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Some of us here on the BritGrad committee will attend conferences in England and the US in coming weeks. If you're also attending a conference – listed below or not – let us know in the comments. We'd love to meet you or reconnect with you before June. (And we'll be happy to answer any questions you may have about BritGrad.)
Shakespeare Inside-out: Depth, Surface, Meaning – BSA – February 24-26 – Lancaster University
Saturday, February 25 – Panel 10
Cathleen McKague (Treasurer) presents: 'Her arms do lend his neck a sweet embrace: / Incorp'rate then they seem; face grows to face': Ovid's tale of Salmacis and Hermaphroditus as a source text for Shakespeare's Venus and Adonis
Sunday, February 26 – Panel 33
Eoin Price (Co-chair) presents: Secrecy, Privacy, and Power in Middleton and Shakespeare
Thea Buckley (sub-committee) presents: Turning Hamlet Inside-out: Barton's 1980-81 RSC Production
Writing the Lives of People and Things – March 1-2 – Southampton University
Friday, March 1 – Session 4
Yolana Wassersug (Registrar) presents: The Counterfeit Presentment: Shakespeare and Biographical Portraiture
Shakespeare Association of America – April 5-7 – Boston, MA
Thursday, April 5
Eoin Price is part of the 'Literature and History/Literature as History' panel, led by David Scott Kastan (Yale) and Keith Wrightson (Yale).
Jose Perez Diez (sub-committee) is part of the 'Non-Shakespearean Drama and Performance' panel, led by Pascale Aebischer (University of Exeter) and Sarah Werner (Folger Shakespeare Library). Jose's paper is titled 'An editor's theatre: The impact of non-professional, experimental, and hypothetic performance on editorial practice.'
Friday, April 6
Cathleen McKague is part of the 'Emotion in Shakespeare, Part Two' panel, led by Cora Fox (Arizona State). Cathleen's paper is titled 'Gendered Emotion in Jonson's Volpone'.
Saturday, April 7
Yolana Wassersug is part of the 'Shakespeare and the Power of the Face' panel, led by James A. Knapp (Loyola U, Chicago). Yolana's paper is titled "The counterfeit presentment of two brothers': What Hamlet Sees in Faces'.


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CHICAGO – Two Chicago Congressmen have come out to show support for Jesse Jackson Jr. and his family, and say they're disappointed more politicians aren't doing the same.
U.S. Reps. Danny Davis and Bobby Rush joined about 200 people Saturday for the weekly service at the Rev. Jesse Jackson's Rainbow/PUSH coalition in Chicago.
They joined bishops and ministers on stage in a special prayer for the Jackson family.
Jesse Jackson Jr. resigned from the U.S. House this week, citing his battle with bipolar disorder. He also acknowledged he is the subject of a federal probe and said he's cooperating with investigators.
After the service, Davis and Rush said they have not seen the former congressman and don't know where he is. They said they hope Jackson can focus on getting healthy.

subset: commoncrawl


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MCMF – "I Can Rap" (Mixtape)May 29th, 2012 by HipHopIsLove | Album/Mixtape/EP Review, Hip-Hop/Rap, Music Video, Remix |
New Jersey rapper and producer MCMF recently dropped his newest mixtape "I Can Rap". MCMF has a very unique but enjoyable flow. He fuses elements of Hip-Hop, Pop, Rock and Soul to develop the unique sound of his music. MCMF is known for his powerful and heartfelt lyrics. In my eyes it is a perfect combination to keep the listener pleased and entertained. Hearing "I Can Rap" minutes after it dropped, I was instantly in love.
"I Can Rap" is a sponsored tape on Datpiff.com and can be downloaded for free there. Make sure to download the tape and check out his Facebook page for more info!
Watch the video for latest self produced single by MCMF entitled "Patience" below. (more…)


text: The vessel is designed for the most demanding regulatory requirements and is equipped with the latest Kongsberg Dynamic Positioning System, certified to DP3 class. Floatel Superior accommodates 440 persons in single bed cabins and has large recreational areas, including mess and day rooms, gymnasium, internet café and cinema. The vessel has a telescopic gangway for client personnel to transfer between the floatel and the host installation. A large helideck and two deck cranes to support the client's logistical requirements. A large lay-down area as well as workshops on the main deck to support the client's construction and storage activities.


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The stunning world of private jet travel
No queues. No waiting. No taking off your shoes for security. Take-off when you want, arrive when you want. Yes, private jet travel is the answer to some seriously first world problems.
But you still want to try it, right? You're not alone.
Corporations already understand the upside to private jet travel and make up the majority of private jet use. However according to PrivateFly, the personal use market has increased from 9 per cent in 2008 to 22 per cent in 2013.
They should know. PrivateFly was the first to offer a one-stop online shop to peruse, compare and book one of over 2500 aircraft from private jet companies registered with the company around the world.
Factor in private jet fractional ownership, timeshare and charter companies akin to Netjets, MJets and Execujet plus JetSuite (who offer "empty leg" sales daily via social media) and private jets are now more accessible to the average Joe. So long as Joe has the cash.
It's rare air
Even Emirates, Qatar and Lufthansa have embraced the private jet industry with an executive jet arm for each of the airlines. Emirates' Airbus A319 private jet features private suites and a spa, and can also be transformed into a business centre for conference calls and presentations.
Sure, all that leather, personal service and pressurised cabin oxygen just for you and your chosen few makes time in the air far more relaxing. But travelling in such rare air means the service starts long before you take off.
Major international airports are investing in private jet terminals so the uber-wealthy don't need to mingle with the minions in commercial. For corporations wanting face-to-face meetings or the transfer of private documents, this makes sense.
Fly your private plane into the destination of choice, make use of the private terminal meeting rooms to meet your local team and then fly out. Jetlag avoided.
Luggage is collected on the footpath, check-in and security is done in your private lounge, and boarding is via a private tarmac, hangar or chauffeur-driven car to the boarding stairs.
From the tarmac to your door
Cannes predictably has its own private terminal: the Cannes Mandelieu Airport is solely for private jet charter flights in the south of France. Stansted, outside of London, has the Inflite Private Jet Terminal, and Queenstown in New Zealand recently opened Queenstown Corporate Jets Service with a dedicated tarmac-side terminal.
Paris Le Bourget is home to eight private jet lounge terminals including Advanced Air Support, which offers a 24-hour prayer room, snooze rooms, meeting rooms and luxe bath, and Unijet, which offers an open air terrace with stunning views of the tarmac.
The Summum Private Jet Lounge at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport opened in 2012 and is rented exclusively for absolute premium privacy and service, offering the ability to park your jet right outside the door.
The two Michelin star restaurant De Bokkedoorns takes care of the food, there's a cigar bar, two stunning boardrooms and a lounge. The Lounge was designed by prestige Amsterdam design group FG Stijl, which even designed stools to keep expensive handbags off the impressive hand-woven world map carpet.
Not to be outdone, Google has had plans approved for its own private terminal at Mineta San Jose International Airport for executive private jets. A 29-acre, $82 million development featuring seven hangars has been given the tick of approval with a 50-year lease. Only five of the seven will exclusively house Google aircraft.
In Australia, Melbourne looks set to have its own VIP terminal. Little Aviation has bought a 20-hectare site at John Holland Aviation Services at Melbourne Airport, and it's believed a VIP terminal may open by mid-2015. It's destined to be utilised by Crown Casino high rollers, pop stars, and the world's elite sportspeople who descend upon the city for the tennis and Formula 1 grand prix.
Act the part
Can't afford a private jet but want the VIP element of travel? Both Heathrow and Singapore airports offer a VIP service that is open to all travellers in all classes either departing or arriving on commercial flights or private jets. The minimum cost at Heathrow is £1500 ($2710) for one to six passengers.
Frequented by diplomats, royalty and rock stars, guests bypass the main terminal (and the pesky public) and are given a personal lounge with the option of exclusive rooms for check in and security. VIP staff escort guests to their flight by limousine, where the airline staff take over.
On the other hand, if you are seriously cashed up, you could follow the lead of Saudi royal Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud and purchase your own jet outright. Not just any jet, either: an A380 that is said to house his Rolls-Royce and come complete with a concert hall, a three-storey elevator, five master bedrooms, boardroom, prayer room and more.
The price tag? A rumoured $500 million, although he is said to have now sold the plane to another gazillionaire.


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Nicole Johnson's Country Twang Carries Kelly Clarkson's 'Mr. Know It All' on 'The Voice'
Nicole Johnson sang her country heart out to 'Mr. Know-It-All' by Kelly Clarkson during her blind audition on tonight's episode of 'The Voice,' inspiring judges Cee Lo Green and Blake Shelton to turn around.
It was clear that Cee Lo heard something worth paying attention to in the 18-year-old singer's voice from the very start; he turned around right away. As for Shelton? He was won over by Johnson's southern accent -- more specifically, her use of the word "thang." "I'm two hundred percent a believer in you," Shelton remarked enthusiastically. "I'd be truly honored to be your country music coach."
While Johnson was practically giddy with excitement over the two male judges showing such excitement over her, she ultimately decided to stick to her roots. "I'm a country girl, and I'm gonna have to go with Blake."
Originally from Louisiana, Johnson's entire family relocated to Nashville, Tenn. in order to support the young singer's passion. She was given her first guitar before she was even old enough to go to school, and she wrote her first song when she was only seven.
"I just knew that I wanted to go for it and be a singer," Johnson said.
With her family behind her all the way -- and now, with Shelton in her corner -- it seems that she has a real shot at turning her dream into a reality.


