text:
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The AFL-CIO says it has registered more than 450,000 new voters from union households over the past 18 months, part of an ambitious push to swell the ranks of Democratic-leaning voters and help President Barack Obama win reelection.
The tally includes about 68,000 new voters in Ohio - one of the most contested battleground states this year - and thousands of other union-friendly voters in swing states like Colorado and Nevada.
"That's an amazing number," said Paul Beck, a political science professor at Ohio State University. "In an era of declining union membership, one wouldn't think there would be many new targets out there."
Obama defeated Republican John McCain by a little more than 200,000 votes in Ohio in 2008 out of about 5 million votes cast in the state.
Voters from union households have traditionally favored Democratic candidates. That trend is expected to continue this year in light of high-profile efforts by Republican leaders to weaken collective bargaining rights in Ohio, Wisconsin, Indiana and other states.
In 2008, exit polls showed 59 percent of voters who lived in union households backed Obama, while 39 percent supported McCain. Union household voters split similarly in the previous two presidential elections.
"This is the first time we've made this big an effort to increase registration," said Mike Podhorzer, AFL-CIO political director. "We're really proud that more union members are going to be engaged. Whoever they vote for, the fact is we're increasing civic participation."
Podhorzer said the plan began in March 2011, when the labor federation began matching lists of union household members with voter registration files from every state. It then identified about 2.3 million people living in households of active and retired union members who were not registered to vote.
Union leaders hoped to register at least 20 percent of that number. That would raise the estimated overall union household registration from 70 percent to 75 percent of eligible voters.
The task was easier in states like Ohio, where union density is highest. In Pennsylvania, for example, Podhorzer said the AFL-CIO registered 57,000 new voters from union households. But the federation also made gains in other swing states, registering 13,500 in Colorado, 10,000 in Nevada and 6,700 in Virginia.
Unions have been trying to maintain their relevance as major political players amid years of steady declines in membership. The voter registration drive could help labor leaders maximize their impact with the numbers they have.
Podhorzer said the project had already met the 75 percent goal as of early August, and he hopes to exceed it in the next four weeks. In the general population, about 65 percent of people 18 and older are registered to vote, according to Census Bureau figures.
Most of the registration work is being done by the federation's 56 affiliated unions, which represent about 9 million workers with collective bargaining agreements.
Unions expect to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to help Obama and other mostly Democratic candidates for state and federal office win election. The AFL-CIO is devoting most of its attention to six battleground states: Florida, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
"I think there is an enthusiasm among these voters, a feeling that unions are embattled these days," said Beck, the political science professor. "Given what's happened to unions since 2010, they may be more energized than normal to vote for a Democratic candidate."


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Childhood lead exposure is costing developing countries $992 billion annually due to reductions in IQs and earning potential, according to a new study published today.
The report by New York University researchers is the first to calculate the economic cost of children exposed to lead in Africa, Asia, Latin America and other developing regions. The researchers found that, despite major declines in exposure in the United States and Europe, lead is still harming brains and bottom lines in poorer regions around the world.
The toxic metal is annually taking a 1.2 percent chunk out of the entire world's gross domestic product, according to the new report.
"Childhood lead exposure represents a major opportunity lost," said Dr. Leonardo Trasande, a professor at New York University School of Medicine and senior author of the study published online in Environmental Health Perspectives. "Prevention may actually accelerate economic development, which is critically needed in these countries."
Low levels of lead affect children's IQs, their ability to pay attention and how well they do in school. It also has been linked to violent and antisocial behavior.
The researchers found that Africa's economy is harmed the most, with annual economic losses estimated at $137.7 billion, or 4 percent of its gross domestic product – a number that represents a country's economic output and financial health. Lead exposures cause annual estimated economic losses of $142.3 billion in Latin America, which is 2 percent of its gross domestic product, and $699.9 billion in Asia, which is 1.88 percent of its gross domestic product.
By comparison, economic losses from lead exposure were estimated at $50.9 billion and $55 billion for the United States and Europe.
Trasande and a colleague estimated blood lead levels for children under 5 years old in developing countries. They used previous research to determine how much lead levels would reduce IQ points in the population, and then how much their earnings would drop.
Information about children in many countries is spotty, so the researchers had to estimate exposure, which is a limit of the study, said Dr. Bruce Lanphear, a professor of children's environmental health at Simon Fraser University who is a leading researcher on child lead exposure. He did not participate in the new study.
But the dollar amount is likely conservative, Lanphear said.
"They didn't look at things like criminal behavior, cardiovascular problems. They focused primarily on children's intellectual ability," he said. "The study probably quite substantially underestimates lead's effect on IQ and GDP (gross domestic product)."
Lead exposure in the United States has rapidly declined since the 1970s, largely due to the phase-out of lead in gasoline. In the 1970s, about 88 percent of kids 5 years old or younger had excessive blood lead levels (greater than 10 micrograms per deciliter of blood), according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
In 2011, about 5.8 percent of U.S. kids had excessive blood lead levels. This dramatic decrease is in spite of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cutting its lead guideline in half, to 5 micrograms per deciliter of blood, last October in response to mounting scientific evidence that low levels can harm children's developing brains.
Similar trends have occurred in Europe.
But worldwide lead consumption has risen, from about 4.7 million tons in 1970 to 7.1 million tons in 2004, according to a 2010 United Nations report. The increase is largely driven by demand for lead batteries, according to the report.
"There are only a few countries using leaded gasoline, so the majority of the exposures are from lead-based paint, lead battery production and hazardous waste sites," Trasande said.
As many countries become increasingly industrialized, some, particularly in Africa, have seen spikes in lead exposure over the past three or four decades.
The researchers did not include mild retardation resulting from lead exposure, which is a big problem in Sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia, said Ken Jaffe, president and executive director of the International Child Resource Institute, a nonprofit organization that works on children issues around the world.
Jaffe also said it's hard to estimate IQ point losses without taking into account the state of schools in some of these countries.
"Schools in many countries with high incidences of lead also have poor schools that can be highly abusive to children," Jaffe said. "I've seen schools in Ghana and Zimbabwe where children are beaten for the wrong answer – even in preschool. There are very high dropout rates."
But, as investors increasingly look to developing countries, putting a dollar amount on environmental exposures could hasten change, Jaffe said.
Previous studies also have looked at economic costs of lead exposure. Every dollar invested in lead paint control results in a $17 to $220 return, according to a 2009 study. Reduced lead exposure in the United States since 1976 has resulted in a $110 billion to $319 billion economic benefit due to higher IQs and worker productivity, according to a 2002 CDC study.
"We're basically pitting the health of our children versus economic health," Lanphear said. "Until we can prove it's cost beneficial to protect kids we won't do it. It's really a strange thing for a species to do."
This article originally ran at Environmental Health News, a news source published by Environmental Health Sciences, a nonprofit media company.

subset: commoncrawl


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Many computer users don't realize it, but for most people their internet router is the most important electronic device in their home. It links most of their other devices together and to the world, so it has a highly privileged position that hackers can exploit.
Unfortunately, many consumer and small-business routers come with insecure default configurations, have undocumented backdoor accounts, expose legacy services and have firmware that is riddled with basic flaws. Some of these problems can't be fixed by users, but there are many actions that can be taken to at least protect these devices from large-scale, automated attacks.
Don't let your router be a low-hanging fruit for hackers.
Basic actions
- Avoid using routers supplied by ISPs. These routers are typically less secure than those sold by manufacturers to consumers. They often have hard-coded remote support credentials that users can't change and patches for their customized firmware versions lag behind patches for the same flaws released by router manufacturers.
- Change the default admin password.
- The router's web-based management interface should not be reachable from the internet. For most users, managing the router from outside the LAN (local area network) is not necessary. If remote management is needed, consider using a VPN (virtual private network) solution to establish a secure channel to the local network first and then access the router's interface.
- Even inside the LAN, it's good to restrict which IP (Internet Protocol) addresses can manage the router. If this option is available, it's best to allow access from a single IP address that is not part of the pool of IP addresses assigned to computers via DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol). For example, configure the router's DHCP server to assign IP addresses from 192.168.0.1 to 192.168.0.50 and then configure the web interface to only allow access from 192.168.0.53. The computer should be manually configured to use this address only when you need to connect to the router.
- Turn on HTTPS access to the router interface, if available, and always log out when done. Use the browser in incognito or private mode when working with the router so that no session cookies are left behind and never allow the browser to save the router's username and password.
- Change the router's LAN IP address if possible. Most of the time, routers will be assigned the first address in a predefined netblock, for example 192.168.0.1. If offered the option, change this to 192.168.0.99 or something else that's easy to remember and is not part of the DHCP pool. The entire netblock used by the router can also be changed to one of those reserved for private networks. Doing this will protect against cross-site request forgery (CSRF) attacks that try to access routers through users' browsers by using the default IP addresses commonly assigned to such devices.
- Choose a complex Wi-Fi password and a strong security protocol. WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access II) should be the option of choice, as the older WPA and WEP are susceptible to brute-force attacks. If the router offers the option, create a guest wireless network, also protected with WPA2 and a strong password. Let visitors or friends use this isolated guest network instead of your main one. They might not have malicious intentions, but their devices might be compromised or infected with malware.
- Disable WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup). This is a rarely used feature designed to help users set up Wi-Fi networks easily by using a PIN printed on a sticker. However, a serious vulnerability was found in many vendor implementations of WPS a few years ago that allows hackers to break into networks. Because it's hard to determine which specific router models and firmware versions are vulnerable, it's best to simply turn off this feature on routers that allow it. Instead,
- The fewer services your router has exposed to the internet, the better. This is especially true if you haven't enabled those services yourself and don't know what they do. Services like Telnet, UPnP (Universal Plug and Play), SSH (Secure Shell), and HNAP (Home Network Administration Protocol) should not be reachable from the internet as they can pose serious security risks. They should also be turned off on the local network if they're not needed. Online services like Shields UP by Gibson Research Corporation (GRC), can scan your router's public IP address for open ports. Shields Up can also scan for UPnP separately.
- Keep your router's firmware up to date. Some routers allow checking for firmware updates directly from the interface while others even have an automatic update feature. Sometimes these checks might be broken due to changes to the manufacturer's servers over the years. It's a good idea to regularly check the manufacturer's support website manually for firmware updates for your router model.
More complex stuff
- Network segmentation can be used to isolate risky devices. Some consumer routers offer the option to create VLANs (virtual local area networks) inside a larger private network. These virtual networks can be used to isolate internet-of-things devices, which researchers have repeatedly shown are full of vulnerabilities. Many IoT devices can be controlled through smartphone apps via external cloud services, so as long as they have Internet access, these devices don't need to be able to communicate with smartphones directly over the local network after the initial set-up. IoT devices often expose unprotected administrative protocols to the local network so an attacker could easily break into such a device from a malware-infected computer, if both are on the same network.
- MAC address filtering can keep rogue devices off your Wi-Fi network. Many routers allow for restricting which devices are allowed on the Wi-Fi network based on their MAC address -- a unique identifier of their physical network card. Enabling this feature can prevent attackers from connecting to a Wi-Fi network even if they stole its password. The downside is that manually whitelisting legitimate devices can quickly become an administrative burden on larger networks.
- Port forwarding should be combined with IP filtering. Services running on a computer behind a router cannot be reached from the internet unless port forwarding rules are defined on the router. Many software programs will attempt to open ports in the router automatically via UPnP, which is not always safe. If UPnP is disabled, rules can be added manually and some routers offer the option to specify the source IP address or netblock that can connect on a specific port to reach a certain service inside the network. For example, if you want to access an FTP server on your home computer from work, you can create a port forwarding rule for port 21 (FTP) in your router, but only allow connections from your company's IP netblock.
- Custom firmware can be more secure than factory firmware. There are several Linux-based, community-maintained firmware projects for a wide range of home routers. OpenWRT, DD-WRT and Asuswrt-Merlin (for Asus routers only) are just some of the most popular ones. These typically offer more advanced features and customizations than factory firmware and their maintainers are quicker to fix flaws when identified than router vendors. Because these firmware packages are aimed at enthusiasts, the number of devices that use them is much lower compared to those that run vendor-supplied firmware. This makes widespread attacks against custom firmware less likely. However, it's very important to keep in mind that loading custom firmware on a router requires a fair amount of technical knowledge, will likely void its warranty and, if done incorrectly, can render the device unusable. You have been warned!


