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Kim Kardashian is here for body positivity and proves it by sharing images from a body positive blogger and activist determined to get us all embracing our bodies.
The Keeping Up With the Kardashian star had tongues wagging when she first posted full frontal images of her naked body on social media to promote her latest product.
In fact, the mum-of-three spent most of last week stripping off in a series of new nudes to promote the launch of her KKW Body fragrance.
And now it seems the 37-year-old's pics have inspired more people to strip off for the 'gram, as Carmen Reme Smith joined in on the fun – and got the ultimate co-sign from the reality TV star when she retweeted her post and shared it from her fragrance's Twitter account.
Carmen poses in her underwear with her legs, swollen by lympodema, on show, to give people a nudge to accept all the little things that we're so often made to feel are weird or wrong.
So getting her kit off for the sake of body positivity isn't too big of a deal for Carmen, but it could have a real impact on all her followers trying to find confidence.
Just like Kim, she's sitting naked with her hand over her genitals. Unlike Kim, there are stretchmarks and folds on show.
'I wanted to remind people that most of us do not have a flat, stretch mark free stomach and smooth curves,' Carmen told Metro.co.uk.
'I wanted to remind everyone that their body is perfect the way it is today. We may have goals for our bodies but there is no reason we shouldn't love them every step along the way.
'This is not a competition, this is only a reminder that the "perfect" body you are seeking is the one you already have.
Carmen hopes that by sharing the photos she'll empower people to love their bodies rather than comparing themselves to the ideal of Kim Kardashian's figure.
'I want my images to be a bit of positivity on someone's timeline,' she explains, a very realistic journey to self love and acceptance.
'I want everybody to feel empowered by my images. I want to keep hearing from women who say I encouraged them to wear lingerie for the first time.
'I want people to feel secure in their bodies, sexy and unjudged when they are in the community I am building with @eatthecaketoo.'
Carmen added: 'We are making some progress in our media and advertising, but we are still wildly underrepresenting different body types, shapes and ethnicities (just to start with).
'We need to start normalizing bodies in the media that people can actually relate to.
'While I have nothing against the Kim Kardashians of the world and Victoria's Secret models, those body types are not the ones staring most of us back in the mirror; Certainly not my mirror!
'We glorify bodies that look like about 2% of our society, and we wonder why people always feel like their bodies aren't good enough. All bodies are good bodies, let's start showing that.'
Hear, hear.
Got a showbiz story?
If you've got a story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk Entertainment team by emailing us firstname.lastname@example.com, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page - we'd love to hear from you.
MORE: Kris Jenner couldn't believe Tristan Thompson's 'unexpected' cheating scandal


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The G-20 Finance Ministers' meeting in Mexico City ended on Sunday, February 26, unsurprisingly, with no apparent progress on resolving the global economic crisis. Yet, according to some news reports, leaders at the meeting believed they had turned a corner on the euro crisis, primarily by agreeing to massive "fiscal consolidation", another of the many euphemisms (this one for austerity) thrown up by the financial crisis.
Pushing through these austerity measures are a host of other actors, including the so-called "technocrats" who are running more institutions and even governments. Included among these so-called neutral technocrats is the "independent" European Central Bank (ECB). Digging a bit deeper cracks open a façade of central bank "expertise" and neutrality to reveal not only a destructive adherence to a failed economic analysis but also the use of unelected central banks to exercise the raw power of financial and other elites over democratic societies.


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|Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Note. The proper place for dealing with CTS is at your doctor or suitably qualified specialist. This page is for information only , you should not rely on any of the content in any way whatsoever in the course of the treatment of your CTS, no responsibility is accepted for any loss or pain or any other condition whatsoever arising from your use of this material.
Huge thanks are due to Randale Sechrest of the Medical Multimedia Group, James Clay and Paul Martin for their permission to use text and images for this page.
See the operation (video) Contains graphic close-up images
Many thanks to Ged Keeley for sharing his images and those of his procedure
For drummers and percussionists, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) is a common problem that affects the hand and wrist causing pain, numbness and a decrease in functionality. It may be viewed as a form of Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI). CTS is caused by pressure on the Median Nerve from inflamed tendons or by a thickening of the covering of the tendon within the wrist.
"A word about chiropractic and wrist pain: many things can cause symptoms that resemble carpal tunnel syndrome, one of which is a problem with the root of the nerve at the seventh neck vertebra. If that's the problem, then a spinal adjustment might be helpful, along with other treatments near the source. But if that treatment gets rid of the problem, then it wasn't really carpal tunnel syndrome." Paul R Martin - Neurosurgeon , McHenry, IllinoisThe Carpal Tunnel
The Carpal Tunnel is a 'ring' of bone and ligament in the wrist made up of bones called Carpals and the transverse carpal ligament. This space is designed to accommodate the Median Nerve and nine flexor tendons, it is a tight fit.
Articles by this Author:


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Best Combination of Eyeshadow for All Eye Colors
It`s a fact that eye colors make each of us special. If we all had the same color of the eyes, would it be so interesting? Through the eyes, we can see people`s souls. So, it`s our great duty to enhance and bring out the beauty of them, don`t you think? We all got used to brown smoky eye very quickly, forgetting that in our modern world there is so much more than that. Colors are what makes us all different and bright.
That is why we should always keep in mind what colorful eye makeup combinations flatter the color of our beautiful eyes. Let`s figure them out together. These colors of eyeshadow with the color of your eyes will make people forget what they wanted to say as soon as they look at you.
Main photo by josecorella
Click NEXT PAGE below to browse the gallery!


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How to store yellow plums
Leave to ripen in the fruit bowl and eat as soon as they're ready. They're ripe when they give a little at a squeeze.
Straight from the farm, so please wash before eating. Eat at room temperature for the best flavour.
You can freeze plums – cut in half, remove the stone, freeze flat on a tray then place in bags.
Grower information
These golden hued plums are grown by Emilio Moreno on his biodynamic farm near Badajoz in western Spain, only 10km from the border to Portugal. Emilio also grows many of our nectarines.
Country of origin
Grown in Spain.


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Jet Large Dining Set
£339.99 - £839.99
Jet Large Dining Set
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Product Information
Jet Large Dining Table
This stylish dining table set is ultra-contemporary and adds the perfect touch to any modern home.
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- G612 Low Back Chairs (W) 44 x (D) 44 x (H) 91 cm
- G632 Z Chair (W) 60 x (D) 42 x (H) 97 cm
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- (W) 160 x (D) 90 x (H) 76 cm
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Please note: The Dining Table comes Ready-To-Assemble.


