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Things To Do
Gloria Estefan headlines Miami Beach Centennial Concert on Thursday night
The City of Miami Beach is turning 100, and its biggest stars are coming out in droves to help the Art Deco mecca celebrate in grand fashion. For 100 hours starting Sunday, March 22, the tropical paradise will offer various festive events leading up to Thursday's grand finale, the Hard Rock Rising Global Music Festival 2015 (a.k.a. the Miami Beach Centennial Concert), which runs from 3 p.m. to midnight on the sands of South Beach at 8th Street and Ocean Drive.
And boy, what a concert!
Slated to take the stage in honor of the city are Gloria Estefan, Barry Gibb, Andrea Bocelli, Flo Rida, Jon Secada, Diego Torres, Wyclef Jean, DJ Irie, Afrobeta, Al B. Sure, Dave Mason, Nicole Henry, Ky-Mani Marley, Kevens, Third World and dozens more, accompanied by the Miami Symphony Orchestra and guided by musical director Rudy Perez.
Seven-time Grammy winner Gloria Estefan – the reigning queen of Miami whose stellar career took off with the Latin crossover band Miami Sound Machine in the mid-'80s with the enduring hits "Dr. Beat," "Words Get in the Way," "Anything For You," "Rhythm Is Gonna Get You" and, of course, "Conga" – talked to Miami.com about her love for Miami Beach; her family's arduous journey from Cuba to America in 1960 when she was only 2, and her earliest memories of Miami; how she gave up a career in psychology for her true passion, music; and her excitement over her daughter Emily's musical talent.
You're one of Miami's most beloved performers. When did you hear about this event, and how long did it take for you to say yes?
Well, I actually heard about it when we were attending an event for the Clinton Foundation in December, and the mayor [Philip Levine] was there, and he told me right there. And I told him that of course I would do it – it's a no-brainer for me. I'm a Miami Beach resident, I love this place very much, and I've been coming to the beach since I was a little girl even before I lived here. So to be a part of this great event was easy to say yes to.
What's your earliest memory of Miami?
We used to live right next to the Orange Bowl; in fact, recently I visited that place and drove by it, and it looks exactly the same. Nothing has changed to this little apartment complex that my mom actually found. It was brand new, with two little strips of apartments facing each other, and it was almost all women there with their kids – our fathers were in Bay of Pigs, and then political prisoners – so it was probably as close to living in a commune of women as it could be. We had one car that they bought for 50 bucks, and we would all get together to go shopping and wash the clothes and kind of protect each other, all the ladies. So I have a very big memory of that.
Were you too young to remember the sense of hope that the new life in America gave your family?
Oh, I remember – of course I remember. We sacrificed a lot for it. My mother had a very good life in Cuba, and my father as well. He was a police officer for the First Lady, so it was really tough when that whole thing went down, and even though he had done nothing wrong, he was immediately jailed along with his father, who was a commander in the army. He had served under many presidents, and they were kind of blacklisted because of their ties to the Batista government in that they worked for the First Lady and whatnot. And they had a lot of truth and back story on who Fidel Castro was, so he knew that it was gonna be very tough and he wanted to get us out, thinking that we'd be back when they did the Bay of Pigs invasion, which was probably way too premature, because there were a lot of supporters of Fidel still there at the time.
And then once he came back and realized that we were gonna be here, he joined the U.S. Army because the Army said that any of the Cuban Bay of Pigs men that had any sense of English could enter the U.S. Army as an officer. So after two years in jail in Cuba, he went to Georgia and studied six months there, and then we moved to Texas, where I went to school and learned English in first grade. And I still talk to my teacher, Mrs. Collins – she ended up being principal, and is a very respected lady in San Antonio. She was African-American, and I was at that time the only Hispanic in the class.
But always in the back of my dad's mind and my mom's, was that eventually we'd go back, that things would right themselves. I still have our round-trip tickets from Pan Am.
You began recording with Miami Sound Machine while you were still a student at the University of Miami. Did you have enough success to tempt you to commit full-time to the band, or were your studies still top priority?
Well, always in my family, education was key. My mom had a Ph.D in education in Cuba, and my father was also a college grad, so even though I sang since I talked and my mom loved how I sang, there was no thought of me having that as a career. We needed to have a career that was solid, and I could pay the bills. And I really loved psychology – I wanted to be a psychologist. I had a double major: Psych and Communications with a French minor, because I loved French. Then by the time I graduated, I was accepted into the Clinical Psych school at UM, which at that time had only 12 chairs. And I didn't want to take up that chair, because at that point I knew that I really didn't want to go on to clinical psychology. My plan was to study in Sorbonne – I had been accepted in Paris to study there, and I was going to study international law and diplomacy.
During that time was when I met [Miami Sound Machine bandleader] Emilio [Estefan], and we fell in love, and that change is really what put us into this career, because we thought, OK, we both have careers – Emilio worked at Bacardi Imports and was doing very well there – we had great insurance. Our son had a lot of issues with allergies and asthma and things, so it was a big deal for us to opt out of the regular 9-to-5 job that gave us security. But we both figured that we love what we're doing and it's going in a great direction, and if we can do it, we always have something to fall back on. Music was his first love – he had a band in Cuba when he was 8 years old – and I loved it, too. It's just that we had never considered it. So we took a risk, but it was a very calculated risk.
What can we expect from your set?
Well, there's a lot of performers that day, so we can't hog the time. But my set is gonna be completely high-energy – that I can tell you. You're gonna get all hits, all uptempo. We're also gonna do a bit of a tribute to a wonderful Miami artist who cannot be there that night – KC [Harry Wayne Casey of KC and The Sunshine Band]. And I'm gonna have my daughter Emily join me for that tribute – we're gonna duet. And actually she's gonna go out there and do something of her own really quick – she's probably the best musician of all of us.
You could easily rest on your laurels, but you're constantly doing new things. Where did that drive come from?
It's not so much a drive as it is kind of reveling in the fact that we have the opportunity to do something that we love, and as long as we continue to have ideas that make it exciting for us, then why not try to share them?
I'm a musician, so I continue to do things that get me excited about getting into the studio. We did a great album with Pharrell a few years ago, and then "The Standards," which was nominated for a Grammy. I love that stuff. I grew up with standards – I sang them for my mom, and my dad, and it's one of the genres that I most love in music, hands-down. And I recorded that album live, with [jazz pianist] Shelly Berg, the Dean of the University of Miami School of Music, and these amazing guys who played with Ella Fitzgerald, for god's sake. These guys are the bomb. I would love to do another one of those records,
but really uptempo, really hot arrangements of standards.
If someone had told you as a young girl that you would go on to win seven Grammy and sell 100 million records, what would you have said?
[Laughs} Are you crazy?!?! You know, I always thought as a kid that I was gonna do something very different. I always had that feeling, and I've been a bit psychic in my life, and I've seen things coming – I just never knew how it was gonna happen, and much less at that time, because I really do not like being the center of attention. It's not my nature. So even though I love music, my thought to jump to something of what it would take to win seven Grammys and to be able to be on a world stage, I just wouldn't have been able to make that connection. Fortunately for me, our overnight success was 10 years [laughs], so it gave me a lot of time, and playing in the band from everywhere from one person in the audience to eventually 150,000, which sometimes is easier, by the way, than singing to that one person. It was a very gradual process. I like to do things well, and I like to learn, and basically what I learned was just to relax and let people see how music made me feel. And just get out of my head and let the music speak for me. It was a long process for me – I don't think I could have just jumped into that overnight.
And I was afforded that, with the experience with the band, and the fact that my husband was with me every step of the way, and he's a super-motivational guy, a guy that always says, "Yes, you can" to everyone around him. So there was a lot of factors that really helped in shaping me.
And now with my daughter that I know is very similar to me, I've tried to be that for her, and guide her in that respect. Because she is very similar to me, so I know exactly what she's going through. But she's such an amazing musician – she's a kick-ass drummer, she plays piano, guitar, she's writing, she sings beautifully – well, you're gonna see. She's really a very special soul, and I'm very happy that I've been here for her, because I don't think she ever even considered doing what I do, because she was stepping into those shoes that had to be daunting, you know? But she can't help it – she's a musician, solid, through and through, more than all of us.