text:
KROHNE officially opens new manufacturing facility and North America headquarters in Beverly, MA
On September 27th, KROHNE opened its newest manufacturing facility and North America headquarters in Beverly, Massachusetts (USA). The new facility was celebrated with a formal inauguration event, tours of the manufacturing facility, and presentations from executives at KROHNE. Michael Rademacher-Dubbick, Managing director KROHNE Group, opened the facilities in a ribbon cutting ceremony.
The new facility is managed and operated by KROHNE, Inc., the KROHNE group's subsidiary responsible for the North American region since 1979. The operations expansion represents the company's long-term commitment to manufacturing in the United States. The new headquarters facility will produce a variety of new and existing flow and level products, while continuing to serve as the main distribution hub to North American markets for all other products. Administration, sales, service and marketing, and a new training center will also be located in Beverly. The new production building will be interconnected to a new state of the art, two story office building, tripling the floor space compared to the existing facility in Peabody, MA. Production and distribution operations will also be transferred to the new space.
To celebrate the opening of the new facility, KROHNE held a formal ribbon cutting ceremony with local dignitaries and corporate ownership followed by a tour of the manufacturing facility and offices. The morning of the event was concluded with a series of short presentations, including a future-focused outline of KROHNE's vision for its served industrial markets with key insights into technological developments for measurement instrumentation applications.
"2018 will be a watershed year for KROHNE in North America as we move into our brand-new factory in Beverly, MA where a variety of key products will be produced," said Stephan Mimler, CEO of KROHNE Inc. "KROHNE is dedicated to the idea of producing the absolute best process measurement instrumentation for worldwide process industry users, and now, we will bring that production to the USA. This will surely enhance our opportunity for timely deliveries and for providing a broader range of resources to serve customer needs better."
About KROHNE
KROHNE is a global manufacturer and provider of process instrumentation, measurement solutions and services in many industries. Founded in 1921 and headquartered in Duisburg, Germany, KROHNE has over 4,000 employees and offers extensive application knowledge and local contacts for instrumentation projects in over 100 countries. KROHNE stands for innovation and highest product quality and is one of the market leaders in process industry.
Issued by:
KROHNE Messtechnik GmbH
Ludwig-Krohne-Str. 5
47058 Duisburg
Contact for editors:
Jörg Holtmann, PR Manager
Tel: +49 203 301 4511
Fax: +49 203 301 105 11
eMail: firstname.lastname@example.com


