text:
Argument recap: Court revisits jurisdictionality
How to determine what is and what is not a jurisdictional limit has been a recurring theme before the Court. In an early case, Irwin v. Department of Veterans Administration (1990), the Court held that a statutory deadline to file a lawsuit against a federal agency in a Title VII action was a nonjurisdictional limit. In Bowles v. Russell (2006), however, the Court held that the statutory deadline for filing a notice of appeal in a civil case under 28 U.S.C. § 2107 was jurisdictional. At issue in Henderson is whether the 120-day deadline to file a "notice of appeal" from a final decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs to the Veterans Court, an Article I federal court, is jurisdictional.
At oral argument, the Justices (with Justice Kagan recused) tested both parties but, in the end, seemed most concerned about finding a clear and defensible way to distinguish Bowles.
Lisa Blatt, representing the petitioner, began by comparing the veterans statute to the Social Security context, but she quickly faced questions from Justice Scalia, who pointed out that the Social Security statute used the term "civil action" to represent judicial review, whereas the veterans statute used the term "notice of appeal." Blatt responded that "there is nothing inherently jurisdictional about the word "appeal," but that may not have satisfied Scalia, who had pointed out that Bowles "was a nice, clear case" that said "if it's a limit on appeal, it's jurisdictional."
Picking up where Justice Scalia left off, Justice Sotomayor pressed Blatt to articulate a rule that would distinguish Bowles. Blatt responded that the deadline to file a notice of appeal in a criminal case is not jurisdictional, and so the rule had to be that other factors, such as context, determine whether Congress intended an appellate deadline to be jurisdictional. Justice Alito then expressed concern that such a case-by-case determination would erode clarity, but Blatt countered that clarity was not a significant concern because only four statutes use the term "notice of appeal."
Later, Blatt attempted to further distinguish Bowles, explaining that the deadline in § 2107 contained exceptions for good cause and excusable neglect, whereas the deadline in the veterans statute had no exceptions. Congress, she said, could not have intended veterans to be treated less favorably than ordinary litigants. At that, Justice Scalia jumped back in to ask whether Blatt was proposing that all appellate deadlines without exceptions were nonjurisdictional, and Blatt retreated, saying that each appellate deadline's own context was important.
Assistant to the Solicitor General Eric Miller, arguing for the government, led with Bowles, but he was immediately challenged by the Chief Justice, who framed Bowles as a court-to-court deadline, while the veterans deadline was an agency-to-court deadline. Justice Ginsburg also seemed to pick up on that distinction. But Miller responded that the Court in Stone v. INS (1995) deemed jurisdictional the deadline for petitioning for review from the Board of Immigration Appeals to federal court. Justice Ginsburg then countered that the intra-agency process in immigration cases is highly adversarial, in stark contrast to the intra-agency process for veterans.
Justice Breyer then spoke for the first time. He questioned why Congress would want to give two savvy, well-financed litigants who already had one full day in federal court the opportunity to get an extension of their appellate deadlines under § 2107, while at the same time depriving unrepresented veterans, who were trying to reach court for the first time, of all excuses for missing their appellate deadlines. The Chief Justice seemed persuaded by this contrast, particularly given the statistics that veterans usually prevail when they seek review in federal court. Justices Ginsburg and Kennedy also seemed persuaded by this distinction.
The likelihood that the government would prevail seemed to decrease even further when Justice Scalia wondered what other cases "would be swept up into a rule that we adopted here, that not all limitations on appeal time are jurisdictional." Justice Breyer also seemed to forecast reversal when he asked, "So if a ruling against you here were to encompass a ruling under most review of agency action, would that be such a terribly unworkable thing?" Miller conceded that he did not know if it would be unworkable, at which point Justice Ginsburg asked, "Why wouldn't it be a bright clear line if we said: Court to court, Bowles controls; agency to court, Bowles does not control?" Miller responded that such a rule would conflict with Stone, but none of the Justices seemed persuaded that Stone could carry the day for the Government.
Recommended Citation: Scott Dodson, Argument recap: Court revisits jurisdictionality, SCOTUSblog (Dec. 7, 2010, 4:17 PM), https://www.scotusblog.com/2010/12/argument-recap-court-revisits-jurisdictionality/


text:
First Drive: 2011 Chevy Silverado HD & GMC Sierra HD
General Motors Raises The Work Truck Bar Again
Early in the trip back from the media preview of GM's new heavy-duty pickup trucks, I found myself comfortably seated in a leather chair checking email on my laptop. Not from an airport lounge, but in the back seat of a Wi-Fi-equipped Sierra Denali HD as it rolled down I-70 toward the Baltimore airport.
It wasn't all that long ago when a heavy-duty work truck was just a four-wheeled tool, all grunt and purpose, fitted with nothing more than what was necessary to get the job done. If your tool's powertrain was diesel, you put up with a noisy, smelly, smoky engine in exchange for the torque and longevity it delivered. Those days are gone. We sampled just about every powertrain and cab configuration GM has to offer in its '11 3/4- and 1-ton pickup trucks, and the only one that even came close to that old work truck stereotype was, well, a 1-ton chassis-cab Work Truck model with rubber floor mats and crank windows. Yet even that was a comfortable, quiet rig to drive, with just a hint of the rough ride that characterized unloaded 1-tons not so long ago.
GM isn't alone in this trend of gentrification. All of the Detroit Three have engineered heavy-duty trucks with plush amenities and improved ride quality, then mated them to smooth and efficient drivetrains that deliver remarkable power. (Peak torque from the new Duramax is 765 lb-ft; Ford's new Power Stroke isn't far behind at 735.) None of these work trucks is a penalty box anymore. But GM has inched the bar just that much higher than Ford or Dodge-sorry, Ram-to claim "best in class" in the measures that matter.
Like that Duramax torque spec, the GM diesel's horsepower is tops too: 397 versus 390 from the Power Stroke and 350 from the Ram's Cummins. GM's max conventional (2WD) tow rating of 17,000 pounds beats Ford's 16,000 and Ram's 12,000. Likewise the Silverado/Sierra's (2WD) fifth-wheel tow rating and payload, in both 3500 and 2500 versions, are all better than the competition.
We're planning a three-way HD truck shootout, similar to the one we did back in May '08, to see if GM's HD pickup truly is better than the rest in a head-to-head, 4WD-oriented comparison. For now, though, let's run down the key elements of the General's newest heavy-duties.
Although the Chevys and GMCs have fresh looks on the outside, the real news is beneath the skin. The HDs now ride on fully boxed frames that are five times stiffer torsionally than previous versions. Front axle weight ratings have gone up by 25 percent, so all 4x4 versions can accommodate snow plows. GM has developed five torsion bar rates to support the different front axle weight ratings, rather than relying on one bar as was done before. In back, the leaf springs are asymmetrical-the front and rear halves aren't the same length-to improve traction and decrease axle hop. The brakes are bigger all around, but so are the bolt circles, meaning '10 and earlier wheels won't fit these trucks and vice versa.
During our preview in western Maryland we drove 2500 and 3500 pickups loaded and unloaded, and the ride quality was excellent across the board. Granted, the roads were pretty smooth in this part of the state, and we were never off the pavement. Even so, the trucks' ride and handling rivaled that of their light-duty brothers. You could easily drive one of these trucks cross-country without a bit of harsh-ride fatigue.
And then there's the power. GM brought several trailers to the preview so we could test the new Duramax's capability, and when we towed a 9,000-pound travel trailer, our 2500 4x4 handled the load without breaking a sweat, and without a bit of combustion rattle or black exhaust smoke.
GM's engineers also brought a Power Stroke-equipped '11 Super Duty F-250 SuperCrew for back-to-back comparisons. Our initial seat-of-the-pants impression was that there wasn't much difference between the two in terms of power delivery and ability to tow the 41/2-ton trailers. But then the GM guys instigated a couple of impromptu towing drag races, with the Silverado and Super Duty sprinting side-by-side to the top of a hill. The Chevy always got the hole shot and was first to the top, lopsided victories that make the Duramax's power advantage seem even bigger than it is on paper.
The difference between the two became even more pronounced as we headed down that hill. GM has developed an (optional) exhaust brake system that uses the variable-geometry vanes in the single turbocharger to create exhaust backpressure. With cruise control engaged, the exhaust brake and the cruise control maintain the desired speed. When not in cruise, the Allison transmission and the exhaust brake work together to keep downhill speeds in check. We found that a light tap on the brake pedal was all it took to engage the GM's brake, while in the Ford it sometimes took two or three pushes on the pedal. And when exhaust braking did start, it wasn't as nicely matched with the truck's downshifts as was the case with the Allison.
But really, the fact that we're talking about exhaust brakes at all takes us back to our original point: All of these trucks, regardless of make, are well-equipped to handle just about any chore you want to throw at them, while offering interior appointments and comfort unheard of in this category just a few years ago. But until we undertake that three-way comparo, we have to acknowledge that GM's HD offerings, at least on paper, are head of the class.
Tech Specs
2011 Chevrolet Silverado HD & GMC Sierra HD
- Available engines: Vortec 6.0L V-8, 360hp and 380 lb-ft.; Duramax 6.6L diesel V-8, 397 hp and 765 lb-ft.
- Available Transmissions: Hydra-Matic (6L90) 6-speed auto (w/ Vortec), Allison 1000 6-speed auto (w/ Duramax)
- Front Suspension: Long-short-arm independent w/ torsion bar
- Rear Suspension: Semielliptical 2-stage multileaf spring
- Brakes: 4-wheel disc w/ ABS
- Min. Ground Clearance: 8.2 in (2500 4WD crew cab)
2500 Series
- Max. Payload, 4WD: 3,580 lb (gas reg. cab long-bed)
- Max. Conventional Towing, 4WD: 13,000 lb (diesel & gas, all configs)
- Max. 5th-Wheel Towing, 4WD: 17,500 lb (diesel reg. cab long-bed)
- Max. Payload, 4WD: 6,308 lb (gas reg. cab long-bed dualie)
- Max. Conventional Towing, 4WD: 17,000 lb (diesel reg. or ext. cab dualie)
- Max. 5th-Wheel Towing, 4WD: 21,700 lb (diesel reg. cab long-bed dualie)