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Navigating the A&R Jungle
What record label execs want in a demo.By the mid-'90s, rap-rocker Kid Rock had been dropped by two record labels, yet he still regularly packed 1,200 fans into hometown bars, sold a lot of creatively designed merchandise, and tirelessly worked a network of interns to promote his music throughout the country.
Temple of the Dog, Kid Rock's rudimentary basement studio in Detroit, featured two ADATs, a 16-channel Mackie mixing board, cheesy guitar stompboxes, a couple of turntables, and a massive collection of vinyl records. That basic gear spawned a cheap cassette demo, which led to another recording contract and the release of Devil Without a Cause, which has since sold more than 9 million copies.
Andy Karp, Atlantic/Lava Records' A&R director, has seen a lot of fledgling groups in his ten years with the company. He calls Kid Rock's budding empire "a pretty impressive operation for a local musician." Kid Rock's tape and promotional efforts intrigued Karp so much that in December 1996 he flew to a Kid Rock show in Cleveland, where the performer crawled out of a coffin to perform for only 50 people. They inked a deal in October 1997, and Karp's nervous answering-machine message about the deal was later immortalized by Kid Rock on the track "Where You at Rock."
One of the mysteries of the music industry is how some bands get signed while others languish in obscurity. Most musicians know that they have to be talented and ambitious to make it big, but what exactly is it that grabs the attention of that crucial audience - the A&R executive? What do they want to hear when they pop a demo into their stereo system and press Play? As Kid Rock's road to success demonstrates, a combination of factors makes A&R execs sit up and take notice, but the crucial element in getting signed is a good demo.
WHAT THEY LISTEN FORSince the dawn of the record industry, the rule has been the same: a demo must first work on the most primitive level. It must grab the listener like a caveman and sock him or her over the head with a club of song, singer, and personality.
"Here is the secret rule: a melody, a lyric, and a performance, all with a rhythm track that makes you want to dance or have sex," says Dave Novik, RCA Records' senior vice president of international A&R. An A&R veteran with 26 years in the field, Novik has been with RCA for the past eight years. He is surrounded in his office by memorabilia of the artists he brought to the label, including gold and platinum discs of 'N Sync, Natalie Imbruglia, and Republica.
"A band needs to have a vision. They need to have an idea of who they are, where they're going, and what they want, because that's what we're buying into," Novik says. "We're buying into their whole package, who they are musically, intellectually, and visually."
Karp says energy, chemistry, attitude, and good songs are the key requirements for a successful demo. "If someone has star quality, it sticks out like a sore thumb," Karp says. (For an overview of A&R and its role in the music industry, see "Working Musician: A&R Primer" in the June 2000 issue of EM.)
THE PRODUCTION QUESTIONThe importance of production in a demo, however, is in the ear of the beholder, as opinions vary among top professionals. Although most profess to be able to hear through any type of production to the underlying artistry, a song produced to sound like a hit record is certainly a big plus for those seeking the Holy Grail of the music business - a big-time record deal.
The well-dressed demo."I'm a producer myself, and I would be the first to admit there's no way to not be influenced in part by recording," says Bradley Kaplan, director of A&R for Warner Brothers Records. "When you hear a great singer who is recorded in a really cool way - which doesn't have to be high-tech or expensive - it definitely is more seductive. It makes our job easier."
Renowned guitarist, songwriter, and producer Nile Rodgers believes he owes the start of his recording career to a master-quality demo of his first number-one hit, Chic's 1977 disco classic, "Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)." "The only reason I got a record deal was because I walked in with a record," Rodgers says. His career highlights include working with David Bowie, Madonna, and Duran Duran. Rodgers currently runs his own production company, Nile Rodgers Productions, and distribution company, Sumthing Distribution.
According to Rodgers, an artist with a stripped-down, bare-bones demo doesn't have a chance in today's market. A polished track is "the most effective leveraging tool," he says. When he started in the business, most artists were limited by the cost of professional-studio time and could present only thumbnail examples of the music they envisioned. Now, tools once available only in world-class studios are just a mouse click away in a desktop studio, and Rodgers hasn't heard a stripped-down demo in a long time. "Have your vision as complete as possible. Try to make your record," Rodgers says. "Why should A&R people accept less when they can have more, when they routinely get finished products?"
The stripped-down demo.However, the days of the bare-bones, no-frills demo are not over. Singers with a less-is-more approach to production can still shine on a demo featuring only vocals with piano or acoustic-guitar accompaniment.
Sony/Epic/550 Music's Michael Caplan, senior vice president and A&R department head, signed artists such as Ginuwine, Living Colour, and G. Love and Special Sauce. "I've signed a lot of deals off live board tapes or people playing acoustically for me in the room," Caplan says. "I don't really require that people spend a lot of money."
Pete Ganbarg, senior director of A&R for Arista Records, also places less importance on production. "Production for a demo isn't really important as long as the strength of the artistry and music and songwriting comes across," Ganbarg says. "I'm much more interested in the substance than the style." Ganbarg knows his substance: he served as musical quarterback for Carlos Santana's Supernatural, which sold 13 million copies.
The overproduced demo.The experts agree that the quality of demos has dramatically improved as a result of the personal-studio boom. The dark side of that boom is that a producer can create a Frankenstein's monster of a demo, in which overuse or inappropriate use of the technology overpowers the songwriter's vision.
"People tend to pad recordings with all kinds of effects just because they can, or think they should. You should work very hard to figure out the essence of the song first," says Karp. "If you can't fit everything in, then there's probably stuff that doesn't need to be there and is just getting in the way. Any reggae band will tell you that it's all about the space."
Glossy slickness is not even desirable in many forms of music, such as hip-hop, according to Public Enemy's Chuck D. "Cleaner doesn't necessarily mean better in all music," he says. "You still knew what a good song was when listening to AM radio. No matter what process you make it with, a bad song is just a bad song, based on how it's arranged and the vocals."
Sometimes bad material is treated to excellent production, but A&R people can see through it. Sean Roberts, TVT Records' director of A&R, who signed hard-rocking Sevendust, says that many of the demos that land on his desk received better production than they deserved. "You can't really polish a turd," he says. "I've heard some really horrible bands with really horrible material who sounded awesome."
DO'S AND DON'TSWhen you're creating your demo, plan for maximum immediate impact, because listening time is precious among A&R people. They probably won't give your demo their full attention unless it grabs them and sucks them right in. Because A&R reps spend so much time on the phone, your CD may wind up as background music, aural wallpaper competing for attention with computers, MTV, and various other business interruptions.
"There's far less time to listen to music in A&R than you might think," Karp says. A&R people receive an average of 50 demos per week, and some of them get more than twice that. Of all those acts, each executive signs only one to four acts a year.
A horrible demo that hits way off the mark may get as few as 15 seconds of listening time, but most A&R execs say they that try to get through at least the verse and chorus of a few tunes. Many listen to everything they receive, usually taking at least a few weeks to do so, but they say they rarely find anything worthwhile in unsolicited material. (See the sidebar "Getting Noticed" for tips on getting the attention of A&R people.)
The songs.Ideally, a demo contains between three to four songs, none of which pass the four-minute mark. Carefully choose which material to include by gauging audience reaction at your live shows. Also, have more songs recorded for a follow-up in case you do pique a label's interest. If you send a full-length album instead of a short demo, identify the best tracks by highlighting their titles or listing them on a sticker on the cover.
Always put your best song first, as that may be your only chance to grab the listener's ear. Get to the chorus quickly, and keep the lead vocal up front in the mix, instead of burying it in reverb or other effects. Check your tapes and CDs before you send them to make sure your music was actually duplicated. Be certain to send your demo to a company that fits your musical style.
A successful demo must show focus and direction and not jump stylistically from one song to the next. "One of the biggest problems," Ganbarg says, "is trying to do too much and be too many things at once, stylistically and production-wise."
Caplan adds, "Unfortunately, diversity is now viewed as schizophrenia in the business. I love the Beatles' White Album because it's diverse, but now it would be viewed as being all over the place."
Packaging.Keep the demo package simple. Desktop publishing lets artists come up with more-elaborate packaging, which frequently results in excess garbage. Elaborate, expensive press kits are generally a waste of time and money; many A&R people never get to see them because their assistants separate them from the demo. Besides, A&R executives cannot be seduced by packaging. They're searching for good music, no matter how it's wrapped.
Do, however, be thorough when putting your package together. Make sure every item - especially the CD or tape - includes a current contact number, and an e-mail address and fax number if you have them. Label the spine of the CD with the band's name so it will be easier to find in the plastic mountain of jewel cases on an A&R person's desk. While a photo is not always necessary, it can be helpful, particularly if the band or its front person looks cool. A compact biography and some technical information about how the demo was recorded, are good additions. A compelling and simple live video can also be a big plus if your act is visually interesting.
Many musicians go way overboard with their demos in the mistaken belief that any attention is good attention. See the sidebar "Extreme Musicians" for a few hilarious examples of promotional attempts that went too far.
YES, MASTERThanks to the dramatic improvement in project-studio recording, more demos than ever before are being released as the final albums, usually after being remastered and tweaked with some re-recording or remixing. Although most pop records still require the slickness of the top professional studios, hip-hop and dance music are primarily the products of the personal studio.
"Demos are really a thing of the past with dance music," Roberts says. "When you're dealing with dance music, what's done in the home studio is generally just as good as anything done in a formal studio, depending on the artist's gear and talent and skills as a producer."
With big commercial studio rates running about $1,000 to $2,000 a day, "it's cheaper to buy studio stuff for your home and take your time with your record to make sure it sounds exactly how you want it to," Roberts says. For instance, TVT's Expansion Union and Supa DJ Dmitry (of Dee-lite fame) recorded their recent releases at home.
The majors have also released demos - after additional sweetening, mixing, and mastering. Albums that were recorded by Sony's Ginuwine, G. Love, and Arista's 14-year-old blues guitarist/vocalist Shannon Curfman are notable examples.
"THE CREAM RISES . . ."The music business continues to redefine itself, and technology helps lead the way. But according to Rodgers, one thing has not changed in his two decades in the music business. "The cream rises to the top," Rodgers says. "It's never been more terrifying, and it's never been more exciting."
Although the dizzying array of recording gear can give a rock star wanna-be a competitive edge, the road to the top can still be paved cheaply with good old-fashioned talent and creativity. Kaplan sums it up best. "Writing is still free," he says. "The most valuable commodity in the entire business is the writing."
The tried-and-true way to get A&R folks to listen to your demo is to create a buzz on a regional level. "The best thing that any band can do is to give us a reason to want to find them," Atlantic's Andy Karp says. "Bands are best served by having as much as possible going on around them when they sign their deal. It also helps them get a better one."
The Dave Matthews Band built its career for years, locking in solid touring, a manager, and promoters before sitting down at RCA Records' conference tables. "They did it all themselves, and that is probably the best time for a record company to be involved in a band, when much of the initial legwork has been done," RCA's Dave Novik says. "I don't want to hear a demo from you unless you have your stuff together." That means having a potential manager, attorney, and music publisher ready to go.
The discs that rise to the top of an A&R rep's demo pile are usually the ones submitted by respected industry contacts, which include agents, concert promoters, club bookers, and radio-station programmers. Novik prefers to hear from one of these professionals instead of the band members. He suggests building a career to the point at which the demand is so high that retailers must stock the record and radio stations have no choice but to play it.
"Kick butt locally and you have a better chance of kicking butt nationally, or even internationally," Arista's Pete Ganbarg says. "If you can prove in your own backyard that you have what it takes to succeed, then all the major label has to do is come in and do some polishing." This strategy might be easier in a smaller town than in an industry hotbed such as Manhattan or Los Angeles, because an artist can be the proverbial big fish in a small pond.
Ganbarg recently signed Shannon Curfman, a 14-year-old whose bluesy style has been compared to that of Bonnie Raitt and Melissa Etheridge. Curfman's self-released recording, Loud Guitars, Big Suspicions, was selling about 500 copies a week in her hometown of Minneapolis when she was signed. "If it's blowing up, we'll find out," Ganbarg says. "I would rather artists go out and start a buzz and I call them, instead of them calling me."
Live performance is still a crucial component in getting signed in rock or alternative music, but not necessarily in the urban or pop genres. In fact, most A&R people admit that they see bands in the clubs only when necessary, usually when they're already interested in an act.
The Internet has blossomed into another tool for A&R people, so developing a Web site can serve as an important step toward getting signed, as is getting your music on other music-related sites. Most industry insiders surf the Net in search of new talent. Michael Caplan of Sony/Epic/550 regularly searches cyberspace for MP3 files, and he actually signed moe. after seeing 500 kids in a chat room discussing the band.
Musicians will sometimes go to extreme and occasionally frightening lengths to get their music heard. Demos arrive at record companies with huge packages of bows, balloons, flowers, candy, T-shirts, and even women's panties. Some A&R men admit that they listen to the packages that include photos of naked women, particularly if the women are part of the group.
One manager went one step further, sending strippers to Andy Karp's Lava/Atlantic office as a special bonus incentive. "I sort of felt guilty not listening to it, and I was really uncomfortable with the fact that the strippers were here. The guy went to the expense of sending them, so the least I could do was listen to his tape. It definitely got my attention," he says. But the ploy failed. The music received a big thumbs-down.
An unusual promotional video recently arrived at Maverick Records. It featured a husband and wife singing a song while having sex. "They were both, unfortunately, kind of scary, so that didn't work for me," says Michael Taylor, Maverick's New York A&R rep.
Sometimes the delusional even get violent. Nile Rodgers once had a gun pulled on him at a music-industry seminar. "I've had to call private detectives and the FBI more than a few times," Rodgers says.
The bottom of the barrel, the place an artist least wants to wind up, is the dreaded Wall of Shame. Some of the photos that arrive at record companies immediately sink to the bottom of the heap. Bulletin boards and walls behind doors display the worst of the worst, which range from inappropriate and freakish to the downright bizarre and surreal. What could the devil worshiper possibly have been thinking when he sent his naked picture to a major record label?
Because their jobs force them to listen to some pretty horrible music, some A&R people gleefully share their amusing - and sometimes horrifying - finds with their peers and visitors.
So before you act on your bright idea for grabbing the attention of that A&R person, remember the Wall of Shame - lest you join the legion of rejects.