text: Lifestyle Style What's Her Best Side? Get your full dose of glam by checking out Julianne Hough, Gwyneth Paltrow and more stylish stars from every angle – then vote for their most flattering poses! By People Staff Published on April 1, 2013 07:00 PM Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos 01 of 64 JULIANNE HOUGH Rex USA Being single hasn't deterred from her typical red carpet risks. The actress attends the FABB West cocktail party in Beverly Hills in a red sweater, graphic-print maxi and yellow satin heels. 02 of 64 GWYNETH PALTROW Giulio Marcocchi/Startraks We're considering flying to California to try out the new Tracy Anderson Studio if it means we'll come out looking like . The actress celebrates the launch of her trainer's Brentwood, Calif., flagship location in a bright purple Victoria Beckham mini and black-and-orange Michael Kors sandals. 03 of 64 KALEY CUOCO Jen Lowery/Splash News Online You didn't think we were going to miss the opportunity to study Kaley's ACM Awards hair from every angle, did you? The unique updo is sky-high in the front, sleek on the sides and tousled in the back. 04 of 64 STACY KEIBLER Giulio Marcocchi/Startraks The white dress-and-nude sandals look certainly works for Stacy, and this time she mixes it up with a black graphic print and back-revealing cutout at the Tracy Anderson Studio opening in Brentwood, Calif. 05 of 64 OLGA KURYLENKO Phillip Massey/WireImage love interest in the upcoming Oblivion looks like quite the catch in yet another great premiere look, this time in Dublin. The actress accessorizes her emerald green Roland Mouret gown with a bright red lip and slicked-back hair. 06 of 64 DIANE KRUGER Kristina Bumphrey/Startraks Wearing an outfit only she could get away with (what else is new, right?), Diane attends the FX Upfront Bowling event in N.Y.C. in a silk Jason Wu halter and peplum pants, plus black heels and a red box clutch. 07 of 64 CHRISSY TEIGEN D Dipasupil/FilmMagic Her turtleneck dress earned a whopping 91% approval rating, and we have a feeling the semi-sheer black tank dress she wears with sexy peep-toe heels to the Jeffrey Fashion Cares Celebration in N.Y.C. will be equally beloved. 08 of 64 EMMY ROSSUM D Dipasupil/FilmMagic The actress channels her inner flapper in a retro-inspired gold-and-black fringe dress at the Jeffrey Fashion Cares Celebration in N.Y.C. 09 of 64 BRANDI GLANVILLE Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic Evidently not content to show just one swath of midsection at the McDonald's McWrap launch in Hollywood, the Real Housewife chooses a leather tank that shows quite a bit of back as well. 10 of 64 CHRISSY TEIGEN Carolyn Contino/BEImages Who knew turtlenecks could be so freakin' sexy? Joining Emmy and Angela at opening night of Lucky Guy in N.Y.C., the Sports Illustrated model shows off the body that made her famous in a fitted purple dress with nude pumps. 11 of 64 SAOIRSE RONAN SartorialPhotoWire/Splash News Online The Host star attends her film's N.Y.C. screening in a printed Proenza Schouler tweed jacquard dress, plus a leather belt, a Dana Rebecca Designs ring and black heels. 12 of 64 RUMER WILLIS Eric Charbonneau/Invision/AP The cuts a deep part then winds her fiery hair into a low messy knot at the Hollywood premiere of G.I. Joe: Retaliation. 13 of 64 DIANE KRUGER Picture Perfect / Rex USA Perhaps inspired by sideswept do at the Kids' Choice Awards, Diane attends the FX Upfront Bowling event in N.Y.C. with one section of hair twisted behind her left ear and the rest pulled over her right shoulder. 14 of 64 EVA MENDES Evan Agostini/Invision/AP It's tough to stand out when you're walking the red carpet next to and , but holds her own in a flowy orange Prada dress with a butterfly at the waist and satin heels (also Prada) at the N.Y.C. premiere of The Place Beyond the Pines. 15 of 64 ADRIANA LIMA John Parra/Getty There's subtle sexiness and then there's the in-your-face, can't-stop-staring, jaws-on-the-floor sexiness, like the kind the model's white Alberta Ferretti gown oozes at the Brazil Foundation Gala in Miami. 16 of 64 KRISTEN STEWART iPhotoLive As braid lovers, we're obviously smitten with the messy fishtail sports to the Kids' Choice Awards in L.A. So smitten, in fact, that we got all the details on how to recreate it! 17 of 64 JESSICA ALBA Adhemar Sburlati/Broadimage What's needed to get Kids' Choice Awards do, a side-swept style (which is perfect if you've lost one earring, but still want to show off the other)? Apparently nothing but a few bobby pins. 18 of 64 MISCHA BARTON Imeh Akpanudosen/Getty The takes her abs out on the town in a shrunken sheer white lace top with a matching skirt (both by Katharine Kidd) and sparkling heels at the Fire & Ice Gala in Hollywood. 19 of 64 ADRIANNE PALICKI AdMedia/Splash News Online The G.I. Joe: Retaliation actress attends her film's Hollywood premiere in a dazzling nude-and-gold Reem Acra gown with a jaw-dropping neckline and a Daniel Swarovski box clutch. 20 of 64 EMMY ROSSUM David Livingston/Getty Man, do we wish we were Emmy Rossum. Not just so we could attend this L.A. Target event celebrating the release of new album, but also so we could give others hair envy with this perfect, shiny French braid. 21 of 64 JENNIFER LOPEZ Tony DiMaio/Startraks The may be attending Muhammad Ali's Celebrity Fight Night in Phoenix, Ariz., but that doesn't stop her from going girlie in a nude tulle Maria Lucia Hohan creation with black lace accents, which she pairs with black striped pumps and a python clutch, both by Christian Louboutin. 22 of 64 ELISHA CUTHBERT George Pimentel/WireImage No, she's not wearing two dresses. The actress, at the Toronto Target opening, wears one design consisting of a sleeveless blue creation with a long-sleeve black lace overlay, accessorized with nothing but black pumps and red lips. 23 of 64 KATY PERRY Kevin Mazur/WireImage Considering she might get slimed, an ensemble that resembles a bathing suit is actually appropriate. The reminds what he's missing in a sexy Hervé Léger by Max Azria bralette, high-waist skirt and Christian Louboutin pumps. 24 of 64 JANUARY JONES Jason Merritt/Getty The Mad Men selects a blue-and-white Jonathan Saunders dress (with quite the revealing sheer panel!), plus silver sandals, to celebrate the kickoff of Season 6 in L.A. 25 of 64 BELLA THORNE David Livingston/Getty Let your trainer know that this cutout (seen on Bella's blue cap-sleeve mini at the Boohoo summer press day in L.A., as well as a number of other stars' dresses) might very well be the cutout of the season. Sigh. 26 of 64 NICOLE KIDMAN Alexander Tuma/Startraks The goes old Hollywood in an embroidered black-and-nude Oscar de la Renta gown, plus a Roger Vivier clutch, at an Omega gala in Vienna, Austria. 27 of 64 JENNIFER MORRISON X17online The woman is clearly comfortable in her own skin. After posing nude for Allure, the Once Upon a Time covers up (well, sort of) in a coral-colored cutout creation with nude panels and a sheer skirt for an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live. 28 of 64 SIENNA MILLER Kristina Bumphrey/Startraks There's something so laid-back and cool about the fact that the wears a messy, half-up (DIY) bun with lots of face-framing pieces on a red carpet (and the red carpet for the Vanity Fair Tribeca Film Festival event no less!). 29 of 64 EMMY ROSSUM Giulio Marcocchi/Startraks The It accessory this season isn't a bag or a pair of shoes; it's a braid. Emmy complements her summery outfit at the Saving Tails benefit in Hollywood with an equally easy-breezy messy side fishtail version, pinning back her layers with two bobby pins. 30 of 64 KIM KARDASHIAN MediaPunch Inc/Rex Always the overachiever, wears not one, but two plaits, pulled back into an undone bun, for an appearance at the Kardashian Khaos store in Vegas. 31 of 64 KERRY WASHINGTON Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic We wonder if Kerry (in Roger Vivier heels) saw a basic, long-sleeve black Michael Kors mini and said, "I like it, but it needs something more," then had the designer add a bright marigold high-low skirt complete with a train for the MTV Movie Awards. 32 of 64 KARLIE KLOSS Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic We plan to bookmark this photo of the model at the MTV Movie Awards in her smokin' cropped white top (with a sliver of a cutout) and coordinating pencil skirt (both by Cushnie et Ochs, worn with David Yurman jewelry) and pull it up next time we're considering skipping the gym. 33 of 64 SOPHIA BUSH Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic Spring has officially arrived, according to Sophia's outfit: She wears her structured blue-and-white dress with a flirty topknot and pink Coach clutch at the line's Santa Monica bash. 34 of 64 ASHLEY TISDALE Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic Yowsa. At the Scary Movie 5 premiere in L.A., goes for a floor-length black sequin Maria Lucia Hohan gown with a plunging neckline and sheer panels (check out those funky half sleeves!), as well as a matching clutch and sleek blowout. 35 of 64 RACHEL MCADAMS David Crotty/Patrick McMullan/Sipa We already know why she went red, but perhaps we'll never fully understand why opts for such an incredibly high topknot, accessorized with a black headband. 36 of 64 JULIANNE HOUGH Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic Busy, busy! We're talking about schedule (she's at the British Fashion Council celebration in Beverly Hills) and her dress, a multicolor mirror-image creation with black sleeves and one unique (and confusing) neckline, plus Aldo Rise x Preen heels. 37 of 64 OLGA KURYLENKO Jason Merritt/Getty It's hard to pick our favorite part of the actress's do at the Oblivion premiere in L.A. We love every aspect of the look equally, from the sideswept tendrils to the low bun and of course, the unexpected braids woven throughout. 38 of 64 JENNIFER MORRISON Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic Hey Jennifer, before going to the Coach event to benefit the Children's Defense Fund in Santa Monica, Calif., did you watch the videos from our trip to a braid bar? Because this looks very similar to the waterfall plaits one editor got. 39 of 64 HEIDI KLUM Bobby Bank/WireImage For a taping of The Today Show in N.Y.C., Heidi surprises us by showing off only one of her assets – her legs – in a sparkly Talbot Runhof mini and gold accessories. 40 of 64 ELSA PATAKY Marion Curtis/Startraks The model steps out at the Inaugural Oceana Ball in N.Y.C. wearing a platinum beaded Naeem Khan dress with an open back and her Hemsworth brother-approved short blonde do. 41 of 64 RACHEL MCADAMS Matt Sayles/Invision//AP Two things we can't help noticing at the To the Wonder premiere in L.A.: big bun and tiny waist, which she flaunts in a calf-length black Maria Lucia Hohan dress with a lace overlay. 42 of 64 KALEY CUOCO Frazer Harrison/Getty There are those stars who show a lot of skin up front and in back. Kaley's one of them at the American Country Music Awards in Vegas, thanks to her cleavage- and back-baring BCBG Max Azria halter featuring slices of sheer fabric in a geometric pattern. 43 of 64 PAULA PATTON Cindy Ord/Getty Lest you think Paula, in a high-necked, floor-length, long-sleeved Gucci gown at an N.Y.C. screening of Disconnect, is opposed to showing skin, the actress turns around to display an open back and up-to-there slit. 44 of 64 TAYLOR SWIFT Jason Merritt/Getty If you think the front of gold Dolce & Gabbana gown, worn to the ACM Awards in Vegas, is dazzling with its embellished bodice and neckline, you have to see the stunning open back. 45 of 64 JANA KRAMER Rick Diamond/Getty She's rocking 360º of fringe at her neckline, but that's just the beginning. The rest of the singer's ACM Awards dress, a Badgley Mischka design, boasts a ton of bling including sequins, beads, crystals and embellished tulle. 46 of 64 SARAH HYLAND Giulio Marcocchi/Startraks Another day, another cool braid. The Modern Family actress wears hers to the side along with a surprisingly sexy sleeveless dress (check out those back cutouts), plus bowed peep-toes, to the Skip and Donate event in West Hollywood. 47 of 64 HAYDEN PANETTIERE Walter McBride/INF We almost referred to her as Heidi when we saw the actress at the White House Correspondents Dinner sporting this perfectly done Dutch-braided do. 48 of 64 OLIVIA WILDE Dimitrios Kambouris/VF13/WireImage Here's an LBD (that would be long brown dress) we'd love to own. Olivia wears the plunging (in the front and back!) Valentino gown and equally dramatic headband to a cocktail reception after the White House Correspondents Dinner in D.C. 49 of 64 ELIZABETH BANKS Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Now, we know what the Hunger Games star looks like in The Capitol. But here's what she looks like in our nation's capital. The actress is elegant at the White House Correspondents Dinner in a deep copper Roland Mouret gown, polished black Edie Parker clutch and rose gold Irene Neuwirth earrings. 50 of 64 KERRY WASHINGTON Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty This lady knows her way around the district! Okay, the Scandal star's D.C. life may be fictional, but Washington still commands attention from the Oval Office's inner circle in her dramatic gown, with its patterned, asymmetrical-train Wes Gordon skirt (plus accompanying Christian Louboutin heels), worn to the White House Correspondents Dinner. 51 of 64 JENNIFER LAWRENCE Splash News Online The new long bob takes some (but not all) of the attention away from her majorly flared David Koma mini, which she selects for the GLAAD awards in L.A. 52 of 64 DUCHESS CATHERINE Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Well, this is a print we're not used to seeing on the ! She shakes things up at the inauguration of Warner Bros. Studio in Watford, England, wearing a polka-dot mini, plus a black blazer, clutch and pumps. 53 of 64 JULIE BOWEN David Livingston/Getty The Modern Family actress takes a dark turn at the L.A. Modernism Show Preview Party, wearing a black off-the-shoulder Zuhair Murad dress dripping with sequins, along with matching pumps and a perky ponytail. 54 of 64 ASHLEY MADEKWE Tony DiMaio/Startraks We'd match our pedi to our dress too if the dress in question were as gorgeous as this peplum Monique Lhuillier number. The Revenge actress selects the patterned aqua dress (along with a yellow clutch and black stilettos, both Jimmy Choo, and Baccarat jewels) for the College Television Awards Gala in L.A. 55 of 64 GWYNETH PALTROW All Access Photo/Splash News Online The World's Most Beautiful Woman is also the World's Leggiest in a sheer-paneled Antonio Berardi gown, which puts toned body on full display at the Iron Man 3 premiere in Hollywood. 56 of 64 DUCHESS CATHERINE Daniel Leal-Olivas/i-Images/Polaris While the rest of the world obsesses over her now visible baby bump, we're ogling over hair, especially this half-up twisted do with cascading curls, which she wears for a charity event at The National Portrait Gallery in London. 57 of 64 BELLA THORNE CL/Splash News Online How many trends can one girl wear at once? Let's see: bold print, peplum, high neckline, crop top, top knot. The actress pulls it all off in a two-piece Katie Ermillo creation at the premiere of Iron Man 3 in Hollywood. 58 of 64 OLIVIA PALERMO Rex From the front, Olivia appears to be wearing nothing but a basic center-parted bun, but she turns around at the Rochas event in Madrid to reveal a muy guay (translation: very cool) intricately braided knot at the nape of her neck. 59 of 64 KELLY ROWLAND Matt Baron/BEImages Rowland confidently rocks a whole slew of white-hot red carpet trends (high halter neckline, sheer panels, jumpsuit, a high waist) via her over-the-top Izmaylova creation at the annual GLAAD Awards in L.A. 60 of 64 LENA DUNHAM Richie Buxo/Splash News Online We applaud Lena for taking the plunge, but we're not sure this look is working for her. The Girls star braves a Saint Laurent gold dress with a super-low neckline and spiked waistband, plus sky-high T-bar heels (also Saint Laurent) at the TIME 100 Gala in N.Y.C. 61 of 64 MARIA MENOUNOS Sara De Boer/Startraks Between the graphic print, sculptural neckline, pointed shoulders and dramatic train, this is one head-turning gown. The TV host finishes off the look for the GLAAD Awards in L.A. with a sleek center-parted pony and Greymer peep-toes featuring metal spikes down the heel. 62 of 64 DUCHESS CATHERINE Rex USA Bump watchers, take note! The dresses her now visible six-months-pregnant belly in a mint green Mulberry coat, accessorized with nude LK Bennett heels for the National Review of Queen's Scouts celebration at Windsor Castle in Berkshire, U.K. 63 of 64 SELENA GOMEZ Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic In a dazzling beaded golden mini that looks straight out of closet, Jimmy Choo heels, Joan Hornig earrings and a braid that looks inspired by a badass dragon, kills it at the MTV Movie Awards. 64 of 64 GWYNETH PALTROW Neilson Barnard/Getty The takes time in between Iron Man 3 premieres to rock yet another dramatic red carpet look – this silk Ralph Lauren Collection creation topped with a diamond and sapphire butterfly brooch at Tiffany's Blue Book Ball in N.Y.C.