subset: commoncrawl


text:
ACC M5: 03.04.13 EditionPosted by mpatton on March 4th, 2013
- New York Times: In one of the best, most entertaining college basketball games of the season, Duke outlasted Miami 79-76 at Cameron Indoor Stadium. There are two important notes from the game: one–which trumps everything by a wide margin–was Ryan Kelly's unbelievable return; the other was Miami's comeback that wasn't meant to be in the final two minutes. Kelly was phenomenal, and Miami clearly had no idea what to do to stop him. Without him, Duke might have been blown out again. The second story is how the game changed in the final 120 seconds. Duke went from up ten to giving Miami a chance to tie or take the lead down the stretch. Free throw shooting woes (the Blue Devils went 4-8 from the charity stripe after going up ten) and turnovers were at the center of the collapse. Duke had a chance to execute and win by 10-15 points. Instead, Miami charged back and got two good looks at overtime. That says a lot about both teams.
- Roanoke Times: It seems like a long time ago, but Erick Green couldn't always score at will at the college level. His freshman year he averaged 2.6 points on less than 30% shooting in less than 13 minutes of play a game (with an offensive efficiency of 81.5 using 15.5% of his team's possessions). This year he's averaging 25.0 points a game on 48% shooting in over 35 minutes (with an offensive rating of 121.2 using a ludicrous 31.5% of possessions). That's some terrific development. Green doesn't get a lot of help from his teammates, Virginia Tech just isn't deep or talented enough to compete on a nightly basis in the ACC, but he's worth the price of admission on his own.
- Charlottesville Daily Progress: Joe Harris got much deserved love for his career performance in Virginia's win over Duke last week. He's one of the most underrated players in the ACC, and talented seniors like him (think Jacob Pullen or Mike Scott) deserve their chance to dance. But he's not even the most underrated player on his team. Junior Akil Mitchell is a huge part of Virginia's success. Against Duke he finished with 19 points and 12 boards (and held Mason Plumlee to a pedestrian ten and seven). Like two of Charlotte Christian's other famous alumni (Steph and Seth Curry), Mitchell never got offers from the North Carolina schools. He ended up at Virginia, and his athleticism and strength anchors Tony Bennett's pack-line defense.
- Winston-Salem Journal: Wake Forest retired Chris Paul's jersey at its loss against Maryland. Paul may be the most fluid basketball player in the world (though Kyrie Irving has a lot of his playground ball-handling), and he'll always be one of my favorite ACC point guards (right up with Ty Lawson, Greivis Vasquez, Tyrese Rice and many more). He led Wake Forest to two of the best offensive seasons in recent memory and was the best–and most fitting–player to suit up for Skip Prosser. Paul's likability (save the Julius Hodge incident) is as strong as any player in the NBA. This was a good move by Wake Forest.
- Charlotte Observer: The ACC Tournament is up for grabs this year. Duke and Miami are the definite favorites to cut down the nets in Greensboro, but don't cut out a surging North Carolina team, a dangerous NC State team or a better-than-its-resume Virginia squad. At the bottom half of the league there's a mirrored cluster of teams with Florida State and Maryland in the middle. Seeding is far from decided and it will be complex (expect a comprehensive post later this week), but the conference tournament should be a lot of fun.
EXTRA: Court rushing became a topic of much conversation after Mike Krzyzewski blasted Virginia security for not protecting his team from the throngs of students. First, Coach K has a history of deflecting attention after losses (though Kelly's performance against Miami did more than this ever could). But there are very real safety concerns with court storming. Fans often get hurt, and it's a surprise more players aren't injured. Also, what would happen if a fan charged a player and the player retaliated? Most of the time, the onus is put on players to ignore bush league behavior from fans. But when things get physical, that's not fair to the players. I hope the ACC doesn't establish a fine for teams rushing the court, but implementing a uniform procedure across the league with potential fines for not maintaining safety is something more attractive.


text:
The Nature of Things
Emptiness and Essence in the Geluk World
Pub. price: $22.95
New: $14.99
ISBN10: 1559391456 ISBN13: 9781559391450 Publisher: Snow Lion Pubns Published: Jun 1 2000 Pages: 257 Weight: 0.90lbs. Height: 9.00" Width: 6.00" Depth: 0.75" Language: English
Publisher's Comments
Nature is a topic in many Indian and Tibetan philosophical texts, although its meaning varies considerably in both Hindu and Buddhist scriptures. The discussion of nature pursued in this book begins with Nagarjuna (first century), founder of the Middle Way School, who refuted a fabricated nature in his Treatise on the Middle. In that seminal text, he puts forth the three basic criteria for nature: it must be something that is non-fabricated, independent, and immutable.This book presents Dzong-ka-ba's discussion of the overly narrow object in his Great Exposition and relates that discussion to Nagarjuna's verses in Treatise on the Middle. When combined with an understanding of an overly broad object to be negated, this topic brings the Middle Way practitioner to a precise identification of the nonexistent object-of-negation nature as being a thing's establishment by way of its own entity. This book also presents Dzong-ka-ba's more mainstream commentary on the subject in the Ocean of Reasoning sections, which are translated in Part Two. It also describes Dzong-ka-ba's strong reaction to the positive and independent nature asserted by Tibet's greatest synthesist, Dol-bo Shay-rap-gyel-tsen (fourteenth century).
Related Subjects


text:
Governor Cuomo Announces Insurance Disaster Hotline to Help New Yorkers with Insurance Issues from Hurricane Sandy
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that the Department of Financial Services disaster hotline to help New Yorkers with insurance issues from Hurricane Sandy will now be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week starting today. The hotline, at 800-339-1759, can answer insurance related storm questions and help consumers file complaints. It has been open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends since immediately after Storm Sandy.
It is crucial for New Yorkers to receive their insurance assistance as quickly as possible to help them recover from the storm, Governor Cuomo said. This hotline will make it possible for them to reach out for help at any time day or night with any storm related insurance issues.
Benjamin M. Lawsky, Superintendent of Financial Services, said, People pay for insurance so it will protect them from disasters such as Storm Sandy. The Department of Financial Services is monitoring the insurers response and will step in whenever necessary to aid homeowners.
DFS is also sending its mobile command center to hard hit areas to help consumers with insurance questions and problems and is helping to staff disaster assistance centers in many areas hit by the storm. Callers to the hotline can also be directed to the closest disaster assistance center so they can seek in person assistance. Homeowners unable to resolve disputes with insurers can also file complaints at http://www.dfs.ny.gov/consumer/fileacomplaint.htm
Since the storm, Governor Cuomo has taken several measures to protect homeowners:
- The Governor announced that hurricane deductibles will not apply to any damage from Storm Sandy covered by homeowners insurance because the Storm did not have sustained hurricane force winds when it reached New York.
- The Governor directed DFS to instruct insurers to accept homeowners documentation, including photos and video, of losses so residents can discard debris that is necessary to remove for health and safety. Typically, insurance companies require an on-site inspection first before a claim can be processed.
- The Governor directed DFS to impose a 30-day moratorium on cancelling or terminating homeowners and small business owners insurance policies in storm stricken areas for any reason, including non-payment of premiums.
DFS urges homeowners who experienced property losses to file insurance claims with their insurers promptly and as soon as possible after losses occur.
Homeowners are also reminded that flood damage is only covered by flood insurance, which is a federal program administered by FEMA. Homeowners who have flood insurance and have flood damage should make claims through that insurance.
Next Section
11.12.12.rel_.24-7insurancedisasterhotline Chinese.pdf
11.12.12.rel_.24-7insurancedisasterhotline Spanish.pdf
11.12.12.rel_.24-7insurancedisasterhotline Russian.pdf
11.12.12.rel_.24-7insurancedisasterhotline Haitian Creole.pdf
11.12.12.rel_.24-7insurancedisasterhotline French.pdf
11.12.12.rel_.24-7insurancedisasterhotline Korean.pdf
11.12.12.rel_.24-7insurancedisasterhotline Italian.pdf
11.12.12.rel_.24-7insurancedisasterhotline Yiddish.pdf
11.12.12.rel_.24-7insurancedisasterhotline Albanian.pdf


text:
I've heard many people argue about the best place to get a sub - is it Penn Station? Subway? Quiznos? Jimmy Johns? Jersey Mikes? Others? Well - I've been to most (still haven't been to Jimmy Johns - am I missing out?) - but finally checked another one off my list - Jersey Mikes!
We stopped at the Newport location - it's in the same strip mall sort of thing as my favorite Mexican place - Rio Grande (get the fajita taco salad - review to come)!
I don't know if it's the menu or the way you order or what - but something is a bit different than Quiznos or Subway. I always feel pressured when I'm ordering - like there are too many options and I just can't figure out what I want. I was definitely in the mood for a hot sub - so I zeroed in on that portion of the menu.
I chose #43 - Chipotle Cheese Steak. Grilled onions, peppers, chipotle mayo – Wow! You gotta have one! (their words not mine)
As you can see - it's a lot of food and kinda messy. It didn't seem as "put together" as maybe a sub from Quiznos - a bit sloppier. BUT it was tasty - and the excess that was pouring out from the sandwich tasted great on the chips. :-)
I can't say it's my favorite - it was a nice change of pace - and they have Diet Mt Dew which is always a find!
The chipotle mayo wasn't quite as spicy as I'd hoped but I could taste it.
So - Jersey Mikes - well - I'd say better than Subway, not as good as Quiznos and DEFINITELY not as good as Penn Station. Now - I gotta find time to get to Jimmy John's!


text:
TOKYO - The governor of the southern Japanese island of Okinawa is opposing a plan to deploy U.S. Osprey aircraft there following recent crashes.
Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima told Defense Minister Satoshi Morimoto in a meeting Sunday he could not accept the U.S. plan to deploy the new aircraft, which combine airplane-like wings with rotors that allow it to take off and land like a helicopter.
A crash in April killed two Marines, and another last month injured five airmen.
The Pentagon says officials will brief Japan on the two crashes, including an initial finding that the April accident was not caused by mechanical failure.
Morimoto also visited southwestern Yamaguchi prefecture, where officials also rejected the Osprey.
Okinawa bears much of the burden of hosting U.S. troops in Japan.


text:
The Porsche Panamera has 5,076 fans on Facebook. The Volvo 960 above has 152 fans. The owner of the latter has started a group to answer the question: Can this Volvo 960 get more fans than the Porsche Panamera?
We hope so, though we'd have snagged a Volvo 780 to go up against the quick Porsche. You could argue the Panamera is faster than the Volvo (it is), and more luxurious (it is), but better looking? More useful? We'll put it to the people to decide.
Choose a side:


text:
A transnational cooperation project to promote DIY solutions for renewable energy production in rural communities.
Projects & Practice
A transnational cooperation project to promote DIY solutions for renewable energy production in rural communities.
Expanding the range of tourist offer in a LAG area by supporting a small farm to diversify into horseback riding and therapeutic riding.
The 'Terroir Moselle wine and architecture route' is a 'preparatory' cooperation project gathering six LEADER areas, five wine growing areas from four regions and three countries.
Improving the centre of a small community by replacing the roofs of municipal buildings.
An integrated, community focussed model for quality meat production based on short supply chains, working together, and exchanging experiences between consumers and producers.
Helping a new type of rural enterprise that can support a transition towards a green, diversified rural economy. Coillte Sláintiúil provides services to protect, rejuvenate and replace native woodlands.
EAFRD funding enabled the Monemvasia Winery to relocate to meet growing demand for Monemvasia-Malvasia wine.
A Local Action Group (LAG) helps coordinate the climate and energy strategies of its municipalities.
An investment project that allowed a company to fill the gap in the local supply chain for wood chips in the north-west of Ireland.
A project to enhance the facilities on a geological site, enable new visitor-based activities and attract more visitors who will spend more time in the area.


