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Our beautiful Rudbeckia Beautiful Yellow Flowers radiator covers.
Heather has a wonderful portfolio of Flower photographs which can create a fantastic range of contemporary and modern covers to suit any interior. To see the full portfolio please look at her website Heather Edwards Photography
Professionally assembled by UK craftsmen, these covers are perfect for modern, traditional and contemporary interiors and homes. Select an eyelet colour (from 8 colours and metallic finishes). If it sounds a bit confusing dont worry we will be delighted to help via the enquiries section. These covers create real transformational effects in any period, classic or modernist interior.
All covers are high performance, installed in minutes, and manufactured in the UK by our craftsmen. Attached to the wall using proprietary fixings, again hidden to the naked eye from the top. Please contact us if you have any questions via the enquiries section. Please note these covers can only be fixed on flat walls.
Standard eyelet colour is Satin Nickel - an exact match to our stainless steel features.
Standard top colour is Satin White or Satin Black / Stainless steel top and Mirror Finish stainless tops available at additional price.
All cover depths are 17.5cm / 175mm
Please contact us for exact price of multiple units AS WE ALWAYS PROVIDE REDUCTIONS ON VOLUME PURCHASE AT THE SAME TIME - PRICES ON REQUEST.
Further images from Heather can be found at Heather Edwards Photography
Radiating pure pleasure If you thought a radiator was just a...


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Licensed salon & spa professionals can set up a Professional Account which entitles them to professional only pricing, professional only promotions and additional educational and marketing resources available to our salon & spa customers.
If you already have a Professional Account with us, please sign in below with your email and password in the "Sign In to My Professional Account" section.
To create a Salon - Spa Professional Account, please enter your email and a valid Cosmetology License in the section called "Create a Professional Account" below and click the "Create Account" button. You will then be asked for additional information.
Zoya Nail Polish
Charity by Zoya can be best described as a faded mauve-purple with copper colored duochrome shimmer. A soft shade for poetic nails.
Finish - Metallic
Intensity - 5 (1 = Sheer - 5 = Opaque)
Tone - Cool
For Best Results
Step 1: Clean the nail plate with Remove Plus ( Remove ) nail polish remover and nail plate cleaner
Step 2: Choose and apply the right base coat: Zoya Anchor for regular healthy nails or Zoya GetEven for nails with ridges
Step 3: Apply 2 coats of your favorite Zoya Nail Polish Color
Step 4: Apply a coat of Zoya Armor Top Coat
Step 5: Drop one drop of Zoya Fast Drops to the base of your nail bed
Following these 5 steps guarantees up to 14 days of wear on natural nails.
Shade Spotlight
Ratings & Reviews
Zoya Nail Polish | Charitymy favorite purple!
I`m bi-racial so my skin is latte color and this is such a flattering color. I`ve been looking for the perfect purple color for awhile and I just love this. It`s a muted purple, not too loud, but just perfect! The picture online has shimmer which I don`t see in person.
Zoya Nail Polish | CharityLove it!!
I LOVE this color; it`s so pretty!! It`s a little darker on my nails than in the bottle - definitely purple, but a mauve-purple, not a bright purple. The duochrome is not as strong as the bottle, but I can usually see a faint shimmer, and in the right lighting the duochrome will pop out. Great if you`re a fan of more muted colors!
Zoya Nail Polish | CharityLooks nothing like the pic
This looks nothing like the picture. This is the only nail polish color I do not like.
Zoya Nail Polish | CharityCharity
This color looks absolutely nothing like the color spoon. It is listed under the purples and I don`t see any purple in it.
Furthermore, it chips easily.
Zoya Nail Polish | CharityPretty purple polish
I bought this color because I love purple and love duochromes. The copper colored duochrome shimmer wasn`t as strong as I`d like but still a very pretty muted purple. I was able to attain opacity with 3 thin coats.

subset: commoncrawl


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DiS is pleased to announce that Derby noiseniks Komakino are alive, healthy and coming to a town near you in the next few months.
The band have been busy recording with ex-Mansun frontman Paul Draper and hope to release a single in the none-too-distant future.
They've also recruited a temporary bass player, Daniel Beddows, formerly of Norwich emo rockers Forever Falling, to replace the now-departed Dennis Caswell. Caswell is concentrating fully on his solo electronica project, Scapa Flow.
Frontman Ryan Needham (pictured) said:
"We managed to get through a really fucking shit year (where pretty much every reason that makes a band split up happened to us!) intact. We have plans for a single and want to play as many shows as possible for the summer and beyond and basically just massively getting back on it!"
The tour calls in at the following venues:
17 Leeds Brudenell Social Club (SXSB all-dayer)
1 Manchester The Late Room (below Life Cafe)
2 Shrewsbury The Buttermarket (w/ Harrisons)
3 London Nambucca (SXSB all dayer)
7 London Bush Hall (supporting Brett Anderson)
13 Harrogate Moko Lounge (w/ Grammatics)
16 Liverpool Korova (Evol Clubnight)
24 Barnsley Carters Old No7
28 Milan Rocket
29 Darlington The Blue Room (Mis-En-Scene)
30 Stockton-On-Tees Ku Bar (Shine Like Stars club night)
2 Oxford Port Mahon
6 London 333 (Emerge)
7 Birmingham Barfly
13 Wakefield Escobar (Louder Than Bombs night)
14 Hull Welly (Yo-Yo club night)
21 Nottingham Junktion 7 (DiS night w/ Ox.Eagle.Lion.Man, FortyFives and Stuart Bruce)
3 Edinburgh Cabaret Voltaire (I Fly Spitfires Club, DiS night)
4 Glasgow Firewater
10 Wrexham The Goldbourne
18 Derby University


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As pressure mounts on military leaders to crack down on sexual abuse in the armed forces, some encouraging news is coming out of the Naval base outside of Chicago: A pilot program aimed at reducing the number of sexual assaults that just might be working.
As pressure mounts on military leaders to crack down on sexual abuse in the armed forces, some encouraging news is coming out of the Naval base outside of Chicago: A pilot program aimed at reducing the number of sexual assaults that just might be working.
Officials at Naval Station Great Lakes say that since a targeted awareness and victim support program was launched in 2010, there have 50 percent fewer reports of assaults to the base's Training Support Center, where the most serious attacks are generally reported, the Chicago Sun-Times reported (http://bit.ly/11mV3OU).
"The results that we have tracked are promising and encouraging," said Capt. Caroline Nielson, chief of staff at Navy Region Midwest. Nielson said that at the center, where about 16,000 sailors learn specialized training, the number of sexual assaults dropped by half in 2011, decreased again in 2012 and have leveled off this year. The Navy did not provide exact numbers.
Under the program, sailors are taught to intervene when they see their mates in trouble or engaging in bad behavior, as well as educate military medical staff to treat victims of sexual assault with more sensitivity, And because its own analysis showed the majority of reported cases of sexual assault involved alcohol, the base has worked with local hotels and bars to crack down on drinking on sailors from the naval station.
The training at the station where thousands of sailors come for specialized training begins almost immediately, and recruits receive training three times within eight weeks. At the Training Support Center, sailors are taught "Bystander Intervention Training," which Neilson said is aimed at teaching sailors to recognize "anything that goes kind of beyond sexual flirting."
The results come at a particularly troubling time for the military. Last month the Pentagon released a report that estimated the number of military members to have been sexually assaulted last year could have been as high as 26,000. And just last week, the Army said it had suspended a two-star general who commands the U.S. Army forces in Japan after he allegedly failed to report or properly investigate an allegation of sexual assault.
The results of the Great Lakes program have been encouraging enough for a Navy official to say that it has been expanded to San Diego and will be employed at bases in Japan and Italy within the next six months.
Information from: Chicago Sun-Times, http://www.suntimes.com/index


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Visit Our Main Site
ASAP Restoration Company is available 24 hours a day for all of your fire damage repair needs. We work with your insurance company to properly restore your home in a manner in which you are not without a place to live while the home improvement and Restoration Company project is underway. A fire causes serious damage to your home as well as the smoke from the aftermath of the Phoenix fire damage, we can help you get your home restored to its pre-loss condition quickly. .
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In all cases, ASAP Restoration Company Services is certified to inspect, repair and restore practically all fire damaged components of one's home that is considered "safe" to recover.


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One of two suspects in the deadly Boston Marathon bombing is dead and a massive manhunt is underway for another, authorities said early Friday.
Residents of Watertown, a suburb just outside Boston, have been advised by police to keep their doors locked and not let anyone in.
"We believe this to be a terrorist," said Boston Police Commissioner Ed David. "We believe this to be a man who's come here to kill people. We need to get him in custody."
The Middlesex district attorney said the two men are suspected of killing a Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer on campus late Thursday, then stealing a car at gunpoint and later releasing its driver unharmed.
Hours earlier, police had released photos of the marathon bombing suspects and asked for the public's help finding them.
A new photo of the suspect on the loose was released later showing him in a grey-hooded sweatshirt. It was taken at a 7-Eleven store in Cambridge, just across the river from Boston.
Authorities say the suspects threw explosives from the car as police followed it into Watertown. The suspects and police exchanged gunfire, and one of the suspects was critically injured and later died at a hospital while the other escaped.
The FBI said it was working with local authorities to determine what happened.
The MIT shooting on the Cambridge campus Thursday night was followed by reports of gunfire and explosions in Watertown, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) west of Boston.
The MIT officer had been responding to report of a disturbance Thursday night when he was shot multiple times, according to a statement from the Middlesex district attorney's office and Cambridge police. It said there were no other victims.
In Watertown, witnesses reported hearing multiple gunshots and explosions at about 1 a.m. (0500 GMT) Friday. Dozens of police officers and FBI agents were in the neighborhood and a helicopter circled overhead.
State police spokesman David Procopio said, "The incident in Watertown did involve what we believe to be explosive devices possibly, potentially, being used against the police officers."
Boston cab driver Imran Saif said he was standing on a street corner at a police barricade across from a diner when he heard an explosion.
"I heard a loud boom and then a rapid succession of pop, pop, pop," he said. "It sounded like automatic weapons. And then I heard the second explosion."
He said he could smell something burning and advanced to check it out but area residents at their windows yelled at him, "Hey, it's gunfire! Don't go that way!"
MIT said right after the 10:30 p.m. (0230 GMT) shooting that police were sweeping the campus in Cambridge and urged people to remain indoors. They urged people to stay away from the Stata Center, a mixed-use building with faculty offices, classrooms and a common area.
Hours later, MIT, the prestigious university with about 11,000 students, said the campus was clear but the shooter was still on the loose.


