text:
Gay and Godly: A Life of Service for the Faithful Realized
Ken Fuquay was always someone whose love for the church helped shape and create the person he is today. This journey was done with joys and struggles and eventually led him to become a "person of the cloth."
His father was a minister at Mount Pleasant Pentecostal Holiness Church and the family's life always revolved around all things pertaining to it. The household was filled with gospel sounds. At the age of five, his parents stood him up on a stool between them at the Wednesday night Bible study where the time was replete with song. As he matured, he attended a Pentecostal Holiness junior college and participated in Sunday school, Lifeliners, Bible study, teen talent, Bible quiz, youth camp, camp meeting, choir and more.
During his childhood, he followed his father's posture in the basement of the church and took an old lectern, stood up on a box behind it and preached to the neighborhood kids, he said. He even took up an offering because that, along with laying on of hands, was something all preachers did, he added.
"Being raised in a pastor's home is replete with ministerial desires. I learned the nuances of ministry; I saw the heartbreak and the incomparable joys of ministry. Two things happened growing up in that environment. I thought I felt called to ministry, but I was unable to discern whether it was a true calling or the product of the long shadow cast by my father. Secondly, growing up, I realized that something was different about me. As a boy, I did not have language for it. But as I moved into junior high and high school, my classmates provided the language; they called me faggot and queer. It was then that the twisted and guilt-ridden theology began to slam up against the fiber of who God created me to be, and I began an exhausting struggle."
It was not until later in life that he found his way to the Presbyterian church. As life would have it, he experienced a time when he rebelled against church life and religion and gravitated toward a party lifestyle, including drugs. But that was not long lived as his pull back to faith captured him once again.
"I woke up one Sunday Morning with a keen realization that unless something extreme occurred in my life that day, I was going to die. I left my husband in bed, got dressed in my finest high-dollar suit and drove my nice 5-series BMW to a little unassuming church on the wrong side of Charlotte. Some friends had been consistently telling me about a choir at a little Presbyterian church on Seigle Ave. near 10th in Charlotte. I drove there that morning, still under the influence of the previous night's party, but knowing with everything inside of me that something had to change, and it had to change immediately. As I neared the church, I was a bit frightened to park my car on those streets - I feared it might be stolen. But as I parked, I heard music coming from the church; I saw people from all walks of life walking up the steps to the unassuming sanctuary. I entered the sanctuary and the choir was singing 'We are climbing Jacob's Ladder.' The choir was packed and so was the sanctuary. And I began to notice that the choir and congregation were made up of old and young, black and white, gay and straight; it was something I had never experienced in church, ever! The pastor was female and black. I cannot remember the content of her fiery sermon that day, but I remember seven strangers coming up to me after church, putting their arms around me, telling me they loved me and inviting me to come back."
His excitement exploded. "I raced home to tell my husband that I was changed. We began to attend to Seigle Avenue Presbyterian Church. We began to disciple our lives under the ministry of Pastor Floretta Watkins. We joined the choir. We found community. I became an ordained elder at [the church]. It was there that I discovered the fullness of God who fills all in all. It was there, that for the first time in my life, I saw and experienced Christ in the fullness of the good news of the gospel," he shared.
Since then, he has continued his career in broadcast education and has pursued a degree that would allow him to be a full-fledged minister. In fact, he became the first out gay minister in the Presbytery of Charlotte, although not the first gay minister for the denomination.
He said about that arduous and painstaking experience, "Fortunately, or unfortunately, I am not the first gay minister to be ordained by the Presbytery of Charlotte. I may have been the first to stand on the floor of Presbytery and utter those the words, 'I am gay' on the day I was presented as a candidate for ordination." His journey was, however, not taken alone as others help serve as support and guides along the way to ordination candidacy in the Presbyterian Church (USA).
"I remember vividly the day I was presented for candidacy. It was a cold February afternoon in 2013. Many of the 'saints' from Mulberry Presbyterian Church, where I attended at the time, gathered in the first few pews of Cooks Memorial Presbyterian Church along with a couple hundred or so elders from across the Presbytery. My husband sat in the third row. My pastor, Rev. Chris Carrasco stood with me as I articulated a brief faith statement. We knew that the floor of the Presbytery, which had over the past few years been the scene of many contentious and passionate debates on the question of the ordination of gays and lesbians, would be open for questions at the conclusion of my statement. I was humbled as I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit, felt the hand of my pastor on my shoulder and saw the smiles and enthusiastic eyes of those who gathered in support that day. When the floor of Presbytery was opened for questions, there was a pregnant pause. Hearing no questions, the chairperson of the committee on Preparation for Ministry asked all of those in favor of granting candidacy status to say 'Yea.' A chorus of 'yeas' was lifted up. When the chairperson asked for all those opposed to say, 'Nay,' there was one loud 'nay.' I was asked later if the 'nay' startled or angered me. The answer is, 'no.' Because the Presbyterian Church (USA) discerns in community, every voice matters," he shared of that experience. His dream of becoming a minister came true on Nov. 4 when his ordination service was held at Statesville Avenue Presbyterian Church.
Fuquay loves the scriptures and is convinced "that the very thing that has been used throughout my life to condemn me, is the very thing that sets me free to be who God created me to be. I hope to instill in this congregation a love for scripture. Through scripture, we discover a God who above all wants to release humanity from bondage. And revealed in Christ, we discover a God, who above all, loves all of creation in vulnerability."
Fuquay's first pulpit experience has come as Matters to Mission (M2M) Charlotte's "lay pastor," which he has held for two years. The church plant met in his home for months. He would preach two Sundays a month in that place and in June 2016, M2M Charlotte moved into The Evening Muse located at 3227 N. Davidson St. The excitement was high for him on that first day in the new locale as he "was able to preach my first sermon in our new digs at the Muse" and "we also served communion (the Eucharist). Interim Executive Presbyter, Rev. Betty Meadows, joined us for the event and led us through that sacrament," he said.
"I have always been inspired and mesmerized by the sharing in communion. Being able to lead in that sacrament has been a dream of mine. So, the first Sunday after I was ordained, M2M Charlotte participated in the Eucharist and shared in communion. We used a loaf of bread personally baked by a good friend of mine who is Hospice chaplain at Hospice and Palliative Care Charlotte Region and we used a chalice and paten given to me by some very dear friends. As I held the bread and cup in that space for the first time as a ordained Minister of Word and Sacrament, it was surreal. It was also very sobering. This is very serious. Yes, ordination was a goal of mine. It was a level of accountability in ministry that I sought and longed for. Yes, we might have broken some ground getting there; yes, it took a lot of blood and sweat and tears (literally); yes the pomp and circumstance that surrounded the ordination moment was stunning and exhilarating; but holding the bread and cup reminded me that it is our participation in bringing the good news of the gospel to a hurting world so desperately in need of that good news that matters most. We are simply broken vessels holding out bread and wine saying, 'Come, taste and see how good life can be.'"
The congregation has been supportive of Fuquay for years. "They have been faithful over and above what I could have ever expected. It has truly been a gift. I have not done this alone. I may have been the one to stand for ordination..., but it was as much for this congregation of gatherers and friends as it was for me. I, along with M2M Charlotte, are still finding our footing in the neighborhood. I, nor the congregation, has encountered any animosity from the community. We have had several neighbors from the NoDa Community join us [for] worship and outreach. For that I am grateful."
Fuquay holds a music degree from Emmanuel College in Franklin Springs, Ga., and a Masters of Arts in Christian Education and Masters of Divinity, both from Union Presbyterian Seminary in Charlotte, N.C. He has a background in radio-television with a specialty in commercial copywriting and was an ad copywriter for several major FM radio stations in the Queen City. He is co-owner and co-director in charge of curriculum at Carolina School of Broadcasting, where he also teaches communication courses.
Music has always been something that Fuquay has loved, quoting Albert Einstein who said, "Music is the mind of God." He treasures making music with friends and lends vocals to one band in "two incarnations," Three Fold-Chord and Heidi Dove and Fretless. They offer their talents at nursing homes, churches and breweries.
Fuquay and his husband Terry have been in a relationship for 34 years and in 2011 they were married in New York City. They are parents to Abby-dail, a mini-golden doodle. His husband works with adults with developmental disabilities. They are both actively involved with the ministry of M2M Charlotte.
Hobbies for Fuquay include music, writing, as well as volunteerism with the chaplaincy program at Levine Dickson Hospice House in Charlotte, as well as the Uptown Men's Shelter and Urban Ministries Room in the Inn.
For more information about Fuquay's church, visit M2MCharlotte.org


text:
I set out quail hunting with David Lanier at Carr Farms in the plantation belt around his hometown of Albany, Georgia. He's an affable guy with your average mid-50s paunch and a friendly clean-shaven face shaded by the brim of a blaze ball cap. The brush pants, frayed at the hems, bunched up at the buckled wingshooter boots scuffed and rough, his forest-green hunting shirt nicely ironed and the pouches of his vest swollen with gear (he always hunts with a camera).
Irwin Greenstein
Shotgun Life
PO Box 6423
Thomasville, GA 31758
Phone: 229-236-1632