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After the team is coaxed into a scuffle by the opposing team, Coach Ben Schwartzwalder gives his team an inspirational message during halftime.
Themes: Legacy, Carpe Diem, Perseverance, Leadership, Fighting, Dignity, Sportsmanship, Respect, Disrespect, Integrity, Speech, Coaching, Racism, Bigotry, Football
5.0/5 Stars (3 ratings)
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Based on the incredible true story, The Express follows the inspirational life of college football hero Ernie Davis, the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy. Under the guidance of coach Ben Schwartzwalder, a hard-nosed coach with an obsession for winning a national, Davis overcame seemingly insurmountable obstacles to become an unstoppable running back for the Syracuse Orangemen. Following his draft by the NFL, tragedy struck the star athlete and he was never able to take the professional field. But his tale would forever change the face of professional sports.
MPAA: Rated PG for thematic content, violence and language involving racism, and for brief sensuality.
Principal Cast: Dennis Quaid, Rob Brown, and Charles S. Dutton
Director: Gary Fleder
© 2004–2023 WingClips, LLC. All rights reserved. MOTION PICTURE ARTWORK, PHOTOGRAPHY AND VIDEO are property of their respective owners. Their use is subject to the terms and conditions of this web site. By allowing their residence on WingClips.com, the proprietors do not imply licenses to intellectual property rights.


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The Lady D-Lite handbag epitomizes Dior's vision of elegance and beauty. A sleek, feminine bag, it's timeless yet modern. Crafted in fully embroidered gray stone Cannage canvas with a 'Christian Dior' signature on the front, its supreme finishing instantly stands out. The pale gold-tone signature 'D. I. O. R.' charms embellish its silhouette. This medium style has a large fully embroidered, removable shoulder strap.
- Stone gray Cannage embroidery
- Large, removable embroidered shoulder strap
- Interior zip pocket and patch pocket
- May be carried by hand, over the shoulder or as a cross body
- Dimensions: 24 x 20 x 11 cm
- Dust bag included
- Made in Italy


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Real Housewives of Atlanta is starting soon and the drama is unfolding well before the season premieres!
Apparently, soon to be former housewife, Kim Zolciak has fired her long-time assistant and close friend, Sweetie Hughes!
Poor Sweetie has been the victim of not just Kim's crazy, but also NeNe Leakes' and radio host Rickey Smiley's when he started a "Free Sweetie" campaign after the infamous final NeNe vs. Kim blow-out last season! Sweetie claimed the effort ruined her life, although she does communicate with Smiley via Twitter, and defended Kim's treatment of her. Well, now it seems that Sweetie has been set free!
According to Kim's daughter Brielle who was questioned via Formspring about Sweetie not living with Kim in the family's new house; the long-suffering and probably abused assistant was "fiiredd"!
When pushed for more information, Brielle responded "I really don't want to talk about it" and simply stating: "long story" when asked what happened. She also admitted their family no longer talks to Sweetie! No information about when Sweetie was actually let go, but as of late-July she was still working for Kim.
As for Sweetie she has given no statement on the situation, but she did wish Kim's younger daughter Arianna a happy birthday via Twitter.
Sweetie is definitely appearing in this seasons RHOA, so hopefully we will get to the bottom of the drama!
In other interesting RHOA news, the almost-divorced, NeNe is now a restaurant owner! NeNe Tweeted that she is opening a Famous Famiglia restaurant in the Sacramento International Airport of all places. The pizza depot is slated to open THIS WEEK on Oct 6th. A photo of the new outpost is below – it's super classy. Four Michelin stars!
As to why she suddenly decided to go into the Italian Fast Food restaurant industry, perhaps NeNe has been hanging out with Teresa Giudice or something…
Are you surprised Kim fired Sweetie? Do you believe it's final or just a fight between the two ladies? Are you as shocked as I am that NeNe has gone into the pizza business? Would you eat there?


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Our faculty members are attuned to a marketplace that values innovation, entrepreneurialism, analytical thinking and hard work. Their teaching and research equip our students with the wisdom of business scholarship rooted in the experiential lessons of the marketplace.
Find out more about the latest research by browsing current working papers online at Social Sciences Research Network (SSRN).


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The Snake River Elevator
The Snake River Elevator and glass surround is a perfect example of an extremely well thought out and meticulously built elevator and wrap around stair. The steel structure is finely finished and creates the box for the elevator and the frame to carry the stair system. White Oak stair treads and landings add warmth tho structure and a glass surround allows all the workings to be viewed.
- Available in many designs and finishes
Please call 406-582-0711 for pricing and order information
or email us at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Product Numbers: 138.01 – 138.03


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LONDON (Reuters) - Helping chronic fatigue syndrome patients to push their limits and try to overcome the condition produces a better rate of recovery than getting them to accept the illness and adapt to a limited life, new research has found.
British researchers conducted the largest trial to date of people with the mysterious and debilitating condition, also known as ME, and found that up to 60 percent of patients improved if therapists encouraged them gradually to do more.
By contrast, patients whose therapists encouraged them to accept the limits of their illness and adapt their lifestyles to live with it showed significantly less improvement when they were followed up after 24 and 52 weeks.
Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a long-term debilitating condition of disabling physical and mental fatigue, poor concentration and memory, disturbed sleep and muscle and joint pain. It also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) and affects around 17 million people worldwide.
There is no cure for CSF/ME and scientists don't know what causes it. Many sufferers say they think their illness started after a viral infection, but suggested links to a virus known as XMRV were shown in a recent scientific paper to have been based on contaminated samples in a lab.
There is also controversy about what kinds of treatments should be given, with some patients reluctant to accept that psychotherapies might help.
Some patient groups in Britain, where more than a quarter of a million people are estimated to have CFS/ME, have expressed concern that treatments like cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) that encourage patients to try to overcome or push the limits of their condition may even be harmful.
But in this study, which involved 640 patients in Britain, researchers found that CBT and another therapy called gradual exercise therapy (GET) were far more successful than adaptive pacing therapy (APT), in which the patient tries only to match activity levels to the amount of energy they have.
"It is very encouraging that we have found not one but two treatments that are similarly helpful to patients," said Trudie Chalder from King's College London, who worked on the study and published its findings in the Lancet medical journal on Friday.
All patients in the trial received specialist medical care which included advice about managing the illness and prescribed medicines for symptoms such as insomnia and pain.
The success of the added therapies was measured by patient ratings of fatigue, physical function, overall health and the ability to lead a normal life, plus tests of how far the patient could walk in six minutes, and of sleep, mood and fatigue levels after exertion.
The results showed that CBT and GET benefited up to 60 percent of patients, and around 30 percent of patients in each of these treatment groups said their energy levels and ability to function and returned to near normal levels.
External experts commenting on the study said its design was robust and its findings important.
"This study..matters a lot. CFS/ME is common, and causes a lot of suffering," said Professor Willie Hamilton of Britain's Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry. "I now know what to suggest to my patients."
Reporting by Kate Kelland, editing by Paul Casciato
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.