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Thank you for visiting our website! Below you will be able to find the answer to Talk like crossword clue which was last seen on NewsDay.com Crossword, October 10 2017. Our site contains over 2.8 million crossword clues in which you can find whatever clue you are looking for. Since you landed on this page then you would like to know the answer to Talk like. Without losing anymore time here is the answer for the above mentioned crossword clue:
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|Sleeps in a tent
|Sgt.'s subordinates
|Labor group
|Lotion ingredient
|Tons (of)
|Come next
|''__ just have to do''
|Farm tower
|Hidden part of a house
|Rip (up)
|Animal parks
|Too pushy
|Untruthful one
|Cow's complaints
|Spicy sandwich meat
|Rough shelter
|Out-of-nowhere testifier
|Words of denial
|Make ready, for short
|High cards
|From side to side
|Sheriff's group
|__ and crafts
|Irrelevant clue
|Feel concern
|Wild West show
|Pilot's approximations: Abbr.
|Fairy tale monster
|Helps in wrongdoing
|Mends with thread
|Supply meals for
|Dog collar attachment
|Actor's signals
|Vampire novelist Rice
|''Other'' category: Abbr.
|Serve, as coffee
|Cold symptom
|Egyptian capital
|Choir voices
|Song for one
|Skipper's post
|Church leader
|Goes by plane
|Coke and Pepsi
|On a ship's open deck
|''Are not!'' rejoinder
|Rhythm-and-blues music
|Duke or earl's title
|Clairvoyance, for short
|Grassy yard
|Talk like
|With no warranty
|Was in first place
|Wartime medal recipient
|Puts to work
|Recipe amts.
|Pilaf grain
|''All Things Considered'' network
|Ranch enclosure
|Walks back and forth
|Make a speech
|Scarecrow stuffing
|Destroy, as documents
|Outer boundary
|Judge's garb
|Keeps after taxes
|''Oh, my!''
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- Mammoth will open for skiing and snowboarding on Friday, October 16, 2009.
- This marks the second earliest opening in resort history (earliest was 10/8/94).
- All guests will receive free skiing on opening day (10/16/09 only).
- Mammoth has received two feet of snow at Main Lodge (8,900ft) and four to six feet of snow at the summit (11,053ft).
Mammoth Mountain, CA –A powerful storm recently hit the Eastern Sierra dropping at least two feet of snow on Mammoth Mountain and as much as six feet of snow at higher elevations. This massive October storm has prompted resort officials to open Mammoth for skiing and snowboarding on Friday, October 16, 2009.
Adding to the excitement of the second earliest opening day ever for Mammoth Mountain, skiers and snowboarders will be able to ride for free on Friday, October 16, 2009. Broadway Express will open at 8:30 a.m. servicing a base of 16-24 inches of machine groomed natural snow.
"We are so excited to start the season nearly four weeks ahead of schedule and to be able to reward our guests with a free day on the slopes," said Howard Pickett, Chief Marketing Officer of Mammoth Mountain. "Mammoth's high elevation will pay off for skiers and snowboarders who have been anxiously awaiting the coming winter."
Broadway Express will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily providing access to Broadway, Forest Trail, Mambo, St. Moritz, and Main Park with assorted rails and jibs. With the large snowpack at higher elevations on Mammoth Mountain, more chairlifts and terrain will be added as soon as possible. Other services available at Main Lodge include Broadway Marketplace, Tusks Bar, Rental and Retail.
Mammoth will be offering First Tracks lift and lodging packages for as low as $99 per person per night based on double occupancy. Please call 800.MAMMOTH or visit MammothMountain.com to book.


