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While a Miami judge decides whether to overturn Florida's ban on same-sex marriage - mayors across the state are sharing their support for gay marriage.
Cape Coral Mayor Marni Sawicki is the first mayor in Southwest Florida to publicly endorse same-sex marriage.
Her endorsement leaves Florida with the highest number of supportive mayors in states where gay marriage is banned.
Sawicki took to Facebook Wednesday to announce she supports the Freedom to Marry Initiative.
Debbie Defaira is a Cape Coral resident and said she thinks it's about time a local mayor got on board.
Sawicki is among 35 mayors in Florida to sign on.
"That's one of the largest numbers of mayors of any state in the country that have stood up and committed their support the cause," Marc Solomon, Freedom to Marry, spokesman said.
Sawicki is a democrat who describes herself as fiscally conservative and socially liberal.
"The reason I signed it is because I believe it's about human rights and freedom of choice. I believe it's the right thing to do," Sawicki said.
Cape Coral does tend to lean conservative and the mayor's announcement doesn't sit well with some of her constituents.
"She'll never get any support from me if she's going to come out," said one voter only identifying himself as Bob.
"As a Christian I am appalled that she would come out and publicly be okay with that," said Dennis Adana of Cape Coral.
The group Freedom to Marry argues those Christian values pointed to by Adana are changing.
They cite a poll by Public Religion Research which says 57 percent of Floridians support same sex marriage.
"I totally believe everyone should be allowed to love and be with who they want to be with," Dafaria said.
We did contact mayors in other Southwest Florida cities like Fort Myers, Naples and Port Charlotte to see whether they planned to pledge their support. None of them returned our phone calls by the time this report was published.
Bonita Springs Mayor Ben Nelson says he doesn't plan to sign the Freedom to Marry Initiative. Nelson says the decision isn't because he doesn't personally support it.He says the city's charter is restrictive and prevents the mayor from signing it without council's consent.
3719 Central AvenueFort Myers, FL 33901Main Phone: (239) 939-2020Newsroom Phone: (239) 939-6223


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Liverpool's youngsters take on Chelsea in the first leg of the FA Youth Cup semi-final at Anfield on Friday night - here's our guide to Steve Cooper's Academy hopefuls.
You can watch the game live on LFC TV and LFC TV Online, with our coverage starting at 7.30pm BST.
Ryan Fulton: The Scotland youth international has been a formidable barrier in the Liverpool goal during the run to the semi-finals, conceding just one goal in four games. In his first season with the U18 squad he is a commanding presence and a great communicator.
Ryan McLaughlin: The Northern Ireland youth international has had a season to remember. The right-back was included in the first-team squad that travelled to USA and made his debut marking Roma star Francesco Totti at Fenway Park. A player that loves to get forward and support the attack, he will be a key figure against Chelsea.
Joe Maguire: The left-back from Manchester has had a very consistent season. He has been sidelined with a hamstring problem but Cooper will be hoping he will be fit for the semi-final.
Yalany Baio: The tough tackling midfielder has proved to be a great asset for Cooper this season, showing his versatility by playing at right-back and his preferred position of central midfield. A great competitor with an infectious will to win.
Lloyd Jones: The big Welsh youth international centre-back has been a tower of strength for Cooper's charges this season. Snapped up from Plymouth in the summer, he has recently been promoted to Alex Inglethorpe's U21 squad.
Dan Cleary: The Republic of Ireland youth international has struck up a good partnership with Jones in the Youth Cup team. A good reader of the game, the Dublin boy has made great strides in his first season with the U18 squad.
Niall Heaton: The Leeds-born centre-back was signed from Bradford City as an U15 player. An England international, he is a great header of the ball and a reliable player to call upon.
Jordan Rossiter: The young Scouser has made great strides this season and his performances have attracted attention from the likes of Kop idol Robbie Fowler. The central midfielder has captained the U18s this season and is still only a schoolboy.
Jordan Lussey: The captain gave Cooper a boost by returning from injury in last weekend's draw at Tottenham Hotspur. Lussey leads by example, has a great eye for a pass and is capable of scoring spectacular goals.
Jack Dunn: Cooper is hoping the powerful forward can return from injury against Chelsea. After breaking into the U21 team and netting the winner away at Wolves, he has been sidelined in recent weeks. Dunn is an all-action player who has scored in every round of the competition so far, netting six goals in the FA Youth Cup. He will be a key figure for the Chelsea clash.