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New Videos: Travis Porter, Young Jeezy Feat Future, Prodigy Feat Esther, Mistah F.A.B.
New music videos for your viewing pleasure. 1. Travis Porter "Aww Yeah"
Travis Porter parties hard in the video for "Aww Yeah" 2. Young Jeezy feat. Future "Way Too Gone"Jeezy gives us black and white footage from his tour in the video for his Thug Motivation 103: Hustlaz Ambition track 3. Smoke DZA "New Jack" DZA goes patriotic and drops the visuals for the first single off his upcoming album. 4. Mistah F.A.B. "A Mother Like You" In honor of Mother's Day, Mistah F.A.B. released a video looking back at moments with his late mother. 5. Prodigy feat. Esther "Gangsta Love" Prodigy and Esther find gangsta love in his new video.


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The following is a list of Total Drama World Tour locations, listed in chronological order.
Giza, Egypt
Egypt is the first location visited in the third season. This is where the events of Walk Like An Egyptian - Part 1 and 2 take place. It is here that the contestants had to partake in three separate challenges. The first challenge involved traveling over or under the Great Pyramid of Giza, where arrival both determined team selection and the prize/advantage for the next two challenges. The second challenge involved crossing the dangerous desert between the pyramid and the Nile river, and the final challenge involved crossing the Nile river in a self-made reed boat while avoiding the crocodiles in the river.
In an exclusive clip from Total Drama All-Stars, Jo gets flushed there after she is eliminated and she got attacked by scarab beetles.
Tokyo, Japan
Japan is the second location visited in the season in Super Happy Crazy Fun Time Japan. The contestants are dropped from the plane into a television studio where they took part in two challenges based on Japan's media-centric culture. The first challenge: a human-pinball game akin to a wacky Japanese game show where contestants must share their ball with a "local surprise" and survive the giant pinball machine. The second: make a Japanese commercial involving Chef Hatchet's new product for the local market: Chef Hatchet's Total Drama Yum Yum Happy Go Time Candy Fish Tails.
Yukon, Canada
The Yukon, a territory of Canada, is the third location visited in the season. The Yukon is visited in Anything Yukon Do, I Can Do Better. The first challenge involves hopping across a partially frozen river by jumping on ice floes, now partially melting due to the effects of global warming, while the second challenge involves sledding across a snowy landscape to the finish line with a member of the team pulling the sled while collecting all the members of their team in the process.
In Total Drama All-Stars, Heather and Alejandro are flushed to the Yukon after they are eliminated. When the former was eliminated, she got her tongue stuck to a pole and is then attacked by a polar bear. Following Alejandro's elimination, the two are reunited and leave on a snow ski.
New York City, New York, United States
New York City is the fourth location visited in the season in Broadway, Baby! After being dropped into the New York Harbor, the contestants had to climb the Statue Of Liberty to get baby carriages for their teams. Afterwards, they had to go through the sewer to get to the second part of the challenge. One member had to stay in the baby carriage, while the other members pushed the carriage. They then had to collect a giant apple from Turtle Pond, and cross Central Park to make it to the finish line.
In an exclusive clip from Total Drama All-Stars, Lindsay arrives to the sewers that were featured in Broadway, Baby!, where she spots Vince the alligator, and runs from it.
German Alps, Germany
The German Alps (located in the southern part of Germany) is the fifth location visited in the season in Slap Slap Revolution. After an initial challenge requiring the entire cast to sing a song without causing an avalanche (but with no success), the first challenge required them to make a giant sausage from a pile of meat that they're provided and use it to slide down the mountain while avoiding particularly vicious mountain goats. The second challenge is a slap-dancing challenge where the teams faced off against one another on dance pads that would instantly electrocute them when they make a wrong move or if Chris requires a laugh, seeing as he has a remote that could turn on the electrocution mode.
The Amazon, Peru
The Peruvian section of the Amazon Rainforest is the sixth location visited during Total Drama World Tour in The Am-AH-Zon Race. The first challenge involved a race through the jungles avoiding various hazards including deadly animals such as piranhas and giant caterpillars, as well as the "native" Zing-Zings, in order to reach the Incan city of Machu Picchu. The other part of the challenge is to find a specific golden treasure at the base of Machu Picchu for victory, as opposed to other ones that could ultimately destroy the heritage site.
Paris, France
Paris, the capital of France, is the seventh location, is featured in the episode Can't Help Falling in Louvre. Although initially planned to land at the Eiffel Tower, they ended up crashing close to the site of the Louvre after Izzy seized control of the plane. The main challenge is to find and reassemble three famous statues disassembled by Chef while avoiding various dangers, including various animals set loose at the Louvre including the bear, Sasquatchanakwa and the baby seal from the Yukon. After Team Victory's loss, they were forced into a tie-breaker walk-off where the two losing members had to choose a model who displayed a fashion design created by one of the members of Team Victory.
In an exclusive clip from Total Drama All-Stars, Lightning was seen in France during his exclusive clip and a swam boat knocks him out.
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
The contestants visited Newfoundland, the eighth location and Chris's home province, in Newf Kids on the Rock. After landing in water off the coast, the first challenge required them to row to the shore. The second involved a traditional "Screeching In" ceremony, which involved various strange customs including drinking apple cider vinegar, translating the speech of Chris's relative, Jerd, and kissing a codfish.
Montego Bay, Jamaica
Montego Bay, Jamaica, is the ninth location. The contestants visit Jamaica in the episode Jamaica Me Sweat, and are forced to stay there due to the plane running out of fuel until after Aftermath: Revenge of the Telethon. It was supposed to take place at Ochos Rios, but the emergency landing forced it to occur right in another part of the country. The first challenge was to dive from said waterfall to find hidden treasure and bring it to the top of a cliff. The second challenge was a three-run bobsled race where the winner is the one who had the shortest time and completed all three runs.
London, England
London is the tenth location visited. The contestants visit London in I See London..., where they have to discover the real identity of Jack the Ripper, who is kidnapping every contestant he can find. After landing at the Tower Bridge, they take a bus to the Tower of London to search for clues to find "Jack" before he captures them. Duncan was also hiding here in Whitechapel, until he gets captured by Courtney and Gwen who bring him back to the Jumbo Jet and is forced to re-join the competition by Chris.
Athens, Greece
Athens, Greece was the eleventh location visited, in Greece's Pieces. Chris nearly lead the contestants to Rome, Italy, however, the cast corrected him by stating that the Olympics originated in Greece. During the contestants time there, they competed in four different challenges centered around the Acropolis in order to win their team immunity.
Areas 51 and 52, Nevada, United States
Areas 51 and 52 were the twelfth locations visited, in The EX-Files. The contestants landed in Area 52, except for Duncan, who was just over the border separating the two areas and then was promptly attacked by a booby trap. This secret military base was filled with soldiers and traps such as mines and electric fences. The contestants had to enter a guarded Area 51 and bring an intact alien artifact back with them to Chris in order to win the challenge here.
In an exclusive clip from Total Drama All-Stars, Sierra gets flushed there after she is eliminated and she remembered this place since Season 3. Then Cody clones come after her, but she grabs one of the clones and chases after the other Cody clones.
Victorian Outback, Australia
Australia was the thirteenth location visited, in Picnic at Hanging Dork. The contestants had to ride emus the distance of two days through the outback in the state of Victoria to Hanging Rock and bungee jump off of it to grab sheep. They had to shear the sheep they catch to find one with their team logo on it, in order to win the challenge.
Gothenburg, Sweden
Sweden was the fourteenth location visited, in Sweden Sour. The contestants had to build Viking ships, then sail to Chef across a frozen lake that was defrosted by Owen's fart, collect a cannon and "cannonballs" (Swedish meatballs), and either get to the red flag first or sink their opponents' ship.
Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada/New York, United States
This was the fifteenth location visited, in Niagara Brawls. After dropping into the Niagara River where they must paddle to safety, the cast partakes in challenges in the hall of a local casino. The females were to pull the lever on a slot machine to receive their "husband". Then, contestants had to look for a wedding dress, and then tightrope walk across the falls from the Canadian side to the American side.
