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Increasing rates of overweight among children in the U.S. stimulated interest in obtaining national percentile curves of body size to serve as a benchmark in assessing growth development in clinical and population settings. In 2000, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) developed conditional percentile curves for Body mass index (BMI) for ages 2–20 years. The 2000 CDC BMI-for-age curves are partially parametric and only partially incorporated the survey sample weights in the curve estimation. As a result, they may not fully reflect the underlying pattern of BMI-for-age in the population. This motivated us to develop a nonparametric double-kernel-based method and automatic bandwidth selection procedure. We include sample weights in the bandwidth selection, conduct median correction to reduce small-sample smoothing bias, and rescale the bandwidth to make it scale-invariant. Using this procedure we re-estimate the national percentile BMI-for-age curves and the prevalence of high-BMI children in the U.S.
Determination of the relative growth of children with respect to a standard reference population is important for assessing their health and development [1]. National growth curves for height, weight, and head circumference measurements by age have been developed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 1976 and 2000 from data from the National Health Examination Surveys (NHES) and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) that were collected by the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) [2, 3]. These curves were developed to provide a reference for assessing the physical development of children residing in the U.S. and in other countries [4]. Smoothed curves by age are available for selected percentiles of each body measurement, e.g., 5th, 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 85th, 90th, and 95th, which are used to identify poorly developing children when they reach an extreme percentile level. The reported distribution of the first edition of the growth curves was about 12 million NCHS growth charts annually by pharmaceutical companies, which indicates their widespread use [5].
Because of increasing rates of overweight among children in the U.S. [6], there is great interest in obtaining national reference percentile curves of adiposity in children. An indirect but highly correlated measure of adiposity is body mass index (BMI) [7], which is defined as body weight (in kilograms) divided by the square of height (in meters). Because BMI is a simple function of body weight and height, it is readily obtained in population studies and surveys where it is computed from self-reported or measured body weight and height. Since the distribution of BMI in children varies greatly by age, CDC has pooled height and body weight data from a number of surveys conducted from the 1960's to the 1990's to produce percentile curves of BMI versus age [3]. Since overweight among children has been increasing over the past 10–15 years [8], the use of these older survey samples are based on children who were thinner and considered healthier. Thus, these curves are treated as "ideal" healthwise and are used as cutoffs to determine current and future prevalence estimates of overweight for various populations [9].
The construction of the most recent CDC percentile curves of BMI-for-age involved nonparametric local weighted regression smoothing and then further smoothing using polynomial regression [3]. Because of the polynomial regression the construction of these percentile curves are partially parametric.
In this paper we use another approach to construct BMI-for-age percentile curves. The percentiles plotted for the curves are the (weighted) percentile from the weighted empirical conditional cumulative distribution function of BMI given x using local-linear kernel weights [10]. In this case, a bandwidth on the age axis (i.e., x-axis) is required for specifying the local-linear kernel weights. The sample weights from the survey data are incorporated into these local-linear kernel weights, and a median correction is used to reduce the bias when estimating percentiles other than the median [11]. Roughness in the BMI-for-age percentile curves is reduced by using linear interpolation between the steps of the cumulative conditional (on age) distribution function before obtaining the percentiles [11]. This nonparametric approach will be called the `single-kernel' method.
Another approach, which tends to be smoother than the single-kernel method, is a `double-kernel' method proposed by Yu and Jones [12] for nonsurvey data. This approach smoothes the data along both the x and y-axes using kernel smoothing and, additionally, using local-linear weighting in the x-axis direction. The double-kernel method requires two bandwidths, one for kernel smoothing along the x-axis and the other for kernel smoothing along the y-axis. Yu and Jones [12] describe an automated method for determining the two bandwidths for a particular dataset for each percentile curve. Like the single-kernel method, the double-kernel method is nonparametric. There are other methods that are parametrically based for obtaining conditional percentile curves, which can be used for estimating BMI-for-age percentiles; see the Discussion section.
In Section 2 of this paper, we modify the double-kernel method and the bandwidth selection procedure of Yu and Jones [12] to incorporate (survey) sample weights. Simulations are provided in Section 3 that illustrate the reduction in bias when using a median correction in the estimation of conditional percentile curves and that examine the mean-squared-error properties of incorporating sample weights in the bandwidth selection procedure. In Section 4, we re-estimate the BMI-for-age percentile curves for the NCHS data for male and female children and adolescents that pooled data from five cross-sectional nationally representative health examination surveys. We compare these nonparametric percentile curves to the original partially parametric 2000 CDC curves and show how the nonparametric curves can change the estimation of the BMI-for-age relationship. In addition, using nonparametric percentile curves we re-estimate the prevalence of children in the U.S. who are above specified BMI-for-age percentiles and compare those estimates to published estimates based on the 2000 CDC percentile curves. We end with a discussion in Section 5 that includes areas of future research.
In this paper, we describe the two kernel estimators of conditional percentile curves for sample-weighted survey data that we will use to construct BMI-for-age percentile curves. Before describing these estimators, we first introduce kernel estimation of a conditional mean, which extends naturally to conditional percentile estimation.
In the nonsurvey setting (which means without survey sample weights), let (x1, y1), …, (xn, yn) be a sample of n independent and identically distributed observations where yi 's are scalar response variables and the xi 's are scalar predictor variables (more generally the xi 's can be of higher dimension, see Ruppert and Wand[13]). Let the conditional mean of y given x be denoted by m(x). The local degree t least-squares kernel estimator of m(x) is given by where
Here h>0 is the bandwidth and the kernel function K{.} is a nonnegative symmetric kernel function that integrates to one. If t = 1, the standard weighted least-squares theory leads to the local-linear kernel estimator of m(x), given by
where are local-linear kernel weights, and are kernel weights. The dependency of the mean estimators (e.g., ) and weights (e.g., and on the bandwidth h is suppressed for notational convenience.
In the survey setting (which allows for survey sample weights), let wi be the sample weight corresponding to the observation (xi, yi), i = 1,…, n. To account for the sample weights in the estimation, we let
where . The sample-weighted local-linear conditional mean estimator is given by
The use of the sample weights in (2) implies that it is estimating what (1) would be estimating if all of the population values were used for the estimation. For further details about estimating the conditional mean with survey data, see Korn and Graubard [14].
The representation (2) of the conditional mean estimator as a weighted mean of yi 's leads naturally to obtaining percentile estimators for the conditional distribution of Y given X. In the survey setting, to estimate the conditional percentiles for each X = x, we can use the percentile estimated from the weighted empirical cumulative distribution function of Y given X=x using the sample-weighted local-linear kernel weight [11, 14]. Let F(r | X = x) = P(Y ≤ r | X = x), and its weighted local-linear kernel estimator be
For Y with a continuous distribution, the pth conditional percentile given x is defined by F−1(p | x). One would like to estimate the percentile by , but since is a step function, it is not defined. By using linear interpolation, we can define as follows: Let y(1) < y(2) < … < y(n) be the ordered Y data. Then the estimator of the pth percentile is given by:
with j chosen such that . We will refer to as the (sample) weighted single-kernel conditional percentile estimator of the percentile p because it uses one kernel weight along the x-axis requiring a single bandwidth. In the nonsurvey setting, this single-kernel estimator is similar to the one proposed by Yu and Jones [12].
The double-kernel percentile estimator of Yu and Jones [12] is obtained by estimating the conditional distribution function of the Y given x using local-linear weighting and a kernel smoother along the x-axis with a specified bandwidth, and simultaneously using a kernel smoother along the y-axis with its own bandwidth. The estimated percentile is obtained from the estimated conditional distribution. Because this estimator of the distribution function is not in closed form, iteration is required to locate the percentile of interest; see below. In spite of the extra computation, the double-kernel estimator was preferred by Yu and Jones [12] to the single-kernel estimator because of its smoother appearance and improved mean-squared-error properties. In what follows, we modify the double-kernel percentile estimator to incorporate sample weights so that it is applicable to survey data.
In the nonsurvey setting, the double-kernel conditional percentile estimator of Yu and Jones [12] is the solution to
for Q(x), where are local-linear kernel weights along the x-axis with bandwidth h1 (see previous section) and Ω is a specified distribution function associated with the kernel weights along the y-axis with bandwidth h2.
Following Yu and Jones [12] we use a uniform [−1, 1] distribution function Ω. Equation (3) for percentile p at x can then be written as
Where I[·] is an indicator function (see the Appendix for derivation of (4) from (3)). By solving (4) iteratively for Q(x), we obtain the double-kernel percentile estimator, denoted by .
In order to incorporate the sample weights, we replace the in (3) by . We can see how this enters into the double-kernel percentile estimation by first expressing equation (4) without the sample weights as
(Yu, K., personal communication, 2006). Inclusion of the sample weights (wi) in (3) results in changing each sum in (5) to a (sample) weighted sum, that is,
By solving (6) iteratively for Q(x), we obtain the weighted double-kernel percentile estimator .
The choice of the bandwidth is critical in determining how smooth the resulting conditional mean/percentile curve will be. We will first consider modifying a bandwidth procedure of Ruppert et al.[15] for estimating the conditional mean. We do this because this allows us to follow Yu and Jones [12] and use this bandwidth to choose a bandwidth for the conditional percentile.