Cameron Brannagan: The young man from Manchester has had a very consistent season in the heart of the midfield. A very reliable player to call upon, Brannagan made an impressive debut for the U21s recently against Tottenham when he came off the bench at Anfield.
Alex O'Hanlon: The Republic of Ireland youth international is a very exciting player who can play on the left wing or in the middle of the park.
Daniel Trickett-Smith: The diminutive forward arrived from Crewe during the summer and has been a key performer during the Youth Cup run. He can play as a No.10 and has a great eye for a pass. Because of injuries in recent weeks, he has been playing No.9 and scored some vital goals.
Kristoffer Peterson: The Swedish winger is a powerful player who is equally effective on the right and left flanks. The boy from Gothenburg is also very good in the air and has progressed to the U21 squad this season.
Nathan Burke: The young Scouser has a great attitude and is enjoying his football again after being sidelined through injury at the start of the season. Burke has been at Liverpool since an U10 and can play in midfield and at full-back.
Nathan Quirk: Nathan is a very consistent performer and can play in a variety of positions. He can play in midfield or at full-back and never lets the side down when called upon.
Jerome Sinclair: The striker is just back from injury and his return is a big boost for Cooper. The former West Bromwich Albion youngster has had a season to remember - he became Liverpool's youngest ever player when he appeared as a substitute in the Capital One Cup tie against his old club at The Hawthorns.
Jordon Ibe: The exciting winger was on the bench for the first team in the recent game at Southampton. The former Wycombe Wanderers player can beat defenders for fun and he netted two brilliant goals in the FA Youth Cup win over Leeds United at Anfield.
Sam Gainford: The left-winger is a real threat going forward and a useful asset for Cooper to call upon. He has been at Liverpool since the age of 10.
Seyi Ojo: The England youth international is an exciting player who can play anywhere across the front line. He is a very tricky player and a useful individual for Cooper to call from the bench if he needs a spark.
Connor Randall: He has represented England U17s and is a manager's dream as he will play anywhere for the team cause with the minimum of fuss.
Tagged: FA Youth Cup , academy , youth cup
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White Wedding – White Honeymoon!
Are you swimsuit ready after your big day?
by Viva Vayspap
Share your comments on this topic
Write your own tips and ideas to share with other Knotties.
Wedding Dresses, Bridesmaid Dresses & Wedding Planning Tools
by Viva Vayspap
You've been working out with a killer fitness routine. You've been toning up and eating right. You looked great in your white wedding gown – so why not keep the white theme rocking along through to your honeymoon.
These bold and classic one piece swimsuits are perfect for sun drenched summer days, and can be effortlessly taken through to evening accompanied with a skirt or sheer caftan.
So if you're headed somewhere warm on your honeymoon, think white!
Seventh Wonderland $275, Seventh Wonderland "Arabella" $140, Nookie "Sugar Baby" $140.96 available from The Grand Social
Where are you headed on your honeymoon?
Write your own tips and ideas to share with other Knotties.
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|Page (1) of 1 - 01/09/14
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Lakehouse Lifestyle Brings Great Lake House Gear to the Milwaukee Boat Show(January 09, 2014)
Whitewater, WI (PRWEB) January 09, 2014
Fans of lake life can check out the selection of unique and expertly crafted lake house décor, personalized lake signs and knickknacks offered by Lakehouse Lifestyle LLC in Booth 116 at the Milwaukee Boat Show, January 17-19 and 22-26 at the Expo Center at the Wisconsin State Fair Park.
Its an excellent chance for those who love life on the water to see up close the detail that goes into every custom-made lake map and to find the games, gear and home accessories to outfit their boat, lake house or cabin.
We are excited to meet our customers at the Milwaukee Boat Show, says Lakehouse Lifestyle founder Brian Cooney. We share their passion for being on, in and around the water, so weve curated a collection of products that we think theyll love.
The Milwaukee Boat Show is Wisconsins largest boating exposition, with more than 300 boats from more than 75 manufacturers, including motor yachts, runabouts, aluminum boats, pro style fishing rigs, pontoon boats and cruisers. Highlights include the Swampmasters Live Alligator Show, HO Sports Tube Truckload Sale, the USS Wisconsin nuclear sub on display, the Key West Crabshack, Wisconsin Scale Boats, antique and classic boats, fishing seminars and more. Details can be found at ShowSpan.com/MBS.
