text:
"TO BENNET LANGTON, ESQ. AT LANGTON, LINCOLNSHIRE. "DEAREST SIR, "I MUST have indeed slept very fast, not to have been awakened by your letter. None of your suspicions are true; I am not much richer than when you left me; and, what is worse, my omission of an answer to your first letter, will prove that I am not much wiser. But I go on as I formerly did, designing to be some time or other both rich and wise; and yet cultivate neither mind nor fortune. Do you take notice of my example, and learn the danger of delay. When I was as you are now, towering in the confidence of twenty-one, little did I suspect that I should be at forty-nine, what I now am. "But you do not seem to need my admonition. You are busy in acquiring and in communicating knowledge, and while you are studying, enjoy the end of study, by making others wiser and happier. I was much pleased with the tale that you told me of being tutour to your sisters. I, who have no sisters nor brothers, look with some degree of innocent envy on those who may be said to be born to friends; and cannot see, without wonder, how rarely that native union is afterwards regarded. It sometimes, indeed, happens, that some supervenient cause of discord may overpower the original amity; but it seems to me more frequently thrown away with levity, or lost by negligence, than destroyed by injury or violence. We tell the ladies that good wives make good husbands; I believe it is a more certain position that good brothers make good sisters. "I am satisfied with your stay at home, as Juvenal with his friend's retirement to Cumae: I know that your absence is best, though it be not best for me. 'Quamvis digressu veteris confusus amici,
Laudo tamen vacuis quod sedem figere Cumis
Destinet, atque unum civem donare Sibyllae.' "Langton is a good Cumae, but who must be Sibylla? Mrs. Langton is as wise as Sibyl, and as good; and will live, if my wishes can prolong life, till she shall in time be as old. But she differs in this, that she has not scattered her precepts in the wind, at least not those which she bestowed upon you. "The two Wartons just looked into the town, and were taken to see Cleone, where, David1 says, they were starved for want of company to keep them warm. David and Doddy2 have had a new quarrel, and, I think, cannot conveniently quarrel any more. 'Cleone' was well acted by all the characters, but Bellamy left nothing to be desired. I went the first night, and supported it as well as I might; for Doddy, you know, is my patron, and I would not desert him. The play was very well received. Doddy, after the danger was over, went every night to the stage-side, and cryed at the distress of poor Cleone. "I have left off housekeeping, and therefore made presents of the game which you were pleased to send me. The pheasant I gave to Mr. Richardson,3 the bustard to Dr. Lawrence, and the pot I placed with Miss Williams, to be eaten by myself. She desires that her compliments and good wishes may be accepted by the family; and I make the same request for myself. "Mr. Reynolds has within these few days raised his price to twenty guineas a head, and Miss is much employed in miniatures. I know not any body [else] whose prosperity has increased since you left them. "Murphy is to have his 'Orphan of China' acted next month; and is therefore, I suppose, happy. I wish I could tell you of any great good to which I was approaching, but at present my prospects do not much delight me; however, I am always pleased when I find that you, dear Sir, remember, "Your affectionate, humble servant,
"SAM. JOHNSON." "Jan. 9, 1758."
TO MR. BURNEY, AT LYNNE, NORFOLK. "SIR, "YOUR kindness is so great, and my claim to any particular regard from you so little, that I am at a loss how to express my sense of your favours;4 but I am, indeed, much pleased to be thus distinguished by you. "I am ashamed to tell you that my Shakspeare will not be out as soon as I promised my subscribers; but I did not promise them more than I promised myself. It will, however, be published before summer. "I have sent you a bundle of proposals, which, I think, do not profess more than I have hitherto performed. I have printed many of the plays, and have hitherto left very few passages unexplained; where I am quite at loss, I confess my ignorance, which is seldom done by commentators. "I have, likewise, inclosed twelve receipts; not that I mean to impose upon you the trouble of pushing them with more importunity than may seem proper, but that you may rather have more than fewer than you shall want. The proposals you will disseminate as there shall be an opportunity. I once printed them at length in the Chronicle, and some of my friends (I believe Mr. Murphy, who formerly wrote the Gray's-Inn Journal) introduced them with a splendid encomium. "Since the Life of Browne, I have been a little engaged, from time to time, in the Literary Magazine, but not very lately. I have not the collection by me, and therefore cannot draw out a catalogue of my own parts, but will do it, and send it. Do not buy them, for I will gather all those that have any thing of mine in them, and send them to Mrs. Burney, as a small token of gratitude for the regard which she is pleased to bestow upon me. "I am, Sir,Dr. Burney has kindly favoured me with the following memorandum, which I take the liberty to insert in his own genuine easy style. I love to exhibit sketches of my illustrious friends by various eminent hands. "Soon after this, Mr. Burney, during a visit to the capital, had an interview with him in Gough-square, where he dined and drank tea with him, and was introduced to the acquaintance of Mrs. Williams. After dinner, Mr. Johnson proposed to Mr, Burney to go up with him into his garret, which being accepted, he there found about five or six Greek folios, a deal writing-desk, and a chair and a half. Johnson giving to his guest the entire seat, tottered himself on one with only three legs and one arm. Here he gave Mr. Burney Mrs. Williams's history, and shewed him some volumes of his Shakspeare already printed, to prove that he was in earnest. Upon Mr. Burney's opening the first volume, at the Merchant of Venice, he observed to him, that he seemed to be more severe on Warburton than Theobald. 'O poor Tib.! (said Johnson) he was ready knocked down to my hands; Warburton stands between me and him.' 'But Sir, (said Mr. Burney,) you'll have Warburton upon your bones, won't you?' 'No Sir; he'll not come out; he'll only growl in his den.' 'But you think, Sir, that Warburton is a superior critick to Theobald?' -- 'O, Sir, he'd make two-and-fifty Theobalds, cut into slices! The worst of Warburton is, that he has a rage for saying something, when there's nothing to be said.' -- Mr. Burney then asked him whether he had seen the letter which Warburton had written in answer to a pamphlet addressed 'To the most impudent Man alive.' He answered in the negative. Mr. Burney told him it was supposed to be written by Mallet. The controversy now raged between the friends of Pope and Bolingbroke; and Warburtorn and Mallet were the leaders of the several parties. Mr. Burney asked him then if he had seen Warburton's book against Bolingbroke's Philosophy? 'No, Sir, I have never read Bolingbroke's impiety, and therefore am not interested about its confutation.'" On the fifteenth of April he began a new periodical paper, entitled "THE IDLER," * which came out every Saturday in a weekly news-paper, called "The Universal Chronicle, or Weekly Gazette," published by Newbery.5 These essays were continued till April 5, 1760. Of one hundred and three, their total number, twelve were contributed by his friends; of which, Numbers 33, 93, and 96, were written by Mr. Thomas Warton; No. 67 by Mr. Langton; and Nos. 76, 79, and 82, by Sir Joshua Reynolds; the concluding words of No. 82, "and pollute his canvas with deformity," being added by Johnson; as Sir Joshua informed me. The IDLER is evidently the work of the same mind which produced the RAMBLER, but has less body and more spirit. It has more variety of real life, and greater facility of language. He describes the miseries of idleness, with the lively sensations of one who has felt them; and in his private memorandums while engaged in it, we find "This year I hope to learn diligence."6 Many of these excellent essays were written as hastily as an ordinary letter. Mr. Langton remembers Johnson, when on a visit at Oxford, asking him one evening how long it was till the post went out; and on being told about half an hour, he exclaimed, "then we shall do very well." He upon this instantly sat down and finished an Idler, which it was necessary should be in London the next day. Mr. Langton having signified a wish to read it, "Sir, (said he,) you shall not do more than I have done myself." He then folded it up, and sent it off. Yet there are in the Idler several papers which shew as much profundity of thought, and labour of language, as any of this great man's writings. No. 14, "Robbery of time;" No. 24, "Thinking;" No. 41, "Death of a friend;" No. 43, "Flight of time;" No. 51, "Domestick greatness unattainable;" No. 52, "Self-denial;" No. 58, "Actual, how short of fancied, excellence;" No. 89, "Physical evil moral good;" and his concluding paper on "The horrour of the last," will prove this assertion. I know not why a motto, the usual trapping of periodical papers, is prefixed to very few of the Idlers, as I have heard Johnson commend the custom; and he never could be at a loss for one, his memory being stored with innumerable passages of the classicks. In this series of essays he exhibits admirable instances of grave humour, of which he had an uncommon share. Nor on some occasions has he repressed that power of sophistry which he possessed in so eminent a degree. In No. 11, he treats with the utmost contempt the opinion that our mental faculties depend, in some degree, upon the weather; an opinion, which they who have never experienced its truth are not to be envied, and of which he himself could not but be sensible, as the effects of weather upon him were very visible. Yet thus he declaims: "Surely, nothing is more reproachful to a being endowed with reason, than to resign its powers to the influence of the air, and live in dependence on the weather and the wind for the only blessings which nature has put into our power, tranquillity and benevolence. -- This distinction of seasons is produced only by imagination operating on luxury. To temperance, every day is bright; and every hour is propitious to diligence. He that shall resolutely excite his faculties, or exert his virtues, will soon make himself superiour to the seasons; and may set at defiance the morning mist and the evening damp, the blasts of the east, and the clouds of the south." Alas! it is too certain, that where the frame has delicate fibres, and there is a fine sensibility, such influences of the air are irresistible. He might as well bid defiance to the ague, the palsy, and all other bodily disorders. Such boasting of the mind is false elevation.
"Your most obliged
"And most humble servant,
"SAM. JOHNSON." "London, March 8, 1758."
"I think the Romans call it Stoicism."But in this number of his Idler his spirits seem to run riot; for in the wantonness of his disquisition he forgets, for a moment, even the reverence for that which he held in high respect; and describes "the attendant on a Court," as one "whose business is to watch the looks of a being, weak and foolish as himself." His unqualified ridicule of rhetorical gesture or action is not, surely, a test of truth; yet we cannot help admiring how well it is adapted to produce the effect which he wished. "Neither the judges of our laws, nor the representatives of our people, would be much affected by laboured gesticulations, or believe any man the more because he rolled his eyes, or puffed his cheeks, or spread abroad his arms, or stamped the ground, or thumped his breast; or turned his eyes sometimes to the ceiling, and sometimes to the floor." A casual coincidence with other writers, or an adoption of a sentiment or image which has been found in the writings of another, and afterwards appears in the mind as one's own, is not unfrequent. The richness of Johnson's fancy, which could supply his page abundantly on all occasions, and the strength of his memory, which at once detected the real owner of any thought, made him less liable to the imputation of plagiarism than, perhaps, any of our writers. In the Idler, however, there is a paper, in which conversation is assimilated to a bowl of punch, where there is the same train of comparison as in a poem by Blacklock, in his collection published in 1756; in which a parallel is ingeniously drawn between human life and that liquor. It ends,
"Say, then, physicians of each kindTo the Idler, when collected in volumes, he added, beside the Essay on Epitaphs, and the Dissertation on those of Pope, an Essay on the Bravery of the British common Soldiers. He, however, omitted one of the original papers, which in the folio copy, is No. 22.7
Who cure the body or the mind,
What harm in drinking can there be,
Since punch and life so well agree?"
"TO THE REVEREND MR. THOMAS WARTON. "DEAR SIR, "YOUR notes upon my poet were very acceptable. I beg that you will be so kind as to continue your searches. It will be reputable to my work, and suitable to your professorship, to have something of yours in the notes. As you have given no directions about your name, I shall therefore put it. I wish your brother would take the same trouble. A commentary must arise from the fortuitous discoveries of many men in devious walks of literature. Some of your remarks are on plays already printed: but I purpose to add an Appendix of Notes, so that nothing comes too late. "You give yourself too much uneasiness, dear Sir, about the loss of the papers.8 The loss is nothing, if nobody has found them; nor even then, perhaps, if the numbers be known. You are not the only friend that has had the same mischance. You may repair your want out of a stock, which is deposited with Mr. Allen, of Magdalen-Hall; or out of a parcel which I have just sent to Mr. Chambers9 for the use of any body that will be so kind as to want them. Mr. Langtons are well; and Miss Roberts, whom I have at last brought to speak, upon the information which you gave me, that she had something to say. "I am, &c.
"SAM. JOHNSON." "[London] April 14, 1758."
TO THE SAME. "DEAR SIR, "YOU will receive this by Mr. Baretti, a gentleman particularly intitled to the notice and kindness of the Professor of poesy. He has time but for a short stay, and will be glad to have it filled up with as much as he can hear and see. "In recommending another to your favour, I ought not to omit thanks for the kindness which you have shown to myself. Have you any more notes on Shakspeare? I shall be glad of them. "I see your pupil sometimes;10 his mind is as exalted as his stature. I am half afraid of him; but he is no less amiable than formidable. He will, if the forwardness of his spring be not blasted, be a credit to you, and to the University. He brings some of my plays11 with him, which he has my permission to shew you, on condition you will hide them from every body else. "I am, dear Sir, &c.
"SAM. JOHNSON." "[London] June 1, 1758."
"TO BENNET LANGTON, ESQ. OF TRINITY COLLEGE, OXFORD. "DEAR SIR, "THOUGH I might have expected to hear from you, upon your entrance into a new state of life at a new place, yet recollecting, (not without some degree of shame,) that I owe you a letter upon an old account, I think it my part to write first. This, indeed, I do not only from complaisance but from interest; for living on in the old way, I am very glad of a correspondent so capable as yourself, to diversify the hours. You have, at present, too many novelties about you to need any help from me to drive along your time. "I know not any thing more pleasant, or more instructive, than to compare experience with expectation, or to register from time to time the difference between idea and reality. It is by this kind of observation that we grow daily less liable to be disappointed. You, who are very capable of anticipating futurity, and raising phantoms before your own eyes, must often have imagined to yourself an academical life, and have conceived what would be the matters, the views, and the conversation, of men devoted to letters; how they would choose their companions, how they would direct their studies, and how they would regulate their lives. Let me know what you expected, and what you have found. At least record it to yourself before custom has reconciled you to the scenes before you, and the disparity of your discoveries to your hopes has vanished from your mind. It is a rule never to be forgotten, that whatever strikes strongly, should be described while the first impression remains fresh upon the mind. "I love, dear Sir, to think on you, and therefore, should willingly write more to you, but that the post will not now give me leave to do more than send my compliments to Mr. Warton, and tell you that I am, dear Sir, most affectionately, "Your very humble servant,
"SAM. JOHNSON." "June 28, 1758."
"TO BENNET LANGTON, ESQ. AT LANGTON, NEAR SPILSBY, LINCOLNSHIRE. "DEAR SIR, "I SHOULD be sorry to think that what engrosses the attention of my friend, should have no part of mine. Your mind is now full of the fate of Dury;12 but his fate is past, and nothing remains but to try what reflection will suggest to mitigate the terrours of a death, which is more formidable at the first glance, than on a nearer and more steady view. A violent death is never very painful; the only danger is, lest it should be unprovided. But if a man can be supposed to make no provision for death in war, what can be the state that would have awakened him to the care of futurity? When would that man have prepared himself to die, who went to seek death without preparation? What then can be the reason why we lament more him that dies of a wound, than him that dies of a fever? A man that languishes with disease, ends his life with more pain, but with less virtue: he leaves no example to his friends, nor bequeaths any honour to his descendants. The only reason why we lament a Soldier's death, is, that we think he might have lived longer; yet this cause of grief is common to many other kinds of death, which are not so passionately bewailed. The truth is, that every death is violent which is the effect of accident; every death, which is not gradually brought on by the miseries of age, or when life is extinguished for any other reason than that it is burnt out. He that dies before sixty, of a cold or consumption, dies, in reality, by a violent death; yet his death is borne with patience, only because the cause of his untimely end is silent and invisible. Let us endeavour to see things as they are, and then enquire whether we ought to complain. Whether to see life as it is, will give us much consolation, I know not; but the consolation which is drawn from truth, if any there be, is solid and durable; that which may be derived from errour, must be, like its original fallacious and fugitive. "I am, dear, dear Sir,-
"Your most humble Servant,
"SAM. JOHNSON." "Sept. 21, 1758."