In the nonsurvey setting several automatic methods for selecting a bandwidth for a conditional mean smoother have been proposed by Ruppert et al. [15]. To derive an asymptotically optimal bandwidth they use the global loss criterion of the conditional mean integrated squared error (MISE) of :
where F(x) is the distribution function of X and the conditional expectation in (7) is with respect to distribution of Y1,…,Yn. By interchanging the conditional expectation and integration, we can re-express the MISE in (7) as a sum of the integrated variance and bias-squared of by
For the local-linear kernel estimator , it follows from theorem 4.1 of Ruppert and Wand [13], with appropriate regularity conditions holding, that
and the integrals are taken over the real line. The two terms on the right-hand side of (8) approximate the integrated variance and integrated bias-squared, respectively. By maximizing the right-hand side of (8) with respect to h, one obtains the MISE approximately asymptotically optimal bandwidth
In the survey setting, we modify (9) by considering the effect of the sample weights on both the variance and bias-squared terms of (8). In what follows we assume that the sample weights (wi) may depend on the values of x but, conditional on x, the wi are independent of Y. The variance term of (8) involves the integration of the ratio, v(x)/nf(x) over the distribution of X times the term h−1R(K1) that does not involve the data. In the nonsurvey setting, n f(x) can be viewed as roughly the sample size of the observations used to estimate at x, and v(x)/nf(x) times h−1R(K1) approximates the variance of at x. In the survey setting, where we use the estimator to estimate the conditional mean, the sample weighting will tend to inflate the variance of . To account for this inflation we replace n by an effective sample size, n*, which will be less than n when there is inflation. Then n*f(x) becomes an effective sample size for the estimation at x with v(x)/n*f(x) multiplied by h−1R(K1) approximating the variance for at x.
We obtain n* by dividing n by a design-effect factor. This factor is obtained by first considering a design effect at an x, , which is the variance of the conditional mean estimator with sample weighting divided by the variance without sampling weighting. We estimate by estimating
Here the superscript " " is used to denote that a method is used for choosing a bandwidth for and that does not take account of the sample weighting (e.g., bandwidth selection procedure ; see Ruppert et al.[15]). If we assume that the variance for the yi's is constant, i.e., independent of x, and ignore any effects from possible stratification and cluster sampling of the sample design on the variance of the conditional mean estimators, then we can estimate by . (An alternative estimation of the design effect that takes into account the stratification and clustering of the sample design can obtained by using a replication method (e.g., jackknife variance estimation) for estimating the variance of the conditional mean [14]. However, replication methods could entail considerable computing in this application.) An estimate of the effective sample size n* is then obtained by first choosing a set G of equally spaced x values distributed over the range of x's to evaluate the estimates of . We use the median of the over G, , to represent the design effect for estimating over the range of x. The effective sample size is then estimated by
An implicit assumption in this calculation is that the design effect is approximately constant over the x's so that the density f(x) does enter into the computation of n*.
In the survey setting there is also a choice as to what distribution to integrate v(x)/nf(x) over for the variance term in (8). We choose to integrate over the unweighted f(x) (dF(x)), i.e, the density for the sample not the population. (We do the same for integrating the bias-squared term that is discussed next.) By doing the integration in this way we minimize the MISE for our sample not for the population. In other words, our objective is to use a bandwidth to obtain a conditional mean curve that is optimally smooth for the sample at hand not for the population that we do not fully observe.
Next we considered the effect of the sample weights on estimating the bias-squared term in expression (8), in particular the term θ = ∫ m" (x)2dF(x). The sample weights can be incorporated in the estimation of m" (x) and/or of F(x), but we chose not to do this for the following reason. As we explained earlier, we chose to use the unweighted density of X so we will focus only on the effect of using the sample weights in estimating m" (x). We explore this by incorporating the sample weights in the estimation of θ by using to estimate m(x) for computing m" (x), and compared this to the estimate of θ using to estimate m(x) for computing m" (x). We used a Monte Carlo simulation (not shown) to make the comparison. In this simulation, we used as our bandwidth for computing the bandwidth selection procedure recommended by Ruppert et al. [15] that is based on (9). We modified for computing by substituting n* (given by (10)) for n in the computation of , denoted by ; see Ruppert et al. [15] for further details about computing . We found that there was little improvement in the estimation of MISE when using the weighted estimator of θ compared to the unweighted one. This appeared to be due to the variability of the estimator of m"(x) employed by Ruppert et al. [15] in their bandwidth selection procedure. This variability swamped any effect of the sample weighting in the estimation of m" (x). Therefore, in what follows we will use unweighted estimates of the m" (x) in the estimation of θ.
In the nonsurvey setting, Yu and Jones [12] proposed an automatic bandwidth selection strategy for estimating conditional percentiles using single and double-kernel methods. Their bandwidth selection procedure for the single-kernel conditional percentile estimator requires a bandwidth for the conditional mean be selected first. As suggested by Yu and Jones [12], we use as the bandwidth selection procedure for the conditional mean. Next the conditional mean bandwidth is modified according to the percentile being estimated. To obtain a bandwidth in the x direction to be used for the conditional pth percentile single-kernel estimator, we follow Yu and Jones [12] and use
where ϕ (·) and Φ(·) are the normal density and distribution function, respectively. For the double-kernel estimator of the conditional percentile, Yu and Jones [12] use the same for smoothing in the x direction as was used for the single-kernel estimator and then they suggest a method that depends only on p and for obtaining , the bandwidth estimator for smoothing in the y direction:
A conditional percentile methodology should be scale invariant for both the x and y data. The automatic bandwidth selection procedure for bandwidth h1(p)in the x-axis direction used for the single- and double-kernel procedures is scale invariant since is scale invariant. Unfortunately, the automatic bandwidth selection procedure for obtaining the bandwidth in the y-axis direction, as suggested by Yu and Jones [12], is not scale invariant. An implicit assumption made by Yu and Jones [12] is that the x and y data have the about the same scale (i.e., the x and y data have approximately equal standard deviation). Limited simulations that we have conducted appear to support this assumption (not shown). To overcome this scale problem for obtaining the bandwidth , we rescale the y data by the simple transformation , where SD(x) and SD(y) denote the estimated standard deviation of the x and y data, respectively. The estimate for the pth conditional percentile for the untransformed scale of the y data can be obtained by back-transforming the double-kernel estimate, i.e., .
The single or double-kernel methods have a serious drawback for estimating percentiles other than the median. The larger the bandwidth associated with the x-axis the more the percentiles will be biased away from the median, even if the relationship of the percentiles and x was linear (but not horizontal). This is because the changing values of the conditional percentiles as a function of x causes the spread of y values weighted by the kernel to be larger when a larger bandwidth is considered and thereby increasing and decreasing the estimated percentiles that are greater and less than the median, respectively [14].
To avoid this bias when estimating conditional percentiles other than the median, we apply the similar approach of Korn and Graubard [11] for "centering" the y data about the median before estimating the conditional percentiles: We first estimate the conditional median using either the single or double-kernel estimator. For example, in case of the double-kernel estimator the conditional median estimator is . Let . To estimate a conditional percentile greater than the median, say the 90th percentile, we use the same conditional percentile method as used to estimate the median to estimate the conditional 90th percentile of the z's given x as , then the desired conditional 90th percentile is estimated by . This modification applies to conditional percentiles less than the median in the obvious fashion and similarly applies to the single-kernel method.
In the Methods section, we describe a median correction to reduce the bias of conditional percentile estimates and the proposed design-effect adjusted bandwidth in the survey setting. In this section, two simulation studies evaluate these techniques. In these simulations we use a normal kernel in the x-direction and a uniform kernel in the y-direction.
The datasets are generated using a simple quadratic model with
where Xi ~ UNIF(−.5,5.5) and with ei ~ N(0,.2). The function of bi is specified such that the curves for the true percentile values of Y are similar to the observed growth curves of the 2000 CDC BMI-for-age, whose BMI distribution is skewed to the right for a given age and has increasing spread for older ages. We generated 1,000 datasets of sample sizes n=500. The mean of the 1,000 double-kernel percentile estimates with and without median correction were compared to the true percentile values for percentiles p=.05, p=.5 and p=.95. The results for X ranging from 0 to 5 are shown in Figure 1. The curve for the true percentile values of Y is close to the median corrected curve while the uncorrected conditional percentile curve tends to be higher or lower than the true percentile curves for the 95th and 5th percentiles especially for X less than 3.5. As expected, without the median correction the bias appears to be greater when the slope of the true percentile curve is steeper.
A second simulation study was conducted to evaluate our proposed approach for selecting a bandwidth, , for a local-linear kernel conditional mean estimator for sample weighted survey data as described in section 2.3.1. This bandwidth is important because we follow the approach of Yu and Jones [12] to use it to subsequently select the bandwidths for the conditional percentile estimators. In this simulation, the quadratic model (13) was employed to generate 10,000 datasets of sample sizes n=500 of (X, Y) observations. In addition, we generated noninformative sample weights for the observations in each dataset by assigning sample weights with value 1 to a random nine-tenths of the observations of each generated dataset and assigning sample weights with value 50 to the remaining one-tenth of the sample. This results in a design effect of approximately 7 for estimating the conditional mean. We computed the conditional mean estimator for sample weighted data in two ways: We computed using (which uses the sample weights) for determining the bandwidth and compared it to using (which does not use the sample weights).
The mean square errors for the two conditional mean estimators are displayed for a selected set of x's in Table 1. The values for x were chosen closer together at the ends of the interval to evaluate better the edge effects. The MSE of at each x was lower for bandwidths determined by than for , particularly near the edges. Using these same simulated datasets, we also compared the MSE of the single-kernel conditional percentile estimators with bandwidths and . The results are shown in Table 2 for the 25th, 50th, 75th, and 95th percentiles. For most values of x, the single-kernel conditional percentile estimators with have lower MSE than that with across different percentile values.
U.S. national growth charts consisting of a series of percentile curves of various measures of body size (e.g., height and body weight) in children and adolescents were first constructed in 1976 by NCHS [2]. These charts provided reference values that are an important clinical tool for health professionals for assessing the appropriate development of children in the U.S. and throughout the world. In 2000 CDC revised the growth charts for U.S. boys and girls and included additional charts for BMI for ages 2 to 20 years old [16]. These charts were created to replace the weight-for-age charts. The data used in the revision comes from the National Health Examination Survey (NHES) II (1963–65) and III (1966–70), and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) I (1971–74), II (1976–80), and III (1988–94). The sample designs of these surveys are stratified, multistage probability samples of the civilian, noninstitutionalized population in the 48 contiguous states (NHES II, NHES III, NHANES I) or all 50 states (NHANES II, NHANES III). Each of the surveys has sample weights that are a combination of the inverse of the rates of sample selection, and nonresponse and poststratification adjustments.
