text:
WCOOP: HORSEing around Final Table Friday
You hear that? No, not that. That's my kid breaking things. The other thing. Yes, that. That is the sound of the World Championship of Online Poker. It's just a little more than two weeks away.
There will be 66 final tables this year, and we're looking forward to all of them. So, today we thought we would psych ourselves up with a little blast from the past.
Today, we're having a look back at the 2011 WCOOP $2,100 HORSE event. The final table was insane, featuring the likes of Bryn Kenney, Team PokerStars Pro Alex Kravchenko, Team PokerStars Pro Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier, A1Jags, p3rc4, Operga, turataika, and mitdadu.
If you remember the event, you might remember how it turned out. If you don't remember it, you can read this wrap up from the tournament.
Or, if you want to go in fresh with no spoilers, here's the final table show form PokerStars.tv.
Brad Willis is the PokerStars Head of Blogging
Filming a Team Online short documentary
So, PokerStars are releasing a short documentary film about me today. To be completely honest, when I was first discussing joining Team Online with PokerStars, this was the part of it that I was most hesitant about.
I generally live a pretty normal life. I have a group of friends in Bristol who mainly also played poker at the same university as me, some good friends in Northampton who I've known since school and some other good friends from university dotted around who I keep in touch with. So while it has obviously been amazing to make the sort of money that I have been able to make through poker, I don't really live some baller lifestyle, traveling the world and doing crazy stuff like the stereotypical young poker player.
I mainly sit around playing poker in the flat I rent with my girlfriend, occasionally venturing out to play some football or to go indoor bouldering (a new hobby that my friend Simon has got us into).
Now and again, I can even be found heading out for a few drinks with my mates. I'm really happy with all that but I felt pretty stupid about the idea of them trying to make a video about me as if this will all be thrilling for everyone to watch.
You can therefore imagine how delighted I was when I got the schedule and they were going to be filming it on a Monday and Tuesday. "How are you possibly going to make my life look vaguely interesting by following me around on a Monday and Tuesday?" and "You're just gonna end up with two days of footage of me sitting around in my pants clicking buttons" were two of the thoughts going through my mind. Nobody wants to see that.
Anyway, Chris, the head of Team Online, assured me that they just wanted to get my poker story to introduce me a bit to people who know nothing about me and that it didn't matter what we were doing. Also I knew that Ryan Firpo was going to be making the film. Having seen Bet, Raise, Fold and a few of the other Team Online videos that he made, I knew that he was good, so I decided to just go with it, do what I'm told, and trust that it'd somehow work out alright.
Next up was deciding what and who we were going to film. My girlfriend was in her last week of experiments for her PhD so she didn't really have time to be a part of it. Luckily, despite not really being the type of people who love being in the public eye, my mates in Bristol were really good about it and agreed to do whatever was needed. In particular, I know how much my old housemate Simon hates doing anything like that, so I was really grateful that he agreed to be in it.
It would have been nice to be able to visit Northampton and talk to a couple of my old school friends as well, but you can't have everything I suppose. Ryan and the crew were already traveling a load filming a few of these back-to-back, and we only had a couple of days to film, so Ryan decided it'd be best to stick to filming in Bristol.
We ended up going bouldering together, and they just filmed us there and then kicking a football around after so that we could talk about where my "Kanu7″ screen name comes from. Then they filmed some interviews with me back at my flat and we walked around Bristol a bit.
The filming ended up being pretty fun overall actually. Ryan and the crew were all clearly really good at what they do and were all very easy to get on with. That made it easy for me to just do what I was told and answer any questions in a relaxed way.
A quirk of doing interviews for stuff like this is that the questions they ask won't be in the final version so you have to say what the question is during your answer so that it makes sense when people watch it. Usually it's not too bad but there was one scene we filmed where they asked me to talk about my Bluff Europe poker awards.
I had to pick them up and say "oh look what we have here, a couple of poker awards, I'll just talk about these for a while…" To make matters worse, Eve, the editor of Bluff Europe had come along for the filming to write an article about it so she was standing behind the film crew watching.
So, I was trying to talk about the awards in a way that didn't sound ridiculously self-indulgent given that it would appear that nobody had asked me about them, while also making sure that it didn't sound like I was saying they weren't a big deal while Eve was standing there. Very awkward and took a few takes as I kept laughing as I tried to introduce the awards. Somehow the scene even made the first draft of the video, but luckily for my dignity, it didn't make the final version!
The other thing that was a bit awkward was being filmed outdoors around Bristol. It's not like there's one guy filming the thing on an iPhone. There's a crew there with a big camera and mic, etc, and we're walking around a city so the streets are not exactly empty. I guess some people would really like, that but I just focused on what I had to do and tried to ignore the fact that it must look like I think I'm some huge celebrity wandering around Bristol with cameras following me.
Luckily (or not) I had prior experience of something worse which made this time seem a bit better. When I did my first photoshoot for a poker magazine, we planned to just take a few photos around Bristol in the early afternoon while most people were at work. The photographer's train was delayed though and it was getting dark by the time he arrived. It was also getting pretty cold and pretty busy as everyone finished work.
Due to the lack of light, the photographer stuck a big light on the top of his camera which was constantly shining on me while the photographer told me to do various poses, while hundreds of people walked past wondering who this distinctly average looking clown was who thought it was a good idea to pose for photos in the dark and freezing cold around Bristol at the busiest time of day. I thought if I managed to get through that without dying of embarrassment, this would be alright as well.
After filming, I did an interview with Eve about the whole thing. Having spent the last couple of days with cameras in my face whenever I was speaking, it felt so much like an informal chat that I think I just rambled about anything and everything with no regard for whether what I was saying was suitable or useful for an interview. If she's brave enough to attempt to get some useful stuff from it and actually write an article about the whole thing then I'll be interested to see what I said because I have no idea!
With everyone gone, it was time for me to get back to actually playing some poker and down to Ryan to put everything together to make the video. I had pretty much nothing to do with it after that other than getting sent a couple of drafts and giving a bit of feedback.
I have to say that once again Ryan did a great job with it. That's pretty much my poker story. I really enjoyed some of the other Team Online videos he's made, so I hope people enjoy watching this one. If not, then never mind I guess. All you can do with these things is represent yourself honestly and hope it's well received.
I have really enjoyed representing PokerStars so far. I said when I joined that I wouldn't have considered representing another site for 3x the money, and I stand by that and haven't been disappointed. They're a cut above any other online poker site in my opinion, and I hope this video helps people to get to know me a bit and helps me to continue to represent PokerStars better into the future.
Good luck at the tables everyone and hope you enjoy the video,
WSOP 2014: Tanking, writhing and warnings. It must be the bubble
It's a natural phenomenon, and one that has been put to the test as recently as this month during the football World Cup – the relation between time wasting and the fortunes of the player or team involved.
It was a point made during the World Cup by Geoff Foster, who wrote his analysis in the Wall Street Journal of one of the more irritating aspects of modern football. He added up the amount of time each team's players spent "writhing" on the ground, only to stand up and play on moments later, having undergone an almost miraculous recovery.
Looking at the opening group stages of the World Cup, Foster discovered Brazil were most commonly seen in "anguish", while Bosnia proved most likely to man up, shake it off and play on.
There was something else that he discovered. The amount of time spent rolling around on the floor was strongly linked to the situation shown on the scoreboard. A losing team spent less time appealing to the Academy of Motion Pictures than teams that were winning.
Poker has a similar problem, although in comparison the cause is reversed. Players don't fall from their chairs and roll around on the floor holding their ankle, but they do something else, tanking with great drama for great lengths of time to help their cause, particularly when the bubble is about to burst.
It's one of the more unsavoury things you might have to watch from the rail of a poker tournament, the blatant time wasting to slow down the action, the rechecking of cards, the false agonising as if there's a decision to make with your nine-three off-suit under the gun.
On the World Series of Poker Main Event bubble, it swept through the place like an epidemic. John Juanda even had a face mask on.
The floor staff would be busy, not just in marshalling their dealers, but in keeping players in line. The cry of "clock" as play moved into that vital stage before hand-for-hand, echoed across the Amazon Room. One corner in particular getting the full works with a Jack Effel broadside.
It appeared on one table everyone had been doing something wrong and Effel was adamant. He'd declare any hand dead that he chose to if he got the merest whiff of stalling. "Play poker!" he demanded, before striding off, threatening to return with a stop watch.
As those at the cautioned table pointed fingers of blame at each other, players on the neighbouring table had their own problems.
You might actually be familiar with Zach Hall without even knowing it. He's the player who has on a rainbow coloured umbrella hat. He's now tanking so much that several players looked like they wanted to empty the contents of a nearby fire extinguisher in his direction.
It's not as straight forward as all that. With more than $18,000 to those who min-cash it's almost churlish to suggest that players hanging on for dear life shouldn't do everything they can to eke into the money. It's not pretty. It's annoying even, and might not be in the spirit of the game (poker being a game of selflessness and courtesy, cough). But on closer look, not everyone on the table was like Curtis Rystadt (himself about to cash for the biggest win of his career) timing each tanked hand Hall played with a stopwatch app out of pure frustration. Others seemed relieved that Hall was doing their dirty work.
The solution to all of this was not far off. With 695 player left hand-for-hand play was introduced, which nullifies the time-wasters in the way a penalty shootout will get the Brazilians into shape.
It would take only one hand to see off the three players needed, albeit one that would take an age. The players were expectant.
"I've got five all-in calls," said Jack Effel into the mic. "Five all in calls…" He lingered over it, almost teasing the crowd. It was though this was a giant supper club and there was a prize draw, with prizes between courses. The crowd oohed, giddy at the prospect of a money finish, and stood to hear what would be a succession of hands called out to them.
Effel then became a kind of pied piper, leading a small circus of reporters, cameramen, photographers, hangers on, and the people who hold giant microphones on sticks, from one table to another.
The first would be the most spectacular, although perhaps painful is more accurate.
John Dwyer got his chips in with a full house, only to run it into the quads of Mark Newhouse. He even tanked. It'll be a decision that stays with him for a long time yet.
Effel delivered the news with professional neutrality before leading everyone over to the next hand, each being turned over in order to rule out any advantage.
Here was where Zhen Cai's tournament would come to an end, one of several to run into pocket aces at the same time. His pocket queens were probably a sight for sore eyes when he first looked down at them. Darren Keyes though would ensure that his eyes remained sore.
Forwards marched Effel, not wasting any time – no time for writhing allowed – this time to oversee Kori Hunter's fate. Hunter also had aces. Facing him was Harry Kaczka with nine-eight of diamonds. Kaczka had flopped eight-seven, and turned a five. The nine on the river though was what saved him, even Effel's voice betrayed his neutrality as it landed, sending Hunter out.
At this point most players in the room knew that they had cashed, but dared not celebrate until told to. Paul Tedeschi would double in all-in hand number four, against Arthur Morris, his aces against pocket queens.
Waiting all of this time was Stuart Rutter. His all-in had been the first to take place but was the last to be called. Effel led the circus over to see what Rutter held – ace-jack of hearts against Daniel Alaei's jack-nine off-suit, on a jack-high flop. The wait for Rutter was worth it, with nothing on the turn and river to change anything.
All of a sudden there was no reason to tank, to time waste, or writhe. A high card draw determined which of the three players would get their buy-in paid for next year, Cai at least getting something to show for more than three days of poker. Hunter and Dwyer were quick to depart.
The crowd roared as the shutters on the pay-out desk were raised, metaphorically at least. We're back up to full speed in the Main Event. And we're in the money.
Stephen Bartley is a PokerStars Blog reporter.
WSOP 2014: De Meulder takes on role of Last Team Pro Standing
Matthias de Meulder is the last member of Team PokerStars pro or Team Online left in the 2014 WSOP Main Event.
"Oh, is that so?" he said after arriving to his table today.
He has every right to be surprised. WSOP players haven't even hit the money yet, and against every bit of history, it's almost impossible to find a member of the Red Spade Brigade.
"We're 50 off the money," he said. "It's going to be exciting, but the bubble is notoriously long."
De Meulder–one of two twin brothers on the team–comes from Belgium. It's a long way to come and go home with nothing. He hasn't even bothered calling his family to mention he's on the cusp of making it into the money.
"Once we get deeper, I'll start calling," he said.
De Meulder isn't new to this game. He knows how to handle a bubble. He has fewer than 40 big blinds. He knows he's going to have to pick his spots.
"Everything very much depends on the players. If you have eight other players looking to cash, open up your game and try to steal as many blinds as possible," he said.
But just looking at his opponents, it may be more of a matter of waiting for a hand. He's got Owen Crowe, Paul Tedeschi, and Nick Yunis at his table.
Nevertheless, De Meulder has been in this spot before. He has one WSOP Main Event cash to his name.
"Let's hope to make it a second time," he said, "and then go for the $10 million, of course,"
Brad Willis is the PokerStars Head of Blogging
WSOP 2014: Cure found for Randy Lew Syndrome
As any teenager will tell you, separation from the internet, when you rely on it so much, can be a serious condition, treatable only by a massive dose of free Wi-Fi.
Symptoms can get pretty ugly; an involuntary twitch in the right hand, a dazed look of confusion owing to an inability to look up even simple things online. Abandoned to an analogue world those suffering this condition will become desperate very fast.
Fortunately Randy "nanonoko" Lew is smart enough to spot the symptoms when they set in and do something about it. Struck by this medical emergency while in Las Vegas, noticing first that his left-click finger was having convulsions, he immediately booked a flight over the border to Vancouver where he was rushed to an internet terminal. Thankfully he arrived in time.
Well that's almost true. Lew did fly home to Vancouver mid-series because he was missing online poker, but it wasn't exactly owing to an urge to click things.
"It's tough, honestly," said Lew about being restricted to live poker. "That's why I left. I left to go play online in Vancouver!
"When you play every day here in the World Series it's for long days and you're playing one tournament. I didn't do very well for the first half of the Series and I felt that, because I don't play live that much, I didn't feel as confident. So I found a slot of time in the World Series where it wasn't ideal tournaments for me to play, like random games or mixed games. I decided to go back to Vancouver and get back into playing a lot of hands and getting more comfortable – like good training!
So there was no twitching?
"Maybe when I first got to the series I was like that," he confessed. "As you play more I realised, it's a lot of money on the line! I stopped messing with my phone as much!"
