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What defines the relationship between art and science? How can a deeper understanding of the laws of physics alter our perception and interactions with the world around us? In which ways do light and sound influence our experience of being human?
/ May 1 - 26, 2017
/ four weeks, full-time in Berlin, Germany
/ 10-15 participants accepted
/ Based in SPEKTRUM
All elements of our world are composed of vibrating particles that pass through time and space. By exploring the different ways in which we experience vibration, paying particular attention to sound, light, and visuals, we'll be able to more effectively understand the web of relationships that together form our perception of the universe through our bodies, minds, and tools.
In this program we'll learn the fundamentals of how vibrations (energy) move through space by working with visual and experimental sound artists to navigate the world of vibration as a sensory experience. We'll also work with theoretical physicists to understand the fundamentals of vibrations, and how they influence every element of the world we live in.
Course Description
During this four-week program we will explore the notion of vibration from both the scientific and creative perspectives. Each week a group of scientists and artists will host a workshop that will highlight a different element of vibration. Working together, they will discuss the mechanical properties—how these aspects of vibration actually work and what their effects are— which will be matched with demonstrations of how these properties can be manifested creatively, primarily through light and sound.
We will start the course with the fundamentals, with things like string theory, harmonic oscillators, how sound and light waves are created and perceived by the mind/body. Working essentially from micro to macro, concrete to conceptual, we will then discuss notions of observational atmospheric oscillations: gravitational waves and seismic oscillations, illustrated with a more psychological relationship between movement and place/how we perceive the spaces around us.
We will end with conversations related to theoretical physics: the relationship between space and time, and how these concepts are explored visually and aurally. The final week will be focused on hands-on working time where students will be able to refine and realize their works, which will be featured in a one-night exhibition on the final night of the course.
Who is this program for?
This course is designed for anyone who has an interest in understanding how the world works from a functional, fundamental, scientific perspective, how these forces impact us on a day-to-day level, and then how to translate this into creative energies through light and sound.
You don't have to have a background in physics to participate in this workshop. We have built-in the time for introductory lectures which will open-up into group discussions throughout the weeks.
We will begin at a basic popular science level and will advance along with the requirements of the group. This workshop is designed for people who are interested in making connections between the seen and unseen forces at play in our universe.
What will we learn?
We will begin with the general topic of vibration (its forms and mechanisms) and as we build a fundamental understanding we will engage the topic from a more conceptual perspective, exploring it through light and sound, gravitational waves, time, and space. Each weeks' topic will be introduced by a physicist or astrophysicist and then will be complimented by visual or sound artists.
We will learn how to channel our conceptual ideas into realities (either through physical, digital, or auditory artworks), how to explore light and sound through architecture and the landscapes that we exist within, and how to observe and connect the myriad forces at play in our worlds.
Course Outline
Week 1: Introduction, fundamentals of vibration, how vibration is experienced within the body/unseen forces+body+object Week 2: Vibration as sound, psychology of sound/sound+space(natural/architectural) Week 3: Vibration as light, time+space/patterning Week 4: Work time, processing and producing works for final exhibition
Regular fee €1350 (artists/students/freelancers)
€1800 (professionals)
Women and persons from LGBTQ+ and other under-represented communities in the tech field highly encouraged to apply!
Florence To / florence-to.com/
Art Director and Installation Artist, Florence To designs and produces visual installations to create an awareness of the organized elements in architecture. After obtaining a Masters Degree in Design at The Glasgow School of Art, she began developing installations, working in a variety of disparate environments and tailoring each project to fit the space.
To has a background in classical music which led her to collaborate with sound designers for commissioned projects and performances including The Society of Arts and Technology in Montreal, Budapest institute 4DSOUND and Unsound in Kraków. She continues to explore the effects of live performance, through researching the creation of physical presence with light and how different sensory arrangements can create an emotional and psychological impact on the audience.
Dr. Agata Kolodziejczyk / More info
Originally from Poland, Dr. Agata Kolodziejczyk is a Research Fellow in the Biomimetics division of the Advanced Concepts Team at the European Space Agency, which is based in The Netherlands.
What is biomimetics? "Under the harsh invisible hand of evolution, natural organisms have evolved for millions of years, in a continuous struggle for survival, and represent optimal responses to their environment. The biomimetic approach aims at inspiring developers for new and improved technical design.
Jem the Misfit / jemthemisfit.com/
Jemma Woolmore aka Jem the Misfit is a Berlin based video artist.
Jem's carefully crafted performances create spatial and textural landscapes, merging digital 3D design with hand-made sculptural objects to blur the boundaries between real and virtual. Her work often involves everyday materials transformed through light refraction and film techniques to become fantastical environments.
Her unique artistic vision has seen her illuminate festivals and galleries across the world, including performances at MIRA (ES), Convergence festival (UK), Mapping festival (CH), Sonos Studio (USA), Berlin's Krake festival and Mutek Mexico.
Katarzyna Krakowiak / krakowiak.hmfactory.com/
Krakowiak is a sculptor who uses various media, especially sound, to explore the limits of architecture; she creates large-scale installations involving existing city buildings or structures.
In 2006 the artist graduated from the Sculpture Transplantation Studio, at the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznan, defending her doctorial dissertation at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. Following her project titled "Making the walls quake as if they were dilating with the secret knowledge of great powers", Krakowiak received special mention at the 2012 edition of the Venice Architecture Biennale.
Among other projects, Krakowiak is the author of the "Radio all.FM" project that was carried out in several cities all over the world (e.g. Tel Awiv, Tallinn, Mexico City, Wroclaw), in which she used a radio transmitter to "borrow" frequencies from various radio stations and then to broadcast through a hidden transmitter to completely unaware recipients. Her works have been presented at numerous solo exhibitions and internationally.
Krzysztof Topolski/ krzysztoftopolski.wordpress.com/
Electroacoustic improviser, author of sound-art projects, drummer, field recordist, curator. Key concepts in his work are noise and soundscape. He explores the area of percussion and live electronics, improvisational, and electroacoustic music. He composes with the use of computers, creates interactive sound installations, organizes presentations, and lectures on contemporary music and sound art, and also runs workshops. He is a member of PSeME (Polish Society for Electroacoustic Music) In 2009, together with Mariusz Waras, he created installation Fabryka (Factory) in CSW "Znaki Czasu" (Signs of Time) in Toruń and also presented the piece Folk Science as a part of Pandemonium project in AC Institute [Direct Chapel] in New York. He was awarded a scholarship of Museums Quartier in Vienna, artist-in-residence program (2004), Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage (2007/2010), CCA "Kronika', Bytom (2006) and Visegrad Fund residence program at Skolska 28 Gallery, Prague (2011). Took part in many festivals: Unsound, Line_in : Line_out, Wien Modern '03 , Stimul '05, Echofluxx '11, Prague, Jazz and Experimental Music from Poland, '11, London.
Krzysztof Topolski is supported by city of Gdańsk, cultural scholarship.
Paul Prudence/ paulprudence.com/
Paul Prudence is an artist and audio-visual performer working with generative video environments and acousmatic sound. His work, which has been shown and performed internationally, focuses on the ways in which sound, space and form can be cross-wired to create live-cinematic visual-music experiences.
Paul is a contributing writer to both Holo and Neural, printed magazines that explore the intersections of media art, electronic culture and computational creativity. He also maintains the weblog Dataisnature exploring the interrelationships between natural processes, computational systems and procedural-based art practices.
Piotr Suffczynski/ More info
Piotr Suffczynski is an Associate Professor at the Department of Biomedical Physics, University of Warsaw whose research is dedicated to understanding brain function through development of computational models. Topics of his lectures include the nervous system and sensory systems detecting vibrations, demonstrations and usages of EEG waves.
Sabio Janiak/ sabiomusic.com/
Composer, producer, multi-instrumentalist, one-man band based in London, Sabio Janiak has associated himself with music and art since early childhood. His musical education (Academy of Music – classical percussion, London Centre of Contemporary Music- music production )and interest in spirituality, sound therapy, science of sound, has opened his mind to the realm of mystical world of frequencies and vibration. An ability to play more than 150 instruments and his experience of working together with world famous artists have contributed to enhancing his rare musical sensibility. His openness and creativity have enabled him to break the stereotypes and intensify his pursuit of new means of musical expression.
Sabio has worked with artists such as Roger Waters (UK) , Peyoti for Persident (toured many European countries along side Massive Attack, Ojos de Brujo, Manu Chao, Ozomatli), Michael Feinstein (US), Gary Guthman (US), and Boris Sihon (Israel), and organizations such as Hagit Yakira Dance, The Place, Trinity Laban, Roehampton Uni, RAD , Richard Alston Dance Company, New Adventures, Central St Martins College of Art and Design, London College of Fashion, International School of Costume and Fashion Design in Warsaw, LCP dance theatre ,YLE.f i-Finnish Broadcasting Company, SYD-Shoreditch Youth Dance, Deborah Galloway(Needlefoot), Victor Fung, Nuno Silva, STDM, Arts Odyssey, Dance Digital, Alchemy Project, Darren Ellis Dance - Arts Trust.