text:
In the first English-language film from Thirst and Oldboy director Park Chan-wook, a young woman's chilling relationship with her uncle leads her into adulthood — and a world of supernatural violence.
[Note: Major plot spoilers for Stoker. Proceed with caution!]
Prior to the release of Park Chan-wook's Stoker, everyone on the interview circuit bent over backwards to assure audiences this wasn't a vampire movie, not supernatural in the least. Given that Park had tackled vampires with gusto in Thirst (and that the title of the movie was Stoker), the question seemed fair. Mystery solved: since every character in Stoker parades their designer duds mid-afternoon with no side effects and the movie is suitably bloodless, I suppose we can grant the point on Not Vampires.
But Stoker is absolutely a film about monsters and the supernatural, and how they're the most natural things in the world.
This lushly-filmed family Gothic is at its heart a film about its taciturn heroine, India, and every beautifully-framed shot is made in grim sympathy for what it sees as her inevitable and surreal journey into adulthood, one pair of saddle shoes at a time. For though no fangs ever manifest or wolfish claws appear, India's coming of age demands she become monstrous, to survive in a world this movie knows is monstrous.
It might be possible to approach the film as a mundane-secular thriller. Stoker pays deliberate homage to the setup and structure of Hitchcock's bad-family-apple dreadfest Shadow of a Doubt, and Stoker's plot, if sketched only by the major reveals (You mean her mysterious arriviste uncle has killed before? You mean he will again?) straddles a line between potboiler-noir and an artsy sweeps episode. It's a fun line – there's a certain amount of camp integral to horror – but there's nothing inherently supernatural here.
Except, then the film actually starts. The supernatural is so integral to the film that India gives us an introductory voiceover explicitly introducing her superhuman senses. Some of them play out in the plot – including one darkly-hilarious chiller involving sharp hearing and a mobile phone – but others merely shade India's character. She hears things others can't (vicious mourners at her father's funeral), sees things others can't (in still life class, she draws the unseen pattern inside the vase), underscoring Mia Wasikowska's sharp performance as a young woman who is, at the point at which we meet her, utterly isolated and unknown even to herself.
Enter Uncle Charlie. (Everyone who's seen Oldboy, you can start nodding sagely about the approaching incest.)
He reappears at the wake for India's father, who's died in a freak car accident (you don't say!), leaving India in the care of her hothouse-flower mother Evie, a highly-educated lady of leisure about to fade away to nothing (played by the pitch-perfect Nicole Kidman, milking every awkward pause). In the blue-green house, Charlie is a pillar of gold from his preppy sweaters to his tan, a walking ad for 1920s plasticine perfection. And though India's creeped out by this too-smooth uncle who's moved in upstairs, she soon begins to realize blood is thicker than water (or the supernaturally-effective consumption of his offerings of rare meat and red wine that provides the initial conduit of feeling between them). And there's enough nuance behind Matthew Goode's reptilian gaze that it merits India's fascination, an undercurrent they're both more than aware of even as Charlie lays Charm Level Eleven on the way-into-it Evie.
Park Chan-wook's direction elevates this standard setup with gallery-worthy composition, with casually non-linear pacing that that make each frame a tiny drama of its own and keeps the slow burn from turning sluggish. The tension in the house is expertly built; every lightbulb is a pendulum of dread, every sun-drenched room a trap, every wide-shot dinner scene a minefield. In nature, though, a key sense of balance is restored: graves are peaceful, hunter's blinds are sanctuaries. One particularly evocative sequence of India in a playground at night follows her as she spins on a carousel, talking dreamily, floating in and out of frame with seemingly-supernatural ease.
But Wasikowska's more than a match for her surroundings, as we watch her doubts evaporating one by one, and follow her shift from the girl she is at the start of the story to the adult she declares herself to be when we first meet her. When she finds herself a target of a cadre of boys at school (with dialogue so unnatural even for this stylized film that it's entirely possible someone's dad subbed in and wrote it), she surprises them – and herself – with the cold violence of her response. Things escalate when one of the boys turns a makeout session into an assault, and as she fights back, Charlie appears like an avenging angel to help her finish the job.
Their nearly-wordless sympatico clarifies this unexpected and deep connection for India, and how she's changed. That it's sexual, there's no doubt (this is probably not a date movie), but she also begins to realize the significance of the faltering estrangement between herself and her mother and her childhood hunting trips with her father – an attempt to channel a darkness he must have seen before, and training in an autonomy she hadn't noticed at the time. And with this knowledge of her monstrousness, and some third-act revelations about Uncle Charlie, India must decide what to do with the first decision that's ever been wholly hers. Gotta love a movie in which the girl becoming monstrous is considered a triumph, not a tragedy.
The answer might not be pretty or particularly unexpected, but Stoker sides firmly with India in its embrace of the odd and the off-kilter, the too-pretty and the wilting; it's a world that welcomes a very natural supernatural, and a monster of her own making.


text:
I met her in New York. Loulou de la Falaise arrived late at a dinner in a brownstone on East 79th Street one night in 1969, wearing Indian scarves tied around her head. When she came in with Fernando Sánchez, the supremely cool designer of lingerie and inside-out mink coats, the little roomful of people sprang to attention. Sánchez's taste was perfect, his judgment unerring, and it was said that Yves Saint Laurent considered him a sage. Loulou had a gravelly giggle as she whispered on the white sofas and bummed cigarettes.
I was an awed 19-year-old fashion assistant. I focused on how she had wrapped her head. Indian scarves were as common in 1969 as earbuds are today—we girls in fashion hid our hair, possibly in retaliation to the mainstream success of the musical Hair, and to the fact that boys were busy growing their own. I had spent my first summer at Glamour folding Indian scarves into triangles that ended in annoying points, but Loulou had simply folded four or five scarves as squares and tied them around her head so that their blunt edges opened out like petals on a rosette.
Damn, she's good, I thought. And her life as a muse hadn't even started.
Loulou de la Falaise, whose name began with a comic diminutive and ended with stern French that translates as "of the Cliff," made an art of being careless and reckless but always with perfect manners. At the Lycée Français in London I had sat next to her brother, Alexis, who told me dramatic tales from their childhood. Their grandfather was the famous British painter Sir Oswald Birley; their mother was an eccentric fashion icon named Maxime who had dumped the Count de la Falaise for a bohemian life in which she posed for Elsa Schiaparelli and cooked medieval food for Andy Warhol. Their uncle, Mark Birley, owned the grandest nightclub in London: Annabel's, where you went on dates with boys your parents approved of—or with their fathers.
When I was 17, I had carefully cut the notice of Loulou's wedding to the mysteriously named Knight of Glin out of the Daily Telegraph.
Much as her mother had left the count, Loulou the teenage bride soon left the knight in his Irish castle and moved to New York, where, a divorcée at 21, she shared a place on Second Avenue with Berry Berenson. Sánchez, smitten with her, took Loulou everywhere.
She already had her look—Boy Scout Elf in a Turban, or perhaps a pillbox, hung with necklaces, wrists thick with silver Turkoman bracelets. There wasn't a piece of fabric she couldn't knot, drape, wind, fling, or turn into a sash with an ease that implied childhood access to the attics of grand British houses, where trunks were full of embroidered swag, stoles, and saris from India, or robes from the Far East. But whatever her costume, it was saved from clueless masquerade by a disciplined eye that skewed more toward Little Drummer Boy than Christmas Tree Fairy. It was an androgynous sexiness all her own.
Loulou met Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé in 1968 at Sánchez's Paris apartment and was instantly pulled into the clan. She seemed to cheer up and unshackle Saint Laurent; a few years before, he had created a comic book called La Vilaine Lulu, starring a stubby uniformed schoolgirl who was his criminal id run wild. Loulou, who was no criminal, served as his Lulu.
In 1972, Loulou was perhaps the first person ever hired as a muse, when Bergé brought her in to work alongside Saint Laurent. She clocked in at the couture house every day and watched as Saint Laurent designed. She reacted, added, and decorated: Together they conspired to make fashion. Saint Laurent had already found his own harmonic secret to proportions, one that he would repeat in endless subtle variations for the next 40 years. Loulou added the spice and the fun, but she was also attentive, subservient, and cautious: a wild girl behaving in class. Her ebullience was the opposite of Saint Laurent's tortured, guilt-ridden introversion, but when it came to the potent thrill of colors and shapes, hashish and champagne, they were in agreement. Pink, orange, purple, turquoise: "The colors of Algeria," said the fashion critics. Necklaces with stones as big as armchairs or hung with entire coral reefs, bracelets up to the shoulders, monster cuffs at the wrists, turbans, boaters, sashes. "Accessories," said the fashion critics. All of these things were noise makers, confetti, and streamers—applied to the most calibrated and measured tailoring ever devised.
I remember Loulou in full, radiant bloom at a party given by the interior designer John Stefanidis in London in 1972. She was staying with him and came down the stairs laughing in a mint green taffeta dress with a ruffle. She crackled with happiness, and it wasn't only because of the strict, tart cocktail she'd invented, grapefruit juice and champagne. "Smile, laugh, and say nice things about people. It brings good luck," she said that night. Once she was in a room, it felt like an intoxicating party that would leave no hangover.
Along with her taste, Loulou's gift was légèreté, a refusal to accept gravity or to take anything seriously, which is something that dour Parisians desperately need to lighten the burden of their rule-bound lives. Her eyes crinkled up when she laughed—and she laughed a lot. She had insouciance, a blindness to consequences that makes evenings more fun, and nonchalance, which doesn't mean carelessness or casual sloppiness but a deep tolerance of foibles, failings, and sins—including one's own.
The court around Saint Laurent, presided over by the brilliant and explosive Pierre Bergé, was the most exquisite center of the most exquisite world. While Saint Laurent sketched and suffered, Bergé imposed the laws; Clara Saint, Saint Laurent's powerful press relations officer, herded the right people together; and an architect's wife named Charlotte Aillaud gave dinner parties that gathered culture, youth, and Rothschilds around a bar made by François-Xavier Lalanne in the shape of a cat.
Loulou danced into the dawn in the basement of Le Sept, Fabrice Emaer's nightclub, where gay boys and straight girls simulated sex to endless disco and Motown on the tiny dance floor. Loulou's boyfriends were as varied as the banker Eric de Rothschild, the actor Hiram Keller, and the Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill, who was designing a postmodern city on the edge of Paris—and she caroused an awful lot with the designer Kenzo Takada.
In May 1977, a telegram announced Loulou's marriage to Thadée Klossowski, the son of the painter Balthus, who as far as anyone knew was the boyfriend of Clara Saint. For the wedding, Loulou wore a high white turban with a brooch and feathers; a white Zouave costume festooned with ropes of pearls, a red sash, and a white silk cord; white stockings; and silver court shoes. It was as formal as the uniform of an Indian prince taking up his duties, as playful as a costume out of an attic trunk, as precise as couture. The ball to celebrate the wedding took place on an island in Paris's Bois de Boulogne. Loulou was done up as the Queen of the Night, in draped blue fabric with stars and with a big crescent moon perched on her head, and we all danced till dawn.
Their daughter, Anna Baladine, was born in early 1986 and christened at the Church of Saint-Sulpice. Loulou and Thadée lived in a double-height-ceiling apartment in Montparnasse, their bed a Venetian affair that sat in the middle of the main room under a chandelier that held hundreds of real candles.
It felt as if that world was going to last forever. The clan survived friends' deaths to AIDS and feuds and splits; it survived the sale of Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche to Gucci Group in 1999. But after Yves retired from couture in 2002, things were no longer the same. Loulou started her own company, making clothes she sold in two boutiques in Paris. When those closed in 2007, she and Ariel de Ravenel, a bohemian aristo who had worked for YSL Beauté, went on the road selling Loulou's extravagant accessories to stores and on the Home Shopping Network. Loulou and Thadée gave up the apartment for a house in the country, an hour from Paris. Loulou the Tinkerbell muse became an obsessive gardener.
The leaves fell off the branches of the trees. Fernando Sánchez died in 2006; Yves Saint Laurent died in 2008. Loulou de la Falaise died unexpectedly last November, after a well-concealed illness, at her home.
In the exquisite center of an exquisite universe, only the senior members survive into their 80s: Pierre Bergé, Charlotte Aillaud. The grown-ups are still around; the radiant children left first.


