at the same time to provide a fair cost that the consumers will acknowledge.
The income might be described by the subsequent formula:
Revenue = earned top quality + purchase earnings – accrued decrease – underwriting bills.
Insurance Firms gain their wealth by using these two strategies:
- Underwriting, is the process that Insurance firms use to pick the risk to get insured and decides the value of the monthly premiums to get billed for agreeing to those threats.
- Making an investment the values obtained on rates.
You will find a complex part aspect in the Insurance Firms enterprise model that is the actuarial research of selling price environment, according to statistics and probability to estimate the need for future boasts in just a given threat. After the value placing, the insurer will permission or decline the potential risks making use of the underwriting method.
Examining the regularity and harshness of the covered by insurance obligations and predicted payment regular is really what ratemaking with a easy stage is. What companies do is verify all those ancient info with regards to deficits that they had and upgrade it on today's values and then evaluating it for the monthly premiums acquired for a rate adequacy examination. Businesses use also expense stress and reduction proportions. Merely adding this we could state that the comparison of deficits with damage relativities is when rating various hazards qualities are completed. For instance a policy together with the double loss should fee a premium with the increase value. Naturally there is certainly space for more buildings estimations with multivariable analysis and parametric calculation, generally getting information record since it inputs to be utilized on the odds of long term losses analysis.
Companies underwriting income is the volume of high quality benefit obtained if the policy stops minus the level of compensated importance on claims. Also we have now the underwriting performance A.K.A. the merged proportion. This is certainly measured by dividing the deficits and costs beliefs through the superior ideals. Should it be over completely we think of it underwriting reduction and if it is below the 100% we think of it the underwriting profit. Don't neglect included in the Firms business structure there is a expense component meaning that the businesses might have profit despite the existence of underwriting losses.
The Drift is the way insurance providers generate their investment revenue. It is actually volume of benefit gathered in top quality inside a offered some time and that has not compensated outside in boasts. An investment from the float starts if the insurance companies have the repayments from the rates and end once the boasts are paid out. Because it is this period framework is definitely the period from which the interest is received.
The insurance policy businesses from the United States that operate on casualty and property insurance had an underwriting loss of $142 Billion within the 5 years concluding in the calendar year of 2003, and for the exact same period possessed a general revenue of $68 Billion results of the drift. Many pros from your business believe that is achievable to always obtain make money from the drift not having necessarily a underwriting revenue. Obviously there are several contemplating channels for this issue.
Finally one important believe you should think of when subscribing a new insurance is that in economically discouraged times the markets have carry tendencies along with the insurance firms try to escape from float ventures to result in a desire to reassess the values of the costs which means increased prices. So this is not a fun time to join or renew your insurances.
The transforming on revenue and charity periods is referred to as underwriting cycles.
The exact "product" given money for in insurance carriers market will be the statements and damage handling while we can call it the materialized application of insurance companies. The Insurance Plan Businesses associates or negotiators may help the clients fill up the claims or they are often packed directly through the firms.
The huge quantity of boasts are employed by the claim adjusters and backed up by the data control employees and details entry clerks within the Companies statements office. The classification from the clams are produced on severity conditions schedule and allotted on the assert adjusters. The declare adjusters have factor arrangement authority according to each kinds practical experience and knowledge. Right after the allocation, follows the investigation with partnership of the buyer to establish should it be paid by the agreement. The examination outputs de importance and also the repayment authorization to the buyer.
Sometimes a open public adjuster can be appointed from the consumer to barter an understanding with the insurance firms on his account. On more complex insurance policies where the claims are difficult to control your client may and normally makes use of the another plan add on to the cover of the price of the general public adjuster, called the loss rehabilitation insurance policy.
When handling promises dealing with characteristics, the firms attempts to stable the requirements for client happiness, bills of management as well as over transaction leaks. Insurance policy bad religious beliefs usually arises from this harmony respond that causes fake insurance coverage methods that are a serious danger which are deal with and get over with the organizations. The challenge in between the clientele and insurance providers often results in litigation. The claims handling techniques as well as the validity of boasts are the increasing troubles.