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|March 2015
Looking through the arch, it's obvious that the plants are now coming on leaps and bounds. The privet hedge it seems has relished from the couple of bags of manure I dug in there early March. This I think is as lush as I've ever seen it. Twice now I've been out to buy some grass seed and came home without it. Easily distracted me!
|Looking west - End of April 2015
Cotinus Grace in the right hand corner is not making much impact right now. Cotinus are very slow to get going here and it can be nearer the end of May before it finally gets going. The blooms I am none to keen on, which is just as well as Grace will need to be kept in check out here.
A plant I am loving right now and can't wait until it matures and really shows itself off is Euphorbia griffithii Fireglow. What a fascinating creature it is. I paired it with the Cotinus hoping that the dark foliage would be the perfect foil for those greens/red and oranges. From what I can remember at time of purchase it flowers over a long period, so watch this space!
Standing at the front of the house and it's very clear from this angle that I have chose too many plants with strappy/sword/grass like foliage. It's all a bit too vertical. The daylilies, iris and kniphofia stand out like a sore thumb, the Iris in particular. After years of longing for Iris blooms, I have finally found a spot in the garden that they seem to enjoy. I wrote before about how they struggle round the back garden and a home out here in the front was their last chance. They have been moved around quite a bit and which one is which will only become apparent
The clump of tulips that have came up blind have all been removed. I checked my records and they were a pot of T. Queen of the Night that I had hoped would improve if they grew in the ground, it seems not.
So what's blooming out here right now, not a lot, as you can see. There are many plants poised, just waiting to burst into bloom. Capturing a break in the weather, I took the opportunity to get a couple of shots.
This little geum has been a pleasure in my garden for a few years now and does well where ever I grow it. The apricot/yellow blooms of Geum Dingle Apricot contrast nicely with Berberis Bagatelle. In the foreground a dwarf Iris, I. pumila Cherry Garden is gearing up to bloom. For the first time this year, I tried some Fritillaria Uva vulpis. I'm not sure about them. At this moment in time I could take or leave them. Small groupings of around 10 or so bulbs were dotted around the garden and in each group there was a lot of foliage and very few flowers. A bit disappointing really.
Near the front path, the yellow wallflower is just coming into bloom. This was a cutting from a friend last year. It looks rather lonely on it's own, I might just give some more cuttings a try and see how it looks in a larger group. Aptly named, Erysimum Walberton's Fragrant Star, is indeed very fragrant.
The yellow perennial Potentilla that made it's way down from Aberdeen last year (thanks Annette), was divided into 3 plants. Two have taken and the other is struggling just out of shot. I look forward to seeing how these do and how they look when they spread and fill out a bit.
Podocarpus Young Rusty has finally been moved. It's winter foliage makes it quite difficult to see.
I know it looks dead but looks can be deceiving. It is very much alive and won't turn green until it warms up a bit.
Taking first prize in the 'Foliage of the moment' award just has to go to Epimedium x warleyense Ellen Willmott. New to my garden in autumn, shy in flowering this year but all is forgiven. I am hoping it will thrive out here, shade will be provided by Jude the Obscure when it finally gets going. Named after the gardener and plantswoman Miss Ellen Willmott. At time of purchase, I actually went to buy E. Amber Queen but was told I'd like this more. I'm glad I listened now.
That's about it for my April End of Month View post, all I need do now is point you in the direction of The Patient Gardeners Weblog, where Helen hosts this extremely popular meme each month. Pop over to see what others are posting about from their garden month. See you there!

subset: commoncrawl


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The Auteur's Heavy Burden
Watching the sublimely perfect Soprano's farewell episode got me thinking about Ken Burns.
Why? Because no one told David Chase how he should finish his movie. He gets to sing "I did it my way." Not so for Ken Burns, who has been pressured by Latino activists and even the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to include more Hispanic perspectives in his documentary "The War", a history of WWII.
Mr. Burns, in precise form, supplied the standard auteur response: "It would be destructive, like trying to graft an arm onto your child,'' he said. ''It would destroy the film.'' A few weeks later, he himself performed the grafting procedure.
It must be challenging to be forced to learn the first two rules of filmmaking at such an advanced stage of your career, and I, for one, feel his pain. For uninitiates who are curious about these two rules, here they are:
#1: Every filmmaker has a client. The client is the person who can capriciously change your masterful handiwork without notice, transforming it in one swipe from art object to shameful hack job. The client has something the filmmaker needs(money). Some examples of clients are: HBO, CPB (hey- what does the "P" stand for?)
#2: Though it is not widely acknowledged, film and video are properly classified as plastic arts. Historically they have been captured on a physical medium made of plastic, for one thing, and, beyond this material classification, they are infinitely pliable in a metaphorical sense and are able to be molded to fit any content. Two important corollaries of this rule are:
a) there are a million perfect ways to construct any film
b) Mr. Burns' Frankensteinian claims notwithstanding, anything can be changed at any stage of the filmmaking process. Not all changes are improvements, but there are always equally satisfying alternative choices available. Gazing upon your creation and declaring its immutable perfection is hubris of the highest order.
Still, there are merits to his case. While "artistic independence" is largely a myth(see rule #1), there are occasions when filmmaking has to bear a burden from which other forms of artistic expression are largely exempt. Here I am reminded of Oliver Stone's JFK. Call it 'seeing is believing', the inherent verisimilitude of the medium can foster an expectation that what you see is truthful. Compounding the problem, Stone's use of the Zapruder film thrust the issue in your face. For many, the cathexis attached to Kennedy and his assassination was so strong that Stone's effort to stage a pitched battle between 'film' and 'the truth' was merely a churlish affront.
Yet the "founding myth of cinema" remains its invincible power of illusion. Perhaps one day, when moving holograms supplant the 2-D world of the movie screen, it will become more apparent that film never could depict reality. The best it can do is to appropriate it. This fact conflates the role of the director in the two genres, dramatic feature and documentary, genres separated only by a tissue of ethics.