text: For little cost, get help managing your investment portfolios, no matter how small. By Kathy Kristof, Contributing Editor April 9, 2012 Lazy investors who don't have a ton of money can take heart. There's a good "set-it-and-forget-it" investment option that just got better -- Betterment. SEE ALSO: Our Slide Show of the Best Online Brokers Betterment.com is a Web-based money manager that helps investors, big and small, set up no-maintenance portfolios that are both diversified and regularly rebalanced. You set up an account by either depositing a lump sum or making monthly deposits. Sponsored Content There are no account fees or minimum investment requirements. All you pay is an asset management fee that's now capped at 0.35% -- down from 0.9%. Those investing large amounts pay less -- as little as 0.15% per year. Advertisement For that you get a mix of eight investments -- six low-cost exchange-traded index funds that provide exposure to both U.S. and foreign stocks and two that invest in U.S. Treasury bonds. Your assets are allocated between stocks and bonds based on your answers to questions about your goals and your tolerance for risk. Betterment rebalances your portfolio every three months or when investment results would cause the portfolio to deviate from the mix you chose by more than five percentage points. Rebalancing usually involves selling winners and buying losers, but Betterment does it by reinvesting dividends in the poorer-performing investment categories, which is a more tax-efficient way to go, says Jon Stein, chief executive of Betterment, which is based in New York City. The company has won widespread accolades for its ability to help small investors venture into the markets. With as little as $10, an investor can get fractional shares in all the different ETFs in Betterment's quiver -- providing diversification and ease that was otherwise unavailable for those with hundreds, rather than thousands, of dollars at their disposal. However, some advisers say that before the recent price cuts Betterment stopped being a good deal once you invested as little as $10,000. That's when you could clear the minimum investment threshold at Vanguard and get into its low-cost and widely diversified Vanguard Star Fund (symbol VGSTX), which charges annual fees of just 0.34%, without paying a $20 annual fee. Advertisement In addition to Betterment's annual fees, there are the relatively small fees -- 0.07% to 0.40% annually -- embedded in the ETFs that make up the Betterment investment portfolios. Still, with the new fee structure instituted in February, Betterment becomes one of the lowest-cost options available for investors of modest means who seek to build a diversified account. And for those wanting to invest smaller amounts than Vanguard will accept, it's the hands-down winner. "To be as competitive as we want to be -- to make this the obvious best choice -- we felt we had to win on all points," says Stein. "One of those points was fees." Follow Kathy on Twitter ORDER NOW: Buy Kiplinger's Mutual Funds 2012 special issue for in-depth guidance on the only investments you need.


text:
wats_happenin - Friday 28/09/2012, 17:51
Imperator - Casual Grind
Does anyone else find themselves drifting away from ELO these days?
I honestly can't pinpoint what it is but I feel that ELO has gotten majoritly worse in recent times
Like I know its a weird statement with no 'oh i dont like the bans' or 'herp de derp bring back spyke' sort of quotes
I feel that the meta has gotten to the point where it's just so confusing it's gone past fun to annoying
I don't know about you guys but the randomness I've faced lately is getting to the point of just 'what in the hell are you thinking'. I mean Sliman's? Herman? Stanly?
I don't know lololol
I'd just love to hear your opinions on ELO these days...do you think it's getting better? Worse? Sort of the same?
Is there a reason people use randomness? Is there a reason I keep running into karrion/kenny/azel/pan in one hand? Am i just the luckiest guy in UR?
subclavianHoA - Thursday 04/10/2012, 09:52
I dunno why, but I feel elo has gradually drifted towards nukes, stoppers, and 50-50s.
Instead of treating each round as a opportunity to gain a small advantage, either in pills or life, that you can take into the next round as part of a gradual buildup process until a win becomes inevitable, many elo players treat the 4 rounds as 4 cups to hide their ball (nuke) under, and make their opponent play the guessing game
wats_happenin - Thursday 04/10/2012, 16:36
Imperator - Casual Grind
Tbh I actually miss SOA clans heavy domination LOL
They helped to control painful ability based cards....I never realised that hammering them so much means Muze + 3 heavy Dr combo's reign supreme!!!
It's nice to see cards like Jean help to control big 4 and 5* ability reliant cards
Maybe I actually want to see the SOA clans back....something I'd never, ever, ever say.....(Avid hater of those clans)
ghelas - Thursday 04/10/2012, 17:06
Titan - E X C A L I B U R
There's been a significant increase in power and gap of new cards. Not playing the ball-and-cup game leaves you vulnerable to a slew of new cards with 8 power, great gap, and no weakness to speak of. UR needs strategic cards that can help control and outplay the 50/50s, as opposed to the current trend of constantly adding to the line-up of high gapping cards that are impossible to shut down.
Azeem- - Thursday 04/10/2012, 17:40
Titan - Harbingers of Ares
Wats all you need to do is Play Roots or Ghiest lol .. The only reason there's no "Total Domination" is because UR doesn't give SOA cards Power cards !
It does become a guessing game Sub especially when you face a hand like Jautya Uranus Aliester or Kenny Artus Azel ...
But I guess those Dr's coming back stop Life Cards but Poison cards are still at a high. Majority of people go with the trend for
Example now in Elo you don't go 2 hands without Seeing some kind of Sakhrom with Jautya / Petra / Uranus / Aliester / Murray Ngrath.
Ghiest have become a clan to use in Mono or a half deck , Hriger coming has helped a lot because Ghiest just didn't have 3 good 4* for a 4 4 4 3 3 3 2 2 format And you can't play 3 2*
Cuz you've got a choice from Z3R0 D34D + Mok who are great but then they've banned Arkn so your main options left are :
Elke (Too predictable , pill with her high you get in 3 damage , blatantly 2 - 3 pillz if they want to attack with it , and if you try countering a big card 6 power won't help)
Ludmilla (It's min is a bit too high especially with cards like Methane , Wardom Xu52 Render this a 1 turn thing , 6 power gets you nowhere even with Soa.)
Wurmhol (I mean he's a very easy 3 damage and he can be used to take out a big card. But depends if you call the bluff he's basically useless , if you pill relatively high to counter a card it's 1 damage in . That's why it's easier for a easy 3 damage.)
Maybe i'm just underrating Wurmhol but Ghiest have come back.
Icarus - Saturday 06/10/2012, 08:27
Titan - E X C A L I B U R
As a long-time elo player
Elo has long its esssence
I have to agree
When you have to play decks that "get rid" or counter those 50/50 decks that can be used as a guessing game ( +n life per damage, heal n max n, poison n and n.), you'll see those decks that overpower your deck
Deck variety is very wide these days
Or should I SAY VERY RANDOM
the more release, the wider it goes. The harder it is to fit a deck versatile enough for elo...
AGPrinz - Saturday 06/10/2012, 19:22
Titan - The BeSharps
I think the game has actually gotten a bit easier to play for people who do not like decks that build "gradual advantages". For example, Freaks are AWESOME. Azel and Greem are back! And for those who say SOA isn't still dominating the scene, look at Jean and try running an ulu watu deck with Eddie... you will see how much SOA is in the game still. However just from doing the valentina missions, i would say that mono "gradual win" decks are completely viable. Hell even split decks can still be viable, with cards like Neil, Tremorh, and the frozn clan.
However, there are some cards that I strongly disapprove of right now, those being Jean, Saki, Troompah, Beeksboy, and possibly clover and tuck.
Anyways, i really love this game, and have spent a good life savings on cards. That being said, i wish they would stop making so many new blood cards that are rare and game changing. The money grabbing scheme is kind of making the game less competitive. Wish i had time to write more, but real life is calling
subclavianHoA - Sunday 07/10/2012, 10:23
What I dislike about the recent trend is that it shifts the game from being strategic to being intuitive.
Instead of counting pills, working out various scenarios, and developing contingency plans, now it's all about intuitive guesses on when your opponent is gonna nuke. It's getting harder and harder to mathematically corner your opponent these days, not when he can simply blow the game with a 50-50 nuke-or-bluff in the very first round. You can only rely on intuition in those situations.
I know intuition is an important part of every card game, but the fact elo matches are random makes it very hard to get a good grasp of your opponents' skill level. That lv 27 "noob" might actually be a good player's second account, and that lv 68 "pro" might've joined the game last month and spent his time in DM. And since the game only lasts 4 rounds with emphasis on the first and second, by the time you get an accurate read of your opponent's skill level the game is already over.