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Volume 5, Number 18
Submitted: July 5, 2000
Resubmitted: August 24, 2000
Accepted: September 11, 2000
Publication date: September 12, 2000
Nicolas Guéguen
South-Brittany University
Alexandre Pascual
University of Bordeaux
Many investigations showed that the semantic characteristics of a request could lead to more compliance. A feeling of freedom is also a factor favoring compliance to numerous types of requests. An experiment was carried out, in which the evocation of freedom was formulated verbally, following a demand for money made by confederates. Results show that the verbal incentive used (demand for money + "but you are free to accept or to refuse") increased the rate of subjects' compliance as well as the average amount of granted gifts. The semantic activation of the feeling of freedom is discussed within the framework of numerous paradigms of research on compliance.
Research on helping behavior have traditionally emphasized the characteristics of the donor, the beneficiary, and the context. Some research however concerned the linguistic aspect of the requests for help. Thus Cialdini and Schroeder (1976) showed that the addition of the sentence "even a penny will help" leads the solicited people to give more to an humanitarian organization. This sentence also increased the rate of donors. Numerous replications of this technique (Reeves, Macolini and Martin 1987; Reeves and Saucer 1993) give evidence of its efficiency on compliance behavior. By manipulating the semantic contents of the request, Enzle and Harvey (1982) showed that an indirect negation request (e.g. You will help me, won't you?) elicited greater helping than either a direct negation (e.g. Won't you help me?) or a control form (e.g. Will you help me?).
In the same way, Howard (1990) had demonstrated that asking someone how he feels improves compliance with a helping request made immediately after the subject's response. Another procedure that improves compliance to a request is the "that's-not-all technique" (Burger 1986). When applying this technique, the requester presents a recipient with a first request at a certain price but does not allow the subject the instant opportunity to decline or to accept the offer. As the subject considers the price, the requester then improves the deal by including an extra product or by lowering the price of the offer. In Burger's first experiment, people approaching a bake sale table were told that the price of a cupcake was $0.75. At this moment, the seller was interrupted by a second seller who needs help. The first seller then asked the subject to "wait a second." Then after a brief exchange between the two salesmen (5-10 seconds), the first seller returned to the client and announced to him that the offer also included two cookies. Results showed that 73.0 % of the subjects in this "that's-not-all condition" bought the cupcake with the two cookies package whereas 40.0 % bought this package when the complete offer was made at the same price.
Another factor facilitating compliance to requests, but which does not proceed from the semantic characteristics of the request, is the feeling of freedom of the subject. This feeling of freedom would be one of the main factors predisposing to the compliance (Kiesler 1971). Now, we cannot keep count of research on the compliance without pressure, which gives evidence of the efficiency of techniques facilitating the activation of this feeling of freedom: foot-in-the-door (Freedman and Fraser 1966), door-in-the-face (Cialdini, Vincent, Lewis, Catalan, Wheeler and Lee Darby 1975), low-ball (Cialdini, Cacioppo, Bassett and Miller 1978) or also the technique of the lure (Joule, Gouilloux and Weber 1989). Surprisingly, experimental research concerning this feeling of freedom have compared some situations where the subject's freedom was
reduced, comparatively to a situation of free choice (Beaman, Svanum, Manlove and Hamtpton 1974; Chartrand, Pinckert and Burger 1999). According to the reactance theory of Brehm (1966), this feeling of loss of freedom comes along with a drastic fall of compliance. Few studies were made on conditions favoring a feeling of increased freedom in the decision of the subject, notably by means of the semantic characteristics of the requests. With the benefit of hindsight, we realize that the effect of sentences such as "it is up to you to see," "up to you to choose," "but you are free of…" which are generally expressed to punctuate the end of a request in the case of the techniques of compliance without pressure, were never the object of a direct investigation. This is the objective fixed by the experiment presented below.
Accounting for the persuasive effects contained in the semantic properties of requests, shown by the various research quoted above, we could expect that the direct semantic evocation of the freedom of subject's decision facilitates the request's compliance.
Forty men and 40 women (age range 30-50 years old), alone, chosen at random in the street. Forty people were random in the experimental group (20 men and 20 women) and 40 in the control group (20 men and 20 women).
Four people, 2 men and 2 women (average age 20-22 years old), played the role of confederates in this experiment. They were dressed neatly and in a traditional way for young people of this age (jeans/sneakers/T-shirt). The experiment took place in a mall during particularly sunny spring days. A confederate approached a subject taken at random after counting the passage of a definite number of pedestrians in a defined zone. If the subject was a child or a teenager or an old man or a group, the confederate took the person coming just after so that she corresponds to the expected profile. In the control condition, the confederate approached the subject by saying to him or her politely: "Sorry Madam/Sir, would you have some coins to take the bus, please?" In experimental condition, the confederate formulated with the same tone the following request: "Sorry Madam/Sir, would you have some coins to take the bus, please? But you are free to accept or to refuse." The confederate then estimated if the subject agreed or not to his request. In the case of a positive answer, the confederate waited for the subject to give him the money. He estimated the amount and then gave back the sum to the subject and proceeded to completely debrief the subject.
On all measures employed in this study, no differences were found between male and female subjects. This is also true with the differences between the four confederates of this experiment. So, data was aggregated. In the control condition, 10.0 % of solicited people accepted the request of the confederate, whereas 47.5 % accepted in the experimental condition. The comparison of these two rates gives evidence of a significant difference [X²(1, 80) = 13.73, p <.001]. The evocation of the freedom of subject's decision leads to favor the request compliance. When we consider the mean amount of the gifts granted by the people having accepted the request in each of the groups, we observe that it is FF 3.25 (US $ 0.48) in the control condition versus FF 7.05 (US $ 1.04) in the experimental condition. Here also, this difference is significant [t(21) = 3.03, p <.01, two-tailed] and this is in spite of a weak compliance rate in the control group (4 persons over 40). The evocation of freedom favored the generosity of solicited people and the average amount of the granted gifts corresponds to the price of a bus ticket at the time of the experiment (FF 6.80 or US $ 1.00).
We observe that the semantic evocation of freedom in the content of the request increases the probability of compliance, but also favors the implication of the subject, as this one grants twice more money to the requester. This experiment confirms that we can obtain more compliance in a request directly by manipulating its verbal contents. This goes along the same lines of numerous previous works as those concerning the technique of "even a penny will help" (Cialdini and Schroeder 1976; Reeves, Macolini and Martin 1987; Reeves and Saucer 1993), that of the "foot-in-the-mouth" (Howard 1990) or that of "that's not all" (Burger 1986; Pollock, Smith, Knowles and Bruce 1998). The results of this experiment seem to show that we can add to this set of techniques the one of "but you are free of..."
Why is there such efficiency with this technique? Naturally, it is not the additional verbal contents which explains our results, but rather what the contents of it activates among the subjects. In this stage of the evaluation, four explanations can be proposed. Firstly, it is possible that the verbal evocation of the freedom contained in the request really activates the feeling of freedom for the subject. Now, numerous researches show that the increase of this feeling of freedom acts as a facilitator of commitment towards the expected behavior (Kiesler 1971; Cialdini 1993). Secondly, perhaps this evocation of freedom leads the subject to feel socially more involved towards the demand for help formulated by the confederate. Now, this norm of social responsibility, when activated, makes a powerful facilitator for spontaneous help by others and of compliance to requests (Berkowitz and Daniels 1963; Harris 1972). Furthermore, the activation of this norm improves compliance with the
request but also the degree of implication of subject (Guéguen and Fisher-Lokou 1999). Thirdly, the evocation of the freedom in the contents of the request would limit the weight of external causes to compliance, and favors the activation of internal causes. Now, in compliance without pressure, notably within the framework of the paradigm of the Foot-in-the-door, when requests strengthen the weight of external factors to compliance, less further compliance is obtained (Zuckerman, Lazzaro and Waldgeir 1979). Conversely, more compliance is noticed when the attribution of internal causes is favored (Gorassini and Olson 1995). Finally, it is also possible that the evoked freedom arises a guilty feeling from the subject if he does not answer to the request. We know for a long time now that guilt favors helping behavior (Konecni 1972) and certain classic paradigms of the compliance without pressure, as the Door-in-the-Face, see their results interpreted in this way (O'Keffe and Gigge 1997).
Naturally, these interpretations appear for the moment premature and the effect of the "but you are free of..." technique still remains to be confirmed and more factors explaining its efficiency require further research. Nevertheless, because more compliance was obtained in the experimental group, the research reported here demonstrates the effectiveness of this technique based on the simple evocation of freedom.
Beaman, A., S. Svanum, S. Manlove, and C. Hamtpton (1974). "An attribution theory explanation of the foot-in-the-door effects." Personality-and-Social-Psychology-Bulletin, 1:122-123.
Berkowitz, L. and L. Daniels (1963). "Responsability and dependency." Journal of Abnormal Social Psychology, 66:429-436.
Brehm, P. (1966). A theory of psychological reactance. New-York : Academic Press.
Burger, J. (1986). "Increasing compliance by improving the deal: the that's-not-all technique." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51:277-283.
Chartrand, T., S. Pinckert, and J. Burger (1999). "When manipulation backfires: the effects of time delay and requester on the foot-in-the-door technique." Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 29:211-221.
Cialdini, R. (1993). Influence. New-York: HarperCollins.
Cialdini, R., J. Cacioppo, R. Bassett and J. Miller (1978). "Low-ball procedure for producing compliance: commitment then cost." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 36:463-476.
Cialdini, R. and D. Schroeder (1976). "Increasing compliance by legitimizing paltry contributions: when even a penny help." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 34:599-604.
Cialdini, R., J. Vincent, S. Lewis, J. Catalan, D. Wheeler and B. Lee Darby (1975). "Reciprocal concessions procedure for inducing compliance : the door-in-the-face technique." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 31:206-215.
Enzle, M. and M. Harvey (1982). "Rhetorical request for help." Social Psychology Quarterly, 45:172-176.
Freedman, J. and S. Fraser (1966). "Compliance without pressure: the foot-in-the-door technique." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 4:195-202.
Gorassini, D. and J. Olson (1995). "Does self-perception change explain the foot-in-the door effect?" Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69:91-105.
Guéguen, N. and J. Fisher-Lokou (1999). "Sequential request strategy: effect on donor generosity." The Journal of Social Psychology, 139:669-671.
Harris, M. (1972). "The effects of performing one altruistic act on the likelihood of performing another." The Journal of Social Psychology, 88:65-73.
Howard, D. (1990). "The influence of verbal responses to common greetings on compliance behavior: the foot-in-the-mouth effect." Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 20:1,185-1,196.
Joule, R-V., F. Gouilloux, and F. Weber (1989). "The lure: a new compliance procedure." The Journal of Social Psychology, 129:741-749.
Kiesler, C. (1971). The psychology of commitment. New-York: Academic Press.
Konecni, V. (1972). "Some effects of guilt on compliance: a field replication." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 23:30-32.
O'Keffe, D. and M. Figge (1997). "A guilt-based explanation of the door-in-the-face influence strategy." Human Communication Research, 24:64-81.
Pollock, C., S. Smith., E. Knowles, and H. Bruce (1998). "Mindfulness limits compliance with the that's-not-all technique." Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 24:1,153-1,157.
Reeves, R., R. Macolini, and R. Martin (1987). "Legitimizing paltry contributions: on-the-spot vs. mail-in-requests." Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 17:731-738.
Reeves, R. and P. Saucer (1993). "A test of commitment in legitimizing paltry contributions." Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 8:537-544.
Zuckerman, M., M. Lazzaro and D. Waldgeir (1979). "Undermining effects of the Foot-in-the-door technique with extrinsic rewards." Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 9:292-296.
Nicolas Guéguen is currently Assistant Professor in Social Psychology at the South-Brittany University in France. His e-mail address is firstname.lastname@example.com.
Alexandre Pascual is a student in doctoral dissertation at the University of Bordeaux 2 in France. His e-mail address is email@example.com.