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High Country gardener's checklist for October
VAIL CO, Colorado
Use this checklist to make sure your lawn and garden (and more) is ready for winter.
Trees and shrubs
Deep-root water trees and shrubs on a warm day if the soil is not frozen or covered with snow.
Use tree wrap on young trees (less than three years old) or those with light-colored bark. This will help prevent sunscald as a result of our intense winter sun.
Fertilize after the first hard freeze and leaf drop. Trees and shrubs go dormant in the fall and the fertilizer will be ready when the ground thaws next spring.
Put up holiday lights on trees before the snow and cold temperatures make the task more difficult.
If your lawn is still growing, continue mowing. Use a mulching mower and leave clippings to decompose and enrich the soil over the winter.
Irrigation and garden tools
Drain hoses and sprinklers that aren't frost free. Disconnect hoses from outdoor faucets.
Put a fuel stabilizer in with the gas in your lawn/garden power tools. Run the engine to distribute the stabilizer then drain the rest of the fuel.
Drain and recycle the oil from mowers, blowers and trimmers. Clean air filters, replace spark plugs and oil necessary parts.
Clean and sharpen your digging and pruning tools before storing them. Apply a light coat of oil to prevent rust.
Store pesticides, fertilizers and other chemicals in a cool, dry place where they won't freeze.
Sow wildflower seed before winter sets in.
Continue pulling weeds by hand until snow covers the garden. Apply a pre-emergent herbicide to prevent fall weeds from sprouting and growing larger.
Continue planting and transplanting perennials until the ground starts to freeze. If you don't have time before it freezes, you can "heel" the plants into a trench, pots and all. Cover with mulch until you're ready to plant in the spring.
Continue pulling weeds by hand until snow covers the garden.
DO NOT cut back the following perennials: arctostaphylus (kinnikinnick), bergenia, brunnera, fragaria (strawberry), iberis, penstemon, creeping phlox, creeping veronica, creeping thymus, creeping saxifrage, low growing and creeping sedums, succulents and woody stemmed plants in general.
Cut back perennials with a defined, bulky crown to 3-inch high to avoid damaging the crown. If the perennial doesn't have an exposed crown, you can cut it back to 1-inch high. If you like, cut back ornamental grasses to 6-inch high.
Mulch perennials and roses after the first hard frost. Especially important if they are a less hardy species or don't receive much snow-cover.
Before putting your garden to bed for the winter, till or spade the soil, leaving chunky clods. The freeze and thaw cycle will heave the clods so they will hold more snow and retain moisture better throughout the winter.
Fresh, hot, homemade compost can only be added in the fall. By the time spring comes, it will have lost its heat and won't harm new growth on plants.
For garden beds close to roads, cover with landscape fabric and secure with staples or sod pins. This prevents plant damage and soil toxicity from de-icing products and cinders. This should be the last thing you do before the snow. If plants are covered too early, they may dry out.
Clean your feeders and stock up on seed and suet. Providing a water source is just as important; using a birdbath heater makes this easy year-round.
Fertilize houseplants with slow-release fertilizer like Marine Cuisine or Osmocote through November, then stop feeding until February.
Start forcing paperwhite (narcissus) bulbs for Thanksgiving blooms.
Plant amaryllis bulbs in pots for Thanksgiving blooms. Wait until the end of October for Christmas blooms.
For more gardening information, become a member of the Wildflower Farm. You'll receive the member's monthly newsletter and exclusive discounts.
Wildflower Farm is located in Edwards on Highway 6. Reach them at 970-926-5504 or firstname.lastname@example.com.
Support Local Journalism
Start a dialogue, stay on topic and be civil.
If you don't follow the rules, your comment may be deleted.
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Masks up! Colorado ski resorts are moving ahead as state, counties and businesses restrict access
VAIL — The lift operator in the maze at Vail Village's Gondola One tilts his head back and hollers: "Masks up please!"


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Mission of Race
The Marion Bermuda Race is built upon the competitive spirit and good fellowship of Corinthian sailing. It offers the unique opportunity to enjoy the camaraderie that develops from an offshore passage while testing one's ability to reach the highest levels of teamwork racing a well-founded yacht. The Race believes this teamwork begins with the youth who represent the future of sailing and racing. We believe that sailing helps build leadership, personal responsibility, communication, problem solving and teamwork skills that will benefit and enhance their lives in the future. To fulfill our charitable mission each of the sponsoring yacht clubs use the proceeds of the race operations to support local programs that offer sailing and racing instruction to a diverse group of junior sailors. We hope to encourage their stewardship of, participation in and love of the sport.


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All of the threads I start go into Reds Live! for the exact reason you gave. I want everybody to have a chance to comment on them.
That said, lots of the threads I start are "light weight" threads. That is, I love the "what's your favorite....." type threads, or imaginary scanarios because I love to hear people talking/posting about baseball in general. Whether you've been around from day 1 or this is your day 1, you can contribute and there is very little controversy so no aguments insue. Frankly, while I enjoy creating threads, most of them are not ORG worthy.
Now, someone like Cyclone, for example, he posts some heavy weight threads. Lots of indepth statistical research, charts, graphs, etc. That should be in ORG because people want to discuss the numbers without it falling apart into a "stats suck" debate. That can happen on Reds Live.
Long winded answer but threads that are worthy of serrious discussion without the noise of "Dunn is the sux" should go into ORG. Otherwise, Reds Live is a perfect place for the thread so all have a chance to contribute.
"It's easier to give up. I'm not a very vocal player. I lead by example. I take the attitude that I've got to go out and do it. Because of who I am, I've got to give everything I've got to come back."
-Ken Griffey Jr.
By Danny Sarafini:
"...in the very early days of this system you could give a neutral rep. I'd really like to see that option return."
I'd like that too.
BTW, I love this guy . I don't think he's 'dweeby' at all. Reminds me of Steven Van Zandt on the Sopranos.
'When I'm not longer rapping, I want to open up an ice cream parlor and call myself Scoop Dogg.'
-Snoop on his retirement
Your Mom is happy.
I actually do segregate threads that I start that way. If I've got a question or a comment that will require a more thought out discussion I'll put it in ORG. If it's a lighter topic or general news I'll put it in Live where everyone can get at it. That said, most of my stuff will go into Live because I don't have the analytical depth that others here do.
FWIW, I haven't viewed as many sites as many or most of you, but when I did go searching other fan sites in the past, I contiunally found the best of them to be the worst that our sites here ever get.
Rob Neyer: "Any writer who says he'd be a better manager than the worst manager is either 1) lying (i.e. 'using poetic license') or 2) patently delusional. Which isn't to say managers don't do stupid things that you or I wouldn't."
This thread has been very therapeutic for me. It's nice to be able to discuss things like this without the appearance of shouting, arguing, etc. It actually "feels" like people are listening to each other and responding (hey! novel concept). It's been awhile since I felt like that on this board.
'When I'm not longer rapping, I want to open up an ice cream parlor and call myself Scoop Dogg.'
-Snoop on his retirement
Your Mom is happy.
Folks, we can lose the good posters if the stuff that was going on in the game thread continues (and about 80% of what goes on in Live). Just my opinion of course, but when was the last time you saw RFS62 and many others post in the game thread?
I rest my case.
"You only have to bat a thousand in two things; flying and heart transplants. Everything else you can go 4-for-5."
-Beano Cook
Board Moderators may, at their discretion and judgment, delete and/or edit any messages that violate any of the following guidelines: 1. Explicit references to alleged illegal or unlawful acts. 2. Graphic sexual descriptions. 3. Racial or ethnic slurs. 4. Use of edgy language (including masked profanity). 5. Direct personal attacks, flames, fights, trolling, baiting, name-calling, general nuisance, excessive player criticism or anything along those lines. 6. Posting spam. 7. Each person may have only one user account. It is fine to be critical here - that's what this board is for. But let's not beat a subject or a player to death, please.


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Nine Inch Nails closed the second night of the "Budweiser Made In America" festival with a set that captured the audience - although the crowd was not nearly as large as Beyonce's the night before.
Trent Reznor and his band mates performed 19 songs at the Jay-Z-curated festival on Philadelphia's Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Reznor didn't hold back: drenched in sweat and holding the microphone close, he sang his band's rock hits and tracks from the group's new album, "Hesitation Marks," out Tuesday.
He emerged onstage in all black while lights flashed behind him during songs like "Closer" and "Head Like a Hole." NIN went on at 9:30 p.m., minutes after DJ-producer Calvin Harris electrified at another stage with his familiar hits "We Found Love," "I Need Your Love" and others. Some concertgoers left after Harris' top-notch performance, and the crowd was not packed when NIN performed, though it filled up throughout the show.
The band's 90-minute set featured hard rock anthems, songs with techno influences as well as groovy and eerie jams. NIN closed the night with a slow and smoky version of "Hurt," which Johnny Cash famously covered. It earned nonstop cheers from the crowd. Reznor was soft as he sang the song's verses - making it the set's highlight.
Most Read
"Yeah, Trent!" one burly voice screamed, and that was one of many.
"Thank you very much," Reznor told the crowd, one of the few times he spoke. "Glad you can be here and we thank Jay-Z for the invite."
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis also performed Sunday, earning cheers from the crowd, as did Miguel and Kendrick Lamar.
The festival Sunday was more packed than on Saturday, when 2 Chainz, Imagine Dragons and Emeli Sande performed.