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Epitalon and telomeres, the major players in fighting aging!
Hello dear subscribers,
Below we list a few studies that are showing how long telomeres are crucial to live a long and healthy life.
During scientific studies, it has been shown that the addition of Epitalon tetrapeptide (Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly) in a culture of human lung fibroblasts induced gene expression of telomerase and the length of telomeres was multiplied by 2.4. The activation of gene expression is accompanied by an increased number of cell divisions (42.5%), which is evidence of exceeding the Hayflick limit [1,2].
Epitalon is the only supplement that has ever been proved by scientific studies to lenghten telomeres. Today, if you want to live longer, you have to repare and restart manufacturing telomeres to protect the ends of your genes, to enable your cells to replicate without DNA errors, and beyond the Hayflick limit.
# The body's clock that control almost all signs of aging is well know from scientists
Every year new studies are published that show the common factor between people who are healthier and younger-looking than other people their age: longer telomeres.[3,4,5]
That's why keeping your telomeres long and healthy is one of the most important things you can do to keep the rest of your body youthful and strong.
# Identical Twin Study Shows Longer Telomeres Make You "Younger"
There was a study of identical twins – one of the most interesting and useful kind of studies you can have. Participants were asked to look at photos of 913 pairs of twins, side by side, and choose which one of the twins looked younger.
When they looked at the photos, the twin that looked younger turned out to be the one with the longer telomeres. These twins also had better health than their older-looking siblings.[5]
And that's not the only thing that studies show us about telomeres. Research also shows us that every part of your body is affected by shortening telomeres. It gets harder for your heart, brain, kidneys, lungs, pancreas and other organs to do their jobs as your telomeres get shorter.
Here's an example. There's a type of tissue in your cardiovascular system called endothelium. When this tissue does its job, your heart is strong. When this tissue is damaged by oxidative stress from free radicals, telomere length is also affected.
There are a lot of factors that determine whether your heart will stay in peak condition, but maintaining your telomeres is one more step you can take. Research shows us that healthy individuals have longer telomeres in their endothelium.[6]
It all makes you wonder how shorter telomeres could be holding you back, and how keeping them longer could propel you forward…
# Among 100 years old people, the healthier are those with longer telomeres
If you want a prove of how much telomeres matter, check the oldest people's DNA!
In a study of 38 people who were 100 years or older, the healthiest ones had the longest telomeres. They had stronger heart and lung function, healthy blood sugar, and better brain function than those with shorter telomeres.[7]
Here we know about all these scientific studies, thus we know it is possible to live much longer and in good shape and health, and our Epitalon is the first evidence that we put at your disposal.
The results are surprising and witnesses of these rejuvenations are often speechless in front of our users of Epitalon who look years younger in just a few weeks.
Indeed Epitalon rejuvenates the cells, and effects therefore are found inside but also outside of the body. Some users are reporting us a tightening of their skin and refining of the pores removing them 10 years of age after just a few weeks of taking it !
Of course the lenghtening of our telomeres is even more important the spectacular visual effects that happens to many of our customers, and that why we are more interested on the long term, as dose after dose of epitalon, week after week, more and more cells are rejuvenated and boosted to replicate much longer than even dreamed of!
So spread the word, " Ageing is not a fatality , it can be reversed ! "
[1] Epitalon peptide induces telomerase activity and telomere elongation in human somatic cells. // Bulletin Exp. Biol. Med. (Rus). – 2004. Click here
[2] Peptide promotes overcoming of the division limit in human somatic cell // Bulletin Exp. Biol. Med. (Rus). – 2004. Click here
[3] Shortened telomere length in white blood cells of patients with IDDM. Jeanclos E, et al. Diabetes. 1998; 47(3): 482-486. Click here
[4] Telomere biology in cardiovascular disease: the TERC-/- mouse as a model for heart failure and ageing. Wong LSM, et al, Eur J Heart 2008. Click here
[5] Perceived age as clinically useful biomarker of ageing: cohort study. Christensen, Kaare, et al, BMJ. 2009; 339:b5262. Full text free, click here
[6] Telomere shortening in human coronary artery diseases. Ogami M, et al, Arterios Thromb Vasc Bio. 2004; 24: 546-550. Click here
[7] Association of longer telomeres with better health in centenarians. Terry DF, et al, Journals of Gerontology: Series A. 2008; 63(8): 805-812. Click here

subset: commoncrawl


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Are you looking for a quick economic relief during your cash crisis? Asking for the help from friends and family does not seem to be feasible choice? When the need is quick, you might not want to opt for the loan that takes time and involved complex procedure. To avoid the complexity in applying for a loan, lenders have introduced the concept of Quick Cash Loans.
As the name suggests, this lending alternative act as an immediate solution to your unforeseen financial worries as it let you to quickly and comfortably access the funds without any delays. So, whenever you need to obtain immediate funds within the single working day, this is one of the lucrative choices for you.
The loan can be applied form one's comfortable place such as home or office as it just need to have an excellent internet access. Everything is done online and the funds will send direct into your bank account within few possible hours of getting the endorsed with the loan. So, you just need to fill up the form honestly and accurately to get the easy cash aid.
Do not worry about your less than perfect credit history to get the quick assistance of this loan. Most of the loan lenders do not consider the past credit history of the applicant while offering a loan. However, what matters to them most while offering the cash support is the applicant's present financial capability which ensures them the money will be repaid back on time without any possibility of delays or defaults.
Anytime when sudden expenses pop up between your two consecutive paychecks, Quick Cash Loans are the better and effective lending option you can choose.


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a movie with: lots of unneeded humor, Awkward moments, Strange laughter, Weird Face transitions and strange special effects. It could be any mixture of at least 3 or more
"Hey Ralph did you see City Hunter & Napoleon Dynamite on Stars last night?"
"I Sure did! it was such a Jansen Movie"
"I Sure did! it was such a Jansen Movie"
by YouTube123456891 November 23, 2008
buy the domain for your foodie site


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The other day I stumbled upon a Pill Box Hat tutorial by Humble Bumble B on the Threadbanger YouTube channel (link). After watching the tute I had to make one!
I had a little trouble stitching the curve, but for the most part it was pretty easy to make. Although to be honest, I think some of my stitching looks as if I was drinking and sewing. I wasn't. I promise. It was late at night. Anywho, the hat was quick to make and requires very little fabric to complete it. You can probably get by with using some scrap fabric if you have a stash. In the tutorial, Ms Humble Bumble doesn't mention interfacing, which is probably because she uses a wool felt fabric in the tute. However, when making my hat, I did fuse interfacing to the fabric pieces before I stitched the pieces together. It all depends on the type of fabric you use, so it's something worth considering before you make the hat.
The flower and birdcage netting is my own embellishment. For the flower I used dupioni silk from Joann's Fabric. I cut a 1/2" strip of the fabric, folded it in half lengthwise and wound it up. While I wound the strip I dabbed glue along the base of the strip and glued the layers together. For the birdcage netting, I found a great etsy store called Birdcage Supply (link). They have all sorts of Russian, French, and English Veil netting.
Here's how the hat looks on my noggin...
To secure the hat to my head, I stitched a small buttonhole on one side of the hat. Then, I pinned a bobby pin through it to secure the hat to my hair. I pinned a second bobby pin through the birdcage netting to secure the opposite side of the hat. This was enough to make sure the hat wasn't going to fly off into the sunset with one little blow of the wind.
I love the hat, even though I have no idea where I'm going to wear it.


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We love family movie night. Our old fashioned maker pops out popcorn and we soak it with real butter and sea salt. We also allow the kids dark chocolate on the side and frothy glasses of almond milk or iced water/tea. Cozying up under various throws and blankets we snuggle and laugh together. It is hard for me to choose favourites because I am obsessed with good Christmas tunes (My iTunes has 809 christmas songs- ridiculous I know...and every year I can't wait for the new ones to be released to add more favourites!) but there are a few full albums that stand out. Usually I only like a few songs from certain compilations but I will put a double star by a few stand out CDs that have a whole slew of goodies:)
26. A Very She and Him Christmas ( Zoeey Deschanel)
27. O Christmas Three- Chicago
28. This Time of Year**- Steve Tyrell
29. James Taylor at Christmas- James Taylor
30. White Christmas- Martina Mcbride
31. An old Time Christmas- Randy Travis
32. Christmas Time again- Compilation Classic
33. Country Christmas- Compilation Mix
34. Martha Stewart Living; Traditional Songs for The Holidays**- Excellent compilation Mix
35. A Charlie Brown Christmas- movie Soundtrack
36. Making Merry**- Classic Starbucks Compilation
37. Winter Moon**- Mindy Gledhill
38. Christmas in the Sand**- Colbie Caillet
39. Dean Martin Christmas**
40. Rod Stewart Merry Christmas Baby
41. Christmas**- Alabama
42. Christmas with Nat King Cole**
43. Supremes Christmas or Motown Christmas
44. Aretha Franklin Christmas songs
45. White Christmas Soundtrack
46. The Chipmunks Christmas
47. Brenda Lee Christmas
48. Leanna Rimes- One Christmas: Chapter One** (* Someday At Christmas* is one of my current favourites)
49. Seth MacFarlane- Holiday for Swing
50. Michael W. Smith and Friends- The Spirit of Christmas
51. Darius Rucker- Home for the Holidays
52. Pentatonix Christmas
53. Idina Menzel- Holiday Wishes
54. Bette Midler- Cool Yule
55. Michael Bolton- This is the Time
56. Brad Paisley Christmas
57. Christmas with Love- Leona Lewis (*One More Sleep* is cute)
58. Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas- Cat Power
59. Loretta Lynn Christmas songs ( I won't decorate your Christmas Tree or Country Christmas**)
60. Ali and Theo- Christmas singles and Christmas 2013, 2014 ect.
61. Johnny Reid- A Christmas Gift to You
62. Christina Perri- a very Merry Perri Christmas
63. It Won't be Christmas without you- Brooks and Dunn
63. Glow- Brett Eldredge
64. A Very Kacey Christmas- Kacey Musgraves
65.Wonderland- Sarah MacLachlan
66. Kylie Christmas - Kylie Minogue
(I adore Judy Garland and her version is still the most emotional, heartfelt and soul stirring)
35. Les Miserables and Sound of Music ( I don't know why but I like these at Christmas.)
36. Prep and Landing (Animated)
37. Little Women
38. Snowball Express
39. Mr Beans Christmas
40. The Mistle Tonnes
41. A Very Glee Christmas ( we love watching this episode at Christmas as well as the other two Glee Christmas Episodes)
42. Twas the Night before Christmas ( 70/s version)
43. A Garfield Christmas Special
44. Harry Potter ( some epic Christmas moments in a few of the eight- magical!) 45. Hallmark movies 46. Classic Disney shorts like Mickey and the chipmunks.