Lakehouse Lifestyle is best known for its carved birch lake maps, which are laser cut to provide an accurate three-dimensional representation of any lake chosen by a Lakehouse Lifestyle customer. The company also is known for its vintage signs customized with a family name and lake house location. All products are made in America.
Lakehouse Lifestyle
Lakehouse Lifestyle has been offering their many loyal customers handcrafted, American-made lake gifts and lake decor since 2008. All Lakehouse Lifestyle products are created by artists who are skilled in their trade and who take great pride in the quality, construction and workmanship of their creations. Lakehouse Lifestyle owner Brian Cooney has been a lake dweller for 30 years, so he understands the love that lake house owners have for these retreats and strives to provide products that are not only fun and practical, but that will evoke memories of lazy summer days spent lakeside. As they always say, Life is better at the lake. For more information on Lakehouse Lifestyle, please visit http://www.lakehouselifestyle.com.
Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/01/prweb11472846.htm.
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Provisional ballots will determine a very tight city council race in Guntersville.
Provisional ballots are ballots of people who were denied the right to cast a ballot because of issues.
Now, it's up to the board of registrars to decide how many of the six provisional ballots are legitimate.
Former Councilman Sam Stewart and fellow District 1 candidate Charles Avery will have to wait after the men tied at 62 votes each at the polls on Tuesday.
Both men received the exact same votes at the polls, but Stewart edged Avery four to one in the absentee vote.
The board of registrars is trying to determine the validity of six provisional votes of those people denied the ability to cast a ballot at the polls.
Board Chairman Don Milligan said that can happen when people come to the polls and they're not on the voters list or if they fail to bring identification to the polls.
It's up to the board to determine voter eligibility.
"We go to the list to find out if they are actually at that address, if they live at that address, if they're registered at that address. We try to determine why they're not on the list," said Milligan.
Milligan said they plan to present their findings to the city Monday morning.
The council will determine the winner at their council meeting that evening.
Copyright 2012 WAFF. All rights reserved.
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Huntsville, AL 35801
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The Worst Celebrity Beach Bodies
The Olsen Twins' Style Transformation
Is It Easy To Be A Rich Mom?
Plastic Surgery Scar Spotted on Kylie Jenner's Face
Celebrities Who Have Aged the Worst
54 Photoshopped Celebrity Before and After Photos
Wendy Williams Trashes Beyonce: Find Out Why
30 Child Stars Who Died Young
Emma Watson's Intentional "Side Boob"
5 Things You Didn't Know About Rihanna
Beyonce's Real Face Revealed
24 Celebrities You Didn't Know Were Related
11 Celebrities You Didn't Know Were Athletes
18 Famous People You Didn't Know Were Missing Body Parts
11 Celebrities Who Are Aging Backwards
Is This Harry Styles' New Girlfriend?
20 Child Stars Who Died WAY Too Young
Mismatched Celebrity Couples That Weirded Us Out
Miley's Perfect Beauty Close Up
Ashley Tisdale's Tattoos: Trashy Or Tasteful?
2014 MTV's VMAs Best and Worst Dressed
You Won't Believe Nicky Minaj's Natural Hair
4 Celebrities Who Are Famous Because Of Their Parents
24 Celebs Who Couldn't Stop Eating and Got Fat
Ariana Grande's Secret to Huge Hair
Paris Hilton's See-Through Purse is Filled With...
The Most Educated Rappers in The Game
Celebs Going Weaveless: You Don't Have To Prove Anything!
What the Devil? Drake Flashes Rihanna's Picture Along With Satan?
Proof That Beyonce's Not A Perfect Mother


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A McKinney chiropractor will spend up to 23 years in prison for sexually abusing his patients.
The punishment was announced in a Collin County courtroom late Wednesday night.
David Russell, 44, was sentenced to various years on each charge. His longest prison sentence is 15 years for the sexual assault of a child.
Prosecutors were going for life but did not get that sentence.
Prosecutors said the assaults happened at Russell's chiropractic office in McKinney. The victims were some of his female patients between the years of 2002 and 2011.
On Tuesday, Jurors deliberated for nearly 15 hours before convicting Russell of sexual assault of a child, two counts of sexual assault, and two counts of indecency with a child by contact.
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It's October and Halloween is fast approaching and the weather get's cooler so I thought I would post this just for kick's and maybe to keep our minds a little distracted from the way the Ram's have been playing so far. So here is the question.