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Post by Lauren
For Gabe's birthday, he had an easy wish: skiing in Verbier. We planned the trip about 3 weeks ago and the last hotel room left in the entire valley was a hostel at the base of the hill in Le Châble. We were excited to get it. Also, we have friends with a chalet there and could rely on their expertise for what to do in the chic mountain town at night. Plus, I was actually excited to ski after my lessons the week prior.
We met A & A in the parking lot Saturday morning, along with their friend J. We climbed about a half hour in the telecabin and were greeted with snowy skies. I immediately noticed the complete lack of green runs. Literally, no greens. Apparently they don't exist in Switzerland like they do in France, where we'd been skiing prior.
Also, let me disclose that in a normal world, the easy skiing would be at the bottom of the mountain. Not here. They put it in the middle, so that you have to do a red to get to the blue, etc. etc. Not cool.
On the first run, we all went as a group of five. We did some blue then a red before lunch. It was way over my level. Gabe commented the blues at Verbier were like blacks in Virginia & West Virginia.
After lunch, we split off from the guys so that they could enjoy skiing sans babysitting. They assured us we'd taken a wrong turn before and it was possible to do the blue the whole way down to Verbier village.
And, we set off. We found that blue they mentioned and followed it…and…it led back to a black. Way worse than the red from before. We could see where the blue was supposed to go but it was chained off because of a recent avalanche.
There was literally no way to go but down.
A and I survived to tell the tale. However, after that second run, we decided that spending the afternoon in L's chalet would be a safer adventure for us.
The guys rejoined a few hours later, loving life after their mountain exploits. We all got ready and went over to the chalet for an awesome dinner before going out.
Afterwards, we headed to T-bar with the group. There were some amazing live musicians and it was a great evening. We really enjoyed the stark contrast to Gstaad nightlife.
We had so much fun that we missed the last bus back to Le Châble and our hostel. It was a 75 franc ride back down the mountain ($85). Whoops! But well worth it as we really loved the night time atmosphere in Verbier.
*I was also severely scolded by my french tutor for skiing Verbier. She informed me its one of the hardest places to ski in Switzerland. I now learned not to assume that all slopes have pistes for beginners. But in turn, she gave me a great list of places in France that are "my speed".


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The Twilight of the GIF
How rude! The noble GIF is now less popular a format than the humble PNG.
Late last year Zach Seward, my colleague at Quartz, made a bold declaration: "Actually, the GIF is dying."
This was bold, of course, because the GIF doesn't seem to be dying. GIFs are -- as a form, as a locutionary controversy, as a Mode of Interent -- everywhere. And yet Zach made a strong case: He went back into the HTTP Archive, and discovered that GIFs -- as of November 2012, at any rate -- comprised 29 percent of all images on the web's million most popular sites. Not a terrible showing, except that the share was down 41 percent from 2010. "At this rate," Zach wrote, "GIFs could practically disappear from the web by the end of this decade."
1. Noooooooo!
2. The decline Zach was charting, it's important to note, included still GIFs as well as animated. Meaning that the decline of the image file format overall does not necessarily equate to the decline of the choppy photo-video hybrid through which Michelle Tanner and Ryan Gosling and puppies and kittens fill us, variously, with wonder and joy.
But still:
3. Noooooooo!
Today, however, brings more evidence that Zach was right, and that we may well have reached peak GIF: The glorious GIF is, as of this week, less popular an image file format than the humbler PNG. According to Web Technology Surveys -- as reported earlier today by Buzzfeed -- the PNG form is now used on 62.4 percent of all websites. The GIF format, on the other hand, is used by ... 62.3 percent.
That's a slim margin with big consequences for GIF-lovers everywhere -- particularly considering that GIF, as a format, was leading PNG by more than 15 percent only one year ago. PNG began life as an upstart: It was created in 1995 specifically to serve as an alternative to the then-dominant GIF format. So as of this week: The student is becoming the teacher. The disruptor is becoming the standard-bearer. And the GIF is -- slowly, maybe, eventually -- dying. But also, for the sake of kittens and puppies and Michelle Obamas and Michelle Tanners the Internet over: Long live the GIF!


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Maryland continued its dominance against Syracuse to capture the Terps' 11th national championship in 2014. In Division II, Adelphi capped a perfect season with a national title and in DIII, Salisbury avenged its only loss of the season with a title-winning victory. Take a look back at all three with videos, features and photos as NCAA.com continues its look back at the 2013-14 season.
Maryland extends dominance
Maryland captured its 11th NCAA women's lacrosse championship, getting five goals from Beth Glaros in a 15-12 victory against Syracuse... Read More
Interactive Bracket Photos Feature: Maryland bests Syracuse -- again
Adelphi completes perfect season with championship
In the end, Adelphi did it with defense and goaltending, causing a total of 14 turnovers and getting six big time stops from Taylor Hayes to top Lock Haven 7-5, capturing the program's NCAA-record sixth title... Read More
Interactive Bracket Photos Highlights Feature: Grella guides Adelphi back to the top
Sea Gulls claim second consecutive title
Salisbury won its second consecutive national championship, defeating rival Trinity (Conn.) 9-6 in the title game... Read More
Interactive Bracket Photos Highlights Feature: Sweet redemption for Sea Gulls


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text:
The Daytona 24 Hours, now known as the Rolex 24 at Daytona because sponsorship, is the premier event of the American GT-racing season. You would think it attracts some of the best drivers in the world, and it does. But for some reason it also attracts some of most unusual drivers in racing.
Now, when we say unusual, we don't mean that they're a bunch of clowns or they don't belong anywhere near a steering wheel, let alone a track. We just mean that they're not exactly known for their long and illustrious racing careers, and yet they somehow found their way into the cockpit of a race car. Some of them even have racing in their blood, a secret hobby that no one should know about, lest it interfere with their reality-TV-and-plastic-surgery image. And while there have been a lot of actors-turned-racers at Daytona, some of them stand out in particular.
Given the opportunity to race in the big leagues, all of these people jumped at it. And that should be applauded.
And recognized.
So whether its reality television, NFL quarterback, or the beardless Beardsman for the most beardy-beard band in the world, these people all answered the call.
Bruce Jenner
What you know him for:
Bruce Jenner went through a weird period after winning the Decathalon at the 1976 Summer Olympics, but before marrying Kim Kardashian's mom. He was randomly drafted into the NBA with the 140th pick, even though he never shot a hoop of pro ball, and he was on a few episodes of CHiPs, because why not. And then that whole Kardashian thing happened.
The race:
Jenner actually raced three times, with a DNF in 1980 in a BMW M1, and a respectable fifth overall in 1986 and 20th overall in 1987, both in Roush Mustangs. He returned to Daytona for the fourth and last time in 1988, but he received another DNF. Oh, and he didn't limit himself to Daytona – he also raced at Sebring.
Why it's not so weird:
When he's not hugging Kathie Lee Gifford, Bruce Jenner is actually a huge car fan, and we commend him for it. He's returned to racing last year, in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Series, and his obligatory Lamborghini shirt fits him almost as well as his obligatory diamond earring:
Good on ya, Jenner!
Photo credits: Getty
Dan Pastorini
What you know him for:
Superbowl-winning quarterback Dan Pastorini was in the NFL for over a decade from the 1970s to the 1980s. He broke ribs, he punctured lungs, and, just based on statistics, he probably had a few concussions. So when he finally hung up his cleats in 1983, he decided to retire into a safer, more leisurely pursuit. Like auto racing.
The race:
Pastorini only hit the Daytona 24 once, in 1992. He finished 30th in a Porsche 911.
Why it's not so weird:
Dan Pastorini didn't just race at Daytona, he raced all over. He's raced hydroplanes, dragsters, Lamborghinis like Mr. Jenner, and really anything that moves fast.
Photo credit:Tom Margie
Frank Beard
What you know him for:
This is a picture of iconic 80s rock band ZZ Top. They are iconic because they made music, they spun guitars, and they had beards. Up in front you can see Beard #1, AKA Dusty Hill; Beard #2, AKA Billy Gibbons; and Beard #3... Beard #3... well, there is no Beard #3 in ZZ Top. That's because the beardless wonder drumming in the back is none other than Frank Beard, the one Beardsman in ZZ Top who couldn't actually be bothered to grow one. And he likes things that go fast. Or at least he did, in the 1990s.
The race:
Amazingly, Frank Beard finished 15th overall in a Porsche 911 in 1993.
Why it's not so weird:
This one is actually pretty weird. Beard only raced four times in the 1990s, and retired 50% of the time. If you've only got four pro races under your belt, then Daytona is a bit like learning to doggy paddle in the Atlantic Ocean. The North Atlantic Ocean. During a storm.
Still, he's got a better finish rate than some Formula One Drivers.
Photo credit: Wonker
Lorenzo Lamas
What you know him for:
Lorenzo was big in the 80s, starring on the show Falcon Crest, and he also starred in his own reality show that nobody watched, Leave it to Lamas, but now you better know him for such cinematic hits as The Circuit 2: Final Punch, Mega Shark versus Giant Octopus, and Raptor Ranch.
Okay, so I've never heard of those either. But hey, he was on Phineas & Ferb! Some of you must know that. I hope.
The race:
Lorenzo Lamas actually raced twice, both in a Fabcar-Porsche. The most notable part about the whole excursion was that in his second race in 1989, his co-driver was future Indy 500 winner Buddy Lazier. Weird.
Why it's not so weird:
Gosh, this one's not weird at all! I mean, Lorenzo clearly has a taste for gasoline, seeing as he co-starred in the straight-to-DVD 2004 film Motocross Kids, opposite Gary Busey and Phyllis Diller!
Okay, this one is weird, too.
But he did do some celebrity races, so there's that.
Photo credit: Getty
Tim Allen
What you know him for:
This one's a bit better than poor old Lorenzo. You know Tim from Home Improvement; Tool Time, the show that was in the show Home Improvement; Toy Story, and, one of the greatest films of all time (indisputable fact), Galaxy Quest.
The race:
Not content to just race one car once, or one car twice, Tim raced two cars once, entering in two different Saleen Mustangs in 1997. It's possible because when you race in an enduro, you take shifts. That didn't matter, though. Tim came in 58th and 60th. Can't win them all, I suppose.
Why it's not weird:
Tim is a huge racing fan. Huge. Not just casually. Those two Saleen Mustangs weren't one-trick ponies, with Allen and Steve Saleen himself racing them throught the SCCA circuit. Oh, and here's him with Mario Andretti at the Indy 500:
Doesn't get more real than that.
Photo credit: Getty