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Electrix International Ltd01388 774455
Electrix International Ltd is the World's Leading Manufacturer & Stockist of Stainless Steel Cable Management Systems.
Our products are ideally suited to the food, pharmaceutical, brewing, dairy and soft drinks industries, where hygienic, durable and corrosion-resistant products are required.
Getting in contact with Electrix International Ltd
Dovecot Hill
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Bishop Auckland
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Tel: 01388 774455
Fax: 01388 777359
Electrix International Ltd Products & Services


text:
Leading on-demand Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solution vendor Salesforce provided ASSIST with 10 free user accounts. The one-year grant was activated last August 2010, and the license may be renewed.
Developed by a company with over 900,000 subscribers as of April 2008, the CRM is an ideal tool for touching base with constituents, donors, partners and associates, tracking history and progress, and reporting. Truly, CRM facilitates effective and systematic process management – an important benefit for an NGO that handles projects all over Asia and some parts of Africa.#


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Forcing most seniors to fork over a bit more for their prescription medicine is a small price to pay to help less affluent retirees, says Premier Kathleen Wynne.
"There are people who need supports more than others," Wynne said in her first interview since Finance Minister Charles Sousa tabled Thursday's budget.
"I think people who have the ability to pay understand. They understand that if someone is struggling, they need more support . . . and that's exactly what we've put in place," she said in an interview with CBC Radio's Metro Morning broadcast Friday.
In the Liberals' $133.9-billion spending plan, which boasts free university and college tuition for students in households making less than $50,000 annually, most seniors will see their annual deductibles for taxpayer-subsidized prescription drugs jump 70 per cent.
"Low-income students, low-income seniors need that support. So it's true that we are targeting people who are having trouble paying and trying to make it easier for them to get along," said Wynne.
CARP, the organization that advocates for older Canadians, said it was "disappointed that government will overall reduce drug coverage for seniors."
"Many rely on the drug-benefit program to help keep out-of-pocket costs low, keeping them healthy and out of hospitals as they deal with their chronic diseases," said CARP's Wanda Morris.
"The income thresholds for the drug benefit program are still very low. This increase will have a significant negative impact on many seniors whose income is just above the threshold and who are dependent on multiple prescription drugs to manage their chronic conditions," she warned.
Related stories:
Wynne banking on Trudeau's helping hand to reach a balanced budget
Ontario carbon cap buried in the fine print
Opposition parties also raised alarm bells about the drug plan changes for seniors.
As part of the changes in Sousa's budget, the annual drug deductible will rise to $170 from $100 with co-payments increasing by $1 to $7.11 per prescription for seniors above a low-income threshold of $19,300 for singles, and $32,300 for couples.
The changes take effect in August.
Raising those thresholds from the current level of $16,018 for singles and $24,175 for couples will mean another 170,000 seniors will no longer have to pay the deductible and drop to a $2 co-payment for each prescription.
Wynne noted that the there will soon be free shingles vaccinations for Ontarians between 65 and 70, the age range where that painful viral infection is most likely to strike. Those shots will save eligible seniors $170.
"So we're making changes that make sense and there are some instances where people will pay a bit more, for higher income seniors. Not for low-income seniors and that's the difference," Wynne said.
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said the income thresholds are still too low and will particularly pinch seniors living on fixed incomes in expensive urban centres such as Toronto.
"Any extra deductibles and co-pays come out of something else in their budget, such as food on the table or even recreational activities," she added, as she promised to raise the issue in the legislature next week.
"I'm not sure how much this has sunk in with people yet. As it settles in, more seniors are going to be alarmed."
Horwath said it's good that more low-income seniors will enjoy lower drug costs under the reforms but maintains the government erred in "making an assumption that seniors just over the thresholds can afford it."
"There may be some seniors that have high incomes but the majority of seniors are not in that category."
Here are some of the numbers associated with the province's drug expenditures:
- $4.5 billion: amount spent on Ontario's public drug programs
- 3,800: number of drugs covered
- $3.6 billion: amount raised by the Ontario Health Premium levied on taxpayers
- 2019: target year for revamping public drug programs to improve long-term sustainability
- 3 per cent: annual growth rate of costs in drug programs.
- $51.8 billion: Ontario health budget for 2016-17 fiscal year.


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After 9 years of importing some of the most remarkable vehicles in the industry we have decided to move on to other opportunities. Since 2004 we've imported hundreds of vehicles from Japan, met thousands of fantastic JDM enthusiasts and opened the eyes of millions of website visitors to alternative transportation options.
We want to sincerely thnk all of our valued clients as well as our vendors for their business over the years. It's been our pleasure working with you.
The Terra2 Imports Team


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FLORENCE, Ala. (WHNT) - Thrive Alabama unveiled a new location, and a few new services for those living with HIV or AIDS in the Shoals.
It may have just been a move down the block, but Thrive Alabama's new location on Pine Street in Florence is a step in the right direction.
"It is increasing our awareness of what we do here at Thrive Alabama," explained CEO Mary Marr. "We care for people living with HIV and AIDS. Also those who are affected by HIV or AIDS."
The new Thrive facility is at a more central location, helping them to better serve the community.
"We are here to help people thrive, that is exactly what we are here to do," Marr said.
Formerly the AIDS Action Coalition, the name change hopes to erase the stigma that goes along with the illnesses. Although they have served the Shoals for eight years, those affected may not be aware of the services offered.
"We have a substance abuse program, prevention programs. We have outreach to those who are highly at risk for HIV."
The Florence office of Thrive Alabama houses the Hames Clinic and offers many services including HIV and primary medical care, case management, medication assistance, HIV testing and counseling. The organization has a substance abuse and behavioral health counseling program called The Den.
They also offer a few new services, medical and mental health care through telemedicine. Now, patients in the Shoals don't have to travel to Huntsville to see a provider and Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP.)
With clinics in Huntsville and Florence, Thrive Alabama provides medical healthcare, free HIV testing, prevention and education programs, housing assistance, substance abuse treatment, and supportive care to its clients regardless of their ability to pay.
Leaders hope to open an additional clinic in Alberville in the future.


text:
Pickstone : Tru-Pass True Bypass Circuit Board
The Pickstone ThruTone True Bypass Circuit Board can be discretely installed in around 10 minutes. Once it's in you would never know it's there except that your old favourite pedal now enjoys true bypass. What's not to love?
The front section of this video demos the 'tonesuck' you get from an array of pedals chained together. At 2:58 you will find an unadulterated demo of the installation process which takes about 10 minutes all up.
"The 'ThruTone' is a truly unique system specifically designed to be quickly and easily installed to add true bypass capability to virtually any pedal.
•True bypass capability can be added to virtually any pedal
•Signal is delivered with the shortest possible signal path (More tone)
•No pedal circuitry modifications required
•No external drilling or defacing of pedals
•Specifically designed to retrofit vintage pedals
•Will fit inside even the smallest pedal enclosures.
•Installation is quick and easy and completely reversible
•Does not affect pedal battery life


text: Usually when I record, I used the Avalon U5, and the SansAmp DI. Recently, I've purchased the BBE BMax, which I think sounds great. Last night, I tried to record a bass track with both the U5, and the BMax. Problem is now there is phasing. All the mids have been scooped out. when i solo each track, the mids are present, but when I play back both together, it drops. I didn't have this problem before with the Sansamp. Now since the only thing that's been changed is the BMax replacing the Sansamp. I would assume that the singal is not travelling the same speed as the Sansamp. How do I go about correcting this phasing problem? usually if it were a mic, it could be resolved with placement. But with a DI? Thanks.


text:
Next Steps
Church Partnership
So, you feel like you want to be a part of something bigger than you; that you want to make a difference in the world and realize you can't do it alone. You've decided, this is the tribe you want to be a part of... now what?
We have four classes that are designed to help you grow in your faith and assist you finding your place in Reality. Find out more on our Next Steps page.
There are three simple requirements to be a partner at Reality:
If you aren't sure about any of these then, we'd be happy to connect with you and help you move forward in your relationship with God.
The Path to Partnership
At Reality the path to partnership is simple. We have two events: one to help you explore us and the other to partner with us.
The first is called "Reality Check". It's simply a time to check out the church, behind the scenes. Meet the Pastor and Leaders, share a casual meal together and Pastor Victor will share some important info about the church and answer all of your questions.
The second is our "Partnershp Luncheon" There we cater in a great meal to enjoy together and discuss what partnership means, what you should expect from Reality and what Reality expects from partners. If you choose, there is an opportunity to partner with us after our time together.
What do we expect from partners?
We take the time to go over this in detail at our partnership dinner but there are 3 basic functions of partnership:


text:
When Addison Lockhart inherits Grayson Manor after her mother's untimely death, she unlocks a secret that's been kept hidden for over fifty years.
For Addison, it seems like she's finally found the house of her dreams, until the spirit of Roxanne Rafferty comes to call. Who is Roxanne, why is she haunting Grayson Manor, and how will Addison's connection reveal a secret to her own past that she thought no longer existed?
If you enjoy a mystery with a supernatural twist, you'll enjoy this fast-paced, bestselling series.
What fans are saying:
"A plot that haunts you, and a twisty tale that's believable."
"Well written, with believable characters and an intriguing plot."
"The twist at the end was brilliant!"