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Here are some creative food ideas for your super bowl party. I am totally in love with all these ideas and I am surely going to host party soon. Visit respective websites for detailed recipes and some more super creative stuff to make your party memorable one.
1. Chili Recipe in Football Bread by Jeanne Benedict
2. Football Pizza Pockets by Picture The Recipe
3. Football- Fruit Helmet by Dooley Noted Blog
4. Football rice krispie by Passion, Pink and Pearls
5. Chocolate Football Cakes by Baking Bites
6. Spicy sweet deviled eggs by My Recipes
7. Football bites by Gimme some oven
8. Grilled cheese and pumpernickel football sandwiches by Spoonful
9. Tex-Mex-inspired dip by Spoonful
10. Pretzels from Ramblings from the Sunshine State
11. Truffle Football Cupcake by Taste Of Home
12. Football field cookies by Lizy B


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Taste-off with Commune, TonG, Steep Coffee + Yardstick
Coffee is one of our favorite fuels in the space, which is why hold regular Coffee Taste-Offs.
For this month's first Spacer Episode at PALET Makati, we invited local roasters to the _LAUNCHPAD to show off their coffee: Commune, TonG, Steep Coffee Bags and Yardstick, and let our spacers vote for their favorite blends!
We want to give our community the chance to curate their coffee experience by providing artisanal coffee of their choice.
It's not just about the liquids though – we love supporting independent local brands with great quality through our purchasing. We got to meet 4 amazing coffee brands that continue to strive and promote local products.
It was an awesome experience for our Palet Makati Members. Everyone was feeling hyper (yep) and all fueled up for the day.
We're brewing more events, more connections, more smiles and more coffee in the space! If you want to be updated on our daily dose of awesome, subscribe to our page and catch us online through our facebook page.


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Cyberspies have penetrated the U.S. electrical grid and left behind software programs that could be used to disrupt the system, according to current and former national-security officials.Of course they would. It would be leverage against us (i.e. we will take out your power if you don't...) or a way of creating mass havoc at a time of war or invasion.
The spies came from China, Russia and other countries, these officials said, and were believed to be on a mission to navigate the U.S. electrical system and its controls. The intruders haven't sought to damage the power grid or other key infrastructure, but officials warned they could try during a crisis or war.
With this latest in a string of very serious revelations about the threats posed by Russia and China, not jut Iran and North Korea, we will of course hear the same responses:
-These intrusions are coming from individuals, not governments.
-What reasons would Russia and China have to compromise our security?
-I'm more afraid of this being used to deny us our civil liberties.
The sophistication of the U.S. intrusions -- which extend beyond electric to other key infrastructure systems -- suggests that China and Russia are mainly responsible, according to intelligence officials and cybersecurity specialists. While terrorist groups could develop the ability to penetrate U.S. infrastructure, they don't appear to have yet mounted attacks, these officials say.As in the recent news about Chinese worms, private computer network intrusions and theft of sensitive information, the attacks are marked by 'sophistication.' Either the Russians and Chinese are doing a poor job of making their preparations look like the work of individuals, or they are unable to fool our own sophisticated analysts. One thing, however, is certain:
Officials cautioned that the motivation of the cyberspies wasn't well understood, and they don't see an immediate danger.Our own lack of perspective on these events is the real problem. The Spartans (Russia and China) will do what the Spartans will do. It is the free world that must be on alert.
Unfortunately, we will only squabble amongst ourselves and vote in European trans-nationalists who think defending one's country is bigoted and fascistic, down to the very day when Russia or China would use these methods to compromise us. We better hope that they have no such plans, that everything that has been happening recently is simply evidence of increased surveillance and intelligence work, routine and ordinary and not part of any strategy to attack us. Just as we want to be stronger than they, after all, they want to be stronger than us.
They wouldn't even have to try very hard. They can just say "Iran poses no threat," and we believe it, or half the country believes it. In fact they take our own words and arguments, which may have come from them in the first place in some respect, and throw them right back at us, and we take it as original and unique.
"This president," the Russians say. "We can work with him." Indeed. "Some people in the U.S. still have a Cold War mentality." Indeed again.
It is nearly impossible to know whether or not an attack is government-sponsored because of the difficulty in tracking true identities in cyberspace. U.S. officials said investigators have followed electronic trails of stolen data to China and Russia.And the Russians have denied it; the Chinese have denied it. And half the country will take their word for it, because to believe otherwise would contradict their childish world view. Out of the second half, four-fifths will ignore it as unpleasant to think about, and after all, a long way off and seemingly inconceivable (that one day, the Chinese and Russians will attack us, utilizing all sorts of agents and methods and controls that had been put into place while we weren't paying attention). The other fifth is ignorant anyway, and even though they rightly fear the Spartans, don't really understand them. The quantity of those who recognize and think rationally about the threat is negligible.
Of course, just because the Russians could smuggle a nuclear weapon in a suitcase across the Mexican border under the guise of terrorists and set it off in Washington, doesn't mean they will or even that they want to. Even though the Chinese, say, could hijack our electrical networks in the midst of a surprise attack by them, doesn't mean they will. The goal, if there is a goal, is still:
All warfare is based primarily on the deception of an enemy. Fighting on a battlefield is the most primitive way of making war. There is no art higher than to destroy your enemy without a fight—by SUBVERTING anything of value in the enemy's country.But that doesn't mean there won't be preparations in the case of collapse or civil war. Russia and China would beat themselves up endlessly if a serious crisis erupted in the United States and they were unable to take advantage of it. They must always be ready, but especially at tense and unstable times. That is why they are probing so much and so often right now. We are detecting some of their probes, but they are banking on us getting distracted and forgetting about it, too much focused on "hope" and "change" and economy.
We see here, another conservative publication make the argument:
China, for example, has little incentive to disrupt the U.S. economy because it relies on American consumers and holds U.S. government debt.Gordon Chang recently made this argument in National Review. It is a dangerous thing to assume, that economy always trumps ideology. It doesn't, especially not with Leninists. We are seeing this in our own country right now, with the false centrism of Barack Obama, and his party's cynical exploitation of an economic and political crisis to make changes based not on economic rationalism but on ideology with a view to 'social justice' and world perception.
Finally, a point about those intrusions into the grids. We may shore up our cyber-defenses, and that's good. But the hackers may have created superusers and hidden administrator accounts that can lie dormant, ready to be turned on. What's more, it's highly possible and almost certain to be the case in at least a few instances that these utility companies have moles or spies in them who have helped to create vulnerabilities from the inside, or at least pointed out to their Russian and Chinese handlers possible vulnerabilities.
Or maybe it's just that "some people overseas with [a] Cold War mentality are indulged in fabricating the sheer lies of the so-called cyberspies in China."


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Vespers tonight
August Vespers of the Blessed Virgin with Cantorae St. Augustine begin at 6 p.m. today at the Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche.
The music will include Gregorian chant in Latin and English.
Formed in 2007 and directed by Mary Jane Ballou, Cantorae St. Augustine (formerly St. Augustine Schola Cantorae) is a women's vocal ensemble that specializes in Gregorian chant and a cappella sacred music.
For information, go to http://www.cantorae.com or call (800) 863-3613.
The Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche is near the Great Cross on the Mission grounds on San Marco Avenue.
Gospel explosion
Trinity Explosion 2010 is the theme for a three-day event at the Church of God in Christ, 736 W. King St.
At 7:30 p.m. today, Pam Lee, Travis Chestnut and Vanessa Kelley will speak. At 7:30 p.m. Saturday, a Praise Night Concert is planned; and at 4 p.m. Sunday speakers will be Minister Jack Council and Darryl Lee. All are invited.
Spiritual Center events
The Rev. Elizabeth Claire will discuss "Let Go and Let God Be Expressed" at the 10 a.m. Sunday gathering at the Center for Spiritual Living, 1795 Old Moultrie Road.
A Healing Meditation is at 9:15 a.m.
This evening, the "Breathflow: Introduction to Transform-ational Breathing" workshop begins at 6:30 p.m.
Upcoming events:
* Aug. 28: 7 p.m. -- The film "The Language of Spirituality"
n Aug. 29: 1 p.m. -- Ending "Partipulation" workshop.
For information, go to www.CSLstaugustine.com or call 825.3600.
Financial peace
Anastasia Baptist Church is offering two free previews of Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University on Aug. 29.
The first preview and class will be at Anastasia Island Campus at 4 p.m. A second preview and class will be at 5:45 p.m. at the IHOP at 2600 Ponce de Leon Blvd.
FPU, a 13-week DVD-driven class, is Ramsey's program that teaches individuals how to achieve financial goals. More than 1 million families have attended FPU.
The 13-week class begins Sept. 12 and costs $75 for a membership kit. For information, call 471-2166.
Self-help group
Overcomers Outreach will meet at 6 p.m. Mondays at First United Methodist Church, at the corner of King and Riberia streets. A covered-dish dinner will be followed by a lesson, movie or guest speaker.
The meeting is a support group for any recovery. The group works the 12 steps with bridging the Bible. Everyone is welcome. For information, call 392-9187.
Hebrew school
Congregation Sons of Israel, 161 Cordova St., will host Hebrew School beginning at 10 a.m. the first Sunday after Yom Kippur. All children ages 4 and older and their parents and other relatives are welcome for the first session, an open house.
Meet the rabbi and the teachers and learn about the curriculum and books. Call 471-8358 for information.
* Services at Congregation Sons of Israel, 161 Cordova St., begin at 7:30 p.m. Fridays at the synagogue, under the direction of Rabbi Samuel Cywiak. All are welcome. An oneg shabbat follows. At 10 a.m. Saturday, regular services are held and luncheon follows, provided by the synagogue.
* Construction continues on Christ Our Savior Missouri Synod Lutheran Church expansion. While the building is under construction, adult Bible study at 9 a.m. and Divine Service at 10:30 a.m. is being held Sunday in the chapel of St. John Funeral Home, 385 State Road 207. For information, call the Rev. Albert Oren at 829-6823.
* Shores United Methodist Church, 724 Shores Blvd., is hosting a new outreach to the community -- Get Fit Club, meeting at 6 p.m. Thursdays. Those attending are asked to bring a mat or towel, light weights (optional) and water. For information, call 797-4416.
* First Baptist Church of Armstrong, 6370 Armstrong Road in Elkton, invites all to share the word with them at 4 p.m. each Sunday on station WAYL 91.9 FM. For information, call 692-1793.
* The Rev. Bob Mills of St. Francis of Assisi Charismatic Episcopal Church of Flagler Estates will celebrate morning prayer at 9:30 a.m. Tuesdays.
* The annual mid-summer Pellicer Creek Cemetery cleanup day will take place Saturday. Participants should bring yard tools, folding chairs and water. Work starts early and the group usually finishes by mid-morning, after which a covered-dish brunch is shared. For information, call 824-8775.
* The River Region Monthly Ultreya will be hosted by St. Paul's, Federal Point at 6:30 p.m. today. Call Joan at 826-3314 for information.
* Mt. Moriah Missionary Baptist Church, 301 Lodge St., Hastings, will celebrate the church's 125th anniversary and the eighth anniversary of Pastor Gregory L. James. Services are planned for 4 p.m. Sunday. All are invited.
* First Church of Christ, Scientist, 2555 Old Moultrie Road, is presenting a Bible lesson on "Mind" at 10 a.m. Sunday, based on Genesis 1:26-27. Sunday School is at the same hour. Every Wednesday a testimony meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. The Reading Room, at the same address, is open from noon to 3 p.m. Monday and Saturday and from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. All are welcome.
* Temple Bet Yam, a reform Jewish congregation, will have services led by TBY's Men's Club at 7:30 p.m. today. The service will be followed by an oneg. Temple Bet Yam is at 2055 Wildwood Drive. For information, call 819-1875 or go to www.templebetyam.org.
* "Pilate Again Pronounces Christ Innocent" will be the sermon topic at 11 a.m. Sunday at Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church. The Rev. Randy Hezekiah, pastor, will share the message, taking his topic from John 19:1-14.