text:
'Better Call Saul' to debut in February, AMC says
Staff Writer
Columbus Monthly
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — AMC-TV says that "Breaking Bad" spinoff, "Better Call Saul," will debut in February.
The network recently released a clip of sleazy attorney Saul Goodman, played by Bob Odenkirk, arguing about the importance of always having a lawyer. After the clip the word "February" is shown.
Previously, AMC said "Better Call Saul" would premiere in November 2014.
The series will follow Goodman as he defends drug lords, petty criminals and those allegedly injured in minor traffic accidents.
In "Breaking Bad," Odenkirk played the lawyer of meth lord Walter White, played by Bryan Cranston.
The New Mexico Film Office said in May that "Better Call Saul" would be filmed in Albuquerque.


text:
Gnomeaggedon has a great post up about working together in EotS, The Flag is Noob Bait. It's funny, with some good advice, and a touching twist at the end I won't spoil for you.
Well, I'll give you a hint — it's something to think about when you have lost faith that your side can actually pull it together.


text:
The font family "Clasica" is ideal to cover every design need. Excellent for titles, paragraphs, magazines, books, editorials and logos.
The particularity and identity of this font is found in the thinness of its vertical strokes and symmetrical serif.
Inspired by the "Optima" font but with a serif that gives a different and new feel. "Clasica" counts with glyphs for the letters: a, e, f, g, r and y. This font family comes with 9 different weights with their respective italics.
Clasica is designed by Enrique Hernandez.


text:
05 January 2012
list forty: some things I did on the last day of the year
1. jumped on a trampoline
2. spent a little time in the car
3. but with the windows partly rolled down
4. introduced my niece to the fine music of blondie
5. played several rounds of I SPY
6. marveled over bright blue skies
7. sampled a coca-cola flavored cupcake
8. watched cousins hop in and out of a photobooth
9. yelled YOU GUUUUUYS! IT'S THE LAST DAY OF THE YEAR!
10. yelled it a lot
11. maybe a hundred times
12. contemplated the making of party hats
13. contemplated the purchasing of party hats
14. laid on the trampoline with ezra and looked up at the sky
15. watched the light turn gold
16. then blue
17. listened to him talk about the moon
18. reveled in that moment, that really really spectacular moment
19. discussed the merits of 2011 over mexican food
20. blew off resolutions
21. went on a double date
22. somehow ended up at waffle house twenty minutes before midnight
23. considered ordering waffles
24. and/or grits
25. ordered coffee instead
26. played al green on the juke box
27. fished a pink plastic party horn out from the bottom of my purse
28. counted down the last seconds of the year
29. counted them down with my husband, my brother and my sister-in-law
30. and a restaurant full of strangers
31. blew that pink party horn
32. blew it loud
33. kissed my husband
34. loved everyone in that waffle house
35. for a second, loved everyone and everything inside (and outside) that waffle house
24 comments:
Only you could re-live such a lovely event in list form! Thoroughly enjoyable. And the photograph of Ezra is too beautiful.ReplyDelete
Now I am contemplating waffles.
I love this. and also, this. it is totally different from the original, but if you are feeling a little bit quiet and melancholy it is simply beautiful. praying for you still. always.ReplyDelete
Somehow ended up at a Waffle House... yeah, I know what you mean.ReplyDelete
I'm glad you blew off New Year's resolutions. But I think one perfect resolution would be, through the course of the year, to introduce at least one youngster to the fine music of Blondie.
The conversation Ezra had with you about the moon does sound spectacular.
it was one hell of a year. i like the way you spent the last day. a lot. xoReplyDelete
Love this list. How was that cupcake?ReplyDelete
You are my hero. Such a great reminder that we can live in the moment and still keep a reminder for later. Love your list and you. Here's to a great new year. ~beth in VT
You are my hero. Such a great reminder that we can live in the moment and still keep a reminder for later. Love your list and you. Here's to a great new year. ~beth in VT
- AnonymousJanuary 05, 2012 10:57 AM
Wonderful post. As for the coca cola cupcakes....my husband makes a cola-chocolate cake. He gets the syrup from a local supplier. YummyReplyDelete
oh man..i want to spend new year's eve in a waffle house! maybe next year?ReplyDelete
dear lord. i never really know how you do what you do...magic, your words.ReplyDelete
i would love to have snapped a photo of you and ezra lying on that trampoline. or to be a blade of grass underneath, listening to your conversation.
so sweet.
lovelovelove to you. thinking of you muchly.
- AnonymousJanuary 05, 2012 4:12 PM
Now THAT's the way to have a good new year. = )ReplyDelete
LOVE everything about this post ;)ReplyDelete
a most wonderful, wonderful list. xo.ReplyDelete
Now that is my kind of list but I think it would take me weeks to do all of those wonderful things.ReplyDelete
You sound so fun!
Happy New Year Andrea!ReplyDelete
Love everything on this list.
i love your beautiful blog that is so real to life.ReplyDelete
much love,
the sleepy time gal
I LOVE this. seriously. love.ReplyDelete
I love your blog!
I can't think of a better place to ring in the New Year!ReplyDelete
- AnonymousJanuary 07, 2012 1:00 PM
Thanks for the wonderful post. It put a smile on my face and a tiny bit of mist in my eye.ReplyDelete
sounds like a beautiful end of one year an the way to start a new one. happy new year!ReplyDelete
love this & you!ReplyDelete
love this & you!ReplyDelete
how was the coca cola cupcake??ReplyDelete


text:
Over at FEARnet, they just posted Teen Wolf producer Jeff Davis' top 5 werewolf movies of all time. Some of my favorites are missing, like The Company of Wolves. But I really can't imagine doing a werewolf movie list where American Werewolf in London isn't at the top. Why? The money shot of the werewolf genre: the transformation scene.
Here are my top 5 werewolf transformations:
5. Trick R Treat
4. Bad Moon
3. The Howling
2. The Company of Wolves
My personal favorite is the bizarre wedding scene (skip to the 4 min mark for the transformation action).
Although this one is amazing, too:
1. American Werewolf in London – nothing beats these FX by Rick Baker and team
What are your favorite werewolf transformations?