The construction of the most recent CDC percentile curves of BMI-for-age involved a three-step procedure [3]. In the first step, BMI values were grouped by age into 6-month intervals for ages 2 to 20 years and sample-weighted empirical percentiles were computed for each age group for the percentiles of interest (3rd, 5th, 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 85th, 90th, and 97th). In the second step, each of these empirical percentiles was then smoothed across age using local weighted regression [17] with a tricubic kernel weight function. The bandwidths for the local weighted regression varied by age and sex; for details see Kuczmarski et al.[3]. Differential population sizes among the age groups were not accounted for in this smoothing. In the third step "The smoothed percentile curves obtained through LWR [local weighted regression] were then fit by a 4-degree polynomial to achieve parametric percentiles." [3]
A public use data file called NHANES_GROWTHDATA was provided to us by NCHS. This data file corresponds to the data used to create the 2000 CDC Growth Charts. The file includes the BMI values along with the sample weights of 18,592 boys and 18,779 girls with ages 18–305 months. The curves of the conditional percentiles corresponding to the single and double-kernel methods with the median correction, and bandwidths and (that incorporate the sample weights in the bandwidth selection along with a scale adjustment for ) are presented in Figures 2 and and33 along with the 2000 CDC BMI-for-age curves. (The kernel percentile curves are plotted beyond age 20 to age 23.) The design effect due to the sample weights was same for boys and girls, , and resulted in effective sample sizes of n* = 10,387 (=18,592/1.79) boys and 10,491 (=18,779/1.79) girls and in the bandwidth for the conditional mean curves of 8.48 and 9.27 months for boys and girls, respectively.
In general, the shape of the single-kernel curves is similar to the double-kernel ones, but the expected greater roughness of the single-kernel curves is evident (Figure 2). The CDC curves and the single and double-kernel curves for the conditional percentiles generally track together (Figures 2 and and3).3). However, there appears to be important systematic differences between the kernel and CDC curves. For example, the nadirs for CDC curves tend to be lower than those for the kernel curves where BMI decreases until approximately 4.5 to 6.5 years depending upon the percentile. The nadir discrepancy between the CDC curves and kernel curves appear to be larger for girls than for boys. Among the boys for ages beyond the nadir, the percentiles increase approximately linearly for the CDC growth curves whereas the kernel curves show nonlinear trajectories particularly in the higher and lower percentiles. Among the girls for ages beginning at about 11 to 13 years the kernel curves tend to be higher than the CDC curves across the different percentiles. Another major difference between the kernel and CDC curves appears near the oldest ages between 19 and 20 years that suggests the CDC curves may be oversmoothed. Among the boys, the 2000 CDC growth curves show an approximately linear increase in BMI in the older ages whereas the kernel curves show a plateauing of BMI starting at about 18 to 19 years. For the girls, the 2000 CDC growth curves for percentiles above the 50th percentile show an approximately linear increase in BMI in the older ages whereas the kernel curves show a plateauing of BMI starting at about 16–17 years. In order to further evaluate the differences in the patterns of growth in BMI between the curves, we plotted BMI-for-age using the kernel methods for ages 20–23 years. The increase of BMI for older ages, as expected, is not as fast as the earlier ages, especially for the extreme percentiles. Because of the upward trajectory of the CDC BMI-for-age curves up to age 20, these curves give the impression that the children at older ages will increase their BMI as they age beyond 20 years and do not show the leveling off of the curves at ages 18–20.
The standard errors in Figure 4 for the double-kernel percentile curve were estimated using 200 random half-sample replications where one PSU was randomly selected from the two (sample) PSUs in each (sample) stratum from each survey to form a half-sample replicate [14]. The five national surveys used to develop the growth curves have two sample PSUs for each sample stratum except for the first ten strata in NHANES I where the entire stratum was a PSU (called a certainty stratum). In order to form two (pseudo-)PSUs in these strata, we followed a standard survey research approach by randomly dividing the next smaller sample units (segments) in these stratum into two groups per stratum [14]. The strata were combined across the surveys by concatenating them to form a total of 156 strata, each now with two PSUs. Each half-sample were used to estimate a replicate double-kernel smoothed percentile curve. Following the recommendation of Korn and Graubard [14], the bandwidth used for the replicate double-kernel estimates is the same as the bandwidth used for the kernel estimates for the original data. The variances were estimated from these 200 half-sample replicates [14]. Figure 4 presents the standard error of 85th and 95th double-kernel percentile estimates for age among U.S. children. In general, standard error increases with age, and is less than 0.4 for the 85th percentile and less than 1 for the 95th percentile.
To test statistically the difference between the CDC and the double-kernel growth curves, we need to estimate the variances for differences between corresponding points for the CDC and double-kernel growth curves. As described below, this requires re-estimating both sets of curves from half-sample replicates of the data. We were unable to do this because some of the exact details of the construction of the CDC growth curves were not described and the CDC computer programs for estimating the curves are not available. Therefore, in Figure 4, we provide estimates for the standard errors of the points on 85th and 95th percentile for only the double-kernel curves. Because both the CDC and the double-kernel curves have similar shapes and are estimated using the same data, the covariance between the two sets of estimates should be large resulting in quite small standard errors for the differences between the curves.
Recently the 2000 CDC percentile curves were used as reference curves with the recent NHANES 2003–2006 sample for obtaining the most current U.S. prevalence estimates of children and adolescents with a high BMI, i.e., a BMI at or above the 85th or 95th percentiles for age [9]. In this application we compare the prevalence estimates using our double-kernel percentile curves to those using the 2000 CDC percentile curves (Table 3). Prevalence estimates are presented for the same sex, racial/ethnic, and age groups as Ogden et al. [9], except that the last age group (12–19 years) was further partitioned into 12–15 years and 16–19 years so that there were approximately same sample sizes across age groups. Design-based standard errors (computed using Taylor linearization variance estimation, SUDAAN [18]) of the prevalence estimates and two-sided p-values for differences in the prevalence based on the two percentile curves are presented by taking into account the variability from the NHANES 2003–2006 data but assuming no variability in either the 2000 CDC or the double-kernel percentile curves. This was the same assumption used by Ogden et al. [9] in their estimates of standard errors and is the assumption used whenever the 2000 CDC percentile curves are used as reference curves.
For 2–5 years olds, the CDC prevalence estimates for children at or above the 85th and 95th percentiles tend to be larger. For 6–11 years, the double-kernel estimates are close to the CDC estimates and most differences between the two estimates are within 1%. For 12–15 and 16–19 years, the boys and girls show different patterns. For boys the two sets of estimates are similar, but for the girls the CDC estimates for 12–15 years tend to estimate higher prevalence compared to the double kernel estimates, particularly for the 85th percentile; while the CDC estimates for girls in 16–19 years are consistently smaller than the double-kernel estimates. These findings are consistent with the appearance of the curves in Figure 3.
We modified the double-kernel method of Yu and Jones [12] for estimating conditional percentile curves in order to re-estimate the U.S. BMI-for-age percentiles curves for children and young adults. Because the data used to compute the BMI percentile curves came from national surveys with sample weighting, the estimation of the percentile curves was modified to incorporate these sample weights so that the percentiles curves would closely approximate percentile curves of the populations from which the samples were selected. The advantage of our percentile curves is that they are estimated using a nonparametric method that does not make modeling assumptions, as opposed to the partially parametric method used in the generation of the 2000 CDC percentile curves. An attribute of the double kernel method is that its estimated percentiles curves will not cross or touch each other (Yu and Jones [12]). Another advantage is that the procedure is automatic so that standard errors can be estimated using re-sampling methods such as bootstrap.
The emphasis of this paper is on nonparametric estimation. However, there are parametric-based methods with the LMS method of Cole and Green [19] being one of the more popular ones. For growth curves analyses, the LMS method relies on the age-specific measurements being transformed to normality using Box-Cox transformation, an assumption that may be questionable. However, the LMS method can provide very smooth age-specific percentile curves using a penalized likelihood estimation method along with age-specific curves for the Box-Cox power parameter, mean, and the coefficient of variation used in the data transformation that can be of substantive interest. Reference percentile growths curves are expected to be visually smooth [19]. The double kernel method produces smooth curves but can be made even smoother by either overriding the automatic bandwidth to widen it or by fitting splines through the points on the percentile curves. Gannoun et al. [20] and Wei et al. [21] provide comprehensive reviews of conditional percentile estimation, in general, and for use in estimating growth curves. A recent parametric method of Jones and Yu [22] uses a general class of distributions with exponential tails to produce quite percentile curves. Another useful alternative approach to kernel methods for developing percentile curves uses cubic B-spline basis functions [21]. This approach is quite flexible for capturing particular growth features such as the pubertal growth spurt, but it requires subjective placement of knots in the appropriate parts of the curves. Koenker [23] provides a comprehensive review of the development and application of parametric and nonparametric quantile regression methods.
Different characteristics were observed between our curves and those generated by CDC. The nadirs of the CDC curves tend to be lower than they are for the kernel curves, particularly for the higher percentiles. With increasing age beyond the age of the nadirs, the kernel curves show more nonlinearity than the CDC curves. At the upper end of the age range, the CDC curves for the boys and the CDC curves at or above the 50th percentile for the girls increase at a near constant rate whereas the kernel curves show a leveling off. This leveling off also appears to be evident from the CDC's empirical BMI percentiles [3]. We applied our 85th and 95th percentile curves as reference values for estimating the 2003–2006 prevalence of children who have a high BMI-for-age by gender, age and race/ethnicity groups. Many of our prevalence estimates differed significantly from those based on the using the 2000 CDC 85th and 95th percentile curves as reference values, indicating how differences in the shapes of these curves can affect their use in overweight research.