In an exclusive clip from Total Drama All-Stars, Gwen and Scott both get flushed here after their elimination. First Gwen got flushed after she uses bear poop for the painting. Then Zoey selects Scott to take the Flush of Shame.
Beijing, China
This is the sixteenth location visited, in Chinese Fake-Out. For the challenge, the final seven have to race across the Great Wall of China by any means necessary before Chris hits a gong signifying the end of the challenge. Those who make it to the finish before Chris's deadline take part in the second part of the challenge: an eating contest of various traditional Chinese delicacies.
The Serengeti, Tanzania
This was the seventeenth location visited, in African Lying Safari. In the Serengeti park in northern Tanzania, four of the final five (Cody is out of the challenge due to being unconscious) initially are forced to collect plums while avoiding soccer balls being kicked by the other contestant before hitting them with a cricket bat to destroy gourds. After collecting a reward inside the gourd, they are then equipped with tranquilizer balls to catch a feral Ezekiel, who is let loose in the park and must be tracked by safari.
Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Chile
This was the eighteenth location visited, in Rapa Phooey! Here, the final four had to compete in a variation of the traditional Bird Man competition, where they had to search the island for three Easter-like eggs of the contestants' respective colors in the tikis of the eliminated contestants. The second challenge reveals that the island is inhabited by giant condors and involves returning the eggs taken from them during the first challenge.
Drumheller, Alberta, Canada
This was the nineteenth location visited, in Awwwwww, Drumheller. This episode takes place on April 1, on Cody's birthday. After the contestants arrive at Dinosaur Provincial Park, their task is to find dinosaur bones, and build a dinosaur using items found in the plane, such as glitter glue. The contestants later have to dig around Alberta in search of buried oil barrels due to the interns accidentally burying their fuel. After Sierra blows up the Total Drama Jumbo Jet, the contestants are left stranded here and aren't able to escape until Planes, Trains, and Hot Air Mobiles.
Tijuana, Mexico
This was the twentieth location visited, in Planes, Trains, and Hot Air Mobiles. As part of the race from Alberta to the Big Island, Hawaii, the contestants must stop here to pick up motor boats to traverse the Pacific Ocean separating the two locations. It is the only location the cast travels to that does not actually involve a challenge in it; the cast merely has to travel to its harbor and depart for Hawaii from it.
Kilauea, Hawaii, United States
This was the twenty-first and final location, visited in Planes, Trains, and Hot Air Mobiles, it is also the location of both Hawaiian Style and Hawaiian Punch. Here, Alejandro and Cody compete in a tie-breaker challenge, where they have to push each other into shark-infested waters in a traditional fire dance. After Alejandro defeats Cody, he and Heather have to build statues of each other out of logs and pineapples and throw them into the volcano for the final challenge. Heather manages to throw in a dummy to end the competition, but the money is taken by Ezekiel and falls into the volcano. Upon learning from the natives that pineapples and lava do not mix well, the volcano erupts and everybody evacuates the island.
- The United States and Canada are the only two countries to be visited more than once. They are both visited four times.
- Canada is visited in Anything Yukon Do, I Can Do Better, Newf Kids on the Rock, Niagara Brawls, and Awwwwww, Drumheller.
- The United States is visited in Broadway, Baby!, The EX-Files, Planes, Trains, and Hot Air Mobiles, and Hawaiian Punch.
- Technically, the United States was also briefly visited in Niagara Brawls, when Duncan and Courtney crossed the falls from the Canadian side to the American side, visiting New York state a second time.
- In addition, the state of Hawaii was visited in Hawaiian Style, thus making America the only country visited in an Aftermath episode.
- If these two episodes are also included, then that technically makes the United States the most-visited country this season, with six episodes featuring it.
- The only locations that the cast has visited where they had any interaction with the locals are New York City, The Amazon, Newfoundland, London, Area 51, China, and Hawaii.
- Asia, Africa, North America, South America and Europe are the only continents visited more than once. Europe and North America are the only ones visited more than twice.
- The only contestants who have been to every location in the season are Heather, Alejandro, Cody, Sierra, and Ezekiel.
- Ezekiel is the only contestant outside of Total Drama World Tour's final four to have been to every location.
- Twice in the season, Chris had to make an abrupt location change due to technicalities:
- In Jamaica Me Sweat, the competition was supposed to be held in Ocho Rios, but due to the Jet running out of fuel, they had to crash land in Montego Bay.
- In Greece's Pieces, the competition was to be set in Rome, Italy, as Chris thought the Olympics originated there, until Alejandro, Courtney, and Gwen corrected him, telling him that it had originated from the country of Greece.
- Some of the locations throughout the season are used for some of the fart titles on the Total Drama World Tour Facebook game, Fart Blaster.
- Australia is the only continent visited once.
- Antarctica is the only continent that was never visited.
- As revealed in an interview with Keith Oliver and Chad Hicks, there were seven locations that were also originally planned, but did not make the final cut, such as: Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA; Russia; Scotland; Taiwan; Mexico; and Italy.
- However, some of these locations were still featured in the season in some way, most prominently in the aftermath episodes.
- Scotland was featured when Eva interviewed the Scotsman who claimed to have seen Duncan in Aftermath: Bridgette Over Troubled Water.
- Mexico was one of the locations that the final three traveled through in Planes, Trains, and Hot Air Mobiles, and was the penultimate location in the episode before their final destination: Hawaii. More specifically, it was Tijuana Beach, Mexico.
- Italy is featured in a supposed sighting of Duncan in that country in Aftermath: Revenge of the Telethon. Also, the Total Drama World Tour cast was originally going to visit Italy instead of Greece. This fact is referenced in Greece's Pieces.
- The cast actually departed from Toronto at the start of the season: Toronto Pearson is the main international airport for the area where the series takes place. Likewise, the previous season and most of the aftermaths are within the studio lot around the Toronto area. However, by the words of having the cast "visit" Toronto, it most likely meant the city itself instead of typical locations or the airport.
- Bridgette ends up visiting Russia twice during this season: the first time after the events of Anything Yukon Do, I Can Do Better, where her departure from the show has her end up in the "world's largest cake"; the second due to Blaineley's manipulation in Aftermath Aftermayhem getting her stranded in Siberia.
- However, some of these locations were still featured in the season in some way, most prominently in the aftermath episodes.
- Several of the elements regarding the Japan challenge are more closely associated with China than Japan, including Chef's outfit when dropping the cast (as noted by Harold) and the usage of panda bears in the pinball challenge.
- It is worth mentioning that some of those locations have been visited again, mostly in Total Drama All-Stars's exclusive clips.
- The countries, states, and provinces visited this season that would be visited again in the Ridonculous Race are France, Hawaii, China, Australia, Alberta, Nevada, Mexico, and New York. However, only Paris, Beijing, and New York City were the specific cities visited again.
- In the season's virtual flipbook, it states that the contestants will be visiting K2, Pamplona, a Moroccan desert, and the Taj Mahal. However, none of these locations were ever seen.
- Also, it said that one of the challenges faced in Paris was bungee jumping off the Eiffel Tower and that a challenge faced in Niagara Falls would be going over the falls in homemade rafts, even though these were not the challenges done in these locations.
- One of the shots in the first trailer was of the St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow, but it was never seen either.
- However, in Bridgette's exclusive clip, it was seen since it was the background of the cake she landed on.
- However, some of the challenges in the mentioned locations are accomplished in different locations.
- The contestants crossed an Egyptian desert in Walk Like An Egyptian - Part 2, while the flip-book stated they would cross a Moroccan desert.
- Also, the flipbook said that all contestants would be crossing the desert on camels. However, only Team Amazon used a camel in this challenge.
- The contestants searched for clues in the Tower of London in I See London..., while the flip-book stated this would be done in the Taj Mahal.
- The contestants bungee-jumped off a cliff in Australia in Picnic at Hanging Dork, while the flip-book stated this would be done in Paris, France, off the Eiffel Tower.
- The contestants tightrope walked across Niagara Falls, while the flip-book stated they would do it over volcanoes in Hawaii.
- The contestants crossed an Egyptian desert in Walk Like An Egyptian - Part 2, while the flip-book stated they would cross a Moroccan desert.
- Chris states that Hanging Rock is in the Blue Mountains of Australia, but Hanging Rock is located in the Australian state of Victoria, while the Blue Mountains are in New South Wales, near Sydney.