text:
Henry Homeyer: How to minimize aches and pains while working in your garden
As we get older, most of us develop aches and pains. As gardeners, we need to learn how to move and use our bodies so that we don't end up feeling like a quarterback after being sacked. I love working...
As we get older, most of us develop aches and pains. As gardeners, we need to learn how to move and use our bodies so that we don't end up feeling like a quarterback after being sacked. I love working as a garden coach, partly because I am, at heart, a schoolteacher; I also like finding solutions to almost anything. One of my clients, a woman with a bad shoulder, got me thinking about all the tricks I have learned over the years to minimize pain caused by gardening.
My client and I were planting some pretty big hostas. They were in large plastic pots and probably weighed about 15 pounds each. I showed her how to hold the pot upside down in one hand and smack the bottom of the pot with the other so that the roots and soil would slide out of the pot. But with her bad shoulder, she couldn't do that.
I taught her to cut open the pot instead. It's a technique I use when working with trees in pots. I placed the pot on the ground and inserted the blade of my ever-present pruners into one of the drain holes at the bottom of the black plastic pot. I slit up the side to the top, and then sliced again across the bottom. Then I rolled the rootball free of the pot. Finally, I tickled the roots to loosen them up — so they will be ready to explore their new environment.
Getting down on your knees to plant anything (or to pull weeds) is tough if you have arthritic knees or hips. I can recommend a couple of ways to deal with it. My late friend Marguerite Tewksbury, a lifelong organic gardener who lived in Windsor, Vt., started carrying a hoe in the garden in her late eighties. She used it like a walking stick, it helped her getting down — or up. By leaning on a hoe, you can distribute your weight and make a more stable, 3-point stance.
Picking beans recently, I found bending over tiresome for the length of time I needed to pick all my beans. So I used a 5-gallon pail to sit on. Gardener's Supply (gardeners.com) makes a "garden kneeler" that has hand rails at the sides for getting up when kneeling or allows you to convert it into a seat.
If you suffer from carpal tunnel, pruning may be painful for you. Most manufacturers now make hand pruners with a rotating grip that allegedly minimizes the problem. The Fiskars company has come out with a series of pruners and lopers that offer a different technology — gears to reduce the amount of pressure it takes to make a cut.
One of the most ingenious tools I ever saw was a homemade corn planter used — and made — by a man in his 90s. He could no longer bend down to plant seeds, so after his garden was rototilled by his son-in-law, he used a hoe to make a furrow for the seeds. Then he planted using a 30-inch piece of garden hose to get the seeds from his hand to the ground.
The hose poked up through a wide tin can (perhaps a fruitcake or cookie tin). He put all his corn seeds in the can, and then picked them up one at a time and dropped them into the hose (which poked through a couple of inches into the can). Then he moved on a few inches and did it again.
If your back bothers you, be careful when hoeing or raking. Don't lean forward. Keep your back straight. And if you need to pick up a bucket of weeds, place one foot forward and as you bend, tighten your tummy muscles.
None of us is getting any younger. But if you like gardening, you should be able to garden forever. I intend to.
Please write or email me if you have a good tip or trick. I'll post them on my website, Gardening-Guy.com. Thanks.
Henry Homeyer can be reached at P.O. Box 364, Cornish Flat, NH 03746, or firstname.lastname@example.com, or visit Gardening-Guy.com.


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The PC/Mac title brings over 100 achievements along with 2-8+ player co-op multiplayer with cross-platform play. Also on offer is a "buy three get one free" pack to help groups of friends jump into multiplayer at a discount.
After 15 months of active development, which included a six month open beta with showings at MineCon and PAX East, the game has evolved in ways we couldn't have imagined at the start. We don't plan on stopping here either. Those who know of our post-release support standards for AI War will be happy to hear that we have the exact same plan in mind for A Valley Without Wind.
The launch trailer is available to view now, with demos for both PC and Mac versions available through the game's website and on Steam.
About A Valley Without Wind
"I can imagine this game opening up under continued exploration to be one of those all-encompassing experiences that you can't help sinking an unhealthy tract of time into." - Rock, Paper, Shotgun
"A Valley Without Wind by Arcen Games is what happens when you try to make a Super Nintendo game today. A super polished limitless 2D metroidVania adventure game." - Thrifty Nerd
A 2D sidescroller without a linear path. An action game with tactical combat and strategic planning. An adventure game that lets you free-roam a vast, procedurally-generated world. A Valley Without Wind defies genre stereotypes. Unlike other procedurally-generated games, you also get a logical progression in difficulty, plus helpful tips and checklists to guide your travels (should you need them).
Choose for yourself how to prepare to face the vastly stronger Overlord. Complete a variety of missions to earn arcane rewards, or roam the wilds to uncover secret missions and stashes of magical loot. Customize your characters with unique combinations of enchants and spells that change how you move, jump, and fight. Or rescue people and bring them back to your settlement, recruiting them to help you in return.
You choose how to play, and the world adapts around you.
The full version is available now on PC and Mac. A demo is also available, and grants full access to the game/multiplayer with only some tier restrictions. Even though AVWW has launched, it continues to grow with new content and improvements added nearly every weekday. Follow the game and its updates/discussions on Facebook, Google+, Reddit, and Twitter. To be a part of how AVWW evolves in any and/or all of its aspects join the ongoing discussion taking place within our forums.
For members of the media: review keys and press kits are available upon request
About Arcen Games
Arcen Games entered the PC indie scene in 2009 with their cult classic AI War: Fleet Command, which was named the 40th best-reviewed PC game of the year by MetaCritic. Their second year was a busy one, seeing the release of The Zenith Remnant, the first full expansion for AI War; Tidalis, an innovative block-based puzzle with casual appeal and hardcore depth; and Children of Neinzul, a micro-expansion for AI War with all profits benefiting the Child's Play charity, of which Arcen is a platinum sponsor.
AI War's third and largest expansion Light of the Spire marked Arcen's first release of 2011, and now the company has shifted its focus and excitement to the development of A Valley Without Wind. Originally a one-man shop, Arcen Games has grown to have half a dozen part-time or fulltime contributors to its various titles. For all the latest news, media coverage, and some of our other musings, follow us on our developer and individual game pages on Facebook or on Twitter: @ArcenGames; as well as Arcen lead Chris Park's Games By Design blog.


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FE 28-60mm F4-5.6
The latest mechanical and optical technology delivers full-frame performance in the world's lightest and most compact standard zoom lens. Although the FE 28-60mm F4-5.6 is designed for easy carrying in your bag for daily use, it features a focal length of 28mm-60mm to expand your full-frame reach.
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The FE 28-60mm F4-5.6 combines full-frame image quality and world-leading compactness and lightness (167g, 5.9oz) through excellent mechanical and optical design, including its retracting structure and three aspherical lens elements. For everyday snaps, travel and vlogging, it's the ideal lens for compact E-mount full-frame cameras – delivering ease, portability, and high image quality.
To deliver the optical performance and corner-to-corner resolution necessary for full-frame imaging, the FE 28-60mm F4-5.6 features three aspherical lens elements. The precise shape of these elements suppresses various image distortions and aberrations.
Capture a wide variety of everyday subjects with the flexible focusing range. With a minimum focusing distance of just 0.3m (telephoto 0.45m), you can achieve good close-up shots of food and flowers. The compact design makes it the ideal tool for everything from table photos to vlogs with full-frame quality.
A Sony linear motor provides fast and precise focusing, and quiet operation in both movie and still-image capture. Combined with the latest α full-frame cameras, you can confidently lock onto even fast-moving subjects using AF functions like Real-time Tracking and Real-time Eye AF.
For confidence, dependability and ease of use in a range of shooting environments, the compact and lightweight design features sealing for dust and moisture resistance.
Impressive optical performance for Sony cameras, precision engineered for versatility and reliability in a wide range of applications.
[1] Aspherical lens
MTF (Modulation Transfer Function) describes how well a lens can reproduce fine details, measured as the degree of contrast achieved between finely spaced lines.
[1] Contrast (%) [2] Distance from optical center of lens (mm) [3] At 28 mm / Max. aperture [4] At 28 mm / F8 aperture [5] At 60 mm / Max. aperture [6] At 60 mm / F8 aperture [7] Spatial frequency [8] 10 line pairs / mm [9] 30 line pairs / mm [10] Radial values [11] Tangential values
Follow the link below for lens/body compatibility details.
Specifications & Features
- Minimum Focus Distance
- Wide 0.3 m (0.99 ft), Tele 0.45 m (1.48 ft)
- Maximum Magnification ratio (x)
- 0.16
- Filter Diameter (mm)
- 40.5
- Weight
- 167 g (5.9 oz.)
What's in the Box
Lens front cap:ALC-F405S, Lens rear cap:ALC-R1EM, Case:-