Insurance Providers use negotiators and representatives to initiate the current market and underwrite the clientele. These negotiators are bond to a sole business or these are freelancers, which imply that they could guidelines and terms from many other insurance carriers. It is proven the accomplishment of Insurance Firms desired goals is due to dedicated and personalized-produced professional services supplied by the reps.
Inspired by: ezinearticles


text:
From Yale News (by Phoebe Kimmelman):
On Thursday evening, Harvard psychologist Mahzarin Banaji delivered a talk entitled "Group Love" where she demonstrated that the audience held an implicit bias for Yale over Princeton.
Banaji, who worked as a professor of psychology at Yale from 1986-2002 before taking a similar post at Harvard, focused in her talk on how group affiliations, or lack thereof, affect the ways in which we see the world and interact with others. In her research, Banaji has helped bring Freudian theories of the subconscious in the psychology laboratory to be empirically tested.
University President Peter Salovey delivered introductory remarks, saying Banaji had been the "heart and soul" of the Yale psychology department during her 16 years there.
"She is of those scientists who changes her field with her insights and her empirical data with a deep sense of social responsibility to her colleagues, her students and her field," Salovey said.
In the lecture to roughly 100 people, Banaji first discussed an experiment she did in 2006 at Harvard that involved monitoring participants' brain activity while they answered random questions about two hypothetical people, presented with only their political preferences. Neuroimaging showed that the subjects used different areas of the brain to make predictions about people with whom they agree and those with whom they disagree. Banaji used this study to introduce the idea of love of the in-group, a preference people have for a group of people who think the way that they themselves do.
Through presenting multiple studies, Banaji demonstrated the magnitude of positive bias towards the in-group in subjects ranging from sports fans to elementary school students. While we may not be able to eliminate our biases, Banaji said certain cognitive strategies can "outsmart" them. For instance, Banaji said she rotates among her computer screensavers images that defy racial and gender stereotypes.
"It's not that we hate people of another group, but it's love for the in-group that's paramount," she said.
Salovey and Banaji, who started as faculty at Yale on the very same day, were close friends and next door neighbors, he said. Salovey recalled that he and Banaji were each other's "support systems" while writing PSYC 110 lectures together.
Banaji came to campus for this year's Silliman Memorial Lecture, an annual speakership that began in 1888 and has brought such prominent scientific figures to campus as J.J. Thomson and Ernest Rutherford. Though a committee of faculty from Yale science departments usually chooses a speaker whose research is in the hard natural sciences, committee chair and Sterling professor of molecular biophysics and biochemistry Joan Steitz said that her colleagues were eager to hear from Banaji this year. Though the lecture has no affiliation with Silliman College, the endowment is named for the mother of Benjamin Silliman, a scientist after whom the college is named.
"If you think about the impact that psychology and neurobiology and brain science [are] having these days, the committee did not consider it at all inappropriate to be going in that direction with this particular lecture," Steitz said.
Since leaving Yale in 2002, Banaji has served as a professor of social ethics in Harvard's psychology department, where she has continued her research on how unconscious thinking plays out in social situations.
Nick Friedlander '17 said he found the lecture "eye-opening" because it revealed biases he did not know he held before.
For Zachary Williams '17, the lecture demonstrated how little of the conscious mind controls mental processes.
"It was truly a treat to be able to sit in close quarters with such a fantastic paragon of academia and hear her talk about such relevant topics," he said.
Banaji's most recent book is entitled "Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People."
Related Situationist posts:


text:
As a truly independent family business serving the coffee market for the last 24 years supplying New Beginners to large Government Organizations and Commercial Enterprises, we understand that each of our customers needs is different. It is our priority to understand each customer's requirements and to advise and deliver the right solution for single operations or multi-site portfolios.
A large proportion of our business comes from recommendation and referrals from the happy customers that rely on our expertise and prompt service.