Lew is known more for his online antics – the multi-tabling, the records he's set – than for his live play, even though he has an APPT title to his name from Macau in 2011, and just short of $1 million in live earnings. But does slogging away in a live environment bring the same kind of satisfaction?
"Usually when I'm playing live it's for a big buy-in tournament, so there's definitely a lot of excitement,." he said. "You might not play as many hands, but just seeing everyone at my table… when you lose a pot to someone it doesn't feel as great!
"So I really hone in on each player and think about what's he's doing. Because if I lose to them I have to face them as I walk away. So I think it makes me try extra hard because I can focus. And there's a lot of money on the line.
Contrary to what you might think, the money aspect still applies even to the best and richest of players.
"It's definitely a factor," said Lew. "The bracelet's very important to me too, but the money is an incentive, an incentive for me to play even harder. If we were all playing for play money here I might not play as well. Everything changes. But with the $10,000 Main Event right now, it's still life changing money for me to make the final table. I've never cashed this event. And I've played it at least 7 times, so I'm trying to break that record too!
Those chances took a beating earlier when Lew lost a big hand with pocket queens. "The door card was a queen," said Lew. "But the dealer was so fast; she was like "king!" So he had less than half a second to enjoy his advantage.
"But you know the structure's really deep," said Lew. "I still have 30 something thousand, and while it may not seem a lot relative to everyone else I'm still very comfortable. In a normal tournament I'd still be considered a big stack.
"So I'm going to play my game and I'm pretty confident. I'll grind it out a little bit and get my chips in with strong equity. I'm going to play the odds and I think they're in my favour."
If you're in Las Vegas and have been affected by any of the issues raised in this blog post, such as "right hand twitch" or "Randy Lew Syndrome", contact your airline ticket desk for immediate help.
Stephen Bartley is a PokerStars Blog reporter.
Friends to host Chad Brown Memorial and charity tournament
No matter who you speak to, it's impossible to find anyone to say a bad word about Chad Brown. When the poker community lost Chad to cancer last week, the flood of memories online and in casinos around the world was enormous. Everyone was looking for a way to express just how they feel.
Today, Chad's friends announced they will host a memorial service and charity poker tournament at Binion's Gambling Hall this Sunday. Because Chad was such an important part of the PokerStars family, PokerStars has announced it will provide big prizes for the tourney and match all funds raised.
Sue Hammett, Director of Corporate Giving for PokerStars said, "PokerStars was proud to have Chad Brown on our team. We are devastated and mourn the passing of our dear friend Chad Brown. For this year's inaugural Chad Brown Poker Tournament, PokerStars is pleased to announce and donate the following to this worthy charitable event. The first place winner of Chad's tournament will receive a Main Event seat at the next PokerStars Caribbean Adventure event. The second place winner will receive a main event seat including hotel for five nights at the Montreal Poker Festival which will take place August 22nd thru September 4th of this year. PokerStars will match all funds raised for the charity from the tournament. All of us here at PokerStars are honored to do this in Chad's name."
Both of the events are open to the public.
For more information, visit the Chad Brown Memorial site.
Brad Willis is the PokerStars Head of Blogging
WSOP 2014: Your elimination will not be televised
So you buy-in, you wait for your turn to play on Day 1C. Then, when the day comes you set about finding your table. When you get there a makeshift sign says you should go to the main stage in the Amazon Room. It's at this point that it dawns on you that your first day in the biggest tournament of your life will be played on the TV stage, under the lights and in front of the cameras.
But there's more. As you get used to the idea of all that attention, something else dawns on you. If your table is going to be the feature table, who is it exactly that's providing the feature?
This might have been what the first three players to arrive on stage, dressed comfortably for a long day, were thinking as they sat, or stood awaiting the news that would potentially affect how their big day panned out.
Like three defendants about to go on trial, waiting to see what kind of man their judge was, they did their best to look calm, like all of this was normal. They didn't talk to each other. Instead they made their last preparations, taking things out of bags, tapping things into their phones, taking a sip of water.
Off stage the introductions were taking place. It didn't look like these three men were paying much attention to it, but if they did it might at least have distracted them, as a white flash whizzed by wearing a back pack, arriving on stage to take its seat.
This was Joe Cada, the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event Champion, here to confirm the three men's worst fears.
In many ways 2014 has been an even bigger year for Cada than 2009, when he became the Main Event's youngest ever winner. This summer brought with it the all-important second bracelet, the vindication that leaves any remaining sceptics out in the cold.
"Just winning a bracelet in general is amazing," Cada said after the win. "To win two is a great feeling.
Team PokerStars Pro Cada was the star pupil of the class of 2009, a class which this year showed it's quality, with three of its alumni winning bracelets.
As well as Cada, Eric Buchman, who finished fourth in 2009, won his second bracelet 24 hours after Cada in the $1,500 Seven Card Stud event. Then Phil Ivey, out seventh in 2009, won the 8-Game mix a little more than a week ago, bracelet number 10.
(For good measure Jordan Smith, who finished 10th in 2009, won the $120 Memorial Day River Poker Series event in Thakerville, Oklahoma this past May).
I'm not sure if any of this occurred to those who will share a table with the in-form Cada. Perhaps there was some comfort in knowing that the cameras were not yet switched on, and if Cada was to bring them humiliation early, it would at least be private.
For now Cada sets out on another bid to become the Main Event champion. He has the experience and he has the form. It would certainly be some triple.
Stephen Bartley is a PokerStars Blog reporter.
WSOP 2014: Magic Moneymaker
It's nearly six hours into Day 1 of the World Series of Poker Main Event, and the man who famously won it all in 2003 is feeling generous.
"You want to try the glasses on?" he asks an opponent. "They're magic."
Chris Moneymaker, the man who helped kick off the biggest poker boom in history, reaches down to the sunglasses around his neck and hands them across the table.
"Now, I'm going to give you a piece of advice," he says. "They only work if you actually play a hand. You want to play the lottery, but you don't buy a ticket, and then you complain the glasses don't work!"
He's needling a conservative opponent, but it's all in good fun. The entire table laughs. It's like a redefinition of the so-called Moneymaker Effect. Eleven years ago, his underdog win ushered in thousands of new players to the game. Now, he's entertaining everybody again. It doesn't matter that there's not a camera nearby. The Moneymaker Show is on.
For longtime Moneymaker watchers, it's clear he's come a long way since winning the Main Event so many years ago. In the past couple of years, he's seemed to be a changed man. It's nothing that's easy to pinpoint. It's a sort of new energy he carries with him everywhere. It's almost as if it really is magic.
"It looks like we're going to be breaking soon," he announces. "You don't have long to use the glasses' power."
Magic or not, Moneymaker is doing a good job selling the specs. He's one of several celebrity endorsers for Blue Shark Optics, and–if the performance this afternoon is any indication–he might be their best.
To wit: the guy now wearing the shades isn't the first person at the table to benefit from the Moneymaker magic. There is an older man two to the former champ's left, and I'll be damned if he's not wearing the exact same glasses. Apparently he tried out Moneymaker's and then liked them so much, he literally ran out into the hallway to the Blue Shark kiosk and bought the exact same pair.
"I told the guy to try my glasses, he goes and buys them, and now he's beating me out of every pot!" Moneymaker says.
Moneymaker is stewing, but it's an act. When he stands up to stretch, he says he actually feels fantastic. He should. He has more than 46,000 in chips after starting with 30,000. Nevertheless, he attempts some vocal self-analysis for those listening.
"When I had the glasses around my neck, I was doing great. Now…" he says.
The kid wearing Moneymaker's magic glasses quickly reaches for them.
"Do you want them back?" he asks.
Moneymaker eyes the kid for a second, and then says, "Nah. That's alright. You need a little more chips."
Again, everyone–even the kid–laughs hard. It's a gratifying sound.
In an era when many have criticized poker pros for making the game uncomfortable for recreational players, a world champion is doing the exactly opposite. He's going out of his way to make sure everyone–including himself–is having fun.
Eventually, Moneymaker will get his glasses back, but no matter what he says, most people watching will have a creeping suspicion: the thing that gives Moneymaker's sunglasses their magic is Moneymaker himself.
Brad Willis is the PokerStars Head of Blogging
MicroMillions returns with $5M guarantee across 100 events
Poker tournaments are not just about big boys (and girls) with deep pockets. MicroMillions is the PokerStars series you can pay for small change, and best of all the prizes are still spectacular.
MicroMillions 8 runs from July 17 through 27, and boasts 100 events starting with a buy-in of just 11 cents (it's a rebuy!). Most other events can be played for less than ten bucks, while the main event is a still-reasonable $22, with at least $100,000 guaranteed for first.
There's also a pretty cool side promo happening – enter the MicroMillions Challenge and, if you play in six or more MicroMillions tourneys, you'll be entered into a special all-in shootout for free.
In the last MicroMillions series back in March, the UK's RainmanRJA bested a 63,000-strong field to take the $78,000 first prize. If you fancy following in his footsteps, satellites for MicroMillions events are running now,
For more information, including the full schedule, satellite details, and more, visit the MicroMillions page.
Best of luck.
Quenofpkr wins June 29 Women's Sunday
The Women's Sunday has an exciting announcement for its players!
There will be a Women's Sunday replay of the entire final table each week going forward. Players will be able to access it under the "Special" tab in the "Tourney" category, and the replay will be available on Tuesday or Wednesday of this week. This will happen each week, just as it is done with the weekly Sunday Million, Sunday Warm-Up, and Sunday Storm tournaments.
Look for "Replay: Women's Sunday Final Table – June 29″ as the first one.
It's a great way for players to watch their opponents, all of the action, and to use it as a learning tool for improving their game.
As for today's tournament, the final registration numbers were listed as follows:
Total players: 235
Guarantee: $11,000.00
Prize pool: $11,750.00
Paid finishers: 36
The bounty this week was on the virtual head of Team Online's Katerina "katerina289″ Malasidou, who got involved early in the game. But her run came to an early end, as she tweeted:
This was the most short-lived #WomensSunay for me! Congrats to koanju from Hungary for getting my bounty http://t.co/HRcULSSWTL
— Katerina Malasidou (@katerina0289) June 29, 2014
Koanju took home the $50 bounty, and play moved on toward the money portion of the tournament.
After the four-hour mark, the field was reduced to just two tables of players, and it took another hour to reach hand-for-hand play. Moments later, VVVictorYYY pushed all-in with her short stack and K♣2♠ from the small blind. Quenofpkr called from the big blind with just a few chips behind and A♠9♠. The board of J♠9♣K♠Q♥T♣ gave Quenofpkr the nut straight and eliminated VVVictorYYY in tenth place for $188.00.
GaelleGD going strong
The final table started in Level 29, with blinds at 2.4K/4.8K and a 600 ante, with these players and their chip counts:
Seat 1: SexyFlush (134,156 in chips)
Seat 2: Ima Notellin (84,777 in chips)
Seat 3: Bags&Shoes (90,749 in chips)
Seat 4: lini0728 (165,379 in chips)
Seat 5: LuxoR_C (125,273 in chips)
Seat 6: GaelleGD (267,266 in chips)
Seat 7: oo00uch!! (137,948 in chips)
Seat 8: Poker-Eksper (91,962 in chips)
Seat 9: Quenofpkr (77,490 in chips)
Bags&Shoes quickly doubled through Ima Notellin to climb into a strong second place on the leaderboard. Just a few hands later, ImaNotellin moved all-in with 12,656 chips UTG holding A♦T♣. Bags&Shoes called with 8♥8♦, which only improved to a set of eights on the 8♠Q♠3♠K♥6♠ board. ImaNotellin was eliminated in ninth place with $223.25.
Bags&Shoes lost ground but doubled through lini0728, and SexyFlush doubled through GaelleGD. Quenofpkr had been relegated to stack of less than 10K chips, though she managed a double through GaelleGD to stay in action, and she then tripled through Poker-Eksper and LuxoR_C. Lini0728 doubled her stack through Bags&Shoes.
Quenofpkr then scored another double to climb to the top half of the leaderboard with this hand:
Two hands later, Quenofpkr raised from middle position, and when lini0728 moved all-in for 109,650 chips from the big blind, Quenofpkr called with A♠9♦. Lini0728 showed 6♦6♠, but the board of T♠9♠T♣9♥7♠ gave Quenofpkr the full house and sent lini0728 out in eighth place for $293.75.
Oo00uch!! doubled through Poker-Eksper, and the two tangled again three hands later. Poker-Eksper moved all-in for less than 14K chips, LuxoR_C called from the big blind, and original raiser oo00ch!! called. The flop of 6♣K♥J♠ brought a bet from oo00uch!! and call from LuxoR_C, but another bet on the 5♠ turn prompted LuxoR_C to fold. Poker-Eksper showed K♠T♠, but oo00uch!! had the J♥J♦ for a set. The 5♣ on the river officially sent Poker-Eksper out in seventh place with $411.25.
Bags&Shoes doubled through SexyFlush, and the latter never recovered. SexyFlush put the last of her chips at risk with 9♣J♥ against the T♦T♣ of LuxoR_C, and the board of 8♣7♦7♥6♠9♠ gave LuxoR_C the straight. SexyFlush was gone in sixth place for $528.50.
LuxoR_C doubled through GaelleGD, though the former chip leader was still in very good shape. GaelleGD then got involved with Quenofpkr and Bags&Shoes to see a raised flop of 9♥K♠4♠. Quenofpkr bet, and Bags&Shoes got out of the way as GaelleGD called. The 6♥ on the turn prompted Quenofpkr to move all-in with K♣J♥ and top pair. GaelleGD called all-in with K♦Q♦ for top pair with the better kicker. But the J♠ hit hard on the river to eliminate Gaëlle "GaelleGD" Garcia Diaz in fifth place for $681.50.
Bags&Shoes doubled through Quenofpkr, as did oo00uch!!, but oo00uch!! had a long way to go. So oo00uch!! pushed all-in again with T♣9♣ after seeing the 5♥9♥2♦ flop. Quenofpkr called with J♣J♦, though, which held up on the 5♦ turn and 6♦ river. Oo00uch!! ended her run in fourth place for $998.75.
Quenofpkr dominating
The comeback of Quenofpkr was impressive, and she only extended her lead as the table played on. As three-handed action commenced, the three stacks were as follows:
Seat 3: Bags&Shoes (297,257 in chips)
Seat 5: LuxoR_C (126,123 in chips)
Seat 9: Quenofpkr (751,620 in chips)
LuxoR_C doubled through Bags&Shoes, and the latter then did the same through LuxoR_C, while Quenofpkr climbed above 800K chips. LuxoR_C doubled through Bags&Shoes again, and the latter did it through Quenofpkr. LuxoR_C did it again through Bags&Shoes.
That left Bags&Shoes with little more than 3K chips, which went all-in on the next hand with 5♦4♥. LuxoR_C had Q♠8♣, and the board came 8♥8♦7♥8♠A♥ to eliminate Bags&Shoes in third place with $1,327.75.
Heads-up begins
The final two players began their match with these chip stacks:
Seat 5: LuxoR_C (423,536 in chips)
Seat 9: Quenofpkr (751,464 in chips)
LuxoR_C doubled through Quenofpkr, and the latter doubled back. As LuxoR_C gained ground, the stacks were nearly even when the two paused the tournament to discuss a chop of the prize money. They agreed to each accept $2,082.74 and play for the title alone.
Quenofpkr quickly chipped up, and both then got involved in a reraised pot to see a flop of 4♣T♠Q♣. LuxoR_C bet all-in with A♦J♥ for the draw, and Quenofpkr called with A♣K♠ for the draw as well. The A♠ on the turn gave each of them top pair, and the Q♦ on the river gave each two pair, but the king kicker played. LuxoR_C exited in second place.
Quenofpkr captured the Women's Sunday title. Congrats!
Women's Sunday Results for 06/29/14:
Players: 235
Prize pool: $11,750.00
Paid players: 36
1. Quenofpkr (Belgium) $2,082.74*
2. LuxoR_C (Greece) $2,082.74*
3. Bags&Shoes (Portugal) $1,327.75
4. oo00uch!! (Argentina) $998.75
5. GaelleGD (Belgium) $681.50
6. SexyFlush (Netherlands) $528.75
7. Poker-Eksper (Norway) $411.25
8. lini0728 (China) $293.75
9. Ima Notellin (Canada) $223.25
*Figures denote two-way chop
Check out the PokerStars Women home page for all of the latest information for the women of PokerStars. Also, our Women's Sunday page has details about weekly satellites. And join us on Facebook and Twitter.
Jennifer Newell is a PokerStars freelance contributor.