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The first rule of sunglasses: stick with a classic—simple shapes like the aviator or wayfarer in discreet blacks, grays and tortoise shells. The second rule: know what frame suits your face. The unmentioned rule? Pony up the cash for a decent pair and you'll never accidentally sit on them again.
Persol, $255
Add definition to a curved face and full cheeks with a rectangular pair that contrasts the roundness. The angular shape also makes your face look leaner.
Gucci, $275
Carrera, $120
Balance out a longer, thinner face with wider frames. If you keep the proportion in check, you'll be able to pull off larger, more retro shades.
Club Monaco, $89
Randolph Engineering, $99
Whether you have a small forehead and a strong chin (egg) or a broad forehead and narrow chin (triangle), look for rounded frames. Gradient lenses adds even more balance to your face.
Oliver Peoples, $325
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Wolf Blitzer delivers the most important breaking news and political, international, and national security stories of the day. Tune to The Situation Room weekdays 5-7pm ET on CNN.
(CNN) – Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona said Tuesday the battle on Capitol Hill between Democrats and Republicans over extending the payroll tax cut was causing damage to the GOP.
"It is harming the Republican Party," McCain said on CNN's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer." "It is harming the view, if it's possible anymore, of the American people about Congress. And we've got to get this thing resolved."
RELATED STORY: CNNMoney: Payroll tax roulette
why is every-one at CNN avoiding saying that the plan approved by the house contains a poison pill about the oil pipeline which has nothing to do with taxes.
It is time to impeach,recall and VOTE ALL POLITICANS OUT OF OFFICE NOW and that includes mccain.Jim Thomas Phx.Az.
the Gop is hurting the GOP and john is hurting the country with his non caring attude.
I thought Wolff was trying to pretend he was a reporter for Fox News interviewing John Mc Cain today. His set up questions to Mc Cain about Hillary's Clinton's comments about Korea were really lame. Mrs. Clinton's comments focused on the status of the people of N. Korea, who have suffered so much, not an statement of condolence about the death of their dictator. Of course Mc Cain, who is still bitter he lost to Obama, jumped on Wolff's soft ball statement and accused Mrs. Clinton of things she didn't say in her statement.
If you listen to Wolff's comments regarding Iraq, you would think that Iraq was already involved in a all out civil war. Of course Mc Cain jumped on that and blamed Obama for that.
Did Wolff ever think to ask Mc Cain how long would he have kept troops in Iraq? Probably as long as he could. Would Mc Cain ever say that we should ever withdraw ?
Once in a while everyone is right – this time McCain is right.
I didn't know McCain was smart enough to realize that. Live and learn.
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By Caitlin Kelly
There's a woman in my spin class — our spin class — who rarely smiles. Her face is usually set in a mien of unsettling intensity, her eyes always agog at..something.
She is as lean as a whippet, her muscles shorn of all excess fat, all softening curves. She carries a large bottle water with ice cubes in it.
She's in her 50s, maybe retired or self-employed or doesn't have to work. She appears to live at the gym, working out for hours.
Culturally, as someone who needs to shed at least 30 pounds, if not more, I should envy her, despising my own excess adipose tissue — a tummy whose additional flesh I can still grab (OMG!), despite three months now of two-day-a-week calorie restriction (750 per day), no alcohol until Friday evening and two to three spin classes a week plus lifting weights.
(I do see a difference in my shape and size now, as do my husband and friends. It's just sloooooow. This morning in the mirror I saw…shadows in my cheeks. Definition?!)
I'm working it.
She's working it.
The day after my left hip replacement….Feb. 2012
Another friend of the blog, a fellow journalist named Caitlin, writes Fit and Feminist — and is now doing (gulp) triathlons.
We're all headed to the same place eventually, some much faster and more heart-breakingly so, than others.
I live in an apartment building where we own our homes, so I've stayed for decades and have gotten to know our neighbors.
It's also a building with many — most — residents in their 70s, 80s and 90s.
Death stalks our hallways.
But in the past decade, we've also lost two lovely men, both mid-life, to brain tumors. One man on our floor died of cancer, at least three women in our building, (those that I know personally), are dealing with it.
It's deeply sobering — (a fact I spend a lot of time denying!) — to stop and realize how fragile our bodies are, prey to genetic shit-shows we didn't choose and must face nonetheless; my mother has survived at least four forms of cancer so I'm hyper-vigilant with mammograms, skin checks, Pap smears. I smoked once, for about four months, when I was 14 and am very careful about much alcohol I consume.
The weight I'm working so hard to shed is less for cosmetic reasons than for health.
And yet, life also offers tremendous sensual, shared pleasure in the form of delicious foods and drinks, which (yes, I admit) also include alcohol and sweets.
Some people dismiss this idea — sucking back juice or Soylent — treating food as mere fuel.
Not I. Not ever.
I was in great shape in fall 2014…then spent three weeks in Paris. Ooooohlala.
I look at young women, and men, in shorts and tank tops on the summer streets, carelessly luxuriating in their unlined, unscathed beauty, and wonder if they'll look back in a few decades with rue or remorse, or happy memories of having savored it all while it was theirs to savor.
It's a fine balance, this, between the mortification of the flesh, the discipline and self-denial to keep (or regain) a lean physique — and the slothful joys of long naps, a slice of chocolate cake or pie, hours on the sofa watching terrible television or playing video games instead of lifting weights or running or yoga.
Having worked non-stop to meet a magazine deadline, (the story for Chatelaine, a major Canadian magazine, which I'm really proud of, a medical one of course, is here), I ended up in the hospital, in March 2007, with pneumonia, and spent three days there on an IV, coughing so hard I could barely sleep. Drenched with fever sweat, I staggered into the ward shower, and — out loud, alone — apologized to my poor, aching, weary, worn-out body.
It was not, I finally and belatedly realized, a machine to be run until it smoked for lack of grease in the wheels.
Our bodies are the greatest of gifts, to be cherished and held and adored.
Until it's time to leave them behind.


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James Beard On Stage: Five Questions With Jessica Kubzansky
You're an LA-based director with lots of world premieres and Shakespeare on your résumé. Why come to Portland to run a solo act about a dead food personality? I Love to Eat takes place on one of the last nights of Beard's life, basically in the salon of his mind. The character is having his last hurrah, expressing all the things he's loved in life. And James Beard was such a lovely, indomitable, larger-than-life personality. He loved connection and was highly verbal—he had five phone lines in his house, because he always wanted to stay in touch with everyone. The opportunity to explore that love of life with James Still, a great playwright, and Rob Nagle, a great actor, is very exciting to me.
Beard was born in Portland. He hosted TV's first food show, wrote many books, and arguably jump-started our now-dominant foodie culture. Is it harder to do a show about a native son? It's definitely different than it would be in Indiana, the other place this play has been produced. He wears a robe, so should it be a Pendleton robe? But Beard belonged to everyone. I am one of those people who loves the Food Network. All that began with him. Cooking is entertainment now, and chefs are revered as pop stars, and none of that would have happened without James Beard.
And yet, as a semi-out-of-the-closet gay man in midcentury America, the real Beard must have experienced some darkness. Does the play go there? Our character talks about never really being in the closet, either. But there's a subtle but powerful loneliness to Beard. In the course of his life, he had friends all over the world, and he was truly passionate about being famous. But there can be an ironic gap between how you're loved in public and how you're loved in private. Our character has some mysterious interactions with offstage characters and talks to someone who makes him very sad.
What are some of the challenges of directing a single actor? With larger ensembles, sometimes you cast that difficult person because you believe you can get a performance and it's worth it. That would be a disaster with a one-man show. If you're not in a groove with that person, you shouldn't be in the same room.
I understand your "Beard" will cook real food on stage. Complicated? It's going to take a shocking amount of repetition and physical discipline to make it look like he's been slicing those onions every day for 5,000 days. Rob and I have worked together before, and I know he has the stamina for this. He's not physically as big as Beard was, but I don't think you could be and do this play. You're onstage by yourself for 80 minutes. This is one of those times when people have no idea what it takes to make a play.