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|Terminal Ring 1, Zentralgeb.
|40474 D�sseldorf DE +49-8966060060
|GDS - Code:
|Mo. - Su.
|06:30 - 23:30
|Bank Holiday
|06:30 - 23:30
|24 h return
A car rental at D�sseldorf Airport from Sixt can make your trip to Germany smoother and easier. When you rent a car at D�sseldorf Airport with Sixt you can select your vehicle from a wide range of economy and luxury car rental options. Browse our fleet and customize your pick with our numerous add-ons and extras. We offer great deals on features like additional drivers, GPS, child seats and coverage options that can be included as you book online. Our D�sseldorf Airport car rental location offers quicker pick up with our Express counter services and allows for 24 hour vehicle returns, perfect for early or late flights. Travel with more flexibility and rent a car at D�sseldorf Airport with Sixt!
D�sseldorf Airport (DUS) handles the needs of over 20 million travelers every year and is a major hub for several popular European airlines. It is Germany's third largest airport and is situated in the Rhine-Ruhr region, the country's largest metropolitan area. Our Sixt car rental counter is found in The Arrivals Hall of Terminal B and your vehicle can be picked up in the airport car rental area on Level 1 or 2. Once with your keys you can reach all the major cities of the Rhine-Ruhr with easy access the main roadways.
Save time at the counter. Our app is your digital key to your rental car.
Find all the details here!
D�sseldorf is a great place to visit during the colder months of the year. During winter you can visit traditional Christmas markets and warm up with some mulled wine. Some are even located at castles in the area like Schloss Gr�newald in Solingen only a 30 minutes' drive away. In and near D�sseldorf you can find outdoor ice-skating rinks as well as other opportunities to be active outdoors. When renting a car for a winter break vacation you might want to consider equipping your rental car with winter tires, snow chains and ski racks.
A car hire from D�sseldorf Airport gives you the chance to visit all the top attractions in D�sseldorf and its surrounds. Your car rental easily puts areas such as the famous K�nigsallee, with its shopping opportunities, and the Altstadt and Kaiserswerth historical districts and their respective castles within easy reach. There are literally dozens of museums and other arts-related attractions to see, including the Film Museum and the Kunstamlung NRW home to a wonderful 20th century art collection. You can also spend time at the Botanischer Garten D�sseldorf or the Nordpark, a beautiful park home to the Aquazoo as well.
Opening Hours
|Mo. - Su.
|06:30 - 23:30
|Bank Holiday
|06:30 - 23:30
Contacts / Lost & Found
|Terminal Ring 1, Zentralgeb.
|40474 D�sseldorf
Location plan - how to find us
You will receive your rental car at the Sixt branch, which is located at the arrival terminal B, at the exit of conveyor belt 7/8/9. The Sixt vehicle are located in the rental car area at level 1 or 2. Please walk to the departures (level 1). Leave the departures area and turn left. You will reach a bridge, which will directly lead you to the car rental area.
From D�sseldorf main train station please use suburban train S11 towards D�sseldorf airport. Alternatively, from Ratingen, use bus line 760 towards D�sseldorf airport terminal A/B/C, or, from D�sseldorf main train station, use bus line 721 towards D�sseldorf airport terminal A/B/C. You can also use the train and, coming from all directions, exit at main-line station airport. Once at the main-line station, please use the Sky Train to terminal B.
Approaching from Essen via motorway A52, please exit at the junction D�sseldorf North and drive onto motorway A44 towards D�sseldorf airport. Approaching from Cologne via motorway A3, please exit at the junction Ratingen-East and drive onto motorway A44 towards D�sseldorf airport. Approaching from Cologne or Krefeld via A57, please exit at junction Meerbusch and drive onto motorway A44 towards D�sseldorf airport. In each instance, take the exit towards D�sseldorf airport and drive towards depature ("Abflug"). Please keep right and follow the signage towards Luftfracht Cargo, Lichtenbroich, rental cars. Turn left at the traffic light. The entrance to the car rental centre is located to your right.
Outside open hours - pick-up & return
Please park the Sixt vehicle on ground level in the car rental center. Please hand the key to one of the service staff.
Different address for returning vehicles
|Kieshecker Weg 260
|40468 D�sseldorf


text: Running from trouble part 6 Yay time for part six. We haven't had school because of all the snow! Yay snow! Noescaping published on January 28, 201465 responses 12 5.0★ / 5 Questions in vertical order When you woke up you were in a jail cell with Sapphire and I passed out. You ran over to us and tried to shake us awake. *slaps you two awake*. (Me&Sapphire: *turn dark super form*.) 0_0 *poors water on faces*. (Me: Where'd you get that?) idk *shaking us awake*. *stares at us*. (Me: Really?) *pokes us*. We woke up and looked at you. "Ow my head," I complained. "Where are we?" You asked. I walked up to the wall and put my ear on it. "What are you doing?" You asked. "I'm half bat I can hear very well now be quiet." I listened as a little doll that looked like Tails with a jewel sticking out of it was next to you. 0_0 no! *shocked* *faints*. Cute a doll of Tails! <3 (Me&Sapphire: 0_0) You picked up the doll and showed it to Alexis. "No!" I screamed. "Get rid of that!" I screamed again. "It's just a doll it's not going to do anything," You said staring at her. Sapphire looked just as shocked as me. -_- Creepy Tails doll! Do we even know about the Tails doll? (Me: No) He's so scary and covered in blood. (Me: *passes out*) 0_0; But he's so cute! <3 (Me: O_O your scary) I stared at it and took a pair of keys out of its hands. Luckily it opened the cell and we ran out. "Where are the guys?" "I think I heard them around here somewhere." We all split up and you saw the guys passed out. Shadow... Knucky!!! Sonic no! SILVY!!! Tails! You opened the cell and walked inside. Sonic opened his eyes and looked at you. faker -_- *hugs Sonic* :/ Hi bro! Sonic just sat up and rubbed his head. Alexis and Sapphire came in and hugged him. "Who are you people? Who am I?" Sonic asked. Alexis ran up to Shadow, Sapphire ran to Silver, and you ran you to Tails but when they woke up they couldn't remember anything either. sorry ending here. Bye. ;) SILVY SONIKU!!!


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History Matters Series - American Philosophy: A Love Story
John Kaag is a professor of philosophy at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. His writing has been featured in the New York Times, the Christian Science Monitor, the Chronicle of Higher Education, Harper's, Aeon Magazine, among many other publications. His latest book, American Philosophy: A Love Story, part intellectual history, part memoir is ultimately about love, freedom, and the role that wisdom can play in turning one's life around.
The books Kaag discovers in the Hocking library are crawling with insects and full of mold. But Kaag resolves to restore them, as he immediately recognizes their importance. Not only does the library at West Wind contain handwritten notes from Whitman, and inscriptions from Frost, but there are startlingly rare first editions of Hobbes, Descartes and Kant. As Kaag begins to catalog and read through these priceless volumes, he embarks on a journey that leads him to the life-affirming tenets of American philosophy — self-reliance, pragmatism, and transcendence.
Wednesday, October 19th
noon - 1:00 pm