Who would win in a fight between Jason from friday the 13th or Michael Myers from halloween??
I know this is not football related but it is October so I thought why the hell not.


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Designer interiors and legendary gardens in Barnsley, the Cotswolds
the private cinema with its pink leather seats, the intimate spa and wonderful atmosphere.
Placing the Cotswolds village of Barnsley on the map
with its enchanting gardens and ancient meadows, Barnsley House's
setting is a hard one to beat. Designed by former owner Rosemary
Verey, OBE, VMH, the gardens' collection of intimate, artistic
nooks and crannies met with admiration upon its opening to the
public in 1970. Notably from HRH the Prince of Wales and Sir Elton
John (who employed Rosemary) and they continue to attract thousands
of paying visitors today. Inside, an original approach to the
traditional concept of comfort and luxury has resulted in unfussy,
soothing rooms whose 17th-century origins have been given a
21st-century transformation. Stone fireplaces, wooden floors and
exposed beams add authenticity to the country atmosphere whilst
high-tech equipment such as cinema surround-sound hi-fi systems and
wide-screen plasmas bring the House firmly up to date. However, for
total privacy stay in the three-bedroom Home Farm Cottage across
the road from the House - very cosy. The Barnsley Spa &
Skincare Centre is well worth a visit and to complete the
pampering, meals at The Potager Restaurant are a must. Head Chef
Graham Grafton can often be seen picking vegetables from the
gardens to produce English classics with Italian inspiration.
Calling all film lovers: Barnsley House has a big screen cinema
room showing films at selected times.
Condé Nast Johansens Best Hotel 2013
Our midweek spa break starts from just £195 per person when sharing a double or twin room and is available Sunday through to Thursday. Full English breakfast, dinner in The Potager restaurant and a 25 minute spa treatment are included and…throughout this summer, a complimentary Strawberry Sundae on arrival is yours too if you are 'overnighting' with us on a Sunday!
To make a booking please call 01285 740 000, email email@example.com
This offer is available on new bookings only until 31st August 2014 and is subject to availability.
Valid from 22 Jun 2014 to 31 Aug 2014


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This issue's shoptalkers: Trish Hoppey, partner at the Democratic direct mail firm Pivot; Kevin Mack, partner at Mack Crounse Group; and Ben Mitchell, partner at the Republican mail firm Political Ink.
C&E: Which postal changes will have the greatest impact on your business and how are you all dealing with that?
Kevin Mack: I think what really impacts us are the sorting facilities and the fact that the post office is cutting shifts and laying off workers in those facilities. In Ohio, for instance, there used to be three or four facilities your mail could go through. Now, there's maybe only one covering the entire state. So once you drop the mail off at a postal sectional facility, it impacts your ability to actually get it out to households and the ability to track it. I think what it means is that we're going to have to build in longer periods of time for dropping the mail. People who try to be really precise are going to get in trouble.
Trish Hoppey: I think there are mechanisms we can use to help us determine how long delivery of our mail is taking. That way we can adjust the schedule after a few mailings based on that. There are organizations like Track My Mail that will put a barcode on the mail so we can see how it goes through the delivery system. We also use U.S. Monitor on every single mailing that we send out. For us, it's simply a way of knowing exactly when things are actually hitting a mailbox. As postal facilities continue to close, that's something that will help us to determine whether or not the closings are really having an impact. Now, I do think we saw a bit of the impact of these shifts being cut just this past year in Virginia. It's really unfortunate for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that more people are out of work.
Ben Mitchell: If a campaign is well organized, well-funded and well run you aren't going to see much difference because of this. And that's because good campaigns plan well. They know what they want to say and when they want to say it. What's happening with the Postal Service is going to make it more difficult for mail consultants to bail out campaigns that are poorly planned. So perhaps it's no longer going to be possible for a campaign to get on the phone with you 10 days out and say, "I just found some more money and I want to spend it on direct mail."
Hoppey: Right, unless we're in front of it. And campaigns typically aren't as willing to take a risk to get in front of it because you then have a bunch of pieces in the bank that those campaigns have to turn around and potentially pay for.
C&E: What was the most immediate impact you saw on the legislative races in Virginia this year?
Hoppey: We just saw deliverability take a lot longer than we were used to. That was particularly the case in Northern Virginia. Is this something you guys saw, as well?