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Oliver Quimby Melton Jr., died February 7 at his home just five days before his 91st birthday. He is survived by his wife of 69 years, May Melton; a son, Quimby Melton III; three daughters, Mary Forehand, Laura Geiger, co-publisher of The Herald-Gazette in Barnesville and The Journal-Reporter in Zebulon, and Leila Stone.
UPDATED ARRANGEMENTS: Visitation Saturday, February 9 from 3-5 p.m. at the Melton home at 1940 South 6th Street in Griffin or Sunday, February 10 from 2-3 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall of First United Methodist Church in Griffin with a memorial service following at 3 p.m. in the church sanctuary.
Melton was the longtime editor and publisher of the Griffin Daily News which his father purchased on February 1, 1925.
The late Quimby Melton Jr.
Longtime publisher Melton dead at 90; arrangements finalized
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The Gift of Holiday Traditions: Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, and Christmas
"Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childhood days, recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth, and transport the traveler back to his own fireside and quiet home!"
— Charles Dickens
Each year, December brings a month filled with holidays, celebrations complete with a variety of gift giving traditions, and—to the glee of students and educators alike—school vacations. Before departing to enjoy the break from school, take the opportunity to discuss with students ritual gift giving in their own families and across cultural holiday traditions. Some questions to have them consider:
- How do individual families customize their holiday celebrations with gift exchanges and other rituals?
- In what ways does holiday gift giving figure in the popular imagination through great literature that is re-read and performed year after year?
- Trace holiday traditions especially the practice of gift giving as it unfolds over time and consider if common themes and elements can be found within different spiritual traditions.
To prepare your students to explore ways the holidays have evolved over time, teachers and parents might begin with this simple exercise, appropriate for students of all ages:
Have the student pick a favorite family holiday. Ask them to interview various family members—especially parents and grandparents—about their favorite traditions both now and when they were children, including ways in which family members handle gift giving.
Questions may include which activities still form part of their family holiday traditions, and which are no longer done. Lead students in an investigation of why certain traditions ended and others began and what the significance of giving gifts in their families is. Students might conclude by writing a brief essay about their family gift giving and other holiday traditions, old and new, including those lost or recently added.
Gift Giving
Exchanging gifts is certainly a holiday tradition in many families, and we all can relate to the difficulty of finding that one special gift for a loved one. O. Henry, the pseudonym of William Sydney Porter, captured such a spirit in his ironic tale, "The Gift of the Magi." Open a guide to "The Gift of the Magi": A Common Core Exemplar with excerpts from the original text to help students navigate through an independent close reading of this Christmas tale. The main character, Della, longs to buy a special gift for her husband, Jim, but is hampered by her meager savings of less than two dollars. With love trumping vanity, Della sells her glorious, waist-long hair for twenty dollars so that she can buy Jim's present, a watch chain. O. Henry, famous for his "surprise" endings, concludes with an ending rich in situational irony sure to confound your students.
Of course, some curmudgeons do not feel any pressure to shop for gifts at all. Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol was first published in 1843, and popularized "humbug" for holiday scrooges everywhere. On a certain fateful Christmas Eve, Ebenezer Scrooge watches his past, present, and future life from an outside perspective while being accompanied by three ghosts and wakes to experience a change of heart and being. Explore this enduring holiday classic about redemption and family with a new resource: Using Textual Clues to Understand "A Christmas Carol" (3 Lessons). In Lesson 1, students focus on the first stave of the novel as they identify the meanings of words and phrases that may be unfamiliar to them. This activity facilitates close examination of and immersion in the text and leads to an understanding of Scrooge before his ghostly experiences. In Lesson 2, students examine Scrooge's experiences with the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future and discover how Dickens used both direct and indirect characterization to create a protagonist who is more than just a stereotype. In Lesson 3, students focus on stave 5 as they identify and articulate themes that permeate the story.
Dickens's Scrooge is not the only literary figure to experience an epiphany on Christmas Eve. "Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse" opens one of the most famous poems about Christmas, "A Visit from St. Nicholas." (An e-text of the poem, with illustrations, is available through Project Gutenberg.) Professor Clement C. Moore came forward to claim authorship of "A Visit from St Nicholas" in 1844; however, some evidence indicates that it may have been the work of Major Henry Livingston, Jr. EDSITEment-reviewed American's Story from America's Library contains a brief feature on this staple holiday chestnut, which helped establish the image of a magical gift-bearing Santa figure into the national consciousness of America. See "Washington Irving: Author of America's Christmas" for a discussion about how this author conjured up an earlier prototype of our modern-day jovial Santa Claus who soars through the night sky, landing on rooftops to deliver presents (via chimneys) to good girls and boys.
From holiday literature, we turn to the many holiday gift-giving traditions that emanate from a combination of religious and secular celebrations and customs. In gift giving between family and friends, students may find a common thread running across cultures/religions throughout December holidays, including Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, and Christmas.
The History of Kwanzaa provides an extensive history of this secular holiday, which is celebrated from December 26th until New Year's Day. For each of seven days, celebrants recognize a principle or value (Nguzo Saba), for example, Unity or Self Determination. Each day is also associated with a symbol, such as Mazao, crops that "symbolize work and the basis of the holiday" or Zawadi, which are "meaningful gifts to encourage growth, self-determination, achievement, and success." Kwanzaa itself is a word adapted from a Swahili phrase for "first fruits."
After the Watts riots in Los Angeles in 1966, the idea for Kwanzaa as a Pan-African holiday was created by activist Dr. Maulana Karenga as he searched for ways to bring African Americans together within families and as a community. In his research into African "first fruit" (harvest) celebrations, Karenga combined aspects of several different African traditions, such as those of the Ashanti and Zulu, to form the basis of Kwanzaa.
The last day of Kwanzaa, or Imani, focuses on gift giving as a means to honor the creative spirit and reaffirm self worth. Therefore, the gifts are often homemade rather than purchased. However, the essence of Kwanzaa does not lie in exchanging presents, but in commemorating a shared heritage. Togetherness is emphasized as family and friends come together through this special time to align themselves with the guided principles.
Kwanzaa has been embraced across cultural and racial divides to become not only a wonderful celebration of family and culture, but also a fabulous example of how holidays develop through the creative combination of historical circumstances, cultural antecedents, and creative thinking.
In learning about Kwanzaa, students will recognize the symbolism and shared values that are at the heart of all winter holidays. Hanukkah, celebrated in Jewish communities from Paris to Syria and Boston to St. Louis, is another example. In this holiday, families can come together to light the menorah candles and exchange gifts for each of the holiday's eight nights.
Hanukkah celebrates a miracle that occurred after the Jewish people reclaimed their temple from their Seleucid (Macedonian) conquerors. Refusing to worship the empire's Greek deities, the Jews rebelled and eventually won back their temple after a three-year war. As part of the celebration, the victors wanted to light the Menorah but had only a single day's worth of oil available. The oil, however, lasted for eight days, leading to the eight-day celebration of Hanukkah, known also as "The Festival of Lights." The History of Hanukkah puts the holiday in its historical context and includes descriptions of some traditions, such as playing the dreidel, a four sided top.
The dreidel game was popular during the rule of the Seleucid emperor, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who reigned before the Maccabean revolt of 166 BCE. This was a time when soldiers executed any Jews who were caught practicing their religion. When pious Jews gathered to study the Torah, they prepared the top in case they heard soldiers approaching. If the soldiers appeared, they would hide the holy scriptures and pretend to play with the dreidel. To play the game in the classroom or at home, students may want to reference the rules of the game.
Gift giving, another tradition of Hanukkah, has continued to grow in popularity over the years. The act of exchanging presents between family members and friends is a relatively new practice that evolved out of the modest monetary present (gelt-giving) that 17th or 18th-century eastern European Jews bestowed on religious teachers around the time of this holiday. By the 19th-century, the gifts had been transferred to children. The arrival of chocolate gelt (Yiddish for money) took place in the 1920s, and was perhaps based on the chocolate money that Dutch children received from Sinterklaas. The gift-giving tradition is no longer reserved to coin distribution for children but extends to different forms of gifts and now included adults. In present-day America, gelt can take the form of candy or substantial gifts of money placed inside a card for the lucky recipient.
As with the modern celebration of Christmas, the relatively new addition of gift giving to this traditional celebration serves to bring people close to each other during the darkest time of the year. For further discussion of this theme listen to Naughty & Nice: A History of The Holiday Season, from Back Story with the American History Guys, which examines the history of the holiday season and how December holidays have changed over the years. Part of the program concerns how the American Jewish community has shaped and reshaped the Hanukkah celebration.
The holiday that celebrates the nativity of Christ, is as diverse as the many countries that observe it, and was a popular subject in the Catholic and Orthodox religious art of the middle ages and Renaissance. (See the EDSITEment-reviewed Metropolitan Museum of Art's presentation of the Christmas Story in Art, for examples). While the actual date of Christ's birth is disputable, it has been suggested that December 25th was a Christian replacement for pagan and polytheistic rituals related to the winter solstice. The History of Christmas gives historical context to this holiday, including its mixed origins. Excerpts from George Frideric Handel's Messiah, an enduringly popular musical work often played at Christmas shaped by the King James Bible, can be found at NEH funded online exhibition, Manifold Greatness.
For the ancient Romans, the winter solstice was a time of the Saturnalia festival, marked by gift giving and revelry, as well as bonfires and a practice of topsy-turvy role reversals between master and servants. Like Kwanzaa, Saturnalia centered on giving thanks for the fruits of the earth and plentiful crops that would ensure continued prosperity in the coming year. Business transactions were forbidden and relaxation was the watchword for servants as well as masters. The Romans had a tradition of exchanging ceramic dolls called sigillaria, which they hung on the branches of evergreen trees. Similarity has been drawn between the pointed felt hats worn by department store Santas and a brimless hat, called a pileus, worn by the Romans during this festival.
In Northern European folklore, the twelve days between Christmas and the Feast of the Epiphany (January 5th) were thought to be a time when evil spirits were especially active. To combat these forces as well as celebrate the victory of light over winter darkness, people would go out to the woods to gather evergreen plants and trees such as pine, ivy, and holly and decorate their homes with them along with all manner of lights. The practice of putting up a Christmas tree seems to be of rather recent in origin, as late as the 16th century. It originates with the Germans who began to bring small fir trees into their households and ornament them with fruit, tinsel, and small candles.
In a similar way, the Yule log was kindled on Christmas Eve in northern countries and was kept burning through Twelfth night. The Yule log is a remnant of the bonfires that were lit by pre-Christian people during the winter solstice to symbolize the return of the sun. It was traditional to retain a small piece of unburnt Yule log to kindle next year's Yule fire. This annual ritual lighting was intended to guarantee prosperity in the coming year, extending from the whole cosmos to the natural world to the family circle.
No bearer of goodies and gifts is more recognizable in the popular imagination than that jolly old fellow, Saint Nick, accompanied by his trusty elves and reindeer. With little more thanks than the requisite glass of milk with cookies, and carrot for Rudolph, Santa magically transcends space and time delivering presents to all the good children of the world. The character Santa Clause and his precursor, St. Nick, symbolize the underlying theme of generosity during the holiday season. Students may explore further the distinction between Santa and Saint Nicholas as they Discover the Truth About Santa Claus.
Santa Claus and other Christmas traditions such as the Christmas tree, as we know them in the United States, were created through a compilation of legends and customs from around the world. What They Left Behind: Early Multi-National Influences in the United States has students explore the European influences on the development of all aspects of America, including a song about "Sinter Klaas" from the Netherlands. Younger students learning the history and culture of Christmas celebrations may want to visit the brief history of Christmas at America's Story, a part of America's Story from America's Library.
Featured Lessons
Featured Websites
- A Victorian Christmas
- Ancient Origins
- Christmas History and Christmas Traditions
- Discover the Truth About Santa Claus
- History Channel Exhibit on Kwanzaa
- History Channel Exhibit on Hanukkah
- History Channel Exhibit on Christmas
- How to Play Dreidel
- Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community and Culture
- America's Story
- Back Story with the American History Guys
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Victorian Web


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CHICAGO — The extra work Kellen Davis put in last week paid off.
Davis was targeted for one pass Sunday, Oct. 28, during the Chicago Bears' 23-22 victory over the Panthers. The tight end made that one opportunity count as he scored on a 12-yard touchdown pass from Jay Cutler over the middle. Davis had a clean release, then went up and got the ball high in front of safeties Sherrod Martin and Charles Godfrey.
"It was a regular down-and-distance play for us," Davis said. "We ran it two or three times earlier in the game. … Down in the red zone, it's a good play for me because if they don't drop their (middle) linebacker back in Cover-2, there's a big hole back there."
Davis entered Sunday's game with nine catches but three drops. He spent extra time last week after practice working on his pass-catching.
"I've just got to make sure when Jay gets me the ball, I make the play," Davis said.
Kicking the habit
The Bears' average starting field position was their 37-yard line thanks, in part, to the Panthers' decision to squib kickoffs.
Panthers kicker Justin Medlock said he just did what he was told to do when he refused to kick to Devin Hester. And Hester, who has yet to return a kick for a touchdown this season, was surprised.
"I was very surprised because right now, those guys are ranked No. 1 in kickoff coverage," Hester said. "I thought that a kickoff unit ranked No. 1 would kick it off and let the guys play."
The Bears adjusted to the Panthers' strategy by putting sure-handed Eric Weems, Armando Allen and Earl Bennett in the game to help field the squibs.
Foul play
Bears safety Chris Conte admitted he got caught trying to do too much when Panthers quarterback Cam Newton hit Brandon LaFell for a 62-yard pass play. But Conte refused to take blame for a hit on LaFell in the third quarter.
Although the replay showed Conte didn't lead with his head, the official called a personal foul on Conte for contact to the head of a defenseless receiver.
"It wasn't a penalty, but I guess they called it a penalty," Conte said. "If I get fined for it, I'll definitely appeal it. I didn't do anything. He's diving into me. I don't know what you want me to do."
Close but no cigar
Panthers coach Ron Rivera, who played for the Bears and once was Lovie Smith's defensive coordinator, is 0-2 vs. his former team.
"This would have been sweet, without a doubt in my mind," Rivera said of almost winning at Soldier Field.
"Coming back and winning in Chicago, where I played and coached, it would have been outstanding. Especially against this group of guys. There are a lot of guys over there that I'm very fond of, and a lot of coaches that I know and that I'm very fond of as well."
Third-down disaster
If there was something Rivera could be proud of, it was his offense's ability to convert on third down against a stingy defense. The Panthers converted 10 of 19 (53 percent). Defensively, the Bears entered Sunday's game fourth in the league on third down, allowing opponents to convert just 21 of 72 (29.2 percent).
"They kept drives going," Smith said. "They were converting third downs. They were just doing everything right in the first half."