subset: commoncrawl


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Parents are often surprised by the high energy needs of teen girls. This is especially true for those faced with restoring a malnourished teen's weight.
But even parents of healthy teens can become confused about what is "normal" in a culture where dieting is pervasive.
This is what normal teen eating looked for this 16 year-old teen on one day. She was out of the house, walked about 2 to 3 miles, and got to choose all of her food. This teen is healthy, has good energy, and enjoys food. She is not usually very active. Not every day of eating is the same.
- Breakfast
- 1 piece of French toast with butter and syrup, a few tablespoons of hash browns
- 3/4 of a Belgian waffle with whipped cream and syrup
- 2 pork sausage links
- Lunch
- 4 pieces of tuna on crispy rice (could not finish the 5th)
- An order of salmon sushi
- Snack
- 2 scoops of ice cream
- Dinner
- 1 fried chicken taco in lettuce with cabbage
- 1 steak taco in a corn tortilla
- 1/2 serving of creamed corn
- Horchata (beverage)
- Snack
- A half wedge of blue cheese with crackers
I share this because it may be difficult for parents when teens eat the foods diet culture tells us are bad. Instead, it may be a way of creating a healthy relationship with all food and getting their high energy needs met.


text: 5x Dual Space ExplorerA giga-powered dual love bullet for twice as much pleasure. Virtually silent operation once removed from package is powered by a 9 volt battery for the most intense vibrations available in bullet form. The Dual Space Explorer features five different functions of multi-speed pulsation and vibration.Requires 1 9V battery, not included.


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Authors: mahfam
I'm having a "bigger picture" day.
After receiving news yesterday about the US Supreme Court's decision to overturn the gun ban in Washington DC, saying that individuals have a right to lawfully use handguns, I couldn't help but to skip the thought processes I would normally have around legislative news like this. Normally, I would pour over articles from reputable sources (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7474924.stm), consider the legality and morality of such decisions, engage friends in discussion, and try to make sense of why such a thing would be happening at such a time and what it would mean for me, my country, and ultimately, this planet.
I glossed over that process this time to come to a quick decision – that this is a distraction. Instantly I was thinking of global food scarcity, and visualizing people in Haiti eating mudcakes for sustenance. I saw a large boat trapped in a typhoon in the Philippines, and imagined the tearful families of those lost in the tragedy. I smelled the smoky air just outside my office building, and thought of the properties, livelihoods, and beautiful old trees being lost in the devastating fires in Northern California. I just couldn't see an immediate need to focus on guns in DC. Or perhaps I could not deal with realizing the energy expended on this, when someone close to me has just recently lost a loved one to gun violence.
Today, a friend passed on an article (www.commondreams.org/views03/0719-02.htm) that outlined why, in all likelihood, the planet's bananas will go extinct within the next 10 years. I was devastated, not because I love bananas – in fact, I rarely eat them, as I've moved towards eating mostly local foods – but rather because I was swept up in the hopeless thought that perhaps no human would be around to enjoy them anyway.
If you are reading this, it's likely I needn't waste words painting a grim picture for you of our severe climate crisis on this planet, and the shortsightedness in greedily using up our limited resources. Instead, I want to ask for your help. It is the 11th hour. It is the time when we no longer have the option to ignore what is happening, when none of us can choose to abandon ship.
At Green For All, we know that we are best equipped to be a part of the solution by building, with the help of our allies and partners, an inclusive green economy that is strong enough to lift people out of poverty. Whatever your calling is, I ask of you today what I ask of myself every day. To look deep within yourself and utilize your unique strength and clarity to be a part of the solution. Whether it's riding your bicycle or working with youth or asking your representatives to support green initiatives and help create healthy and just communities . . . whatever it is that you feel called to do, now is the time. And to all of you countless people and organizations that have devoted yourselves to these causes and more, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I know that I am not alone, and that together we can do this.
Here's to communities and a planet that are green, clean, just, and sustainable for ALL.