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Today, President Obama will meet in Moscow with Russian President Dimitrii Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin for a highly anticipated and critical two-day summit. There is hope that some progress will be made on an agreement to replace the 1991 START treaty which expires in December and on nuclear arms reductions. And just as Obama used his trips to Prague and Cairo to deliver major speeches, in Moscow he is scheduled to deliver what the White House is touting as his "third major foreign-policy address" in which he will lay out his ideas on how to move beyond the Cold War mindset.
But in order for the Obama Administration to truly "reset" US-Russia relations -- as it has expressly said it wants to do -- it will need to end the triumphalist thinking that has defined US policy since the end of the Cold War. Without jettisoning that stale approach, President Obama is at risk of losing Russia as a strategic partner in many of his foreign policy goals -- on nuclear disarmament, Iran, energy supplies and a host of other issues.
In an interview with Russia's leading oppositionist newspaper, "Novaya Gazeta," published Monday, Obama said he viewed Russia as an equal.
That is a good step. Yet, judging from news accounts on the eve of the summit we aren't going to see much of a "reset".
For one thing, any true reset would require that negotiations address the proposed destabilizing and provocative missile defense system based in Poland and the Czech Republic, as well as "neo-containment" through the expansion of NATO to Russia's doorstep. (If NATO isn't a Cold War institution then I'm not sure what fits the bill.) As visionary former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev said in a recent interview on Russian television, attempts to station US missile defense bases in Europe were aimed at creating a situation in which NATO could be the first to attempt to launch a nuclear strike.
"I think that the people are right who say that this is probably to create a situation in which they can carry out a first strike under cover," Gorbachev said. He also stressed something that goes virtually unreported in the US media: almost all of Europe is against the stationing of the missile defense bases, including 65 percent of Czechs. Most important, Gorbachev said that what the world needs is not NATO expansion or the creation of ABM shields, but instead "joint European security" and "movement towards a non-nuclear world."
Yet last week Michael McFaul, special assistant to the president and senior White House director for Russian and Eurasian Affairs, told the Wall Street Journal: "We're definitely not going to use the word 'reassure' in the way that we talk about these things. We're not going to reassure or give or trade...anything with the Russians regarding NATO expansion or missile defense."
The last thing needed right now is this kind of preemptive broadside on two of the issues critical to any substantive reset.
For some history about the dangers of such an approach, Stephen F. Cohen's (full disclosure: my husband and a longtime Nationbook, Soviet Fates and Lost Alternatives: From Stalinism to the New Cold War, explains that part of the reason any reset will require deft new strategies lies in the nearly forgotten history of the past two decades -- the historic opportunities squandered as a result of the US' "winner-take-all" attitude with Russia at the expense of a more stable and strategic partnership in world affairs. contributing editor and professor of Russian Studies and History at New York University) new
Cohen discusses current "widespread Russian mistrust of the US -- even more anti-Americanism than there was during the Cold War" as a result of the treatment of Russia since the 1990s as a vanquished country needing to acquiesce to US demands. Cohen writes that Putin and Medvedev "cannot ignore" that public sentiment, "especially given the political struggle now under way in Moscow." Any declared reset "will not be stable" unless the Obama Administration sets out a new framework that overcomes Moscow's "sense of betrayal and mistrust." In order to do that, President Obama will need to challenge members of his own foreign policy team, "many of whom contributed to or supported the Clinton-era triumphalist approach," Cohen notes. (Ironically, Secretary of State Clinton will be unable to attend the Summit due to her elbow injury.) Leading US editorial pages are also obstacles to real progress, "sternly warning Obama against making concessions or 'capitulating' to the Kremlin."
The need for cooperation is perhaps most clear on the issue of reducing the nuclear threat. Last week at a press conference in Washington DC, the Global Zero Commission -- whose 23 members from nine countries include former Chief US Negotiator for START, Ambassador Richard Burt; former US Ambassador to Russia, Thomas Pickering; advisor to President Medvedev, Igor Yurgens; Russian Senator Mikhail Margelov; and former Senator Chuck Hagel -- released a draft of its step-by-step plan to eliminate nuclear weapons by 2030. (Both Obama and Medvedev endorsed the elimination of all nuclear weapons when they met in April, and as the New York Times reported, it is a long-held desire of Obama's.)
Senator Margelov said, "The world is nearing a 'proliferation tipping point' when nuclear weapons spread beyond the capacity of any effort to rein them in and the chances increase that they will be used by a country or terrorist group. As long as nuclear weapons exist they will continue to spread. The only real solution to this global security crisis is the elimination of all nuclear weapons– global zero."
Afterwards, Ambassador Shaharyar Khan -- former Foreign Secretary and Ambassador of Pakistan to Jordan, the United Kingdom and France -- spoke on the importance of the Moscow summit and the potential obstacles to success. Khan pointed out that 96 percent of the world's stockpile of nuclear warheads are owned by the US and Russia and "the focus must be with them to start the ball rolling."
But he also said that real pursuit of the elimination of nuclear weapons "presupposes a climate of trust. And if I were a Russian, I would be a little perturbed. I would be perturbed at nuclear weapons being placed in Georgia and Poland, Czechoslovakia, Baltic States, etc.-- a perimeter around me. Why? What for? And you ask me to demobilize my bombs?... And the missile defense, NATO exercises, and all these things -- what are you trying to demonstrate? This does not move towards a climate of trust. Let us hope… we move away from the Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld position of 'keep those guys under lock and chain'."
Khan's insight into Russian concerns is right on target. In fact, Kremlin foreign policy adviser Sergei Prikhodko told the Associated Press, "We would like the interconnection between START and missile defense to be described in the declaration signed at the summit." And yesterday, according to The Guardian, Russian officials indicated "that they had not been able to reach agreement on a… blueprint for nuclear talks", and Medvedev said "any new arms reduction treaty was definitively 'linked' to the US's missile defence ambitions in central Europe."
This summit unfolds at a fateful juncture in US-Russian relations. Russia too has a new, young President under great pressure to be "tough." Obama's praise for Medvedev while criticizing Putin for still having "one foot" in the Cold War looks like a US effort to play internal politics and is likely to diminish, not strengthen, Medvedev's stature and influence inside Russia. Who's giving Obama this ill-informed and counterproductive advice?
The challenge before President Obama is clear: does he possess the new thinking and steely resolve to reset the relationship with Russia so that it is based on cooperation and mutual respect? As Cohen points out, the irony is that "the last US president to exhibit those qualities in adopting a new approach to Russia was Ronald Reagan -- an odd precedent perhaps for a liberal Democratic president, but a necessary one if Obama is to succeed."
For the sake of a safer world, we need President Obama to make the kind of changes that reflect his stated belief in a post-Cold War world. That means he will need to do more than talk about a reset button. He'll need to push it.