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In this report, the global PE Pipe market is valued at USD XX million in 2017 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2017 and 2025.
This report studies the global PE Pipe market, analyzes and researches the PE Pipe development status and forecast in United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia.
The report provides key statistics on the market status of the PE Pipe manufacturers and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the industry.
Access Sample Report at: www.deepresearchreports.com/contac….php?name=811940 .
Complete report on PE Pipe market spreads across 98 pages profiling 10 companies and supported with 187 tables and figures.
Key Companies Analysis: - LyondellBasell, Dow, Borealis, SABIC, Chevron Phillips Chemical, Ineos, Braskem, Total, Exxon Mobil, SINOPEC profiles overview.
The Global PE Pipe Industry provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The PE Pipe market analysis is provided for the international markets including development trends, competitive landscape analysis, and key regions development status.
Inquire About Report at: www.deepresearchreports.com/contac….php?name=811940 .
Development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures are also analyzed. This report also states import/export consumption, supply and demand Figures, cost, price, revenue and gross margins.
The Global PE Pipe Industry focuses on global major leading industry players providing information such as company profiles, product picture and specification, capacity, production, price, cost, revenue and contact information. Upstream raw materials and equipment and downstream demand analysis is also carried out.
The PE Pipe industry development trends and marketing channels are analyzed. Finally the feasibility of new investment projects are assessed and overall research conclusions offered.
With the tables and figures the report provides key statistics on the state of the industry and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market.
The study objectives of this report are:
- To study and forecast the market size of PE Pipe in United State market.
- To analyze the United State key players, SWOT analysis, value and United State market share for top players.
- To define, describe and forecast the market by type, end use and region.
- To analyze and compare the market status and forecast between China and major regions, namely, United States, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, India and Rest of World.
- To analyze the United State key regions market potential and advantage, opportunity and challenge, restraints and risks.
- To identify significant trends and factors driving or inhibiting the market growth.
- To analyze the opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying the high growth segments.
- To strategically analyze each submarket with respect to individual growth trend and their contribution to the market
- To analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the market
- To strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their growth strategies.
Major Points Covered in Table of Contents:
Charpter 1 – PE Pipe Market Overview
Charpter 2 – Global PE Pipe Competition by Players/Suppliers, Type and Application
Charpter 3 – United States PE Pipe (Volume, Value and Sales Price)
Charpter 4 – China PE Pipe (Volume, Value and Sales Price)
Charpter 5- Europe PE Pipe (Volume, Value and Sales Price)
Charpter 6 – Japan PE Pipe (Volume, Value and Sales Price)
Charpter 7 – Southeast Asia PE Pipe (Volume, Value and Sales Price)
Charpter 8 – India PE Pipe (Volume, Value and Sales Price)
Charpter 9 – Global PE Pipe Players/Suppliers Profiles and Sales Data
Charpter 10 – PE Pipe Maufacturing Cost Analysis
Charpter 11 – Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers
Charpter 12 – Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders
Charpter 13 – Market Effect Factors Analysis
Charpter 14 – Global PE Pipe Market Forecast (2018-2022)
Charpter 15 – Research Findings and Conclusion
Charpter 16 – Appendix
List of Tables and Figures
Access Report @ www.deepresearchreports.com/contac….php?name=811940 .
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Category: Market Research Publishers and RetailersCompany about: Focusing primarily on China markets and secondarily on the global markets, DeepResearchReports.com offers research reports for industries that, at top level, cover communication, consumer electronics, car electronics, computer net, energy and chemical markets. Drilling down, segments and sectors like apparel, automotive, automotive & transportation, aviation, biotechnology, chemicals, computer equipment, computer networking


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Kalamazoo, MI –
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
National Public Radio Personality Brooke Gladstone: Featured Speaker for 2013 Reading Together ProgramWill speak at WMU Center for the Humanities on Tuesday, April 2, 7 pm Free Parking at Miller Auditorium for the program
Kalamazoo Public Library is pleased to welcome National Public Radio personality Brooke Gladstone as a featured speaker for the 2013 Reading Together program. Gladstone will present How Media Influences our Perception on Tuesday, April 2, 7 pm at Western Michigan University Center for the Humanities (Knauss Hall, for a map click here.)
Brooke Gladstone is co-host and managing editor of the National Public Radio newsmagazine, On the Media, an up-close look at what the media are covering and why. While maintaining the civility and fairness that are hallmarks of public radio, On the Media tackles sticky issues with frankness and transparency. Gladstone is also the author of The Influencing Machine, Brooke Gladstone on the Media, an enlightening look at the complexities and, sometimes, controversies of modern media.
Gladstone was chosen as a featured speaker for the 2013 Reading Together program presented by the Kalamazoo Public Library. Reading Together is a program that invites people of all ages from all walks of life to read and then discuss important issues raised by a single book. Since 2003, thousands of county residents have participated in ten previous Reading Together programs. The 2013 chosen novel is The Submission by Amy Waldman. Reimagining 9/11 and its aftermath, The Submission, begins with a resonant scene: a jury gathers in Manhattan to choose a memorial for the victims of a devastating Islamic terrorist attack. After tense deliberations, they select the Garden, which features trees both living and made from salvaged steel. Then the jury discovers that the anonymous architect who created the winning design is an American Muslim. The revelation triggers both fury and ambivalence throughout New York. A driving theme behind the book is the powerful influence the media covering the developments of the jury's decision has on the public and how it drives public perception.
During her talk, How Media Influences our Perception, Gladstone will share her experiences with the media and discuss her novel, The Influencing Machine, Brooke Gladstone on the Media. Description from the publisher: A million listeners trust NPR's Brooke Gladstone to guide them through the complexities of the modern media. Bursting onto the page in vivid comics by acclaimed artist Josh Neufeld, this brilliant radio personality guides us through two millennia of media history, debunking the notion that "The Media" is an external force beyond our control and equipping us to be savvy consumers and shapers of the news.
Cory Doctorow proclaimed The Influencing Machine, "Mind-opening, thought-provoking and incredibly timely… An absolutely spectacular read." in a posted review on BoingBoing.
This event is co-sponsored by Western Michigan University's Center for the Humanities, Center for the Study of Ethics in Society, and WMUK 102.1 FM.
Michigan News Agency will sell copies of Gladstone's book at the event.
Brooke Gladstone started out in print journalism, writing on defense policy, strip-mining, broadcasting and cable TV. Her freelance pieces (on topics ranging from orgasmic Russian faith healers to the aesthetics of Pampers to NPR's near fiscal crash) have appeared in the London Observer, the Boston Globe, the Washington Post and The American Journalism Review among others. She also covered public broadcasting for Current, wrote and edited theater, film and music reviews for The Washington Weekly.
In 1987, NPR's Scott Simon asked her to fill in as senior editor for his still-new program, Weekend Edition Saturday. Eventually they gave her the job, and a couple years later, she became senior editor of the NPR newsmagazine, All Things Considered. She was awarded a Knight Fellowship at Stanford in 1991 and a year later she was in Russia, reporting on the bloody insurgency of the Russian Parliament and other stories for NPR.
In 1995, NPR created its brand new media beat and gave it to Gladstone, who covered it for six years from NPR's New York bureau in midtown Manhattan, until she was tapped by WNYC several subway stops downtown to help re-launch On The Media. The program was reborn in January of 2001. I t has since more than tripled its audience and won quite a few awards by brazenly showing how the journalism sausage is made.
Gladstone has won several awards too, including an Overseas Press Club Award, a Peabody and the Milwaukee Press Club's Sacred Cat Award for lifetime achievement, but sadly, On the Media's staff stubbornly refuses to perform any of the associated rituals.
For more information about 2013 Reading Together and this event, please visit www.readingtogether.us.
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The East Terrace
James Stafford
July 20, 2012
Will referee Steve Walsh settle a few old scores via Twitter? © Getty Images
The International Rugby Board have revealed that from the start of the 2012-2013 northern hemisphere season referees will be permitted to openly criticise players, officials and fans. The sport's governing body has announced plans to actively encourage officials to verbally attack players and coaches to counter balance the often stinging criticism they receive.
"It's about having a level playing field," said John Fields of the IRB referees' panel. "Since rugby first began back in the Victorian era umpires, officials or referees have been subject to constant, and usually completely unfair, criticism. I was a top level referee for many years and it can be very tough to listen to a cacophony of whistles and jeers from players and spectators and be unable to respond at all. It's especially difficult when you know that you've made the right decision."
The IRB has issued all major media outlets, as well as all professional rugby organisations worldwide, with a DVD highlighting over 2,000 examples of technically perfect refereeing decisions being criticised not only by players during the match but also for days afterwards in the press.
"Since the game went professional in 1995 this kind of thing has gotten a lot worse," said Fields. "Rugby has become a little more like soccer in its sensationalism and public whinging and moaning by supposedly wronged parties. The respect for the referee, once a shining beacon at the heart of our great game's core, has eroded. So we've decided: 'sod it'. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. From now on we want our officials to criticise players and, where appropriate, mock them for their mistakes. The gloves are off. Now let's see how they like it when they are on the receiving end."
The announcement has caused concern amongst rugby traditionalists who fear the move may lead to the sport becoming crass and vulgar. But Fields thinks drastic times call for drastic measures.
"Look at Wales' recent Test series against Australia," continued Fields. "There were lots of noises made by certain camps within Wales, particularly Welsh fans online, that the narrow defeats in all three games were down to poor refereeing of the scrum. Or that the referees favoured the home side at the breakdown and so on. Indeed, during the series many in the Welsh team openly criticised and moaned at the officials on the field of play. In future we want referees to be able to respond in kind. Take Sam Warburton's awful pass to Rhys Priestland in the first Test which ruined a certain try-scoring attack for Wales. All the match official could do was signal for a knock on.
"In future we want the referee to blow his whistle and start chuckling loudly whilst pointing at the players involved in the screw up. We've even come up with hand signals for referees to use. So much like how referees signal for a knock on or penalty, we have designed a set of signals to mock players for a simple mistake. In the Warburton and Priestland incident I just mentioned it would simply involve the referee pointing with one hand at the player and covering his mouth with the other, as if he was trying to stifle a big laugh. We think this would make players think twice about condemning referees for their mistakes. He who casts the first stone, etc."
Alongside the proposed on-field reactions for referees, the IRB has also suggested that officials utilise social media to continue their attacks on players after the game has ended. "We want referees to fight fire with fire," said Fields. "Why stop complaining when the game ends? God knows the players and coaches don't."
The IRB has produced a series of mock Twitter posts to give examples of the kind of things referees could do on social media under the new regulations.
+ "Priestland cant catch for toffee…lol! #catchlikeagirl"
If the trial for the 2012-13 northern hemisphere season is a success, then the IRB plan to expand the programme to also include referees carrying a trombone with them at all times which they can plan in a comical manner when players drop easy try-scoring passes.
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
The East Terrace (theeastterrace.com) offers an offside view of life in the rugby world
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The Cult of Relevance and the Management of Need
Irony, ironically, is a profoundly biblical theme that does not figure strongly in the thinking of most Christians. Yet no other religion rivals the Christian faith in providing such a foundation for a strong view of irony. Because human unbelief …Read More
Recycling the Compromise of Liberalism
Christian history is a two thousand-year conversation between the church and the world. As Christians we are called to be in the world but not of it. Christians have lived out this tension in many ways. Some are neither of …Read More
Church Growth—Success At What Price?
The seductions of the modern world can be just as hard to resist as its benefits are to refuse. After all, if the church is in the business of growth, and growth is achieved through better management and marketing, then …Read More
Church Growth—First Things First
When all is said and done, the church-growth movement will stand or fall by one question: In implementing its vision of church growth, is the church of Christ primarily guided and shaped by its own character and calling—or by considerations …Read More
Church Growth—Weaknesses to Watch
Like many movements, the church-growth movement is a grand mixture of things good, bad, and in-between. After stressing its significance last month, I will not comment further on its good parts—except to say that anything that "goes without saying" is …Read More
Church Growth—the Movement of the Nineties
The King is dead! Long live the King!" As with royalty earlier, so with popular movements and trends today —the passing of one signals the prevailing of another. Thus in the early 1990s the Christian Right is clearly on …Read More
I Believe in Doubt
"A man may be haunted with doubts and only grow thereby in faith. Doubts are the messengers of the Living One to the honest. They are the first knock at our door of things that are not yet, but have …Read More
Os Guinness
Os Guinness is a senior fellow with The Trinity Forum and the author of many books, including Time for Truth, The Call, and Long Journey Home.