Mack: We absolutely did. It was just inconsistent. Sometimes we would drop on a Tuesday and actually be in households on Wednesday, which is what you would expect. Other times, it would take five or six days. When that would happen, we'd call the Postal Service and basically they would say, "This is the new normal."
Hoppey: This is one of the reasons that it's really important that people look at who they're hiring. You want to make sure the people you hire are actually developing relationships with the sectional center facilities. They need to have relationships that allow them to call and say, "Hey, we've got a piece of mail that's coming through and we want to alert you to it." That's something my firm does, and I know that Kevin's firm does it too. It's also important to have the capacity to try to figure out where the problem is if a piece of mail isn't getting delivered as fast as you need it to. There are ways that we can at least keep our clients in the loop on this stuff. Ultimately, I just don't think these changes are going to have as big of an impact in political communications as some people are fearing.
Mack: Every medium has challenges right now. This is just a new one for us. Television is dealing with hundreds of channels and satellites and DVRs. We're dealing with five day delivery and slower delivery times. It's just a new challenge that we have to deal with.
C&E: What about the possibility of three day delivery or something more drastic down the road? Can you survive that?
Mitchell: If the Postal Service gets more efficient and better organized, which admittedly is unlikely, then three or four days a week wouldn't really be an issue. The exception is in races where you may be looking to be in mailboxes every single day. In that case, it's a real issue. But that's not the expectation for most of our clients. To me, it's less about how many days the post office delivers and more about how efficient and reliable it is.
Mack: That's a good point. It's really about spacing. If you're trying to drop 10 pieces of mail, then you have to figure out at what interval you have to mail those pieces. I think that's something we're going to have to figure out campaign by campaign.
Hoppey: It all comes back to planning and being able to adjust. Whether it's the campaign or the consultant, we'll have to be more nimble.
Mitchell: The one thing I would add is that this also reduces the margin of error. We have production schedules, as I'm sure you guys do. You will now have to hit your production deadlines every single time. If you're dropping two mail pieces a week and you miss a day for some reason, that's not the biggest deal if you still have six day delivery. But when the delivery days are reduced at all, it's critical that we mitigate any sort of delay.
C&E: So is this just a matter of pushing campaigns to plan more comprehensively?
Hoppey: Well, I think campaigns do that. My experience with good campaigns is that you start out with a communications plan that's integrated with everything else— he field plan, the paid media, the direct voter contact. What it really means is that we have to just be a little more vigilent when it comes to those plans. We need to either stick to them better or be more agile in moving around them. But smart campaigns do plan. And the better the plan, the more likely the campaign is to win.
Mack: I think the biggest part of this equation going forward is capacity. You need design capacity, you need production capacity and now you need the capacity to ensure the mail gets in on time. There is something alluring about hiring a really small firm, or a one- or two-person firm. I understand that. On the other hand, you have to make sure the firm you hire has the capacity to deal with all of these different issues. It's just a little bit of an interesting world right now and I think it will be very interesting to see how that plays out over this cycle.
C&E: There are so many new firms starting across the industry—direct mail and otherwise. What do you make of that landscape?
Mitchell: I'm not sure if this is true on the Democratic side of things, but on the Republican side it seems as though the operatives coming up through the ranks are focused on online media. There's this narrative out there—that's not entirely true— that says two or three or four cycles from now direct mail is going to be dead. I think because of that a lot of young people are focused on building online firms. As a result, there's intense competition and intense pressure on margins. Quite frankly, that's accruing to our benefit.
Hoppey: More power to 'em from my perspective. I think we see a shift every cycle. There are people who leave the committees or people who leave other firms to start their own. What happens over the course of time is just a natural selection. Firms either merge, or people decide to leave to join more established firms. It's always interesting to see the sort of new firms that crop up each and every year.
Mitchell: But is it similar on the Democratic side? Are people starting new mail companies on your side of the aisle?
Hoppey: Yes. A lot of folks are.
Mack: I think it's highly competitive out there on the direct mail side. And because of that you have to stay hungry and you have to fight for every piece of business. That goes for business that you've had for years, too. You just have to accept that and take it on. If you get lazy—at least on the Democratic side—with your marketing right now you will get eaten alive by the smaller, up-and-coming firms.
Hoppey: I completely agree and I think it makes us better at our jobs. We have to stay on the edge and be constantly thinking about how to help our existing and recurring clients, because those are the marquee clients that every firm wants. It's our responsiblitlity to be in front of them. What I find is that the more direct mail firms out there, the more our clients are expecting from us. They really expect us to be a much more involved member of the team in certain cases.