text:
For Wherever Life Takes You
Learn more about our free apps
and mobile websites.
Our Columbus hotels make the ideal base for exploring this picturesque river town in Georgia with a vivid Civil War past and quintessential Southern charm.
Start your tour of the city's historic sights at Heritage Park, lined with old cotton warehouses that once bustled with the business of the cotton trade. Stay at our hotels in Columbus, Georgia to be near the National Civil War Naval Museum at Port Columbus. You can set aside an hour or two to tour the 40,000-square-foot facility, which exhibits the wrecks of two Confederate warships as well as Civil War uniforms and officers' swords—even exploded cannonballs. Columbus is also the town where pharmacist John Pemberton devised the formula for Coca-Cola in 1886. The Pemberton Pharmacy is no more, but you can see the pharmacist's former house and other historic homes on the daily Heritage Corner Tour.
Our Columbus hotels are never far from the flavors of classic Southern cooking, served up in the city's restaurants and bars. Look for such regional favorites as chicken and dumplings, rice and peas, and fried green tomatoes. Work off all that down-home dining with a stroll along scenic RiverWalk, a 15-mile park nestled on the granite banks of the gently rolling Chattahoochee River.
The Civil War isn't the only era represented in Columbus. From your Columbus hotel, take a trip back to the 20th century at the Lunchbox Museum, which has the largest collection of vintage lunchboxes on the planet. It's a journey into American pop culture, circa 1950 to 1980, where media favorites like Hopalong Cassidy and Charlie's Angels are immortalized on rusty metal boxes.
Book a stay at our Holiday Inn Express® Columbus hotels in Georgia, where you don't have to be a history buff to appreciate the city's rich cache of antebellum artifacts and Civil War attractions.
+ View More - View Less
To book more than 9 rooms for one stay or request a quote, please use our Easy Meetings tool, call 1-800-MEETING (in United States, Mexico and Canada) or contact a Global Sales Office.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
A Thanksgiving and Hanukkah message from Governor Mike Pence:
Thanksgiving is a time for us to come together with family and friends to remember the blessings of God. Let us give thanks for the grace in our lives—our families, our friends and the brave men and women fighting for our freedoms. Let us give thanks that because of those men and women in uniform we still live in a land of freedom.
Hoosiers celebrate Thanksgiving in many different ways, but for most of us it culminates around a dinner table featuring turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie. Some of my best memories growing up come from the clamor and commotion of a Thanksgiving kitchen at my house filled with laughter, the sound of the Macy's Parade on TV, and we kids trying our best to snatch all the olives and sweet pickles off the relish tray before the meal even started.
This year is also special because Thanksgiving Day marks the once-in-a-lifetime moment when the holidays of Thanksgiving and the first day of Hanukkah merge.
It is more than fitting that they do. These two sacred dates are linked by more than the season; they share the obligation of gratitude, memory and faith. The word Hanukkah means "dedication."
On this Thanksgiving Day, with the lighting of the Hanukkah candles by many Hoosiers, let us not only express our gratitude for the blessings in our lives, but let us dedicate ourselves to helping others. There are still many Hoosiers who will be going without this Thanksgiving.
It is said, "To whom much is given, much will be required."
This year, our family will start Thanksgiving Day by renewing a tradition we started last year of helping serve dinner to some of our neediest neighbors at the Mozel Sanders Annual Thanksgiving Dinner. The Mozel Sanders Foundation was founded in 1988 by Rev. Roosevelt Sanders and serves over 40,000 hot meals to Hoosiers across central Indiana on Thanksgiving Day.
This Thanksgiving, let us indeed, "give thanks to the Lord for He is good," and, as Hoosiers always do, let us also reach out in a spirit of gratitude for our blessings to our neighbors in need during these still challenging times.
Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Hanukkah, Indiana.
Governor Mike Pence
Region News Team
Region News Team
Region News Team
Region News Team
Region News Team
Region News Team
Flash is not supported on this device. If you wish to listen to this audio, you must download and play an mp3 using an mp3 player on your device. CLICK HERE