text:
The Sword Of Elendil
Chapter 005
Much of the following chronology is taken from Tolkien's "Tale of Years." Birth and death dates of the chieftains are from "Peoples of Middle-Earth." I repeat that material here to help orient the reader regarding the characters, their ages, and their experience of the past. Ages for most of the characters, including of course all "original" characters, are my own invention, but are compatible with canon. Please note there are no plot spoilers in this chronology.
The events described in The Sword of Elendil begin in late September 2951 and end three years later in early August 2954.
2740. Orcs renew their invasions of Eriador. Arassuil is chieftain of the Dúnedain at this time.
2747. An Orc-band invades the Northfarthing.
2757. Birth of Argonui son of Arathorn I.
2758. Rohan attacked from west and east and overrun. Gondor attacked by fleets of the Corsairs.
2758-9. The Long Winter follows. Great suffering and loss of life in Eriador and Rohan. Gandalf comes to the aid of the Shire-folk.
2759. Saruman takes up his abode in Isengard.
2770. Smaug the Dragon descends on Erebor. Dale destroyed. Thror escapes with Thrain II and Thorin II.
2775. Birth of Saelind, wife of Argonui.
2784. Death of Arassuil son of Arahad II. Arathorn I becomes chieftain.
2790. Thror slain by an Orc in Moria. The Dwarves gather for a war of vengeance.
2793. The War of the Dwarves and Orcs begins.
2799. Battle of Nanduhirion before the East-gate of Moria. Dain Ironfoot returns to the Iron Hills. Thrain II and his son Thorin wander westwards. They settle in the South of Ered Luin beyond the Shire (2802).
2800-64. Orcs from the North trouble Rohan.
2803. Birth of Goenor.
2820. Birth of Arador son of Argonui.
2825. Birth of Ingold.
2841. Thrain II sets out to revisit Erebor, but is pursued by the servants of Sauron.
2845. Thrain the Dwarf is imprisoned in Dol Guldur; the last of the Seven Rings is taken from him.
2848. Death of Arathorn I son of Arassuil. Argonui becomes chieftain.
2849. Birth of Hallor.
2850. Gandalf again enters Dol Guldur, and discovers that its master is indeed Sauron, who is gathering all the Rings and seeking for news of the One, and of Isildur's Heir. He finds Thrain and receives the key of Erebor. Thrain dies in Dol Guldur.
2851. The White Council meets. Gandalf urges an attack on Dol Guldur. Saruman overrules him. Saruman begins to search near the Gladden Fields.
2862. Birth of Dírhael.
2870. Birth of Hawk (Herion).
2872. The White Tree of Gondor dies, and no seedling can be found. The Dead Tree is left standing.
2873. Birth of Arathorn II son of Arador. Birth of Beleg husband of Ariel.
2879. Birth of Ivorwen daughter of Gilbarad.
2885. Stirred up by emissaries of Sauron the Haradrim cross the Poros and attack Gondor.
2887-2895. Arathorn and Beleg are fostered in Rivendell.
2901. Most of the remaining inhabitants of Ithilien desert it owing to the attacks of Uruks of Mordor.
2902. Birth of Daeron.
2907. Birth of Gilraen mother of Aragorn II.
2911. The Fell Winter. The Baranduin and other rivers are frozen. White Wolves invade Eriador from the North.
2912. Great floods devastate Enedwaith and Minhiriath. Tharbad is ruined and deserted. Death of Argonui. Arador becomes chieftain.
2916. Birth of Iorlas son of Dírhael.
2920. Birth of Ríannon, Iorlas's wife.
2921-2927. Arathorn and Beleg hunt Orcs with Thranduil's Elves in Mirkwood.
2928. Birth of Halbarad.
2929. Arathorn son of Arador of the Dunedain weds Gilraen. Birth of Damrod.
2930. Arador slain by Trolls. Arathorn II becomes chieftain. Malbeth, Hawk's grandson, born.
2931. Aragorn son of Arathorn II born on March 1.
2933. Arathorn II slain. Aragorn becomes chieftain. Gilraen takes Aragorn to Imladris. Elrond receives him as foster-son and gives him the name Estel (Hope); his ancestry is concealed.
2936. Birth of Fíriel.
2937. Birth of Rodnion and Rodnor, Hawk's grandsons.
2939. Saruman discovers that Sauron's servants are searching the Anduin near Gladden Fields, and that Sauron therefore has learned of Isildur's end. He is alarmed, but says nothing to the Council.
2940. Ariel daughter of Arador dies in childbed.
2941. Thorin Oakenshield and Gandalf visit Bilbo in the Shire. Bilbo finds the Ring. The White Council meets; Saruman agrees to an attack on Dol Guldur, since he now wishes to prevent Sauron from searching the River. Sauron having made his plans abandons Dol Guldur. The Battle of the Five Armies in Dale. Death of Thorin II. Bard of Esgaroth slays Smaug. Dain of the Iron Hills becomes King under the Mountain (Dain II).
2942. Bilbo returns to the Shire with the Ring. Sauron returns in secret to Mordor.
2943. Marriage of Iorlas and Ríannon.
2944. Bard rebuilds Dale and becomes King. Gollum leaves the Mountains and begins his search for the "thief" of the Ring.
2946. Birth of Lalaith daughter of Iorlas.
2949. Gandalf and Balin visit Bilbo in the Shire.
2951. Sauron declares himself openly and gathers power in Mordor. He begins the rebuilding of Barad-dur. Sauron sends three of the Nazgûl to reoccupy Dol Guldur.
Elrond reveals to Estel his true name and ancestry, and delivers to him the shards of Narsil. Arwen, newly returned from Lorien, meets Aragorn in the woods of Imladris. October 1. Aragorn leaves Rivendell for the Angle.
2953. Last meeting of the White Council in the Grey Havens.


text:
Student Government
Students are encouraged to voice ideas and concerns about their experiences at the Colorado School of Mines through their respective student government associations:
Undergraduate Student Government (USG)
The USG at the Colorado School of Mines is the recognized undergraduate organization that delivers the voice of the student body to the Faculty, Administrators, and the Board of Trustees. Throughout the year, USG works to represent students on a variety of campus committees. Student Government will debate and discuss issues that are pertinent to the students and work to address student concerns. In addition to governance, USG hosts a variety of events throughout the year to initiate student involvement.
Graduate Student Government (GSG)
The GSG is the governing body of graduate students at Colorado School of Mines. The GSG Council is composed of one graduate student representative from each academic department offering graduate degree programs. The Council meets the 1st and 3rd Monday of every month to make decisions to guide GSG policies and activities, and the meetings are open to any interested graduate students.


text:
When you are thinking about choosing keywords for your Pay Per Click Marketing campaigns, you can't rely on assumptions about your customers.
Never underestimate the importance of keyword research.
When most businesses contemplate Pay Per Click Marketing they already have a list of keywords in mind. Their "keyword research" usually involves a list of keywords of what they would search for if they were a customer.
There are a number of reasons why this research approach could be limiting to that business's Pay Per Click campaign. Have a look at these examples to see why keyword research far outweighs making assumptions:
How many companies that are selling a product would think of including a keyword that doesn't target people who are looking to buy? This is where keyword research comes in. You can't assume that someone searching for a free product isn't going to buy something. (more…)


text:
It may be difficult to believe but many of the most celebrated and well-known pieces of literature have been challenged or banned at one time or another due to controversial subject matter…or language…or both. A challenge is an attempt by one person or a group to restrict materials; a banning is the removal of these materials. Therefore, neither is merely an objection to a writer's differing point of view, it is an attempt to restrict or deny access to that point of view. To raise awareness of censorship and promote these freedoms, PEN Center USA held "Forbidden Fruit: Readings from Banned Works of Literature" on May 5, 2013.
Co-hosted by Peter Blake, writer/producer of The Practice and House, MD; Laura Bickford, producer of Traffic and Arbitrage and Darren Star, creator of Melrose Place, Beverly Hills, 90210 and Sex and the City and sponsored by Red Bull, Tito's Vodka and Greenberg Glusker, the event featured six readings by members of the Hollywood and literary communities: Attorney and Novelist Natashia Deón reading from I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Actor Julian Sands reading from Lady Chatterley's Lover, NCIS: Los Angeles star Renee Felice Smith reading from To Kill a Mockingbird, Los Angeles Review of Books Founder & Editor-in-Chief Tom Lutz reading from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Actress Illeana Douglas reading from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Producer/Director/Actor John Landis reading from Catch 22 and Grey's Anatomy star Kevin McKidd reading from 1984.
During the introduction to each reading, it was explained why the books were (or in some cases, still are) considered to be materials in need of being challenged or banned regardless of their places among the most revered and celebrated pieces of literature in the world. Despite being considered by many to be an incredibly influential American memoire, Maya Angelou's story of a young woman's transition from the victim of racism to a civil rights leader as depicted in her autobiographical I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings has been continually challenged since it was published in 1969. Written by D.H. Lawrence and first published in 1928, Lady Chatterley's Lover tells the story of an adulterous love affair and has been repeatedly challenged for its sexual content and language, even denounced on the floor of the U.S. Senate in 1930.
Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize winning novel has been a best seller since its publication in 1960. Considered by many to be one of the greatest works of literature of all time and a staple on high school and college reading lists all over the country, many may be surprised to know that To Kill a Mockingbird has also been a staple on nearly every list of challenged and banned books. Before the reading by Tom Lutz, director Tracey Leigh pointed to the irony that, "Ernest Hemingway claimed that all American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn," yet this iconic piece of literature has also been repeatedly banned for being "too political" and for being "socially offensive." Similarly, in her introduction to One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, director Hattie Winston Wheeler, noted that the novel has been charged with "glorifying criminal activity" and "possessing a tendency to corrupt juveniles" but that the novel also became one of our greatest films.
Joseph Heller introduced the term "Catch 22" into the American vocabulary when his novel of the same name was published in 1961, considered by many to be one of the most significant novels of the 20th century, Catch 22 is also frequently denounced as dangerous. However, the power of Heller's work was undeniable when John Landis was overcome with emotion as he read the final words of chapter 41 in which Heller describes the death of Snowden.
Introducing George Orwell's 1984, Tracey Leigh noted that "George Orwell's 1949 dystopian novel of the future has been challenged numerous times and for numerous reasons." Leigh then went on to explain that, in the U.S., the book was considered to have pro-Communist themes while, in Russia, the book was criticized for its anti-Soviet sentiments. Ironically, this piece of literature that has been so often censored, speaks directly to our continual struggle with censorship.
At the conclusion of the program, Matt Galsor of Greenberg Glusker said, "Those who have the right to speak freely have an obligation to speak up when writers are imprisoned for writing, when books are banned [and] when freedom of expression is assaulted anywhere in the world." He continued by noting, "It's especially imperative for those of us in the entertainment community to speak up loudly when writers are silenced." Thanking PEN for defending freedom of expression around the world, Galsor added, "Freedom of expression is the foundation of all our freedoms." By raising awareness that the freedoms we so often take for granted are not necessarily enjoyed by everyone, PEN Center USA protects writers who suffer censorship, political prosecution and persecution for no other reason than expressing themselves in writing.
Information about PEN Center USA and its ongoing programs and events can be found on the organization's website. Plans are underway for a second Fordidden Fruit event in September, 2013.
Published on May 06, 2013