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Сайт фанатов группы «КуБа»
Dr. Phil McGraw accidentally hit a man with his car and the person is threatening to sue him.
Police confirmed to E! News that the "minor traffic collision" took place on a crosswalk in Universal City in the Los Angeles area on Friday morning and that no one was transported to a hospital.
"Dr. Phil just hit me with his car this morning. I filled a police report.. And injury.. Waiting for the dew process.. (sic)," a bodybuilder named Terrence Bembury posted on Instagram.
On Saturday, he shared a photo of a hospital exam room, writing, "Thank Dr. Phil.. It felt amazing getting hit by your Mercedes.. Now I'm going on two days of missing work.. SmH. I meet with my Lawyer Monday.. This is a 100% winnable vase since Dr PHIL ran a stop sign and was in the wrong lane of traffic."
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A spokesperson for Dr. Phil told E! News on Sunday that the talk show host "talked with the gentleman at the time of the mishap and was assured by him that he was fine," adding, "If there are any outstanding questions from the LAPD, he will of course be glad to answer them and believes he was operating within the law."
TMZ reported that the man was riding a skateboard when McGraw, who was driving a Mercedes, exited a parking lot, attempted to pass a van and struck him in the crosswalk. According to the outlet, cops said the talk show host exited his car, after which the pedestrian told him he was fine and they then shook hands and the McGraw left.
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"Dr. Phil ran a stop sign and was in the wrong exiting lane while I was crossing in the cross walk, then shook my hand and took off, he never got out the car, checked too see if I was injured, didn't even ask for my name," Bembury wrote on Instagram. "Cops told me he needed to stay until cops came and that he should of called himself, and the fact a shuttle driver stopped for me and he passed the driver and I even shouted and stuck my [hand] out, him being oblivious to all this means he either was on his phone or just straight hit me knowing my obvious presence and didn't care, either way he broke traffic laws which resulted in him hitting me."
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TMZ said that a witness reported the accident to police and that when cops talked to Bembury, he said his shoulder and leg were hurting, prompting the authorities to call an ambulance. The outlet said paramedics arrived and advised him to come with them to a hospital, which he declined.
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Kevin Winter/Getty Images
An overzealous fan reached to grabHarry Styles' crotch as he performed onstage at the Hollywood Bowl on Saturday night, an incident that has spurred scores of others to express outrage at what they called a "sexual assault."
The groping took place during the We Can Survive concert to benefit breast cancer awareness and was captured on camera by a few fans. Styles appeared disturbed and moved the person's hand away, but continued his performance. He has not commented on the incident.
"Near the end of performing 'Kiwi,' like usual, Harry went to the very front of the stage to get the crowd extra excited. He got down onto his knees and was shaking his arms to the music with his eyes closed. A fan then reached out and touched his crotch. He very quickly got up and appeared to also shove their hand a little bit to remove them faster," an eyewitness told Yahoo! Celebrity U.K. "You can tell it freaked him out a little because as he continued performing, he avoided the section that fan was standing in."
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After videos were posted on social media, the hashtag #RespectHarry began trending on Twitter.
"If you grab someone's dick without their consent, it's sexual assault," user @floralspark wrote. "Just because Harry's a male doesn't mean he doesn't have the same right as women. You must be absolutely disgusting if you think him kneeling in front of you calls for that. I'm disgusted. #respectharry."
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"I'm in tears," wrote user @Happily_Larry_. "Harry has created such a safe space for everyone, and this is how he's repaid? Sexual assault? I just… #RespectHarry."
The incident took place amid recent renewed discussion on social media about sexual assault and harassment, inspired by the more than 50 women who have spoken out about alleged sexual misconduct by producer Harvey Weinstein.
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He has apologized for his behavior of colleagues, denied allegations of non-consensual sex and is seeking treatment. Police in Los Angeles, New York and London are investigating a few cases against him.
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Mr. Schue is a dad!
Glee alum and Broadway star Matthew Morrison's wife Renee Puente has given birth to their first child, a baby boy.
"To my Newborn Child, Revel James Makai Morrison: Your Mama and Papa got this!!" Matthew wrote on Instagram on Sunday, alongside a black and white photo of him and his son fist-bumping.
"Trust in us to guide and protect you always," he wrote. "To lay the tracks so your choo choo train will run smoothly throughout this world. You will have all the tools to soar! We love you, and are so thankful for your arrival! The adventures are just beginning…"
Renee posted a pic of Matthew holding their tiny baby.
"I'm in Revel Heaven… my heaven on earth… to give you life, to hold you in my arms, to comfort you, to feed you from my body.. I can't begin to express my immeasurable gratitude for being the one you chose as your Mama!" she wrote. "My Revel James Makai Morrison, I promise to cherish you, to constantly remind you that you are worthy of love and belonging, to teach you compassion and kindness. I will respect you and go through every moment with understanding and patience.. I promise to love you unconditionally for ever and ever my little angel baby.. my squeaks.."
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"I see so much of your Papa in you already," she said. "I feel the calm I once felt inside of me.. I cry from the overwhelming joy of finally being able to see your face that is perfection! My little wiggle worm… I hold my belly even now with sweet reminiscence.. I am so proud to finally share you with the world. Here he is ladies & gentleman… Our Revel James! #oneandonly #thereal #morrisonadventures."
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Matthew and Renee, a model, wed in 2014. He had announced her pregnancy in May and blogged at the time about his thoughts on becoming a dad on Sherpapa.com.
"I'll admit, I always thought that I would be a father one day, but I never really put much thought past that," he wrote. "I see a lot of expecting fathers (and fathers of infants) who don't know their role. They are timid, scared, trying to stay out of the way. That doesn't sound like much fun to me."
"I know that sometimes before I go out on stage I might be nervous, my hands sweat, my mouth gets dry," he said. "But when I get on that stage, all of that goes away. I'm locked into my performance, totally present and clear minded. That's how I see myself as a Father; present, proactive, and the most inspired I have ever been."
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Renee had shared a photo of her bare baby bump in early October on Instagram, writing, "..a few birthday shots with my babies… & the best chocolate bar ever!!! Met this lovely lady with the same due date too.. #life it just gets better and better… Life's true gift lies in your freedom to design it beautifully. With each rise of the sun, you get to chase the opportunity to fill your days with meaning—to live your life the way you choose. #birthdaygirl #chocolate."
Congrats to the happy new parents!
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Sex scandal? What sex scandal? It's another reunion for Corinne Olympios and DeMario Jackson!
The Bachelor in Paradise alumni reunited at Maxim's annual Halloween party on Saturday.
"Fembot – Biker Boy take Halloween," Olympios posted on Instagram.
"This fembot captured me tonight!" he wrote.
The two posed for photos and goofed around on the blue carpet, with Jackson lifting Olympios up playfully.
See pics of them and other celebs in their Halloween 2017 costumes.
Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic
Corinne Olympios and DeMario Jackson
The two get playful at the Maxim Halloween party.
Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic
Corinne Olympios and DeMario Jackson
"Fembot – Biker Boy take Halloween," Olympios posted on Instagram.
Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images for MAXIM
Jason Derulo
The singer performs as Game of Thrones' Night King.
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Maury Phillips/Getty Images
Tara Reid
The actress showcases a shredded look.
Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images for MAXIM
Chase McNary, Robby Hayes and DeMario Jackson
Bachlor Nation represent!
Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images
Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Peta Murgatroyd
The Dancing With the Stars married couple strike a pose.
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Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images for MAXIM
Scheana Marie
The Vanderpump Rules star is a sexy skeleton.
Jerry Seinfeld, Jessica Seinfeld and Gwyneth Paltrow
"@jessseinfeld @jerryseinfeld and I (in no costume, LAME) at the 2nd annual @goodplusfdn Halloween bash!" Paltrow wrote on Instagram. "Please see next slide for best baby costume ever in the history of the world."
Channing Tatum
The proud papa slipped on a unicorn costume for his daughter's preschool's Halloween carnival.
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Jenna Dewan Tatum
The actress went as a fairy for daughter Everly's Halloween costume carnival at her preschool.
Emma Kenney
The star of Shameless and the reboot of Roseanne is all dolled up.
Pawel Kaminski, Disney/ABC Home Entertainment and TV Distribution
Kelly Ripa & Ryan Seacrest
Before Live With Kelly & Ryan airs their Halloween special, the co-hosts teased their Game of Thrones costumes.
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Jaime King
"When the fam takes Halloween VERY seriously @powerrangers @walmart #powerrangers," the actress shared on Instagram while wearing matching Power Rangers movie costumes.
Chrissy Teigen
"Hay place. a place for hay," the proud mom wrote on Instagram after visiting Mr. Bones Pumpkin Patch with John Legend and baby Luna.
Catherine Lowe
"FRIDAY IS LIT," The Bachelor star joked on Instagram while enjoying a Halloween party with her family.
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Jerod Harris
Peyton List
Roller coasters just became a bit more scary for the Jessie star who traveled to Knott's Scary Farm in Buena Park, Calif.
Courtesy of Anderson Group PR
Jillian Rose Reed
The Awkward star celebrates the spooky season with a visit to the Los Angeles Haunted Hayride at Griffith Park.
Thomas Rhett
"To watching Hocus Pocus 4 million times before Halloween and to carving Willa Gray's first pumpkin," the "Unforgettable" country singer shared on Instagram.
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Courtesy of "The Ranch"
Ashton Kutcher & Danny Masterson
Joined by co-star Elisha Cuthbert, the Hollywood stars celebrate Halloween early on the set of their Netflix show The Ranch that returns December 15.
Nate Weber / Universal Studios Hollywood
Paris Hilton
That's hot scary! The DJ and model can't help but smile in the face of terror at Universal Studios Hollywood's "Halloween Horror Nights."
Jade Tolbert
"Pumpkin patch parent fail. When you both are so excited to start family traditions, but your baby only wants to nap in your arms," the Bachelor in Paradise star joked online. "At least we still got apple cider donuts. #weweretherefor5minutes #newbies."
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Wiz Khalifa
"Our favorite time of year," the rapper shared on Instagram while visiting the pumpkin patch with his son.
Mike Danenberg / Universal Studios Hollywood
Kendrick Lamar
The Grammy winning rapper enjoys a spooky night out at Universal Studios Hollywood's "Halloween Horror Nights."
Amber Portwood
"So cute!" the Teen Mom O.G. star shared on Instagram. "Leah with her little cousin today at the pumpkin patch."
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Nate Weber / Universal Studios Hollywood
Pete Wentz, Breckin Meyer & Seth Green
It's a guys night out at Universal Studios Hollywood's "Halloween Horror Nights" as the Fall Out Boy singer joins his acting friends.
Gerard Piqué
"Mask shopping! @shakira," the soccer star shared online while teasing his future costume.
Lauren Conrad
"This little lamb had his first trip to the pumpkin patch today," the fashion designer shared on Instagram.
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Dream Kardashian
"Dream's first trip to the zoo!" Rob Kardashian wrote on Twitter as his daughter enjoyed the Halloween attractions.
Jessica Simpson
"I ain't afraid of no ghost!!" the fashion designer shared on Instagram with a photo of her two kids. "#October #Halloween #Ghostbusters #mykidsareeverything."
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Great Wolf Lodge
Jamie Lynn Sigler
While celebrating the Halloween season, the actress heads to the Great Wolf Lodge in Garden Grove, Calif., during their month-long Howl-O-Ween celebration.
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Jered Harris
Amanda Stanton, Becca Tilley, Dean Unglert, Nick Viall & Ashley "I" Iaconetti
While raising money for American Red Cross with IfOnly, the Bachelor Nation stars get their spooky on at Knott's Scary Farm in Buena Park, Calif.
Tiffany Soyra
Kendall Jenner & Blake Griffin
The Keeping Up With the Kardashians star and NBA player join a group of friends at The Queen Mary's Dark Harbor for a night of thrills and chills.
Mike Danenberg / Universal Studios Hollywood
Bella Thorne
Wazzzup monsters? The Famous in Love star rocks it out at Universal Studios Hollywood's "Halloween Horror Nights."
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Anthony Serrantonio/Instagram
Jenni "JWoww" Farley
"When your daughter LOVES ZOMBIES… you become a family of zombies for fright fest," the Jersey Shore star shared on Instagram with a collection of photos by Anthony Serrantonio.
Mike Danenberg / Universal Studios Hollywood
Amber Rose
Double trouble! The monsters have their eyes on the model at Universal Studios Hollywood's "Halloween Horror Nights."
Danielle Jonas
"My pumpkin patch," Kevin Jonas shared on Instagram after enjoying a fall day with his wife and children.
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Nate Weber / Universal Studios Hollywood
Justin Hartley
Not even a starring role in This Is Us could prevent this actor from getting scared at Universal Studios Hollywood's "Halloween Horror Nights."
Mike Danenberg / Universal Studios Hollywood
Tyler Posey & Sophia Taylor Ali
The Teen Wolf star and his girlfriend are here to prove it's always better to travel in groups at Universal Studios Hollywood's "Halloween Horror Nights."
Paul Hebert
Ariel Winter & Levi Meaden
While enjoying date night at Knott's Scary Farm, the couple runs into Modern Family co-star Nolan Gould.
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Nate Weber / Universal Studios Hollywood
Not even some monsters can knock the rapper's swag at Universal Studios Hollywood's "Halloween Horror Nights."
Paul Hebert
Kellan Lutz
Match made in Halloween heaven? The Twilight star has his eyes on one special monster at Knott's Scary Farm.
Tommaso Boddi
Emma Kenney
The Shameless star travels to the Queen Mary in Long Beach, Calif., for their spooky annual Dark Harbor event.
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Michael Simon/Startraksphoto.com
Jason Biggs & Jenny Mollen
The Hollywood couple shops for their son's Power Rangers Halloween costume at a neighborhood Target.
Jen Lowery
Dylan Minnette
We have more than 13 Reasons Why we'd love to join this actor at Knott's Scary Farm in Buena Park, Calif.
Nate Weber / Universal Studios Hollywood
Aubrey Plaza
What's up monsters? The Ingrid Goes West star proves she can handle the special guests at Universal Studios Hollywood's "Halloween Horror Nights."
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Nate Weber / Universal Studios Hollywood
Becky G
Date night done right! The singer joins Los Angeles Galaxy soccer player Sebastian Lletget at "Halloween Horror Nights" at Universal Studios Hollywood.
Nate Weber / Universal Studios Hollywood
Shawn Johnson
Once the monsters appear inside Universal Studios Hollywood's "Halloween Horror Nights," we wonder if the Olympic gold medalist will still be smiling.
Universal Studios Hollywood
Guillermo Diaz
More than a month before Halloween night, the Scandal star dresses to impress at the opening night of "Halloween Horror Nights" at Universal Studios Hollywood.
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Olympios and Jackson were famously at the center of an alleged sexual misconduct scandal that temporarily halted production of Bachelor in Paradise in June. Two months later, they reunited in West Hollywood, where they had dinner and went dancing with other Bachelor Nation peeps and other friends. In September, Olympios and Jackson also spent time together with pals in Disneyland.
Following a TMZ report about the outing, Olympios clarified that she and Jackson are just "friends," adding, "DeMario and I had a tough summer so leave us the f–k alone."
At the Maxim Halloween party on Saturday, Olympios told E! News that she and Jackson are "best friends" and that they haven't explored the romantic side of their relationship yet.
Other celebs spotted at the bash included Dancing With the Stars married couple Peta Murgatroyd and Maksim Chmerkovskiy as well as other Bacherlor Nation stars, including The Bachelorette's Lucas Yancey, aka the "Whaboom" guy, who arrived at the bash screaming "Whaboom!"
—Reporting by Amanda Williams and Christina Guessford
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Cardi B says she was kicked out a Hilton hotel in Albany in upstate New York on Saturday after authorities accused her and her team of smoking weed, which she denies, adding that the allegation was racially-motivated.
Hotel reps declined to comment on the incident. Albany police confirmed to E! News that cops responded a report from the hotel but declined to give details. The incident took place after the "Bodak Yellow" rapper, who is from New York City, performed at Times Union Center in Albany, whose African-American population is less than 14 percent. No arrests were reported.
TMZ posted a video of Cardi B leaving the hotel. While walking, she called someone a "racist motherf–ker" and appeared to knock down a display.
"So me & my team got kicked out of this hotel in Albany cause my floor smell like weed mine You I hate weed," she tweeted on Sunday morning.
She soon posted a series of selfie videos talking about the incident.
"You wanna know something? Albany is known for being racist," she said. "The floor that I was staying in in my hotel room, it smelled like weed. So the cops came in the middle of the night, knocking on my manager and on my door, talking about that we were smoking weed and we gotta get kicked out."
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Cardi B said that she doesn't even "talk about smoking weed" because "everybody knows that I do not smoke weed; I get very paranoid."
"And none of my team members smoke weed," she said. "We could all get drug tests—nobody smokes. Nobody smokes. Especially when I'm sleeping and…you're not gonna do that to me. Mind you, everybody on the floor was Caucasian but you wanna kick us out."
"And then n—as is just gonna pick out of everybody on the floor, Caucasians, that it was us that was smoking the weed in the middle of the night?" she said. "That s–t is not f–king right. Like, n—as was really being racists. Motherf–kers was being prejudiced and picking on who the f–k they thought that was smoking weed and you got the wrong f–king one. I'm telling you, I do not smoke weed."
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"And I really don't want to be the one that pulls the 'race card,' like, 'Oh, they did that 'cause they're racist,' but that is the only explanation that I could f–king find because I don't understand, like, lemme tell you something, I don't walk around with a whole entourage; it just be me, my manager, my security guard, the DJ and my dancers and nobody smokes weed," Cardi B continued. "So for motherf–kers to just say like, 'Oh, we're kicking you guys out because there's a smell of marijuana,' so why don't ya'll search the room? And then they told us that earlier, there was some rap artist that was smoking weed and they got kicked out too. We're not associated with them. So why- I just can't. I can't, really. I really can't."
Ahead of her rant, Cardi B had what appeared to be a drama-filled night. She shocked fans when she posted on Instagram Stories a video of herself that read, "Single."
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Cardi B, who is dating fellow hip-hop artist Offset, later wrote, "So listen babes, I exaggerated alil bit earlier cause I was really upset and the Bronx girl in me always have to go to the extreme. I came to my senses now. Im sorry…waffle house on me?"
She later wrote on Twitter, "Reasons why me and Offset got into it …I think he stoled my purple blanket but it wasn't him so I'm still looking for the suspect."
"Naaa but on a serious note I really loveeeee my man," she added. "He was gifted to me from Jesus."
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How far can humility take you in Africa's pushy entertainment industry? Well, this is a question only 2 Face Idibia can answer. Ladies love him for his smooth lyrics and his cool aura. Set to unite his fans from across Africa, 2 Face is joining Coke Studio Africa this season. From grass to grace, 2 Face is reason to believe in the every day African hustle. After working with numerous acts from around the world including R. Kelly, 2 Face never tires or fades out. He is reason to believe that African stuff don't crack. Watch him on new season of Coke Studio Africa.
Innocent Vjah Idibia popularly known as 2 Face Idibia or Tu-baba is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, record producer and an entrepreneur. 2 Face Idibia is a contemporary R&B, hip hop, reggae and afro beat artist. His music career started back in 1994. 2 face Idibia has been nominated for and won several awards. Some of the nominations include: MTV Africa Music Awards 2014 for Best Live Act and Most Gifted Video for the year for "Only Me" in 2011 at the Channel O Music VideoAwards. Some of the latest awards that he has won include: Album of the year (Ascension) at the Ben TV Awards 2014 and Best RnB Single "Let Somebody Love You" at the Headies in 2014.
2 Face Idibia draws his inspiration from Fela Kuti and Bob Marley
2 Face Ididbia set up his own record label known as 'Hypertek entertainment'
He established an NGO called 2 Face Idibia. It is a reach-out foundation whose motto is 'service to humanity.