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Prep for Summer with 25% Off Select Sandals
Take 25% Off Full Price Sandals*
*Discount is automatically taken off at donaldpliner.com. This offer cannot be combined with any other promotion or discount, applied to past purchases, redeemed for cash equivalent, used to purchase gift cards, or used as payment on an account. Donald Pliner reserves the right to cancel this offer at any time, and to cancel orders arising from pricing, technical, or other errors. Usage is subject to credit approval and product availability. This offer is valid through 3:00 am EST on 05/21/19 and shall have no redeemable value thereafter.
**Donald Pliner is excited to be offering Free Shipping and now Free Returns to locations within the continental U.S. (48 contiguous states) for orders placed on DonaldPliner.com. Returns must be completed using the Donald Pliner Return Label available at www.donaldpliner.com/returns. Return cost will NOT be covered for return shipments that do not use the Donald Pliner Return Label.
This offer is not available for orders shipped to Alaska, Hawaii or Puerto Rico. Orders shipped to these locations must ship via 2 Day Air as Standard and Next Day Delivery are not available.
For Donald Pliner's complete Return policy, please visit DonaldPliner.com/Returns.
Footwear Since 1989
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The Direct to Video Connoisseur
I'm a huge fan of action, horror, sci-fi, and comedy, especially of the Direct to Video variety. In this blog I review some of my favorites and not so favorites, and encourage people to comment and add to the discussion. If you click on an image, it will take you to that post's image page, which includes many more pics from the film and other goodies I couldn't fit in the actual review. For announcements and updates, don't forget to Follow us on Twitter and Like our Facebook page. If you're the director, producer, distributor, etc. of a low-budget feature length film and you'd like to send me a copy to review, you can contact me at dtvconnoisseur[at]yahoo.com. I'd love to check out what you got.
Hi everyone, it's been a while since I checked the page, and I wanted to make a few announcements.
First and foremost, it appears a dubious site has claimed the old url, meaning any link in any review that goes to the old mattmovieguy url is corrupt. I'm in the process of trying to remove them all, but it's a lot! It's best not to click on any link without hovering over it first to make sure it doesn't have mattmovieguy in the url.
Second, it appears since my last trip to the blog, Photobucket has decided to charge for third party hosting, meaning none of my images are appearing anymore. That's simply an aesthetic issue, but still annoying.
Thank you all for your patience, and again, hopefully this will all be fixed soon.
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Fatal Call (2012)
This is another in the group of films Kevin at MTI Video sent me, and was probably the one I was most excited to look at. It stars DTVC favorite Kevin Sorbo, personal favorite Danielle Harris, and a couple of other familiar faces in main star Jason London and the ubiquitous Lochlyn Munro. Let's see if it lived up to that excitement.
Fatal Call has London as a guy with a past from rural Illinois who moves to St. Louis to start a new life after a buddy gets him a job at a law firm. Things are looking even better when he meets Danielle Harris at a bar, and she gives him her number. Problem is: she has a husband, and he's abusive and controlling. Now she wants London to help her out, but when he goes to her place to pick her up, he finds her husband dead and he looks like the one who did it. Will he make it out of this mess alive?
I liked this. It was a pretty fun Noir-ish suspense flick, with a good cast and a decent story. My one main complaint was that London's character vacillated between aw-shucks-schmuck and quick-thinking-resourceful-you-picked-the-wrong-guy patsy, which made the plot move unevenly. For the most part though it hit the spots you'd want in this kind of film. Harris was great as the Black Widow type; we had fun detectives in Munro and his partner Srikant Chellapa; Sorbo was deviously sinister; and the plot maintained a good balance between tension and action. In fact, I loved the device of jumping us forward and back in the story, because it kept things from getting too gummed up with the plot exposition. All in all, it's not a bad deal.
Danielle Harris was a standout for me, and I was disappointed that she wasn't used more in the film. She seemed to understand what her character was supposed to be about, but unlike some Film Noir greats, like Mary Astor in The Maltese Falcon or Lauren Bacall in The Big Sleep, where we had this Black Widow character that we knew we couldn't trust, but also knew why our hero would take a chance on her and get himself in trouble, Harris's character, who's in their tradition, is woefully underutilized. She shows up, sleeps with London, then he's in trouble and she's out. We needed more intrigue here, with her seducing him and slowly pulling him into her web, and I know from what she did with her limited role, she could've pulled it off. Either way, it was definitely cool to see her get a non-Scream Queen part and hit it out of the park.
We all love Sorbo here at the DTVC, in particular his two films with Saint James St. James, Poolboy and FDR American Badass, so anytime we can get him back here is a good thing. He's the baddie, which is a great change of pace for the usual hero he plays. I've never really thought about it, but he's a pretty big guy, and can be pretty imposing. He's also the kind of actor that can have a lot of fun as the baddie, so it was good to see him get that chance. Like Harris, it's good to see him in anything, but also like Harris, it's good to see him try something beyond the norm and excel at it.
With these two paragraphs focusing on Harris and Sorbo, I don't want to take anything away from London as the star, because as an actor, he was good playing both the schmuck and the quick thinker that his character called for, it just felt off for me to be going from one to the other with no real reason for the transition. To be honest, it felt more fun to see him in the aw shucks role, and I could see myself falling for Harris's character if I were in the same circumstance, what with her batting her eyelashes and quoting Dostoevsky at him. Unlike his character though, I'd call the cops the moment her husband showed up and assaulted me, and would've avoided all the trouble he got into.
Finally, this is London's work buddy, played by Joel Lewis. Is this guy not the next veteran character actor Kevin Dunn? He even plays a part that had Kevin Dunn written all over it. Dunn has roughly 100 more imdb credits than Lewis, so Lewis has a long way to go, but if he can get to that Dunn level, I gotta say he'll have had a pretty successful career, including work with three Oscar winning directors. Here's to you Kevin Dunn, you're one of the great ones, and hopefully you'll get there someday too Joel Lewis.
All right, enough of that. As of this posting, Fatal Call won't be out on DVD in US markets for about a month (July 23rd). If you see it on Netflix or RedBox, I'd give it a look, especially if you're interested in some of the actors. A nice little Noirish suspense flick that doesn't overdo the plot, and keeps a good action and tension quotient.
For more info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2059193/
Posted by Direct to Video Connoisseur at 8:31 PM
Labels: Danielle Harris, Jason London, kevin sorbo, Lochlyn Munro, suspense
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During an analyst meeting today, Research In Motion co-chief Mike Lazaridis debuted a new teaser for the upcoming Blackberry OS 6.0 due out later this summer. The video features several big upgrades, but the biggest news may be that older Blackberries will be able to upgrade.
The new OS will feature several improvements, including a media player with album art, a YouTube app, a better library with improved search features for stored pictures, and upgrade calendar and meeting features.
The OS will also featured a web browser with tabbed browsing with pinch-to-zoom functionality, and more fluid support for social networking apps. The new OS will also support a new touchscreen interface that allows "flick gesturing" to scroll through menus.
Check out our first look at BlackBerry OS 6.0 for more details on the most exciting new features it will add.


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Error messageThe start time of the group ride is in the past.
Federal Way/NE Tacoma/Fife Loop
If you are new, please read our newcomer information.
This ride is primarily on roads. Mostly rural with some busier roads and a short but beautiful trail. The busier roads have bike lanes.
There are no bathrooms at the start. There is a Sanikan at mile 10.1, if needed.
We will be riding Moderate pace. The plan is to stay together. If we have faster climbers we will have the option to regroup at the top of hills.
The will start at 10:00AM, at the Twn Lakes Park & Ride in Federal Way. Please arrive 15 minutes early to sign the liability waiver and to be part of the Safety (S.M.A.R.T.) Breifing. The plan is to start promptly at 10:00AM.
Please sign an e-waiver by clicking on the "Register Now" button at the top of this page (right below the ride title) and enter your information. This will save time prior to starting the ride. If you cannot make the ride, you do not need to unregister.
Weather cancellation: Ice/snow cancels. Please bring fenders if is raining or wet, in condsideration of those riding with us. Ride cancellation will be announced in the comments section at least two hours before start time and the ride leader(s) will not be at the start.
If you have any questions, please contact the Ride Leader.


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The classic trenchcoat is reinterpreted at London Fashion Week
In another groundbreaking presentation from Burberry, a global audience tunes in as the trenchcoat receives a sassy reinvention.
The audience could feel the love this evening in London's Kensington Gardens as Burberry presented its blockbuster autumn/winter 2013 show. A key motif throughout the presentation is love hearts, and chief creative officer Christopher Bailey cited the 60s model and showgirl Christine Keeler as one of his inspirations, describing his latest offering, called French Kisses, as "cheeky". His aim: something sassy and fun that draws a smile.
"I'd been looking at this idea of mixing this very sexy side of Burberry with something very classic and I was looking at the fabrics that could kind of emulate that and express that," says Bailey. Cue thick glossy cashmere juxtaposed with rubber, plasticised leather, and a myriad of animal print, in a collection that once again saw the trenchcoat reinterpreted in countless different ways.
"It was gorgeous. It was my first time ever walking for Burberry," said Karlie Kloss after the show. "It's the classic iconic British brand, and to wear the clothes and be a part of the show. I mean, I'm an American but I felt like an honorary British beauty wearing Burberry."
In another first, Burberry introduced smart personalisation, allowing customised runway coats and bags to be purchased through the brand's new Runway Made to Order Service for a two-week period, with pieces due for delivery within nine weeks.
During the show, guests including Rosie Huntington-Whitely and Kate Beckinsale enjoyed a surprise as Tom Odell, the British musician fostered through the Burberry acoustic program, performed his debut single Hold Me live ahead of release on March 31. Meanwhile, 1.6 million twitter followers could tune into the experience via the global live Twitter feed, receive personalised beauty snaps from models backstage via the Burberry beauty booth, and see up to the minute images via Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, YouTube, Google Plus and Vine.
Burberry calling
Star power at London Fashion Week


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Early Childhood Initiatives
The pregnancy and early childhood period lays the foundation for a healthy future for the rest of a person's life. Keeping in mind "early as possible", the voluntary home visiting aspect of the program focuses on children of first time parents from pregnancy up until the age of two. Parents may self refer or request that a referral be made by a health care provider on their behalf for an assessment to enter the program or to become linked to other community supports and services. Public Health Dieticians and Nurses also work with community partners providing family supports in the community. This program includes the 3 1/2 year old child preschool screening clinic for all children.
Click here to watch a video about postpartum depression.
- Blackville Public Health
- Boiestown Public Health
- Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital
- Fredericton Public Health
- Grand Manan Public Health
- Miramichi Public Health
- Miramichi Regional Hospital
- Neguac Public Health
- Oromocto Public Health
- Perth-Andover Public Health
- Plaster Rock Public Health
- Saint George Public Health
- Saint John Public Health
- Saint John Sexual Health Centre
- Saint Stephen Public Health
- Sussex Public Health
- Upper River Valley Hospital
- Woodstock Public Health