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Best New Golf Clubs for Shooting Low Scores at the Beach
Chauncey Smith | 12 Mar 2018
All golfers know that a great set of clubs doesn't automatically improve your game, but it probably won't hurt to upgrade those old sticks rattling around in your golf bag! After all, Jack and Arnie may have gotten by with wooden drivers, but even they got with the times as technology advanced.
And the current arms race of drivers, irons and putters continues to push the limits of what professional and amateur golfers can do out on the course. When you come to golf in Myrtle Beach, why not upgrade your arsenal to shoot your lowest round yet? Check out some of the newest and hottest clubs around to break 100, 90, 80 or lower on your upcoming Myrtle Beach golf vacation.
TaylorMade M4/D-Type driver
TaylorMade has been at the peak of the driver market for a few years since popularizing adjustable weights within the club head to help reduce slices and hooks and potentially add distance. But for many novice or amateur golfers, this type of customization may be a bit overkill.
TaylorMade's new M4/D-Type driver minimizes the weight adjustability to concentrate on maximizing ball speed and forgivability. The M4/D-Type also is a godsend to players who consistently find themselves fighting a slice, with a slightly-weighted heel and visual cues to ensure your club face stays closed. The M4/D-Type driver is available in several different lofts and retails for $430.
Cleveland Launcher HB Irons
With a hybrid-inspired style and an ultra-forgiving feel, the new Cleveland Launcher HB irons are perfect for golfers who sometimes struggle to get the ball in the air. Golfers with slower swing speeds will also benefit from the Launcher HB irons' hollow club design, incorporating a wide sole and a high-strength steel face insert to increase both forgiveness and ball speed at impact.
Put simply, expect to gain distance and hit the ball straighter with the Launcher HB irons. Sets begin at $700 for four iron through pitching wedge with steel shafts and $800 for the same set with graphite shafts.
Ping Vault 2.0 Dale Anser Putter
With a classic blade design and multiple matte-finish color options, the Ping Vault 2.0 putter series features visually-appealing lines and a solid, forgiving feel ideal for golfers of all skill levels. In particular, the Dale Anser version of the Vault 2.0 line showcases a beautiful 100% milled design that ensures consistent speed off the club face.
The Vault 2.0 putter series features Ping's True Roll technology, utilizing circular milled grooves that ensure consistency so that mis-hits keep the same speed as well-struck putts. In addition, a customizable weight system features steel, tungsten and aluminum weights to ensure the perfect fit and feel for golfers. The Vault 2.0 Dale Anser putters can be purchased in several different lengths and matte black, platinum or copper finishes for $300.
Now that you know the hottest new golf clubs to improve your game, all you have to do is let Myrtle Beach Golf Central set you up with an unbeatable Myrtle Beach golf package! We partner with the best Grand Strand area resorts like Barefoot Resort, Myrtlewood Villas and Pawleys Plantation Resort to book the finest Myrtle Beach condos and golf villas available.
And no matter what course along the Grand Strand you're looking to play, our golf experts will help you book the best tee times at Myrtle Beach's most popular golf courses. We make the whole booking process easier than a two-foot putt, so make sure to reserve your Myrtle Beach golf vacation with Myrtle Beach Golf Central today!
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Welcome to Kees Park Animal Clinic
The veterinarians and staff at Kees Park Animal Clinic in Alexandria, Louisiana, are committed to the highest quality of medical care of our patients. This full-service animal medical center, awarded the highest level of certification by the American Animal Hospital Association, has provided comprehensive animal medical services to citizens of Central Louisiana for sixteen years. Our state-of-the-art hospital features a complete diagnostic testing lab; surgery, recovery and isolation ward; an in-house pharmacy; and boarding and grooming facilities. Our medical services include diagnostic and medical care, surgery [from routine spays and neuters to more advanced orthopedic and soft tissue surgeries], hospitalization, dentistry, wellness programs, and behavioral counseling. Prescription heartworm prevention medication, flea control products, and prescription diet foods are available. We also offer boarding services for small and large animals in air-conditioned indoor kennels. Professional grooming is also available by appointment.
Our knowledgeable staff strives to provide professional and compassionate medical care to enhance the lives of our clients best friends. We encourage prospective clients to visit all links of our website and to contact us with specific concerns or questions at 318-445-8891.
Also, visit our other 2 affiliated locations:
Kees Park Animal Clinic


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David A. Keeps: Why did you conjure an enchanted-forest look for this prewar Greenwich Village apartment?
Fawn Galli: With all of the busy, crazy agitation of New York City, my client, Romaine Orthwein, who's a photographer, wanted something fairy-tale-dreamy to the point of otherworldly. One inspiration was the C.S. Lewis book The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, in which the characters emerge from the back of the wardrobe into a winter wonderland. In this apartment, the front door opens to a white entry hall lined with birch-print wallpaper.
The living room is a kaleidoscope of color.
I go into people's closets to get their color and fabric sense. Romaine had Pucci prints, fashion-forward clothes, and colorful accessories, and she was very particular about wanting strong fuchsia and turquoise accents throughout. My design assistant, Ashley Moyer, brought in this fabulous stained-glass-style rug that has every color of the rainbow, and it really pulled the living room together.
More From House Beautiful
So does that pale green wall. Kudos on the color!
The walls were white, but they needed more depth and personality. We used a Fine Paints of Europe lacquer — a light green with blue in it — which reflects light better.
Why is green so great?
Green is my favorite color because it's of the earth, the trees, the grass. It can be cheery and bright like candy, or dark and sophisticated. Good chartreuse — not too yellow — makes me so excited I can't stand it.
Even though it's beige and white, that lily pad wallpaper in the bedroom evokes the greenery of a pond. The only thing missing is an enchanted frog prince.
The home was designed to feel like a whimsical, wintry forest — the white floors invoke a feeling of ice. Call it surrealism grounded in nature. Or nature with a twist. We played with scale a lot, and we put overscale wallpaper in the master bedroom — and also in the powder room — to draw you into scenery and make you feel small within the landscape. In green, it would be too much with the green headboard and icy celadon chair. Too much color is too aggressive. You need white, beige, or gray to ground it.
The living room sofa and chairs certainly add a dose of Dorothy Draper scale and drama and whimsy.
Her sense of theatrics made her interiors unique, and she could take things really far but knew how to stop at just the right moment. It's a nuance that makes all the difference. We did the chairs in a cheetah print and piped the sofa cushions in hot pink — and that was where we stopped and said, 'No more pink.'
You've also embellished headboards, blinds, and even lampshades. What makes piping hot?
It's so powerful. If you have a scalloped edge, piping, tape, or fringe underlines it and gives it a polish and a rigor.
You're not afraid of teal or striped Roman blinds or floral sheers, either.
Pale curtains aren't passionate enough. Windows should be played up, but I don't like old-fashioned curtains with valances and tiebacks. I like a bold pattern, but on a tailored panel — not too soupy or loopy with extra fabric — and simple inverted or two-inch pinch pleats. And curtains should just kiss the floor, so they don't look heavy.
Why so much white-legged and Lucite furniture on pale carpets and bleached floors?
In small rooms, it makes things more airy. We even lacquered the knife block in the kitchen white. Unless you're in a Chelsea gallery, I think ebonized floors and that whole dark, minimal Christian Liaigre look is over. It just doesn't give enough to a room. I prefer Baroque- and Rococo-style curves and Barbara Barry furniture, which feels French 1940s yet American at the same time. It's graceful and romantic, and the proportions are right for rooms with low ceilings.
You're certainly articulating a new femininity in interior design. But how do the husbands react?
Most of my clients are couples, and the male counterparts are fine as long as they're comfortable. I don't think what I do is alienating to men. It's a 21st-century version of an old romanticism — like the vivid interiors in Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette, which definitely influenced this place.
What's your idea of a dream house?
It would be Le Corbusier with windows looking out to the beach, and it would incorporate ideas from Pierre Chareau's Maison de Verre. I'd decorate with Louis furniture, Sèvres porcelain from the Boucher room in the Frick Collection, a François-Xavier & Claude Lalanne duck bed, mixed in with Prouvé and Tom Dixon and the latest furniture designers.
Until then, what would you do if the owners gave you the keys to this apartment for the weekend?
I'd have a party for my friends, film directors, painters, and thinkers. Wait, forget that. I'd get ice sculptures and Cristal and big platters of chocolate, fill the room with lilacs and peonies, and play Billie Holiday's 'I'm a Fool to Want You.' And I'd invite Ryan Gosling — all by himself.


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President John F. Kennedy once said, "Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride." That's definitely true, but bikes can do so much more than that. Bicycles have the potential to solve a wide array of modern problems and are indispensable tools to promote healthy and sustainable communities.
In 1990, Pasadena Mayor Jess Hughston asked me to chair the Mayor's Committee to Make Pasadena Bicycle Friendly. Our trailblazing report laid out a program designed to encourage cycling for health, recreation and transportation and to cultivate a bicycle-friendly culture backed up by sound policies and programs.
A few years after our report, Pasadena added a transformational goal to its general plan: "Pasadena will be a city where people can circulate without cars." Moving beyond the car to incorporate the needs of the broader community, including the young and the old, pedestrians and bicyclists, while integrating the opportunities of public transit, has provided broad social benefits for everyone.
In the last two decades, there has been a steady growth in bicycle use and in programs that make it safe throughout Southern California. These elegant machines that amplify human energy and expand the range of human interaction now account for 3 to 4 percent of local trips, and pedestrians account for about 9 percent more, well above the national average for people-powered transportation. Stripes on streets, bike racks on buses, cyclists on trains and improved bicycle facilities are ubiquitous indicators of growing popularity.
Other cities throughout Southern California have taken the lead in developing model policies and programs. Long Beach, which bills itself as the "most bicycle friendly city in America," has established a mission "to provide an environment and culture where bicycling is a safe, viable and preferred mode of transportation." The port city is using local funds as well as state and private grants for many forward thinking projects such as green-sharrowed lanes and an ambitious bicycle boulevard project. In Glendale, bicycles are integral to a Safe and Healthy Community Plan.Los Angeles has big plans to be the largest bicycle friendly city in America. The Master Bicycle Plan, adopted two years ago, includes numerous new bicycle friendly policies, expanded parking facilities and 1,302 miles of new bicycle ways.
This June marked the 10th anniversary of ArroyoFest, an inspirational event that closed the Arroyo Seco Parkway, aka Pasadena Freeway, for a Sunday celebration. Thousands of bicyclists and walkers along the carless parkway were imbued with a new vision of how to link communities together in a sustainable way for the future. Plans for a cycleway to connect Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley to downtown Los Angeles are now in the works.
More recently, CicLAvia, inspired by the famous street closures that invigorated Bogotá, Colombia, has turned over the streets of Los Angeles to hundreds of thousands of Angelenos on foot, on bikes, on rollerblades or whatever to celebrate their streets and neighborhoods in new and liberating way.
There is a dynamic momentum developing for bicycling throughout Southern California that can improve our health and reshape our communities. In a region blessed with such a pleasant climate and gentle topography, where 60 percent of all local trips are less than five miles, there are increasingly few reasons not to ride. So take that bike on your next shopping trip or ride to work one day a week, and soon you may find yourself incorporating the two-wheeler into your lifestyle. It will be healthy and good for you and for your community.
Let's ride.
Tim Brick, former chair of the Metropolitan Water District, is managing director of the Arroyo Seco Foundation.