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Trust Client LoginLearn more ▶
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Our banking history dates back to 1890, when Farmers and Merchants National Bank opened for business in Abilene, Texas.
As Farmers and Merchants National Bank of Abilene, we began offering trust services in 1927.
In 1957, responding to a more diversified economy, our name changed to First National Bank of Abilene. And then, in 1973, the shareholders formed First Abilene Bankshares, Inc. as a multi-bank holding company.
In October 1993, to better reflect the scope of operations, our name changed to First Financial Bankshares, which coincided with our listing on The NASDAQ Stock Market under the trading symbol FFIN.
A decade later, in October 2003, our trust departments from First Financial banks in Abilene, Sweetwater, San Angelo and Stephenville were consolidated to form a new trust company – First Financial Trust & Asset Management Company, N.A.
We began serving customers with a fifth office in April of 2005 inside the First Financial Bank, Southlake branch, which moved to a new space in Fort Worth in April 2007.
In June of 2009, we welcomed the opening of a sixth trust office in Odessa.
In June of 2013, the trust operations of the southeast markets for Beaumont, Orange and the surrounding areas began. First Financial Trust & Wealth Management's seventh state office opened in late 2014 and is located and staffed from Beaumont.
Today, we are able to provide trust and asset management services to our growing family of First Financial customers throughout Texas.
The website terms, privacy, and security policies for First Financial Bank N.A. do not apply to the site you are about to visit:
Please review the website terms, privacy, and security policies for the aforementioned site to see how they apply to you.


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An interesting thing happened to me this week. I ended up being featured in a photography exhibition at Foyles bookshop in central London. Before you ask – no, I haven't suddenly developed a talent for the visual arts. I remain, as I always have been, pretty much visually illiterate. It's actually one of my short stories that's being hung on the wall, or at least an extract from it. It's part of the photography/writing collaboration that I've written about on here before. The literary art book, Still, is being launched… Read More
Posts tagged still
Out and about
I've been busy writing this week and haven't been online much, so it was great to see that I was featured on a couple of other sites while I wasn't looking! They're both things I knew about and had participated in, but wasn't sure when they'd come out, so it was a nice surprise. First there's a Q&A with me on Negative Press, the publisher of a short story collection I'm featured in. The collection is called Still, and features some great writers like Evie Wyld, Richard Beard and Preeta… Read More
How interesting projects come about
As a writer, you spend hours scouring the listings in The Writers' & Artists' Yearbook, signing up for newsletters to hear of the latest story contests and magazine markets, sending off your official submission packages to anonymous editors, getting rejections and tweaking the story or the cover letter or the synopsis and sending it all out again. Sometimes, of course, this pays off. Winning the Luke Bitmead Award and getting my first novel published was the result of just such an official submission. So were other breaks, like short… Read More
Roelof Bakker, 'Still', Hornsey Town Hall
Just wanted to give a belated mention to a really good photography exhibition in Crouch End recently. It was a series of photographs of Hornsey Town Hall, an Art Deco listed building that has been minimally used for a long time now. After Hornsey was absorbed into the larger borough of Haringey in the 1960s, the town hall was no longer needed for its original purpose, and there has been a debate for ages about what to do with it. In the meantime, Roelof Bakker went in and photographed the… Read More


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Milk Chocolate Pecan Delight, 16.1 oz. Large Fall Bag
$9.99 $6.99
16.1 oz. Milk Chocolate Pecan Delight Large Fall Bag
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Welcome the crisp autumn season one sweet, crunchy treat at a time. Beautifully packaged to either share with a friend or enjoy alone, these buttery caramel-and-pecan confections from Russell Stover are coated in luscious milk chocolate.


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THE 10th annual NZCT AIMS Games opened in dazzling style at ASB Arena last night.
The excitement was palpable as the opening ceremony kicked off with a line-up of fabulous entertainment from youth rock band RPM, Otumoetai Intermediate's kapa haka group, and Tauranga Intermediate Boys' Choir, followed by a rousing national anthem assisted by Fletcher Oxford.
This year's Games have attracted more than 6500 intermediate-aged athletes from 193 schools.
That includes seven teams from Australia and one from Rarotonga, who will be taking part in 16 different sports over the next week.
It was a magical atmosphere as thousands of competitors, coaches, families, sponsors and guests packed the auditorium.
Under the direction of master of ceremonies Greg Cummings the arena resounded with loud cheers and whistles as each new performer and speaker took to the stage.
A massive cheer went up when New Zealand's basketball "royalty" and guest speaker Dillon Boucher took to the stage and shared his recipe for achieving success at the elite level.
The former Breakers star and Tall Blacks basketballer said: "Even at your guys' age you have a huge opportunity to do something really special this week. You all have the potential to make it to the top of your chosen sport or anything else you set your mind to.
"Believe it or not some people in this room are already the next Tall Blacks, and future All Blacks ... But nothing comes easy in this life, and if you want to be best at anything you have to be prepared to work harder than anyone else, like I did."
Otumoetai Intermediate netballers Immy Heslop, 13, and Phoebe Adler, 12, were buzzing.
Ms Heslop said she competed at last year's AIMS Games in an invitation team.
"We didn't do so great last time but this year we have been doing a lot more training, and we're hoping to do far better.
Otumoetai Intermediate's team manager Craig Nicholson said the girls' netball team have two games a day ahead of them.
"It will be very tough, and very competitive, especially when they play Whakatane Intermediate.
Competitions began on Saturday, with Otumoetai School snatching three gold medals and four silver medals in the cross-country and finish on Friday.