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WASHINGTON, D.C. (exclusive) by Ivy Harper
More than six years ago, I sent UNO a fiction submission as part of the admission process for UNO's MFA in Creative Writing Program. Turns out, the UNO Program had been deemed a "money-maker" and was only open to out-of-state students who paid three times the tuition; additionally, just like UN-L, UNO had a "deal" with NELNET to "bump" students – who needed help with graduate student loans – their way. This was during the notorious period where NELNET was fleecing the Federal Government with the good old help of Chancellors Perlman, then-UN-L Vice Chancellor for External Affairs, Kim Robak, et al.
Moi being moi, I knew that Professor Richard Duggin's rejection that included this sentence, "your writing lacks energy & enthusiasm" meant that the proverbial "something" was up.
I'd been fortunate enough to graduate from UN-L's stellar Journalism School, had published a best-selling biography of Bob Kerrey, won a national writing award, and spent the past quarter century making money as a free-lance writer, financially modest as my writing career had – mostly – been. So, naturally, I figured I'd be a candidate for an NU graduate writing Program.
Oh, and I'd penned a book for Eunice Kennedy Shriver called, "A Time for all Seasons: The History of the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation" that still sits in the archives of the JFK Library in Massachusetts. Not to brag but it's a terrific read and with luck, someday it will see the light of publishing day. Jacqueline Kennedy was to be the Editor of my Kennedy manuscript but when she died, Eunice Shriver – who'd watched her family be burned by William Manchester's book and who did not trust New York publishers – chose to simply file my work away for posterity.
But back to UNO. According to them, my writing lacked that utterly objective measurement called "enthusiasm." As I've said many times, my whole life I've been told to "curb my enthusiasm" and naturally, my writing is pretty much a reflection of my exuberant personality.
Ergo, I started investigating UNO and let me tell you something, my Friends, HELL hath no Fury like a Chancellor challenged.
Youda thunk that I was attempting to smuggle plutonium outa one of America's aging themo-nuclear power plants the way that UNO, UN-L & NU's Men-in-Suits Regents treated me for questioning how it is that one of America's cherished – nee sacred – Federal/Morrill Land Grant Act Institutions could – legally – establish an entire Program that – seriously – would not allow Nebraskans into it.
First off, the head of UNO's Undergraduate Creative Writing Department had just penned a soft-porn book on the Nebraska dime.
So, I asked Duggin if writing about child sex abuse, sex, sex, and abortions constituted writing that exuded "energy & enthusiasm." He didn't like my uppity-ness. See, one does not tell Ivory Tower Emperors that they have no clothes.
As for my course of action, you know how Woody Allen famously said that he wouldn't want to join a club that would have him for a member.
Yeah, well, I'm no Woody Allen. My first thought when I was rejected ostensibly because my writing lacked "energy," was What the Truck!" UNO should be eager to wrap their writing arms around me. After all, I'm the classic definition of "brain gain."
I'm a hometown Nebraska girl who – literally – handed the entire state a "valentine" in my Kerrey biography. Again, not to toot my own writing horn (although I guess I really am) but a number of folks really like my writing. [okay, my previous sentence was a bit over-the-top but hey! life's all about "branding" oneself these days] My original 2006 plan: to move to Nebraska so I could teach writing at Southeast Community College.
But UNO put an end to that. UNO also slandered me in the process of covering their ass about founding a Program that blatantly discriminated against in-state-tuition Cornhuskers. Oh, and I'm a fourth-generation Cornhusker whose Nebraska nieces and nephews happen to be fifth-generation Nebraskans.
The kicker was – as I've written before – is that UNO's Creative Writing Department Head called me in the middle of the [second] application process and – out-of-the-blue – offered to give me a personal recommendation to America's finest MFA in Creative Writing Program. When I asked how it was – logically, Professor – that I was not "good" enough [meaning that I qualified for in-state tuition] to get into UNO but yet – by his own statement – I was a stellar enough writer to make it into the country's best MFA in Creative Writing, this UNO Professor let out – literally – a huge huff and hung up the phone.
Below is the work that I submitted to UNO in 2006. Strangely enough, it deals with land, fences, and boundary disputes.
You decide. Does it lack "energy & enthusiasm," my Friends? You know, since that metric is so non-subjective and easy to determine and for the record, I'm being completely sardonic.
"The Davenport Divide"
Ivy Harper
Chapter Two
The rain gave Argyle a brief reprieve. He felt confident now with his plan to plow what earth remained and plant legumes like clover and alfalfa to restore the soil. He knew it would take time, but Argyle was a patient man.
Back then, Argyle was still using his favorite phrase, "You can't keep a good man down." It was hard for August to reconcile the joy with which August would utter this phrase over and over to his friends and family with the weathered, wounded man wilting away in the next room.
And then the notices came. The first was from the local draft board telling August and Clay to report for duty at Fort Logan, Colorado and the second was from Argyle's close friend, James Ferguson, in Davenport, who announced he'd sold his Colorado land to a local land speculator and Argyle had thirty days to clear out. James had promised Argyle that the family's Colorado land was to remain forever with the Fergusons but that if they did ever decide to sell, it would go first to his fellow Scotsman and friend. Argyle had believed James. Completely. In the back of his mind, Argyle was convinced that James would eventually sell the land to him. After all, their ancestors shared a village in the moors of Perth.
Just to make sure that the McCalls understood that the thirty day deadline was unyielding, the third was an official notice from the Logan County sheriff's office that officials from the Denver Guaranty Trust Company were bringing trucks out to haul away any detritus the McCalls left.
The image of Argyle tearing out of the farmhouse and howling at the heavens surfaced in August's meandering mind. His father stood that night in a darkened doorway staring at a bleached black sky devoid of a single star. August could see his father's lanky frame shivering, his arms bruised from pounding a baked and unforgiving earth. Argyle did not return to the farmhouse for a long time and later, Alma understood that the words on those three thin pieces of paper burned her husband's heart creating a hole that would widen as the years wore on.
That night August endured a restless mix of sleep, recurring dreams and memories of the war from which he recently returned home. Scattered scenes of long nights in muddy foxholes peering through the darkness and throwing hand grenades towards the sound of any movement in the grass and brush haunted him. Half conscious, he saw evenings near dusk when his squad leader would yell, "Here they come" and August and the others would all start firing and reloading with trembling hands while waiting for another assault. One vision included Nagoya and Osaka where his squad was assigned to destroy rifles and ammunition of the Imperial Army.
In another, his platoon was ordered to handle security for a contingent of Japanese soldiers being returned after ten years on the coast of China and Manchuria. They were older and ragged and bent as they tried to keep step in formation as they marched from the ship without sabers and rifles. As morning broke, August saw both the sun and the silhouettes of stooped, beaten men who he momentarily identified with realizing that he, too, was home to pick up the pieces of a life interrupted.
A rooster's crow awakened August for good. He dressed and walked to the kitchen where Argyle had fried some eggs and bacon. The two sat down to eat and exchanged spare pleasantries.
"Ready to head out," Argyle tried to sound upbeat.
"It's going to be a great day, dad, don't worry." August collected their gloves, work belts and a few other items he threw into the back of the Chevy. They drove back out to the forty acres which was one-fourth of a 160 acres, or a quarter of a section. There was a barbed wire fence, backed by wood, that was intermingled with scrub trees, bushes and a hedge separating the forty acres of John Stanton's land from the forty to the west owned by Garrett Loudon. The fence provided a clear separation of the two properties and the McCalls liked the idea because their small tractor had no trouble turning around to change directions. August and Argyle had thirty acres of wheat and ten of milo.
"I am going to attach the cultivator and get some weeds out of that milo," August said as he started the tractor. Just as he was moving ahead, he heard the roar of an engine beside him. He saw Loudon beside him and above him in the cab of an over-sized Massey Ferguson Tractor with a power blade and a scoop on the front. Loudon looked down at August and grinned. If a wave can show arrogance, his did as Loudon accelerated down the lane towards his property. August continued to work the ten acres while Argyle sat in the car and dozed under the warmth of the sun on the glass windshield. August could hear the roar of the Loudon tractor on the far side of the field. It took a few minutes for what was happening to register with August who ran to the side of the car where Argyle had fallen asleep.
"Let's go, Dad, The Loudons are tearing out our fence."
They drove to the end of the field and they could see Garrett Loudon making the last pass of pushing the fence and brush and the hedges to one side. August ran towards Loudon who had gotten off his tractor. Argyle followed with an old man's gait, a slow run. August, at six foot, three, towered over Loudon.
"What are you doing, tearing out our fence?"
"What do you care, August?" You don't use it and we need more turning radius.
August clinched his fist. Breathing heavily, his face flushed, August formed a circle with his thumb and middle finger and pointed an index finger towards the sky.
"You could have asked us. You could have talked to me…we would have worked something out. You are going to have to pay for this."
Loudon stopped listening, turned and walked away. Over his shoulder, he said, "I don't owe you a dime."
"August, let's go." Argyle took his arm and led him back to the car. "Calm down, son. There's got to be a way to fix this."
August was shaking and his lips quivered.
"Dad, it's the idea. They think because they have more land and more money that they can get by with anything."
Argyle looked down. "Men with money usually do."
"Dad, we needed that fence. That wood is irreplaceable, not to mention the expense of barbed wire."
"Don't do anything, son. I will call Verle Gasek tomorrow."
Argyle McCall took off his hat as he entered the small law offices of Gasek and Harrington, one of the areas's handful of practicing attorneys. The few young men from Thayer County who decided to attend law school rarely returned to set up shingles in such a sparsely populated locale. But Verle Gasek was a farmer at heart and he wanted to give back to the community that nurtured him. The only reason he'd been able to afford law school in the capital, Lincoln, anyway, was courtesy of the generous G.I. Bill that paid his entire tuition including books. He'd even been given spending money that he used at the Student Union on Friday nights. Gasek's mother hailed from the part of Nebraska called Little Bohemia because so many Czechs settled there. He liked being around her rowdy relatives, too.
Verle ushered Argyle into his spare but literary-looking offices. He sat behind an oak desk that looked like the kind common in Nebraska's one-room schoolhouses. On the wall were six or seven framed certificates, most of which appeared to be in Latin and citing Gasek for exemplary work of some kind or other. Argyle could not make out the words from his seat.
"How may I help you, Argyle?" Gasek moved a manila folder from one pile to a spot directly in front of the places where his hands rested.
Argyle told his story succinctly and then stopped.
"You have a case, Argyle, and I will take it." Gasek spoke almost as briefly as Argyle did.
"Later this week, I will file an action for trespass and for willful destruction of property. Most likely I will ask for treble damages because so many trees were destroyed."
"No amount can replace them," Argyle looked down as if he was ready to weep. He was thinking of the poem that Alma loved so much, the one by Joyce Kilmer. 'I think that I shall never see a poem as lovely as a tree. Poems are made by fools like me but only God can make a tree.'
from "The Davenport Divide" by Ivy Harper
To be continued…


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The bridge that doesn't meet in the middle. One of the big benefits of our plan to Travel Australia house sitting is being able to spend time exploring areas that we might otherwise just pass through. Beechworth was one little town we wanted to see to experience the 'time capsule' effect that seems to be associated with the town. From our base in the village of Ned Kelly's 'end of the road son' nightmare, Glenrowan, Beechworth is only a half day excursion so we only set out at lunch time and it seemed no time we were there.
Beechworth panorama" by Taken byfir0002
It's only 40 ks or so from the 'capital' of the area, Wangaratta and the first surprise was the presence of a lake in the middle of town.
For some reason this apparently insignificant detail was absent from the information I gathered before we set out. Lake Sambell came as a bit of surprise and although it is clearly a distinguishing feature and a little hard to miss. From what we read, it was a pit where gold was mined and later filled or allowed to fill in the 1920's. It's not like it's something new that has just been overlooked and there's a nice little caravan park too as one would expect. The town was interesting enough and there's a fair bit to see around the area but we were really only there to give it the 'once-over'.