text:
MeShawn wrote:Marko Jaric wasn't great, since I drafted him in the 5th round ( ), and I've had some other minor injuries, but nothing too big.
*knock on wood*
And as a result of the Jefferson injury, I just picked him off waivers last night, with the 9th WW priority I might add. I can sacrifice a bench spot for this season, to get a solid keeper for next year. I am very surprised that he wasn't picked off waivers before me. Not to mention he's my favorite player
To say the least, I'm happy about RJ.
Wait, you got him with the 9th waiver? How the heck does that work, I have the 7th and I put in a waiver for him. Maybe I cancelled it without knowing... oh well, tough luck for me. I'm not too worried about it anyway since I know who I can keep as of now regardless.


text:
The battle over the completion of the Hwy. 3132 inner loop wages on after lawyers and citizens faced off before the Metropolitan Planning Commission Wednesday afternoon.
The argument centered on whether or not the developer, Larkin, would be allowed to expand a subdivision in an area where the loop may pass.
Some of the proposed routes for 3132 drive through the land he wants to build on.
His attorney said it isn't fair to say he has to wait to build because there is a possibility that the Loop could be built there.
But the Metropolitan Planning Commission disagreed - shooting down Larkin's application.
I spoke with Larkin after the decision was made.
"We're going to continue to make the same legal arguments that have prevailed in the courts, the district court, the court of appeals, the supreme court and the federal court," Larkin said, adding that he will appeal the decision to the city council...
Attorneys on the other side Wednesday said they will oppose Larkin's appeal.
Copyright 2014 KSLA. All rights reserved.
1812 Fairfield Avenue
Shreveport, LA 71101
(318) 222-1212
FCC Public File
(318) 222-1212
EEO Public Report
Closed Captioning