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Most Marias are depicted as nurturers-in-waiting. All the reluctant postulant needs is a guitar, a set of old curtains and seven militarized munchkins and you've got Austria's stepmother of the year. But, in director Rachel Rockwell's magnificent new production of "The Sound of Music" at the Drury Lane Theatre, when the Mother Abbess — she who looks out a mountain and immediately wants others to climb it — first commands Maria chez von Trapp, the irrepressible young actress Jennifer Blood lets out the kind of snort of horror that was never in Julie Andrews' bag of tricks.
But it makes perfect sense: Maria might have struggled to choose between life in the dreamy Nonnberg Abbey and life swanning around her beloved mountains picking edelweiss, but few girls her age would crave an instant brood. Nor their messed-up, middle-aged father.
And by showing us a spontaneous Maria, a restless Maria, a Maria who's a kid herself, a Maria who must grow much more than Captain von Trapp (whose no-brainer trajectory — he is, after all, getting a beautiful young girl whom his kids adore — dominates too many productions of this musical), Rockwell and Blood thus set the tone for a fresh, spontaneous and thoroughly wonderful production of "The Sound of Music," in which the hills could not be more alive. And in which it's very much women-and-children first.
You know a production of this particular show is working when a thousand people break out into relieved applause when Maria comes back to send Elsa packing. (I'm not sure I've ever seen that before and I thought I'd seen every "Sound of Music" permutation this side of the Alps). And you know the show is on track when it's the kids whose curtain-call appearance gets the biggest reaction. Rockwell is at her best with children — the "Do-Re-Mi" here is a bring-the-house-down revelation, and that's not a sentence I ever thought I'd write. And "Sixteen Going On Seventeen" (performed by the sultry Katie Huff and the deliciously buttoned-down Brandon Springman) has not a coy or cutesy bone in its body, instead offering a sensual nod to the dream ballet of "Carousel" or the "Somewhere" of "West Side Story."
You would not call Rockwell's production a revisionist affair. Who wants a revisionist "Sound of Music"? What most people want is to know that they can take their family to one of the greatest musicals ever penned, feel every beautiful note of that stunning Richard Rodgers-and-Oscar Hammerstein score and, likely as not, re-create an experience from their own youth. Well, here's that warranty. Rockwell's "Sound of Music" delivers all the requisite pleasures: Patti Cohenour (who played Mother Abbess in the 1998 Broadway revival, which does not compare with this production) shakes this suburban joint to its boots with her searing "Climb Ev'ry Mountain." McKinley Carter's Elsa is thoroughly appalling; Peter Kevoian's Max is a cautionary tale; Kevin Depinet's set delivers the hills and romance; and Theresa Ham's costumes pop with vibrancy and go far beyond the usual. And yet there's particular tension in the air in the famous final Nazi sequences, mostly because you find yourself uncommonly invested in the von Trapps' fate.
But it's Rockwell's subtler touches that make this show so remarkable, especially when the kids are on stage. You'll sense immediately that the von Trapp children are acting like real children, and the importance of that simple but oft-overlooked aspect of this show can't be overstated. Rockwell adds texture everywhere: the complicit servant with the champagne prop during "So Long, Farewell"; Depinet's long staircase down which Elsa slinks and Max slithers; the way the children are always overhearing and controlling things; the choice to show Maria's beloved nuns pushed to the rear during Maria's wedding, forced to pay visual deference to some unknown priest. Rockwell gets in her progressive licks, and the show is all the better.
None of this would work without a very generous and truthful performance from Larry Adams, who understands like few who play this role that Captain von Trapp has departed from competent parenting and is not a handsome patriarch so much as broken man in need of saving. It is a modest performance and it serves this production perfectly. The night mostly belong to Blood, for whom this should be a career-making performance, and the remarkable children. At Thursday's open night, those were Julia Baker, Zachary Keller, Emily Leahy, Laura Nelson, Ben Parkhill and, especially, Arielle Dayan as Brigitta, the young woman who really controls this particular family revolution.
When: Through Jan. 8
Where: Drury Lane Theatre,
100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace
Running time: 2 hours, 40 minutes
Tickets: $35-$46 at 630-530-0111 or drurylaneaokbrook.com


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A recent article in USA Today is titled "Many with sudden cardiac arrest had early signs" (link). The signs include shortness of breath, faintness, chest pain, etc. Hold on to the headline because it's the only thing believable in the entire article.
The words "early signs" imply to readers that were the men to heed these warnings, they could have prevented the cardiac arrests.
Think about the following two statements:
A1) Many with sudden cardiac arrest previously had symptoms.
B1) Many with symptoms subsequently had sudden cardiac arrest.
These two statements are far from equivalent, even though they describe the same sequence of events.
It's easier to see the difference if we specify the symptoms:
A2) Many with sudden cardiac arrest had shortness of breath weeks before.
B2) Many with shortness of breath had sudden cardiac arrest weeks later.
It's even easier to see if we include a number:
A3) 53% of those with sudden cardiac arrest had chest pain, shortness of breath, etc. (a direct quote from the article)
B3) 53% of those with chest pain, shortness of breath, etc. subsequently had sudden cardiac arrest.
B3) is clearly false. The universe of men who suffer from chest pain, shortness of breath, etc. is much larger than the population who have sudden cardiac arrest in any given week. B3) vastly exaggerates the number of sudden cardiac arrests.
How did the researchers come to make this type of claims? They were looking at a data set that had no control group.
"Clugh and colleagues studied medical records of 567 men from Portland, Ore., ages 35 to 65, who had out-of-hospital cardiac arrests between 2002 and 2012… 13% had [prior] shortness of breath… " We have no way of interpreting whether 13% is a big or small number unless we know what proportion of middle-aged men with the same characteristics as those in the study but who did not have cardiac arrest suffered from shortness of breath.
One of the greatest challenges of the Big Data era is the absence of control groups. Without them, we don't have a yardstick to judge.


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Scientists of the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Tübingen, Germany have now identified some signaling substances in the larval nervous system regulating swimming depth of the larvae of the marine annelid Platynereis. These substances influence the ciliary beating and thus hold the larvae in the preferred water depth. The scientists discovered a very simple circuitry of nerve cells underlying this regulation, reflecting an early evolutionary state of the nervous system.
The locomotory system of many animals is muscle based. However, small marine animals often move by cilia. This type of locomotion is more ancient in evolution than muscle-based locomotion and very common in marine plankton. Besides the annelid larvae, the larvae of many marine invertebrates are part of this plankton, for example larvae of snails, sea shells and starfish. "Not much is known about how the nervous systems of the marine plankton regulate ciliary beating, since the locomotion of intensely explored model organisms like the fruit fly is based on muscles," says Gáspár Jékely. Together with his team at the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology and in cooperation with Thomas A. Münch at the Centre for Integrative Neuroscience in Tübingen, he has examined in detail the nervous system of marine annelid larvae of Platynereis dumerilii. The ciliary band of Platynereis larvae serves as a swimming motor in the seawater: When cilia beat fast and continuously, larvae swim upward, and when cilia cease beating, the larvae sink. These larvae sense different environmental conditions, e.g. they react to changes in temperature, light and food supply, and alter their movement in the water column accordingly. In order to gain insight into the regulation of this behavior, the Tübingen scientists analyzed the genes of Platynereis. They discovered several neuronal signaling substances, so-called neuropeptides in their Platynereis gene databases. Moreover, the scientists found that these neuropeptides are produced in single sensory nerve cells of the larva and are released directly at the ciliary band. The scientists concluded that these nerve cells send the sensory information directly on to the cilia. Some of these neuropeptides influence over cilia beating frequency, others act on the frequency of cilia holdups as well. By means of the neuropeptides, the scientists could control the up and down movement of freely swimming larvae and change their swimming depth in the water column deliberately. "We have discovered that the responsible nervous circuitries are built in an unusually simple way. The sensory nerve cells have motor function at the same time, that is, they send the motion impulse directly to the ciliary band," says Markus Conzelmann from the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, first author of the study. Such simple circuitries are not known from the regulation of muscle-based locomotion. "We were astonished to find not only one neuropeptide as part of such a simple circuitry, but eleven different ones."According to the scientists this discovery gives insights into the form and function of nerve systems in an early stage of evolution. Moreover, the results could be interesting for other fields of marine biology: "We now have a suitable model to further explore the regulation of swimming depth in marine plankton. Since the swimming behavior of plankton is crucial for the survival and prevalence of thousands of marine animal species, our research results could be relevant for marine ecology," explains Gáspár Jékely. In his future research he wants to reveal how single nerve cells process the different sensory information from water pressure, temperature or salinity.
Original Publication:Markus Conzelmann, Sarah-Lena Offenburger, Albina Asadulina, Timea Keller, Thomas A. Münch and Gáspár Jékely: Neuropeptides regulate swimming depth of Platynereis larvae. PNAS, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1109085108