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Latest Articles
Big Lots Grand Opening
Big Lots Grand Opening photos for Worthington, Ohio on July 31, 2005.
Mantidfly Photos
Photos of a mantidfly, a predatory insect related to lacewings. The insect is easily confused with the praying mantis. It is a mantis mimmick.
Orangutan Photos
Photos of a couple orangutans at the Columbus Zoo.
Traditional Hindu Wedding
Photos of a traditional Hindu wedding in Columbus, Ohio.
Fun - the Golden Retriever Way
Photos of my dog Dewey, a golden retriever, romping in the marsh.
Noise Auction at Alrosa Villa
Noise Auction headlining at Alrosa Villa on April 22, 2005.
Purple Grasshopper
Photos of a purple grasshopper with green eyes found in the grass on a mild February afternoon.
Gone Until Tomorrow at Rock to Remember
Gone Until Tomorrow opens the Rock to Remember Concert at the Newport Music Hall.
Noise Auction at Rock to Remember
Noise Auction played Rock to Remember at the Newport Music Hall.
Liquid 6teen at Rock to Remember
Liquid 6teen played the Rock to Remember Concert at the Newport Music Hall.


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Each shared-IP zone that requires network connectivity has one or more unique IP addresses. Both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses are supported.
If you are using IPv4, obtain an address and assign the address to the zone.
A prefix length can also be specified with the IP address. The format of this prefix is address/prefix-length, for example, 192.168.1.1/24. Thus, the address to use is 192.168.1.1 and the netmask to use is 255.255.255.0, or the mask where the first 24 bits are 1-bits.
If you are using IPv6, you must manually configure the address. Typically, at least the following two types of addresses must be configured:
A link-local address is of the form fe80::64-bit interface ID/10. The /10 indicates a prefix length of 10 bits.
A global unicast address is based off a 64–bit prefix that the administrator configures for each subnet, and a 64-bit interface ID. The prefix can also be obtained by running the ifconfig command with the -a6 option on any system on the same subnet that has been configured to use IPv6.
The 64–bit interface ID is typically derived from a system's MAC address. For zones use, an alternate address that is unique can be derived from the global zone's IPv4 address as follows:
16 bits of zero:upper 16 bits of IPv4 address:lower 16 bits of IPv4 address:a zone-unique number
For example, if the global zone's IPv4 address is 192.168.200.10, a suitable link-local address for a non-global zone using a zone-unique number of 1 is fe80::c0a8:c80a:1/10. If the global prefix in use on that subnet is 2001:0db8:aabb:ccdd/64, a unique global unicast address for the same non-global zone is 2001:0db8:aabb:ccdd::c0a8:c80a:1/64. Note that you must specify a prefix length when configuring an IPv6 address.
For more information about link-local and global unicast addresses, see the inet6(7P) man page.


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The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget predicted Thursday that an independent analysis of the president's budget "will show much higher deficits and debt as a percent of Gross Domestic Product" than the White House estimates.
The Congressional Budget Office produces its own estimate of the president's budget, typically about a month after the White House publishes its proposal. CRFB says it expects the congressional budget scorekeeper's analysis will use more realistic economic assumptions than the White House's rosy projection for average growth of 3 percent a year over the next decade. "More realistic economic projections both reduce projected GDP in 2028 by 11 percent, which raises debt as a percent of GDP by 8 percentage points, and reduce revenue enough to raise debt another 10 percentage points," the group says.
CRFB adds that CBO will also factor in the budget deal that Congress recently passed, which calls for hundreds of billions of dollars in increased spending over two years, and make other adjustments. All together, CBO's accounting could end up showing debt climbing to 93 percent of GDP by 2028, or 20 percentage points higher than the White House budget forecasts.
CRFB adds that, if nearly $1 trillion worth of unspecified spending cuts over the next decade fail to materialize as anticipated in the budget, the debt-to-GDP level could reach 96 percent. "Either of these numbers would be an improvement on our estimate of current law, which has debt reaching 101 percent of GDP by 2028, but they would still leave debt on a sharp upward path," CRFB says.
We should add one caveat here: These are only projections of what CBO's numbers might look like, and those CBO numbers will themselves be estimates about a White House budget that will never be adopted as a whole. But the bottom line remains that we're likely looking at lots more red ink ahead, and the administration's forecasts will probably be deemed unrealistically optimistic by impartial analysts.


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Womens Fila Disruptor 2 Premium Athletic Shoe
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Black/Red Plaid
Lace up a new twist on classic athletic style with the new Disruptor 2 Premium Athletic Shoe from Fila! Sporting court-loads of retro athletic appeal, the Disruptor 2 Premium Athletic Shoe features a plaid textile upper with breathable lining, EVA-cushioned footbed for all-day comfort, and durable rubber outsole for flexible traction and stability. Available only at Journeys!
- Sturdy textile upper with allover plaid finish
- Breathable textile lining
- Padded tongue and collar for added comfort and support
- Lace closure offers a secure fit
- EVA cushioned footbed provides all-day comfort
- Durable rubber outsole delivers flexible traction and stability


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Sometimes I'll tackle a white-hot topic in this space that inspires readers to become writers.
Amid the slings and arrows of rejoinder, some gracious letter-writer might offer an attaboy for my "courage."
And I smile. But not for the reason you might suspect.
I appreciate the sentiment. But I sit in an air-conditioned office, pounding out thoughts that occasionally cause conniptions.
It's not like I stared down bloodthirsty mobs aboard buses winding through the Jim Crow South in the early '60s.
Something Allen Cason Jr. knows something about.
Monday will mark 50 years since the former Orlando resident rode into history. Cason participated in the Freedom Rides, a national movement that, in 1961, inspired groups of blacks and whites to challenge the Deep South practice of herding blacks into the back of buses and trains and corralling them into substandard "colored" accommodations at depots.
PBS will chronicle their journey Monday night in "Freedom Riders."
Early on, Cason developed a thirst for freedom. Growing up in Orlando's Washington Shores, he witnessed segregation's soul-sucking malevolence. He'd watch his father swallow and answer to "boy" — or worse. Never "sir." Never "mister."
And he says he never forgot the grocer who demanded that he buy not a few grapes, but the entire bunch because "I had my hands on them."
The 1960 Jones High graduate walked onto the campus of Tennessee Agricultural and Industrial State University primed to end American apartheid. There, he joined the Nashville Student Movement.
"My father's generation wasn't going" to spur change, he says. "It was time for young people to do something."
By the time the Freedom Rides ramped up, Cason had been through sit-ins and stand-ins to integrate Nashville's lunch counters and movie theaters. He was a seasoned practitioner of nonviolence techniques. A perfect resume for a job sure to court violence.
The U.S. Supreme Court had twice struck down racial segregation on interstate buses and ruled against segregation for waiting rooms, lunch counters and restrooms at facilities for interstate travelers.
The Supremes' insistence on desegregation met with the Deep South's resistance.
The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) solicited recruits to ride southbound buses to test whether the high court ruling had taken hold. A trip participants understood could be a one-way ride.
Cason and others wrote their wills before the trip.
"I told my parents I loved them, and that I thought I might be killed, but don't worry because what I'm doing is for the fate of our people," he says.
Those fears were confirmed after a Freedom Ride bus was firebombed outside Anniston, Ala., and riders on another bus were mobbed by the Ku Klux Klan in Birmingham.
Violence continued in Montgomery. A mob beat and bottled up Freedom Riders in a local church, only to escape under federal protection. Later, in Jackson, Miss., police arrested Cason and other Freedom Riders for "breach of peace."
When Cason and 13 other Riders returned to Tennessee A&I, they were greeted with expulsions for "misconduct." They sued and were reinstated, but Cason's life took a detour.
They felt like outcasts at school, Cason says. Another arrest after another integration protest stole more precious time. School took a backseat to marriage in 1964, and to rearing five sons.
Ultimately, the Freedom Riders overcame. The Interstate Commerce Commission relented and banned biased seating on bus lines and abolished "whites only" signs.
But even victories have costs. Cason lost momentum and never returned to school, sacrificing the dreams he carried out of Washington Shores.
"I feel like God used me in a certain way," Cason says.
In 2008, the school that rewarded courage with expulsions made modest amends. Cason and the school's other 13 Freedom Riders received honorary degrees — three of them posthumously.
Melvin Johnson, president of what's now called Tennessee State University, observed: "The Freedom Riders serve to remind this generation of a time when people were willing to risk their reputations, their careers and their lives (for the greater good)."
Cason now proudly refers to himself as "Doctor." And with good reason.
"We healed people of the angry ignorance, the hate," he says.
Fifty years later, the doctor's still in.
"We know there's still a lot of hate in this world … but the main thing is we're progressing," he says. "Right now, all we can do is keep working. We have a black president, but things have changed because more people are sharing their love, not their hate."
firstname.lastname@example.com or 407-420-5095


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No charges against judge for Badaracco grand jury leak
A panel that investigates allegations of misconduct by judicial officials voted Wednesday not to discipline a retired Superior Court judge and former Danbury prosecutor whose testimony was instrumental in the conviction of Dominic Badaracco on bribery charges last year.
The 12-member Judicial Review Council determined any alleged misconduct by Judge Robert Brunetti in confirming the existence of a one-man grand jury investigating Badaracco for the disappearance and presumed murder of his wife occurred too long ago for them to take action, chairman Wayne Keeney said.
"It was outside the one year we have to act," Keeney said.
Brunetti testified in state Superior Court in Bridgeport in July that he passed on information about the secret proceedings to long-time friend and former client Ronald "Rocky" Richter, Badaracco's business partner, during a telephone conversation in November, 2010.
Prior to receiving the call, Brunetti said Richter called him at least twice seeking information about the grand jury, seated in New Britain, that had subpoenaed several witnesses as part of an investigation into the disappearance of Badaracco's second wife, Mary, 26 years earlier.
The 38-year-old former barmaid and mother of two adult daughters vanished from the couple's Wakeman Hill Road home in Sherman in August 1984 and hasn't been seen since. Dominic Badaracco had long been considered a suspect in the case, but has never been charged with the crime and Mary Badaracco's body has never been found.
Brunetti, who was assigned to a satellite court in the New Britain Judicial District, said he knew nothing of the investigation initially, but subsequently learned of its existence when the grand juror, Judge Arthur Hadden, showed up at a luncheon attended by judges working in the district.
A short time after he spoke to Richter, Brunetti testified, Badaracco called and offered him $100,000 in an attempt to influence the investigation.
The jury subsequently convicted the 77-year-old Badaracco and he is serving a seven-year prison term.
Brunetti, who was appointed to the bench in 2002 after 19 years as state prosecutor, retired as a judge on Dec. 31. Before that, he was an attorney in private practice in Danbury, representing the siding and roofing company co-owned by Badaracco and Richter in several business deals.
During the trial, Badaracco's defense attorney, Richard Meehan, raised the issue of whether Brunetti violated the judicial canon of ethics and the lawyers code of professional responsibility by confirming the grand jury's existence to Richter, and participating in an unsuccessful effort by investigators to get Badaracco to repeat the bribe offer so it could be recorded.
Brunetti admitted he "probably should not" have discussed the grand jury, which is supposed to remain secret, with Richter, but that since his friend already knew about it, he felt he was only confirming something Richter already knew.
Keeney said Wednesday that the Judicial Review Commission initiated the investigation on its own as a result of Brunetti's admissions.
firstname.lastname@example.com; 203-731-3342