We made several simplifying assumptions about the survey sample design in our modification of the bandwidth selection procedure, . First, we assumed that the sample weights were noninformative for Y given x. Also, the estimation of the design effect, by further assumes that the conditional variances of the yi's are constant and that the effect of any stratification or clustering in the sample design can be ignored. In practice for biological processes such as growth, stratifying by gender or other variables and conditioning on an important predictor such as age will considerably diminish the informativeness of the weights and other aspects of the sample design. Under these assumptions, simulations showed that our modified bandwidth procedure usually attained smaller MSE than choosing a bandwidth without regard to sample weighting. As with Yu and Jones [12], our modified bandwidth selection method provides a fixed bandwidth for smoothing along the x-axis that is applied to the entire range of x values for the single and double-kernel methods (i.e, bandwidths do not vary by the x). It would be useful to consider bandwidth selection procedures that allow the bandwidths to change with x in order to adjust them for differential precision of the estimated conditional mean/percentile with respect to x. For example, one would expect the precision to vary with x when the numbers of observations changes with x. This type of generalization in the bandwidth selection procedure is an area of further research.
In conclusion, we have re-estimated conditional percentile curves for BMI for U.S. boys and girls who are 2 to 20 years of age using data from combining five national health examination surveys as was used by the CDC to produce their percentile curves. These re-estimated curves show differences from the partially parametric curves published by the CDC that significantly alters estimates of the prevalence of children with high BMI-for-age in the U.S.
Derivation of equation (4) from equation (3)
Using a uniform [−1, 1] kernel density, the expression (4):
Because I{Q(x) − h2 < yj ≥ Q(x) + h2} = 1 − I{yj ≥ Q(x) + h2} − I{yj ≤ Q(x) − h2},
where .
PubMed Central Canada is a service of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) working in partnership with the National Research Council's national science library in cooperation with the National Center for Biotechnology Information at the U.S. National Library of Medicine(NCBI/NLM). It includes content provided to the PubMed Central International archive by participating publishers.


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Carlo "Neo" Prater Related News
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subset: commoncrawl


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prefix Attribute
Applies To: Windows Server 2008
The prefix attribute specifies the logical name that refers to the namespace within the current or referenced ADMX file.
The prefix attribute must be unique within this ADMX file. It is a good idea to keep this name unique to all ADMX files to avoid confusion. One method for naming the logical name is to use the ADMX file name as the logical name; for example, use example1 as the prefix in the example1.ADMX file.


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What I love about reading, or perhaps art in general, is that we all interpret things differently. There is nothing quite like watching someone's vision of a book on the screen. Below are ten books to read before you see the movie: The Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais Read full book description Amazon customer rating: 4 out of 5… Read More
25 Gingerbread Activities for Kids: Sweet + Playful Ideas for Children
Run, run, fast as you can! See the best from Pinterest below, if you're a gingerbread fan. I'd ask my daughter, "Again? Are you sure?" When she was a preschooler, she was obsessed with The Gingerbread Man after doing a project at Montessori. I loved when she'd sing "Run, run, fast as you can. You can't catch me, I'm the… Read More
The Next 7 Must-Read Fiction Books On My List
Here are the last five books I read… Here are the next few titles that have caught my eye. Have you read any of them? 1. Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline Read Full Book Description Amazon customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 Stars 2. Leaving Time: A Novel by Jodi Picoult Read Full Book Description Amazon customer rating: 4.3… Read More
Summer Boredom Busters: 101 Kids Activities
The ultimate collection of summer boredom busters: the NEW 101 Kids Activities book. No, it's my turn. Give it back. STOP IT. It's mine. I turned around expecting to see my girls arguing over a toy. Instead, I found them fighting over a book. They had managed to get their hands on 101 Kids Activities That Are The Bestest, Funnest… Read More
30+ Awesome Dinosaur Activities for Kids … ROAR!
Roar! Are your kids dinosaur obsessed? Does he stomp around pretending to be a tiny-armed T-Rex. Below are 30+ AWESOME dinosaur activities for kids: crafts, sensory trays, books to read, and more. Our girls recently went to a mid-day fossil excavation. It had been POURING all morning and they were starting to feel a bit cooped up. I remembered that… Read More
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Cupid is hiding around the corner. Take a moment today to reserve some new books from your local library! Below are 100 kids' books about LOVE for Valentine's Day. See the collection of titles. Last spring the girls and I went for a hike on a warm afternoon. When we got into the shade of the woods, there was a… Read More
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Like many people, I got to know this series through the anime, then discovered there was a game being localized by MangaGamer and so I discovered visual novels, my favorite game genre nowadays.
Higurashi, then, was far more than just a series or a game to me, it set the standards by which I compared all visual novels to it. It's tough experiencing a masterpiece as your first taste a genre, because you'll find afterwards, they'll be disappointing.
Higurashi was my religion for a while. I extolled how amazing it is, how good, the mystery's, the suspense, the tenseness, the plot and characters becoming more involved with each installment. Mind you, Higurashi is still one of my favorite VN's and it won't be dethroned that easily. Might be because of nostalgia, or maybe, it's just because it's that good.
Mind you, that evaluation is mixed with said nostalgia. I can't escape that, but even now whenever I think of Higurashi, I can remember scenes and how relieved I was when I finished and finally knew how that whole fuckery came to be, and if everyone was okay.
Higurashi was very well marketed and sold. For those that don't know, because this is old, Higurashi is an horror and suspense VN but got sold to fans of galge/girl's dating-sim. It was made so the first part was like a typical, normal game, with these cute girls, and then the twist happens and it mind-fucked everyone. In fact, the very art was done to emulate galge ones, so that when troll faces pop out, you know you're in dip shit.
It was a stroke of genius for 07th Expansion, because it quickly became a cult hit which grew with each installment, until it finally received a manga and an anime. Prior to Higurashi, 07th Expansion was a small company doing card illustrations, and was as underground as a doujin company is.
This can be found everywhere, if you'd search, but I'll tell how Higurashi happened. Call me a nerd, which I am, but I like knowing these things and telling them.
07th Expansion was back then a company made of 3-4 people, Ryuuk was the writer and artist, his brother was the programmer and his friend did the website. Said friend encouraged Ryuuk to turn Higurashi, which was a play Ryuuk had written before, into a game because he really liked it. So we can thank him for Higurashi and 07th Expansion existing as a game maker.
I'm sure you'll find names and more details if you search for this story, because it's been a long while since I've read it, and I know it because I'm particularly passionate about those that impress me.
This hasn't been a review of the game, but it's a bit of the journey I have with the game. There's also not a lot of things I can say, considering how wildly known the anime is. I will say though that if you liked the anime, I implore you to play the games. I don't care if you play using the new sprites, or Ryuuk's (which I prefer), but you really must. The anime is a watered down version of the games, they also invented an explanation for the final that was ridiculous and wasn't the real one. The games are worth it. The atmosphere and tenseness of scenes are through the roof, and I was floored by the mysteries and their conclusions.
This isn't an horror game like Corpse Party, where there's blood and graphics. Here it's written and described, and enhanced by the OST and sound effects to make a deeply involving, absorbing game that will stick in your mind.
Safe to say, if you liked Umineko you'll like Higurashi, but not if you were fonder of the trolls and fantasy side of things. Higurashi is not an epic tale of fantasy and magic. In Higurashi, it's realistic and down to earth, with a dash of fantasy and absurd to enhance the mysteries and suspense.
This was a bit of a trip down memory lane, but I hope you enjoyed it as much as I liked!
Happy gaming everyone and keep on figuring out those mysteries ヽ(*⌒∇⌒*)ノ
Have you heard about this game before? Have you played it? If so, I'd love to know what you think of it!
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All Android applications categories
One Direction are an English-Irish pop boy band based in London, consisting of members Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson. They signed with Simon Cowell's record label Syco Records after being formed and finishing third in the seventh series of British television singing competition The X Factor in 2010.
Harry Edward Styles, born 1 February 1994 (age 18), was the lead singer for the band White Eskimo with band members lead guitarist Haydn Morris, bass guitarist Nick Clough and drummer Will Sweeny. They had once entered a Battle of the Bands competition, which they won.As a child, Styles loved singing, noting Elvis Presley as one of his influences.He also cites Presley for his musical beginnings.Styles also cites contemporaries, Foster the People, Coldplay and Kings of Leon among his influences.Styles states that The X Factor gave him "a lot more" confidence as a performer.Styles says that he often looks to Coldplay front man Chris Martin for inspiration when performing on stage.Styles also states that The Beatles had an influence on him growing up, as his father would play their music.
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"This multivocal medley of texts provides a long overdue discussion in depth of Faith Ringgold's work. Even scholarly seriousness can't dampen the vitality of her story quilts.
In fact, it's catching."Lucy Lippard, author of Mixed Blessings: New Art in a Multicultural America
This book, which is designed to accompany a traveling exhibition of Faith Ringgold's work, gives young adults an opportunity to observe the stylistic, social, and political development of the African-American artist, writer, and storyteller. Essays by members of the art community present views of Ringgold's work and influences. The highlight of the book is the section of fine-quality full-color plates of the artist's unique and beautiful creations and the texts from several of her story quilts. The personal narratives cover an amazing array of topics as diverse as Jim Crow and Matisse's 'La Danse' The artist uses 'magic realism,' true artistic license, in many of her pieces, incorporating in the same scene historical figures who could never have met. Her successful journey through an often sexist and racist art world, while perhaps not magical, is impressive. Ringgold has not only created her own path; she has also provided young artists with a clear path and a direction to follow through her art and her words. -- Nancy Karst, Fairfax County Public Library


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And you shall love your fellow Jew like yourself
Vayikra (Leviticus) 19:18
The Torah commands us to love our fellow Jew like we love ourselves. This is one of the most important mitzvot, because many commandments depend on it. For example, if one loves his fellow Jew then he would not steal from him, or hurt him in any other way.