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Blau, Joseph Leon
Blau, Joseph Leon blou [key] 1909–86, American Jewish scholar and educator, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., grad. Columbia (A.B., 1931; M.A., 1933; Ph.D., 1945). He taught at Columbia from 1944, becoming professor of religion (1962–77). Like his teacher Salo Wittmayer Baron, he stressed the effect of cross-cultural influences on Judaism's development in number of books, among them The Story of Jewish Philosophy (1962), The Jews of the United States, 1790–1840 (ed. with S. W. Baron, 1963), and Judaism in America (1976). His Christian Interpretation of the Cabala in the Renaissance (1944) examined this process at work in the opposite direction. Also a student of John Dewey, Blau published a number of studies in American philosophy, including Men and Movements in American Philosophy (1952).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2023, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Scholars, Antiquarians, and Orientalists: Biographies


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Will the 4G auction announcement raise the ire of the UK's mobile networks? TechRadar has been in contact to find out.
We've had a word with all the networks who will be affected by the Ofcom ruling today (that's O2, Vodafone, Three, Orange and T-Mobile, with the last two represented under the Everything Everywhere umbrella).
The unofficial word from most sources is that the documents published are so long and in-depth that it's going to take a while before any stance is set by the operators, but we've collected a few statements that show Ofcom's announcement is at least cause for quiet optimism the UK will finally see 4G networks in 2013:
"Ofcom's detailed rules for the auction represent a significant step towards 4G launch in the UK. Whilst Ofcom has taken a number of our suggestions on board, they are combined with other changes to the previous proposals," said an O2 spokesperson.
"We will need to study the package in detail before responding to the Notice on the Regulations, which puts the rules into law."
Three and Vodafone
"Ofcom's decision on the structure of the spectrum auction will have a lasting effect on the choice of services and value available to mobile consumers," added a spokesperson from Three, rather numerically.
"We are working through the detail of this very substantial document to evaluate what it means for both consumers and competition in the UK mobile market."
"A competitive market for the next generation of mobile internet services will bring substantial benefits to British consumers, businesses and the wider economy," parped Vodafone, perhaps twiddling a cigar or pipe.
"Ofcom appears to have created a mechanism to deliver the spectrum needed to run competitive 4G services and we welcome the work it has done.
"We also support the regulator's desire to see 4G services delivered to as many people as possible. However, we will obviously need to study today's lengthy documents to make sure they deliver the fair and open auction that this country needs."
So the upshot is: there's loads to read, we're going to read it, check back to hear more in the next few hours.


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Three new reasons why enterprises should adopt Azure SQL Database:1) Azure SQL Database is the industry's most robust and flexible database and supports workloads with predictable and unpredictable performance demands.
- Today, we announced the preview of Azure SQL Database elastic database technology. Developers building software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications can leverage SQL Database to gain the flexibility to support both explosive growth and profitable business models. For workloads with unpredictable resources demands, our elastic database technology provides you with the ability to create a pool of database and allocate resources which can be shared across the database pool. Instead of overprovisioning to meet peak demand, you can use an elastic database pool to let hundreds or thousands of databases leverage resources within a budget that you control. You can then drive cost efficiencies with a purchase model that allows you to maintain control over price and performance across a group of elastic databases.
- Simple management tasks become complicated when you scale to thousands of databases, and that's the challenge of explosive growth. SaaS developers spend countless hours writing complex logic to handle schema or policy changes and other administrative operations as the business grows. With elastic databases, life becomes easier. You take a script, submit it as a job, and Azure SQL Database does the rest to perform the script across many databases. Learn more about elastic database jobs.
- Elastic database tools also simplify building and managing applications that scale across lots of databases, so building applications against a single database or thousands of databases is just as easy using familiar T-SQL and ADO.NET programming models.
- You can also run centralized query operations like reporting and data extractions spanning many databases, returning a single unified result set.
- Today we are announcing Transparent Data Encryption for Azure SQL Database is now available in preview at no additional cost. As previously announced in January, Transparent Data Encryption leverages the long-time trusted encryption technology found in SQL Server bringing it to the databases on the latest version of SQL Database (V12) for encrypting a customer's database at rest to help further protect against the threat of malicious activity. Transparent Data Encryption performs real-time encryption and decryption of the database, associated backups, and transaction log files. Transparent Data Encryption joins our recent security investments in Row-level Security and Dynamic Data Masking in preview to give you greater confidence for managing data and applications in the cloud.
- Search has become a natural way for users to interact with applications that manage large volumes of data. For applications that manage text data stored in Azure SQL Database, Full-Text Search, now available in preview at no additional cost, adds the capability of providing fast, robust search functionality integrated into the database platform. Now that full-text-search is available in SQL Database, it is easier than ever to migrate SQL Server applications to SQL Database.
- An IDC Business Value study was recently published on SQL Database sponsored by Microsoft, found that Azure SQL Database delivers a 406 percent return on investment per database with an 8.6 months payback period when compared to running databases on-premises or in a hosted environment. Based on interviews with customers, Azure SQL Database was noted as being more than 53 percent less expensive than on-premises/hosted databases and driving almost a 47 percent increase in IT staff efficiencies.
- In preview today, the Service Tier Advisor provides customers of the retired Web and Business service with an easier upgrade path. Service Tier Advisor looks at a customer's historical database usage and recommends the appropriate service tier and performance level to meet their needs to accelerate and improve the experience for upgrades.


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Despite taking an early lead through Daniel Lema, a second goal proved elusive and United were able to snatch a late equaliser from the spot.
For this first mini-derby of the season, Jason Wilcox selected a strong side, including Angelino, Ash Smith-Brown and Jack Byrne, who all started for the EDS against Bayern Munich in midweek.
It was a young centre-back pairing – both Tosin Adarabioyo and Charlie Oliver are still eligible for the u16 age group, but both have experience at this level.
City were aiming to arrest a run of three straight losses in this local encounter, after recording defeats to three teams from the Southern Division in Fulham, Reading and Spurs.
The sky Blues began brightly and opened the scoring with their first real attack of the match, Lema finding the bottom corner from Kean Bryan's cross.
Although City were building excellent pressure on the United goal and forced a number of corners and freekicks in quick succession, they struggled to create many clear cut opportunities in the opening 20 minutes.
City made their dominance felt in possession and territory, restricting the visitors to just one real chance, when the ball eventually found it's way into the back of the net from a freekick but was ruled out for offside.
Immediately fired up, the young Blues piled forward. Kean Bryan and Brandon Barker both fired shots over the bar, and Jorge Intima's ball in fizzed across the box after Lema had a shot blocked.
Wilcox's young charges might have had a penalty themselves ten minutes before the interval after Intima was felled in the area by Barber, but the referee overruled the flagging linesman.
The only dark spot of a half in which City had put some good moves together and looked the only team likely to score was an injury to young right back, Pablo Maffeo, who had to leave the field on a stretcher just before the break.
Scenes took a rather bizarre turn in the second period, as the youngsters were joined by a religious procession to the side of the pitch complete with bagpipes. The parade stopped by the side of the pitch for a few minutes, perhaps entertained by the quality of football on display!
On the field, Maffeo's replacement, James Horsfield took his place in the centre of the park with Smith-Brown heading to right back in a tactical reshuffle as City aimed to continue where they left off in the first period.
Although the tempo remained high, the chances were not as forthcoming. Intima found the sidenetting and the United keeper was forced into an excellent low save from Lema at close range, while Sean Goss smacked the ball against the post for the visitors.
It was those in sky blue shirts that continued to enjoy the best of the possession though, and Brandon Barker saw his free kick gratefully seized by the keeper and the winger also sent a chip over the top.
Thierry Ambrose emerged from the bench and was desperately unlucky to slide the ball just wide of the post after creating good space for himself, while the United no.1 made a spectacular save from Bryan's effort as City desperately tried to translate their dominance into a second goal.
Instead, a sucker punch arrived as the referee awarded a penalty for the visitors after Angelino was adjudged to have fouled Mitchell. Josh Harrop sent Billy O'Brien the wrong way to level the scores with just two minutes left on the clock.
In a frenetic finish, Oliver headed over the bar while O'Brien made a brilliant low stop to preserve a point.
Next up for the u18s is a trip to Newcastle on 19 October.


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Tuesday, January 3, 1911: Missing Entry (Diary resumes on January 12)
Her middle-aged granddaughter's comments 100 years later
The 1900 census image for the Muffly family on the Family Search website provides a few interesting clues about Grandma's parents. Her father Albert Muffly was born in Pennsylvania in November 1857. He was a farmer. Her mother Phoebe (called Febia on the census form) Muffly was born in Pennsylvania in August 1862. At the start of the diary Grandma's father would have been 53 years old and her mother was 48.
(An aside: According to the Family Search tool the spelling of Muffly also shifted on census forms. On the 1900 census Muffly is spelled Muffly–but on the 1910 and 1920 ones it is spelled Muffley. I've also occasionally seen the spelling that includes an "e" on other documents but "Muffly" seems to be the preferred spelling. I guess the importance of consistent spelling for future family genealogists wasn't considered back then. But onward–)
It is also possible to figure out that Grandma's father was 38 years old when she was born and that her mother was 33. Grandma's oldest sister Besse (called Bessie on the census form) was 6 years older than Grandma; her other sister Ruth was 3 years older. (By the time Grandma was writing the diary she also had a brother Jimmie who was about 9 years younger than she was. Grandma's mother must have been about 42 years old when Jimmie was born which seems quite old for that era.)
I had always heard that Grandma was the third child (and third daughter) in the family. According to the 1900 census form her mother had had 4 children prior to 1900—and 3 were still living. So Grandma must have had another sibling who apparently did not live very long.
In the early 1900s prominent citizens in a county were sometimes invited to submit biographical sketches that were then compiled into county history books. The individuals were also required to pay a fee if they wanted their sketch included the book. Some of these books are now available online. Two of Phoebe Muffly's brothers have sketches in county histories and I was able to glean bits of information about Phoebe from them. Historical and Biographical Annuals of Columbia and Montour Counties Pennsylvania (Vol. II) had an entry about her brother J. Miles Derr (pp. 753-4) and Bell's History of Northumberland County had an entry for her brother Fuller Derr (p. 1085).
Grandma's mother Phoebe Muffly was one of nine children born to John F. and Sarah (Houseknecht) Derr. As an adult Phoebe had brothers living in South Dakota (Homer) and Baltimore Maryland (Elmer). Another brother (Fuller) was a physician in Watsontown; while Miles was a teacher at Limestoneville. One of Phoebe's sisters (Annie) was married to a physician in Turbotville.
When Grandma Helena began keeping the diary her maternal grandparents John and Sarah Derr were retired farmers living in nearby Turbotville Pennsylvania.


text: Independent Truck Company is a skateboard truck manufacturer based in Santa Cruz, California. Independent is one of skateboarding's most iconic brand and leading manufacturer of skateboard trucks, hardware, clothing, and accessories. Boardparadise carries a large selection of Independent products. Ranging from hats and beanies, to sweatshirts and wovens. Spice up your life with some new Independent gear! Independent is built to grind.