text: While he was only at Idaho for one season, Gus Johnson's impact on Vandal basketball was huge. Thousands of fans lined up outside Memorial Gym to see Johnson in action in 1963, when he earned All-America honors and averaged 19.0 points and 20.3 rebounds and led the Vandals to a 20-6 overall record. His 466 rebounds is still a Vandal record by a margin of 133. His 20.3 rebounding average in 1963 was second in the NCAA. Johnson holds five school records at Idaho, including single-game field goals (16), attempts (34) and rebounds (31), as well as single-season rebounds and rebound average (20.3). Johnson was drafted by the Baltimore Bullets in the second round of the 1963 NBA draft, sparking the beginning of an 11-year NBA career that featured four All-NBA selections, five NBA All-Star Game appearances and recognition as one of the best players in league history. In 1987, his #43 jersey became the first jersey retired in Idaho basketball history. In recognition of his achievements, Idaho gives out the Gus Johnson Award each year to the team's top rebounder or defensive player.


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"... as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" [Joshua 24:15]
[ Click Image to Enlarge ]
This MP3 audio download covers one of the most confusing areas of the electrical trade today, Article 250 of the NEC: Grounding and Bonding. This audio is copied directly from the 2017 Bonding and Grounding DVD program which can be viewed here.
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Yes...I know I having posted in a very long time. And there is still so much to research and family history to discover. Unfortunately, I am in a time and place where my materials are packed in boxes and my files are inaccessible! So I am using my time to research genealogy on line. From time to time I come across something new to me. Recently I discovered an image to share with you....
Many of the FrancoAmerican ancestors who are the subject of this blog emigrated from the Richelieu Valley to Cohoes in the mid 19th century (see Mapping the Route) because this little town was beaming with commerce and employment at the dawn of the industrial revolution. Cohoes and Waterford are strategically located at the junction of the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers where water power energized transportation and manufacturing. There was a little area on the south side of Cohoes called "Juncta" where the Old Champlain and Old Erie Canals came together and then went on to Albany. Present day Juncta doesn't reflect the lively times it once enjoyed as the social and commercial gathering place of canalers and their families, tavern keepers, horse stablers and business people. After the expansion of the canal system in 1918 and the dominance of the railroads, Juncta fell into a decline but if you search present day Juncta, vestigaes of it remain.
Below is a low resolution image of Juncta from the New York Public Library's digital gallery. A more detail view can be seen at NYPL image of Juncta. This was probably illustrated in the early days of the canal - taking a guesstimate it is probably 1840s just before it's heyday.
The rural nature of Juncta stands out in this image and I can't help recall that this spot is close to the area of Green Island we called "the prairie" in the 1950s. On the northern side of Green Island, the prairie was full of woods and marshlands - and the island's dump. Today the area is not as desolate as I remember and many new small industries have been built in the woods and prairie. Still....behind the new industrial buildings, glimpses of the the Hudson River remain. Below is a Google map with the present locations of Juncta and Green Island's prairie.
The New York Public Library and the New York State Education Department both have digitalized images of maps, engravings, stereoptic views and more of the canals and locations where ancestors lived and work and are worth exploring.