A non Jew once came to the great sage Hillel saying, "I wish to convert on the condition that you teach me
the entire Torah "while I stand on one foot" - "in a very short time"." Hillel accepted him as a convert and
then told him, "What is hateful to you do not do to others, this is the entire Torah, everything else is
commentary, go and learn. Talmud, Shabbat 31a
In addition to the mitzvah to love one's fellow Jew, we are also commanded not to hate another Jew. This is one of the most serious sins.
You shall not hate your brother in your heart
Vayikra (Leviticus) 19:17
One reason why this is such a serious sin is because it can lead to the violation of many other prohibitions, from lashon hara (slanderous speech) to murder. Another reason why hating another Jew is such a serious sin is because G-d loves every Jew. How then can we hate a person that G-d loves?
Why was the first Temple destroyed? Because of three sins, idolatry, adultery, and murder... But the second Temple - when the Jews were
involved in Torah study, mitzvot, and doing kindness - why was the Temple destroyed? Because of the baseless hatred which existed at that
time. This teaches us that baseless hatred is considered equal to the three sins of idolatry, adultery, and murder. Talmud, Yoma 9b
Acts of love and kindness are so much a part of Jewish Law that the word "mitzvah" (commandment) is commonly used to mean any good deed. Jewish Law includes within it a blueprint for a just and ethical society, where no one takes from another or harms another or takes advantage of another, but everyone gives to one another and helps one another and protects one another.
The Ten Commandments command us not to murder. Jewish Law requires us to protect our fellow man. We are commanded not to leave a condition that may cause harm, to construct our homes in ways that will prevent people from being harmed, and to help a person whose life is in danger.
Jewish Law commands us to help those in need, both in physical need and financial need. The Torah commands us to help a neighbor with his burden, and help load or unload his beast, to give money to the poor and needy, and not to turn them away empty handed.
Jewish Law forbids us from cheating another or taking advantage of another. Jewish Law regarding business ethics and practices is extensive. The Torah regulates conduct between a businessman and his customer. For example, not to use false weights and measures, not to do wrong in buying and selling, not to charge interest. The Torah also regulates conduct between a business man and his employee. For example, to pay wages promptly, to allow a worker in the field to eat the produce he is harvesting, and not to take produce other than what you can eat from the employer while harvesting.
Jewish Law forbids us from wronging another person in speech. The Torah commands us not to tell lies about a person, nor even uncomplimentary things that are true. To speak the truth, to fulfill our promises, and not to deceive others.
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RRB SSE Recruitment 2017 : Are you searching for Railway Jobs? Here is a good news for all you. Railway Recruitment Board, Indian Railways are going to fill up 4500 Senior Section Engineer posts. Job seekers who are interested and posses requirements as specified in the notification can fill the RRB SSE Application Form by visiting the official portal www.indianrailways.gov.in. Online application process towards this notification will begins very soon and all the aspirants are advised to subscribe to this website for further updates. Candidates who have obtained B.E/B.Tech degree from a University/Institute recognized by Government can register for Railway Recruitment Board Senior Section Engineer Recruitment 2017.
RRB Senior Section Engineer Recruitment
Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) recruit the eligible and potential applicants into 21 RRB Zones as per the requirement. To apply for RRB Senior Section Engineer Recruitment, aspirants must hold minimum age of 18 years and maximum age of 34 years. Below we have included a step by step application process to help job seekers in filling the application form against RRB Senior Section Engineer Jobs 2017. Candidates can download the RRb SSE Exam Syllabus 2017 by visiting the official website. All the useful information related RRB SSE Recruitment 2017 like age, qualifications, salary details, RRB SSE Selection process, application fee, etc., are provided in this post.
RRB SSE Recruitment 2017 details
Name of the Organization: Railway Recruitment Board
Name of the Post: Senior Section Engineer
No. of Posts: 4500
Last date to apply: updated soon
Official Website: indianrailways.gov.in
|Railway Jobs 2017
|Latest Govt Jobs 2017
RRB SSE Recruitment 2017 Apply Online 4500 vacancies indianrailways.gov.in
Qualifications Required:
Candidates should have completed their Engineering degree from a recognized University/Institute in any relevant discipline to register for RRB SSE Jobs 2017.
Age Limit:
Job seekers should hold age between 20 to 34 years as on application date. Relaxations in age will be applicable for job aspirants who belongs to reserved category as per the RRB norms.
Pay Scale: Rs. 9300 to 34,800/- per month
Application Fee:
Job contenders who are applying for RRB Senior Section Engineer Recruitment should pay application fee through online mode.
- For general, OBC category applicants : Rs. 100/-
- For SC/ST/Ex-serviceman/Women or PH category applicants : No fee.
Selection Process:
Job hunters who have successfully complete the application process will be informed to take part in selection process. The selection committee of RRB will select the desired applicants on the basis of performance in following rounds.
- Written Test.
- Interview.
RRB SSE Recruitment Apply Online, Online Application Process
All the job fighters who meets the qualifications and age requirements can apply for RRB SSE Vacancy 2017 though official website.
- Firstly, visit the official website of Railway Recruitment Board i.e., www.indianrailways.gov.in
- Go to Recruitment/Notification page by clicking the appropriate link.
- Select the "RRB SSE Recruitment Notification 2017" and click on the link.
- Read the original notification to get all required information.
- Now click the Apply Online link and fill the application form.
- Upload scanned documents and pay the application fee.
- Now submit the RRB Online Form and generate a hard copy of the same for future use.
RRB SSE Recruitment 2017 : Notification | Apply Online
Important dates:
- Online registration will be started from: updated soon
- Online registration process ends after : updated soon
Job seekers who have applied for RRB SSE Notification 2017 can get further updates like RRB SSE Admit Card 2017, RRb SSE Results 2017 from this website. Please use the direct links provided in the website to reach the admit card, results page. Above we have provided you with detailed information about Railway Recruitment Board SSE Recruitment. Job fighters who are facing any problems while submitting the applications can post a comment below.


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Good night from the side of a volcano
Mount Ruapehu Travel Blog› entry 28 of 40 › view all entries
Up until today, the weather has been absolutely amazing and beautiful, both in Australia and here in New Zealand. Today (at least temporarily) our fortunes have turned. We arrived a few hours ago at the Tongariro National Park, in which three active volcanoes sit: Mounts Ruapehy, Ngaruhoe, and Tongariro. The Tongariro Crossing is a long day-hike that is largely considered to be one of the most beautiful in the world.
Just one bit of trouble -- the rain and winds today might as well have been from a hurricane. Forecasters consistently have used the words "gale force winds," and trust me, from the howling and blowing, none of us disagrees with the weather-powers-that-be. Torrential sheets of rain and extraordinarily powerful winds that make your clothes billow like one of those poor Weather Channel personalities on location at some beach where a tropical storm is most certainly bound. We couldn't go on any of the walking paths, so today we have just chilled... a slow pace, relaxing by the fire in a ski lodge.
And speaking of skiing... there is a hig likelihood that we will have snow here in the morning. Fun, fun. I can't believe it's over 90 in Atlanta!! :)
More later...


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In the tradition of Memento and Inception comes a thrilling and scary young adult audiobook about blurred reality where characters in a story find that a deadly and horrifying world exists in the space between the written lines.
Seventeen-year-old Emma Lindsay has problems: a head full of metal, no parents, a crazy artist for a guardian whom a stroke has turned into a vegetable, and all those times when she blinks away, dropping into other lives so ghostly and surreal it's as if the story of her life bleeds into theirs. But one thing Emma has never doubted is that she's real. Then she writes "White Space", a story about these kids stranded in a spooky house during a blizzard. Unfortunately, "White Space" turns out to be a dead ringer for part of an unfinished novel by a long-dead writer. The manuscript, which she's never seen, is a loopy Matrix meets Inkheart story in which characters fall out of different books and jump off the page. Thing is, when Emma blinks, she might be doing the same and, before long, she's dropped into the very story she thought she'd written. Trapped in a weird, snow-choked valley, Emma meets other kids with dark secrets and strange abilities: Eric, Casey, Bode, Rima, and a very special little girl, Lizzie. What they discover is that they - and Emma - may be nothing more than characters written into being from an alternative universe for a very specific purpose. Now what they must uncover is why they've been brought to this place - a world between the lines where parallel realities are created and destroyed and nightmares are written - before someone pens their end.
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Incredibly difficult to follow
I have no idea. It is extremely difficult to follow and has way too many plot lines.
No, not at all! It has, however, turned me off of this author.
- Brandye
Thursday Next on Crack!
If you like Acid Trips then this book is for you.
Stop all the jumping around and finish one story line before you jump to the next.
All the voices sound the same to me.
It was way too confusing to cut anything out.
- Walter


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SUPER-DUPER CLÁSICO AND SUPERLIGA DEBUT IN HUGE WEEK FOR CHIVAS USA:The Red-and-White face the biggest week in team history with a pair of important games in domestic and international competition. First up is the second Honda Super Clásico of the 2008 season, with Chivas USA playing an "away" game at the Los Angeles Galaxy. The two teams are tied for first place in the Western Conference, and will battle for sole possession of the spot live on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday night. Then, Chivas USA makes its official international debut on Sunday, facing reigning CONCACAF and SuperLiga champions Pachuca in the Red-and-White's first group-stage match of the 2008 SuperLiga which pits top teams from Mexico and the United States against each other for a million dollar winner's prize. The match takes place at 7:00 p.m. PT on Sunday, July 13 at The Home Depot Center, will be broadcast live on TeleFutura. Tickets for the SuperLiga match can be purchased by calling 1-877-CHIVAS-1 or visiting www.cdchivasusa.com.