Blended and freshly roasted and packed here in the U.K. the coffee beans offered here at Coffechino are sourced globally from the community coffee farms of the world. Our speciality graded Fiera Fairtrade, Ricchezza and Amici coffee beans are ready to supply full of freshness and quality.
We provide superb Italian and Swiss Traditional Espresso and Automatic coffee machines with a comprehensive range of quality coffee and ingredients plus accessories, training and support for your business, enabling you to serve an exceptionally unique coffee experience.
We can also provide a bundle package deal that would include installation, training, starter pack of fresh beans/ingredients, cleaning products, manufacturers parts and labour warranty plus telephone technical help line and in addition with traditional espresso units a knockout drawer and barista kit.
We are a friendly team who will be more than happy to discuss any requirements for your business.


text:
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Treasury prices surged Friday, closing out their second consecutive day of gains as investor fears over global economic growth triggered a rotation out of riskier assets like emerging markets and into haven securities like U.S. government debt.
The 10-year note US:10_YEAR yield, which falls as prices rise, was down 4.5 basis points at 2.728%, after falling as low as 2.706%, according to Tradeweb. The benchmark note yield, which fell 9 basis points this week, has fallen over a quarter of a percentage point since the beginning of the year.
The 30-year bond US:30_YEAR yield fell 4 basis points to 3.644% while the 5-year note US:5_YEAR yield fell 3.5 basis points to 1.556%.
"The emerging-markets concerns have fueled a massive unwind in positions," said Michael Cullinane, head of Treasury trading at D.A. Davidson & Co. He added that investors who see rates continuing to rise in the long-term might find now to be "a good opportunity to lighten up on exposure."
Weak manufacturing data out of China and tepid economic news from the U.S. triggered a reversal in investor sentiment on Thursday, which accelerated as market participants unwound their technical positions. Stocks in developing countries plunged, with MSCI Emerging Markets exchange-traded fund
But the shift in market sentiment is set against the backdrop of a fixation with central bank liquidity withdrawal, according Adrian K. Miller, director of fixed income strategy at GMP Securities, LLC. As investors amp up fears of a hawkish normalization of monetary policy, they are pulling out of riskier emerging markets that benefited from central bank accommodations.
"There's an underlying trend of this presumed growing hawkish bias," said Miller. "The market will look for a verification of this thesis."
U.S. stocks closed sharply lower for a second consecutive day.
Short-term Treasury bill yields also spiked Friday as investors returned their focus to the debt ceiling debate. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew has urged lawmakers to raise the borrowing limit as soon as possible. He said in a Jan. 22 letter to congressional leaders that so-called extraordinary measures to keep the government from hitting the debt ceiling would be exhausted by the end of February.
If a breach of the debt limit prohibits the U.S. from borrowing, it would have to eventually delay payments on maturing T-bills. That caused T-bill yields to spike, and prices to fall, during the last debt-ceiling debate in October, which was eventually resolved. T-bills US:1_MONTH maturing on March 6 recently traded at 8 basis points, up from 1.5 basis points on Wednesday.
A dearth of data in the U.S. this week has markets looking abroad for direction. Next week may see the focus return stateside, with data on new home sales Monday, durable good orders on Tuesday, gross domestic product on Thursday, and personal income and outlays on Friday.
The Federal Reserve is also scheduled to meet and is largely expected to continue reducing the pace of its bond-buying stimulus.
"If we do get the emerging-markets situation calmed down a little bit, I'm of the opinion we'll return our focus to the Fed meeting next week," said Cullinane of D.A. Davidson.
Additionally, the Treasury Department will sell $32 billion of 2-year notes US:2_YEAR on Tuesday, $35 billion of 5-year note on Thursday, and $29 billion of 7-year notes on Thursday. The first-ever auction of $15 billion in 2-year floating rate notes will take place on Wednesday.
More from MarketWatch:
After devaluation, Argentina eases U.S. dollar restrictions.