text:
Thursday, January 31, 2008
And play the songs we made
Completely bereft - a final word.
or whether I have my rocker head on: The Cult - Edie (Ciao Baby)
NOTHING is pushing Dorian's buttons.
I hope he doesn't make me angry ... you wouldn't like me when I'm angry !!
A frog by any other name...
Specially for Blimpy (& other sleeveface addicts)
Spotted this on YouTube when testing an iPhone in the apple shop (drool), and thought of you.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
The first is Shelby Lynn, the song: Jesus on a Greyhound, it's from her album 'Love'.
Second is 'Love at the 5 and dime' by Nanci Griffith, there's a video of it at:
Third is one of my favorite Phil Ochs songs, it's 'Changes' sung by Nancy Tucker from the album 'What's that I hear?' Lovely song.
And last, 'Hands' another by Phil Ochs, this one sung by Pat Humphries, also from the same album. There's a website that has some info on her at: www.appleseedrec.com/pathumphries/
Explosions in the Sky
Looking at the blogger profiles there seem to be several who list 'gardening' as an interest, since the cooking clan regularly share their secrets I was wondering if there's enough of of us to have a little corner off to the side somewhere where we might talk about the goings on in the garden since spring is just around the corner and all. Where I live the dafs are ready to pop and I think it might be interesting to have an international view of of mother nature through the seasons and to share some thoughts and tips, we might even get the cooks to start from ground zero. Anybody else interested?
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Chusday cheerup
Genius or Rubbish Part One
"The 'Spill" or just "'Spill?"
Chocolate Cranachan
The traditional Scottish pudding to have at Burns night is cranachan, which is basically raspberries with cream and toasted oats. This is a variation that I made for my brother's Burns Supper on Saturday – I feel that by increasing the sugar content it at least stays within the principles of Scottish cookery…
Chocolate Cranachan.
7oz rolled oats
5 ½ oz toasted hazelnuts
3 ½ oz light muscovado sugar
6 oz dark chocolate
3 oz milk chocolate
1 pint double cream
¼ pint Drambuie
18 fl oz crème fraiche
1lb raspberries (or you can use half raspberries and half blackcurrants for a tarter flavour)
Grate all the chocolate and mix in with the hazelnuts and sugar. Toast the oats in batches under a grill for 3-4 minutes, turning every 30 seconds or so (nb if you're like me, you really ought to start off with about 10 oz of oats because chances are you'll burn at least one lot. If you're not such a kitchen numpty, you can ignore that), then tip them all into the same bowl, so they melt the chocolate and it coats everything nicely. Beat the cream (though not too stiff), then add the crème fraiche and Drambuie to it. Put a layer of the oat mixture into the bowl for the pudding, then a layer of cream on top, then a layer of raspberries, and repeat until you've used everything up. Stick it in the fridge for a few hours to let the flavours combine and there you go.
And for listening accompaniment - Looking through my mp3s, I discover that I have a paltry single Burns track within: the Delgados cover of Parcel Of Rogues. So I've filled out the playlist with a few contributions from the godfathers of Scottish traditional music: Aly Bain & Phil Cunningham, fiddle player and accordionist respectively.
Their label is daptone records. On this page you can download a 58 minute program...Binky Griptites-ghettofunkpowerhour.
Also listen to the Budos Band on their label--Fela meets high school marching band, in a good way.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Spill or 'Spill?
The Theme From 'Spill
Nina Simone:
One day back in the '80's Bob Andy, Jamaican musician was staying with us in Long Beach California. On the Saturday I noticed that there was a free reggae festival in a park in south central LA. We decided to go. We were standing around between sets, sort of backstage, though there wasn't any real backstage when I saw Nina Simone standing alone about 40ft away. I couldn't believe it, I'd been a huge fan for all of my adult life, I'd never seen her perform, but there she was. I knew that she had a gig at the Wiltern theater in LA the following Tuesday so I excused myself from my wife and Bob and walked over to her, I introduced myself and told her how much I'd appreciated her music over the years and how much she'd meant to me. She was very cordial and we chatted, then I said "Nina, I'd like you to meet my friend Bob and my wife"; we walked back to where they were and I said 'Nina, this is my friend Bob Andy'.
Everything changed at that moment, I'd not even remembered that Bob Andy and Marcia Griffith had had a world-wide hit single back in the 60's of Nina's song "To be Young, Gifted and Black". 'Bob Andy' she screamed 'you're that Bob Andy?' 'You god damn motherfucker, you ripped me off, I never got a penny for that song and you made millions!'
What had been a pleasant surprise encounter had suddenly taken a nose dive, all there was now was anger and embarrassment. I tried to smooth things over but she obviously wasn't having any so we gingerly backed off and I said something to the effect that I looked forward to her concert. 'You show your face at my fucking concert you bastard, and I'll have security throw you out!' Oops, nothing I could say was going to work so we beat an ignominious retreat, but as we left I was approached by a guy who said that he was managing Nina and did I have any influence with the mayors office, I told absolutely none, I wasn't at all involved with any of that.
On the way home I had a thought. Whenever there were high end celebrity visitors to LA I noticed that there were day's proclaimed in their honour and the mayors office would issue proclamations, in the form of very ornate heraldic hand lettered documents listing that person's contributions to society etc. The guys question made me think it might be appropriate to send a note to the mayors office and suggest this. I had an image of some flunky coming onstage before the show and making a bit of a fuss and then giving it to her so I sent a note and promptly forgot about it.
Regardless of Nina's threats we went to both shows, the 7 pm and the 9 pm, I had a press pass that got us into the Wiltern and we could always grab any empty seats; we had two right in the front row and I had all my camera gear with me. I shot her discretely throughout the first show and then sat back and enjoyed the second. I didn't even notice that there was no representative from the Mayors office.
The next day I went to work and when I came home at around 5pm I checked the mailbox as usual and there was a large 16" by 20" envelope screwed up and stuffed into it, I opened it and it was the creased up proclamation for Nina! And there was a nasty note attached to the effect that if I requested a proclamation, then it was my responsibility to come and get it! Oh dear! Little did I understand the inner workings of LA politics. So what to do with it? The manager guy, who I later realised was the Ethiopian Orthodox minister who had conducted the ceremony for Bob Marley's funeral at the National Stadium, had given me his card, so we called him and explained the screw up. He asked if we would bring it to her since she was leaving for Paris early the next day; she was staying at a place in the San Fernando valley which was about 75 miles from us and given her reaction on the weekend I didn't really feel like 150 miles of LA rush hour traffic just to be Mr Niceguy. But we weakened, we found the address, her apartment door opened, he stood there, we gave it to him, he thanked us and closed the door. And that was how we met Nina Simone!
My other listening post
For all those voyeurs out there, here's the other place I do a lot of listening, in my fabuloso figaro! The Japs did a great job on this limited edition runabout (originally developed for the growing domestic market of working women with disposable income, so-called "office ladies" (ugh!).) The retro look is comprehensive, even the radio/cassette/CD. Great for cruisin' with Roadrunner at top blast!
The Bitterest 'Spill
To revert (briefly, don't worry) to Scottishness
So, nip down your local Lidl tout de suite.
my current obsessions
Listen to the piano and vocal samples of it in Talib Kweli's Get By. (beautiful video, I think)
Sunday, January 27, 2008
not quite bereavement
No relation to our nilpferd
Sunday Morning Worship Part Three
Songs you can't hear and still be miserable!
Here's a selection from my "Unbearably Cheery" tunes.
If I've got this right (probably not!) the song titles WON'T show up, because I want you to run it as a test. I'm not being obtuse, your reaction when you realise what the song is is what I want to measure. Just listen and see how many seconds into each song it is before you find yourself :
(i) Grinning from ear to ear.
(ii) Singing along.
(iii) Boogieing.
Of course it could be just me that these songs work on, in which case I'm going to look a prize pillock. Give us some feedback on which ones work (or don't) just so as I know whether to do it again.
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Saturday, January 26, 2008
Fantastic idea, Princess
Thanks for turning us on to FIP, fp. I like the non-stop music, and the eclectic mix, tho' Peel it ain't. I like the display of what's playing too - dead handy if you like something (rather than the usual thing of hoping against hope that the DJ will deign to mention the name/performer, rather than cutting to a jingle or ad). The African bias is great too. For anyone who hasn't tried it yet, the url is http://www.radiofrance.fr/chaines/fip/endirect/
I'll try listening over the ether the next time I'm in Brighton.
Bereavement music
In Romania after a burial, there is a banquet. There is often musical accompaniement, and this song is one of those often played. It was also played while the funeral train was on its way to the cemetery. The band would stop at each crossroad to play a song, or the priest would make a brief statement.
It is a funeral hymn, in which the singer makes the following observations..
"world, oh world-
some are born, and celebrate..
some die and putrefy..
your desire for your mother and father will never be sated...
your desire for your brother and sister will never be sated..."
LumeLume, played by Fanfare Ciocarlia.
The Trees They Grow High
Somebody mentioned Quicksilver here recently, one of my favorite groups from one of my favorite eras. I have this piece that I'd like to share with you sitting in my iTunes file, it's 'Calvary' by Quicksilver Messenger Service from the 'Happy Trails' album. I should have posted it in the recent RR 'religion' topic but I wasn't thinking straight. I think it's an absolute classic of the SF psychedelic period, definitely headphones music. For me it was almost life-changing, it brought me into contact with Quicksilver and we discussed making a film together, fortunately I instead took another option which in retrospect was a very smart thing to have done. Quicksilver broke up shortly thereafter.
Cet Enfant Que Je T'avais Fait
Here's Cet Enfant Que Je T'avais Fait by Jacques Higelin and Brigitte Fontaine. He asks her about their second child, and she keeps on changing the subject, pretending like she doesn't hear him. It's all very calm, he keeps his cool, even when he tells her that she's careless, but you get the feeling that she can't face having lost the child, or she's crazy. In any case it's captivating.
Sad Songs
Here are two songs I couldn't find clips for.
It was inevitable really
Here we are at the Fugits. This is the main sound system and a large portion of our cds. We ahve more in the bedroom and I've got a couple of record collections on separate hard drives. A couple of mates and I decided to share our stuff and put our complete cd collections on hard drives. Took ages and I still haven't had time to hear everything. It's something I'm saving for my old age, when I don't work and won't be able to afford to buy as much as I do now. I neve ruse the hard drive stuff for RR selections, only my own stuff. I've also got about 200 cassettes packed away in boxes - I was told I could have either cds or cassettes 'cluttering' up the front room.
We live in a typical arabic style first floor apartment. It's built to house an extended family of 6 - 8 or so and is inhabited by us two Fugits. This is the front room. It is meant to be used as a 'diwan'. This is the public part of the home, used for entertaining guests - usually men only, the women will go into the family rooms. We use it as the front room. This is the music corner. There is a huge balcony to the left, where we sit and enjoy the spring and autumn evenings, sweeping open the large French window. The space in front of the music centre is the dance floor - yes after a few bevvies, we still get up and strut our stuff - usually after 1 in the morning. Then we have the telly section in the opposite corner. Our downstairs neighbour is the second wife of a young Emirati from Dubai. It is empty apart from a few hours a couple of evenings a month when they endeavour to obtain pregnancy. When he returns to the first wife, the second wife goes home to her family home. This means the volume can be turned up and I can close my eyes and imagine I might be at a concert.
It may look a bit sparse, but it's how we like our space - empty to be filled by sound.
A real Scottish Siren