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It's been a month of high drama on the economic policy front as leaders in Washington grappled with the fiscal cliff.
But out in the real world, not many people seemed to care as the economy did just fine.
Non-farm employment advanced 155,000, or 0.1%, in December from November, the federal government reported today.
That was right on expectations, as was the unemployment rate, which remained at 7.8%, unchanged from November. (The November figure was revised from 7.7% as Bureau of Labour Statistics conducted its annual revamp of seasonal factors.) Job growth was also better than the trend of 130,500 for the year.
There were no obvious black marks in the report. November payroll growth was revised up to 161,000 from 146,000. Within December's numbers, total private payrolls rose 168,000 as government returned to its familiar role as a drag on overall hiring.
Construction and manufacturing both posted solid gains, encouraging signs for two sectors which customarily set the trend for the overall economy. Retail trade did slump 11,300, which will be taken as a sign of a flagging consumer, especially since retailers reported disappointing holiday sales.
But that drop followed two months of robust gains. Average weekly hours rose to 34.5 from 34.4, and wage growth has also picked up. Hourly earnings were up 0.3% on the month and 2.1% on the year.
The household survey showed employment growth of just 28,000. The household and payroll surveys often diverge, and that gap is not especially large. The labour force did grow enough to keep the participation rate (the share of the population working or looking for work) unchanged at a still depressed 63.6%. Including discouraged workers and involuntary part-timers, the broader measure of underemployment was unchanged at 14.4%.
Employment ended the year up 1.4%, exactly the same rate of growth recorded over 2011. That's not much to shout about - it's roughly consistent with an economy at full employment growing at trend, not one with still plenty of slack.
But it's pretty good considering the uncertainty that bombarded businesses and households that month. Nor is the report the only sign of an economy holding up remarkably well. Automobile sales rose 19% in December from November's hurricane-depressed level, finishing the year on a high note at a 15.4m annualised rate. For the year, sales rose 13% to 14.5m, the most since 2007.
Unemployment claims have dropped back to the level that prevailed before Hurricane Sandy hit the northeast at the end of October, and according to some analysts actually show signs of strengthening labour demand.
That all this happened while a boiling point approached in wrangling over the fiscal cliff, the combination of tax increases and spending cuts scheduled for the start of 2013, speaks to how the private sector has discounted the perpetual dysfunction that passes for American governance.
As I've argued elsewhere, fiscal brinkmanship has become as routine in Washington as bullets and bombings were in Beiruit during its civil war. Markets and business have learned to adjust, as the people of Beirut did. Of course, if politicians actually go over the brink this time instead of just threatening to, then the market reaction will be quite violent and the economy will take a beating.
But I think there's probably too much focus on what might happen between now and March (when the sequester, debt ceiling, and federal budget funding must be addressed) and what is almost certain to happen, given the tax bill that Barack Obama signed into law this week.
BofA/Merrill Lynch reckons expiration of the payroll tax cut subtracts $120 billion from household purchasing power and increased taxes on the rich take another $60 billion. Then there's several forgotten items such as the spending caps agreed to as part of the debt ceiling deal in 2011, and expiring stimulus.
That's a total of $285 billion, or about 1.8% of GDP (see nearby table). If the automatic cuts to federal spending ("sequester"), which the tax deal delayed until March, do occur, the hit rises to 2.1% of GDP, and most of that will be felt in the first half of the year.
Since not many 2013 paychecks have even gone out yet, we won't know for a while what the economic impact of this new austerity will be. It may not be that severe if the underlying momentum in the economy is strong enough. There's decent evidence of just that. There's plenty of fear on both Wall Street and in Washington that fiscal wrangling over the cliff will ensure continued stock market volatility and business sentiment for the next few months. I'm not so sure.
What does this picture mean for the Fed? The minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee, released on January 3rd, suggest Fed officials remain concerned that fiscal austerity will keep the economy on the backfoot this year and still in need of plenty of stimulus.
The Fed is currently buying $85 billion worth of Treasury and mortgage backed bonds per month by printing money (quantitative easing, or QE). What caught investors' attention, however, was the revelation that "Several" voting FOMC members "thought that it would probably be appropriate to slow or to stop purchases well before the end of 2013." Going deeper into the minutes, this sentiment appears more widespread once non-voting members are included.
Leaving aside members who wanted to stop QE right away, the remainder "were approximately evenly divided between those who judged that it would likely be appropriate for the Committee to complete its asset purchases sometime around the middle of 2013 and those who judged that it would likely be appropriate for the asset purchases to continue beyond that date."
It seems reasonable to assume, then, that the median member wants to stop between the middle and end of 2013. Ben Bernanke, the chairman, is probably toward the end of that range. By contrast, the median primary dealer surveyed by the New York Fed had thought it would stop in the first quarter of 2014.
It's important to keep in mind that the median dealer also thought GDP would only grow 2.1% in 2013 (fourth quarter to fourth quarter) whereas FOMC members thought it would grow 2.3% to 3%, a forecast that seems strangely upbeat given their own, and the Fed staff's, concern about fiscal drag. If the Fed is, once again, too optimistic, the case for further stimulus will remain relatively firm into 2013.
Yet there is a less benign scenario as well: that growth remains disappointing, but QE stops, anyway. Fed officials have always made it clear that the benefits of more QE had to exceed the costs for it to continue, and it's possible that by the end of 2013, the median Fed member will be worried enough about the costs of excessively low interest rates, Fed ownership of a growing share of the bond market, and the size of its balance sheet to call a halt to QE, even if an economic case for more remains.
With fiscal policy now turning decisively contractionary, America had better hope the animal spirits of business have revived enough for growth to continue without the help of policy makers.
Click here to subscribe to The Economist


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Shoes.com Insider on Dr. Scholl's
Are you gellin? Almost anyone who has or had a pair of Dr. Scholl's shoes will probably tell you they rank among the most comfortable things they put on their feet. What else would you expect from footwear made by a shoe cobbler turned podiatrist?
Dr. William Mathias Scholl loved feet, or at the very least, loved helping people alleviate foot pain. His career was committed to the science behind footwear and the pursuit of keeping customers comfortable; in his lifetime, he amassed well over 1,000 patented products for foot care. In addition to his business exploits, he helped found the Dr. William M. Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine outside of Chicago.
With the expansion of the toning market, Dr. Scholl's augmented its product offering to provide sneakers and casual shoes that help individuals tone on the go. That said, the company didn't forget its roots. One of Dr. Scholl's early products was the Exercise Sandal (also known as the Dr. Scholl's Original), a style that enjoyed enormous popularity during the late 60's and 70's and is still a major part of Dr. Scholl's product offering. With Dr. Scholl's, you can expect a timeless look. And, while fashion is subjective and designs come and go, comfort never goes out of style.


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Posted in Other 30+ days ago.
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HILTON HEAD ISLAND — Jacquelyn B. Bowler has joined the Strauss Law Firm of Hilton Head Island. A Cum Laude graduate of Marquette University Law School, Bowler will focus on estate planning, corporate law and securities transactions. She is originally from Illinois and is a member of multiple bar associations.
Bowler and her husband, Capt. Kevin Bowler, an F/A-18 pilot for the United States Marine Corps, live in Bluffton. She may be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com.
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- Please be showered and clean before coming into the salon
- Don't shave 2 weeks prior to your wax.
- Use a loofah or exfoliating glove after to help reduce ingrowns after your wax treatment
- Hair should be 1cm - 2cm in length to get maximum results.
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The ranking that Bankrate.com gave unused gym memberships when it comes to the top 10 money drains on an individual's budget. Costhelper.com reported that monthly service fees at gyms average between $35 and $40. At $40 per month, an unused gym membership runs $480 per year. Coffee, cigarettes and alcohol were listed as the top three money drains, according to Bankrate.com.
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text: Deprecated: mysql_connect(): The mysql extension is deprecated and will be removed in the future: use mysqli or PDO instead in /home/pdlshop/public_html/includes/functions/database.php on line 19 Panjab Digital Library Top » Catalog » Reviews My Account | Cart Contents | Checkout Categories Games (1)Maps (1)Ceramic Art (1)Posters (3)Coin Replica (1)Framed Art (4)Books (2) Manufacturers Please Select What's New? Rabab-e-Panjab Game$15.00 Quick Find Use keywords to find the product you are looking for.Advanced Search Information Shipping & ReturnsPrivacy NoticeConditions of UseContact Us Read What Others Are Saying There are currently no product reviews. Shopping Cart 0 items Bestsellers 01.The Sovereign Punjaub Map02.Coin of the Sikh Nation03.Percussions of History04.The Khalsa Raj: Banda, Battles and Body Politic05.Coin replica of the Nanakshahi Sikka06.Ek Onkar Framed Ceramic Tile07.Illuminated First Page of Guru Granth Sahib08.An edict of Guru Gobind Singh Ji09.Rabab-e-Panjab Game Reviews There are currently no product reviews Languages Currencies US DollarGBPINR Sunday 19 May, 2019 1204685 requests since Monday 03 August, 2009 Copyright © 2019 Panjab Digital LibraryPowered by osCommerce


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Staffers at the $1.5 billion ORNL Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge, Tenn. paid it forward with their winnings in the Credit Union Magic Minute Loyalty Dash in Chicago. They won the right to scoop up thousands of dollars in electronics and households goods through a PSCU sweepstakes they promoted to ORNL members.
ORNL FCU representatives Zain Hashmi, special loans department manager, and Tom Wright, vice president of marketing, pushed an oversized shopping cart through the aisles of a warehouse stacked with thousands of brand name products and loaded their cart with as much merchandise as possible in 60 seconds. They ended up with flat screens, tools, PlayStations, iMacs and home appliances.
They donated their bounty last month to Girls Inc. of Oak Ridge.