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Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Hawaiian Chicken Sliders with Garlic Mayo
I'm super excited to tell ya'll some cool news… I have teamed up with Alexia Foods as one of their Tastemaker Ambassadors!!! I have always been a HUGE fan of their products. I'm not lying when I say I have at least 2 bags of sweet potato fries in my freezer at ALL. TIMES. So, needless to say, when Alexia contacted me, I jumped at the opportunity!
Represent a brand I already love? Um… Yes. Please. 😉
Be on the lookout for recipes featuring some of my favorite Alexia products in the upcoming months! Oh, and check out the pin board I created! Have a great recipe that features an Alexia product? Shoot me an email with a link (or post it in the comments) and I'll pin ya up! 🙂
Okay… on to this killer recipe that features not ONE… but TWO of my favorite products:
Let me be real with you guys… It's hot as blazes right now and I was EXHAUSTED after a long day of work… the heat was getting to me and I was just flat out CRANKY. PANTS. I know, it's hard to imagine me being anything but my chipper self… 😉 haha
So I was tired, hot, hungry and flat out CRANKY. I needed to get something ready for dinner and I needed to do it f.a.s.t. before full on meltdown-30 happened!
{Enter Alexia products}
Warm Alexia French Rolls split and filled with salty teriyaki chicken, spicy pepper jack cheese, sweet grilled pineapple and a smear of garlic mayo to bring it all together. Add a side of Alexia Crispy Panko Onion Rings and HOLY SMOKES. Talk about Flavor town USA (channeling my Inner Guy Fieri)!
Not gonna lie… I started out with 8 French Rolls and one of them disappeared after it came out of the oven… strange how that happens. 😉
Trust me when I say, you guys need to make this sandwich! It's a snap to throw together (thanks to the convenience of the Alexia frozen goodies) & MAN is it good!!!
Hawaiian Chicken Sliders with Garlic Mayo
1 bag of Alexia French Bread Rolls
4-5 chicken cutlets
1 cup teriyaki sauce of choice
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 large clove garlic, grated
pinch of salt & black pepper
4 rounds of peeled & cored fresh pineapple
4 slices pepper jack cheese (cut into 4 squares each)
Lettuce, optional
Preheat oven to 400ºF. Marinade the chicken cutlets in the teriyaki sauce for at least 30 minutes. Mix together the mayonnaise and garlic and add a pinch of salt and pepper. Set aside until ready to use.
Place Alexia Rolls on one cookie sheet & onion rings on a second cooking sheet and place into preheated oven. Cook according to package instructions.
Preheat grill to medium high heat. Spray grill with non-stick cooking spray and add chicken and pineapple rounds to grill. Grill on both sides until grill marks appear and chicken is cooked to at least 170ºF (should only take a few minutes on each side as the chicken cutlets are nice and thin). Remove from grill and allow chicken to rest while slicing the grilled pineapple. Cut pineapple rounds into quarters and set aside. Slice chicken and set aside.
To Assemble: Split the french rolls in half and place a few slices of teriyaki chicken on the bottom half of each roll. Top with 2 squares of cheese and 1-2 quarters of pineapple. place back in warm oven until cheese melts. Spread a teaspoon or 2 of garlic mayo on top half of rolls and top each of the bottom rolls with them. Serve hot with additional teriyaki and garlic mayo if desired. Oh, and of course some Alexia onion rings on the side!
Don't forget: Alexia is also looking for 5 additional Tastemakers… Be sure to stop by their Facebook page to apply (now through the end of the month)!


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1. This is basically the price of my work expenses! I know I haven't even filled out my reimbursement form and I might not be able to find a third of my receipts but once I finally get around to filing that and getting my check back it will more than make up for the price of this leather T-shirt that I really need since that girl at the bar last night looked so good in hers.
2. Expense reimbursement checks are practically BONUSES. This feels like money I earned instead of money I already spent therefore I absolutely deserve those silver shoe booties Stacy said looked super-good on me. Stacy has the best taste.
3. I spent all that money to come on this tropical vacation already so what's another $50 on a Ceasar salad and fries? I came here to enjoy myself, not spend my time searching for reasonably priced nachos. Every proper yuppie knows that sitting next to a pool causes the price of everything to increase four fold. It's just a fact of life.
More From Cosmopolitan
4. I already spent $60 on three daquiris yesterday. What's another $18 mai tai at this point? I pay $2 extra for egg white-only omelettes all the time.
5. Spending a week at my parents' house saved me SO much money. That's a full week's worth of eating out and apartment utilities that I don't have to pay for. I hope Stacy comes to Zara with me after brunch!
6. Ugh I had the WORST day. I can't believe how stupid that new department head Donna is. I can't wait to quit and work in a place where my brilliance is actually appreciated and — ooh Urban Outfitters. I'll just zip through — I deserve a new freakum dress after the shitty day I had. Donna wishes she had the body to pull this off.
7. I'm so excited about my new [apartment/job/promotion]! I better get a new [coffee table/shift dress/Theory blouse] since I'm most definitely not in a position to look like a shabby Sharon anymore. #MovingOnUp
8. I am so beyond stressed out. I can't do this anymore. Where's the number for Bliss, let's see here — "Hello? Hi, I need to come in for a massage this evening. Yes, 7 p.m. sounds good. You know I was thinking of the 60-minute deep tissue but if you have 75 minutes available… Mm hm, it's a Visa —"
9. Just another $30 for a paraffin foot wrap? OK! Why not? I've come this far. This massage is already so beyond worth the $200 I'm spending on it! I deserve it after the week I've had.
10. Maybe I should just go to the nice nail salon for a change. I mean, I don't have kids, I'm not married. Now is the time in my life when I can really afford to treat myself.
11. Being single just costs money. If you're going to go out to bars to try to meet potential mates you're going to have to spend $12 on one cosmopolitan sometimes! That's just how it goes. You can't meet people curled up in bed with Hulu Plus!
12. These shoes were not made for public transit. These are cab to curb shoes and that is it. Shit, is it raining? Fuck it, I'll just order an Uber.
13. Why is it that the only food I ever have in my apartment is frozen bread and Annie's bunny pasta. If I have another carb-only meal I'm going to turn into a churro. I better order that $16 salmon salad that's really good and filling and never makes me feel fat.
14. I would go to the gym so much more often if I had awesome neon-accented workout clothes. Besides, those Lululemon leggings make your thighs look firm instead of jiggly so I can go to aerobics class without feeling weird about my body. Oh, it's 10 percent off the second pair today only? I may as well get two.
15. Omigod omigod Gilt only has one left in my size! If I don't get that blazer right now I'll never find it in my size again. Added to cart, there. Omigod omigod! I only have six minutes left to purchase! I better get my credit card so I can enter everything in before I lose the last small.
16. Man, this blazer is kind of disappointing-looking on me. But returning it is like sooooo not happening #lazy #ihatemail. I'll just keep it.
Photo Credit: PacificCoastNews.com
Amy Odell is the editor of Cosmopolitan.com. Chief amongst her interests are cats and Beyonce. She is a feminist (thank you for asking) and ex-fashion journalist. She is the author of the hilarious book of essays, Tales from the Back Row: An Outsider's View From Inside the Fashion Industry.


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A man with a handgun confronted Cal Ripken Jr.'s mother outside a bank in Aberdeen on Tuesday afternoon and told her he wanted to steal her car, according to police.
Vi Ripken was able to scare off the man, who was later apprehended by Aberdeen police, by activating the panic alarm on her key fob. She was uninjured, and the man ran away without taking anything, said Lt. Fred Budnick, an Aberdeen police spokesman.
She was approached outside the NBRS branch in the 200 block of W. Bel Air Ave. about 3 p.m., Budnick said.
"Detectives are looking at what exactly transpired," he said.
Jesse A. Bowen, 33, of the 800 block of Lafayette St. in Havre de Grace was charged with attempted armed robbery, attempted armed car jacking, possessing a dangerous weapon, first-degree assault and controlled substance related charges in connection with the incident, police said Wednesday morning. Bowen is being held without bail at the Harford County Detention Center.
There was no physical assault and no theft, Budnick said, and employees at the bank called police.
The incident was the second in just over a year involving Vi Ripken in Aberdeen, a community known for its low crime rate.
"It's a little unusual," for her to be the victim of two crimes in a relatively short period, Budnick said, adding that Tuesday's incident "appears to be a crime of opportunity."
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In July 2012, Ripken was taken at gunpoint from her longtime home in Aberdeen, bound and driven around in her car, then released unharmed after about 24 hours. Police have not identified a suspect in that case. In August, the former Orioles great announced a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the kidnapper.
Earlier this year, Ripken told The Baltimore Sun that her abduction left her worried but that she was determined not to let it ruin her life.
Police said Tuesday's incident does not appear to be related to her kidnapping.
"There is no indication he had any involvement in last year's case. And there's no indication he knew who she was," Budnick said. "Right now, it appears to be a crime of opportunity rather than a targeted issue."
Detectives investigating the incident thought they were familiar with the suspect from descriptions and were able to put a name with the face and track him down, Budnick said. Bowen was apprehended about 5:45 p.m. while walking on Post Road in Aberdeen.