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The latest buzz is "Content is a kingdom" on Internet. In this kingdom, there are many businesses operating as SMEs or large enterprises. They want to retain a chunk of attention to drive their customers. But a guest post in Virtual CEO says that nearly 90% (Ninety percent) of all Internet business start-ups fail within first 120 days
Why is this happening with most widely available marketing tools and social media channels? Internet live stats indicate that in just one second, there are 7,175 tweets
This article gives a special emphasis on human-centered approach towards content creation with in-depth analysis and unique content marketing strategies.
What is human-centered approach?
Human-centered approach to business in content marketing is very creative with an attempt to solve problems and advice solutions that combine the three stages - inspiration, ideation and implementation.
- Inspiration conveys a comprehensive understanding about customer needs as the process of designing goes on
- Ideation produces the results of learning, opportunities available for design and model of solutions
- Implementation brings solutions to customers and market
Definition of human-centered design
"An approach to systems design and development that aims to make interactive systems more usable by focusing on the use of the system and applying human factors/ergonomics and usability knowledge and techniques." (ISO 9241-210 – Ergonomics of Human Centered System Interaction)
There are multi-billion dollar companies Apple, Google, Facebook, Lego, IKEA who already implemented human-centered design in their system.
The above approach is very innovative as the results of this effort explore more about prospective customers.
This is the most important stage where entrepreneurs fail for lack of human-centered design.
For example, there is a new start-up planning to supply breakfast, lunch and dinner through their website.
Mere launch of their website, does not guarantee that there will be an upscale in sales and profits. This is exactly where human-centered approach makes an entry with the formula of three stage viz., inspiration, ideation, and implementation
- Targeted audiences who require supply of breakfast and how busy are they to avoid
cooking. Example. Office goers, students, working moms
- How much of time do they have for breakfast preparation?
- What are their interests, favorites and likes for breakfast
- Will they prefer door delivery
- Why will they prefer door delivery
- How much are they willing to pay for breakfast
- What are their favorite tasty recipes and will the fast food center be able to prepare
- Will it satisfy them and will they come back to place more orders
- What kind of food packing is required for customer satisfaction
The above model of human-centered approach should be actively apparent in content marketing and also in delivering services to customers.
While working on content marketing, the ideas prepared in above stages should be discussed and highlighted and this is also a part of contextual design.
What is content marketing?
While there are many definitions for content marketing, the following is very popular and well defined.
" Content marketing is the marketing and business process for creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action." (Content Marketing Institute)
How does human-centric content marketing work for positive results?
While there are many ways to achieve timely results from content marketing strategies this article gives a special emphasis on human-centric content that goes viral to invite buyers. What happens every minute on the web, is quite alarming to note about the series of occurrences and add to the value for information searched on Internet.
- Google records 4 million search queries
- Facebook members share 2.46 million snippets of content
- Nearly 204 million email messages are delivered
As content marketing is getting harder with time, it is equally important to choose a unique content marketing strategy in long form of content type that promotes business to achieve
targeted audience directly and draws 100% good response. What are those content types?
- Article publishing
- SEO writing
- Blog post publishing
- White papers
- Free e-books
- Reviews
The above type of content is targeted for information seekers, customers with needs and regular buyers. A set of data reveals that nearly 67 percent of consumers are influenced by online reviews and at least 81 percent of shoppers conduct online research before buying.
Content Strategist, Kristina Halvorson, author of "Content strategy for web" said "If your content is for everybody, then it really is for nobody."
It emphasizes more to develop content for a set of targeted audience and this is exactly what human-centered approach is all about to achieve conversions and leads.
Particularly for B2B content marketing must have certain objectives, goals and CTAs to inspire audience.
Prior to the writing of content the following questions must be analyzed:
- What is the purpose
- What results are expected out of this
- Will CTA add value
- What is the goal
- What is the point-of-view
- Has it been published already
- What should be the word count
- Will this content meet search queries of targeted audience
Good quality content receives comments, likes and shares and it also gets indexed by Google, Bing and Yahoo. Human-centered content is more interactive and communicates the thought process in a wave of logic, which is mostly sought-after.
Therefore any content that has one or more lacking areas of the above discussed points, will stay static with zero results. The main goal of this article is to highlight the criteria of human-centered approach for content creation and content marketing.
Word count of content can be anywhere between 400 to 2000 words and it is always good to write a long form of content. This gives a better scope to write more details about the topic and there is more opportunity to create engaging content.
With growing businesses and busy Internet activities, Internet live stats indicate mounting volume of content.
What is the significance of wisdom in buying psychology?
"Aristotle argued that the only the person with defined purpose of life could be wise and added that the best end of someone's life is happiness. On the other hand, Plato argued that the best end of life is good life" (Excerpt from the book Research on ICT for Health care and social care)
Here is a question
Can these two arguments be applied to the modern day thinking?
So, what is wisdom?
Every person is who is active and mentally healthy definitely has some rank of wisdom in planning, thinking and making decisions. Wisdom is not about knowledge, but it is a virtue and it is defined as an ability to make sensible judgments and choices. Therefore, one can be understood as a person of knowledge but not wise or vice versa.
Further, wisdom is not a synonym for intelligence as intelligence bestows few abilities to solve problems. Wisdom enables to make final good decisions smartly among the available options.
Wisdom is like a plant that requires regular nurture to grow.
(Reference Research on ICT for Health care and social care)
So, how a common man is able to achieve well-being, health, wisdom and care when he or she is confronted with many challenges in life such as, unemployment, sickness, financial concerns and many other. In this scenario, the next stage of health care occurs.
Different stages in life bring various risks, wants and needs and producing content that is helping to resolve contributes to the success of human-centered and this is quite significant in business.
If I have to choose for reading high quality news articles, I would type the keyword in Google search bar and view the results. Forbes, Time, Guardian, CNN, BBC or any other high quality website pops up, I click on that link and visit the website to read articles. The strong underlying fact is - Content quality – reliability and reputation.
There are also very popular high quality magazines that include:
- Glamour
Exactly, the same is applied for content marketing for business. The quality of content should be highly interesting and readers should be able to find problem-solving techniques. In that scenario, content will definitely speed up for high number of views.
To develop human centered content, the following areas analysis is required. Since there is more focus to generate sales, businesses follow this formula to influence the buyer with buying psychology and behavior.
- Personas
- Scenarios
- Insight Research
- Interaction scenario modeling
- Mental models
If content is really helpful and solving the problems of readers, it gets shared, saved for future reference. Therefore creating good content it itself human-centered.
Poor quality content indicates high bounce rates, few sessions and low average time on page.
The fact that quality of the content is good does not guarantee whereas it should offer one or more practically working solutions to the visitors and in order to achieve this goal, real time content need to be applied.
Recommended Reading:
Mail Me: firstname.lastname@example.com
Website alpha content writing


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We have decided to withdraw our troops from NATO exercise: Erdoğan
NEWS CENTER - President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced that after the event in Norway, Turkiye has decided to withdraw troops from NATO exercises.
Speaking at the AK Party Provincial Presidents' Meeting, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that they have decided to withdraw Turkish troops from NATO exercise in Norway.
Erdoğan explained the reason for the decision to withdraw the troops in the NATO exercise in Norway, "Yesterday, there was a situation in Norway, a table called the enemy table, Atatürk's name was on the one side and my name was on the other side."
Erdoğan said, "When we received this news our Chief of General Staff and our minister responsible for the EU are on their way to Canada. They phoned me on their way and said that, and that was NATO exercise. We have 40 soldiers. We decided to withdraw these soldiers. The game is different. Similar events were done in the different places. There they also unfortunately in us. If we accept the power of weapons, then let us quit politics. There is nothing more powerful than the people." (ILKHA)


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Elena Gnut is a 31-year-old food artist from Kaliningrad, Russia and she is already acknowledged as one of the world's most talented cake artists. She possesses a versatile style and bakes both traditional, elegant cakes and special fairytale-like kinds.
Whoever said pastry chefs were just bakers, was wrong. Gnut's cakes look a lot more like imaginative sculptures than treats meant to be eaten. Going through her popular Instagram, you frequently feel as if you may have discovered the most beautiful cake you have ever seen, but then you scroll further down and find even more outstanding ones.
Gnut's creativity and imagination is boundless. Each and every cake can be described as a unique piece of art, which has a distinctive style and theme. Her artwork or pastries always remain authentic and original, although she does take inspiration from film characters or cartoons.
No clue how tasty her cakes actually are, but if they taste half as good as they look, her customers are surely more than satisfied. For more cake inspiration check out Ksenia Penkina's, Susanne Ng's or Dinara Kasko's amazing sweet delights.