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Use of "NBC Rewind" Player Increased in Q4 2008 Over Other Quarters
Co-viewing Increased, Multi-tasking While Viewing Decreased
UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. - March 25, 2009 - NBC.com today released findings from a Q4 2008 intercept survey of its full-episode streaming video player, NBC Rewind. Among the highlights are increased use of the player and higher satisfaction with the player experience versus other quarters with original programming, less place shifting and multi-tasking versus Q3 2008, and a surprisingly high level of co-viewing. The results were announced by Vivi Zigler, President, NBC Universal Digital Entertainment.
"Gaining this kind of research insight really allows us to hone in and improve the experience for our users," said Zigler. "As this digital space continues to evolve, so do consumers and the ways in which they interact with our content. These results indicate that we are going in the right direction for both our consumers and advertising partners."
Consumers were most likely to visit Rewind to watch episodes they missed on TV, similar to previous quarters; however, visitors used Rewind more heavily in Q4 2008 vs. Q4 2007, signifying both player loyalty and higher program engagement. 94 per cent of visitors always or usually watched the entire episode on Rewind.
Illustrating how consumers are using the player, visitors in Q4 2008 were less likely to multi-task while viewing versus Q3 2008. Additionally, over half of Q4 visitors co-viewed an episode at some point. Of those who co-viewed, 30 per cent always or usually watch with someone else. Q4 visitors were also more likely to watch shows on a desktop and to watch in their office/den/living room versus Q3 visitors who showed higher usage of laptops and bedroom viewing.
Ease of finding the player, overall satisfaction and loading time ratings improved among visitors. Users also found that the advertisements were well integrated with the viewing format and both aided and unaided ad recall for Q4 2008 remained strong.
NBC.com, the Emmy Award-winning broadcast network website, is a leading online and mobile destination for television and interactive entertainment. With both derivative and web-exclusive programming, NBC.com pioneered the "360" experience with "Heroes 360," which gave viewers a way to extend their entertainment experience beyond the broadcast, and the first weekly social networking experience attached to a primetime entertainment program with "Dunder Mifflin Infinity." The site offers full episode streaming of many NBC Entertainment shows as well as short clips, interactive games and social networking, including user-generated content. NBC.com continually develops new ways for consumers to experience entertainment content on both existing and emerging platforms. The site is the recipient of multiple Emmy and Webby awards for its content and applications. Please log on to www.nbc.com to learn more.