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Irvine Valley College (IVC) students have the unique opportunity to attend California State University (CSU) or University of California (UC) campuses while they are still at IVC. This program is especially useful for community college students who might want to transfer to a local CSU or UC campus, allowing them to take a course at that level each semester at a very low cost. We encourage students who are interested in transferring to CSU, Fullerton, CSU, Long Beach or UC, Irvine to take advantage of this opportunity. Through the cross enrollment program, you can get to know the school you intend to transfer to…even before you are admitted!
The Transfer Center at IVC has specific information regarding the cross enrollment program, so stop by and see them. The Office of Admissions and Records must clear you to participate, so when you are ready, fill out the Application for Cross Enrollment and turn it in to the Admissions Office to get the process going. Below are some specific details you need to be aware of when applying for this program.
To participate in the Cross Enrollment program you must:
T: 949-451-5220 E: firstname.lastname@example.com: Student Services Center


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Lake Cahora Bassa – Africa's 4th largest reservoir lake and dam feeding off the great Zambezi river, offering 300KM of unsurpassed African beauty and wilderness. The lake is home to one of the best Tiger fishing and fly fishing in the world. The locale is further enhanced by amazing wildlife including hippos, crocodiles, wild water buffalo, dyke, monkeys, baboons and an array of amazing colorful African birds.
"To be the #1 destination Resort and Conference Center in Tete Province, Mozambique, delivering the utmost 5-star resort experience, providing the utmost care and attention to our patrons, at the same time providing a life changing development opportunity to our workforce and the nearby rural communities and concurrently delivering a world class return to our stakeholders." - Kinetica Board


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What should you do when your coffee maker isn't pumping water?
When your coffee maker stops pumping water through, a descale is usually needed. At Bosch Home Appliances Customer Service, we recommend using a special descaler to descale your machine properly. Please don't use domestic cleaners. These are mostly aggressive and will harm your machine over the long term.
If, on the other hand, water runs out of your coffee machine, in most cases a repair is required. If this occurs within the guarantee period of 24 months, at Bosch Home Appliances, we'll provide a free of charge repair. Outside the warranty period, coffee machines are repaired by us at a fixed cost of <CMFixPrice>. If your coffee maker is a device with Solitaire design, the fixed price for the repair of your coffee machine is <SMFixPrice>.
Address of small appliance workshop:


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What some of the Brides & Grooms say about Carla!
Oh Carla! You are the best! Thank you for making our wedding a dream come true! - Le & Deng
Carla was truly amazing! She was professional, bubbly and made everyone feel welcome and at ease, I would recommend Carla to anyone looking for that perfect touch to one if the most important day of your life. Thanks again Carla. You're and angel! - Kelly & Matt
We booked Carla for our Hunter Valley wedding last October. Her organisation, knowledge and expertise put us completely at ease throughout the whole process. Carla knew what we were after - we couldn't have asked for a more fun and professional celebrant! Could not recommend Carla enough! - Emily & Brendan
Thank you for making our day so beautiful, fun and completely our own. We had a fantastic ceremony - you are the best! - Kylie & Grant
Thank you so much for delivering such a beautiful ceremony. We loved how you made our ceremony so warm, relaxed and loving, it was truly perfect. Your kind heart, contagious smile and charisma though out our wedding is something we will always remember. Thank you Carla your one in a million! - Saraniya
Thanks to Carla, we had a great ceremony. All of our families and friends enjoyed the ceremony and said that it was the best wedding ceremony they've ever attended to. We just want to thank her for everything and for a beautiful and unforgettable ceremony, she's the absolute best! - Estella & Ryan
Thank you Carla. You have been a true professional and have helped us greatly! - Ruslana & Arthur
We fell in love with our celebrant! She assisted us in all the planning way above everything a celebrant needs to do and on the day she helped us prior ceremony. We could not have asked for a better celebrant... don't get anyone else! - Grace & Suresh
I am so pleased Carla lead the ceremony! She was so beautiful and easy to work with and delivered the best ceremony I could ever ask for! Highly recommended. EVERYONE LOVED my ceremony and commented on it to be the best they have been to!! - Cameron & Karen


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Tag Archives: Moon/Neptune/Mercury
Week of November 10, 2014
Hope is a cruel mistress, but what are your alternatives? Use Force. But use it wisely. Watch out! Ambition this week, & a large reality-check quotient, alongside a huge dream that floats through the middle of a startling abyss, don't … Continue reading


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In Depth
Statement from Director Joshua Baker
"My goal is to take a different approach to the way that documentaries have been made on this conflict. For me they are often approached with dramatic intentions, something that is appropriate for some conflicts, but not this one. This conflict is different, far more permanent and much slower but with bursts of violence interspersed.
The conflict is routine, the people tasked with solving it have failed for decades, allowing the status quo to flourish. As such the film is intentionally subtle, aiming to bring the viewer to the point of forgetting this is a film about a conflict, before reminding them vividly and perhaps slightly beautifully, that this is indeed still a dangerous place.
The story that comes to mind that best expresses what I mean, is when I watched a young girl of 3 or 4 build a small pyramid in her living room out of a pile of rubber bullets her family had collected, after being shot at or shot with them. The girl built the pyramid and the family applauded, encouraging her to do it again. This image was much more affecting to me than any gun shot or dead body. It spoke to the permanence of the conflict. Violent moments for me have a finite existence, whereas this girl's action is indicative of a deeper problem, one that will last a lifetime."
Note from Producer, Amy Basil
"When Joshua's project first came to me I was struck by the professionalism and 'togetherness' of the package. It was far and away one of the best pitch proposals I had ever seen. It belied his youth and at the same time underscored a borderline maniacal work ethic. My instincts proved to be correct, conservative even, and now I find myself in the midst of a documentary that is decoding and humanising the Israeli-Palestinian diplomatic process.
Joshua's propulsion towards activity, his passion and dedication to the story above anything else and his requirement to learn, is evident in the vast breadth of experience he has accumulated in a disarmingly short career. From the unforgiving practicality of production, to the intensely cerebral development process; from straight-up news journalism, to 'do-it-yourself' independent filmmaking, he has seen more than most. For me though, the best and most exciting part is this: he's just getting started."
Technical Notes
Running Time: 59 minutes
The Process was shot on the Canon EOS C300 using C-Log
Filmed in 25p, 16:9 ratio at its highest HD resolution.
Sound was recorded via Sennheiser G3 lapel mics, transmitted wirelessly to the C300 or recorded onboard with the Sennheiser NTG2 microphone
Over 5000 minutes of footage was recorded over the entire shooting period, spanning from late September to early November 2013.
The film was edited on Adobe Premiere Pro, running on Apple Macintosh.


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Here's a few odds and ends from some of our perennial local favorites before we disappear for Labor Day weekend.
First up: Southboro's Anda Volley has a brand-new video for her song "Black Rose," off of her debut album, "Inside the Ghost Machine." The video was shot and directed by Michael J. Epstein and Sophia Cacciola — who seem to be cornering the market on Boston-area music videos lately — and features performances by Boston-area artists Porcelain Dalya and Nefertara Hotep.
I've gushed over the album this song comes from before, but the video well-catches the otherworldly, disaffected and sinister quality of the song.
If you're looking for something a little jazzier, though, Dale LePage and the Manhattans have a new album coming out next week, featuring the Worcester crooner's first foray into original material. To whet appetites, though, the band has a video up of its song "I Just Can't Wait."
Lastly, it's not every day we get an all-drum performance locally, but this video of drummer Taydon Kennet of the October Accord playing "Cheapshot Of The Year," off the band's forthcoming album, is pretty fun:
All told, it appears there's still lots to look forward to in the local music scene. (Victor D. Infante)


text: Home > Global Filipino Netherlands' Miss Saigon stars help raise funds for Tacloban By Dheza Marie Aguilar, ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau Posted at Feb 18 2014 09:21 AM | Updated as of Feb 18 2014 05:21 PM Share Save Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Tony Neef, Anouk Maas, Linda Wagenmakers and Ferry Doedens on stage together for the benefit concert for Tacloban. Photo - Sunshine Grace Overbeeke THE NETHERLANDS - In a night filled with music, dance and lively performances, former stars of Miss Saigon Netherlands and Dutch celebrities gathered to help the victims of Typhoon Haiyan in Tacloban, particularly the children. The benefit concert dubbed as "A Future for the Children of Tacloban" featured performances by Anouk Maas, Ferry Doedens, Tony Neef, Linda Wagenmakers, Joanne Telesford and many others. The proceeds of the concert will be donated to Help Tacloban Foundation (HET), an organization that supports school children in Tacloban, by donating study materials and in the rehabilitation of Capoocan Elementary School. The concert was organized by theater and film actor Arvin Quirante who was part of "Miss Saigon" in the Netherlands and Barcelona. Although not born or raised in Tacloban, Quirante knows the difficulties that the children are going through after their families lost everything during the typhoon. He himself struggled with poverty when he was a kid. "Many of these children have been orphaned by Typhoon Yolanda, many have lost their source of income. Probably many are single parents. I can relate to this because my mother was a single parent and I understand their needs," said Quirante in an interview with Balitang Europe. A Future for the Children of Tacloban Many of the performers were Quirante's friends and colleagues from "Miss Saigon." He said they were thankful to be given the opportunity to directly help Tacloban through their talents. Linda Wagenmakers, who played the role of Kim in the Dutch version of Miss Saigon, said she used to work with a lot of Filipinos, some of which have become her friends, that's why she feels connected to the Philippines. "There are people that lived through it. It is very important now, especially for the kids that they get to have a future. They have to go back and start their lives so I think that's always a good reason to join [the concert]," she said. Meanwhile the event's hosts, theater actress Anouk Maas and Dutch actor Ferry Doedens, said they were at first nervous performing in the event but the crowd, particularly Filipinos, was a fun audience. Apart from the tickets, attendees were encouraged to donate. Photo by Sunshine Grace Overbeeke "We think it's really important to do this for the people [in Tacloban]. You would do it for your own mother, your own brother, so why not other people?" said Maas. "I think it's terrible what happened there and every little bit helps," Doedens added. Most of the audience had already donated through the national fundraising campaign Giro 555 which generated a total donation of more than P2 billion, but many still believe that a lot more is needed to be done to rebuild the lives of the victims. "I felt really sad when I saw the devastation there. I was taking action to encourage everyone to donate money. It's a country that does not have enough means to develop itself again. If we make sure that the money gets to the right people then we will help," said Dutch TV presenter Koen Frederik Smit. At the end of the night, "A Future for the Children of Tacloban" charity concert was able to raise €4.750 (approximately P289,308). Share Save Facebook Share on Twitter LinkedIn Top Stories,Global Filipino,Tacloban,Netherlands,miss saigon,Yolanda,Haiyan Read More: Tacloban Netherlands miss saigon Yolanda Haiyan