I was walking to the office with my grey-haired, extraordinarily nice German boss the other day. "I heff just heard a Scottish singer on ze radio! Great woice! Mr Rock and Roll or somezing? Who is she? Ken you get it for me?" "Um, you don't mean Amy Macdonald do you?" "Ja! ja! Genau! Die!" So my boss has become an Amy fan. Can't say I'm surprised. I know this 18 year-old Glaswegian troubadour has taken the UK by storm with her album 'This is the Life' riding at number one. My sister tlls me it's a hymn to Pete Doherty who must be feeling very chuffed at such an accomplished tribute. I'm posting the album for all you ex-pats who won't have heard her yet. Although it's only a matter of time before she goes planetary on us. My boss says so. You could do a lot worse than listen to this at your Burns supper. We will. And I officially nominate her for the soundtrack to our Scottish week-end. Unless you have other suggestions...
Friday, January 25, 2008
Address to a haggis by Robert Burns
Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face, Great chieftain o the puddin'-race!
Aboon them a' ye tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm:
Weel are ye wordy of a grace
As lang's my arm.
The groaning trencher there ye fill,
Your hurdies like a distant hill,
Your pin wad help to mend a mill
In time o need,
While thro your pores the dews distil
Like amber bead.
His knife see rustic Labour dight,
An cut you up wi ready slight,
Trenching your gushing entrails bright,
Like onie ditch;
And then, O what a glorious sight,
Warm-reekin, rich!
Then, horn for horn, they stretch an strive:
Deil tak the hindmost, on they drive,
Till a' their weel-swall'd kytes belyve
Are bent like drums;
The auld Guidman, maist like to rive,
'Bethankit' hums.
Is there that owre his French ragout,
Or olio that wad staw a sow,
Or fricassee wad mak her spew
Wi perfect sconner, Looks down wi sneering, scornfu view
On sic a dinner?
Poor devil! see him owre his trash,
As feckless as a wither'd rash,
His spindle shank a guid whip-lash,
His nieve a nit: T
hro bloody flood or field to dash,
O how unfit!
But mark the Rustic, haggis-fed,
The trembling earth resounds his tread,
Clap in his walie nieve a blade,
He'll make it whissle;
An legs an arms, an heads will sned,
Like taps o thrissle.
Ye Pow'rs, wha mak mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill o fare,
Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware
That jaups in luggies:
But, if ye wish her gratefu prayer,
Gie her a Haggis!
(Though I suspect there's something about the French there... anyone agree? What's the French ragout bit about?)
Choose a tartan, any tartan
Number 9. And all that for the Maclean family. Here's the site I used which is great to find your family tartan. But which one...?????
Great haggis serving suggestion
Christ, hope I remember to take the wee things out of the freezer tonight otherwise I may as well stick a wooden stick up them and try to convince Frogprince that they're Scottish popsicles. Think it'd work? Anyway, was deeply impressed to come across this idea on another cookery blog and this is they way I'll be serving our haggis tomorrow night. Here's the link to the cookery blog in question. Hope they don't mind me showing you their photo. So which is Burn's night? Tonight or tomorrow night?
and it Burns, Burns, Burns...
Go betweens bereavement set
(player removed)
Hooray for Haggis!
EJD Northern Social
Les absents ont toujours tort.
This CD was put together a little more hastily put together than the firtst one. Despite my best efforts to control it, I'm a whiner at heart (must be the French in me), so I went for the "should've been in x playlist" theme. Most of them have been recommended by me before, some were songs for themes I missed, and some are songs I discovered after the fact (it's probably cheating though isn't it?).
All My Friends by John Cale- Change/Getting old. Could have gone for the original by LCD Soundsystem, but it was already released as a single.
Un Poison Violent, C'est Ça L'Amour Avec Jean-Claude Brialy by Serge Gainsbourg - Duets/Advice. Brialy died not too long ago and I just love their conversation, with Gainsbourg at his most cynical. Only later did I realise that this probably wasn't the best song of his to include on the CD (because of the language thing) but then who knows.
Club Soda by Thomas Bangalter- Parties. I'm probably taking a risk here as electro/house/dance isn't a very popular genre among socialites, even the whole RR community (my brother says we're a gang now, I think he overestimates our power), but I just love it. Although I think it misses background party noises like in the beginning of What's Going On?. But then maybe you're supposed to put the song on at parties, therefore helping to build the song.
Super Trouper by Camera Obscura- Covers better than the original. I meant to replace this with a better version but forgot, so the ending will be a bit abrupt. Now I know what the song is about.
Monsieur Le Maire De Niafunké by Ali Farka Touré & Toumani Diabeté- Duets/Africa. Have you met the Kora? It's this instrument that sounds like a harp, except more beautiful.
Ghetto:Misfortune'S Wealth by Twenty-Four Carat Black- Poverty. It's also the title of the album, and you can sense a theme about it. As I mentioned in the blog that week, it's probably the most depressing soul album ever made, but then again it's part of its appeal.
I Used to Love H.E.R. by Common. Genres, in this case Hip Hop. Talkin' All That Jazz was the Hip hop track that got in that week, but I think this one tells a lot more about the actual genre and the whole culture around it. The one thing that bothers me though is that at the end he spells out who he's been rapping about for the last 4 min. It's like explaining a joke before we get a chance to laugh, it kills it.
In A Sentimental Mood by Duke Ellington & John Coltrane- Duets again. That piano intro...
93 'Til Infinity by Souls Of Mischief- Dates. It works best if we get a bit more sun. I always thought there was two songs to this side. It seems extremely chilled on one side but then again it's got this edge that I can't quite describe
Jesus Cristo by Erlon Chaves. Boy's names. Play loud. It's a samba-funk cracker. Go nuts and convert for 2 min.
Tuareg by Gal Costa- Characters.
Deep Fried Frenz by MF DOOM- Friends. I'm starting to love him more and more. Agree with Dorian's review that the cartoon samples get annoying, so I cut them out
African Convention by Miriam Makeba- Africa. A bit like us except we have an RR convention. She sings "No 1 on the agenda is music". Was listening to it before I put it on and that line made it a sure entry.
I Should Be Proud by Martha Reeves & The Vandellas- War. Still appropriate today.
Transatlanticism by Death Cab For Cutie- The Sea. Sorry to end on such a sad note, it's just that I couldn't picture somewhere in the middle of the playing order. This one didn't make it in favour of Beyond The Sea, for a perfectly understandable reason, but this one was more personal to me.
The rest of the tracks can be found on youtube
Cool For Cats Part I
Darling Corey
Thursday, January 24, 2008
View From The DsD desk
The "Only Here For The Beer" crew at our wedding.
DarceysMam's Bridesman over my shoulder, DD's Best Man#1 in blazer, BM#2 (youknowwho) squatting, Best Bird with the shiny chest! [This is a photo of the poster-photo; best I could do at 10toRR!]
I heart Sleeveface!
Ready fer Burrrrns Nicht
Can't make Deezer work, dammit, so I'll have to post the haggis song later when I've run out of ideas for Dorian's next effort.
Now That I Know How To Upload Stuff.......
My New Indoor Pool!
For Openers
I've been enjoying the Guardian blog topic on album closers, and so of course started thinking about album openers. Some openers are let down by what comes after - for example, "The Fallen" on Franz Ferdinand's second album was head and shoulders over what followed - while some are so weak as to forever be labelled "skip" (for me, "Sunday Morning" by the Velvet Underground is one of these. Controversial, I know). So I guess I really mean songs that let you know from note one what to expect from an album, those that suck you in and keep you there and could almost be said to typify the album. I've come up with a random ten, in no particular order, from a cursory glance at the shelves, which as ususal would probably be a different ten another time. A bit "High Fidelity", I know (I think they actually do a top 5 on this topic), but possibly fun.
Anyone have any other examples?
Led Zeppelin - Whole Lotta Love (II)
Sonic Youth - Dirty Boots (Goo)
Jane's Addiction - Stop! (Ritual De Lo Habitual)
Guns 'N Roses - Welcome To The Jungle (Appetite For Destruction)
Pixies - Bone Machine (Surfer Rosa)
Spiritualized - You Know It's True (Lazer-Guided Melodies)
The Beach Boys - Wouldn't It Be Nice (Pet Sounds)
Kate Bush - Running Up That Hill (Hounds Of Love)
The Stooges - 1969 (The Stooges)
Ministry - N.W.O. (Psalm 69)
This morning, before I got up, my wife Gina was poking around on the internet, she wanted to see my blog so she googled my name, what she got was Amazon.com where they're promoting a book I'm in and the promotion is my piece! If you're curious click here
It's all true and it's also, along with some other tales at my blog. I've been intending to add some pictures of the event at the blog but so far RROS has monopolised my time.
Bugge Wesseltoft - für Nilpferd
Nilpferd asked me to post this for you all. I personally think this person is called Bert Muggins but decided that wasn't cool enough for a jazz funk musician...
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Freaks On The Dole
Two weeks in....
When I look out of the window...
...this is what I see. Only, without me actually being on the lawn, obviously. And not at this time of year either.
Jack the Ripper - Ladies First
One of my favourite French groups - Jack the Ripper. They are huge Nick Cave fans and sing in English. Enjoy...
If only
I love how despite the clip's apparent amateurism, there's a "mise en scène" (what's the word frogprincess?) there. If I'm listening to music in my headphones, I like it when the songs kicks off as I open the door, etc., so this is my kind of thing.
RROS Housekeeping
Words & Music
That's what RR is all about, really. One of my current pleasures is to read a book while listening to music relevant to that book. This works easiest, of course, with books about music. There are even books that have a companion CD, like the one illustrated, Barney Hoskyn's well researched book about the LA music scene circa 1970. (There was even a music CD with The Robert Crumb Handbook, but that's another story). Reading Jimmy McDonough's excellent authorised (but then unauthorised) biog of Neil Young ('Shakey'), I listened to every one of his albums, even the excrable Trans. Dylan's brilliant autobiog Chronicles, was accompanied on my 'phones by much of his oeuvre, especially Oh Mercy, the making of which - with producer & sometime accompanist Daniel Lanois - is described in detail. Most recently I island hopped the Caribbean reading Barney's 'Beneath the Diamond Sky', about the hippie era in SF - a good excuse to dig out everything from Quicksilver to Butterfield, by way of the Dead, the Airplane & Big Brother, all of whom I saw perform at the Fillmore etc while living in SF in '68.
Anyone else do this listen & read thing? Any hot recommendations?
P.S. Bonus points for remembering which song 'beneath the diamond sky' is from
P.P.S. Talking of trains, which we were, what is this rock star fascination with model railways (Phil Collins, Eric Clapton & Rod Stewart, to mention a few)? Neil Young even bought a model train manufacturer! (tho' he would claim that was because of his son, but that's what they all say!)
Nilpferd: Like this one?
Mr. Pop in Dead Man
Win 300,000-Year Old Molluscs from Stoke Newington
This from today's Time Out:
"The Museum Of London's forthcoming "Weather Permitting" exhibition is missing one thing: a soundtrack. So they want TO readers to come up with their Top Ten weather-themed songs to be played on a loop in the foyer. The winner will not only contribute to the display [? - Ed.] ...; they will also receive their own collection of 300,000-year old molluscs found in Stoke Newington... Send suggestions to email@example.com by February 8."
Beyond a shadow of doubt 3 of these songs will be "Sunny Afternoon", "I Can't Stand The Rain" and "Weather With You" - It's The Law. But the remainder could be in our grimy hands, fellow RRers. Make Dorian proud. You know you want to.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Ooh, scary
So this is the game: you pick a past topic and choose some music for it. Here are some SCARY SONGS!
Long Lankin should NOT be listened to by people with babies. It's by Steeleye Span and they do that thing with the two tunes that usually annoys me but here I think it's very effective - because when the first verse is repeated with the first tune and the VERY spooky music, you realise that in fact what the man told his wife wouldn't have done any good anyway, because the enemy was already inside.
Here in Arkansas is by Robert Earl Keen. What did the bloke do that annoyed those people so much? Dunno.
Killing Jar is by Richard Thompson. It's not autobiographical. (His father was a policeman.)
RIP Heath Ledger
By Day, By Night
Yes, for me it's a computer as well, and here's a bit of my view at night and then a crudely enlightened (staged) view by day. This is a temporary set-up so I'm enjoying the view while I can. What you see is some office buildings, opposite the river Pinheiros. You can't quite see it on the pictures, but on the left of those towers (on my bank of the river) there's a block of social housing, and on the left of that is a favela (actually you can see the rooves at the very bottom). Left of THAT are 4 huge white residential towers. All of this stuck together, São Paulo in a nutshell. The inside of the apartment isn't anything to write home about, my mate being the caricature of a bachelor that he is. It's all sharp angles and stuff, so I'd rather look out the window.