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On Set Interview: Ron Perlman Talks 'Pacific Rim'
Posted on Friday, June 21st, 2013 by Peter Sciretta
In March 2012, I visited the Toronto set of Pacific Rim — you can read my full report here. While on set we talked with director Guillermo del Toro and various members of the cast. We posted our interview with Guillermo earlier this week, and today we bring you our on set chat with Ron Perlman, who plays a character named Hannibal Chau, the head of a group of scavengers who get to Kaiju remains first and sell pieces of the corpses on the black market. While Ron is only a supporting character, he tends to steal the screen whenever he appears. After the jump you can read a transcript of our entire roundtable conversation with Perlman.
Question: Did you have to be in Sons of Anarchy to get this job?
RON PERLMAN: Yes.
Because there's a few of you…
PERLMAN: It seems as though everything works for a reason, so I'll just say "yes" to everything… as long as it's a yes or no question.
You obviously have a great relationship with Guillermo [del Toro]. Talk a little bit about when he presented you with this project and asked you to be involved.
PERLMAN: I'm not exactly sure of the sequence of events with regard to this. But I actually think this character was designed to be played by another ethnicity other than myself. And somewhere along the way, he had the notion, "Wouldn't it be interesting to turn this guy into more of an invention." So, in other words, somebody takes on a persona that completely sounds like he's someone else and acts like he's someone else but he's really, you know, as you see me. That added a dimension to the larger-than-life aspect of the character. And he ran it by the studio, and miraculously, they agreed.
Are you doing an accent in the film?
PERLMAN: No. I'm playing somebody very close to my own origins. But a completely made-up persona… which makes him even more full of shit. And I think that's the charm of the guy—that he's kind of elusive, hard to pin down.
Can you talk a little bit about the look of the character—the tattoos, the ring, the scar on the face—and how that feeds into your performance and how it reflects the character.
PERLMAN: Well, clearly he's someone who's concerned with the things he's been able to accumulate. He's a bit of a collector in the film. He's a collector of endangered species, so he likes to surround himself with exotic accoutrements and adorns himself fittingly for his large appetites to enjoy the finer things.
One thing I think we've all been blown away by is the amount of practical sets; the director seemed to base everything around a practical set or element before amplifying it with CGI. What was your reaction walking onto these sound stages, seeing some of these things they built?
PERLMAN: That's always been Guillermo's preference, is to have as much there practically as is humanly possible, and that digital graphic images are more a punctuation mark than they are a replacement. So, he enhances the reality with these things that are juxtaposed against it, rather than replacing reality completely. But there's always a real base, no matter how fantastical the image is that ultimately ends up on screen. And I really believe that he philosophically thinks that that engages the viewer to a greater degree, when there's more things there that are actually there. I, for one, am not nearly as engaged when I'm looking at something that's been completely drawn up on a computer that replaces anything that's in real time and real space. It just engages me all the less, rather than all the more. And I learned from my many times working with Guillermo that that's his preference, and he'll always opt for that. So I'm not surprised to see the scope of these sets. I know, in reading the script, that one expects a futuristic world that's rather formidable and is attacked by something that's even more formidable than the scope of the world itself, so therein lies the conflict of this particular story.
You mentioned you've worked with Guillermo a number of times. I'm curious if this time was different in any particular way, and from your perspective, was it nice not to be covered head-to-toe in red makeup?
PERLMAN: It's always nice not to be covered in red makeup no matter who I'm working with. No, the great thing about working with Guillermo is that, even though there's this phenomenal history between us, no two projects are the same. It's always a completely different exercise, it's always a completely different lens that the material is being viewed through. He seems to adapt his visual sensibility to the material and tailor it; so the style he's shooting this film is very different from the style in which he shot the Hellboy films, and I'm sure whatever he shoots next will be [different as well]. It's fascinating to watch.
You know, I've always kind of put him on a rather lofty pedestal in terms of his magnanimity as an artist. I believe that of all the people I've been fortunate to brush up against in my years in this business, he's probably the closest to Leonardo da Vinci. Because he's that inventive, he's that inclusive of everything from the skeletal origins of things to all the facets of evolution that something currently exists and the possibilities of what would happen if they were allowed to completely evolve in some sort of warp-time reality. If you've ever looked through his notebooks, his notes on how he prepares mentally and visually for the story he's about to tell on the screen, you too would probably agree that he's the closest thing you've ever seen to Leonardo da Vinci. And also, I've never met anyone who has the output that he has. The amount of things that are exploding out of him in a 24-hour time period is truly humbling. I don't know anyone that has the output of Guillermo del Toro…
You mean in terms of ideas?
PERLMAN: In terms of not only ideas, but putting them into actual… like, y'know, the writing of the trilogy The Strain? I didn't know he was doing that while he was doing two Hellboy movies. I know how engaged he was in the two Hellboy movies; it didn't seem like there was time for him to be writing a 900-page volume 1 of 3, which I ended up doing the audiobook to; that's the only reason I found out that he had written this thing. I said, "Well, Jesus, when did you have time to do that? Did you have a particularly advanced state of diarrhea that kept you in the bathroom for a while? Because I've been with you most of the time, and I don't see you writing no book, much less 900 pages." So, I feel like a complete slacker when I'm in his presence; that's the one thing I hate about working with him.
It can be an inspiration.
PERLMAN: Yeah, it hasn't rubbed off.
If I'm not mistaken, Pacific Rim marks Guillermo's first time shooting with a digital camera. Has that changed the way he shoots things at all, because of not having to reload so often, or is it pretty much the same as it's been in the past?
PERLMAN: I don't notice any changes, other than the fact that we're not reloading every 10 minutes. No, I think he would only use this camera if it could afford him the texture and quality of imagery that he has kind of become synonymous for. Because I'm looking in the monitor and his shots… there's something very distinctive about a Guillermo del Toro frame. And I don't see much difference between this camera and the old film cameras he used when I first met him. But I'm sure it affords him so much luxury in terms of the amount of time that's not wasted, and what he's able to do in transferring… because he's been editing his movies on the day he shoots them since I met him. He'll do a 12-hour day of shooting and then take the footage that he shot that day and edit it that night for three or four hours. That's the other thing, not only do I not know that he's writing a trilogy or how he does that, but I don't know how he sleeps, because he seems to be working 24-hour cycles.
We saw some playback when we were sitting in there for a brief second, with you and Charlie [Day], in the ruins, you're on the phone, Charlie's reacting to something… could you talk us through that sequence and what's taking place?
PERLMAN: Well, I'm a kind of a black market… I've established a contract with the guys that I have the rights to all Kaiju parts after they've taken them down and after they've taken what they need from them scientifically. So I'm selling Kaiju parts to strange, twisted collectors in the world who are willing to buy these exotic organs and skin samplings and fingernails and eyeballs and stuff; and I'm doing quite well doing that. So my relationship with our heroes in the film is quite convenient and quite profitable for me. This sequence that you're watching us shoot now is the latest result of this battle between our robotic soldiers and these [Kaiju] creatures. And two Kaijus have fallen and I'm gathering their remains for profit.
How did you get that scar on your face in the backstory of this film?
PERLMAN: You know, I'm not really sure, but I'm pretty sure it had to do with a Kaiju. It's never explained; it's just kind of inferred that you don't want to get too close, because this is what can happen if you're not careful.
So, are you part of the scalper group or are you buying off the government people after they're done with the stuff?
PERLMAN: Yeah. I'm the guy. I have the sole contract for first dibs—the right of first refusal—on the fallen Kaiju.
We were told earlier that various parts of the Kaiju are used for holistic medicine and I think bones are kind of used for a potency kind of thing. Is that something your character actually believes in or is he just hocking that stuff?
PERLMAN: No, it's for real. There's no part of the Kaiju that Hannibal Chow has not figured out how to profiteer from. And when we find out that Kaiju bone powder is even more effective than Viagra—or Cialis—imagine his glee. He can't wait for the next Kaiju to fall.
Does your character appear throughout the film or do you have more prominence in the second act or the beginning of the third act?
PERLMAN: I'm not sure of the act breakdowns, but I don't show up until pretty late in the story. And I really emerge out of Charlie Day's character's notion that, if he were able to have a freshly killed Kaiju to study, that he might be able to learn something about their patterns that would give our heroes the edge in terms of eradicating them. So he seeks me out and tries to hang out with me so he has access to these freshly killed, non-ruined Kaiju organs—brains, hearts, vital organs. That's how I come into the piece; and it's pretty late in the piece, probably toward the end of Act 2, beginning of Act 3, as things are beginning to become more and more dire.
If I'm not mistaken, we saw some pictures of your lab, and it seems like that set-up was very detailed. Could you talk a little bit about your "lair," what's in it and what impressed you about it?
PERLMAN: Well, it's the great mind of Guillermo del Toro at work. Because it has these huge jars that he's fascinated with; I've seen them ever since we did Blade II together, which is about four movies ago. There's always a set like that—where this exotic thing, which is the subject of his fascination in this particular piece, is dissected and separated out and explored; the nature of it is explored in a very nerdy, geeky, scientificy, but collectibly kind of way, which are all the things that Guillermo del Toro fashions himself to be. Not particularly in that order, but if you ask him, he says, "I'm a geek, I'm a nerd and I'm a collector." So I think he always has a set in his movies—especially if the subject matter is as exotic as the Kaiju—that is reminiscent of what we saw in Hannibal Chow's lair. And Hannibal Chow is the embodiment of somebody who separates this stuff out; but for him, it's for profit, it's not for scientific curiosity. Whereas in other del Toro pieces, sometimes it's for scientific study; sometimes it's just as a reminder, as a cautionary tale against what can happen when we let certain technologies run amok or if we allow for the evolutionary process to give way to things that are beyond our understanding. Which is actually, I guess, the nature of Sci-Fi, and why we make movies that are about the fantastical.
I'm told there are some animatronic creatures and stuff in your lair, like pieces of Kaiju creatures… what was it like to work with that stuff?
PERLMAN: Yeah, there's a lot of moving parts, things that are freshly unmoving. When you arrive on a set like that to actually put in a day's work, the first half-hour of it is kind of like an amusement park; it's the same feeling you have when you enter Disney Land or whatever amusement park floats your boat. Because you're just looking around, going, "Oh, wow! Look at that." You know? And you're walking around with your buddies, and you just spend most of the time in admiration of whatever sick, weird, twisted, crazy imagination put all that stuff together on a massive scale. I mean, if you were in the Chow lair, it's massive; it just doesn't end. Just when you get finished looking at every body part you think can exist in a Kaiju, you find out you're only in the first of 100 rooms. And then you actually say, "Ok, now we have to shoot this scene; it's time to stop enjoying myself so much and start getting nervous."
Obviously there is the large practical element that Guillermo loves to do, but with regard to the CGI, after you've acted against these CGI elements, are you as curious as we are to see what the final cut is going to look like?
PERLMAN: Yes. Yes, because, you know, you talk about a front-row seat—we as actors are doing this probably a year before all these effects are going to go in. So we're having to imagine what that's going to end up looking like so we can react to it with some kind of verisimilitude, some vague, hopeful truth. So it's always interesting to see how wrong you were, how far off you were, how you're looking in the wrong place when things are over here, hoping that they can fix that. But these are the times we live in. When I started, Steve Jobs wasn't born; well, he was born but… there were no cell phones or computers and if you couldn't build it, it wasn't there.
Your character obviously benefits from selling the various pieces of the Kaiju, and it seems like the heroes have some kind of science they're trying to test out to destroy these creatures. Would your character be against that happening, given that he makes his living off of them?
PERLMAN: Well, I actually thought about that. I thought, "Should I discuss this with Guillermo as my sort of big overview?" Because, how do I feel about this scientist coming in and presenting himself as someone who can put an end to all these things? I decided, "No, I think I'll let this remain my own private little secret." But hopefully it'll play out in terms of my attitude toward the scientist and this little secret that I know that, "No matter what you do, you're never going to stop these guys; I'm going to be in business for a long time. I'll indulge you, but better men than you have tried to stop these things." Since it's my secret and I'm telling you, I'm sure you're not going to tell anyone. How big is your readership?
We have at least five readers between us.
PERLMAN: Oh, well then my secrets are all safe with you guys.
When you have a look like this—with the scar and the tattoos—have they asked you not to go out in public? Because, I know they're trying to keep things under wraps. But I would imagine with the scar and also with who you play on Sons or Anarchy and all the different looks you've given with makeup and everything like that, it must be fun to go out in public a little bit and try to get a reaction out of people.
PERLMAN: No, it's more fun to wait until they see the whole. You don't want to give away a piece of it. This [look] was created specifically for this [film], and it was all the result of Guillermo's invention. So I don't want anyone to know about this until they see it in the setting that he's meant it to be seen.
Actually, let me rephrase: with the makeup that you do on Sons of Anarchy and all the stuff you've done in the past, have you ever gone out in public with all that and noticed the reaction that people give you, when you're covered in tattoos or look a certain way?
PERLMAN: Oh, yeah. Particularly with Sons of Anarchy, you get made-up on the stage and then you go shoot on location. So you're driving through traffic in Los Angeles and those people who are not completely focused on getting to their piece of shit jobs are looking around and noticing you, yeah you can't help but notice peoples' reactions to that. I'm against it. I was asked when we were doing Hellboy, as part of the campaign, if I could show up at some public events as Hellboy. And I said, "No, Hellboy only exists in those movies." He doesn't exist in the real world, and I only want him to be seen when it's controlled by what the filmmaker wants us to know, and nothing else. So I'm very protective of these characters because they're just parts of a greater whole and should never be parsed out for profit. I think very differently than Hannibal Chow.
Was there an aspect in Hannibal's personality or look or the way he talks or moves that wasn't in the script, that you brought to the role?
PERLMAN: Well, the first day we worked on a Hannibal scene, which was about two weeks ago, Guillermo was communicating to me a set of things that I should be thinking about, because there's a theatricality to this guy. And so, I came in trying all these things that he thought about. And then he saw them and said, "No, they suck." And little by little, together—he would say, "try this and try this and try this…"—finally, something began to click with the guy which kind of answered all of the notions that he originally had about this guy's theatricality. He's definitely big. And it's scary to play big. Because if you're wrong, and you start going over the edge, you really look like an idiot. But once we arrived at it, he was really delighted and I was really delighted, and it was nothing that either of us had planned. It came as a result of this back-and-forth, kind of set of ideas that we were just [snaps fingers] going for stuff. And it felt phenomenal, because this is such a personal character for him, especially him convincing the guys who are writing the checks to let me be the guy that plays this character. It was really important that we come up with something that delighted him. And he seems very happy with who this guy is. He's not in the movie very much; I don't want to give too much away, but now you see him, now you don't. The impact that he makes has got to be fast and then gone. But he's quite a delicious invention. Of all the collaborations I've had with Guillermo—and they've all been phenomenal—this guy almost has now gone to the head of the class.


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There have been many valiant attempts to rid the adult Internet of YouTube-born baby star Justin Bieber.
Well, two I can name off the top of my head, anyway. Twitter rejiggered its algorithm so its top 10 trends list would better reflect the actual zeitgeist — rather than a cyber horde of teens spamming the microblogging service with all things Bieber. And Greg Leuch, director over at awesome Internet repository RocketBoom, built "Shaved Bieber," a Firefox application that blocks out all Internet instances of "Bieber," "Justin Bieber," and photos with "Bieber" in the file name.
Both attempts met with varying degrees of success, and one with more than a couple of death threats. (Adolescent girl compared Leuch to Hitler, sent e-mails intimating his imminent demise.)
Now those Internet wisenheimers over at 4chan have a new solution. If you can't get Bieber off the Internet, send him to North Korea! It seems those zany pranksters up and bombed the "Justin Bieber My World" contest, making North Korea ahead by a furlong in the singer's Web vote to choose which country he'll take his tour to next.
Last week, the 4chan website's puckish /b/ message board members posted invites and even a detailed mission plan to make this prank a reality. "North Korea" quickly soared to the head of the pack late last week, as /b/ boarders bombed the Bieber site with votes. North Korea stands at 602,827 votes at the time of this post. By comparison, Israel is second, with 596,257 votes.
Meanwhile, some of the kids from Bieber's literal-minded demographic don't seem to get the joke. Take this Open Question query reposted on meme-collecting site Urlesque.
"I've heard North Korea is a pretty bad place. I've noted a lot of his haters are trying to get people to vote him there. I don't particularly like Justin Bieber, but I don't want to see him get hurt or anything crazy like that. Just wondering. Correct me if I am wrong."
"You are wrong," Urlesque's Cole Stryker responded (rhetorically). "This is me correcting you."
This isn't the first time Bieber's been in 4chan's sights. (This is the the group known for well-plotted pranks such as getting its founder "moot" — aka Christopher Poole — on Time's Top 100 Most Influential list for 2009, and sending a pizza to Balloon Boy's house before the world knew he was hiding in the attic.) Last month, 4chan Internet-inflicted the mop-topped teen idol with a serious social disease via Google.
On July 13, members of 4chan's /b/ message board were asked to, "Go to Google and search 'Justin Bieber Syphilis.' Let's get this to be No. 1 searched phrased on Google trends."
By midnight, "Justin Bieber Syphilis" was at the top of Google's "Hot Searches" for the U.S.
Just like that one "Open Question" kid quoted above seems to believe that Justin Bieber is contractually obligated to hang with Supreme Leader Kim Jong Il this summer if a website votes it to be so, the cherubically squeaky clean Bieber is obviously crawling with the same disease suspected to bedevil Henry the VIII.
Because hey, if it says so on the Internet ...
Follow Helen A. S. Popkin on or join her on . What are you, chicken?