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- Automatic26,318 km
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Here are all the used Buick Enclave vehicles for sale in your area. You may be just one click away from that second hand car you have always dreamed of. Auto123.com offers a huge selection to meet your specific needs, so start browsing through our inventory of pre-owned Buick Enclave vehicles for sale right now!
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Master suite 1
With prime sea views, this spacious and stylish third-floor suite features a private living room complete with a comfortable sofa, desk and mini-fridge. A sliding door leads to the bedroom, which is furnished with a king-size bed and features a second entertainment unit (with 60-inch TV) as well as a private balcony. A large dressing room connects the bedroom to the bathroom, where a double jacuzzi is set in cool marble surrounds. A his-and-hers vanity plus two WCs and a rain shower offer added touches of luxury.
Master suite 2
Situated on the ground floor and with a garden view, this delightful king-bedded master suite blends fun and chic style in a unique circular room design, with furnishings to match. Heavy silk drapes, marble floors and a chandelier hand-woven in natural fibres boost the room's understated elegance. A home theatre system and a generous bathroom with tub add to the suite's appeal as an ultra-private retreat.
Guest suites
Two king-bedded guest suites share the third floor with Master suite 1, each with comfortable sitting areas, spacious wardrobes, ensuite bathrooms with double bathtubs and a shared balcony. Sea views compete with the in-room entertainment units to capture your attention. On the ground floor, next to the second master, is a colourful twin-bedded guest suite with fun beanbag tables, TV entertainment and an ensuite bathroom with a bathtub and double vanity set. Beside this room is a modestly sized extra bedroom furnished with a king-sized bed and ensuite bathroom with shower.


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Injury-riddled season has humbled CSU RB Chris Nwoke, who vows to stay positive
FORT COLLINS – In some respects, it has been the cruelest of seasons for Chris Nwoke.
This was supposed to be his breakout year, start to finish, as Colorado State's workhorse at running back following an 1,110-yard performance in 2011. Instead, it has turned out to be anything but that. Pretty much the complete opposite.
Instead of breaking out, with two games remaining Nwoke finds himself trying to break back in as a big contributor on offense. Ankle injuries have been the most consistent part of his season. He's been in-and-out of the lineup as a result, and not at full-strength in many of the other games in which he's participated.
"It's been a tough year," Nwoke said.
"Obviously, you don't hope for an injury year like that, but when you do get them you've just got to stay positive and make sure you're working on the things you need to do to get back to full health. And make sure it doesn't happen in my last year. So, definitely it's been a good learning aspect. I've never had a year like this, so I've gotten stronger off of it mentally."
His upcoming senior season helps Nwoke stay positive. It's one last chance to have the season he wanted to have this year – at least health-wise. Fumbling has also been an issue. Despite dressing he did not play in the Border War game against Wyoming. CSU coach Jim McElwain said it was a combination of health and ball security.
But in actuality, Nwoke's biggest problem may have simply been fumbling at a time when McElwain was really hot-and-heavy on taking care of the football because other players didn't. Nwoke had just one fumble through the first seven games before laying two on the ground against Hawaii. CSU lost both fumbles in that game and have lost all three he has fumbled this season.
McElwain sat him out against Wyoming, and redshirt freshman Donnell Alexander has been the main ball carrier ever since.
Meanwhile, Nwoke, who is second on the team in individual offense with 402 yards, says he's worked on keeping the ball secure.
"Just focusing on high-and-tight," he said. "If I just think about that every single play, I think it'll stay put. You just want to get used to the habit of getting it high-and-tight. As you do that and it becomes a part of how you run, I think that's the key right there."
Nwoke got back to carrying the football in the Rams' win over UNLV, getting 14 rushes for 66 yards. He also caught one pass for seven yards. He's been a mentor to Alexander, a burgeoning star who has run for 253 yards and three touchdowns in the last two games.
"He just has a lot of talent," Nwoke said. "There's a lot of things he can do and really he's on the right pace, trusting his offensive linemen, being patient, exploding through the hole, making guys miss. And those are the key components. All I keep saying is 'keep going, take advantage, don't let nobody stop you.' He's definitely taking advantage of that."
Follow Chris Dempsey on Twitter @dempseypost or email him at email@example.com


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It's security protected system capable of connecting remote workers through a mobile app that doesn't need to be installed on user devices to deliver near-instant deployment and high levels of engagement. Reach every worker using SMS, E-Mail and InApp alerts.
StaffCircle is built and runs natively on Azure and is designed for medium and large corporate and enterprise organisations.
StaffCircle is suitable for many industry verticals however Distribution, Manufacturing and Civil Engineering are our primary sectors.
StaffCircle is available for deployment in the UK, US and Western Europe.


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There may not be life after death, but there is life after Adventism.
Alex, Ryan, and Jim talk about Star Wars, Star Trek, and how science fiction reinforced or contradicted their beliefs about religion, both before and after leaving.
Check out this episode!
Not having been raised exactly as y'all were, I both related and didn't to your conversation. As far as the geekery goes, though . . . oh man, I was onboard. I felt like one of you. So, thanks.


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New works from my latest series Living Objects (2018) are currently on show at Audian Gallery at Simon Fraser University's School for Contemporary Arts as part of the MFA Spring Show 2018: Gallimaufry.
Living Objects (2018) is concerned with the points of relation where human constructions and nonhuman constructions meet. As mycelium grows, it comes into contact with its environment, forming networks, patterns of relationality, and conduits through which energy can be distributed to other organisms. Mycelium is a gateway species that opens the door for other forms of biological life to thrive. It allows us to observe and experience relations of matter formation and energy distribution, in real time.
Living Objects (2018) investigates the capacity of mycelium spores to produce shapes, textures, colours, densities, and structures of resonance over the course of their natural lifespan. This has produced a series of live collaborations through which living works have been cultivated.
The MFA Spring Show: Gallimaufry is open from the 3 - 12th May 2018. The MFA Spring Show 2018 also features works from artists Graeme Wahn, Minahil Bukhari and Jennifer Anderson. This exhibition is paralleled by performances and enactments in the studios and theatres at SFU's SCA created by Brian Postalian and Company, Jennifer Anderson, and Alexandre Klinke. For more information check out the Audain Gallery website. To book tickets for Spring Show Performances visit the SCA online.


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Ever since I read Kim Boyce's recipe for quinoa and beet pancakes, a recipe that inspired her wonderful book "Good to the Grain," I've wanted to add puréed beets to a pancake batter. I finally got around to it. I used two-thirds whole wheat flour and one-third all-purpose flour in this very pink batter. Ms. Boyce uses a mixture of quinoa flour and all-purpose, which shows off the bright color of the beets to a better effect. I think millet flour would be a good choice too. It's important to purée the roasted beets until they're really smooth; I found using a powerful hand blender was more effective for this than my food processor.
1 large or 2 medium beets (enough for 1/2 cup puréed roasted beets)
125 grams (1 cup) whole wheat flour or teff flour (or a combination)
60 grams (1/2 cup) unbleached all-purpose flour
10 grams (2 teaspoons) baking powder
5 grams (1 teaspoon) baking soda
2 grams (rounded 1/4 teaspoon) salt
1 tablespoon sugar, honey, or agave syrup (optional)
2 eggs
5 grams (1 teaspoon) vanilla
1 1/2 cups buttermilk or 1 cup yogurt + 1/2 cup milk
35 grams (3 tablespoons) chia seeds
3 tablespoons sunflower, grapeseed or canola oil
1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Cut the greens away from the beets, leaving about 1/4 inch of stems. Scrub the beets and place in a baking dish (or lidded ovenproof casserole). Add 1/2 inch water to the dish. Cover tightly. Place in the oven and roast medium beets (4 to 6 ounces) for 50 minutes, large beets (8 ounces) 60 minutes, or until very soft and easily penetrated with the tip of a knife. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the covered baking dish. Cut away the ends and slip off the skins. Purée in a food processor fitted with the steel blade until smooth. Measure out 1/2 cup. Freeze any extra.
2. Sift together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar (if using sugar). In a medium-size bowl, beat together the eggs, buttermilk or yogurt and milk, oil, vanilla, beet purée and honey or agave nectar (if using). Quickly whisk in the flour mixture and fold in the chia seeds.
3. Heat a large skillet or griddle over medium-high heat and brush with butter or oil. Drop the pancakes by the scant 1/4 cup onto the hot pan or griddle. Cook until bubbles break through and turn the pancakes. They will be quite moist so make sure to wait long enough so that they don't fall apart when you turn them. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes on the other side, until lightly browned. Remove to a rack. Serve with maple syrup and butter.
Yield: About 15 pancakes
Advance preparation: You can make these a day ahead and reheat, or freeze them and thaw in the microwave.
Nutritional information per pancake: 107 calories; 5 grams fat; 1 grams saturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 26 milligrams cholesterol; 13 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 254 milligrams sodium (does not include salt to taste); 4 grams protein
Martha Rose Shulman is the author of "The Very Best of Recipes for Health."