text:
ECOVIEWS: Consider these science-fair project suggestions
Published: Sunday, August 24, 2008 at 3:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, August 23, 2008 at 9:42 p.m.
Instead of waiting until the week before science-fair projects are due later this year to try and come up with a project, consider a couple of suggestions as school starts. The following two are ones that I know can be successfully completed and will be educational for the student. I'm not sure either has a chance of winning a science fair in the computer technology age, but either would be interesting, and both relate to international environmental issues: the fossil fuel crisis and biodiversity.
The fossil fuel hypothesis: Shoppers driving into a mall would save both time and energy by selecting the closest readily available parking slot when they enter the parking lot rather than driving around looking or waiting for one closer to the building.
The premise: We can all think of examples where both gas and time are wasted by people driving around waiting for a place near the store of their choice, while passing up open slots a few spaces farther away. The odds favor your getting into the store faster if you take a spot that you know is available and walk a few extra feet, instead of looking for that prime spot.
The test and expectations: Stand in front of a mall during a busy time, watch a car come in, and use a stopwatch to time how long it takes a driver to park. Record your statistics for a couple of hours where people park; how long it takes them to get to the front door. The hypothesis is that drivers who take a spot immediately, even though it is near the back, will on average get to the front door faster, sometimes while the searchers are still driving around. If this turns out to be true, they not only save more time but use less gas and get more exercise. By going to a mall for a few days, a student can get several dozen data points, support or refute a hypothesis, and produce a science fair project that tells people something useful. Embellish the project by calculating how much extra gas the searchers use.
The biodiversity hypothesis: Plants and animals will live on any available space if given enough time, even on a vertical wall.
The premise: Arnold Darlington, in his book Ecology of Walls (1981, Heinemann Educational Books, London) claims that walls comprise more than 10 percent of the area habitable by plants and animals in a city. Walls are all around us, providing habitats for many species. Included would be garden walls, the sides of houses and sheds, even the sides of a big oak tree, which is just a natural wall.
The test and expectations: Sample a variety of walls and record what lives on them. Keep a record of the variables that could affect the composition of species and the success of different kinds of organisms. Walls with horizontal sections have shelf space and are more likely to collect dirt and debris where seeds can root. Compass direction could matter for some species. Moss is more likely to grow on the north side of a wall. The material, porosity, composition of the wall and the history of human alteration are major influences on what might live on a particular wall. One of the most influential factors determining the vegetative character of walls is age.
Algae and lichens are usually the first pioneers to become established. Vines rooted at the base may climb up, and shrubs and trees may even grow from crumbling walls. Animals also make their homes on walls. Lizards and treefrogs, spiders and millipedes, and a variety of insects can be found on walls. The exercise will be revealing about how much life is all around us if you just take a careful look.
Although I am suggesting these projects now, students (and their parents) will have ample time to procrastinate until two weeks before they are due and still get them completed. But imagine the data set a student who starts now could accumulate to make the point that driving around looking for parking places is wasteful or that walls are important to the biodiversity of an area.
Whit Gibbons' e-mail address is firstname.lastname@example.com.
Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.
Comments are currently unavailable on this article