CHIVAS USA KICKS OFF SUPERLIGA VS. PACHUCA THIS SUNDAY, JULY 13:In the middle of the busiest stretch of the season, Chivas USA will soon start its participation in the 2008 SuperLiga, the second annual tournament between clubs from the United States and Mexico, whose winner will be awarded a million-dollar purse. Chivas USA will first face Pachuca CF, the 2008 CONCACAF Champions Cup winner, on Sunday, July 13 at The Home Depot Center. The Red-and-White will then face Santos Laguna, the current champions of the Mexican First Division, at The Home Depot Center on Wednesday, July 16, before facing the New England Revolution on July 20 in Chivas USA's first ever official match in Orange County, to be played at Titan Stadium on the campus of Cal State Fullerton. For season ticket and parking pass holders, the matches against Pachuca and Santos will be Bonus Games A and B. Tickets for any of the three group stage SuperLiga matches can be purchased by calling 1-877-CHIVAS-1 or visiting www.cdchivasusa.com.
CHIVAS USA LEAPS INTO FIRST WITH 1-0 WIN OVER SAN JOSE:Chivas USA's all-time leading scorer Ante Razov struck again on Saturday night at The Home Depot Center, when his perfectly placed 28-yard free kick hit the net in the 88th minute for the only goal of the Red-and-White's 1-0 win over the San Jose Earthquakes. Razov and defender Bobby Burling had both hit the post with shots earlier in the match, and the match looked set for a scoreless draw before the free kick broke the deadlock. Brad Guzan made four saves in net for Chivas USA, earning his fourth shutout of the season and lowering his goals-against-average to 1.36. The win moved the Red-and-White up in the Western Conference standings into a tie with the Los Angeles Galaxy, each team owning a 6-6-3 record with 21 points.
VOTE ANTE RAZOV FOR GOAL OF THE WEEK:For the first time this season, Chivas USA striker Ante Razov has been nominated for Goal of the Week on MLSnet.com. His 88th minute, game-winning free kick from 28 yards gave the Red-and-White a win on Saturday night against San Jose, his third goal of the season and 112th of his MLS career. To vote for Razov's goal, visit the and follow the Goal of the Week link to check out video of the strike!
SACHA KLJESTAN CHAT ON ESPN.COM TUESDAY:Enjoying his finest season to date with Chivas USA and with a potential trip to the Beijing Olympics on his list of goals, midfielder Sacha Kljestan will join ESPN.com for a web chat on Tuesday afternoon to preview Thursday night's Super Clásico against the Galaxy. Questions will be submitted by fans and answered by the midfielder, who leads the Red-and-White with five goals this season, and is also tied for first on the squad with three assists. To participate in the chat, or to read Kljestan's answers, log on to the ESPN.com chat site at 12:30 p.m. PT on Tuesday afternoon.
GALAXY UPDATE:The Los Angeles Galaxy's 2-1 loss on July 4 against the New England Revolution, combined with Chivas USA's 1-0 win over San Jose on July 5, set up a Honda Super Clásico that will pit the top two teams in the Western Conference against each other. The Galaxy owns a record of 6-6-3 (W-L-T), the same as Chivas USA, though the two teams have very different statistics, with the Galaxy scoring 33 goals and giving up 30, while the Red-and-White have scored 21 and given up 20. Leading the offense for the Galaxy are the top two scorers in the league, forwards Landon Donovan (11 goals) and Edson Buddle (10 goals), while midfielder David Beckham has added 5 goals and 6 assists. Goalkeeper Steve Cronin has been in net for every minute of the Galaxy's season, and has conceded 30 goals in 15 games, for a goals-against-average of 2.00.
CHIVAS-GALAXY SERIES HISTORY AND CONNECTIONS:Chivas USA and the Los Angeles Galaxy will meet for the 14th time in series history on Thursday night, with the Red-and-White owning a record of 3-8-2 (W-L-T) against its neighbors. After the Galaxy won the first five meetings between the teams, the series has been even; each team has a record of 3-3-2 since June of 2006. So far in 2008, the Galaxy won the first match between the teams, earning a 5-2 win on April 26 at The Home Depot Center. Landon Donovan leads his team in both goals and assists all-time against Chivas USA, with six of each, while Ante Razov has five goals and Sacha Kljestan has five assists against the Galaxy. Paulo Nagamura, who has played in all but one match for the Red-and-White this season, is the only player to have played for both teams in the Super Clásico, though Shavar Thomas was a member of the Galaxy before the 2007 season but never played an official match for the team.
'KICK-IT' THIS SATURDAY, JULY 12 AT GREEN MEADOWS RECREATION CENTER IN LOS ANGELES:'Kick-it at the Park L.A. with Chivas USA' continues this Saturday, July 12, with a clinic at the Green Meadows Recreation Center at 431 East 89th St. in Los Angeles. A series of four, 90-minute clinics kicks off at 9:00 a.m., followed by clinics at 10:45 a.m., 1:00 p.m. and 2:45 p.m. Run in conjunction with the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks, 'Kick-it' is a series of clinics that emphasize physical fitness, sports, and education for as many as 400 children at each of 40 locations throughout the year. A five-dollar fee gets participants 90 minutes of instruction, a voucher for a free ticket to a Chivas USA game, a t-shirt, soccer ball, and Certificate of Completion. Most recently, Chivas USA held a clinic at the Ritchie Valens Recreation Center at 10736 Laurel Canyon Blvd. in Pacoima on June 28. For more information on the program, or to register for a clinic, visit www.kickitatthepark.com.
CLAUDIO SUÁREZ AND JONATHAN BORNSTEIN NOMINATED FOR "TECATE PREMIOS DEPORTES":Chivas USA defenders Claudio Suárez and Jonathan Bornstein have been nominated for awards in the first annual "Tecate Premios Deportes" (Tecate Sports Awards), announced yesterday by Univision, the most-watched Spanish-language television network in America. The nominees have been selected for their talent, character and perseverance, as well as their contributions to and impact on the Hispanic community. The awards take place on Monday, July 14, at the historic Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California, and will be broadcast on the Univision Network on Sunday, July 20th. Suárez and Bornstein were each nominated by fans, online at Univision.com, to be part of the All-Star Soccer Team of the Year; Suárez at center back and Bornstein at left back.
CHIVAS USA SOCCER CAMPS AND TRYOUTS NOW UNDERWAY:Chivas USA's Soccer Camps, which also double as tryouts for the Chivas USA Youth Teams, are taking place throughout the summer at the Bell Gardens Sports Center in Bell Gardens, Calif. These camps will give players a chance to receive professional instruction from Chivas USA coaches, and could potentially lead to an invitation to join the Chivas USA U-18 or U-16 Teams, which participate in the United States Soccer Development Academy, or the highly competitive U-15 Team.
Schedule of 2008 Chivas USA Soccer Camps
Age Groups
|Mini Camp
|June 26-27
|6-9 p.m.
|Born 1991-94
|Bell Gardens Sports Center
|Mini Camp
|July 17
|9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
|Born 1994-96
|Bell Gardens Sports Center
|Mini Camp
|July 18
|9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
|Born 1991-93
|Bell Gardens Sports Center
|Summer Camp
|July 28-31
|9 a.m. - 2 p.m.
|Born 1991-94
|Bell Gardens Sports Center
|Mini Camp
|August 29-30
|6-9 p.m.
|Born 1991-94
|Bell Gardens Sports Center
SUPER CLÁSICO AND SUPERLIGA PREVIEWS ON THIS WEEK'S 'PASIÓN CHIVAS USA':Join Hipólito Gamboa and Rigoberto Cervantez this Thursday on W Radio 690 AM for a special 'Pasión Chivas USA,' live from The Home Depot Center before the Super Clásico between Chivas USA and the Galaxy. In addition to giving a thorough preview of the Super Clásico and speaking about the upcoming SuperLiga, Cervantez and Gamboa will also discuss tryouts for the Chivas USA Youth Teams and other youth initiatives. All this, opportunities to win tickets to Chivas USA matches, and much more on 'Pasión Chivas USA.'
'SOMOS CHIVAS USA' ON KAZA AZTECA 54 THIS SATURDAY AT 1:30 P.M. PT:This week's 'Somos Chivas USA' will air on KAZA Azteca 54 on Saturday, July 12, at 1:30 p.m. Featuring co-hosts Mara Almada and Antonio Rosique, 'Somos Chivas USA' gives viewers an inside look at the Red-and-White, including player features, match analysis and highlights, and much more. Tune in this Saturday for 'Somos Chivas USA!'
EXCLUSIVE VIDEOS ON CHIVAS USA'S OFFICIAL BLOG:Chivas USA's official blog, 'Dentro del Rebaño' (or 'Inside the Flock') is online with updated content from the team, including video previews of upcoming games, as well as post-match videos. Check soon for preview videos (one in English, one in Spanish) for the match against the San Jose Earthquakes. Check chivas-usa.blogspot.com today for the latest information on Chivas USA!
TEAM INJURY UPDATE:Chivas USA was without several players for Saturday night's game against the Red Bulls, including forward Alecko Eskandarian (sports hernia surgery), forward Maykel Galindo (sports hernia surgery), defender Lawson Vaughn (L ankle tendonitis), midfielder Raphaël Wicky (R calf strain), and defender Alex Zotinca (R knee ACL surgery). An up-to-date injury report is available here.
PACHUCA AND SANTOS IN CHIVAS USA'S INCREDIBLE $50 FIVE-GAME PACK:Fans looking to see Chivas USA in 2008 have an opportunity to watch the five biggest games of the season with the Chivas USA Five-Game Pack, Southern California's best sports entertainment value, with packages starting at just $50. A recent addition to the pack are a pair of highly anticipated SuperLiga matches against Pachuca CF and Santos, both of Mexico's First Division, in games to be played on July 13 and 16 at The Home Depot Center. Also included in the set are the August 14 Super Clásico against the Los Angeles Galaxy, a California Clásico against San Jose on August 23, and the closing game of the season, which doubles as Fan Appreciation night, Oct. 25 against the Houston Dynamo. For more information please call 1-877-CHIVAS-1 or visit www.cdchivasusa.com.