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Perhaps I'm just looking in the wrong place, but it appears there may be a function missing in the documentation for DOMHelper (core).
http://www.extjs.com/products/extcore/docs/ shows the createTemplate method under the Insertion Methods, but the primary method list below doesn't contain any information. Furthermore, the example using dh.createTemplate(...) throws an error in Firebug, but I can get the other functions working. Is this function available in Ext Core? Am I looking in the wrong place?


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Friday, January 25, 2013
14 comments:
- Christa Mavropoulou said...
hallo Annuk
Na dann schreiben wir uns in Deutsch-)))
erst mal willkommen,und danke schön.Es freut mich immer wenn was neues auftritt.Ja,in De geboren,aufgewachsen,und da mein Vater Grieche ist,sind wir hierher gezogen.Schön das Du Griechisch lernst,ist nicht sooooooooooo schwer..hihi
Ich komme wieder-)))
Also,bis dann,
- January 25, 2013 at 12:42 PM
- {Marianna} said...
Great cause, I will join! Thanks for the notification!...
- January 25, 2013 at 1:27 PM
- Annuk said...
Hallo Christa! :)
Na klar, wir schreiben uns auf Deutsch! Es freut mich sehr, Dich hier zu haben, und freue mich sehr über Deinen Besuch! Es ist nett, mit einer anderen Zweisprachigen Kontakt zu haben! Alles Liebe!
- January 25, 2013 at 2:39 PM
- Annuk said...
Thank you Marianna! :)
- January 25, 2013 at 2:39 PM
- Dawn of LaTouchables said...
I just love Sandra. This was a beautiful post, Anna. Thank you for reminding me to see what I can do.
- January 25, 2013 at 4:03 PM
- DIMI said...
Hallo Annuk mou,i feel sorry for your friend Sandra and her son,i lost my mother nine months ago from cancer and i know tha battle she gave ,i hope God will give your friend strength to keep on going.
- January 25, 2013 at 4:53 PM
- Annuk said...
Thank you Dawn!
I just love Sandra too, and I do hope she can find the inner strength to go on for her son...
Thank you Dimi!
I am so sorry to hear about your mother... Thank you for your beautiful words! Love to you!!!
- January 25, 2013 at 6:29 PM
- syros2js said...
I believe that some things in life happen for a reason... But in situations as the above, I simply believe that it is not fair...
I am so sorry for your friend...
Words cannot describe my feelings...
Lots of love, sweetheart...
- January 25, 2013 at 6:45 PM
- Annuk said...
Thank you for your heartfelt words, Joanna! Polla filia!
- January 25, 2013 at 6:51 PM
- Juanita said...
I am familiar with Azulado the shop very well from the unique ceramics that stand out, whenever I had the chance to participate in European Street Team treasuries. What I did not know is the background story to it. Thanks for sharing.
- January 26, 2013 at 7:16 AM
- Hanne Bente said...
Hello Anna. Oh, how sad, have no words.
Hope the best for Sandra and her little boy. Wishing you and Zoe a good weekend :) Hugs Hanne Bente
- January 26, 2013 at 8:38 AM
- Annuk said...
Thank you Juanita!
Hello Hanne Bente, and thank you for your words! It is indeed a very sad story...
Have a lovely weekend, my friend! :)
- January 26, 2013 at 12:17 PM
- Missus D said...
So proud that the European Street Team is joining forces! Hopefully Sandra can be encourage and find strength from the EST to keep moving on and turn her pain into beauty.
- January 28, 2013 at 10:16 PM
- Annuk said...
Thank you for your beautiful comment!
- January 28, 2013 at 10:50 PM


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Friday Night Services
Shul House Rock Band
The Jewish Stars Youth Band
Tot Shabbat Saturday Morning Services
Thursday Morning Minyan Holidays
Temple Beth Shalom, as a full-service conservative congregation, has Friday Night Kabbalat Shabbat Services every Friday.
Our services, let by the Rabbi and one of our Cantorial Staff, are both meaningful and spiritual. We conduct our services in Hebrew, with many english readings, as well as a Sermon or teaching..
We use Siddur Hadash, which we chose because it has transliteration for the prayers, as well as meaningful readings and translations. It also is a gender-neutral prayer book.
A few times a month, you will find that the Temple has special friday night services, featuring our Shul House Rock band, Jewish Stars youth band, Tot Shabbat,, or one of our other Shabbat services, including Family Shabbat, Torah School, Sisterhood, Outdoor, and Teen Shabbat Services.
We invite you to come and worship with us. Our services generally start at 7:45pm (Tot Shabbat Services usually begin at 5:30pm, followed by a dinner). If you would like to know what time services begin, please check our Calendar, or feel free to call the Temple Office at
(562) 426-6413.


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Frosting made out of beans? Yes– it's not only nutritionally sound, but the petal detail this piping technique allows is simply beautiful.
Bean Piped Flower Cake – $95-245
Bean Piped Flower Cupcakes – $105-$125
Browse the flower menu and color palettes– you make the request, and we give you art.
This presentation works for all types of events, from baby to wedding.
The cupcakes are a wonderful option for an everyday gift, are great dessert decorations for a party, or are also beautiful as party favors. (Matching real and cake flowers give a custom feel that elevates any event!)