text:
skip to main content
Join 3,497 readers in helping fund MetaFilter
Best Of
New User
I seriously need to meet some new people and get out of the house. Can you help me develop some new hobbies that will enrich my life and put me in social situations?
June 27, 2009
I seriously need to meet some new people and get out of the house. Can you help me develop some new hobbies that will enrich my life and put me in social situations?
I have a number of interests, but they are mostly either quite expensive (traveling, home design) or won't really help me become more social. Truth is, I'm not really sure
things might be of interest to me, and I'm rather shy and hesitant to try something new.
I'm seeking general or specific suggestions for how to become more involved in life and less of an observer. For example;
--What types of things did YOU get involved in to help you get out of a rut?
--Where did you meet your closest friends?
--Are there event lists or sites that have been particularly helpful to you?
--What is the "standby" activity that you turn to when the weekend arrives and you are bored/lonely/haven't made plans?
--Are there any web sites that list a lot of hobbies?
--How far in advance do you try to make weekend plans?
posted by
Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation
(22 answers total)
40 users marked this as a favorite
Try bicycling. I'm sure there's a recreational group near you, and there will be plenty of people from all walks of life who ride together on a Saturday or Sunday morning (here in Philadelphia, it's the
. Don't know where you live!). If you enjoy it, maybe you can even join a competitive club and race, where you'll meet all sorts of people.
posted by
The Michael The
on June 27, 2009
Try your local school for adult education, which may be part of a university or an independent entity. If you're in a good-sized city, they will offer arts, language, cooking and other hobby courses on evening or weekend schedules, with low prices, short schedules and low homework requirements. See what interests you! I just took courses at the Boston Center for Adult Education, and met some great people.
posted by
Countess Elena
on June 27, 2009
I'm kind of in the same situation (hence metafilter on sat. night...) but one thing I'm doing that I hope will help is taking some classes at the continuing education center at the community college. Get a brochure and browse through it-- maybe you'll find something interesting.
posted by
on June 27, 2009
I'm the originator of this post. Additional info: I have very little time during the workweek so mostly I'm looking for ideas for the weekend. Thanks!
posted by
on June 27, 2009
Are there any groups on
of interest in your area? I know you said you are shy, but the structure of a meetup might help - and you will always have what you are meeting up about (knitting, books, whatever) to talk about.
posted by
on June 27, 2009
seems promising, though I've never attended a meetup.
Take a class—a cooking class, a martial arts class, anything you're interested in. It's less explicitly social, so you can take things at your own pace, and you'll be learning something new.
If you've made someone's acquaintance, and would like to know them better, just
them to do stuff. Mention in passing that you're going to a museum exhibit, or a walk in the park, or to grab a coffee, and ask if they'd like to come along. Possibility 1: they'll decline, and you will have lost nothing. Possibility 2a: they'll agree, and you'll make friendly conversation, but won't discover any great bond with each other. Possibility 2b: they'll agree, you'll make friendly conversation, and perhaps discover common interests you never would have imagined. People can surprise you.
Art-show openings come to mind, if you have any interest in art—there's the social lubrication of the alcohol (without the meat-market/alcoholic aspect of the bar); there's music (but it's not so loud you can't have a conversation); there's a built-in topic of conversation (the art). Of course, gallery scenes are as varied as bar scenes—ranging from total punk-rock dives to hoity-toity butlers-and-champagne stuff. So, if at first you don't succeed, adjust accordingly and try again. (It's usually the weird underground places in old factory buildings and shit that are the coolest, which you aren't going to find by looking up "Galleries" in the phone book. Ask around. Look for flyers. Figure out where the local art-school kids show their stuff—not because you're necessarily looking for galleries that show student art, but because that's the easiest entry point to the network of by-and-for-artists galleries. And those are the cool ones.)
Additional information would be helpful: How big is your city/town? Are you totally new there, or do you already have some acquaintances? How do you know those people? How do you feel about bars? How old are you? Are you male or female?
posted by
on June 27, 2009
Seconding things like Meetup, and Continuing Ed. I move around fairly frequently and use things like this to make non-work friends. I know you say you don't have much time during the workweek, but spending one night a month at something like a book club can help you make friends to do things on the weekend with.
The problem with weekends is that's when most groups and such DON'T have anything going on. However going to the Farmer's Market is always good. And you can always join a Church. When I first moved to a new state my dad urged me to find a church...for social reasons, not religious ones.
If you don't mind a girly hobby, scrapbooking places often have Friday Evening / Weekend 'crops' where people get together at the store to work on their projects. Yarn stores often do the same for knitting or crochet...and in my experience you're always welcome to work on a project there any time.
Getting involved in a sport is good too, whether it's a group sport or an individual one. I've had luck in the past by taking Tae Kwon Do at the local YMCA, and my mom just recently picked up archery of all things and it's quite literally changed her life.
posted by
on June 27, 2009
More than meetup, I've used
to fulfill my need for new people, travel, and exploring events that I wouldn't have otherwise. I feel like I keep mentioning it in posts, but it really is what you make of it. How does it meet your goals??
- You can meet up with people who travel, learning about their home, your home, and the places in between
- You can be active in your city/regional group, as well as for ones in your favorite activities. Maybe involvement means just knowing others by the forums, maybe it means going to activities. It's totally up to you.
- It makes travel cheaper and more fun. I use it to hang out and to stay with people both near and far from home.
- Most of your visitors will want to come on the weekends, as you wanted.
- It helps reframe the "arrrrgh meeting people" into "hey, I can help someone out" or "hey, I know a grreat place for X in Y city."
- There are lists of events, and they are usually easy to join get to and have fun with. This IS my stand-by activity, when everyone else is out of town, or I just need to get OUT of my suburb.
- Yes, I've used it to meet people who I now think of as "normal" friends. I've also found people I already know who are also members.
I joined meetup and couchsurfing at the same time, when moving to a new country. The meetup account has been deactivated, but I "run" the CS group for my city.
posted by
on June 27, 2009 [
2 favorites
I started learning how to tango about a year ago- it was a great way to meet other people- if you dance with someone often enough, it is easy for them to feel comfortable and trusting of you. I am sure learning other dances like swing or salsa would be similar. If you are shy about going, you could try taking classes first and then heading out when you feel more confident.
Often dances like salsa and tango are held at bars, but because you are going to dance, it isn't odd to go alone. When you take a break from dancing you can get a drink and chat with fellow dancers.
Another way to meet people is to join a city sports league- a lot of them will take people that sign up by themselves and put them on a team. Since everyone doesn't know each other, it is easy to make new friends.
Personally, my main activity is rugby and my team owns a pub- if I don't have plans for the weekend, I can head down there and meet up with my teammates and hang out.
I used to be rather passive about making plans- I guess I assumed that if people wanted to hang out with me they would ask. Finally, I made the obvious realization that wasn't necessarily going to happen. I started asking people to do things all the time (like getting groups of people to go try swing dancing or even to meet for a happy hour) and I didn't worry if people said no. If fact, people assumed that I was much more popular because I kept trying to organize things. My social life has vastly improved because I learned to not worry about people saying no to hanging out with me.
posted by
Caius Marcius
on June 27, 2009 [
1 favorite
I'm in a knitting group that meets on Sundays in a coffee shop. If you know how to knit or crochet or are interested in learning, there are lots of knitting groups around that you could join. The way to find them is to go to join
, go to groups, and search for a group for people in your area. They should have a listing of local groups.
My knitting group is all women, and we're mostly in our twenties or early thirties. I used to go to one that was more diverse in terms of age and had several male members, so it depends.
posted by
on June 27, 2009
Dancing is good! I would suggest one of: contra, english country dance, scottish country dance. Contra is probably the easiest to get into. These are formation style dancing (think square dance), and are generally extremely social. The general etiquette of these dance styles also tend to encourage dancing with a different partner every time, as well. They're pretty easy to learn, and you don't generally have to worry about where your feet go or stepping on peoples' toes.
There are groups doing these dances everywhere, and you're bound to find a relatively active group somewhere nearby where you live. Classes/dances generally cost money, but it's usually on the $4 to $10 range, so not horribly expensive. The people may not all be within your age range, but I haven't met a group so far that hasn't been welcoming and friendly.
posted by
that girl
on June 27, 2009 [
1 favorite
I'd 2nd (or 3rd??) social dancing. In my case it was swing/Lindy Hop. If you have at least a little rhythm, are not a complete social misfit (i.e., stalker/mass murderer type) then Lindy hop can really be a great scene to get into. The music is fabulous, the dance itself is wonderful ... it can be complex or it can be simple and you can still have fun. Don't get me wrong ... learning to Lindy can be a challenge and you have to overcome a fair bit of self consciousness in the beginning, but persevere and you'll be doing swing-outs in no time.
And the social scene is basically built in. Every woman I dated for 3 years I met doing Lindy ... even married one :)
posted by
on June 27, 2009
I beat people with sticks.
Sometimes I go
camping with 12000 of my closest friends
posted by
Kid Charlemagne
on June 27, 2009
Firstly I have to disagree that travelling doesn't help someones social life. I've posted about this before as a repsonse to
this post
, but travelling is what turned me from the kind of person who had not a lot of social confidence into a more social, outgoing person.
For me, this is what changed my Saturdays from wondering what I was doing to actively making things happen. Ask people at work what they are doing, have a look online to see whats happening, invite people along... sometimes you just have to make it happen yourself. Give people notice, 3 - 4 days and don't worry if people can't make it, it can be disheartening but people are busy.
But don't sit back and wait for life to happen.
posted by
on June 27, 2009 [
1 favorite
Volunteer to help organize a science fiction convention near you. It worked for me, several years ago, and I have stayed involved ever since. It is where I met all those who are now closest to me. The convention weekend itself will also serve as an opportunity to meet people and get involved in a wide variety of interest groups you can get involved in.
posted by
Matt Arnold
on June 27, 2009 [
1 favorite
Some comments on some of the comments.
1. Beware of the nerd factor in any group you participate in. Apart from computer nerds, there are, for example, also bike nerds. Unless you want to spend your entire time talking about derailleurs and the pros and cons of Shimano vs Campagnolo, gravitate to people who just enjoy the activity, rather than the techo details of it.
2. Evening classes.... great for meeting people, but in my experience, no-one likes to hang around afterwards and chat. Everyone is tired from working during the day, and just wants to go home (though perhaps this is just a consequence of where I live, Canberra.)
3. +1 dancing. In my darkest hours working in Sweden, being swept around a dance floor by a wonderful Swedish girl at the monthly folk music & dancing sessions on Skeppsholmen, was the highlight of my time there.
Whatever you pick, just ensure it involves actually talking with people!
posted by
on June 28, 2009
I beat people with sticks
Heh. I don't beat people with sticks, but, like Kid Charlamaine, I got involved with
the SCA
almost 20 years ago, and its totally fulfilled my social needs ever since. I met my husband and virtually all of my closest friends via the SCA.
SCA stuff happens mostly on weekends. You can travel around to events in diffferent areas and meet lots and lots of people from wildly different backgrounds.
posted by
on June 28, 2009
A few more thoughts:
The nerd factor has been mentioned, but also don't be afraid to celebrate your inner geek. Nothing can get in the way of meeting lots of great people faster than trying to be or remain cool.
Off the top of my head, activities that have fallen into this category for me have been:
Continuing ed (Italian class, kick-boxing, whatever), Pick-up sports (lots of communities play pick-up soccer or softball and in my experience if you know that soccer is played with feet and which end of a bat to hold you have enough skill to participate and have fun), dancing (many communities have contra-dancing nights), board gaming and role playing (the activities where I've met some of the most fun people ever, we celebrate our inner geeks together).
Other activities I've done less with , but seem likely:
Crafting communities (knitting, quilting, etc), martial arts classes, possibly music or dance lessons, gardening groups,
Finally there is the category of activities that combine good works with good friends:
Church groups, neighborhood associations, political action groups, volunteering at the soup kitchen, etc. I can remember having a great day just helping rebuild erosion control measures in a local park. I wasn't there to build my social circle, so we didn't keep in touch, but if I'd been new in town or whatever there were a few folks in that one day I could have seen keeping in touch with.
posted by
on June 28, 2009
After we moved to a new area we immediately started throwing parties. We built a house and so the first two parties were for a) the neighbors to apologize for the disruption it created and let everyone see it (there were frequent tourists during construction) and b) for all of the people who worked on it. Huge parties. Great food. Plenty of booze. Then we experimented with themes and yield, hosting several more parties for the whole neighborhood with appropriate benefits (fireworks on July 4th, haunted house at Halloween, Santa at Christmas, etc.). Now we hold two annual parties celebrating the longest and shortest days of the year, with attendant rituals, and interweave smaller dinner parties. We invite literally everyone we know (along with random people we happen to meet) and encourage everybody to bring friends. The upshot is that we get invited to other people's social occasions and our circle keeps widening.
posted by
on June 28, 2009
I'm not into sports, but I know lots of people who have met tons of people by joining co-ed sport teams. If my roommates weren't on about 3 soccer teams each, I would try and find some sport to join just to meet some new people.
posted by
on June 28, 2009
Seconding that girl, re: contradancing. We started doing in a year and a half ago and have really enjoyed it as a family. We see the same faces + new ones every weekend. Some of them involve potlucks before or after the dance, or going out to eat afterwards. My husband has really taken to it and has gone so far as to join the board of one organization and has started producing dances. A bonus is that you can travel all over the US and find dances to attend. Here's a
to get you started.
posted by
on June 28, 2009
When I moved to a new city, I started volunteering. But be careful what they want you to do -- you don't want to spent three hours stuffing envelopes or entering data into spreadsheets while sitting in a lonely cubicle.
The most rewarding volunteering that I did (and still do) was to find a non-profit that is involved in community organizing. I got my facilitator and mediator training through that and started working in a number of contexts around the city. Even if you don't meet new friends through that (which might also happen) you will get a ton of social interaction with strangers and this helped me a lot to develop social skills, to learn how to speak in front of a group, etc. If anything, it puts some extra skills on your resume. ;-)
I don't know where you live, but some neighborhoods have neighborhood management teams that consist of residents of that area. The one where I live organizes tree planting events, block parties, garbage clean-up, and also doubles as a neighborhood watch. This could be a great way to get in touch with close neighbors and will expand your social circle.
Joining Toastmasters might also be an idea. I have never gone to one of their meetings, but friends of mine really like it.
Good Luck!
posted by
Bearded Dave
on June 30, 2009
« Older
Does additional testosterone, ... | What are the differentiators t...
Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
Related Questions
Can Jimmy come out and play?
May 18, 2012
I want more friends, not more projects!
July 21, 2011
I want to be able to invite all my friends to a...
March 31, 2011
We're not friends, please stop talking to me.
August 17, 2009
Need a quick and easy system or app to help keep...
August 5, 2007
New User
MeFi Wiki
Buy a Shirt
© 1999-2014
MetaFilter Network Inc.
All posts are © their original authors.
| ☃


text:
New User:
Forgot your password?
Stock Market & Financial Investment News
News Breaks
November 15, 2012
International Shipholding terminates common stock offering
International Shipholding Corporation announced that, in light of current market conditions, it has decided not to proceed with its previously-announced common stock offering at this time. The acquisition of U.S. United Ocean Services continues on course for closing later this month through alternative financing sources.
News For ISH From The Last 14 Days
Check below for free stories on ISH the last two weeks.
Sign up for a free trial
to see the rest of the stories you've been missing.
There are no results for ISH
Sign up for a free trial
to see the rest of the stories you've been missing.
I agree to the theflyonthewall.com
disclaimer & terms of use