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Home Tips That'll Make Your Life Easier
We usually spend too much time just trying to streamline our lives, making daily living a bit easier, a bit quicker. There are thousands of ways to make your daily lives easier. Here are 22 solutions you may not (or may) have thought of, that will make daily life just a bit simpler!
Instead of contacts – Pills!
Instead of carrying around bottles or packages, put your (non-prescription) pills in a contact lens box. This way you don't have to carry around those cumbersome and often noisy boxes, and they pills will be safe and secure in this handy little box.
Take notice: This method may not be good for people who have small children who may go through their bags and swallow the pills.
Bills in the napkin holder
Although we often promise to be more organized with our paper bills and other documents, most people still have a clutter. Use any napkin holder to hold the pages up, and organise them by date or by importance. Not only is it an aesthetic and easy way to organise these papers, but it will also serve as a good warning and a reminder to start paying your bills when you can't fit anymore in…
Matchbox for sewing
Empty a matchbox or use an old one. Insert some needles, strings, safety pins and buttons that will serve you as an emergency sewing kit for quick fixes!
Using straws to keep necklaces from getting bundled up
If you're going on a trip and want to pack various jewelery like necklaces and bracelets. Instead of throwing them in a box and spend a lot of time trying to unbind them from each other, thread a straw through the end of each piece of jewelerry, so it stays exactly the same!
Multi-purpose Toilet Paper Roll – part 1
WAIT! Before you throw that roll of toilet paper away, you can actually do quite a bit with it.
For example, a roll of toilet paper is a perfect solution to keep cables from getting too bound with each other.
Multi-purpose Toilet Paper Roll – part 2
Another handy option is to use it as a device to hold hair pins and bands, which as we know, have a tendency to get lost.
Plastic bag on demand
Forget about the pile of plastic bags you are hoarding under the sink or putting one inside the other to make a puffed up ball. Make their storage a lot more pleasing to the eye.
Find an old tissue box, insert plastic bags in good condition, and just pull them out one by one when you need to. It'll look nicer and give you a handy option in any room of the house.
Oiling your shoes
Shine your leather shoes using plant oil.
At first, use a soft, moist towel to remove the dirt and dust, and then drip a little oil on a moist cloth. Rub the oiled cloth gently against the shoes and you will have a shining solution!
Camera or phone in a soap box
If you've lost your camera satchel, it isn't the end of the world! You can still keep it safe. Find a plastic soap box, make sure the size is right so the camera doesn't move inside and suffer hits – and there's another creative solution!
If you want to toast some bread and add a piece of cheese, there's no need to use the oven – just put the toaster carefully on its side and do the same with the bread and cheese to get cheese toast.
Shoes in a shower cap
A shower cap is a convenient, clean and easy to fit solution for packing shoes.
Instead of carrying around noisy plastic bags or suffer the dirty shoes touching your clean clothes, use this delicate hat and its high quality rubber to store and carry around shoes easily.
Clean corn
Use a new and clean tooth brush to brush the fibers off the corn cobs, and to make it ready for lunch quickly and efficiently.
This glass won't slip
If you want to avoid having a glass slip from between your fingers, put a few rubber bands around it, and it'll never slip again!
Manicure kit
A safe and easy way to carry your manicure set from place to place (scissors, nail file etc.) is by putting these sharp items in a plastic box meant for glasses. Of course, make sure it doesn't already have glasses inside… The hard plastic will keep the pointy ends from doing damage and is extremely easy to carry.
Handy boxes
Audio cassettes may not be in use anymore, but you can still use their plastic casings.
If you want to keep earphone cables or USB cables from intertwining, use these boxes to loop them around neatly, and they are also transparent and compact, perfect for checking that the cables haven't made knots!
Removing stubborn stains
A lemon is very useful in removing stubborn stains from plastic or wood cutting surfaces. Squeeze half a lemon on the surface, rub well and let it sit for 20 minutes before washing.
A magnet in the medicine cabinet
To prevent your metal tools (scissors, tweezeers, file, or any other small metal objects) from getting lost in your cabinet, glue a small magnet in the inner side of the cabinet, so they are never out of reach…
From frame to tray
Don't want your old picture anymore? No problem! Turn it into a handy and decorated tray!
Safety clip
If you're going on an errand and don't want to carry your keys and wallet with you, use this clip to carry both key and money without losing anything.
Metal foil on handles
Painting around door or window handles is always a bit of a problem, and plastic bags usually take too much space around them. A great solution is just using metal foil to wrap the handles tightly, and to remove after you're done painting!
Popcorn to the rescue
Instead of using styrofoam or paper to keep a package from damage, just use popcorn!


text: Nicklaus Club in Monterey, Ca is a romantic, charming, and elegant venue and is perfect for weddings! The old Spanish club offers a variety of different spaces for our lovely couple to plan out exactly what they wanted. Five different areas of the club was used for the following: 1) The spacious and beautifully furnished bridal suite 2) the rustic open landscape with the signature tree for the ceremony


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How to treat your blog like a business January 13, 2015
"Treat your blog like a business" is a term I use a lot because I think that if there was a "secret to success" in blogging, that would be it. If you are just blogging for fun, then many of these things may not matter to you. But if you're blogging because you want to do it professionally, every single one of these things should be important. So many blogs start and fail every year, and I think it's because many people don't realize how much work blogging really is. My philosophy is, treat it like a business and it will become one. So, what are some ways you can treat your blog like a business and take it seriously?
Make it a priority
Now that you're running your blog like a business, it is no longer just a hobby and it should be one of your top priorities.
Get in it for the long haul
Realize that if you're going to take this seriously, it's a ton of work. It means you're going to be working on it for a very long time and it may take a while for you to reach your goals.
Focus on quality
I talk a lot about creating good content, which is part of focusing on quality. Everything, from your content to your graphics, should be the best quality possible.
Set a schedule and stick to it
When you work at a job, you can't just skip an unlimited amount of days and miss deadlines. It's really hard to do, but you should try to make a schedule for blog and treat it like it's your full-time or part-time job.
Invest in yourself and your blog
It may be a good idea to invest in things like a nice theme or custom design, a domain name, better hosting, some new business cards or upgraded versions of tools and plugins.
Make it legal
If you are making money with or through your blog (or attempting to), you should make sure that you're doing it legally. The laws vary by state and country (and I'm not an expert), but you may need to register a business name/entity or file your taxes differently. Also, make sure your blog is compliant with laws like the disclosure guidelines set by the FTC.
Develop a mission and purpose
Every business wants to make money and gain customers or clients; that is a given. But many businesses have mission statements that they follow to remind them of the reason they started in the first place. What is the purpose of your blog? It's good to have a vision and goals for your blog (other than making money or getting pageviews) that you can work toward.
Be professional and courteous
Just a reminder that your blog is public-facing and that people, including brand reps, are watching. Always try to be professional when you talk to others and make sure that your blogging voice and social media posts are in line with your brand.
Make lots of friends and connections! Most of the success I've had has been from networking and connecting with others and I don't know anybody that has "made it" without anyone else's help. It's so awesome to spend time, even if it's just a little bit every day, with like-minded people because their energy is so contagious.
Photo by Alesia Kazantceva