Mack: After the Obama campaign, there were 15 or 20 people who were trying to just do online on the Democratic side. Some of them are still doing it, some of them are doing other things and some of them have actually been rehired by the Obama campaign. So I do think there was a big influx of online consultants in 2008, but it has tapered off a bit for us.
C&E: How about the folks who do say, "Direct mail is dead." Why are they wrong?
Mack: For the last six or seven years, at least on the Democratic side, there has been a tremendous amount of testing done on direct mail. I believe that when it started, the intent was to prove that direct mail didn't work any longer. What ended up happening was that mail worked in every single one of these tests. It actually worked as well or better than every other medium. So on the Democratic side, all of these modelers and testers have now come to the conclusion that mail does work. In part, that's because we have less competition rather than more. You still only have one mailbox as opposed to two TVs and 500 channels. Voters may spend less time with direct mail at the end of the day, but the time they do spend with it has more of an impact.
Mitchell: A few months ago our business received a direct mail solicitation from Google. They were trying to get us to advertise using adwords. Personally, I think that pretty much sums it up. If Google thinks a good way to attract customers and get people's attention is through direct mail, then surely it's still the case for political campaigns.
Mack: The real telling thing to me is that I don't know of a single campaign yet that has used online advertising as the primary way to reach voters. I can name you plenty of campaigns that used direct mail as the primary mode of outreach, though. So until someone can show me a clear example of a campaign that's able to win by just using online outreach and communications, it's still a niche format.
Hoppey: As far as this line about how direct mail is a dying industry—I just simply don't believe that. And I don't just say that just because it's my business. I just don't believe it is. We see this every cycle with direct mail testing—it works. Until you can replace it with something that works as well and is as efficient and as effective, I just don't see how it goes away.
Mitchell: I think a lot of people also think about campaigns in terms of presidential campaigns or statewide campaigns. But the business of campaigns is so much larger than that. Until you come up with an alternative to communicate to Republican primary voters in the Atlanta or Chicago media markets, for instance, mail is always going to be around. You cannot move numbers in those major media markets in a state Senate or a congressional primary with online advertising. At least not yet.
Hoppey: And that's not to say online isn't a powerful tool. It just can't replace mail. It's an add-on. You wouldn't say, "I'm going to do mail, so I'm not going to spend any money on television." Well, you wouldn't say, "If I do online, I'm not really going to do any mail." It just doesn't make any sense from a strategic perspective.
C&E: Does it make the discussion about resource allocation any more difficult?
Mack: The mantra when I came into the business was, "Pick one medium and dominate it." I don't think that's the winning formula anymore. Now it's all about who you have to persuade. If you need to persuade young people, maybe online is the way to go. If you need to persuade white women over 50 who live in the suburbs, then do that with direct mail.
Hoppey: Fundamentally, my job is to help people win. It's not to tell them they should be doing more direct mail. If I'm at the table and there is only enough money to one or two things, I'm not going to tell a candidate to spend on direct mail just because it's what I do. People think, "You guys are just a bunch of hired guns. You're just in it for the money." That's just not true. We help people win. And if you're doing anything else, then you're not doing your job.
C&E: What's so conclusive about the empirical data you have on the effectiveness of direct mail?
Mack: What it shows pretty clearly is that all things being equal, if we tailor a direct mail campaign to a specific group of people, we move numbers. So if the pollster comes back and says, "You have to move married women." We now have the ability to identify who those people are and to craft mail that will appeal to them. Over the course of three or four weeks of a direct mail campaign, it has been shown that we can move those numbers 10 to 12 points. So everything else is equal across the board, yet we show we can move that one group. There are literally a couple hundred examples of this from the past couple of cycles.
C&E: Aside from content, are there differences between Republican and Democratic mail?
Mitchell: I think there are some differences on a purely aesthetic level, which is only a very small part of effective direct mail. Typically, the Democratic mail that I get as a voter tends to be more visually appealing on average than the Republican mail. I'm not sure exactly why that is. I have some suspicions. Personally, I think our direct mail quite obviously compares favorably with everyone across the board. But generally speaking I do think there is more of a priority on the Democratic side to putting together stuff that is visually appealing.