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Nvidia?s GTC 2010 opening day Keynote by Jen-Hsun Huang presented a breakthrough development in robotic cardiac surgery called "beating heart surgery".
Jen-Hsun Huang, CEO of nVidia introduces Dr. Michael D. Black
This notable development of minimally invasive surgery [MIS] benefits patients through shortening convalescence, reducing trauma and surgery costs. The aim is to make the surgery more intuitive for the surgeon and safer for the patient.
The fact that the heartbeat and respiration represent the two major sources for motion disturbance requires the use of computer vision techniques that accurately sense the motion of the heart which are then used in a feedback control loop mechanism that synchronizes identical motion in the actual surgical elements. The heart then appears as nearly motionless to the attending physician allowing full concentration on repairing defects.
Region of interest of the human heart
Jen-Hsun introduced Dr. Michael D. Black, M.D. ? Chief, of California Pacific?s division of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery who early on in his career became intrigued with minimally invasive heart surgery in the mid-1990s. Since 1993, he has been awarded more than a dozen patents for work in the field of robotics.
Rogerio Richa, Ph. D. from LIRMM explains the development of DaVinci
Dr. Black has worked in collaboration with Rogerio Richa, PhD – The Laboratory for Computer Science, Robotics and Microelectronics of Montpellier [LIRMM], France in the development of the robotic surgical system and according to the video short of Dr. Richa presented during:
"The group has been researching technologies to perform motion compensation for beating heart surgeries. In order to avoid stopping the heart the surgeon can perform the surgical act through small holes on the patient?s thorax. Through these small incisions in the patient?s body the surgeon defines a region of interest. We?re able to estimate its motion in 3D. The robot tracks this motion and moves synchronously with the beating heart motion so the surgeon can perform his gesture as if he were operating in a virtually stable environment. The problem here is the volume of data you have to treat. The heart moves at very high speeds therefore you have to visualize the heart motion at a very high speed. In order to do that we have to acquire images at a much higher frame rate and demands a lot computational power. Till very recently we didn?t have the computational power. It is only with the GPU that this became possible because before the computational power was too expensive to achieve this. What motivates us to keep working toward such a system is the possibility of expanding motion compensation for beating heart surgery to enable surgeons to perform even more complicated procedures or procedures today that are not possible. We?re actually hoping to do something that may change medicine that will provide surgeons with more possibilities."
In his early operations, Dr. Black used a robot-controlled camera that mimicked the movements of a well-trained surgeon. Around 2000, his focus turned to the emerging field of telemanipulation. This "touch-free" surgical technique uses miniaturized instruments, digital cameras, and robots to perform delicate heart surgeries on a scale smaller than ever thought possible.
Since arriving at California Pacific in April 2003, Dr. Black has focused on repairing congenital heart defects in premature infants. "More than 32,000 infants are born with congenital heart disease each year in the U.S. alone," he explains. "If a mother gives birth in the second trimester and her premature infant has heart disease, there is significant potential of mortality." Dr. Black explains that this is due in part to the size of the infant and to the frequent occurrence of premature lung disease. "Clearly, when there is a need to repair a baby?s heart, we must make use of all available technologies to optimize the outcome," he explains. The smallest baby that he?s operated on for congenital heart defects weighed a mere 411 grams [0.91 lb.].
DaVinci MIS Surgical Robot
When asked to describe his vision for the future, Dr. Black explained that he wants to continue to improve haptics [sense of touch]; improved stereo for improved depth perception; the inclusion of electro and neural feedback cues. His wish is to tour a patient?s heart as if he was miniaturized and able to walk around the heart to view it?s various aspects for a more complete understanding of the heart?s condition for better and more accurate diagnosis and cure. Dr. Black also explained that the MIS beating heart procedure precluded the use of ancillary heart lung machines required for open heart surgery [This prevents many downside risks to the patient including the elimination of "Pump Head" syndrome and effects of lengthy general anesthesia].
This session was directed to point out that GPUs have lowered the cost of computations to the point where medical researchers have become empowered to apply them in their efforts to not only saving lives but also to greatly improve medical outcomes, quality of care and at a lower overall cost to society. It was a nice part of the keynote.


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Lowly Coffee Trees and Vineby Cool Dela Peña
Dry and dusty road scamper my solidified embracesof morning awakenings in summer liasonsDandelions and wild berries race for spacesEquestrian pipes locates this side.
Cupcakes in butter and pancakes with ryeThe smell of brilliant breakfast is a sillified supineRemember when mulberries are mulberriesrather than artificial beet crushed in pine.
Lowly coffee trees and vine, engulfs my desireOrchard of beauty like grapevines entwinedParched discipline in a sequence of charmEver creates a dainty incline.
Lowly Coffee trees and vine, makes a lazy magic divineGrowing sentiments of nurtured silenceHeaped grace and superior designever restores this homegrown ensign.
The Rhubarbs Of Hail Lavander
by Cool Dela Peña
Time reflects in the eyes of the manRainbows and clouds gather aroundLike mountain dew that frosts at night timeBringing solace and peace in this timid land.
Willows and pines basks in brightnessSalmons and bald eagles cling to lifebring same providence in the shadow of timeLike mulberry rose branches turned into wand.
Shifting murmurs from cuddly to rusticThe cold wind that blows is what I foundGiant leaves wave at their mightSame prominence from a distance all over the sand.
Time there was when colors changes hueOrange, yellow, magenta and red,No greater display a sight to beholdThe Rhubarbs of Hail Lavander is green all the time.
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Get Involved With Your Local Junior Achievement
Don't see a JA near you or in your state? Just contact the closest JA, and they will assist you to find a location that covers you. If you would like to get involved with JA on a National level, please scroll to the bottom to learn more.
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Carrie Tomko has written on a topic I've been researching for a while but haven't mentioned so far due to a few research difficulties.
Rama Coomaraswamy, son of alleged Aleister Crowley associate Ananda Coomaraswamy, was at the center of the splintering of the traditional Catholic movement into warring factions at the time when it's leverage was the strongest. He was quite similar to his friend Malachi Martin in the depth of his deception and subversion, his skill as a masquerader, the damage he caused, and how he was able to pull it off with many of the victims of his swindle regarding him as a saint. He was a true "Kim:" Freemason Rudyard Kipling's character in his book by the same name. Please read Carrie Tomko's blog posting and especially the comments section which I've added to here:
Anyone who can help fill in some of the blanks in this story please email me:
I'm particularly interested in Rama's grandfather Muthu Coomaraswamy who was a politician in Columbo Sri Lanka, knighted by Queen Victoria (as were two of Ananda Coomaraswamy's cousins). Also of interest is Jose Ramon Lopez-Gaston who presided over the strange ordination ritual involving Rama Coomaraswamy and Malachi Martin documented here:
Also of interest is Rama Coomaraswamy's 38 yr. affiliation with Yeshiva University where he was an assistant professor of cardiology and psychology. This is not too remarkable given that his mother was of Judaic descent (Luisa Runstein) which would qualify him in the eyes of the yidden as a "Jew" (Malachi Martin also claimed Judaic descent):
Rama P. Coomaraswamy, born in 1929, received his early education in an orthodox Hindu school in India. He then lived in England (where he obtained his Oxford Matriculation) and in the USA (where he graduated in geology from Harvard University). Then he studied medicine, graduating in 1959, and spent eight years in medical training, and then thirty years as a heart surgeon and assistant professor at the Yeshiva University's Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York. Because of his own heart ailment, he retired from surgery but retained his position as assistant professor in psychiatry in the same college.
In the audio interview with fellow Sophia Perennis traveller, William Kennedy, linked to below, Rama Coomaraswamy speaks of his association with Malachi Martin. He also randomly offers a tale about Aleister Crowley calling for a Catholic priest on his deathbed(!?!) There are many tales circulating regarding strange phenomenon related to Crowley's death; that he cursed his doctor for withholding heroin and caused his death, etc., but this is the wildest I've heard–Aleister Crowley died repentant in the bosom of the Roman Catholic Church! (and was subsequently cremated). Rama Coomaraswamy has said it! Rama also describes the change of the words of consecration in the new Mass with the curious phrase, "chutzpah." He has described the change in the same way in other interviews:
Like Malachi Martin, Rama Coomaraswamy was a prankster who preyed on the credulous.


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On my course, one of the recommended reading list items is Programming Windows with MFC by Jeff Prosise.
The last time this was published was 2001, and the only copies I get of it here in the UK are at £75+. All the reviews of the book I have read recommend it.
Looking for other books on the subject, they to were published around the same time, and since then there seems to be hardly any published books on the subject.
I was hoping some of you kind folks could explain why this is the case. Is MFC a dead 'technology' or something?
I always like to get the latest date of publication books for computers etc because the industry changes so fast, so I would of thought that publishers would love to publish a new version, considering the prices it is fetching, hence my thinking perhaps MFC is a dying art.
Thanks for any information


text: Skunks are excellent "mousers", and may even be better at it then cats. They eat many mice, rats, other small rodents, grubs, and a variety of insects. They will also take the eggs and young of ground nesting birds. There are many instances of skunks living in close contact with humans under sheds, decks, houses, and even in garages, without ever spraying their human hosts. Skunks are generally shy, nonaggressive, retiring and nocturnal creatures. With a little acceptance and understanding, you can live with skunks, if you do not unduly alarm them. However, there are many instances, especially where you have pets or young children, where this may not be possible.