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The Code of Safe Operation
The Code of Safe Operation, a document designed by the market leaders of the sport, ZORB; is publicly available to all operators. This document is designed to provide a world-wide standard for people looking to set up their own globe riding site. It does not tell someone HOW to build and run a site, but tells them how to design a risk management plan to ensure safety standards are met.
Operators who read the code are requested to sign-on to identify that they are adhering to these safety standards. Those operators that have signed on will be publicly identified on this website so consumers can visit these sites knowing that their globe riding experience will be safe, fun and enjoyable.
The Code of Safe Operation can be downloaded here;
Do you comply with the Code of Safe Operations for plastic globes? Are you a signatory to the Code? If not, you (the customer) may be taking your life into your own hands. Remember; Insurance may not be available to those operators that do not comply with the Code.
Example of operation WITHOUT the Code of Safe Operations:
Lost Valley Second Test Run
Signatories to the Code of Safe Operation
Company / Site: ZORB Rotorua
Website: http://www.zorb.co.nz
Date signed: June 2007
Company/Site: ZORB Smoky Mountains
Website: http://www.zorb.com/smoky
Date signed: October 2007


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Job Description & Career Information
With the impact of VW's 'Dieselgate' still being felt widely, the Aachen automobile and engine technology Colloquium was significantly pertinent this year. Ian Adcock reports on the most vital applied sciences and displays. b) E-Z Element Brush – is eighteen inches lengthy, four-half inches in diameter and is tremendous-gentle with Nylex bristles, a material that mixes the softness of a natural bristle with the power of nylon. There is a vinyl tip bonded to the highest of the comb and a knuckle guard on the handle but probably the most spectacular characteristic of this brush is the versatile, interior core. This vinyl-coated wire core will bend in every conceivable route which allows the brush to get into areas the place few other brushes can attain.
Toyota's journey towards Lean started before they even manufactured vehicles, the Toyoda household had been originally in the textile business. They invented a loom that might cease if the thread broke thus lowering the rejects being produced and permitting a single operator to watch several machines on an exception basis fairly than having to have an operator on every machine.
The driving force must take this test. Otherwise the automobile pace will be decreased and it will be stopped after the warnings. Along with this there could also be many challenges throughout designing of this plane. Dianna Durkopp Adler, Heinkle, Rabbit made by Fuji Heavy engineering (Subaru) had two scooters on the market. Explain the operation of gasoline-engine system gasoline supply and return programs and their service.
This diagram sort exhibits the actual format of the automobile wiring harness, and the primary teams of cable runs. Wires are proven as strains and are sometimes recognized with color codes. The diagram kind is more consultant of how the wiring system is specified by the vehicle, and specific, key points of curiosity, like earth points or important connector junctions are clearly identified as to their position on the vehicle, this can help loads whenever you're making an attempt to locate one in all these. However, this type of diagram will be tough to interpret, particularly when you are attempting to comply with the trail of a person cable – my recommendation…photocopy the diagram and get your highlighter pen out! this may will let you mark and comply with the cable around the diagram.
Vehicle Day Spa in Lombard provides complete inside and exterior detailing services with options resembling bug, tar, sap, and scratch elimination. The corporate specializes in polishing and utility of sealants and paint protectants. Prospects should call for service quotes since prices rely upon automobile dimension, and inspection to find out situation. Good article on the Nissan Leaf electric automotive, /leaf-electrical-automotive , in Automotive News, June 21, 2010 by James B. Treece. The article states that the Nissan Leaf promoting will give attention to the automobiles zero emissions and that the marketing communications will give attention to the truth that the Nissan Leaf doesn't have a tailpipe.


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Favorite Bible Verse:
By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. Ephesians 2: 8-9
College(s) attended:
Eastern IL University BS/MS , U. of IL
How long have you worked at St. John's?
17 years
What do you like most about teaching at St. John's?
The common purpose and goal of all those involved.
Hobbies or Interests:
Bee keeper, Gardener, Stamp collector, Nine Grandkids, Lions Club,
Village clerk 30 yrs., Sun. school teacher 40 yrs.


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Friend's Email:
Subject: I have found a DVD that I think you would enjoy
|Kansas City Bomber
Actors: Raquel Welch, Kevin McCarthy, Helena Kallianiotes, Norman Alden, Jeanne Cooper
Director: Jerrold Freedman
Genres: Action & Adventure, Drama, Sports
PG 2005 1hr 39min
Baseball has its Bull Durham. Basketball has Hoosiers. Football has Rudy. And the mad sport of the roller game has Kansas City Bomber. Step aside, boys, she's coming through. Disco was in, polyester was cool and the roller... more »
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Movie Reviews
Bomber Hits Target
Richard Reetz | Tucson | 03/04/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Racquel in spandex and on wheels is a wow. I had the pleasure of working on this film on location in beautiful Portland, Oregon. I am not giving this film five stars because I appear in it. Kansas City Bomber was a very special film for Racquel. The script by Barry Sandler was written expressly for Ms. Welch. This was also the first film for Jodie Foster who played Racquels daughter. Vetran character actor Norm Alden gave the best performance of his life as Horrible Hank Hopkins.
Racquel plays KC Carr, a roller derby diva who's life is in turmoil. Her relationship with her children is strained as she tours the country with her derby team. Her team mates are at odds with her believing that she is sleeping her way to the top with the owner of the team (Kevin McCarthy). KC must come to grips with life and what she really wants to achieve.
You'll find yourself rooting for KC to find herself, and she does. The film ends with an exciting skate off between KC and Jackie Burdett. The skate off is set up for KC to take a fall so that she can be traded off to another team, but at the last minute KC and Jackie decide to "keep it real". The climatic skate off is filled with thrills as KC wins the title, and resolves to be the roller derby diva she is.
There are not many films on roller derby, however, this is clearly the best."
Raquel's finest hour
M. Santoyo | riverside, ca USA | 05/14/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is the quintessential Welch vehicle. She is down to earth, physical, sympathetic, reviled and ultimately triumphant. She had to find this project herself because Hollywood had no idea how to use her. Instead of the glamour sex symbol roles, she was really cut out for the everyday woman role. If there is one regret, it is that Raquel did not take the part of Honey Bruce in "Lenny", that she was offered.
This movie, entertaining from beginning to end, showed Raquel in her finest hour, sure it is corny, but in the classic, All-American way that no one can argue...by all means get this one."
This is Raquel's "Raging Bull"!!
jon sieruga | Redlands, CA USA | 08/13/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"It's probably too easy to dismiss this movie as a scrappy, dated foray in 1970's sludge, but in '72 it was considered highly unusual and intriguing for a celebrity diva like Raquel Welch to appear in a roller derby drama, and the film was a pretty big hit and generated lots of publicity(Welch even made the cover of LIFE magazine, wearing her No. 11 jersey). I liked the deep-in-thought driving montage of Welch on her way to see her kids(with super-cool jazz music by Don Ellis)and I loved the skating-on-the-street scene with KC and her daughter(wow! Jodie Foster). The track sequences deliver exactly what we want: hard-driving action with some good editing and camera angles, and the satiric behind-the-scenes bits are quite funny(one little old lady spends all her money on roller games). The romantic melodrama with team owner Kevin McCarthy is draggy, but it's interesting how the other skaters react and make Welch the outcast, leading her to fight for self-respect and dignity on the track. The stunt doubles are obvious, and the film isn't a big-budget offering, but it is highly entertaining and has some great moments. Aside from "Hannie Caulder", it gives Raquel her best starring vehicle."
Kansas Ciry Bomber
Paul E. Hill | Torrance CA | 05/31/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I've been waiting since 1972 for this. I had to get a copy the first day it was available.
Although it's corny, it is well worth the price to get a copy if you're a Roller Games / Roller Derby fan...and even if you're not!"


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As a property investor, there's nothing that kills your profitability faster than empty houses. As a property manager, it's in your best interest to make sure that your clients — the investors — stay profitable. Which means it's up to you to have a solid plan for keeping the rentals you're in charge of full. There's three parts to that plan, and here's four tips for each of those three parts.
Part 1: Keep Your Existing Tenants
Keeping your existing tenants is a fairly straightforward matter of making them happy to stay. The four steps to making your tenants happy are equally straightforward, but it's easy to skip one or more of if you're focused elsewhere:
- Be a professional communicator. Respond to complaints quickly — even if just to say, "I'll get back to you soon." Be firm but polite in enforcing the rules. And always share your expectations of how a tenant is supposed to handle situations before those situations arise.
- Be a regular communicator. Get in touch with your tenants the month after they move in, just to check in and answer any questions they may have. Send them a letter after their third month to the same effect. And send them a reminder — via email, voice or snail mail — each month to remind them to pay on time.
- Reward good behavior. Your tenants should know that you expect them to treat their role as tenants respectfully, but they should also know what the rewards of good behavior are. There are a lot of things that a PM can offer a tenant as rewards, from the rights to repaint to the installation of a small appliance to a professional cleaning.
- Stay on top of the property. The number one management-caused reason for a broken lease country-wide is a negative experience involving a maintenance request. Even if you can't get to a request right away, tell the tenant the plan so they know what to expect.
Related: How to Find a Tenant in Any Market: A Comprehensive Guide
Part 2: Market for New Tenants Effectively
From time to time, a tenant will leave even though you did everything right. When that happens, you have to have a proactive plan to replace them quickly and efficiently. Here's four steps toward that goal:
- Activate marketing immediately upon receiving notice. The hour you know that a tenant is leaving, call your advertiser and activate all of your advertising for that house.
- Remind your tenant of how the laws in your state work. In most of them, you are allowed to show a house to a potential new tenant with only 24 or 48 hours of notice. Tell them to be ready because you're going to be bringing people by. We recommend getting the existing tenant to agree to a weekly schedule when you can show the property. You still have to let them know in advance about a showing, but it makes it much more efficient for all involved.
- Enlist the tenant to help you out: It's amazing how far a little incentive can go. Offer your tenant $10 to clean up a bit before you bring someone over for a showing and $100 if they give you a referral that lands a new tenant after they leave. If they don't take you up on it, you haven't lost anything — if they do, you win!
- Think outside the box. There are lots of people out there who have the job of helping others find a place to live. Corporate human resource managers, pastors, social workers and several others can be amazing resources for finding people who need homes. If your traditional advertising hasn't worked by the time the house is ready for a tenant, get exotic!
Related: 6 Tips to Protect Newbie Landlords Against Bad Tenant Situations
Part 3: Prepare For the New Tenant Efficiently
You don't get to start a new tenant just because the existing tenant has left — there's a lot of preparation to be done between the two. In order to get that done effectively, try these tips:
- Schedule any repairs for the first empty day. Right when you start the advertising for the property, call the relevant contractor(s) and schedule them for as soon as they can get there after the tenant's last day.
- Schedule cleaning for that same day. Cleaning never takes just a single day, and unless your contractor is tearing the whole house apart, there's going to be places that the cleaning crew can get to that the contractor won't be touching. Get everything cleaned that can be cleaned, and schedule the cleanup crew to be there the day after (or even later the same day) that the contractor will finish up.
- Review the appeal. Cleaning and repairs are one thing, but it's also important that the rental is attractive to potential tenants. Check the curb appeal, the first impression as you come in the door, and walk through looking for aesthetic turn-offs. You often don't have to do much to fix these things, but you can't afford to ignore them either.
- Screen prospects thoroughly. Don't ever skip this step — screening prospects is the first and most critical step to making sure that your next tenant sticks around for a long time and is as profitable as possible.
Following these steps consistently and efficiently every time will maximize the profitability of each rental you oversee, which will keep your clients happy — and you profitable!
How do YOU avoid vacancies in your rentals?
Leave your tips below!