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Today's News: Our Take - CBS Renews Criminal Minds for Ninth Season
Unsubs, beware! Criminal Minds' BAU team is back.
CBS has renewed the procedural drama for a ninth season, TVGuide.com has confirmed. It was a just a matter of time, since just last week, showrunner Erica Messer signed a new two-year deal with ABC Studios, which produces the series.
TV Scorecard: What's renewed? What's canceled?
And although there were rumors that certain female cast members may not be returning, negotiations apparently went well. Stars Thomas Gibson, Joe Mantegna, Shemar Moore, Kirsten Vangsness and A.J. Cook have signed new two-year deals to continue with the series. Matthew Gray Gubler and Jeanne Tripplehorn are still under contract.
Criminal Minds airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on CBS.
Are you glad the BAU team is returning?
View original CBS Renews Criminal Minds for Ninth Season at TVGuide.com
Other Links From TVGuide.com


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The last time I stepped inside an Amy Morton restaurant, it was March 1990, when Morton, daughter of legendary restaurateur Arnie Morton, had a pleasantly quirky Old Town restaurant called Mirador. It was a cute place, decorated with framed mirrors and eclectic artwork, and the food was very good, especially under chef Debbie Gold, now making foodie headlines in Kansas City, Mo.
Mirador closed in 1993, and since then, Ms. Morton and I have aged 20 years. One of us looks it.
Amy Morton is back, charming customers and directing operations at Found Kitchen, which she opened in Evanston in November. A 20-year absence from the restaurant biz really ought to come with a tawdry, dissolute back story, but here, Ms. Morton disappoints.
"Life happened," she says simply. "And then I met Neal (Levin, her husband) and had three children. But I always knew I wanted to try this again."
I can think of a few hundred people who are happy she did, most of whom are waiting for their names to be called. Evanston does not lack for quality dining options, but the locals have been flocking to Found as though it were the only game in town. On weekends, two-hour waits are commonplace (Found doesn't take reservations), and when I walked in on an inhospitably cold Tuesday evening, I was lucky to grab the last two empty seats at the U-shaped table (extremely comfortable) at the end of the bar.
Not that you're likely to have a choice, but Found offers various dining environments. The front third is decorated like a parlor, decked out with wing chairs and settees and occasional tables. Beyond that are more traditional free-standing tables and chairs and some banquette seating. Way in back are the bookcase-lined library and the salon privee, a sultry private room that, when not in use, serves as a comfortable waiting area. Walking from front to back is like strolling through your favorite aunt's house. Vintage framed pictures and mirrors line the walls, and the bookcases hold old law books and various tchotchkes, all of it (as well as much of the furniture) culled from resale and salvage shops. Found objects, in other words.
It plays well with patrons of a certain age, reconnecting with their collegiate bohemian days while spending $25 and more per entree. But with a good assortment of sturdy small plates and a handful of $13-and-under sandwiches (including a deeply satisfying French dip and a peameal bacon, cheese and egg combo that plays like a gourmet Egg McMuffin), even college students can — and do — find this place within range.
Nicole Pederson, last seen as executive chef at the late C-House, the Marcus Samuelsson restaurant, has abandoned the refinement of her previous work for a more rustic American approach. Early courses include a nicely composed chef's board, a meat-cheese-vegetable array that recently included coppa salami, a nicely sharp Wisconsin cheddar and a potted vegetable terrine of beet, pickled fennel and bulgur. Playful flatbreads, among them a sweet-potato hummus version topped with quark (a creamy white cheese) and shaved veggies, and a bacon-leek version that's a virtual tarte flambee, are ideal for sharing.
Fun dishes include oyster tacos with pickled poblano and tomatillo peppers and cilantro crema, lamb-pork meatballs combined with a pistachio chimichurri sauce, and grilled Spanish octopus in a frisee forest concealing nuggets of roasted sunchokes and picholine olives. Twice-fried chicken wings are coated in a thick lemon-honey glaze that's incredibly sticky — my kingdom for a hot towel! — but pretty darn yummy. Creamy polenta arrives with almonds, mushrooms, smoky blue cheese and a slow-poached egg; mix them together and you get a big mess, but it's an umami bomb of soul-comforting flavors.
The menu lists but four main courses, augmented by one or two specials. Lamb loin, which generally appears only on weekends, is worth seeking out; I particularly liked Pederson's turnip accompaniment — roasted turnips, oil-glossed turnip greens and pickled turnip chips — but with spring finally here, the root veggies aren't going to stay much longer. The whole-roasted fish — trout on my first visit, farmed ivory char more recently — gets nice support from dehydrated vegetable chips, crispy baked kale and a smear of green-goddess aioli.
The tightly focused dessert list includes one pound cake, one sundae and a pot de creme, the versions of which change with the seasons. Currently the pound cake has whispers of orange, enhanced by orange supremes, matched to toasted-coconut gelato (courtesy Black Dog Gelato) and Meyer lemon curd. The chocolate pot de creme is very good, topped with a fat dollop of creme fraiche, but the accompanying shortbread cookies, perfectly crumbly and graced with a touch of salt, are the real stars of the plate. The Turkish-coffee sundae, a virtual parfait that includes sweetened ricotta, coffee gelato, brown-butter caramel and walnut meringue, is such an inspired sweet I'll be sad when it gives way to something else. If you prefer a liquid dessert, the interesting cocktail menu includes a "stout float" with vanilla gelato and molasses bitters — a black cow for mature audiences.
Unaffected servers are so charming and laid-back it's easy to overlook how on-point they are with food and wine recommendations. In sum, Found is a find, once you've found a table. I'm sorely tempted to open a bar across the street, which I'll call Lost. Found's overflow alone might keep my business afloat.
Watch Phil Vettel's reviews weekends on WGN-Ch. 9's "News at Nine" and on CLTV.
Found Kitchen
1631 Chicago Ave., Evanston; 847-868-8945
Tribune rating: ¿¿
Open: Dinner Tuesday-Sunday
Prices: Entrees $14-$38
Credit cards: A, DC, DS, M, V
Reservations: Not accepted
Noise: Conversation-challenged
Other: Wheelchair accessible; valet parking
Ratings key: ¿¿¿¿ outstanding; ¿¿¿ excellent; ¿¿ very good; ¿ good; no stars: unsatisfactory. The reviewer makes every effort to remain anonymous. Meals are paid for by the Tribune.


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21.06.2013 / 12:00 | Aktualizováno: 05.04.2018 / 08:58
Georgia strives to overcome the collapse of the USSR and recover from the impacts of those events on its political and economic situation that were worsened by the effects of Russian military intervention in 2008. In terms of economy, it remains dependent on agriculture, which weakens its economic stability. Georgia is a strategically located country, and its stability is of general concern to the international community. Georgia ranks 72nd out of 186 countries in the Human Development Index.
Since 2008, development cooperation between the Czech Republic and Georgia has been affected by the impacts of the armed conflict with Russia, with most development activities now aimed at Georgia's recovery.
Water and sanitation has been the most significant sector subject to the continuing reconstruction and development assistance provided to Georgia by the Czech Republic, including well-drilling in the buffer zone of Gori and the support of laboratory testing of drinking water quality. In agriculture, the cooperative of Martivili in the Semegrelo region was supported, as were the existing agricultural centres in the Gori region. In the health sector, a highly important project improving the prevention and early diagnosis of cancer has been ongoing in the regions of Semegrelo, Shida and Kartli. As for the environment, a project aimed at supporting alternative energy in the protected natural area of Tusheti was implemented, as was a project of the Tbilisi bus network optimisation. The Czech Republic has equally focused on building the capacities for migration mechanisms. The most significant project was assisting the reintegration of displaced communities in the Mtskheta-Mtianeti region.
Czech non-governmental organisations are involved, for example: in the recovery of the water supply system at the General Regional Hospital with a maternity ward in Senaki (ADRA); in supporting the economic development of neglected areas of Georgia, including the Kutaisi region (People in Need); in increasing effectiveness of small farmers in the regions of Guria, Samtskhe/Javacheti (Caritas CR); in a project aimed at supporting home care in the Gori District (Caritas CR) as well as in the setting up of Czech-Georgian educational centres in Gori and Tbilisi, focusing on the analysis of activities and consultancy services, including their development and strategy.
Within transition promotion, projects supporting the activities of Georgian non-governmental organisations via educational programmes have been implemented, including: those aimed at the development of local governments in newly built villages for refugees; counter-corruption activities; improved transparency and communication as well as civil participation; and the development of capacities of local governments.


text: In this course you will receive an overview of the health IT ecosystem with a specific focus on the role of electronic health records (EHRs). You'll be introduced to the factors that contributed to the move from paper records to digitized records and who the most common vendors are. We'll go over features of EHRs such as computerized provider order entry, clinical decision support, documentation capabilities, and medication reconciliation. Like a physician's stethoscope, the EHR has become an important tool in healthcare delivery and plays a part throughout the patient's journey. You'll go through each of the steps from patient scheduling, to front desk registration, outpatient visits, emergency room encounters, and inpatient admissions. During the course, we'll also cover examples of how technical issues related to the EHR can be as simple as problems with logging or password resets. But how they can also be more complex related to alerts that are firing and the display of information. Although some of those challenges are beyond the scope of the IT support staff, having familiarity with the scope of potential problems and the broader EHR landscape is important. This course also includes an introduction to database architecture, servers, and interfaces. We wrap up by discussing the importance of training end-users on healthcare technology and the way in which effective change management strategies are crucial.