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Getting Organized For Tax Time
Whether you do your own tax return or have a brilliant accountant who can find every available loophole, having supporting documentation is key to maximizing your return (or minimizing what you owe!). While many tax documents arrive during the month of January, other important papers are accumulated and saved year-round.
Collecting and organizing documents for taxes is really not that difficult, it just requires a designated system be in place every year. A system for keeping your documents organized can be as simple as a few file folders to a more sophisticated solution like the Smead All-In-One Tax Organizer.
No matter what system you use, one of the first things you need to do is to separate your documents into three categories: Income, Expenses, and Taxes. The most common documents in these categories include:
- Payroll stubs
- W2's
- 1099's
- Annual statements from your financial institutions
- Dividend distribution statements
- Rental property income statements
- Charitable giving receipts
- Mortgage interest statements
- School/tuition expenses
- Medical savings account contributions
- Alimony paid
- Self-employed health insurance payment records
- Copies of your quarterly or estimated tax payments
- Real estate tax statements
- Previous year income tax returns (state and federal)
Getting organized for tax time is a year-round effort, but is doesn't have to be difficult. Creating a "home" for tax documents will make completing your taxes every year quicker, easier and less stressful. And who can't benefit from a little less stress?


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Oberyn Martell
Oberyn Martell by MagaliVilleneuve©
|The Red Viper
House Martell
Second Sons (formerly)
|"Salty" Dornishman
|In 257 AC or 258 AC[1]
|In 300 AC, at King's Landing
The World of Ice and Fire (mentioned)
A Game of Thrones (mentioned)
A Clash of Kings (mentioned)
A Storm of Swords (appears)
A Feast for Crows (mentioned)
A Dance with Dragons (mentioned)
|Played by
|Pedro Pascal
|TV series
|Season 4
Prince Oberyn Nymeros Martell, known as the Red Viper, is a member of House Martell and is Prince Doran's hot-headed younger brother. He has eight bastard daughters, called the Sand Snakes, the four youngest of which are by his current paramour, Ellaria Sand. In the television adaptation Game of Thrones Oberyn is portrayed by Pedro Pascal.
Appearance and Character
- See also: Images of Oberyn Martell
Oberyn has a lined face with thin eyebrows, black "viper" eyes and a sharp nose.[2] His hair is lustrous and black with only a few silver streaks and recedes from his brow into a widow's peak.[3]
Oberyn is a forceful, lusty man with a quick wit and barbed tongue. He studied at the Citadel for a while, and apparently forged several maester links but eventually grew bored and left the order. Oberyn had traveled the world, and even founded his own mercenary company. He had a very close relationship with his sister Elia and they were inseparable as children. Some rumors hold that he is bisexual.[3] His squire (and one of his many rumored lovers) is Daemon Sand.
Oberyn rides a black stallion with a tail the color of fire. He wears a pale red silk cloak and a shirt armored with overlapping discs of bright copper. His helm is adorned with a copper sun and he owns a steel round shield in the Dornish style that is decorated with the sigil of House Martell.[3]
Oberyn is an exceptional fighter, his speed and skill with both spear and sword are renowned. In battle, along with his brightly-polished round shield, Oberyn wields an ash spear eight feet long with a steel spearhead and spike. He chooses to wear lightly armored greaves, vambraces, gorget, spaulder and steel codpiece, in addition to supple leather and flowing silk. He wears a helm without a visor and scales of gleaming copper over his byrnie. [4]
Early Life
In his youth, Oberyn was fostered at Sandstone.[5] When in his teens, Oberyn travelled with his mother, the ruling Princess of Dorne, and his sister, Princess Elia Martell, and met multiple potential marriage candidates for his sister. The castles they visited included Starfall, the Arbor, Oldtown, the Shield Islands and Crakehall. Oberyn spent his time mocking Elia's suitors. The last castle they visited was Casterly Rock, where they arrived shortly after the death of Joanna Lannister in childbirth. According to Oberyn, his mother and Lady Joanna had planned to wed either Oberyn to Cersei Lannister, or Elia to Jaime Lannister, or both. Lord Tywin Lannister, however, was unreceptive of the suggestion, stating that his daughter would marry Prince Rhaegar Targaryen. He offered the newborn Tyrion Lannister as a husband for Elia instead, which was seen as an insult.[4]
At the age of sixteen, Oberyn was found in bed with the paramour of Lord Edgar Yronwood, so the lord challenged him to a duel. The duel was to first blood, given the prince's youth and high birth, and both took cuts. Lord Edgar's wounds festered and killed him. Oberyn has been known as the "Red Viper" ever since by friends and foes alike, due to rumors that he fought the duel with a poisoned blade.[3] Afterward, Oberyn was sent to Oldtown and then to Lys in temporary exile (though none dared call it exile) in order for House Martell to make peace with House Yronwood, and Prince Quentyn Martell was sent as a ward to House Yronwood.[6]
Oberyn traveled extensively in the Free Cities, where he learned much about poisons and perhaps even darker arts. He had studied at the Citadel, going so far as to forge six links of a maester's chain before he grew bored. He had soldiered in the Disputed Lands across the Narrow Sea, riding with the Second Sons for a time before forming his own company. It is said that he beds both men and women, and has begotten eight bastard daughters, called the Sand Snakes.[3] Oberyn, however, does not let his children grow up wanting: he takes responsibility for them, and actively seeks to help raise all his children (something few lords do when it comes to their bastard offspring). He teaches them how to defend themselves and allows them great independence in growing up.[7]
Prince Oberyn was unhorsed by Prince Rhaegar Targaryen and Ser Barristan Selmy at a tourney at Storm's End.[8][9] He was also present during the Tourney at Harrenhal in 281 AC, where he danced with Lady Ashara Dayne.[10]
Oberyn had a very close relationship with his sister Elia. It is currently unknown where Oberyn was during Robert's Rebellion. However, following the Sack of King's Landing, when he learned that Elia had been raped and murdered by a Lannister knight, Gregor Clegane, along with her son, and how her daughter had been killed by another Lannister knight (Amory Lorch), he attempted to raise Dorne for Viserys. The new Hand of the King, Lord Jon Arryn, travelled to Sunspear in the year following the was, and was able to keep the peace, but Oberyn has desired revenge ever since.[3] After the war, Oberyn seldom left Dorne.[11]
Oberyn is primarily responsible for giving modern revitalization to the ongoing feud between his House and the Tyrells, because he accidentally crippled Willas Tyrell in a tourney. Oberyn struck Willas's breastplate clean, but the boy's foot caught in a stirrup as he fell and his horse fell on top of him. Oberyn sent his own maester to help treat Willas. Willas himself holds no grudge against Oberyn and the two correspond via raven message even after the accident as both share a passion for horses.[3]
He and his brother Doran worked in secret for years planning on bringing an end to the reign of Robert Baratheon and destroying House Lannister.[7] Oberyn traveled to Braavos, where Viserys Targaryen and Daenerys Targaryen were living with Ser Willem Darry. Oberyn and Darry signed a secret marriage pact, with the Sealord of Braavos as witness, promising Viserys the hand of Princess Arianne Martell im marriage, in return for Dorne's help in reclaiming the throne.[12]
Recent Events
A Storm of Swords
Prince Oberyn comes to King's Landing to claim the seat on the small council on Prince Doran Martell's behalf and obtain justice for his sister Elia Martell's murderer, as was agreed with the acting Hand of the King, Tyrion Lannister.[3] However, it soon becomes clear that the new Hand, Lord Tywin Lannister, means to forgo that promise. Tywin plans on lying to Oberyn and claiming that the now deceased Ser Amory Lorch is responsible for all three deaths (Lorch was guilty of the death of only Rhaenys).[11]
Oberyn gives King Joffrey Baratheon a red gold scorpion brooch for the royal wedding. [13]
When Tyrion is accused of Joffrey's murder, Oberyn is one of the judges. The day before a judgement is to be pronounced, Oberyn offers to be Tyrion's champion in a trial by combat, if Tyrion tells who is guilty of the murder of Elia. Tyrion takes Oberyn up on his offer. He denies any involvement of his father but tells Oberyn that Lorch killed Rhaenys and Ser Gregor Clegane killed Elia and Aegon.[14] Oberyn knows already that Ser Gregor will be his adversary.
Despite his enormous physical disadvantage, Oberyn using speed manages to wound Clegane several times and cripple him by finding chinks in his armour and severing his hamstring after the Mountain tired from chasing him. As Oberyn approaches Gregor to finish him, the prostrated Clegane grabs hold of Oberyn and smashes his armoured fist into Oberyn's face, killing him: dashing out his brains after first destroying his teeth and knocking out his eyes. Before killing Oberyn however, Clegane roars his guilt in killing Elia and Aegon for for all to hear. [4]
A Feast for Crows
Oberyn achieves posthumous vengeance by having coated his spear in a special kind of poison, leaving Clegane to die slowly and in tremendous agony.[2]
Oberyn's daughters, the Sand Snakes, seek vengeance for his death; Prince Doran Martell orders Areo Hotah to place them under arrest to keep the peace.[2]
A Dance with Dragons
Tyene Sand mentions that she knows about the poison her father used on the Mountain and that if his spear so much as broke Cleganes skin then he is dead. [15]
Quotes by Oberyn
– Oberyn and Ellaria Sand
Elia Martell, Princess of Dorne, you raped her. You murdered her. You killed her children.[11]
– Oberyn while fighting Gregor Clegane
Quotes about Oberyn
Oberyn has always been half-mad.[11]
– Tywin Lannister to Tyrion Lannister
– Jaime Lannister to Tywin Lannister
He knew the man only by reputation...but the reputation is fearsome...His tourneys, his battles, his duels, his horses, his carnality.[3]
- Thoughts of Tyrion Lannister
Oberyn was ever the viper. Deadly, dangerous, unpredictable. No man dared tread on him.[15]
– Doran Martell to the Sand Snakes
References and Notes
- ↑ See the Oberyn Martell calculation.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 A Feast for Crows, Chapter 2, The Captain Of Guards.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 38, Tyrion V.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 70, Tyrion X.
- ↑ A Feast for Crows, Chapter 21, The Queenmaker.
- ↑ The Winds of Winter, Arianne sample chapter
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 A Feast for Crows, Chapter 40, Princess In The Tower.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 42, Daenerys IV.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 67, Jaime VIII.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 24, Bran II.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 53, Tyrion VI.
- ↑ A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 43, Daenerys VII.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 59, Sansa IV.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 66, Tyrion IX.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 38, The Watcher.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 62, Jaime VII.
This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at House Martell. The list of authors can be seen in the page history of House Martell. As with A Wiki of Ice and Fire, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.