Mack: I can only speak for our firm, but design really matters. Given the era that we're living in right now, it's all about design. Why do people have more iPods and Apple products? It's the design, right? Design sells and that's why we invest money and resources and energy into design. I think voters are really looking for that right now. Of course, sometimes you don't need that. And sometimes design gets in the way of your message. There are a lot of pieces out there with cool designs, but I have no idea what they're trying to say. The key is merging message and design into one package.
Mitchell: I think it's particularly important when you are in a position of relying on direct mail—either because of the size of your campaign or the size of the media market—to not only communicate to your target groups, but to also communicate some of the broad themes of your campaign. When your introductory mail is designed to move your numbers, it better also make you look like you're current and have your act together. Quite frankly, if your piece looks like it was designed 10 years ago, you're not going to make the kind of impression you want to make regardless of what the copy says.


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2004 Kentucky Derby
2004 Kentucky Derby Results
Smarty Jones collared pacesetter Lion Heart at the head of the stretch then drew off to win by over 3 lengths. Details, charts, and photos here!
2004 Kentucky Oaks Results
Ashado ran down pacesetter Madcap Escapade to win the Kentucky Oaks as the lukewarm favorite. Longshot Island Sand rallied for second while Madcap Escapade finished third. Results, charts, and photos here.
2004 Kentucky Derby Barn Photos
More photos of Derby and Oaks horses from Thursday afternoon and Friday morning including Imperialism, Pollard's Vision, and Tapit.
2004 Kentucky Derby Thursday Morning Photos
With only two days before the Derby, many of the contenders were out to stretch their legs. Lots of photos from the backside this morning courtesy of Tina Hines.
Experimental Free Handicap
The top ranked 2-year-olds of 2003 listed by weight. This list determines the dual qualifiers for the Kentucky Derby.
Early Triple Crown Nominees
A total of 434 Thoroughbreds were nominated this year during the early period which closed on January 17 at a cost of $600 each. List can be view by name, sire, owner, or trainer.
Late Triple Crown Nominees
The final nomination period closed with 14 addtional nominees at a cost of $6000 each, bringing the total number of nominees up to 444.
Triple Crown Trail
Schedule for all the Triple Crown prep races with results for each.
Top Kentucky Derby Contenders
Derby Fever is heating so check out the latest list of Kentucky Derby contenders. Each horse has a full profile with photo, dosage, and other information. Updated frequently.
2004 Kentucky Oaks Entries
Madcap Escapade was named the 3-1 morning line favorite in the field of 12 fillies entered for the 130th Kentucky Oaks. Get the entries, odds, and free past performances here.
2004 Derby Talk
Check out what some of the connections of the entrants had to say Wednesday morning.
2004 Kentucky Derby Entries
A full field of 20 has been entered. Get full info about each horse, free past performances, and more!
Derby Contenders Graded Stakes Earnings
Since only 20 horses can enter the Kentucky Derby, earnings in graded stakes are used to determine who can get in the gate. Here is a list of the top earners after all preps.
Analyzing the top Derby Contenders
An analysis of 16 top Derby contenders to determine which best fit the profile of a Kentucky Derby winner.
Wimbledon and St. Averil scratched from Kentucky Derby 130
Wimbledon was scratched early Friday morning when an injury was disconvered on his left front leg. St. Averil was scratched at 11am due to sore feet. This reduces the field to 18.
Kentucky Derby 2004 Advanced Wagering Odds
Here are the current odds after the close of advance wagering at Churchill Downs on Friday. Also included are the will-pays for the Oaks/Derby Double.
2004 Experimental Free Handicap
The Experimental Free Handicap rankings for colts and fillies in 2004 topped by co-highweights Declan's Moon and Wilko.


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DS Effects
Write a comment now!
very bad game
Gay Its gay
Stupid Couldn't even play, opened freaken play store every time I tried to play. Doesn't even deserve one star. ):
Good Fun and addicting (:
Poor It is terrible this game is stupid the bunny is ugly
Rubbish Not very good its too persvasive into you downloading other apps do not download
Veru happy I love this game it is so fun It makes me happy
One big advertisement Probably a cute game if the AD that popped up in the beginning wasn't so annoying. I can't let my kid play this without risking her downloading stuff. Kid games shouldn't have ads. So sorry. One star.
Very hoppy Cute love it!!!!!!!!
Spam spam When I open it, it opens the app store for me to install a different game- took awhile to figure I can press back to go to the app I actually opened. I thought this would be a great kid game but advertising is too invasive.