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Marketing Manager
Ghabbour auto
Marketing Manager for Commercial Vehicles, Construction Equipment, Tiers and CV/CE After Sales Ghabbour group of companies Company profile Company agent of global brands VOLVO – HUYNDAI - FUSO -MAZDA - LASSA - MOUNRO - BAJAJ and classified in the first place in the industry Bodybuilding Middle East. Job Description Re improve the company's position Egyptian market for commercials products ( Trucks, buses, constructions equipments, A/S workshops, tiers ) • To achieve the strategic objectives of the company. • Design, implement, and facilitate annual marketing plan for the firm. Support and facilitate development and implementation of section business/marketing plans. • Oversee corporate communications activities through Communications Coordinator including ( External communications and systems - internal communications and systems - public relations efforts - external vendors and consultants) • Develop and administer marketing database which includes client and prospect information, mailing list applications, access to financial reports, etc. • Monitor, review and report on all marketing activity and results. • Liaison with media and publishers as required. • Sales enablement – communicate the value proposition of the products to the sales team and develop the sales tools that support the selling process of your products • Product launch – plan the launch of new products and releases and manage the cross-functional implementation of the plan. • Demand generation – develop the strategy and manage the marketing programs that drive demand for your products • Assist with and support firm's involvement in various legal networks including coordinating business development and marketing activities via these relationships. • Up Movement competitors • To act as guardian of GHABBOUR AUTO brand identity, to ensure that it is applied consistently and coherently across all designs and platforms, and he can lead development work on and discussions about the identity


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Professional Strength
With V8 peptide complex™
30ml/1.0 oz e
*Available in store or over the phone
Email us on [email protected]
*All O Cosmedics can not be bought online, however you can purchase over the phone on 1300 761 925 or come visit our clinic to view and try the full range, plus receive a skin analysis from one of our skin specialists.
A powerful concentration of 100% pure bioactive retinol with superior stability and potency. Retinol concentrate uses the highest allowable concentration of retinol before a prescription. It's skin renewing benefits make it a first class antiageing tool! V8 peptide complex™ ensures skin is super hydrated and rejuvenated.
Five stars! Perfect for ageing skins, skins lacking firmness and elasticity, lines and wrinkles, photo damage and pigmentation.
Key Ingredients:
- V8 peptide complex™
- Liquid Crystals
- L-Sodium Hyaluronate
- SkinRelief
- Retinol
- Niacinamide
- Snap-8
- Venuceane™
- D-Alpha Tocopherol
How to Use:
Retinol concentrate should be used every third day to begin with, giving your skin time to build up skin tolerance and avoid sensitisation. Gradually increase usage to every 1-2 days, use in the evening.
SEND IN 10 LIDS OR CONTAINERS OF OCOSMEDICS TO RECEIVE A FREE PRODUCT ask in store to to find out more!


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- Home
- All Events
- Dunlop Sport Maxx Cup
Dunlop Sport Maxx Cup
After a successful pilot season, the BARC/Dunlop Sport Maxx Cup has been confirmed as a full-time core championship in the Dunlop Great and British Festivals package for 2008.
At the same time, BARC and Dunlop have announced changes to the class structure and regulations to ensure continued close racing and allow a variety of cars to be competitive in each class.
A maximum power to weight ratio of 210bhp per tonne has been introduced to the top class, and BTCC style 'success ballast' will be used in each class.
"In 2007, overall victories went to the Astra VXR, BMW 3-series, Megane R26 and Nissan 350Z. Class wins were shared between MG ZRs, Renault Clio, Fiat Punto, SEAT Leon, Mini Cooper and Alfa Romeo 147. We want to encourage this diverse mix of cars and feel that adopting BTCC style success ballast is the proven way to achieve this" stated Dunlop's James Bailey.
A number of new cars have been added to the eligible car list. These include the Porsche Cayman, BMW 335i and Mazda 3MPS in class A, the new Mini Cooper S R56, Peugeot 207Gti and Honda Civic Type R in Class B and the latest Fiat 500, Mini Cooper and Renault Twingo GT in Class C.
Being part of the Dunlop Great and British package will mean the championship will benefit from full BTCC-standard Dunlop technical support, professionally promoted events and television coverage at six of the eight double header rounds.
AmD Essex will be running a Milltek-sponsored SEAT Leon Cupra 2.0T FSI for the 2008 season.


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Dr. Shelley Jones
Associate Professor
Dr. Jones received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree at the University of Florida College of Pharmacy and her Masters of Physician Assistant Studies at the University of Florida College of Medicine: PA Program in 2002. She practices clinically within the Department of Family and Community Medicine and provides pharmaceutical education within the Family Practice medical residency program. Dr. Jones' educational interests involve interprofessional education within the classroom and clinical practice settings. Teaching responsibilities include areas of basic physical assessment, simulation, primary care, and communication. She is a Fellow of the University's Center for Interprofessional Healthcare Education, Research, and Practice (CIHERP) and is a board member of the Salvation Army Clinic in collaboration with the College of Medicine. Dr. Jones serves the College as faculty advisor for the KAPS Community Outreach Committee; she is chair of the Education and Credentialing Committee for the Center for the Advancement of Pharmacy Practice (CAPP). Dr. Jones also serves on the Kentucky Board of Pharmacy Professionals Recovery Network (KY-PRN) Committee. Her research interests include Interprofessional education and collaborative practice, Medical Error Disclosure, innovative and sustainable models of pharmacist-delivered patient care, and issues surrounding the advancement of pharmacy practice.


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Here's a unique item that might even be called a bit cheesey. It is a really nice 9in x 5in beechwood cheeseboard that comes with a handy stainless-steel cheese slicer. But what makes it special is that it's disguised as a giant mousetrap. This will make you squeak with glee.
Length: 9.25in
Width: 5.25in
Height: .7in
Materials: Beechwood and stainless steel


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The rules goes as follows:
1. It can be under any category.
2. No under construction sites.
3. No/very few broken links and images.
4. Interesting content.
5. Cannot take too much time to load.
6. I must like it very much.
If you get the award, you have to link it back to my site at http://tarepie.tripod.com
Simply fill in my email form, please include the title of the site and a description of the site.


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There's been a slew of good sidescrolling games as of late. It's like the summer is the perfect weather for redefining classics, and it brings out all the indie guys in droves. So with the season of creation at the helm of what seems to be another spread of months with similar pedigrees of quality we dive into Bad Bots.
Bad Bots is the brainchild of Vanni Del Moral, who's no stranger to the genre as he developed another sidescrolling shooter in the form of The Hive. While the games do share some similarities, Bad Bots is a thing unto itself, and plays much differently. The plot is simple standard videogame fare; you're on a ship where a rampant AI takes control of the robots on board, and turns them against the crew. Strange that we've collectively reached a point in society where we can even say that, but alas here we are. While the setup itself may not be that original, there is certainly opportunity and room to create something new and exciting here.
Sad to say while Bad Bots may be making an earnest attempt at being a good game, it isn't taking any risks in gameplay or structure. You've got a melee weapon, and you'll gradually find more and more weapons to combat all the psychotic robots that inhabit the ship. These will range from a basic pistol, to the most oft used machine gun, and a handful of special weapons that pack a more powerful punch. Shotguns, explosive rifles, and other experimental goodies are few and far between but they are definitely fun when you obtain them. While the weapon variety is pretty cool it's almost the only thing that the game has going for it.
Level design is the first thing that starts to become cumbersome. The levels in the game aren't always designed with clear indications of where you should be going, or how to even get there. Instead you'll be relying on your own memory and sense of direction to navigate the behemoth level sections. This is made all the more frustrating by the fact that there is no map to speak of. None whatsoever. It's almost as if the developers wanted you to memorize every single little twist and turn as you go along in this gargantuan maze. Supposing that could be taken as a compliment there is that ounce of positivity to be taken out of the complaint. The levels are so large in scale that navigating them becomes complicated. This is probably exacerbated by the fact that the levels are almost ubiquitous in design. The same color palette, and spread of background graphics repeats over and over.
In continuing with the established tone of monotony, Bad Bots also presents very little variety in the types o f Bots that you'll be sending to Robo Heaven. You've got robots that wield knives, robots that shoot guns, and smaller robots that zap you with electricity. Bosses do a little bit to mix up the action, but for the most part you've got a cast of about 3 enemies that you will constantly be turning into hot piles of bolts. While that may be good for the sake of creating easy cannon fodder for you to mow down without prejudice, it also lacks any sense of impetus after a few hours. Instead the game will rely on mixing more of its level design elements into a system of threats to work against you in new ways. It does this, seemingly at the cost of just adding in a few more enemy types, because there's such a larger variety of traps and hazards.
Even more perplexing was the game's choice to be almost entirely devoid of any music at all, which is actually a weird thing to bring up as a point of contention but there it is. It's a conscious choice on the developer's part as it turns out, but one that puzzles and baffles. For starters, almost every great game has been accompanied by similarly amazing music, so the notion that a game could just largely skip including that element is a bold choice. Sure it could probably be pulled off by deft hands that are skilled in the art of building tension like a slow fire in the snow, but this is a sidescrolling shoot em up game. If there isn't some pulse pounding driving beat to propel my action, I'm going to think something is wrong. Therein is the second part of this, the game is lacking music to an extent that you'll likely think that something is wrong. So what may have started as a simple omission for the sake of being edgy, cool, or just cheap has ended up making the game feel empty and lifeless.
The final driving nail in the coffin is the control scheme. Playing with a mouse and keyboard is a chore, but playing with a gamepad doesn't fare much better as it turned out. Jumping is mapped to a quick flick upwards of the left thumb stick, which also happens to be the primary means of moving your character around. This means precision jumping is basically impossible, but it also means that you'll jump a lot when you don't want to, or you won't jump when you do want to, and all kinds of wonderful variations in between. Shooting is controlled with the triggers, and the right thumb stick aims your weapons. Shooting works well enough when you aren't being chased by hordes of robots (this is never) but it breaks down pretty quickly when you've got a lot of jumping, shooting, and weapon swapping to manage all at once. The punishment for not mastering these arduous controls? Well, most enemies lock you into never ending loops of damage and pain when they hit you, so there's that to look forward to.
Bad Bots is a great idea for a game brought down by a lack of variety or legitimate innovative challenge. The game does little to nothing for the genre it resides in, offering almost no compelling reason to purchase it. Bad Bots could become better with more options, DLC, or other additions, but as it stands it's a game that should have spent more time thinking about how to challenge its peers instead of just aping them.
Platform: PC