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Kissing booths
By BY
Kissing booths...They've always seemed about as desirable as stocks and pillories. Of course, I understand raising awareness/cash for a worthy cause (e.g. when Kate Moss sold a one-minute, £60,000 kiss to benefit the Hoping Foundation--the man who bought it ceded his kiss to Hugh Grant's girlfriend; fittingly charitable and salacious). Elsewhere, you've got bear-kissing booths ("just a small part of a larger twice-daily presentation about wild bear safety"), pug-kissing booths, and then there's always the underseen 1988 documentary starring Quentin Crisp, The Kissing Booth. Has anyone ever staffed or patronized one of these booths? If not, what's the strangest/coolest/most grueling thing you've ever done in the name of charity?


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The game of musical chairs continues at Twitter, where co-founder and former CEO Evan Williams will step down as product development leader, a role that will be taken over by Jack Dorsey, another co-founder who had distanced himself from the company's daily operations.
The move comes about six months after Williams relinquished his CEO role to Dick Costolo to focus on product development, the area that Williams said at the time is the one he was most interested in.
[ Get sage advice on IT careers and management from Bob Lewis in InfoWorld's Advice Line blog and newsletter. ]
"Twitter is pleased to announce that Jack Dorsey has agreed to return to Twitter in an everyday role to lead our product development," said Twitter spokeswoman Carolyn Penner via e-mail.
Dorsey will also continue as CEO of Square, an e-payment company he founded after stepping away from Twitter.
Penner noted that Twitter's three co-founders -- Williams, Dorsey and Biz Stone -- have "unselfishly" worn different hats since the company's launch in 2006, based on Twitter's changing needs.
"As executive chairman [of product development], Jack will dive in to work with more than 450 people, led by an experienced executive team. The timing is fortuitous; not only is Twitter experiencing record growth, but we also now have a new infrastructure that will keep us ahead of that growth and enable us to launch products that will make Twitter more instant, simple and always present," Penner added, referring to a massive infrastructure upgrade and migration Twitter wrapped up last week.
That new infrastructure is expected to cut down on Twitter's site outages, slowdowns and bugs, while providing a sturdier and more flexible platform to develop new features and scale capacity more quickly.
Dorsey also posted a message on his Twitter account, saying he was "thrilled" with his return to the company as product development chief.
Williams, who will remain on Twitter's board, is developing an idea for a new startup company, and for that reason has been spending less time at Twitter lately, according to anonymous sources quoted by The New York Times.
Now that it may have put its notoriously spotty uptime and availability problems behind it, Twitter faces the challenge of generating advertising revenue that is proportional to its skyrocketing popularity. Twitter launched its Promoted Tweets advertising program about a year ago.
Ultimately it doesn't much matter which co-founder is in charge of product development as long as the company makes this advertising program work successfully, said IDC analyst Al Hilwa.
"Figuring who best does what is part of what it means to grow and mature. Twitter has been on an incredible trajectory in the last couple of years and its key challenge is finding monetization streams to pay for the immense infrastructure needed to keep up with the escalating volume of tweets," Hilwa said via e-mail.
Twitter is also going through a tough time with many of the third-party developers who have created applications for the microblogging service. After having a laissez-faire attitude for years, Twitter in the past year has become much more active in policing third-party applications to make sure they comply with its terms of service. Twitter has also become a competitor to some of these developers by building native features that were previously provided by external applications.