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Newly Christened Asteroid Named for Former Tech Professor, Inventor, Nov. 25, 2008
By Thomas Guengerich
SOCORRO, N.M., Nov. 25, 2008 – An asteroid discovered at Tech in 2003 was recently officially recognized as "174801 Etscorn," in honor of former New Mexico Tech professor Dr. Frank Etscorn.
Astrophysicist Dr. Bill Ryan first found the asteroid in 2003 using the 14-inch Celestron telescope at the Etscorn Campus Observatory (ECO) at New Mexico Tech.
"A few years back I was using ECO for a project and stumbled upon an asteroid that I was surprised to notice was unidentified," he wrote. "Nowadays, with big surveys running, asteroid discoveries aren't often made with small telescopes, but it does still happen."
Ryan, who came to New Mexico Tech after Dr. Etscorn retired, said he thought naming the asteroid after him would be appropriate.
Etscorn was a psychology professor at New Mexico Tech in 1979 when he seized on a ground-breaking concept. His research led to the invention of the nicotine patch, which he patented and licensed. Also an avid amateur astronomer, Etscorn donated seed money to the campus observatory that allowed the fledgling facility to get started. The observatory was officially christened in April 1993.
Over the years, ECO has grown to include some of the best instruments available at an American university.
"This asteroid was discovered using the small campus observatory that was a beneficiary of Frank Etscorn's research," Ryan said. "Etscorn Observatory is used for classes, outreach events, the Enchanted Skies Party and other public events."
To see a graphic representation of the asteroid's orbit, log on to ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=174801;orb=1;cov=0;log=0#orb.
Etscorn Asteroid orbits beyond Mars and takes roughly 3.66 years to circle the sun. The asteroid's exact size has not yet been determined, but Ryan estimates its diameter at 1 to 3 kilometers.
At the time of the discovery, Ryan was using the Celestron telescope to collect some supplementary observations for a previous NASA-funded research project on Vesta family main belt asteroids.
The primary facilities that Ryan and his collaborators were using for that project was the 1.8-meter Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope on Mt. Graham in Arizona and the 1.0-meter at Cerro Tololo in Chile. To supplement those larger telescopes, Ryan used the Etscorn telescopes.
Ryan was taking photometric data on the Vesta family asteroid 1929 Kollaa when three other asteroids appeared in the frames. Two were previously known, but, surprisingly, the third wasn't. The Minor Planet Center (MPC) gave it the provisional designation of 2003 WZ165.
In the intervening years, Ryan took follow-up observations from Mt. Graham and Cerro Tololo. Etscorn Asteroid was also detected in the archives of the NEO survey projects Spacewatch, LINEAR, NEAT, and the Catalina Sky Survey. After Ryan submitted some astrometry using MRO in December 2007, the Minor Planet Center assessed that the orbit was well determined enough to assign a number the next spring, and hence opened it up to naming.
Etscorn Campus Observatory is primarily operated by students. The observatory has seven telescopes available for student use, including a 20-inch Dobsonian and a 14-inch Celestron.
New Mexico Tech is constructing a new $70 million facility, the Magdalena Ridge Observatory that includes a 2.4-meter optical telescope and that will eventually include a 10-unit interferometer. However, that installation is an hour from campus and students will share time with NASA, the Office of Naval Research, the Air Force Research Lab, and other universities. At Etscorn Observatory, New Mexico Tech students have easy access to a wide variety of exceptional instruments – and the capability of making stellar discoveries.


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DeKALB, Ill. (AP) Hayden Humes scored 18 points and Daniel Barnes added 11 points and eight rebounds to lead Illinois-Chicago to a 58-46 victory against Northern Illinois 58-46 on Tuesday night.
Gary Talton and Josh Crittle had 10 points each for the Flames (5-1), who have won five of the last six games between the teams.
Sam Mader scored 15 points for the Huskies (1-4), who shot just 32.7 percent (16 of 49) from the floor.
Northern Illinois trailed 27-19 at the break but cut the deficit to five points midway through the second half. But Humes scored five points and Talton four during a 10-2 run that gave Illinois-Chicago a 48-35 cushion with 6:52 remaining, and the Huskies got no closer than seven points the rest of the way.
Humes shot 7 of 8 from the field, with two 3-pointers.


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Join us for our weekly community Mass on Tuesday at 8pm! Mass is celebrated in the St. Katharine Drexel Chapel, in the Academic Building (room 212). Following Mass, we will have fellowship and faith formation! All are welcome!
Back to All Events
Earlier Event: November 28Newman Night!
Later Event: December 6Carols by Candelight


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10:00 am Downtown Melbourne Farmers Market
Downtown Melbourne Farmers Market
Dec 1 @ 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
Best Market Around !!! Over 75 Vendors weekly. Variety of fresh foods, huge selection of produce, soy candles, handmade jewelry, woodworking, artwork, photography, organic dog treats, refinished furniture, cheeses, cookies, breads and much much more……[...]
10:00 am Guided Nature Hike
Guided Nature Hike
Dec 1 @ 10:00 am – 10:45 am
A 45-minute, interpretive hike offered every Saturday on the trails of the Enchanted Forest Sanctuary. Bring hat, water and walking shoes. No reservations needed. Groups of 5 or more, please RSVP. For more information, please[...]
10:45 am Try It Free Class at Space Coast Iceplex
Try It Free Class at Space Coast Iceplex
Dec 1 @ 10:45 am – 11:15 am
Our Free Try It Class is a huge success!!! Lots of Kids and Adults learning how to ice skate with big smiles on their faces. Come Try It for FREE this Saturday. The class is[...]
8:00 pm Open Skate with LIve DJ
Open Skate with LIve DJ
Dec 1 @ 8:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Pre-teens and teenagers, ages 10 to 15, are invited to ice skate during open skate with Live DJ Diamond Dave plus enjoy arcade games, lighting effects and a snack bar. No loitering will be allowed.[...]
8:00 pm Saturday Night LIVE DJ at Space Coast Ice Plex
Saturday Night LIVE DJ at Space Coast Ice Plex
Dec 1 @ 8:00 pm – 10:00 pm
This evening is formatted toward the 10-15 year old participant. No loitering will be allowed. Only paid participants will be allowed in the building. Iceplex Staff will monitor the entrance. Kids will not be allowed[...]


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Issues Library
More Issues
Military Families
Can Homeschoolers Enlist in the Military?
February 27, 2015
Yes, homeschoolers can enlist in the military on the same terms as any other high school graduate. Since 1998, HSLDA has been working with the Pentagon and Congress to ensure that patriotic young men and women who wish to serve their nation in the armed forces are free to do so and are not discriminated against because they were homeschooled. After numerous battles, and most recently, congressional amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act in 2012 and 2014, we are finally ready to declare victory.
Do Homeschoolers Experience any Problems Enlisting in the Military?
The recent legislation passed by Congress and the accompanying Department of Defense policy have eliminated all past problems facing homeschool graduates who wish to enlist. In the few cases where recruiters are confused about the Department of Defense's policy towards homeschoolers, HSLDA can help by clarifying the policy to the recruiter and affirming that a student is eligible to enlist under the new policy.
Homeschool graduates will need to have a homeschool high school diploma issued by the graduate's parent or guardian. We strongly recommend that you do not have your homeschool graduate obtain a GED in order to enlist, because the military has almost completely eliminated GED holders from enlisting in the Armed Forces.
Please read this article to find the requirements for a homeschool graduate enlisting in the military.


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Health Care for All
November 14, 2013
Times Argus
I'm a veteran of the U.S. Marines, and I've struggled with health care and poverty for almost all of my life. I've been without health care (including dental) for many years. There have been times when I have gone on a health care plan through my work, only to lose it because my work was seasonal, or because I couldn't afford the premium. Last year, I applied for VHAP (the Vermont state health care assistance program). At the time, I was on unemployment and an extremely tight budget and again could not afford the monthly premium, so had to go without health care.
I recently lived in a veterans home and was able to apply for and receive medical care through Veterans Affairs. When I applied, I was told that because the VA system is so underfunded, almost everyone who applies is rejected at first and then has to appeal. This is what I had to do and had to go without access to health care the entire time that I was waiting.
Right now there is a lot of debate about health care as the Affordable Care Act is being implemented. I hope that everyone knows that Vermont is also on the path to establishing a universal health care system, starting in 2017. We have the opportunity to create a system where people truly can get the care they need, and where people pay what they can afford, and not based on profit. I have joined the Healthcare is a Human Right Campaign, because I believe that we can and must change our health care system to one that is based on human rights.
My health and everyone else's health is also impacted not just by access to health care, but also by the other ways that profits are put before people and the planet. We are not able to be healthy because of the destruction of our environment, our lack of access to healthy food, jobs that don't pay a livable wage, or a lack of paid sick days. All these issues are connected, and we have to all realize that there are corporations and extremely rich people that are profiting off this system while the majority of us struggle.
Dave Przepioski