text:
Power rankings. You hate them. They're so arbitrary and pointless, especially when they include all 32 NFL teams. All you want to know after a good week of NFL action is who the bestest team in the NFL right now, and which one is the absolute barrel-scraping worst. The one so terrible, it gave out nickels for Halloween. That's why we have TOP AND BOTTOM OF THE NFL, where we go to great lengths to tell you who's the top dog in football right now, this very minute. LET'S GO!
THE TOP: San Francisco 49ers
The Packers had the week off, so let's excuse them from the top today and give praise to Jim Harbaugh's little band of scrappity scrap scrapdogs. And if you take a look at the schedules, it's not crazy to suggest that San Francisco could end up with the No. 1 overall seed in the NFC.
The 49ers only have three winning teams left on their schedule (Giants, Ravens, Steelers). The Packers have eight. Granted, one of those eight is the Raiders, but still! The only losing team the Packers face are the improving Vikings, who nearly beat them at home in the Metrodome a week ago.
So don't be surprised if Aaron Rodgers' road back to the Super Bowl goes through Candlestick. A Packers/Niners NFC title game? Oh man, Chris Berman is rubbing his tummy with chicken carbonara just thinking about it. Ew.
THE BOTTOM: Miami Dolphins/Indianapolis Colts
Let's congratulate the St. Louis Rams from extricating themselves from this human bonfire.
U.S. & World
The day's top national and international news.
The Dolphins nearly pulled off the same feat, leaving the Colts alone and shivering in the basement. But at the last second, Miami was like, "What are we doing? We can't let Indy have Andrew Luck! Everyone would hate us!", and then they choked.
The question now is: If Miami gets the No. 1 pick, do the Colts draft a quarterback at No. 2? I mean, I know they'd probably draft Luck if they were at No. 1, but what about if they miss out? Are they still going to actively look for Peyton Manning's replacement?
Don't be surprised if Landry Jones ends up being PeyPey's replacement.


text:
Browsing Departments by Author "Haldrup, Niels"
Now showing items 1-1 of 1
The relevant antitrust market for salmonHaldrup, Niels; Møllgaard, Peter; Kastberg Nielsen, Claus (København, 2005)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Delineation of the relevant market forms a pivotal part of most antitrust cases. The standard approach is sequential. First the product market is delineated, then the geographical market is defined. Demand and supply substitution in both the product dimension and the geographical dimension will normally be stronger than substitution in either dimension. By ignoring this one might decide first to define products narrowly and then to define the geographical extent narrowly ignoring the possibility of a diagonal substitution. These reflections are important in the empirical delineation of product and geographical markets. Using a unique data set for prices of Norwegian and Scottish salmon, we propose a methodology for simultaneous market delineation and we demonstrate that compared to a sequential approach conclusions will be reversed. JEL: C3, K21, L41, Q22 Keywords: Relevant market, econometric delineation, salmon. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7633
Files in this item: 1wp2-2005.pdf (268.6Kb)
Now showing items 1-1 of 1


text:
Truck Games for Kids > Car Games > Burnout Drift: Hilltop
Burnout Drift is back! This time, you will have a time limit to make drifts! And to render things even more complicated: bad climatic condititons are part of the party! There is always a wide choice of customizable cars with which to have fun! Burn your tires and enjoy!
Added: 5 January 2019 | Played: 1,046 times
Please log in to favorite.


text:
Anyway...one of my recent cases prompted me to write this blog posting (along with some much needed prodding from Harlan). In this case, I was asked to determine the authenticity of a series of documents. Specifically, could I tell if the documents had been altered in any way so as to obfuscate their original chronological data. To determine this, I was provided an EnCase image of a removable storage device that contained the documents. Nothing more.
So instead of simply loading the image into EnCase, checking out the MAC times, and calling it a day, I decided to do a proof of concept. I needed to find out what abnormal looked like so that I would know it when I saw it.
I created an Excel spreadsheet using Microsoft Excel 2008 version 12.1.9 (090515) on an Apple MacBook Pro running MAC OSX 10.5.7, Darwin kernel 9.7.0. The Excel file was named, "pogue-test.xls" and had a MAC time of 11:31AM. I copied this file over to a Windows test box running Microsfot XP Professional v5.1 SP3 at 11:33AM, and subsequently opened it at 11:39AM on 08/07/2009.
Next, a new column was created in the spreadsheet and it was saved. As expected the Access and Write times changed. The new times showed 11:43 AM 08/07/2009.
I then used Timestomp (an anti-forensics tool commonly used to modify timestamp information) to modify just the Last Written time - pushing it back one week to Friday 07/31/09 at 5:05:05AM. As expected, when the I used the "dir /T:W
I then used Harlan Carvey's "oledmp.pl" and "wmd.pl" to display the OLE times. The results displayed from the cmd line showed the time modification, but the Perl scripts did not. This is due to the fact that the Perl scripts pull the OLE times, which are different than the file times displayed by the operating system, which use metadata.
Timestomp was used again, to modify all of the timestamps (as can be seen with the –z flag) to "Thursday 7/30/09 6:06:06AM". When the times were listed with "dir /T and each of the time variables (:C,:W,:A), they all reflected the NEW time.
Now that the file appears to have been modified as interpreted by the OS, I again used Harlan Carvey's Perl scripts to extract the OLE data. The scripts displayed the REAL times and not the MODIFIED times.
A second exercise was performed using TrueCrypt v6.1a to create a 10MB volume. This volume was mounted as a physical drive on a system running Windows XP v5.1 SP3, and subsequently imaged with FTK Lite v2.6.1. The resulting raw image was copied to an Ubuntu Linux 9.04 host running kernel 2.6.28-14. The Sleuth Kit (TSK) V3.0.1 was used to create a body file from the image (using the "fls" utility). The bodyfiile was then parsed with "mactime".
The times on "pogue-test.xls" reflect the date/time when the image was created and the spoofed modification time of "Thu Jul 30 2009 06:06:06". The file was then extracted from the image using FTK Lite v2.6.1 and saved to the local system. Again, using Harlan Carvey's Perl scripts "oledmp.pl" and "wmd.pl" the actual MAC times were extracted as display in the exact same manner as in the first test.
The conclusion derived from this proof of concept exercise was that the operating system and subsequently EnCase (if used) would display the spoofed file times. By using forensic specific utilities (like Harlan Carvey's Perl scripts) that extract timestamp information from the OLE of the Excel document, I was able to display the actual times.
If the files provided to me had been modified in any way, there should have been a variance between the timestamp information displayed by the operating system (metadata) and EnCase and the Perl scripts that were used.
Then I thought, "What if the document creator modified his local system time with the date/time icon from the Windows control panel? What would that look like?" So, I conducted another proof of concept exercise.
I used the date/time utility from the control panel and set the year on my system to 2020 instead of 2009. I then opened up IE and typed in some URLs, opened a cmd prompt and ran some commands, and opened a couple of programs using their desktop icons. What I opened or typed in is irrelevant, the important thing is that my actions will be tracked by the UserAssit key and the TypedURLs key in my ntuser.dat file. The last write times for each of these actions should reflect the year 2020 and not 2009.
I extracted my ntuser.dat file using FTK imager lite v2.6.1 and parsed it using Harlan Carvey's RegRipper. Low and behold, I was correct. All of the dates recorded by the registry for my actions reflected the spoofed date. ALSO, when I changed the system date back to 2009, the timedate.cpl last write time also showed the spoofed year of 2020.
So, there are a few of good takeaways from this case and proof of concept.
1. Don't rely on a single tool to give you your answers. Don't be lame and simply load your image into EnCase can call it a day. That's weak, and it's not forensics...it's called being lazy.
2. If you don't know what "abnormal" is going to look like, figure it out. Conduct some proof of concept exercises so that you at least have some idea of what you are looking for.
3. Make sure you inform the customer of what you were able to do, and what you were not able to do. If you were not able to perform certain actions, tell them why, and request that data. In my case, I requested an image of the original system so that I could look for additional data points in the registry that would support chronological modifications.
Good stuff! Sorry again for the break in writing...I will try not to lapse like that again!


text:
Add filters:
Use filters to refine the search results.
Results 1-1 of 1 (Search time: 0.003 seconds).
- previous
- 1
- next
Item hits:
Use filters to refine the search results.
|Issue Date
|Effect of electrojet on the total electron content of the ionosphere over the Indian subcontinent
|Deshpande, M. R; Rastogi, R. G; Vats, H. O; Sethia, G; Klobuchar, J. A; Jain, A. R; Subbarao, B. S; Patwari, V. M; Janve, A. V; Rai, R. K; Singh, M; Gurm, H. S; Murthy, B. S


text:
South Lake Tahoe police officer pleads guilty to federal charges
South Lake Tahoe police officer Johnny Poland pleaded guilty to federal counts of witness tampering and obstructing official proceedings Wednesday, according to a statement from federal prosecutors.
"According to court documents, on June 29, 2011, Poland interfered with a federal investigation of a South Lake Tahoe gang member," according to the statement. "Poland persuaded the gang member's girlfriend to conceal and destroy evidence."
"In October and November 2011, Poland tampered with this witness in an investigation into his own conduct as well as the conduct of the gang member," the statement continues. "Poland instructed another witness to conceal and destroy evidence rather than provide it to federal authorities. Poland admitted that he corruptly attempted to alter, destroy, mutilate, and conceal evidence material to an official proceeding."
Poland is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 7. He faces up to 20 years in prison for each guilty plea, according to the statement.