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For the producers of a reality show like "The Amazing Race," the headaches probably don't get much bigger than those caused by the TAR Detectives.
A global, loosely formed group of sleuths dedicated to uncovering and publicly revealing spoilers about TAR, or "The Amazing Race," the detectives have proven what the producers of any number of reality shows have learned: It's nearly impossible to keep what happens during filming a secret from those determined to find out.
And thanks to the growing number of online and social-media tools available, and the vast numbers of people who use them, ferreting out ahead of time what happens on reality shows appears to be getting easier and easier to do.
For years, spoiler sites have been great at offering up informed guesses of what might happen--like who will be voted out, or who will perform, on the next episode of shows like "Survivor," "American Idol," "The Bachelor," and the like. But bloodhounds who frequent popular fan sites and forums have shown how easy it is to exploit the fact that these days, widespread use of Twitter and Facebook can lead those who know where to look to all kinds of accurate conclusions about what will happen throughout a season of some of these shows.
"We can actually draw up our own map" of where "The Amazing Race" contestants will go during a forthcoming season, said Boingo, a longtime member of the TAR Detectives. "In fact, we actually have the entire course pretty well laid out."
Boingo, a technology industry professional from Northern California who asked that his real name not be used, is a longtime member of the TAR Detectives and a habitue of the Reality Fan Forum, a site where spoilers about "The Amazing Race" and other reality shows are given prominent play.
He explained that in the early days of "The Amazing Race," those interested in figuring out and disseminating spoilers were limited to keeping an eagle eye on previews for upcoming episodes and using services like Flickr and Photobucket to try to make assumptions based on what little the producers of the show offered up.
But over the years, Boingo explained, a succession of new online tools have made it possible to uncover more and more about what will happen on the show. First services like Google Earth and Google Street View allowed the detectives to figure out where certain buildings shown in previews might be--and therefore, where the show would be heading next.
"The way it worked was that, in previews, you'd [be able] to identify a building behind the contestants," Boingo said, and using Google Earth or Street View, "that would give you a location, and then you could narrow it down to a city, or even a street, and you could glean a lot of information about where the contestants were" going.
More recently, however, it's become harder and harder for producers to keep information about even entire seasons under wraps. For one thing, given the fact that "The Amazing Race" is filmed in public places around the world, it's hard to keep people from tweeting or posting to Facebook that they just saw the show come through their town. "People post, 'Oh, I happened to see a camera crew going by my house,'" Boingo said, "so we knew approximately where racers were...after [filming] but before airing."
And because of Twitter, it's become easy, Boingo said, for TAR Detectives in the Los Angeles area--where the show's producers are based and where it usually starts from--to find tweets from random people about the show's producers and crews getting ready to depart from the airport there and quickly rush out to see where they're headed. "With Twitter, you could just sit there and search for the phrase 'The Amazing Race,'" Boingo said, "and someone would invariably tweet, 'Oh, I just saw [a film] crew, and someone in LA would run to the airport to take pictures of the crew and cast, and track them in real time."
The upshot, Boingo continued, is that by keeping a close eye on social media mentions about the show and about where its crews and cast are spotted, it has become a simple matter for those intent on doing so to track the show's developments almost in real time and piece together a complete map and outline of an upcoming season as much as five or six months before it airs.
'American Idol'
To be sure, "The Amazing Race" is hardly the only reality show whose producers must grapple with a steady flow of spoilers being posted online.
Shows like "Survivor," "The Bachelor," and "American Idol" are also popular among spoiler sites, and in the case of each, it's easy for those who are interested to go online and find out what will happen on the show in the future. Thankfully, most spoiler sites place such information in sub-sections of forums that warn off unwary visitors with language like "Spoiler Alert" and red text, or all-capital letters. This usually makes it possible for people to visit fan sites to read about current episodes without discovering unwanted information about what will happen on as-yet unaired episodes.
"Survivor" and "The Amazing Race" are broadcast by CNET parent company CBS. An "Amazing Race" publicist at CBS did not return a call and e-mail from CNET.
For those particularly adept at collecting spoiler information, the news often comes from a mix of sources, and being savvy at both social media and other online tools and old-fashioned good source development may be crucial to being king of the spoilers hill.
According to M.J. Santilli, who runs the "American Idol" fan site MJ's Big Blog, a key to uncovering the identities of contestants on an upcoming season is mixing some well-informed tips about who has tried out for the show with clever detective work on Twitter and Facebook.
Santilli explained that by following known would-be "Idol" contestants on Twitter or friending them on Facebook, it's often possible to find out which have made it on to the show through those people's less than stealthy posts, or by putting two and two together from things they might say on one social media site or another, or by following their friends and seeing what they have to say.
According to Michael Slezak, a senior editor at TVLine.com, it can be nearly impossible to keep a lid on what will happen on reality shows, in large part given how many people are involved. "I think when you're putting together a show the size of any of these franchises," Slezak said, "it requires a lot of staffing of people, and some freelance types. I think it's just hard to contain that much information when you're dealing with that" many people.
Of course, while most reality show fans want to maintain the mystery of what will happen on their favorite programs, there are clearly enough who savor spoilers to make sites that cater to that desire profitable. "Spoiler sites are dealing with a hard core group of fans [who go] on the Internet and seek out information about the shows," Slezak said. "Some people just like to know what's going to happen."
That's a notion to which Reality Steve, one of the leading purveyors of spoiler information about ABC's "The Bachelor," clearly subscribes. And even though Reality Steve, whose real name is Steve Carbone, said he gets most of his "Bachelor" spoiler information from inside sources who are right 98 percent of the time, he doesn't really know why the people who give him his information do so.
Indeed, Carbone said that he doesn't enjoy spoilers, particularly for shows that like "Survivor," depend more on drama than does "The Bachelor." But he knows that his readers often want to hear what's coming. "I've had so many people email me and tell me, 'I love reading the end of a book first,'" Carbone said. "'I like to see it play out leading up to that...It would seem confusing, you don't know who any of these people are. I guess they just want to be out in front of it. They just want to tell their friends, 'I know something you don't know.'"
To Slezak, one of the most impressive examples of spoilers was the advance spilling of the list, in the proper order, of "Survivor: Nicaragua" contestants being voted off.
That feat of spoiler accuracy came courtesy of a famous "Survivor" spoiler perpetrator known as MissyAE. Sued by "Survivor" production company Mark Burnett Productions for his efforts, MissyAE, whose real name is Jim Early, revealed that he had gotten his information directly from one of the show's most notorious contestants, Russell Hantz.
In a widelypublished statement, CBS addressed the Hantz scandal, and "Survivor" spoilers by saying that,
From the beginning, "Survivor" has been blessed with a rabid fan base, including a fanatical group online which, from the show's early days, initiated one of television's first organized campaigns to predict and speculate results in advance of a reality show broadcast. As the show has progressed in years and the Internet has grown in scope, the number of these sites has increased with periodic claims of unauthorized leaks from people connected to the show.
We've investigated some of these claims. Each time, we've peeled back the curtain to find a subculture of the show with fans/bloggers simultaneously networking and competing with each other for spoiler information while hurling accusations of unfair practices against each other.
The fervent activity of these sites often generates a confusing web of backstabbing, claims of misinformation and Internet alliances. It's almost like an underground game-within-a-game of "Survivor" that plays out with the melodrama of a daytime soap and the complexity of Dungeons and Dragons.
Outwit, outplay, outlast. It happens more than just on the air.
Oddly, given how much online tools help with developing good spoiler information, Early told CNET that he used to compile his spoilers by dutifully tracking Google Alerts for anyone associated with the show--since many contestants or people who know them inadvertently give away information in interviews, often in their hometown newspapers--he now relies on a much more old-school method for getting his information: the phone.
It used to be "fun because it was like detective [work]," Early said, "but the new...way is 100 percent accurate."
And how does it work? Early said that he gets phone calls all the time from "Survivor" insiders who want to fill him in on what will happen on the show. Indeed, he said that Hantz--who was a contestant on the season of the show currently being aired--was his most reliable source. And other players reach out to him as well, often because they want to set the record straight about how something was presented to the viewing public.
"It sounds like a joke, but it's not," Early said of how he gets his information these days. "I just pick up the phone and say hello. Sources call me up and tell me everything."
11 TV shows to watch after Game of Thrones ends: Need to fill your Game of Thrones void? These shows might do the trick.
'Battle between fact and fiction' in Lord of the Rings biopic: The director of Tolkien explains how he balanced reality with the imaginary.


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A couple months back, I heard about the Houston Bay Area RWA's 2013 Judge A Book By Its Cover contest through one of the author loops I belong to. I clicked on the link provided and checked out the requirements for the contest. I thought it would be fun, so I entered the covers of Taste and Reaping Me Softly since all of you seem to swoon over the covers.
After entering, I promptly forgot about the contest. This happens to me a lot. I join something then forget that I joined it. *laughs*
Anyway, this morning, I got a wonderful email from the Judge A Book By Its Cover or JABBIC (for short) contest letting me know that Taste and Reaping Me Softly are both finalists. My heart jumped over the moon. When it landed and I started thinking straight again, I managed to read the rest of the email.
I'm not usually one to ask for votes, but if you would like to spend some time ogling all the marvelous covers and casting your votes for your favorite ones, here's the link: https://jabbic.hbarwa.com/readers/
Love or hate the reading of Taste or Reaping Me Softly, I hope you can share your love for their covers by voting for them. They are in the YA category. I will be truly grateful. *hugs*
Have a fun rest of the weekend!
Are you watching the Superbowl? Who are you cheering for?
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Ilkeston romped to a comfortable ten wicket victory at Langley Mill United on Saturday.
The Millers easily capitulated to the opening bowling of Rob Green and James Lockhart, both bowling their full allocation of 15 overs and taking four wickets each.
In fairness to the Millers batsmen, the pitch had been left uncovered and the Thursday night downpour took more than a few groundsmen by surprise. Green and Lockhart, on the other hand, would like to have rolled the wicket up to take around with them every week.
The Millers, and crowd, were also left bemused by two umpiring decisions in one over that had a bearing on the match.
The first was when the Millers were 54 for 4 and showing signs of a recovery with Simon Lacey promoted to batting at four and steadying the ship.
Overseas Ruan Van der Walt was given out lbw despite the ball hitting him on the thigh and him having the bruise to prove it, and Lacey was then adjudged run out when clearly in and past the stumps before the bails were taken off from a direct throw.
The score of 54 for 4 became 54 for 6 and very soon the Millers were all out for a paltry 83.
Ilkeston came out and weren't in the mood to hang around, a six by man of the match Green off the first ball showing their intentions and they plundered 42 off the first three overs, eventually reaching their target easily for no wickets.
Opener Rhys French reaching 50 with what proved to be the last ball of the match, Green ending not out on 32.


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Mistress of Beauty
Mistress of Beauty is the story of Agnes Sorel, a
demoiselle at the court of Isabelle of Lorraine
who subsequently became a mistress of Charles VII
of France was given the Castle of Beauty, also the city of
Vernon and other beautiful estates. I enjoyed
reading this book for the wonderful descriptions of life
at the French court during the Valois era and the magnificent
pageantry of the knights and the colourful royal processions
in which even the horses were richly caparisoned in the colours
of the owners with rich braid threaded through their manes and tails.
This story is quite unique in its telling with the majesty of the royal
castles of the time, the story of Good King Rene and his mother, Queen
Yolande of Aragon, who lived at the Castle of Saumur and the various
members of the royal court and the courts of Lorraine and Anjou. Styles
of dress, entertainments, jousting and the politics of the time are all
included in this epic story.
Charles VII's son, the Dauphin, who later became Louis XI
is a character in the book as is the well known merchant, Jacques Coeur, who
had his beautiful palace at Bourges. The story of Agnes Sorel is quite poignant and
told from a unique perspective. It is quite a beautiful story. The King, Charles VII,
became a more assertive and stronger king more sure of himself from earlier times.
He also became successful and claimed territories from the English with
his new found confidence.
Mistress of Beauty is the second novel in a renaissance trilogy written by
Princess Michael of Kent. The first book is the Queen of Four Kingdoms
the story of Yolande of Aragon, which I have not read as yet. I have previously
read The Serpent and The Moon by Princess Michael of Kent which was set during
the time of Henri II of France and is the story of Diane de Poitiers and the king and also
Katherine de Medici. This book is also gives wonderful detail of renaissance France and
the life-style of the time.


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Healthy Hairdresser
Challenge Participants Reveal How to Celebrate Change
Our Healthy Hairdresser August Challenge, "Celebrate Change," invites you to share the game-changer that helped you feel better physically or emotionally, or be more productive or creative at work. For going to our Challenge Page and participating, you may be among the 50 lucky participants to win a full size ($18 value) of the game-changing "Healthy Hairdresser Hero" product, Daily Moisturizing Hand Cream from Healthy Hairdresser sponsor Parodi Professional Care. Parodi is a salon brand created by a hair stylist that is dedicated to helping hairdressers feel great every day, all day long, with soothing, protective, specialized products for your most important—and vulnerable—tools: your hands, feet and legs.
In her entry, Anna G. agreed that this is a great Challenge question for stylists, who are accustomed to lots of change in products and fashion but have more trouble with personal change. Anna wrote, "The big game changer has been the small things—taking the classes, learning the new products, being present on social media. But most of all the big game changer for me this year is realizing that when a client sits in a chair, it's more than a haircut, it's more than a color. It's about how our touch is a big game changer for that client who sits in our chair. For some of our clients, we are the only person who touches them physically. We see them more often than their family does. We give them a new haircut when they have a breakup or a baby or their wedding, so that's a game-changer! We need to remember that. We also need to stay on top of what's going on in the salon industry and keep ourselves in the best physical health so we can give our clients everything they need."
We've had so many great responses to this Challenge that this is a two-part report. Check back next week for more game-changers that stylists like you have found helpful in their lives. Here's just five for the first group!
- I started doing Facebook live with some of my guests to show techniques in hairstyling forums and time lapse. It's really made me excited about showing others what works for me, along with seeing how I work for myself. It's great to gain confidence by doing new things, especially being ok with filming your own work and showing it to others!—Gabie V.
- Learning to be in the moment. I was feeling harried and always second-guessing myself, which made my job very stressful. I learned to focus 100 percent on the task at hand. Now I know I did my best—either on a client, on paperwork or on another project.—Jacqueline W.
- Eat a healthy breakfast for more energy.—Brenda H.
- I stopped double booking my whole day. When I realized it was starting to take a toll on my body (and a little on my mind), I started to be okay with telling people "no." I always offer to book them for a future date. If they are meant to be my clients, they will be ok waiting—Amy T.
- I've made it a goal to moisturize my hands every day and eat healthy food to keep my skin healthy, because I'm working with my hands, and that's what clients see the most of.—Megan G.
- My Game Changer was to cut out foods with high fructose corn syrup in them, eat as gluten-free as possible, eat more fruits, veggies and protein, and start a personal yoga type of regimen at home. I decided to do all this to lose weight, take care of my body, give me more mobility and flexibility and help get rid of bloating and belly fat. I put these into practice this year, and I feel better, look better and have lost weight. This all has given me a better attitude. I have clarity, energy and stamina to get more done in a day. I think my clients notice the difference.—Cherie B.