text:
Closing Arguments Begin In AEG-Jackson Trial
Similar imagesView all
Superior Court Judge Yvette M Palazuelos is shown in court as Michael... News Photo 181759913Arguing,Arts Culture and Entertainment,California,City Of Los Angeles,Closing,Courtroom,Crowded,Delivery,Downtown District,Family,Headshot,Horizontal,Juror - Law,Law,Lawyer,Michael Jackson,Packed,Trial,USAPhotographer PoolCollection: Getty Images News 2013 Getty ImagesLOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 24: Superior Court Judge Yvette M. Palazuelos is shown in court as Michael Jackson family attorney Brian delivers his closing argument to jurors in a packed courtroom September 24, 2013 in downtown Los Angeles, California. The Jackson family is suing concert promoter AEG Live LLC for damages following the pop star's death. AEG lawyers are scheduled to give their closing remarks tomorrow. (Photo by Al Seib-Pool/Getty Images)


text:
this is a combined message
atin America
dissent within the military delegation to un-sponsored talks in new york and mounting unrest in port-au-prince are undercutting army chief cedras's negotiating position. according to press reports-cedras's principal spokesman, a rightist extremist, yesterday publicly rejected the uh mediator's proposed solution; another spokesman subsequently agreed to discuss the plan. at least five small explosions were reported on thursday in port-au-princeJ meanwhile, a police aide beat the driver ofn-oas human rights monitor in the capital, according to the press, ff^//
commenti unless cedras reverses his apparent failure to win concessions from aristide or the international community in exchange for those he has made, his control probably hill further erode, and he may step aside. he may defer in any case to political leaders on the naming ofew prime minister; he probably would hopeove would allow him to return to port-au-prince to reassert hisOriginal document.
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:


text:
Home > Profile for Shanaaz
Shanaaz Singotiko
English speaker learning German, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese (Mandarin)
Shanaaz is listed in the language exchange directory.
Login or sign up to contact them.
Improve your language skills now:
- Free Word of the Day with audio
- Free Language Learning Tips
- Free Language Games
- Free Language Tutor Directory
- Free Language Exchange, and lots more!
The latest from Bitesized
Why does it not open a new account for me
In Questions
why have I received no word since 25 May 2014
In Questions
why have I received no word since 25 May 2014
In Questions
Get £25 off a French Immersion course in Pézenas
In Blog
Wonder drug may help you learn French faster, but are risks worth it?
In Blog


text:
Out of Mind ~ As ONE we are UNITED
ascension, galactics, ufo's, disclosure, blood, type, dinar, light, worker, pychics, crystals, astral, projection, ghosts, stonehenge, atlantis, cannibus, medical, marijuana, alternative, #health, care, earthquakes, volcano
A place where all types of gamers can unite and have a healthy dose of debates.
free, forum, generation7, gaming, types, gamers, unite, have, healthy, dose, debates, g7gaming, microsoft, games, sony, computer, entertainment, xbox, playstation
The new forum for all you lovers of Italy
italy, italia, forum, itay, information, living, #health, ex-pat, economy
Relive your childhood memories & see what was out on those special times of your life. This forum gives a weekly view of the Top 40 songs from 1955-today. I hope this will be a true gem for all music
relive, your, childhood, memories, what, those, special, times, life, this, forum, gives, weekly, view, #songs, from, 1955-today
Free forum : Health, nutrition, weight loss
Health, Fitness, Fun
livewhatyoulove, #health, fitness
Free forum : Open place to discuss sugar glider's health needs and other off topic
pets, exotic, laurie's, glider, gazette, sugar, gliders, bears, wildlife, rescue
Free Advertising For Childminders. Childcare Finder. Childcare Link. Childminder Finder. Childminding Forum. Childminding. Childminding Services. Childminding Vacancies.
free, advertising, childminding, services, chidcare, link, eyfs, childminders, forum, freebies, freestuff, babies, toys, resources, stories, #songs, disney, kids, dayout, activities, colouring, printables, maths, teaching, festivals
Free forum : DISCUSSION ON SUERTRES STRATEGY
suertres, forum, lotto, discussion, pick3, 3digit, winning, numbers, swertres, #health, politics, tips
Koi Online's Forum - All about Koi SA. KoiForum. . KoiForum
fish, dealers, online, forum, koiforum, farm, wholeale, filter, pumps, medication, #health, south, africa, cape, pond, build, sale, spawn, equipment, breedng, breeder, nishiki, farming, kohaku, sanke, showa
Keeping local Environmental Health Administrators, Directors and Supervisors informed
ialeha, keeping, local, environmental, #health, administrators, directors, supervisors, informed
rat forum : An informative, fun forum for all rat lovers that it politics free
dumbo, fancy, cage, care, blue, #health, behaviour, breeding, diet, chat, genetics, photos, bedding, shop
Empowering each other towards an inclusive and affirmative practice for sexual minority and gender variant populations.
queer, mental, #health, empowering, each, other, towards, inclusive, affirmative, practice, sexual, minority, gender, variant, populations
Come and join in the fun with other Carl Riseley fans on the Carl forum!! Lots of videos, songs, photos, interviews, upcoming dates etc. Carl also comes to visit us in our chat room and on the forum!!


text:
April 2010 Describes a voucher-based reinforcement therapy trial with pregnant smokers to determine its effectiveness in enhancing abstinence rates.
April 2010
Highlights NIDA's research portfolio to identify the genes and genetic processes responsible for a person's vulnerability to drug abuse.
April 2010 Reports on a study of cocaine abusers revealing that the Stroop test may predict which cocaine abusers are likely to drop out of therapy.
April 2010 Remembers Dr. James A. Inciardi, founder and co-director of the Center for Drug and Alcohol Studies and professor at the University of Delaware, who died on November 23, 2009.
December 2009
Reports animal study findings that suggest adolescents' heightened sensitivity to drug reward puts them at enhanced risk of addiction and may also increase their challenges in recovery.
Compares data on substance abuse and sexual risk among college students and their peers who do not attend college.
Reports findings that a rare neuroreceptor may be linked to the intensive cravings cocaine abusers experience during their first weeks of abstinence.
Reports on several drugs that may ward off depression and anxiety, common withdrawal symptoms from cocaine, based on an animal study.
Announces NIDA Notes' first place 2009 award that salutes superior communications efforts of government agencies.
Describes findings of a study revealing that images of heroin preparation and injection can incite craving and excite brain areas associated with reward-seeking even in methadone-maintained patients.


text:
Reviews (0)
Need Help?
Product Description:
Women's prAna® Esme Jacket :: The casual cool of the Esme Jacket's embossed faux suede overlays serious winter warmth in the form of a bonded sherpa interior. The Esme is ready for hikes along the ridge, coffee at the corner shop, and exploring new cities.
Features & Benefits:
Your Help Is Here
Shop with confidence knowing your team of Fit Experts is waiting to answer all your questions. You can always find your perfect product and your perfect fit. Your Road Runner Sports Fit Experts will make sure you get exactly what you want and have tons of fun in the process! Give us a call, chat, or email!
Call 800-743-3206 to
Send us an email and count on a Fit Expert to reply to you as quickly as possible
You May Also Like
More Related Products
Women's prAna® Miranda Hoodie :: The 100% organic cotton Miranda Hoodie wraps you in soft French terry, and you'll never ...
Women's prAna® Drea Jacket :: The Drea Jacket is a moisture wicking stretch performance fleece for running, cross training, and ...
Women's prAna® Arden Jacket :: The quilted and PrimaLoft@reg;filled Arden brings the coziness of hearth and home into the great ...