text:
|A cow pie. Photo taken by Jeff Vanuga at
the USDA available at Wikimedia Commons.
When mice are injected with heat-killed M. vaccae, they develop an immune response that activates their brain serotonin system and reduces signs of stress. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that is found in the brain and is involved in regulating alertness, mood, learning and memory. In fact, many antidepressant drugs work by increasing the amount of available serotonin in the brain. Interestingly, serotonin is also found in the digestive system, where it plays a role in digestive health. Since M. vaccae can increase serotonin function, and serotonin reduces anxiety and improves learning, researchers Dorothy Matthews and Susan Jenks at The Sage Colleges in New York set out to test whether eating live M. vaccae could reduce anxiety and improve learning in mice.
|A drawing of the mouse maze used by Dorothy and Susan.
This image is from their 2013 Behavioural Processes paper.
The mice that ingested M. vaccae on their peanut butter sandwiches completed the maze twice as fast as those that ate plain peanut butter sandwiches. They also had fewer stress-related behaviors, particularly at the first difficulty level of the maze when everything was new and scary. In general, the fewer stress behaviors a mouse did, the faster its maze-running time was. The mice that ate the M. vaccae also tended to make fewer mistakes.
The researchers then wanted to know how long the effects of M. vaccae lasted. They continued to test the mice in the same maze, again with four runs at level 1, four runs at level 2 and four runs at level 3, but for these maze runs no one was given the M. vaccae. The mice that had previously eaten the M. vaccae continued to complete the maze faster and with fewer mistakes and to show fewer stress-related behaviors for about the first week before the M. vaccae effects wore off.
What does this all mean? It means eating dirt isn't all bad (although I don't recommend eating cow poop). Letting yourself get a bit dirty and ingesting some of nature's microbes could even help you learn better, remember more, and stay calm - especially in new situations. Just something to think about as the school year gets started.
Want to know more? Check these out:
1. Matthews, D., & Jenks, S. (2013). Ingestion of Mycobacterium vaccae decreases anxiety-related behavior and improves learning in mice Behavioural Processes, 96, 27-35 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2013.02.007
2. Lowry, C., Hollis, J., de Vries, A., Pan, B., Brunet, L., Hunt, J., Paton, J., van Kampen, E., Knight, D., Evans, A., Rook, G., & Lightman, S. (2007). Identification of an immune-responsive mesolimbocortical serotonergic system: Potential role in regulation of emotional behavior Neuroscience, 146 (2), 756-772 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2007.01.067


text:
Our friends at @thursplay have compiled this playlist for April.
Time to listen to the mix of the beats played on repeat during April.
A little of everything, starting with the impossible-not-to-move-your-feet "Take me Over" by Cut Copy, which is a song you can find on their latest album "Zonoscope", released last year. Going a little more back in time, a beautiful song by Local Natives, "Cards & Quarters" that's worth being remembered…
Enjoy the uptempo female voice by U.K indie pop trio Standard Fare singing "Suitcase". More female voices? You got them: Class Actress, Little Majorette, Grimes, Ladyhawke back with her brand new single "Sunday Drive", White Sea and more.
Get a good chill vibe from Tunng with their live version of "Naked in the rain", The Head and The Herat with "Sounds Like Hallelujah" and "Stealing Tomorrow" by Great Lake Swimmers. Just the right amount of slow motion.
And don't miss the very indie sounds of Architecture in Helsinki, Team Me, Palpitation and many more: there are 25 tracks hand picked for you to enjoy!
What were your April favorite tracks? Share with us today on #thursplay!
Originally posted on Spotify Blog.


text:
Cruise Gold Coast offers personalised Private cruises on the beautiful Gold Coast waterways and Whale Watching. The luxurious 40 foot catamaran is called 'Life's Good'. There is room to move around and entertain on the large protected back deck, extended duckboard, the enclosed flybridge or the bow to sun-bake!
The vessel can carry up to 25 passengers on the Broadwater and eight passengers off-shore in 'Rain, Hail or Shine'! Experience any of the two, three, four, five, six or seven hour Private Cruises or Whale Watching. Hire the whole boat. Your tour will be personalised for your Private Cruises, Corporate Functions, fishing, Hens parties, Wedding Packages.
All cruises can be fully catered or BYO. Please look at the Catering menu on the website. Complimentary cold water and soft drinks, tea and cafe tasting coffee is included throughout the cruise.
On 'Life's Good' there is a comfortable saloon with leather seats and the galley that has all your comforts. She has a blue tooth connection high quality sound system with separate speakers on all levels. There is also a bathroom and toilet. Ask to hire the barbecue, two kayaks and fishing gear.
Due to current health advice on social distancing, please contact the business for the most up to date information regarding opening times and services.
Cruise Gold Coast offers personalised adventure cruises on the stunning Gold Coast Waterways on their luxury 40 foot power Catamaran called "Life's Good" for a full day adventure.
There's room to move around and entertain and an extra Hostess/Crew is always on the cruise providing service and safety. (Can be international speaking - Chinese, Japanese or Spanish and an Aussie).
Facilities include an enclosed Flybridge with a hardtop (all weather), large back deck with carpet and side clears if it rains, extended duckboard with rails, room on bow to sunbake on, very comfortable leather seating in the saloon, bathroom and toilet facilities, tea and coffee making facilities and filtered water, a sound system complete with an iPhone docking station with independent speakers on all levels of the boat, fridge and deep freezer, phone and computer charging facilities, crockery and cutlery, the convenience to purchase chocolates, soft drinks and snacks, gas stove and oven, television and DVD player.
All weather cruising - "rain, hail or shine!"
Explore the picturesque Gold Coast Broadwater and surrounding islands or go Whale Watching off shore on 'Life's Good'. She has numerous facilities that may not be on other boats.
Departure is from Marina Mirage at Main Beach at any time of day that suits you as you are booking the whole boat for your private cruise.
BYO and catered for morning tea, lunch or dinner as well as snacks. Please have a look at the catering menu.
You can enjoy complimentary fresh water or soft drinks, tea and Cafe tasting coffee throughout the cruise. A complimentary beverage (champagne, wine, beer or soft drink) is also included. Additional drinks may be purchased on board. Licensed for BYO.
"Life's Good" is moored at Marina Mirage. This is on the Gold Coast, five minutes from the Southport Spit and 55 minutes from Brisbane.
"Life's Good" is a 40 foot Voyager catamaran. She has powerful, but very quiet, twin 236 horse-power engines with a comfortable saloon, back deck and fly bridge area to relax on. All the amenities' and comforts are on-board.
They will enjoy the cruise south of the Southport Seaway exploring the beautiful Wave Break Island and Marina Mirage, past the Seaworld Nara Resort.
Travel north past the Sovereign Island mansions along Stradbroke Island to the Ramada Couran Cove Island Resort on Stradbroke Island then past Tipplers!
There is a sound system with an iPod and iPhone Fourth Generation docking station with an Aux cable. There are speakers on the flybridge, saloon and back deck that can be individually controlled for your personal music taste.
The cruises are based on travelling at six to eight knots although a maximum speed of 20 knots can be arranged with a surcharge to cover the extra fuel. (When they tour in the Broadwater, the waters are protected and quite calm and sea sickness is very unlikely).
With the offshore Whale Watching cruise package they travel faster to get offshore so they can spend more time with the Whales and off-shore sea life.
Thousands of humpback whales make their way past the Gold Coast waters every year during their migration north from the icy waters of Antarctica to their breeding ground off tropical North Queensland then back again past the Gold Coast, usually with their baby calves.
Life's Good is a wide catamaran (two hulls) and is more comfortable than most. She will provide a private cruise with a maximum of eight passengers on board.
Once they are out on the ocean they can turn off the engines and just watch the whales, dolphins and sea life, have lunch and some drinks and enjoy the day.
Enjoy the view back to the Gold Coast high rises or gaze across the miles and miles of ocean. Just soak up the experiences, as they are unbelievable! On 'Life's Good' they have a Fusion iPod docking station with speakers on the fly-bridge, saloon and back deck that can be individually controlled for your personal music taste.
The facilities in this magnificent catamaran will ensure your comfort and enjoyment.
Note: Information on listed products and services are provided by the operator and were correct at the time of publishing. Rates are indicative based on the minimum and maximum available prices of products and services. Please visit the operator's website for further information. All prices quoted are in Australian dollars (AUD).


text:
TALLAHASSEE — � Soft-spoken Florida senior and DeLand High product Mike Gillislee smiled when asked how it feels to be a 1,000-yard running back.
"It feels great," Gillislee said. "Hopefully, the tradition never ends."
Gillislee more than broke through the 1,000-yard barrier on Saturday afternoon against rival Florida State. He keyed a strong ground attack that helped UF snap a two-game losing streak against the Seminoles.
The 5-foot-11, 209-pound Gillislee rushed for 140 yards and two touchdowns during UF's 37-26 win over Florida State at Doak Campbell Stadium. His 37-yard TD run in the fourth quarter put UF ahead to stay at 23-20.
Gillislee posted his fifth 100-yard rushing game of the season and at 1,104 yards is UF's first 1,000-yard rusher since Ciatrick Fason ran for 1,267 yards in 2004.
"It's much deserved," Florida center Jonotthan Harrison said. "He earned every yard. He's a tough running back. He took so many hits. He keeps swinging back, and I love him for that."
Through injuries to the offensive line and defenses stacked up to stop him, Gillislee didn't lose focus during a long season.
After gaining a career-best 146 yards against LSU, Gillislee went five games before his next 100-yard game last week against Jacksonville State.
"I never got frustrated," Gillislee said. "I just knew I was going to keep on doing what I had to do to help my team to win. I wasn't worried about the yardage."
Gillislee rushed for a 9-yard TD in the second quarter, giving the Gators an early 13-0 lead.
He said he had "a little miscommunication" on a third-quarter fumble off a botched exchange with quarterback Jeff Driskel. It was UF's lone turnover of the game.
"We just moved on from it," Gillislee said.
Florida coach Will Muschamp said during the offseason he felt he should have used Gillislee more last season. In 2012, Gillislee emerged as the workhorse back and centerpiece for UF's physical, ball-control offense.
"It speaks where we're headed with our offense," Muschamp said. "It's more of a pro-style offense that you see (in the NFL) on Sunday."
Florida's Gillislee breaks 1,000-yard mark in win over Florida State
TALLAHASSEE — � Soft-spoken Florida senior and DeLand High product Mike Gillislee smiled when asked how it feels to be a 1,000-yard running back.


text:
For almost 50 years the downtown Macy's store In Minneapolis has been the place to take the kids for one of the greatest Christmas displays in the Untied States. This years theme is "Santa's Elves", you take a trip through their village on the way to Santa's workshop. How much fun does that sound like!?!? You still have time to get out this weekend and up until Christmas Eve to enjoy this FREE event. You can visit the Macy's site for more details.
Hours are as follows:
Friday, Dec 20th: 8am-10pm
Saturday, Dec 21st: 8am-10pm
Sunday, Dec 22nd: 8am-8pm
Monday, Dec 23rd: 8am-8pm
Tuesday, Dec 24th: 8am-5pm


text:
PKharrison necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 71 diseños de 19 diseñadores freelance.
SonShine Place
We are a great church in Baltimore County MD. One of the ministries we offer to families is a time and space for kids with special needs. For many parents, this is the only time of the week that they can drop their child off to loving and qualified people to care for their special needs child. For the kids, we offer games, arts & crafts and a lot of love! We've grown to the point where we would like to have a more pro looking logo to use on signage, letterhead, website, etc. The identity would give the ministry more exposure.
Parents of special needs kids ages 5 to 18 years of age. These kids are all mentally handicapped.
This deign needs to be colorful, fun and young. We need it scalable for print, signage, web and video usage. Might also be a good idea to have a greyscale version for some print applications (you decide).
If you use images of kids, be sure to think diversity. Our church is VERY racially and culturally diverse and we want our imagery to reflect that.
IMPORTANT: Check out the kids section of our website for ideas and looks!
This logo dosn't have to be an exact style but we need it to "fit in" with the rest of the kids section of the website. Maybe NOT as cartoonish.
This may sound odd, but PLEASE don't use a cross, globe, dove or Bible in your design. These are great icons of the Christian faith but...well...they tend to be over used.
Have fun and good luck!
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.