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I released my book "Seduced by the Blues" earlier this week, and its main character was inspired to play blues guitar after listening to this song.
Enjoy the great John Lee Hooker, and grab my book if you're in the mood for sexy boogie chillun'.
A bluesy tale of music mixed with passion available from Amazon:


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MS confirms 250Gb Kinect bundle for £300
Microsoft just confirmed the previously rumoured 250Gb Kinect 360 bundle, priced at £299.99.
250gb headlines
120Gb 360 HDD gets price-cut in the UK, confirms Microsoft
Microsoft's confirmed to VG247 that the 120Gb 360 HDD will receive a price-cut in the UK to £80, which is the same price as the just-announced 250Gb HDD.
Amazon.de pulls 250Gb 360 Forza 3 bundle listing
Amazon Germany appears to have pulled a listing for a 250Gb 360 bundle – it used to be here. According to Engadget, the retailer was offering the 250Gb HD, two wireless controllers and Forza Motorsport 3 for €279 euros.Bargain. Forza 3 ships on October 23. We'll drop MS a line.


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After our six year world tour visiting, Australia, South Africa, Asia and Europe, Weber Bros Circus is back.
Weber Bros Circus brings you an exciting new show 'Adrenaline' featuring, The Globe of Death, FMX, and the show stopping act The Human Canon! plus a whole lot more exciting International Circus Acts.
Weber Bros Circus has been a household name in New Zealand since the early 90's and is back to re-live and re-create your favourite Circus memories.
The Finest of Traditional Family Entertainment hold onto your seats for an extreme spectacle that will entertain family members of all ages.


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A well-punished politician benefits nobody | OPINION
To speak un français châtié is to speak 'a well-punished French'. Lauren Collins wrote about the phrase in Love in Translation, a 2016 article in The New Yorker.
It relates to how well someone perseveres through the pain of learning the language, and how the concepts of suffering and excellence are intimately entwined in the complexities of the task.
It came to mind this week as I read The Political Life is no Life at All, a 2017 Meanjin essay written by Katharine Murphy, author and Guardian Australia's political editor. It is a disturbing insight into the gruelling existence of an Australian politician.
Schedules begin before sunset and can end closer to midnight for MPs and staffers, many of whom spend most of the year away from home and family. Parliamentary, portfolio, local electorate, stakeholder and caucus responsibilities are compounded by constant media spotlight and brutal character assessments on social media.
Add to the mix all-too-common factional rebellions and leadership spills over the last decade, and it's not hard to see why depression and anxiety plague many within parliament's toxic work culture.
Greens leader Richard di Natale described 80-hour back-to-back sitting weeks and witnessing extreme burn out.
"Are we making worse decisions? Absolutely," Di Natale told Murphy. "We've got a political class here in Canberra disconnected from the real world, because this is a job that many people from the real world wouldn't do."
Colleagues from Western Australia, a five-hour flight and two timezones away from Canberra, are under particular duress during parliamentary sittings. About half of the year, weekends are all but eaten away by committee work or meeting preparation.
Julie Bishop enjoys running along Cottlesloe Beach in Perth when she's home in her electorate of Curtin. It's hard to imagine how often she is able to enjoy such a pastime.
In 2013, when pressed on the reason she never had children – worth noting this is a question male politicians are not routinely asked – she told NewsCorp that she hadn't been able to strike the balance between the demands of her career and child-rearing.
"It wasn't a decision – it is how life turned out… I feel incredibly lucky that I've had the kind of career that is so consuming that I don't feel I have a void in my life."
A startling mutiny by her Western Australian colleagues meant Bishop was passed over in the recent leadership spill. Her brutalisation in the ballot was a treacherous manipulation. Factional members allegedly believed Bishop would not succeed against Dutton if Morrison was knocked out first round. Bishop's response was characteristically clipped when prodded.
"You would have to ask the individuals involved but it appeared to be a tactic to promote Peter Dutton into the prime ministership, whatever the cost."
Whatever the cost indeed. No doubt it's a rough, mean job in parliament. Sure, they choose the profession and they're paid generously. But if the reality of an Australian political career is a toxic work culture, what of our future policy-making and leadership?
Will politics as a profession only attract self-serving ideologues who can withstand a noxious pressure-cooker? Will we see a rise in over-wrought adrenalin junkies getting high off insular political game-playing? You have to wonder if we aren't already.
Not that there's been strong support for taking it easier in recent weeks. The adjournment of the House of Reps the day before the ballot gave some 150 MPs an afternoon off, though this downtime proved crucial in pivoting the country away from a Prime Minister Peter Dutton.
Pausing Parliament to allow the inter-factional divisions within the Liberal Party to convene was met with round condemnation. A damning Labor analysis loudly declared the cost of those half-day salaries at almost $45,000 for the taxpayer.
No doubt the Morrison Ministry wanted to move forward from the messiness of the week with a united front. No such luck.
Making news this week was the resignation of Liberal MP Julia Banks, who cited reasons of unrelenting bullying and intimidation within her party and from Labor.
A successful corporate lawyer turned politician, the member for Chisholm was the only Liberal candidate to wrestle a seat from Labor in 2016. That corporate law did not properly prepare a person to withstand Australian politics is a damning insight.
It seems the pressure on our politicians from every direction is creating a political class of burnt out, dysfunctional representatives, who, like them or loathe them, run the country.
Whether you feel empathy for them as people is your prerogative – whether you feel dread at the thought of what sort of policy and leadership arises from this sort of normalised toxic work culture is quite another.
Public life not only creates a un politicien châtié – a well-punished politician – it requires one too.
Emma Elsworthy is a Fairfax journalist.


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From the first batch of truss we bought, we were totally convinced Prolyte was the right choice.Richard Fiedler Owner Fiedler Veranstaltungstechnik
H40L-C003F 2-Way Corner 90° FlatCatalog number: H40L-C003F - Item code: 111040066
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text: O'Neill pants for the everyday girl! Casual women's pants that look effortlessly laid-back, perfect for any occasion. Go for the all-over print or classic black and team up with a simple white t-shirt and boots for a smooth day or night look. New are our light winter pants: airy, stylish, comfortable and can be worn anywhere, anytime. Combine your style with first class comfort with a pair of women's sweat pants, because some days are just all about lounging.


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| 8.8°C Belfast
England head coach Stuart Lancaster acclaimed Ireland's coronation as RBS 6 Nations champions as the perfect way to mark Brian O'Driscoll's international retirement.
A 52-11 victory over Italy at the Stadio Olimpico kept England in title contention until the Irish edged France 22-20 in a heart-stopping climax to the tournament in Paris.
Lancaster views Ireland as worthy champions and was delighted for O'Driscoll, the world's most capped player, who participated in the final Test of a stellar 15-year career.
"Credit to Ireland. They are deserved winners and it's a fitting finale and send-off for Brian O'Driscoll, a legend of the game who everyone in this squad respects massively," Lancaster said.
"We always knew this was going to be one of the tightest Six Nations and that it would go down to the wire."
England finished runners-up for a third successive year and were only beaten to a first title under Lancaster on points difference.
In the final table they trailed Ireland by only 10 points and had they beaten Italy by 11, they would have claimed Wales' crown for themselves.
Lancaster defended the decision to empty the bench at the Stadio Olimpico, with one of his predecessors as head coach, Sir Clive Woodward, claiming the replacements robbed England of their momentum.
Manu Tuilagi was brought on with just under half an hour to go, but oddly he displaced the superb Luther Burrell who had shredded Italy's defence on multiple occasions.
"I'm curious as to which substitute didn't add. Manu added. We make our decisions on what we're seeing," Lancaster said.
"We hadn't decided before the game what way we were going to go, but as the game unfolded we thought bringing Manu on at 13 in place of Luther would have the best impact.
"And Manu made a great impact when he came on. He scored a try, broke tackles, didn't make any defensive errors, turned the ball over in the last play which resulted in a try. He added value."
Man of the match Mike Brown crossed twice at the Stadio Olimpico and Owen Farrell, Jack Nowell, Mako Vunipola, Manu Tuilagi and Chris Robshaw also touched down.
The Red Rose have posted four successive victories since losing 26-24 in France on the opening day and Lancaster insists it has been a successful Championship.
"We've made huge progress. We played this game last year and won 18-11 with six penalties," he said.
"We have produced a big scoreline on the back of a Sunday game against Wales - opponents who emotionally and physically took a lot out of the players - with a team that has an average age of 24.
"We haven't got everything right in every game, but when you put everything into perspective we have made great progress.
"Our intent to attack, the quality of our defence and set-piece has been excellent.
"We are in good shape going forward, particularly with quality additions to come back into our squad who we know already are on their way back."
Italy have lost every match of their Six Nations and head coach Jacques Brunel admitted the Azzurri now face some searching questions.
"We started the tournament well, but didn't finish well, so we are behind where we want to be," Brunel said.
"We were struggling after 20 minutes and went backwards with this game.
"Now we have to ask if Italy can still be ambitious and ask what our goals should be."