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Our care
Information about our services for patients and families.Our care services
Information about our services for patients and families.Our care services
Find out about the service we provide, who, and how we can help.Healthcare professionals
There are so many ways you can get involved and support Chestnut Tree House
Whatever your event there's a way for you to help raise valuable funds - cycling, walking, skydiving, have a browse, get inspired and get in touch
Chestnut Tree House depends on over 1000 volunteers who help in the hospice, in our charity shops and at our fundraising events
Whether you are taking part in an organised event or putting on your own we can help you make it a success
Find out how your business or company can help raise money and support our charity
Discover the benefits of volunteering for charity by becoming a hospice volunteer, or volunteer at a charity event or in one of our charity shops across Sussex and South-East Hampshire. Explore our current volunteer vacancies below.
We have a number of different volunteering roles at Chestnut Tree House. Details of what each role entails and how to apply can be found on the individual pages below.
Volunteer Fundraising Stand Co-ordinator
If you have any questions about these opportunities, or wish to discuss other roles we may have available, please contact Voluntary Services on 01903 706315 or email email@example.com


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There are no physical boundaries with the International Performance Marketing Awards. Anyone within the digital ecosystem can enter categories on condition that where required your campaign activity reaches consumers in a specified region, for example the USA, MENA or APAC.
Your OPM, agency or business can be located in any global territory, there is no requirement to have a physical presence in the region to enter.
The awards are open to Advertisers, Publishers, Media Owners, Agencies, Networks, Start-ups, Technology Providers or Individuals who operate in the Performance Marketing sector.
Entries may be made directly by the company or via an authorised agent such as their network, agency or PR agency.
Entries may be submitted for multiple categories - there will be a charge for each entry submitted. Please use the correct entry template for each category.
To be eligible to enter each award, the activity must have taken place between 1st June 2016 and 25th July 2017.
The entry must generate revenue based on a performance metric. Hybrid or Tenancy type campaigns can be entered on condition that there is some CPA / performance-based commission attached.
An entry may be withdrawn for any reason up until 05 September 2017 upon written request; however the entry fee is non-refundable.
It is very important that you provide evidence of commercial success and ROI, without these the judges cannot measure the success of your campaign and you may lose out on points otherwise easily gained.
We understand that this information is of a sensitive matter and therefore all judges will be required to sign a Non Disclosure Agreement. Any information you put into your entry will automatically be treated as 'for judges eyes only' and no information from your entry will go further than the judges. All judges are vetted for conflicts and any issues, no matter how small will be taken seriously both for our reputation and your peace of mind.
If you have any questions regarding commercial confidence please call the founder and managing director of PerformanceIN, Matthew Wood on +44 117 990 2940.
"The global Performance Marketing Awards offers a unique opportunity to recognize the top performers in the industry in an objective and independent manner. They categories have been well thought out and will highlight and recognize the best in the business on a global level for the first time."Robert Glazer, Founder & Managing Director, Acceleration Partners
© 2019 PerformanceIN. All rights reserved unless stated. Images used with permission.


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"How to Fly a Horse" will change the way you think about creativity
"How to Fly a Horse" will change the way you think about creativity
Your creative ideas and your abdominal muscles are a lot alike. If you think you can hone them in only a few minutes, get used to dull results.
Kevin Ashton doesn't exactly say that in his best-selling book "How to Fly a Horse: The Secret History of Creation, Invention, and Discovery," released in January 2015, although he has so many turns of phrase in there we might have to double check.
Ashton has experience in marketing, entrepreneurship and innovation, and is best known for being very influential in the development of the Internet of Things. In fact, he is widely credited with coining the term. Suffice it to say he's a creative person.
In "How to Fly a Horse," his main message is something you don't hear a lot today. While Twitter's filled with headlines like "5 Simple Tricks to Improve Brainstorming" and "6 Secrets of Creative Geniuses," Ashton's saying that creating something great isn't easy. There's no quick fix. There aren't sudden moments of brilliance that come out of nowhere to only certain people. In fact, the last chapter is called, "Good-Bye Genius."
But that's actually good news – it means anyone with the willpower and tenacity can create and innovate.
Here's what our staff here at Braithwaite thought about the book.
Hugh Braithwaite
Founder & CEO
We've actually referenced this book a lot this year in the creativity bootcamps we organize for our clients. I read this when it first came out and the idea that still resonates with me is that just asking "What if?" is the simplest, most important step in the creative process, even if many people are afraid to ask it.
At one part he actually goes back 50,000 years, to what he calls "the most important moment in human history" – the day one member of our species first looked at a tool and thought, "I can make this better." Then comes maybe my favorite line of the book: "The ability to change anything was the change that changed everything."
That's so relevant for business today. We so often see people who won't even consider the idea that things don't have to be the way they are. But all you need to go from a crude stone hammer to the Black + Decker Hammerdrill DR670 with a variable speed trigger and pistol grip design is that initial idea to make a change. That's a powerful realization.
Alex Dalgliesh
Associate Vice President
I really enjoyed the stories about how many ideas we think of as genius in retrospect were once considered crazy. We've all heard, for instance, that Einstein was just a lowly patent clerk before he created the theory of relativity, and Ashton adds some fuel to that fire.
One example from the book was the world's first stealth aircraft, which was jokingly called the "Hopeless Diamond" by engineers at Lockheed Martin because no one thought it could fly, but it eventually served as the basis for all future stealth technology. Another example was the South Park movie from 1999, because studio executives thought it was insane to make an R-rated, animated musical, but it was a box office success and even earned an Academy Award nomination.
The lesson I took away is that innovation can be scary at first. It's hard to know an idea is a great one when you first encounter it, especially if it's so different from what has existed before. Eventually, though, you just need to try.
Lee Procida
Lead Content Strategist
This actually reminded me of a book called The Evolution of Technology, which I was assigned for an anthropology class in college. The main idea there, as you might guess, is that technology evolves just as animals do, with examples of inventions incrementally improving on previous developments rather than appearing out of nowhere. "How to Fly a Horse" similarly debunks that myth, showing that creativity most often comes from hard work and steady improvement, and hardly if ever by spontaneous brilliance.
Similarly, he shows that the popular conception of the lone genius is rarely accurate. People seem to be naturally biased in giving sole credit to famous people for ideas they either didn't originate or co-developed with many others. My favorite part is when he breaks down the ironic fact that a famous phrase meant to convey this very idea is somehow often inaccurately attributed to one famous person. It's true that Isaac Newton wrote, "If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants," in 1676, and he is usually quoted as the owner of this phrase. But it's also true that this phrase was somewhat of a cliche even then, and Ashton gives specific examples of at least five other people saying pretty much the same thing, dating back to the 12th Century.
We may be more guilty of this hero worship today than ever, now that seemingly anyone can brand themselves as an "influencer" or "thought leader," which is why this book was so refreshing.
This article is part of our B On The Books series, in which Braithwaite staff explain their favorite ideas from the best business and marketing books. Read more in this series.


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All nonprofit organizations have experienced, at one time or another, the challenge of inspiring Board members to engage—or re-engage—and help raise funds.
Let's start by noting the obvious: the NPO's chief executive would benefit by first taking a step back to identify possible reasons for lackluster engagement, particularly if a low level of engagement appears to be widespread among Board members.
That having been said, we will focus here on the three most important approaches for how to get your Board engaged in making a difference.
1. Inspire them
Who typically joins NPO boards? The answer is, busy people with a special place in their hearts for the mission of a given nonprofit. If that is true, why do they need inspiration?
- Board members often are people who are busy, sought-after members of their community. They may be experiencing personal or professional challenges that leave little room for focusing on the needs of your NPO.
- Some Board members have served for years and allowed their initial passion to lapse into complacency.
- Some Board members may be new to the position and afraid and/or unaware of what the role requires.
Here are ways to spark new passion:
First, have Board members meet and listen to stories of people who benefitted from your NPO's work. Hold a little social gathering quarterly, or start each Board meeting with a beneficiary and his or her story.
Next, be sure to develop (or refresh) personal relations between the chief executive and each Board member. Learn what is going on in their lives in that moment. Connect their current interests and passions to your NPO's mission. Once the relationship fires up, stoke it regularly.
2. Keep them in the loop and keep asking for their ideas
Board members are the key stakeholders that care about your mission—but there always is competition for their time and attention.
Holding regular Board meetings—whether monthly, quarterly, or annually—is too infrequent in today's digital age to keep your mission on their radar screens. Send your Board members weekly electronic updates that offer news, provide status reports, ask for ideas, and applaud their service. That will help keep their attention on the work your NPO is accomplishing. More important, including a specific request for their ideas for accomplishing your NPO's current tasks will help Board members feel needed and useful—two reasons people join nonprofit Boards.
3. Retrain, reassure, and repeat as needed
Board members are people first. They may fear fundraising or simply have no experience. Those who do have experience may not see a connection between their skills and your donor base.
Assess their readiness. Ask them how they feel about fundraising. Bring in an "expert" coach if needed. Share successful stories among the group.
By employing a positive, low-key approach, build their skills and confidence. That, combined with their new inspiration and feeling of engagement, will set your Board on a new course to increase your donor revenue.