CHIVAS USA BIRTHDAYS:The Red-and-White have a pair of players celebrating birthdays in July, with both Alecko Eskandarian (July 9) and Dan Kennedy (July 22) turning 26 years old. Chivas USA defender Jim Curtin, an offseason acquisition from Chicago who has played eleven games (starting ten) as a center back this season, celebrated his 29th birthday on Monday, June 23rd, and Head Coach Preki celebrated his 45th birthday a day later on June 24.
CHIVAS USA SCHEDULE: JULY 8 - 20*Following is Chivas USA's latest schedule of travel, events, matches and practice sessions:
Tuesday, July 8: Practice, 10:00 a.m. PT, Field 4
Wednesday, July 9: Practice, 10:00 a.m. PT, Field 4
Thursday, July 10: Chivas USA '@' Los Angeles Galaxy, 8:00 p.m. PT, The Home Depot Center, Carson, Calif.
(TV: ESPN2, ESPN Deportes; Radio: W Radio 690 AM; Pregame shows start at 7:30 p.m. PT on ESPN2 and W Radio)
Red-and-White look for revenge in second Super Clásico of the season
Teams are currently tied for first place in the Western Conference with matching records of 6-6-3 (W-L-T)
Friday, July 11: Chivas USA Reserves '@' Los Angeles Galaxy Reserves, 10:00 a.m. PT, University Field 1
Saturday, July 12: Practice, 10:00 a.m. PT, Field 4
Sunday, July 13: Chivas USA vs. Pachuca CF (MEX), 7:00 p.m. PT, The Home Depot Center, Carson, Calif.
(TV: TeleFutura; Radio: W Radio 690 AM; Pregame show starts at 6:30 p.m. PT on W Radio)
Chivas USA plays its first ever match in an international tournament, facing the 2008 CONCACAF Champions Cup winner and reigning SuperLiga champion
Monday, July 14-Tuesday, July 15: TBD
Wednesday, July 16: Chivas USA vs. Santos Laguna (MEX), 7:00 p.m. PT, The Home Depot Center, Carson, Calif.
(TV: TeleFutura; Radio: W Radio 690 AM; Pregame show starts at 6:30 p.m. PT on W Radio)
Chivas USA faces the current Mexican First Division champions Santos Laguna in the second of three group-stage SuperLiga matches
Thursday, July 17-Saturday, July 19: TBD
Sunday, July 20: Chivas USA vs. New England Revolution (SuperLiga), 5:00 p.m. PT, Titan Stadium, Fullerton, Calif.
(TV: TeleFutura; Radio: W Radio 690 AM; Pregame show starts at 6:30 p.m. PT on W Radio)
Chivas USA to play its first-ever official match in Orange County, facing the Revolution at Titan Stadium on the campus of Cal State Fullerton
Final group stage match of the SuperLiga for Chivas USA
*Subject to change. Unless otherwise noted, all times Pacific, all events scheduled for The Home Depot Center, with media access provided after games and training sessions. For latest information, or if you plan on attending a training session, please contact Chivas USA's Communications Department.


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You probably heard the story about Alex Band who was abducted and beaten severally on Sunday, the 34-year-old singer was walking from his hotel in Lampeer, Mich. to a nearby convenience store when he was ambushed by a group who pulled him into a van where the was beaten, Alex was later dumped at nearby train tracks, where he was ultimately discovered and taken to a hospital, his condition is unknown.
For a while Alex Band kept out of the public light but his fans managed to follow his steps, what he had been doing with his career and who was he dating. He and his first wife Jennifer Sky, 36, an actress we all remember from her role as Sarah Webber in General Hospital got married on July 25th, 2004 they split up in 2009 and by February, 2010 he was already engaged to pretty Kristin Blanford.
Pretty Kristin Blanford who clearly has a thing for Ryan Gosling is also known as Kristin J Colby, she got married to Band on May 1, 2011. Kristin appeared on his music video for Euphoria and "Tonight".
Kristin and her famous hubby divorced a month before celebrating their first anniversary. Kristin a Los Angeles Valley College graduate, worked as assistant Manager at AMB Records and currently with Killer Tracks as Marketing Associate,Kristin resides in Los Angeles.
As for Alex we dunno if he is currently dating someone, a couple of months about it was reported he was hit with asexual harassment lawsuit after he allegedly making repeated advances to his secretary Tali Sigalus.
Find Alex Band's ex-wife Kristin Blanford on Twitter here and Facebook here,.
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iPhone's Siri Sings 'Stairway to Heaven' [VIDEO]
The latest iPhone, the 4S, has a lot of cool features but none are getting the attention that Siri is getting. Siri is described as an intelligent personal assistant that uses a natural language user interface to answer questions, make recommendations, and perform actions by delegating requests to a set of web services, and sing Led Zeppelin's 'Stairway to Heaven' apparently.
Subscribe to KOOL 101.7 on


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Search Result of Zomato
Home > > Search
News Search Result for 'Zomato'
Fashion Portal Roposo.com raises $5 million funding led by Tiger Global [Type: News]
Fashion-focused social network, Roposo.com today said they have raised USD 5 million funding led by technology venture investor Tiger Global. Roposo.com raised USD 5 million (over Rs 31 crore) series A investment led by the technology venture inv ...
Hyperlocal AskMe Grocery Looks To Expand Ops To 70 Cities [Type: News]
Although the food tech sector is grappling with slowing sales and high attrition, hyperlocal AskMe Grocery is looking to scale up. Ankit Jain, founder, the firm proposes to expand operations from 35 cities to 70 cities by March, 2016. ...
Food Delivery Startup Swiggy Raises 35M Dollar In Series C From RB Investments [Type: News]
Bangalore-based food ordering start-up Swiggy has raised $30 million in Series C round of funding from New York-based Harmony Partners and Singapore-based RB investments, a sign that the sector might be recovering from the troubles of 2015. ...
Food Ordering Firm Tinyowl Roadrunnr To Merge To Take On Swiggy Zomato [Type: News]
Food ordering firm TinyOwl Technology Pvt. Ltd and logistics firm Carthero Technologies Pvt. Ltd (Roadrunnr) will start operating as a combined company called Runnr by the end of May, according to three people directly involved with the deal. ...
Food-Tech Startup First Eat Get 200K Dollar In Seed Investment [Type: News]
Food-tech startup First Eat, run by F. E. Food Tech Pvt Ltd, get $200,000 (around Rs 1.4 crore) in seed investment from an undisclosed serial investor, who is an F&B entrepreneur in Gurgaon. The new capital will be used to expand operati ...
Internet First Restaurant Food Delivery Startup SpoonJoy Raises $1M From SAIF Partners [Type: News]
After raising angel funding from Sachin Bansal and others in December 2014, Bengaluru based food delivery startup, SpoonJoy has now raised $1 million from SAIF Partners. The new funding will be used to expand to Delhi and Mumbai in the next two month ...
Zomato introduces ads on the mobile app [Type: News]
Online restaurant search and discovery service Zomato has announced the introduction of advertisements on its mobile apps, marking a significant leap in the value it brings to restaurants advertising on Zomato. Users will now see in-line ads for ...
CarDekho plans to raise Rs300 crore at a pre-investment valuation of Rs1500 crore [Type: News]
Online auto classifieds player CarDekho, which bought Naspers-owned Gaadi.com last month, is in the market to raise up to Rs 300 crore in a fresh financing round, looking for a pre-investment valuation of over Rs 1,500-crore. The Sequoia Capital- ...
Zomato launches catering sections for Delhi NCR, Bangalore and Mumbai [Type: News]
Online review portal, Zomato has launched catering sections for Delhi NCR, Bangalore and Mumbai. The catering page on Zomato includes detailed description of cuisines, occasions, types of live counters, estimated price range, and the number of guests ...
Zomato acquires Urbanspoon for $60 mn, enters the US market [Type: News]
Online restaurant search and discovery service Zomato announced that it has acquired Urbanspoon for an estimated $60 million in an all-cash deal. This acquisition marks Zomato's entry into the United States. Now, Zomato is present in 22 countries acr ...
Why Aggregators will be the Next Force After eCommerce [Type: News]
Online shopping is child's play, or so, as claimed by the commercials from Flipkart and Amazon. In the last 5 years India has seen lot of activities in the eCommerce space. Various new companies have started, a few merged, some got acquired a ...
Online Photography Startup Canvera Digital Raises Rs 15 Cr From Info Edge [Type: News]
Bangalore-based online photography startup Canvera Digital Technologies Pvt Ltd has raised Rs 15 crores ($2.2 million) from Info Edge (India) Ltd, which runs consumer internet properties such as Naukri, 99acres, Jeevansathi and Shiksha. With ...
Roposo Raises $5 Million From Bertelsmann India Joins Tiger Global To Close Round [Type: News]
Roposo, fashion social network has raised funds worth US $5 million from Bertelsmann India Investments (BII), the strategic investment arm of the international media, services and education group. With this, Bertelsmann has closed the second leg of S ...
Info Edge invests Rs. 14 crore in Canvera Digital Tech & Happily Unmarried Marketing [Type: News]
Info Edge has invested an additional Rs 10 crore in Canvera Digital Technologies Pvt. Ltd. and Rs. 4 crore in Happily Unmarried Marketing Pvt. Ltd, reports the Hindu Business Line. Info Edge, which runs portals like naukri.com, jeevansathi.com, s ...
Zomato acquired Polands restaurant search service [Type: News]
Online restaurant guide, Zomato has acquired Poland\'s restaurant search service, Gastronauci, for an undisclosed sum as part of its ongoing expansion strategy in Europe, says a PTI report. This is the fourth global acquisition of the company wi ...