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My writing partner Ann Voss Peterson (Flee, Wild Night is Calling, Babe on Board) recently interviewed self-publishing entrepreneur and marketing guru MJ Rose, and I'm pleased to post it here on my blog.
Rose's terrific thriller THE HALO EFFECT is now 99 cents on Amazon. I encourage folks to check it out. Now here's Ann and MJ...
Ann: First I have to make a confession. I talked Joe into letting me do this interview because I'm a big fan. I have your Butterfield Institute novels on my keeper shelf, and they're some of the most suspenseful, sensual, gritty and emotional books I've ever read. So I'm excited to hear that you've self published THE HALO EFFECT, THE DELILAH COMPLEX and THE VENUS FIX as ebooks (Halo is 99 cents, the others are $2.99 each.) For those out there who aren't familiar with sex therapist Dr. Morgan Snow and Detective Noah Jordain, can you tell them a bit about the series?
MJ: Thanks, Ann. As an author (and a terrific one) I know you know how much your kind words mean to me. Nothing is as wonderful as meeting a fan – even in email. :) So thanks for asking Joe and having me on your keeper shelf – I'm honored.
There are three books in this series – so far. Dr. Morgan Snow – or Dr. Sin as her fourteen-year-old handful of a daughter calls her- is a sex therapist in New York City - which is very much a character, too.
In each book, Morgan struggles with the conflict of preserving her patient's privacy and the dangerous and sometimes criminal things she hears.
Noah Jordain is a detective with the sex crimes unit in NYC, so their paths cross quite a bit.
They're both pretty damaged and troubled in their own right and that's not helped by what they deal with every day in their jobs.
On Morgan's part she sees everything from the abused to the depraved, from couples grappling with sexual boredom to twisted sociopaths with dark, erotic fetishes, and the Butterfield Institute is the sanctuary where she helps soothe and heal these battered souls.
Ann: You are not new to the world of self publishing, in fact you were a bit of a pioneer. What was it like to self publish your novel LIP SERVICE in 1998? And how is coming back to self publishing the same/different now?
MJ: 1998 was the dark ages.
I had an agent and two finished and unsold novels. Publishers had been really excited about them but ultimately too uncomfortable with my genre-bending writing to bite. They wanted me to write either this kind of book or that kind. Not a bit of both.
They said there was no way to market a book that was so hard to categorize.
I was in advertising and didn't like the words never or no.
So my idea was to print a few copies and offer an electronic download all in an effort to run an advertising experiment and see if I could figure out how to market the book.
I had no sense I was doing anything terrible.
But self publishing had quite a stigma. My agent was furious with me and we split over my decision.
My friends thought I was nuts.
Everyone told me people would think I was self publishing because I was a failure and that no one would ever take me seriously.
I remember one day that winter standing in the snow outside a bookstore in my tiny town and bursting into tears. I'd asked the owner if I could give her a copy and she wouldn't even turn around and face me – "I don't look at self-published books," she'd said with utter derision.
I was such a neophyte – I'd had no idea self publishing had such a bad connotation. I had so many friends who were artist and indy film makers – individuals all who operated creatively and on their own. I didn't see what I was doing as being very different.
The other thing that was so new was the internet. I'd gone on line in 1994 and been fascinated from the beginning with the marketing opportunities I imagined. So I was most excited about my electronic download - my book was an ebook before the phrase really existed.
The only place to even sell the electronic book was from my own website. And the only place I could sell the printed versions was Amazon – they'd just started the Advantage program for anyone with a book, an ISBN, and a dream.
No one was more surprised than me when the book started really selling. Or when, within six months, Lip Service became the first self-published book and the first ebook discovered online to go on to be traditionally published.
The publishing world could not be more different today. In a lot of ways it's very gratifying. The world many of us – Douglas Clegg, Seth Godin, Doug Ruskoff and others – envisioned,is here.
As I'm answering this, one of the richest writers in the world announced she was self publishing. Times sure have changed since I stood outside that bookstore in the snow.
In many ways it has never been more difficult to make a living as writer as it is today and in other ways it's never been more exciting. The rules have all been bent or broken and the future is wide open to anyone with a good idea and time and energy to devote.
Ann: What tips would you give someone who is considering self publishing?
MJ: Do you have a week?
But seriously - I think the most important advice is the same no matter how you are being published… it's all about the book.
You have to write the absofuckinglutely the best book you can.
Readers have such a huge choice when it comes to what to buy. And they don't have to buy blind. They can read excerpts, reviews, etc. So whether you self or trad publish your book is going to sell because it captures the reader. Because it makes them want to keep reading. Nothing else matters. And there are no shortcuts to that. Find your voice. Find your métier. Do the best you can.
Ann: As a follower of your blog, http://mjroseblog.typepad.com, I know you have many thoughts on the current state of publishing. Care to share some of those thoughts here?
MJ: I have been saying this since the early 2000s– writing is an art but publishing is a business and an oft broken business at that.
We are in the middle of a total revolution – which is always the most difficult period to live through. Even the best minds who think they know what is going to happen - don't. There are no good guys and bad guys here. There are a lot of people trying to keep up with the changes – adapt – and succeed. Some are managing that. Others aren't. It's the wild west in so many ways.
When I was in advertising my boss used to say that when the creative department – the men and women who wrote and art directed the ads—left for the day, the company's inventory walked out the door.
That's why writers will survive no matter what.
Publishers need books to publish. Editors need books to edit. Agents need books to sell. Readers need books to read. Booksellers need books to sell.
At the same time it's dangerous for us writers to think we don't need any of those people. I have so much respect for Amanda Hocking. I've been on both sides of the publishing /self-publishing paradigm and am here again, and she's right – it takes a ton of effort and is an amazing amount of work to do it on your own. And it's not for everyone.
For instance –I would never try to publish without a terrific editor. I can't see my own mistakes. I can't get the distance needed to make the book the best it can be.
Everyone needs to figure out what they are good at and what they aren't - no one can do it all. Being an auteur sounds sexy but it's not always smart.
Ann: You have an advertising background and provide a treasure trove of information to authors looking to market their books, from AuthorBuzz to your fabulous blog. Can you tell us a little bit about these resources?
MJ: No one can buy a book they never heard of... and once I got into publishing I realized how few people were hearing about so many books.
So I started teaching authors about guerilla marketing and how to do more fortheir books. But ultimately I realized marketing – like anything else – is a learned discipline. Writing ads that work isn't easy. Not every author is good at self-promotion. Not every author can do or wants to do what needs to be done.
So in 2005, I started AuthorBuzz - the first marketing company for authors.
I was lucky – it was the right idea at the right time I had the right skill set- I understood Internet marketing and had a strong knowledge of the world of publishing and a deep background in theadvertising world.
What we do at AuthorBuzz is try to do is come up with ways to do promote books in the most economical way.
Ann: A little while ago, there was a big discussion here on Joe's blog about writing organizations and their attitudes toward self-published writers. You are a founding member of International Thriller Writers. Can you tell us about the organization's take on self-publishing?
MJ: I am not speaking for the ITW board here, but I am a past ITW board member and still active in the organization.
What most people don't know is how open to self publishing ITW is – in fact ITW itself has self published.
In 2008, we did a unique publishing deal with Audible – breaking ground with The Chopin Manuscript – an original audio book which went on to win the Audio Book of the Year award for 2008.
We then self published the ebook of Chopin in July of that year.
When it comes to membership, ITW does not exclude self-pubbed authors out of hand. Anyone can apply. Many have and many have been accepted. Some have not.
As writers we want things to change as fast as we can rewrite a sentence – but organization and companies need to work through certain issues. ITW is committed to being innovative and be supportive of writers and I expect they will continue to look at this issue and figure out the best way to help authors.
Ann: You've most recently written the fascinating Reincarnationist series (THE REINCARNATIONIST, THE MEMORIST, and THE HYPNOTIST). What's next for you? Would you consider self-publishing new stories (like more Butterfield Institute books? hint, hint)?
MJ: My next book will be published in March of 2012 – The Book of Lost Fragrances. And yes I would consider doing more Butterfield books – I'd love to – I have to see how these books work first. If they do really well – hint, hint – I think I'll be able to pick up the series again.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
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What Medicaid cuts might look like
In the ongoing battle over the fiscal cliff, Democrats and Republicans have exchanged plenty of words about what they would or wouldn't do to Medicare. The same can't be said about Medicaid.
But behind the scenes, they're going to have to work that out to give Republicans enough entitlement savings — because Republicans have been demanding big changes in the low-income health program for years, and the Democrats are nowhere close to ready for the same level of savings.
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The reality is that the Medicaid savings that have the best chance in a fiscal cliff deal amount to tinkering, not major changes in the federal-state health care program for vulnerable populations. Block grants — which would have cut $810 billion in Medicaid spending over 10 years in this year's House budget — are way off the table in these negotiations.
And even the Obama administration's biggest savings idea from past budgets — changing the way the states get their matching funds from the federal government — won't fly this time. Why not? Because the Obama administration needs the states to expand Medicaid under the health reform law — and cutting back on matching funds would give them a big reason not to do that.
One way or another, though, the Obama administration will have to find some cuts to give Republicans the entitlement savings they want — even though Obama campaigned as a savior of the program and ran a devastating campaign blasting Mitt Romney as a threat to the nursing home coverage Medicaid provides for millions of seniors.
The irony is that Medicaid could be a loser, anyway, if Washington strikes a deal that undoes the automatic cuts included in sequestration. While Medicare would see a 2 percent reduction under the sequester, the Obama administration made sure that the Medicaid program would be shielded from cuts, which wouldn't necessarily happen in a fiscal cliff deal.
Here are some of the biggest cost-savings options that could get some attention:
Blend the rates: $14.9 billion
It's the kind of thing that governors of both parties and Medicaid advocates hate, but it's also the kind of thing that kept coming back in fiscal talks over the past two years. A "blended rate" for Medicaid would aim to streamline the varying matching rates so the payment formulas for traditional Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program and the new people covered under the health care law's Medicaid expansion would all be rolled into one.
When the Obama administration pitched the idea, it talked about making the program more efficient. To states and advocates, though, a blended rate really means one thing: Less federal money to cover the neediest.
If governors weren't already skeptical enough about expanding the Medicaid program while the feds are offering a really sweet matching rate for the expansion populations — promising to cover just about all of the extra costs — a blended rate would only confirm their worst fears that the feds won't be able to deliver on their funding promise.


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I was impressed with their collection of books and resources dealing with the Civil War, particularly the Confederacy. Their Confederate Corner contains a Roster of Confederate Soldiers containing of names and units. If your ancestor served from Virginia, you will be able to find the roster in the Virginia Regimental Series. There are also specific Northern Virginia regimental records on microfilm. Major Civil War compilations, such as Dyers Compendium can be found in this section of the library.
The library has an extensive collection of photographs, manuscripts and maps. Their rare book collection is the original collection of the Alexandria Library Company which was begun in the 1790s. If your ancestor happened to live in Alexandria, you will want to use the city directories along with film of building permits and other documents to determine exactly where they lived. There is a good chance the house is still standing.
I have added this library to the top of my list. They deserve another visit!