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Angie's List Jumps on the Groupon Bandwagon
Angie's List, the paid service that promises non-biased business reviews for consumers, has seen the light in Groupon's tunnel and decided to serve up an offering of their own.
Dubbed The Big Deal, this service does not require the purchase of Angie's List's services, just an e-mail sign-up. Users will then receive e-mail notifications that include deals. Like Groupon, only when a certain number of users agree to purchase the discount does it become active and a credit card is charged.
Where Angie's List is attempting to set themselves apart is through its screening process of businesses offering the deals. Only A or B rated businesses are allowed to participate.
A common practice for Angie's List users is to purchase the servcie as a group - local chambers of commerce or associations, for example. In that sense it can be an excellent way for businesses to gain traction and repeat business through certain groups of consumers. Traffic is steadily growing on the site and Angie's List sees more than one million unique visitors per month, according to the latest data from Compete.com
To learn more about The Big Deal, call 1-888-944-5478 or e-mail email@example.com.


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Real Life Testimonials from my Clients...
He will soon be a 3-time World Boxing Champion!
Vision is the art of seeing the invisible and I want to thank Tim Mousel for seeing what I see and what I've already seen twice. At this stage of my career the chance of me winning a 3rd World Title is out of the ball park to the non-believers.
They don't know of my secret weapon (Tim Mousel) and what he brings to Team Johnson and the mission at hand. Tim's job is to make me bigger, faster, and stronger in which will not only give me the physical edge but the mental edge as well as we pursue World Title number three and secure my spot in the Boxing Hall Of Fame. I know what the non-believers response is to Tim Mousel's job, How could that be so..... and yea right....... Well here's a reminder from my 3 year and 8 month layoff and return to the ring against the # 15 guy in the World:
Fred Moore after a vicious knockout at the hands of Reggie "Sweet" Johnson!
Reggie "Sweet" Johnson moments after knocking out #15 world ranked Fred Moore.
The Champ!!!
-Reggie "Sweet" Johnson
• Former NABF light heavyweight champion, one successful defense
• Former USBA light heavyweight champion
• World championship fights: 7-5
• Former IBF light heavyweight world champion, two successful defenses
• Former WBA middleweight world champion, three successful defenses
• Former USBA middleweight champion, three successful title defenses
He lost over 50 pounds...
I got in touch with Tim Mousel a few months before I began training with him in Houston, giving him all my basic info – my name was Timur "Ty" Yilmaz, I was an engineering student enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin, and I would be in Houston for the summer working 40-50 hours a week, but with the full intent to train. I also told him I was interested in a variety of things, from fitness (I was very out of condition and overweight, to put it lightly) to self-defense and competition fighting, though I had no real prior experience. Tim replied that his program sounded like it would fit with my needs very well, and looking back on it he couldn't have been more right.
I was able to accomplish two goals that had been with me for years: I lost over 50 pounds over the course of just two and a half months with Tim Mousel, from mid-June until the end of August; as well, I was finally able to begin learning effective, useful martial arts, from boxing to combat grappling. Until August, due to work I was only able to meet with Tim once a week over the weekends, where I would get a private lesson, covering something new each time but with a constant review of what was previously learned – every time was new, a learning experience, and while physically demanding, very satisfying. To say the least, every private was well worth the price. I was inspired to buy a bit of equipment and train on my own from time to time during the week under a light regiment suggested to me by Tim Mousel, the best conditioning trainer I have ever had the pleasure of working with. He was also able to give me advice on nutrition, providing me with answers to any of my questions on that subject or any other, which was important to me cause I'm the kind of guy that likes to know the "why" behind everything.
In August, things took yet another turn in a good direction. I took several weeks off from work before I was going to return to school, but rather than sit on the couch all day, I decided to take a more aggressive approach with my training. After a quick consolation with Tim, I began training privately with him six days a week, anywhere from three to four hours a day. The regime was intense and tailored to fit my needs exactly – during every meeting, we would spend one to three hours on martial arts (going over Jeet Kune Do, Muay Thai, boxing, combat grappling, and even knife defense in a unique blend that only Tim can manage), then five days a week I would run hills for conditioning behind the place we trained at. In addition, three days a week I would do weight training under Tim's supervision. Finally, I'd spend the weekend sparring against some of Tim's other students, allowing me a chance to put what I'd learned to use and track my progress as time went on.
With little effort, anyone could find a dozen big-name notable fighters that Tim has molded and trained, but my story is about a regular guy with no prior experience having his life changed. Tim's inspired me to continue training in martial arts, even while I am in Austin – with his network of contacts, it's likely that he knows or can find other amazing trainers anywhere. Every time I come to Houston, I look up Tim for as much private training as I can fit in. I look forward to the upcoming summer for the opportunity in training it will provide once more. I fully intend to continue my training for years to come, to get into better shape and become an even better fighter.
-Timur "Ty" Yilmaz
Full-time school teacher achieves his goals...
Few would question the logic of the old sports adage that to be the best you must train with the best. Accepting the truth and validity of this piece of conventional wisdom, no one embodies it more than Tim Mousel, owner and head instructor of Mousel Self-Defense Academy (MSDA). As his portfolio includes some of the world's greatest masters such as Dan Inosanto, Rickson Gracie, Surachai Sirisute, Eric Paulson, and Larry Hartsell, Mousel is a virtual encyclopedia of striking and submission techniques, combat strategies, conditioning protocols, and real-world, street-smart, approaches to dealing with countless self-defense situations.
Considering his incredible background and almost regal lineage in the martial arts world, it would easy to assume that Tim Mousel would be unapproachable and even, perhaps, a bit arrogant. This is about as far from the truth as possible. Tim's manner and teaching style belies his honest, hard-working, mid-western background. He is friendly, relaxed, and always ready to address questions or concerns over techniques or concepts. Tim also has a great sense of humor and seems to really enjoy what he does, however he does not sacrifice focus and the necessary discipline that is needed to take martial arts students to the next level-wherever that may be.
Of the many advantages of training at MSDA, the one that impresses me most is the variety of quality training that is offered. Here you will find traditional Muay Thai kick boxing, AND technical submission wrestling that not only encompasses Brazilain Jiu-Jitsu, but also features techniques from freestyle wrestling and Shooto. Classes in Jeet Kune Do Concepts and the rare (in this part of the world) Philipino Kali are also offered. MSDA is basically a "one- stop- shop" for all your combat needs. It is also worth noting that as Tim eschews the kimono/belt ranking system and all the political trappings and hype that it entails, he is able to keep his fees at a much more modest level than most schools in town, yet sacrificing nothing in terms of quality and content. Leave your new gi with the latest tribal designs and pit bull patches at home. A modestly priced school t-shirt, a pair of shorts, and a good attitude is all you need here.
If MMA is your thing, you should know that Tim Mousel was the first coach in Houston to send fighters to the UFC- years before most people knew that the "Octagon" was more than just the shape of a stop sign. Tim has countless hours of experience training top fighters for MMA, pro-boxing, kick-boxing, and submission wrestling competitions. Many MSDA team members have found themselves in the winner's circle at the end of the day thanks to the training and tutelage that they received under Tim Mousel's watchful eye and solid instruction.
As a 40 year-old, full-time, school teacher and father of three, my goals are modest and don't include trophies, belts, and cash purses. I simply want to be able to defend myself and family, maintain a superior level of physical fitness, and enjoy the intrinsic challenge of learning technical martial arts skills. Tim helps me achieve these goals with the same commitment and effort that he gives to his professional fighters.
I have had the honor of working with Tim in both private and group instruction for about two years now. He is punctual, professional, courteous, and above all, committed to his student's improvement. He has helped me grow tremendously as a martial artist and has given me the skill development and technique to improve on previously neglected areas of my game. Whatever your training goals and stylistic preferences may be, rest assured that MSDA will have something for you.
-Chris Strane
School Teacher
After a lot of extensive research, he chose Mousel's Self-Defense Academy ...
I have been training in the martial arts for over 21 years. I have dedicated myself to seeking out and training with some the best martial arts instructors in the world. When I moved to Houston, after doing some research, I started training with Tim Mousel.
Tim has the broadest base of practical, effective martial arts knowledge of anyone in Texas and possibly in the Southwest United States. Tim has instructor certification from many internationally-known martial artists and is certified to teach empty hand, weapons, grappling and self-defense techniques. Tim is extremely humble and continues to train, improve and learn new things in order to give his students the most up-to-date information.
Although he holds many titles such as "Sensei" "Sifu" and "Guro", Tim does not use any of these but prefers that people just call him "Tim." I am proud to call Tim my instructor."
-Johnathan Bolton
Great training at a great value!
At Mousel's Self-Defense Academy we train hard, but safe. If you are a beginer or a novice this is where to come if you want to learn what works and what is the most effective against everything. Tim takes the best parts out of many styles and incorporates them into a training regimine that will get you in shape and mentally prepared so that the moves become second nature.
Whether you want to learn hand and foot fighting, boxing, clinch fighting, or on the ground (grappling and submissions), this is the place to call home. Did I mention all this at a great value! Nuff Said.
Terry Chilson