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Taking part in these video games is very simple and one also can hit a giant jackpot. Social media platforms are a essential asset to your success, and Twitter is one of those that can skyrocket your corporation. One additional be aware: While I normally applaud improvisation and even recycling previous components for repairs, there's nothing like having the actual right half to do the actual mending. Typically they must fold necessary items, which cause resentment on the part of the recipient. Low cost jewelry is relative to your concept of the value of cash and how much you may have of it. But there are lots of internet sites offering work which can be just out to take your cash. Properly, the unhealthy information is that I don't know, the excellent news is that you would be able to win a lottery sized sum of money with higher odds than winning the lottery. Be vigilant, though. Don't neglect the most important issue of gaming: Discipline.
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Who Let the Blogs Out?
Who, who, who, WHO?
Hey, hey my beautiful denv.her. babes!
Sorry to keep you waiting for another vent. I have about 5 new ones in the works and keep bouncing from one to the next without actually finishing one. I have full blown writer's ADD which honestly, is just as bad as writer's block because I'm not posting anything new. So excuse me while I get my excessive thoughts together.
Anywho, I finished this one!
So, let's get started.
Last week, I was watching a fellow blogger's Insta stories and I landed on several that were not so pleasant. This girl (let's call her Blogger Borris) was ranting and raving about new bloggers who are, and I quote, "ruining the blogging world."
This rant was targeted at new bloggers who are using the hashtag: #ad on Instagram posts, that are not paid posts.
Now let me give you some background here.
In the blogger world, when a company reaches out & wants to work with you & you agree to partner with them, they will send you what is called a Social Media Kit. We've received Social Media Kits for paid posts (where the company is paying you to post content on your social media platforms), affiliate deals (where a code is provided to give your readers a discount and you receive money from each transaction made that uses your code), and sponsored product (where a company sends you free product).
This Social Media Kit has v specific instructions on how you must promote the company and or product on social media. These instructions include when to post, how many times you must post, what your pictures need to look like and what hashtags to use. You must follow these instructions or the company has the right to take back their product and or payment.
Why does Boris care so much about the #ad debacle? She's obviously not getting the monetary compensation she wants from certain companies when approached.
Funny thing about Boris' rant? She's calling out bloggers for using #ad on un-paid posts but unbeknownst to her, companies are requesting the use of "#ad" even for product sponsored posts. How do we know? This just happened with our partnership with Daniel Wellington. They provided us with product and requested we use #ad in our posts. So guess what? We willingly did as we were asked and didn't think twice. In return, we received a beautiful DW watch.
SO, Boris' rant coincidentally goes up right after we post a Daniel Wellington #ad.
We're thoroughly unimpressed Boris.
Was the timing of her rant a coincidence? I think not. & do I ever let anyone get away with an unwarranted & unintelligent verbal attack? Nope.
I felt a couple of things after listening to Boris' rant:
1) Amused. Boris was wrong. Companies are requesting bloggers to put #ad on their social media content even if it's a product sponsored post.
2) Green. We've been running denv.her. for a little over a year now - but guess what? We still don't know what we're doing half the time!
We're still learning & trying to figure this whole blogging thing out. We could 100% use the advice (and preferably some kind words) from a more tenured blogger.
If it bothers Boris SO much that people are using the "wrong" hashtags (which is a ridiculous notion in itself), why not DM them? Reach out and help a fellow #bossbabe instead of tearing people down & coming off like a self righteous b*tch.
...but let me guess? I shouldn't use that hashtag either.
ALSO, is there really a right and a wrong way to blog or use freaking hashtags? I don't think so. Blogging & social media are forms of personal expression - you can't really give personal expression a black and white label. If you're trying to label someone's way of blogging as correct or incorrect, that label is simply your opinion.
So Boris, you may think you're the blogging expert, but that blogging crown you have so delusionally placed atop your head is merely a personal opinion of yourself. & I can confidently say that our opinion of you is quite different.
Ultimately, all of us bloggers are at the mercy of the audience we're trying to capture and the companies we want to partner with - and if they want us to use #ad for a sponsored product post, we're going to do it.
We're not in the blogging world solely to chase monetary gain - it's painfully evident you are. Maybe you shouldn't have quit that day job?
3) Shocked. Boris is a phony.
Boris' hateful rant took me by surprise because she has created a "blogging company" for influencers that she markets as a "new kind of blogging community" that provides resources and a FRIENDLY networking environment to, get this, SUPPORT NEW BLOGGERS.
Like.....is this a joke lol, lol?
SO, Boris is trying to sell a company of bloggers supporting bloggers but is PUBLICLY RIDICULING AND OSTRACIZING new bloggers for not knowing what they're doing.
You are one funny gal Boris & a v bad business woman.
Boris is a prime example of why people would be deterred from starting a blog. EDUCATE WITHOUT BELITTLING.
Now, I know you all are ready for the good stuff. I posted the following picture on my story following Boris' attack:
This picture I posted on my story soon sparked a laughing emoji response from Boris and we then had the below conversation, take a peek:
Guys. This is back tracking if I ever saw it. Boris was caught and she knew it. She is V well aware of these vents sessions and that I love me some screenshots.
So let's talk about her comment of "don't feel personally victimized" after personally victimizing someone lol. Like UGH Boris.
You're so annoying.
I'm sure some of you could see the convo above and think, well maybe it was just a coincidence. Maybe Boris isn't lying!
I would have liked to think that same thing; but fast forward to last week where there was a social media influencer event - denv.her. was in attendance and (dun, dun, dun) so was Boris.
If Boris had a genuine bone in her body, she would have seen us at this event, immediately come up, apologized for the confusion and chatted with us. I knew Boris before starting denv.her. and we were always friendly. Did Boris say hello at this event? Of course not. She didn't even acknowledge us much less speak to us - take from that what you will.
The influencer event solidified in our minds that Boris is a pretender - a pretender attempting to build a blog and a company on false values that she can't even hold herself to.
My advice for people like Boris? Just own your sucky personality instead of being fake. You want to publicly humiliate other bloggers for NO reason, & then try to hide behind a nice girl persona? PUH-lease. Let me show you to the door Boris. & behind that door? One well-deserved vent sesh.
Disclaimer: I sincerely hope Boris doesn't feel personally victimized by this post.
Till next time!


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Recent updates of people on holiday at Valley Lodge!
as I have an appointment tonight we are closed for drop offs this afternoon. Everyone booked in today should be in 🙂 any problems please contact..
This little guy is looking a new home pm me if interested
Timeline Photos
Me and Jess are off to the beach for a week…can I please ask that all clients stick to the times as I've arranged cover Mon-Friday – 8-9am..
Just a reminder main booking number is 07746098977 or leave a message on 02838840067 or message fb page July looking pretty full Spaces still..
Photos from Valley Lodge Cattery's post
Some of our St Paddy's day guests


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If you want to add Sub-Pages, for example a programs Tab. You would click on +Page, Enter the Title of the Main Tab which in this example would be "Programs."
This takes you to the quick edit form.
After clicking Save it will take you back to the Menu Editor Page. Looking at the Preview Page, you can see that there are two tabs. Named Program 1 and Program 2. We want to make these sub pages. In order to do this, Click on the Quick Edit Menu button.
Here you will see arrows on each of the pages.
When you click on the arrow, that page is immediately placed under the page above it. Now you have sub menus anytime you hover over the tab you want to access.
Repeat the editing process until you have the website structure the way you want it.


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To subscribe to my Wire to Jewelry Blog (no e-mail necessary),
right-click on the orange RSS button (see bottom buttons to the left)
and then paste the URL into your RSS reader. Or click on the My Yahoo!
button or My MSN or Add To Google button if you keep a personalized
home page there.
Or click on the orange button ("View feeds on this page") in your browser.
If you are not sure what RSS and blogging is all about,
click here... What's an RSS Feed?
Wire jewelry making tutorials... This is where you will find the instructions for making finished jewelry pieces.
Wire wrap earrings... They are made of a pair of pretty blue lace agate beads.
Wire coiling is a simple and handy technique that you use in wire jewelry making. You'll find instructions to make a perfect coil and a video on this page.
In this wire wrap ring tutorial you'll see and learn how to make rings with wire and beads, one bead per ring. This video is great for anyone who wants to learn this technique
Jewelry bails for jewelry making... buying tips and use. Can you make them? Find out what exactly a bail is and learn about the many different types.
How to make earrings! Tips and inspiration in making earrings with wire.
Lampwork Pendants, this is my Spring Feeling pendant. It's a handmade glass bead pendant with sterling silver wire.
Wonderful wire pendants gallery. View jewelry artists handcrafted work.
These sterling silver dangle earrings catch the light as they move around. They have been hammered lightly to give them a rustic and organic feel.
Continue reading "Silver Dangle Earrings... Shimmering Petals"
Draw plate - all about the tool you need if you want to draw your own fine, sterling silver and copper wire.
Neat wire bracelet with gemstone beads and wire wrap detail.
Wire crochet has a delicate, almost soft look. It makes beautiful airy designs that can be intricate, "messy" looking or clean and elegant depending on the stitch skill and beads used.
I use Lindstrom pliers and cutters for wire jewelry making... the best quality jewelry tools that is widely available.
Eye pin, eye loop making... Part 2... How to use your pliers to reshape the wire to make a simple loop.
This page is about wire gauge, diameter, millimeters, and size and how it all fits together.
Continue reading "Wire Gauge, Diameter and Millimeters... Unraveled "
Silver flower pendants, this is another one that I have made. This one is made out of one long piece of wire that has been bent into the shape of a flower.
Wire Jewelry Technique... Easy Instructions. The recipe to make the bend for a simple loop in eye pin making.
Continue reading "Wire Jewelry Technique... The Bend for a Simple Loop/Eye Pin"
Jewelry bail making tips. See jewelry examples and ideas of how to make bails with jewelry wire.
This is one of the sterling silver flower pendants that I have made with wire. I love flowers and I guess it is no surprise that they find their way into my handmade jewelry.
Crochet beaded necklace - this video tutorial shows you how to crochet and put together a three strand necklace.


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If you or anyone you know has a gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER.
For some people, a visit to a casino is fun. They try their luck, wager responsibly, have a good time and understand that gambling is a form of entertainment. They enjoy the excitement of the casino, the fine restaurants, the shows and the other amenities found in casino hotels.
For a small number of people, however, gambling isn't fun. Problem gambling includes what is often called compulsive gambling and pathological gambling. It refers to a condition where people are, to some degree, addicted to gambling. While the results of a gambling addiction can be devastating, there is help available for those people who need it.
We also recommend checking out all of the online resources available to you if you feel you may have a gambling problem. We reccomend viewing 800Gambler.org


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Before work at the Association, Roman Opimakh was the advisor to the Minister of energy and coal industry of Ukraine in the petroleum sector. At the same time, Roman was the Head of the oil and gas division in the Office for interaction of the President of Ukraine with the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. One of the main fields of Roman's practice in the past seven years was strategic planning, performance improvement and analysis of the oil and gas sector of the economy.
From 2011 until 2014 Roman worked as a Coordinator in oil and gas sector at the Economic reforms center mandated by the President of Ukraine as well as responsible for the national LNG-terminal project development. Among Roman's duties was also updating the Energy strategy of Ukraine by 2030. Before coming to this government institution, Roman was in charge of international cooperation as a Head of the Investment and Development Department at a construction company. From 2006 until 2010 Roman worked at the Administration of President of Ukraine, where, among other activities, supported the work of the Presidential Envoy for international energy security.
Roman supervised and participated in various energy projects, which involved such international companies and institutions as IHS, McKinsey, IMF, World bank, U.S. Department of State, Energy Community Secretariat.
Roman graduated from the Kyiv Institute for international relations National Taras Shevchenko University with a Masters diploma. Later, Roman was a H.Humphrey (Fulbright) fellow at Michigan State University.