Rumours of Foodpanda to Acquire TinyOwl Fly Meanwhile India MD Rohit Chadda Steps Down [Type: News]
Foodpanda India managing director Rohit Chadda (Shown Above) has stepped down from the company to start a new mobile-based venture of his own. "I have personally decided to step aside from my role as MD of ...
Food Delivery Startup Swiggy Raises $7M From NVP DST [Type: News]
Food delivery startup Swiggy has raised an additional Rs 47 crore ($7 million) from existing investors Norwest Venture Partners, DST Global and Accel Partners citing a filing with the Registrar of Companies. The latest funding, which comes in four mo ...
Zomato rebrands itself and gets a new logo [Type: News]
Online and mobile restaurant search and discovery service, Zomato has unveiled its new logo and rebranding. In the company's official blogspot, Deepinder Goyal, Founder & CEO at Zomato informs the users, its new recruits and the advertisers ...
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South Australia's Premier, Mike Rann, called Mitsubishi's global president, Osamu Masuko, yesterday afternoon before a board meeting in Tokyo today which will consider the factory's future.
Mr Rann warned Australia would regard it as a breach of earlier agreements if Mitsubishi did not maintain production in Australia until 2010. But in an ominous note, Mr Rann said: "I've been assured by senior Mitsubishi management today that there is nothing additional that either the Australian or the South Australian government can do to influence tomorrow's decision."
The financial news service Bloomberg reported from Tokyo that three Mitsubishi executives had told it the plant would be closed because of poor sales of the locally built 380 sedan. Production would shift to Russia and China, although the executives, not named, said the timing of the closure was yet to be decided.
The federal Industry Minister, Kim Carr, said he was watching closely but local Mitsubishi management had told him no final decision had been made. Mitsubishi employs about 1700 workers at the Tonsley Park
assembly plant. Several hundred more jobs around Australia at firms manufacturing components would be jeopardised.
There has been recurring speculation about its future. Mitsubishi shut its Adelaide engine plant in 2004. A manufacturing shutdown would leave only Holden, Ford and Toyota making cars in Australia.
Production at Mitsubishi's factory has slumped from 59,000 cars in 1997 to 10,744 last year. Toyota's Melbourne factory built 130,000 last year, of which more than half were exported. Holden built 107,000, exporting 46,000.
Mr Rann said: "In talks today I have reiterated the state and federal governments' longstanding support which was accepted on condition of Mitsubishi's maintaining production until the end of 2010, and our expectation the agreement would be adhered to.
"My overriding priority is the workers and I have told Mitsubishi executives that any decision about the future of the plant must ensure that workers' interests are at the forefront."
It would be a blow to the Government's hopes to maintain a manufacturing base because of the importance of cars in generating research and development and training skilled workers. A Mitsubishi Australia spokeswoman, Lenore Fletcher, said: "It is accurate that we have been examining our options, but no decision has been made."
Drive Blog:
Imminent Mitsubishi announcement sad news
It's been a tumultuous few years for Mitsubishi, which today looks set to confirm what many thought was the inevitable – the shutdown of its Tonsley Park manufacturing plant in Adelaide.
Have your say now.


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Newly-formed FC Bolsover have been placed in the Central Midlands Football League North Division for the 2014/15 campaign.
Cliff Richard will chair and manage the semi-professional club at their home of Bolsover Sports and Social Club.
Richard held a similar position at FC Brimington in the Chesterfield and District Sunday Football League side last season.
He has been impressed by many players from the league's seven divisions, who he hopes will make up the core of the squad.
"It's a big challenge," he said. "It always will be when you make the step up a level in football. I've looked at players from across the league and feel that we will have a good mix in the squad.
"I know a lot of players and want to get them playing a way, which I think people in the area will like.
"We feel there is the call for it in Bolsover since Bolsover Town folded and have been encouraged by the discussions we've had with people in the area."
Preparations for the new campaign are well underway, with training sessions having taken place since the end of last season.
A friendly with Real United of the CMFL South Division will be played on July 12 and more are planned before the season begins on August 9.
"We want to develop a fan base and feel the best way to do this is by keeping the prices low and winning football matches," said Richard. "I think it'll be good for Derbyshire to have another semi-professional team in its ranks."
Richard had a taste of semi-professional management when FC Brimington were in the CMFL before it stumbled across financial difficulties and folded in 2010.
He revived the club last summer but will now hand over the reins to his assistant Andy Bridgewater. FC Brimington will also play their home games in Bolsover.
Any players interested can contact the club on 07790 968631.


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What I appreciate the most about the romance genre is you can literally find just about any type of book to fit your mood. I can read a tortured vampire hero one day and the next I can pick up a sweet just-kisses category romance. But even as much as I love variety, historical romance will likely always be my favorite. However it's hard for me as a reader to have a steady diet of just one thing – so I'm always on the lookout for historical romances that give me something a little different. I'm a girl who cannot live on Dukes alone, and while every month Not-Your-Usual Historical Best Bets for October 2015 brings a variety of not-your-usual historicals to choose from, I'm just selfish enough to always want more. What more could a girl possibly want? Well, let me tell you.
I get it. I truly do. Dukes and gently born ladies dressed in finery provide readers with a ready-made fairy tale. And while that's all well and good, what I really want is less upstairs and more downstairs. Maids, butlers, housekeepers, valets, yes please! Beneath this cynical candy shell beats the heart of a true romantic. In other words, I like to believe that footmen were capable of falling in love just as well as Viscounts.
In Maid to Match by Deeanne Gist, the heroine is a parlor maid with her sights set on becoming the lady's maid to Mrs. Vanderbilt. However her careful plans go awry when she meets our hero, a new hire at the estate who needs a serious makeover. What makes this book so wonderful is that while the Vanderbilts play healthy secondary roles, it's not their romance. It's the romance of a lady's maid and a wannabe footman. How can you not want more of this?
Stop and think for a moment about the last historical you read that was about country folk. Not cowboys. Not characters who live in small towns. But characters who farm for a living, live in hill country, or for lack of better terminology: are hillbillies? Yeah, not a lot of those. Once upon a time, America was largely a rural economy, but you wouldn't necessarily know that by looking at historical romance.
Scarred Hearts by Bonnie Dee is set in the Kentucky hills on the eve of Prohibition, and finds our heroine trying to live down her bad reputation. In between smacking away hands from her behind, she's a waitress at a local watering hole, trying to go unnoticed by the bootlegging Robeson brothers. That is until baby brother Shadow comes home wounded from World War I.
Pamela Morsi built her career writing rural settings, and many of her books feature the sort of homespun, down to earth characters I would love to see more of in the genre. In Simple Jess, our heroine Althea is a widow with a young son, sitting on prime land. Between her family and ambitious would-be beaus, there's no way she's going to be allowed to stay single for long. The ultimatum is pick a new husband by Christmas or we'll do it for you. And who does Althea choose? Jess, a simple man with simple dreams – to have his own dog, his own gun and a woman.
Big City, Gilded Age!
The fashion, the politics, the explosion of the Industrial Revolution make the Gilded Age in America ripe for exploration. In Halfway to Heaven by Susan Wiggs, the heroine is the ugly duckling daughter of a powerful Senator. The hero, newly elected, needs her father's vote to defeat a railroad expansion bill, and he thinks helping the man's daughters make good matches on the marriage mart will surely win him good favor. Except, of course, when he finds himself getting distracted, and his head turned, by the heroine – a girl more comfortable exploring the stars than navigating a ballroom.
Dancing at the Chance by Deanna Cameron is set against the criminally underutilized setting of vaudeville. Slowly losing ground against splashier shows, like Ziegfeld's, and the fad of motion pictures, our dancer heroine hopes that the return of her girlhood crush, the owner's son, will mean a rebirth for the theater and a happily-ever-after for her. But what about the stage hand hero, who pines for the heroine from afar?
Bad Girls!
Mae West once said, "When I'm good, I've very good. When I'm bad, I'm better." She could have been talking about romance heroines. Good girls are all well and good (ha!), but bad girls are ever so much more fun. Courtesans, thieves, rebellious daughters, they just make historical romance more interesting.
In The Sword Dancer by Jeannie Lin our heroine makes her living performing with a traveling troupe. Well, sort of. She might have gotten a little mixed up with a band of thieves that pulled off a jade and gold heist from a powerful man who now wants retribution. Enter our hero, a bounty hunter. However while he is smitten, she's got little time for him. She's too busy trying to find out who she is and what happened to her family. Our girl wants vengeance and answers, a romance – not so much. Or so she thinks.
Unwed and Unrepentant by Marguerite Kaye is the final book in a series about five sisters, and naturally this features the rebellious youngest girl. How rebellious? Well how about running off to the Continent with her lover, a man she never married? Returning to England in hopes of reuniting with her sisters (along with half-brothers, nieces and nephews), she has to get past her overbearing, disapproving father. A man who has always had little use for his daughters unless he could use them to further his own agenda. This means if she wants to be with her family again it's time for a pretend engagement with a self-made Scot Daddy wants to do business with. Surely that will make the old goat happy?
What I love about historical romance is that there truly is an endless list of possibilities. So much so, that my own personal give-me-more-of-that wislist is a moving target and can change with the seasons. What would you like to see more of in historical romance? Share some of your favorites in the comments section.
Learn more about the books mentioned:
|Maid to Match by Deeanne Gist
|Scarred Hearts by Bonnie Dee
|Simple Jess by Pamela Morsi
|Halfway to Heaven by Susan Wiggs
|Dancing at the Chance by Deanna Cameron
|The Sword Dancer by Jeannie Lin
|Unwed and Unrepentant by Marguerite Kaye
Wendy the Super Librarian also blogs at WendyTheSuperLibrarian.blogspot.com. So dig that library card out of your pocket and head for the stacks.