text:
Pro-Beijing demonstrators march in Hong Kong
Michael Forsythe and Alan Wong Tens of thousands of people marched under a blistering sun in Hong Kong on Sunday to express their opposition to a pro-democracy movement that has threatened to bring Asia's biggest financial center...
Pro-Beijing demonstration shows battle for Hong Kong on in earnest
Philip Wen Tens of thousands of people have marched through central Hong Kong to protest a planned civil disobedience campaign by pro-democracy activists demanding electoral reform.
Pope sends message to Beijing, but some Chinese barred from South Korea event
Philip Pullella Pope Francis sent an unprecedented message of goodwill to China before touching down in Seoul, but the first papal trip to Asia in 15 years got off to a shaky start with the news some Chinese had...
China: Julie Bishop comments that sparked Beijing's rebuke 'never' made
John Garnaut On Monday, China's most popular tabloid, The Global Times, blasted Foreign Minister Julie Bishop as a "complete fool" for telling Fairfax that she would stand up to China in defence...
Beijing restricts Ramadan celebrations for officials, schools
Beijing has banned civil servants, students and teachers in the mainly Muslim Xinjiang region from taking part in Ramadan fasting, government websites said.
Obama's stance on disputed islands angers Beijing
Philip Wen US President Barack Obama has declared that the United States will come to the defence of Japan in an event of a territorial conflict with China in the East China Sea, drawing an angry response from...
South China Sea: Beijing denies US version of Kerry's remarks to foreign minister
China has said US Secretary of State John Kerry did not refer to "provocative" action by Beijing in the South China Sea while holding a telephone conversation with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
Living under a cloud in Beijing
Philip Wen Taxi drivers in Beijing are generally of the irritable, on-edge variety, borne from hours upon hours of passive-aggressive weaving and dodging on the city's congested roads.
Public concern forces Beijing to act on environment
Philip Wen Beijing: Li Keqiang's declaration of war against pollution underlines the urgent political dimension China's environmental problems have taken on due to rising public concern.
Missing Malaysia Airlines plane: Relatives of MH370 passengers walk out of Beijing briefing in protest
Philip Wen Beijing: Families of the passengers on board Flight MH370 walked out in protest at an official Malaysian information session on Friday afternoon, leaving the delegation, including...
China's gambling addiction could prove tempting to Beijing
Isaac Stone Fish Everyone is trying to cash in on the Chinese love of gambling. But does Beijing have an ace up its sleeve?
Beijing car attack ours, says Islamist group
Philip Wen Little-known Turkestan Islamic Party says it struck at Tiananmen Square, but Uighur activists are sceptical.
Beijing tactic makes waves in disputed sea
Philip Wen Beijing and Nick O'Malley When China marked out an expansive swath of airspace above the East China Sea and effectively claimed it as under its control, it was seen as an abrupt escalation of an already tense territorial...
US journalists feel wrath of Beijing
Philip Wen China appears poised to expel nearly two dozen foreign journalists at The New York Times and Bloomberg.
Bishop receives cold Beijing welcome
Philip Wen The Chinese government has delivered a fresh rebuke to Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop, warning that Australia's position on the East China Sea had "jeopardised" bilateral relations.
Explosion at Beijing airport as suspect identified
Philip Wen A man in a wheelchair has set off a home-made bomb inside Beijing's international airport on Saturday, injuring himself but no others.
Wheelchair-bound man sets off bomb at Beijing aiport in apparent protest
Philip Wen A man in a wheelchair has set off a home-made bomb inside Beijing's international airport, injuring himself but no others in an apparent act of protest.
Washington to push Beijing for South China Sea code, Biden says
Haslinda Amin and Sharon Chen Vice President Joe Biden said the US is pushing China to negotiate quickly with Southeast Asian nations on a code of conduct for the South China Sea, an area that's a "major, major, major highway of...
Beijing's ships warn Japan over disputed islands claim
Beijing China has sent two patrol ships to a group of islands at the centre of a territorial row with Japan after Tokyo said it would nationalise them.
Expats tap the energy in old Beijing
Belle Taylor Ex-Melbourne architect admits the locals don't know what to make of his cafe and bicycle shop.


text:
Consumer products are perceived via sensory aspects that stimulate emotional responses. A small number of emotion lexicons for food have been developed, and these emotion instruments for general consumption experience might not uncover the deeper and distinct emotions created by specific products, especially those consumed primarily for pleasure (e.g., coffee).
Since the inception of the Lovemarks theory, academic literature on the topic of emotional marketing has grown considerably. Here you'll find a sampling of some interesting academic investigations into the hearts and minds of today's consumers.
Type: Articles & Papers, Resources | 349 views
Type: Articles & Papers, Resources | 177 views
Brand Experience: What Is It? How Is It Measured? Does It Affect Loyalty?
Brand experience is conceptualized as sensations, feelings, cognitions, and behavioral responses evoked by brand-related stimuli that are part of a brand's design and identity. In this article for the Journal of Marketing, the authors distinguish several experience dimensions and construct a brand experience scale that includes four dimensions: sensory, affective, intellectual, and behavioral.
Type: Articles & Papers, Resources | 169 views
Turn It Up: That's My Song in That Ad
Popular music in advertising can affect attention, recall, and purchase intention. However, relatively little is known about its effect on attitude when the song in the ad is a favourite song. This study looked at the effect of various and actual integrations of popular music on attitude towards an ad, brand and artist in television commercials.
Type: Articles & Papers, Resources | 266 views
Power of Senses in Branding and Its Impact on Consumer
This paper examines the multi-sensory brand-experience concept, the significance of the multi-sensory brand-experience in differentiating, distinguishing and positioning a brand in the human mind as an image.
Type: Articles & Papers, Resources | 315 views
Romantic Brand Love: A Conceptual Analysis
This article from The Marketing Review looks at 'romantic brand love', a unique facet of brand love that is stimulated by specific themes, products and brand symbolism in advertising. It also outlines the structure of romantic brand love and looks at how it is developed.
Type: Articles & Papers, Resources | 270 views
Beyond the Extended Self: Loved Objects and Consumers' Identity Narratives
This article investigates the possessions and activities that consumers love and their role in the construction of a coherent identity narrative.
Type: Articles & Papers, Resources | 317 views
Emotions, Imagination and Consumption
This study by Eva Illouz investigates the link between emotion and the sociology of consumption. Arguing not only that the category of 'emotion' can be heuristic for a sociology of consumption, but also that the consumption has long been, albeit unknowingly, dealing with emotions.
Type: Articles & Papers, Resources | 314 views
The Fire of Desire: A Multisited Inquiry into Consumer Passion
Desire is the motivating force behind much of contemporary consumption. Yet consumer research has devoted little specific attention to passionate and fanciful consumer desire. This article is grounded in consumers' everyday experiences of longing for and fantasizing about particular goods.
Type: Articles & Papers, Resources | 276 views
Remembering the Good Old Days: The Moderating Role of Consumer Affective State on the Effectiveness of Nostalgic Advertising
This study examines the moderating role of consumer affective state on individuals' responses to nostalgic and non-nostalgic advertising.
Type: Articles & Papers, Resources | 509 views
Impacts of the Trilogy of Emotion on Future Purchase Intentions in Products of High Involvement Under the Mediating Role of Brand Awareness
This study validates the impact of emotion – more specifically cognition and affection – on future purchase intentions under mediating role of brand awareness, in a country with growing markets.
Type: Articles & Papers, Resources | 389 views
Fans Club Brand Relationship: Football Passion
This study explores why football fans are willing to do make sacrifices in order to continue their relationship with their preferred club.
Type: Articles & Papers, Resources | 556 views
Nothing Can Tear Us Apart: The Effect of Brand Identity Fusion in Consumer–Brand Relationships
Comparing brand identity fusion with brand identification, this research provides evidence that brand identity fusion is more predictive and enduring in explaining consumers' relationship-serving biases and prorelationship behaviors in the face of brand transgressions.
Type: Audio & Video, News & Media, Resources | 437 views
The Language of Brand Love: Loveworks Author Brian Sheehan Talks to Marketing Smarts
Brian Sheehan talks to MarketingProfs.com's Kerry O'Shea Gorgone about his new book Loveworks: How the world's top marketers make emotional connections to win in the marketplace.
Type: Insights & Ideas, News & Media | 1,427 views
Teaching Feature: Jayne Van Dusen, Algonquin College
Q&A with Jayne Van Dusen, Advertising & Marketing Communications Management, Algonquin College, Ottawa, Canada.
Type: Articles & Papers, Resources | 764 views
Warmth and Conformity: The Effects of Ambient Temperature on Product Preferences and Financial Decisions
Warm temperatures increased the participants' perceptions of social closeness to other decision-makers, thus leading them to consider the opinions of those decision-makers to have greater validity


text:
Accounting, Banking, and Finance Jobs in Bahrain
Sort by:
Page 1 of 1
Audit - Bank and Finance - A Big Four in the Middle East
A Big Four Consulting Firm - Bahrain
Key responsibilities: • Responding to respond to client queries, being alert to both commercial concerns and technical accuracy and referring upwards if necessary • Performing complex fieldwork on ass...
Internship - Accounts Payable
Confidential Company - Manama, Bahrain
The Intern will be working alongside the Accounts Payable department to process the following: - Vouching - Payment of invoices - Preparing bank reconciliation - Filing
Job Role: Accounting/Banking/Finance Company Industry: Accounting/Auditing Career Level: Student/Internship
SRM Corporate Banking - Bahrain
Huxley Associates - Bahrain
One of the highly growing banks in Bahrain is looking to hire a Senior Relationship Manager within their Wholesale Banking Group.Job Purpose:- Develop the Qatar market and clie...
Job Role: Accounting/Banking/Finance Company Industry: Banking Career Level: Management
Sr. Account Manager
HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES - Manama, Bahrain
1.Contact and collaborate with key partners in the process of customizing services and support solutions for target enterprise customers. 2.Use relationship management techniques to develop selling o...
Job Role: Accounting/Banking/Finance Company Industry: Telecommunications Career Level: Management
Page 1 of 1
Search Again
Filter Current ResultsSpecify your search preference from the sections below to narrow down your results.
Now filtering by:
- Date Posted: Any
Job Location
- Bahrain (4)
- Manama (2)
Job Role
- Accounting/Banking/Finance (4)
Company Industry
- Accounting/Auditing (2)
- Banking (1)
- Telecommunications (1)
- Unspecified (4)
Career Level
- Student/Internship (1)
- Mid Career (1)
- Management (2)
Average Monthly Salary
- $1,000 (1)
- $4,000 (1)
- Unspecified (2)
Date Posted
- Any (4)
Company Type
- Employer (Private Sector) (4)


text:
Posted Dec 27, 2012By
The Cincinnati Bearcats take on the Duke Blue Devils in the NCAA college football's Belk Bowl at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina on December 27, 2012.
UCLA football practice, Tuesday, August 19, 2014, at UCLA.
USC football practice at USC, Sunday, August 17, 2014.
The USC Football team held practice on Saturday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, CA.
The UCLA football team holds it's final day of training camp at California State University on Saturday, Augu
The UCLA football team goes though practice drills during their second to last day of practice at Cal State San Ber