text:
Originally posted on TomBihn.com:
Tom designed the Clear Quarter Packing Cube to fill up one-half of the end compartment of our Aeronaut travel bag, but its handy size is useful for many other applications as well.
The Clear Quarter Packing Cube has two equal-size compartments: it's a great way to organize toiletries, power supplies and cables, and other small items. And with its two clear sides, at least a few of life's mysteries are certain to be revealed.
The Clear Quarter Packing Cube opens and closes with #5 YKK coil zippers with plastic sliders, which means the Cube has no metal parts to rust or scratch electronics. A loop allows you to hang the Clear Quarter Packing Cube on a hook should you need to (that is especially useful when using it as a toiletries kit). The loop is also helpful when you're attempting to yank the Clear Quarter Packing Cube out of an overstuffed bag.
In our bags and organizer pouches which use a clear material, that clear material is urethane instead of PVC. This is a conscious and, we hope, conscientious decision on our part; PVC is pretty nasty stuff. It isn't good for your health (ever open a brand new PVC shower curtain, get a headache, and wonder why?) or the environment. The Europe Union has gone so far as to ban PVC children's toys. Unfortunately, PVC is still the third most widely used thermoplastic polymer, in part because urethane and other alternatives tend to be more expensive than PVC. We think the added expense of urethane is worth it for the health of you, us, and the planet.
|.016″ clear urethane
|200 denier Dyneema®/nylon ripstop fabric
|#5 YKK coil zippers with plastic sliders
|Made in USA
|100% finished seams
|Dimensions: 7.8″ x 6.7″ x 3″ / 200 x 170 x 80 mm
|Weight: 4 oz / 115 grams
|Volume: 165 cubic inches / 2.7 liters (ASTM Standard Measure)


text:
A WINCHESTER charity providing emergency food has warned the service is no longer the preserve of those 'on the margins' of society.
Jean Hart, chairman of Winchester Basics Bank, made the comments ahead of a visit by Green Party leader, Natalie Bennett, and South East MEP, Keith Taylor. Mr Taylor has recently published a report on the rise in demand for food banks.
Winchester Basics bank saw a jump in demand of 20 per cent last year when compared with 2012, and volunteers there fed a total of 2,936 clients, including 1,067 children, providing 14,330 days of food.
In just one month last summer, the number of families approaching the bank double from 59 families, compared to 29 in 2012.
Ms Hart said: "We have never been more needed.
"Our clients are not just those on the margins of society, but increasingly those in the mainstream, including struggling families facing greater difficulties in the current climate."
Mr Taylor visited Winchester Basics Bank on Friday (Jan 24).
"The Winchester Basics Bank is a lifeline to those in need but, at the same time, a stain on the government's record on poverty.
"Food banks are a booming industry across Britain and Winchester is no exception to that.
"People have seen their wages stagnate, their benefits cut and their cost of living soar. The government must get a handle on things by increasing the minimum wage to a living wage and ensuring people have access to adequate social security," he said.
The figures for Winchester are part of a nationwide trend and Mr Taylor's report shows an increase in demand across the South East of 60 per cent from April to November last year, compared to the previous year.
The report also says that 33 per cent of users who turn to food banks in the South East, report doing so because of a delay to their benefits.
Cllr Chris Pines said: "The benefits system is almost finding excuses to deny people benefits on time. Things like, you're five minutes late for an interview – tough, that's it for this week. Or you didn't fill out the paperwork properly. It's almost any excuse not to pay.
"It's small amounts of money anyway, so without that to pay for food, what do they do? Steal something? We're almost pushing them into a situation where they have got to do something illegal."
Natalie Bennett, Green Party leader, said: "We had news this week that food banks are increasingly having to prepare parcels of food that don't require cooking, as their users can't afford to cook or have had electricity and gas cut off.
"This is a further sign of the level of desperation in our society. We have to say: enough, stop the demonisation of benefit recipients and reverse the government's swingeing cuts."


text:
GASTONIA � Former Ashbrook High standout Justin Taylor and the Louisburg Lady Hurricanes wouldn�t let a 13-point first half deficit or 8-point halftime deficit keep them from a national championship.
Taylor, a 2010 Ashbrook High graduate, was named most valuable player for the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II women�s tournament in East Peoria, Ill., last Saturday night.
Taylor, a freshman guard for the Lady Hurricanes, averaged 14.0 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists as Louisburg�s top reserve off the bench.
Taylor�s best game came in the finals � or when the Lady Hurricanes turned the tables on Mesa Community College, Ariz., in the second half of a 75-65 championship game victory. Taylor had 19 points, five rebounds and one assist as Louisburg outscored Mesa 47-29 in the second half.
The Lady Hurricanes, who won the Region X title, finished the season with a 32-3 overall record and become Louisburg�s third national championship women�s basketball team; It previously won national titles in 1981 and 1992.
The No. 2 seed in this year�s tournament, Louisburg beat Erie Community College, N.Y., 66-49 on March 19, Community College of Rhode Island 83-58 on March 20 and host Illinois Central College on March 22 before winning the championship game.
At Ashbrook, Taylor was a two-time All-Gazette performer who helped the Lady Green Wave to three straight state playoff appearances.
Taylor is the second Gastonia product to win NJCAA MVP honors this season, as 2010 Forestview High graduate Shannon Smith did the same for Trinity Valley, Tex., Community College last Saturday in the NJCAA Division I championship.
Richard Walker: 704-869-1841; twitter.com/JRWalk22


text:
Good Monday morning Blue Devil Nation! It's the first day of November which means we are into the meat of the football schedule while basketball begins in earnest. It'll be a busy week ahead as recruiting heats up and Duke prepares for Virginia on the football field in Wallace Wade this Saturday and Cal Poly Pamona visits Cameron Indoor Stadium prior to that.
We'll start with basketball recruiting for the November early signing period begins on the 10th of this month and ends on the 17th. The news broke over the weekend that Myck Kabongo had decommitted from Texas and that Duke was on his list. The Blue Devils will get involved but it remains to be seen how this one will play out for many reasons. One of those reasons is Quinn Cook who holds an offer but who let North Carolina in at the midnight hour adding them to his list just yesterday. Cook grew up a fan of the school and it is no secret that Roy Williams always seems to come in later on just about every kid the Blue Devils target. A lot of people expected Cook to give Duke a verbal already, including me, but oh how the landscape changes quickly in the world of recruiting and Duke has positioned themselves to come away with a point guard to run alongside Austin Rivers. Michael Gbinije, Marshall Plumlee and the aforementioned Austin Rivers are all expected to sign during the early period. More recruiting discussion can be found if you gain full site access by joining BDN Premium and that's how you can support the hard work of the BDN staff and this site.
I attended the Coach K Coaching Clinic this past weekend without the media hat on for I have a passion for coaching myself. But it was hard not to come away having gleaned some key insight into the team itself and I can share with you that Miles Plumlee earned high praise from Krzyzewski for his practice of late. In fact, he was mentioned on three occasions and that is a sign that he'll certainly be a main cog in the lineup early on. The key for Miles is to stay intense for Duke and he'll once again begin the season as a sure starter.
Also mentioned was the fact that Jon Scheyer's eye injury was not a good thing in that he has apparently lost some of the vision. Scheyer will embark on a journey to Europe soon and we'll of course keep tabs on him. Meanwhile Brian Zoubek had some unfortunate luck as well and he is currently rehabbing at Duke after an operation on his back. BDN's wishes these national champions a speedy recovery.
Krzyzewski also spoke of "10 standards," for this seasons team and we'll let him share that at a later date. We can tell you that the US team had 15 standards as well, bet here is what we're getting to ... the standards act as a contract. This carries over into a much discussed issue of social media, namely Twitter. During ACC Operation Basketball I spoke to Krzyzewski about the standards which he'd clarify more in recent days. I basically said that he trusts his players in that they would not go as far as kids just down the road. Krzyzewski doesn't think that he should put but so many restrictions on his team so that they'll grow in the process both on and off the court. In short, Duke sets forth standards which players respect and adhere to and this enables Krzyzewski to trust his players judgement and that means we''ll continue to be entertained by Nolan Smith's tweets. And isn't it obvious that the Duke kids have not embarrassed themselves or the school?
I personally think it is crazy to hang on every single comment from Twitter via prospects every little whim, but we do like it as a tool to further our site. That said, join BDN Twitter for we bring you an additional game experience from press row in Cameron and Wallace Wade. If you want constant behind the scenes tidbits then sign up now and get a unique perspective. We carried you every step of the way to the national championship last year and we hope to do so again this season. And we promise not to tweet what we are eating and every little thing which is not pertinent to your fandom.
Man, did the football team need a win and the victory over Navy cured some ills getting the Blue Devils back into the win column. One cannot help but think what if Duke had defeated Maryland and Wake Forest, two games where they outplayed their opponent for they'd be 4-4 going into the UVA game. Still, the team has a chance to end the seasons with some positives but it'll take consistent play.
Winning down the stretch for Cutcliffe's troops will also be aided by another game with no turnovers. We see what can happen when Duke protects the ball the entire game against a Navy team coming off a victory over Notre Dame. Turnovers have doomed the Devils more often than not this season and they'll need this to turn around against a physical Virginia team coming off a win over Miami this past week.
Lastly, thanks for your patience of late as our staff has been very busy. We'll get fully back into the gro this month and that means max coverage of the games on the Duke Beat along with some tweaks to the site along the way. Also, check out our Facebook site which we have not pushed with the success of BDN Twitter for there all fans can post and or add pictures there.
Lastly, for the longest time we've held out from allowing advertisers on this site but that will change in the near future. Originally, we thought we'd give you a break from those annoying ad's which bounce off the page or force you to read them for we're dependant on memberships to fund BDN. For several years we chose to keep advertising off to facilitate a clean look for your viewing pleasure but the additional income will go towards site maintenance and growth. We promise to avoid those annoying ads but will be adding some which we personally approve of. Advertisers can contact Susan in Admin or myself for more details with your needs and at this time we still have a top banner opening. Have a great week ahead and remember we all make up the Blue Devil Nation.