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Table of Contents
The Academy's Glass Ceiling
Readers of FrontPage are by now well aware that our universities are among the most ideologically uniform institutions in modern American life. In the past year, a series of studies have confirmed the long-held and widespread perception that American faculties are dominated by one side of the political spectrum.
Let's look at the statistical evidence. A recent study by Stanley Rothman, S. Robert Lichter, and Neil Nevitte found that 72 percent of professors teaching at American universities are liberal (by their own description) and 15 percent are conservative. At elite universities, the ratio was 87 percent to 13 percent. Rothman, Lichter, and Nevitte also found that "religiously observant Christians are disadvantaged in their placement in the institutional hierarchy, after taking their professional achievements into account." In a separate study, Daniel Klein and Charlotta Stern found that on average faculty in six major humanities disciplines voted Democratic by a ratio of 15 to 1.
Why does this disparity exist? The academic establishment offers different explanations, including a (now famous) statement from Robert Brandon, Chair of Duke University's philosophy department: "We try to hire the best, smartest people available.... If, as John Stuart Mill said, stupid people are generally conservative, then there are lots of conservatives we will never hire." To be fair, however, Brandon's explanation is not typical. More common are responses like that of Roger Bowen, General Secretary of the AAUP. Responding to Daniel Klein's study at an American Enterprise Institute event, Bowen said:
I've been a department chair, I've been a college president. I've conducted more searches than I can begin to describe, and I can tell you I have never asked a candidate what his or her party identification is, and I don't know of a search committee in the country that would do that.
If there is no discrimination on the basis of party affiliation, then what is the explanation? Bowen suggests self-selection:
Anthropologists, which apparently according to the study, Democrats far outnumber Republicans. What do they do? Anthropologists, the discipline itself is focused on questioning religious and cultural myth, particularly myth that celebrates national, cultural or racial superiorities. That in many classrooms will be a shocker for a lot of students.
Sociologists tend to inquire on the origins of inequality as a source of alienation. New concepts to many college students that will seem, I imagine, given illustrations using the American example, rather shocking.
Political scientists, they focus on questions of legitimacy....
Historians, they look at progress frequently in terms of overcoming inequalities of the past, sometimes inequality is endorsed, even embraced by conservatives.
In other words, because the academic disciplines themselves are by definition hostile to conservative viewpoints and prejudices, it is natural and logical for conservatives not to demonstrate much interest in joining, say, an anthropology or history department. By this line of reasoning, someone who defends, studies, or explains perceived national or cultural superiorities isn't really studying "anthropology," and a person who dedicates himself to the tactical and strategic nuances of "island hopping" during World War II isn't exactly a "historian." With the disciplines thus redefined, self-selection naturally follows.
There is another explanation: ignorance and prejudice in the academy. At the AEI seminar, Bowen countered Daniel Klein's empirical study with the anecdotal evidence of his own experience. Yet the anecdotes run both ways. I spent two years as a lecturer at Cornell Law School. During my second interview with the director of the program I was applying to join, she asked the following question: "I note from your CV that you seem to be involved in religious right issues. Do you think you can teach gay students?" How many gay applicants at Cornell have been asked: "Do you think you can teach Christian students?" The question (coming from someone I came to deeply respect and admire) came not malice but from ignorance—both of the legal standards governing hiring and of the beliefs of evangelical Christians.
Nor was my experience with ignorance and prejudice limited to faculty hiring. One of the most disturbing aspects of my experience at Cornell Law School was the year I spent on the school's admissions committee. I saw a Christian student once almost get rejected despite tremendous academic qualification because members of the committee were wary of his "God-squadding" and "Bible-thumping." He was admitted only after I raised strong objections to the committee's obvious anti-religious prejudice. I also saw some Latino and African-American candidates receive less affirmative action assistance because their perceived politics or career interests (such as an interest in finance) were deemed "less diverse" than other applicants with an obvious interest in "social justice." Moreover, some applicants of color who indicated interest in the world of commerce were said not to have "taken ownership of their racial identity."
Yet all of this discussion of discrimination begs the question: Is intellectual diversity in higher education a good thing? Do different viewpoints matter? I found myself particularly persuaded by the following argument:
A diverse educational environment challenges [students] to explore ideas and arguments at a deeper level, to see issues from various sides, to rethink their own premises.
We learn when shaken by new facts, beliefs, experiences, and viewpoints. The student assimilates the new data so that they fit the existing conception, or revises the conception to accommodate the new data. (Emphasis added).
Who said this? The comments above come from the AAUP's own amicus brief in the case of Gratz v. Bollinger. The comments, however, relate to racial diversity, not intellectual diversity. Does the AAUP believe different viewpoints are valuable only when accompanied by different skin colors? Or is a broad range of ideas on campus a good thing by itself? Our own experience—and the history of our nation and culture—demonstrates that it is.
No one should seriously suggest that disparities between left and right should result in new forms of viewpoint discrimination— discrimination designed to artificially boost conservative scholars. Instead, the response of the academic establishment to intellectual uniformity should be greater openness, an embrace of the rights of dissent (even from the academic party line), and a serious commitment to scholarly exploration from all sides of the thorny issues of our time. Intellectual diversity follows a truly free and open culture like the day follows the night. As it is, however, many Americans (particularly those who seek to teach) look at elite higher education from behind a glass wall. There are no visible barriers to entry, but the age-old combination of viewpoint discrimination, ignorance, and prejudice keep many people on the outside looking in ... looking and wondering why the academic establishment's oft-stated commitment to "diversity" and "tolerance" does not include respect for their identity or their ideas.
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Tahoe Truckee community announcements
TAHOE/TRUCKEE, Calif. – Content for briefs is selected from e-mail submissions to Community Editor Amy Edgett at firstname.lastname@example.com. Visit http://www.sierrasun.com to submit events for the online calendar. Please limit descriptions to 50 words. E-mail for print submissions may be 150-300 words. Items published in the print edition news space permitting.
Project Grad fundraiser at Blue Agave
The North Tahoe High School Class of 2013 is pleased to announce a Project Grad fundraiser at The Blue Agave, 425 North Lake Blvd., Tahoe City on Friday, March 8. The Blue Agave will graciously donate a percentage of their profits to support Project Grad. This fund helps to pay for scholarships and chaperones so all graduating seniors may enjoy a safe, sober and fun trip after graduation. Go out and support local seniors while enjoying wonderful food at community minded business .
Beginning Guitar for adults announced
The Tahoe Music Institute is currently registering adult students for a beginning/early intermediate guitar class. The class, taught by Kerry Andras, is focused on learning the basics of playing guitar and covers topics such as tuning, chords, strumming, chord progressions, music theory, singing, folk and campfire songs. Classes meet Wednesday nights, 6-7 p.m. at the Tahoe Music Institute located at 2810 Lake Forest Road in Tahoe City. Call Shauna at 530-581-0618 or email firstname.lastname@example.com for details or to register.
Workplace investigations and document retention workshop announced
Join a March Morning Meeting about "Ethics of Workplace Investigations and Document Retention Best Practices" on Friday, March 8, The Chateau at Incline Village, 955 Fairway Blvd., Incline Village, Nev., 9-11 a.m.
As a manager, it is inevitable you may need to conduct a workplace investigation. Join the discussion with Nicole Harvey of Harvey Law Firm and Cindy Davis, SPHR, chief people officer of Strategic HR Partners, LLC.
Learn about proper filing, maintenance and disposal to ensure security and privacy and reduce the possibility of exposure with Kathy Chan, vice president of San Francisco-based JMA Ventures, LLC.
Registration and snack at 8:30 a.m. Free for SHRM and SHRA members, $15 for Chamber members, $20 for non-members. Register at http://www.sierrahra.com at the Online Store. Pay through PayPal. Contact Laura Moriarty, SPHR at 530-573-0224.
Club Cosmos announces comet viewing
A comet discovered two years ago by the Near Earth Object Survey telescope, PanStarrs, has now reached close passage around the sun and should be spectacular Tuesday through Sunday. Space Science for Schools program Club Cosmos will offer free astronomical-grade telescope and binocular viewing at Sand Harbor Nevada State Park at the Boat Ramp Parking area on Tuesday, March 13, 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Enjoy a tour of the cosmos guided by members of Space Science for Schools. Call or text for information to Paul H. Guttman, M.D., 775-720-6999 or email email@example.com. If the event is clouded out, it may be rescheduled for Wednesday's sunset. Dr. Guttman will email to advise if he has your contact information.
Space Science for Schools, Inc, a 501(C)(3) Education Non-Profit Corporation, member organizations: NASA, JPL, Solar System Ambassadors, NASA, Night Sky Network, American Astronomical Society, Astronomical Society of the Pacific, Space Science Institute, Tahoe CAN.
Spoken Word at the Truckee Library
As part of the Nevada County Reads and Writes program's 2013 book selection, "Marcelo in the Real World" by Francisco X. Stork, the Truckee Library will host its first-ever Poetry Slam on Friday, March 15, at 7 p.m. The novel involves legal drama, music, bullying, a love story, and the realities of life as a teen with a variety of autistic impairment no doctor has been able to identify.
Arrive with a poem of your own writing, and in true slam fashion, compete for a prize of a gift certificate from Bookshelf at Hooligan Rocks and a cash prize. Entrants will place their names in a hat to enter the competition.
The theme of the Slam is: Coming of Age.
A poetry slam is the competitive art of performance poetry, with a dual emphasis on writing and on how the writing is presented. Here are slam facts: Five-minute limit; spoken word only, no notes; judges are selected from the audience; judging is based on: how well the poem is presented, how well the poem fits the theme, and whether it fits within the time limit.
Participation is recommended for anyone over the age of 14.
Please call the Truckee Library at 530-582-7846 for further information.
Visit http://www.mynevadacounty.com/nc/library/Pages/Nevada-County-Reads-and-Writes.aspx.
American History and Politics
A discussion with Sierra College Insights
History instructor Taylor Tiraterra will present "The Use of Icons of American History in Modern America" Friday, March 8, an interactive presentation at Sierra College, Tahoe-Truckee. Arrive at 6:30 p.m. for refreshments, program runs 7-8:45 p.m. Seating is limited. RSVP to 530-550-2290.
Tiraterra, a history instructor at Sierra College, has a deep appreciation for differing viewpoints of historical events. He has a Master's with an emphasis in American History from Sacramento State and is a well-liked educator on the Tahoe-Truckee campus.
For the most up to date information on Sierra College happenings in Tahoe Truckee, visit http://www.facebook.com/SierraCollegeTahoeTruckee.
Annual Science Expo to be family fun
Family Science Expo, open to the public on March 20, 4-6 p.m. at Tahoe Center for Environmental Sciences, 291 Country Club Drive, Incline Village, Nev. UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center (TERC), together with Tahoe Expedition Academy, other community partners, and with sponsorship from the Rotary Club of Tahoe-Incline, will host the eighth annual Science Expo March 18-21, for regional students.
The Science Expo is open to the general public on the evening of Wednesday, March 20 for children of all ages together with their families. Ice cream will be provided by Susie Scoops of Incline Village. Admission is free.
The event will feature dozens of hands-on, interactive science experiments, activities and demonstrations emphasizing physical science concepts such as physical and chemical properties of matter, density, energy, electricity, magnetism, light, and sound,
To volunteer, contact UC Davis TERC AmeriCorps member Hannah Leigh at 775-881-7560, ext. 7474 or email@example.com. All volunteers will be trained and will have all activity materials required for their 2-3 hour shift. A science background is not necessary.
For more information or directions call 775-881-7566, or visit http://terc.ucdavis.edu/calendar/.
Lake of the Sky Garden Club grants available
Lake of the Sky Garden Club has grant funds available for community-related garden projects in the North Lake Tahoe area. To obtain an application call Emily Hatch, 530-582-8487, or email her at email@example.com. Applications must be received by April 1, 2013.
Lake of the Sky Garden Club is a nonprofit organization and member of National Garden Clubs, Inc., Pacific Region, and California Garden Clubs, Inc., Golden Foothills District. The club's goals are to promote an interest in gardening, with particular emphasis on the problems at high altitude, to support charitable, educational, and scientific works, as well as to initiate and participate in beautification and developmental gardening projects in the North Lake Tahoe region.
Money for these grants comes from the club's annual garden tour. On Saturday, July 27, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Lake of the Sky Garden Club will host their 25th annual garden tour, the Incline Village Garden Tour. Proceeds from this tour will fund scholarships to encourage study in landscaping, horticulture, forestry or environmental science and up to $6,000 in grants to local community projects.
Past recipients have included Thunderbird Lodge, Tahoe City Historical Society, Watson Cabin, Gatekeeper's Museum, Girl Scouts, Project MANA, as well as local schools and libraries. Tickets for this year's garden tour will be available at local Truckee/Tahoe nurseries after June 15.
The club generally meets on the last Monday of the month from March through October. For a meeting schedule and more information, go to http://www.lake-of-the-sky.org.
Friends of Squaw Creek invites community to free biology forum
The Friends of Squaw Creek (FoSC) will offer a free forum open to the public about the biology of Squaw Creek, March 28, 6 p.m. at the Squaw Valley Public Services District meeting room, 305 Squaw Valley Road. Join fisheries biologist Ian Chan; Northern California Field Director for Trout Unlimited David Lass, and principal of Sound Watershed Mike Liquori for discussion on Squaw Creek's historic and current status, along with opportunities for future environmental improvements. There will be a public question and answer session.
Friends of Squaw Creek (FoSC) is a grassroots organization in Squaw Valley that originated in April of 2002 in response to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) listing Squaw Creek on its 303d list of impaired streams due to excessive sediment as well as community alarm perceiving reduced stream flows and loss of fish population. FoSC brings together landowners, businesses, jurisdictional agencies, and private citizens dedicated to enhancing the Squaw Creek watershed.
Support Local Journalism
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SenSura Mio 11″ Maxi, Convex Light Std Wear, Cut to 1 5/16″, Opaque - Box 10
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Lladro King Balthasar Nativity Figurine
Lladro King Balthasar Nativity Figurine
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Lladro King Balthasar Nativity Figurine
Lladro King Balthasar Nativity Figurine
Lladro King Balthasar Nativity Figurine
Product Details
Warning California Residents This product can expose you to chemicals including Wood Dust which is known to the State of California to cause cancer or birth defects or other reproductive harm. Please click here for more information.
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