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Check in and Check out
The check in and check out times are as follows, unless otherwise noted:
If the session starts on:
- Sunday - Check in is 2-4 p.m.
- Wednesday - Check in is 10-11 a.m.
If the session ends on:
- Tuesday - Check out is 7:30-8:30 p.m.
- Friday - Check out begins at 6:30 p.m., and the Parent Show begins at 7 p.m.
You will need to bring all of your check in forms with you to camp. Please do not send forms to Council. The forms you will need to bring to camp will be noted in your confirmation e-mail.
Some sessions will have alternate check in and check out days and times. Please check your session's description for more information.
Please do not bring pets to check in or check out.


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Town Square
Pleasanton must trim employee benefits or face citizens' initiative, council warned
Original post made on Nov 23, 2010
Read the full story here Web Link posted Tuesday, November 23, 2010, 8:35 AM
on Nov 23, 2010 at 8:12 am
Thank you thank you THANK YOU Bart Hughes! You have laid out for the city council the facts in a way that most of us could only hope to do. If they fail to see the seriousness of these liabilities then hand me a petition, I will sign it and I will circulate it. Overly generous benefits, not one dime of which comes from the employees, MUST go. And they must go with the very next contract negotiation. So city council -- can any of you make the hard choices that need to be made now that your fiscal folly has been made a matter of public record?
on Nov 23, 2010 at 8:35 am
Apparently you need to do your homework first because the very next contract negotiation was just completed and all employees (not just PD and Fire) are now contributing to their pension plan. This was just approved by City employees within the last couple weeks.
on Nov 23, 2010 at 8:38 am
Bart, you are so right. i will sign on to this movement. Fialho needs to be the first to go.


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The CSRs are telling me there is an outage in my area (Sacramento, just off highway 5 and Seamas avenue). I've been given 3 different etrs, all have passed and I've been down 4 days. The seconds told me there was a dslam outage in Laredo impacting me. Huh. I don't feel like they have any clue after that and the outage ETR keeps changing. They also told me I can't escalate. Anyone else down? Are they full of it? I have 4 happy green lights on my speed stream 4100 Siemens, but no activity light.
if you have 4 green lights, it means you have sync, you have power, you have ethernet and the internet light means it's connected.What does the technician readout page say?


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Filmmaker Calling All War Vets
From McClatchy-Tribune Information Services
War is hell. Freedom isn't free. Those two statements are echoed in Larry Cappetto's more than 600 interviews with U.S. military war veterans.
He has traveled the country recording the experiences of World War II, Korea, Vietnam and Iraq veterans. On Sept. 11-12 he will be at Hall-Wynne Funeral Service in Durham, N.C., to record the stories of local veterans for his "Lest They Be Forgotten" series.


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"Sources told ESPN.com that Davis, 29, will receive a five-year deal worth an estimated $65 million" -- ESPN.com's Marc Stein
LINK: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3470016
Now what do they Warriors do? Do they try to pull a "sneaky" and attempt for Elton Brand or Josh Smith? The team is running out of options and it seems like our chances for a championship within the next few years have pretty much left and gone. We're officially in rebuilding mode.


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Robochrist Industries
|This article does not cite any references or sources. (January 2007)
|The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's general notability guideline. (April 2012)
Robochrist Industries is a robotic performance art troupe most notably recognized for its performances in and around Los Angeles during the years 1997 - 2005. The performances feature large radio-controlled robots moving among and eventually destroying props and set-pieces intended to convey specific theatrical narratives. The troupe is a direct offshoot of Survival Research Laboratories and was featured briefly in "Coachella", the feature-length film documenting the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
From 1993 to 1997, Christian Ristow, who would later go on to found Robochrist Industries, volunteered for the seminal robotic performance art collective Survival Research Laboratories in San Francisco, California. During these years Ristow worked on several SRL performances, contributing not only props but also, particularly in the years 1996 and 1997, robots that he had constructed. During this period Ristow also participated in several collaborative performances with another San Francisco based performance group, The Seemen, including the often cited Hellco performance at the 1996 Burning Man festival.
In early 1997 Ristow relocated to Los Angeles in search of film special effects work as well as fresh audiences uninitiated to the world of robot performance art. Shortly thereafter the name "Robochrist Industries" was first employed and a small group of volunteers coalesced to form a working performance group. The gradual inclusion of artistic and technical professionals from disciplines such as film special effects and the aerospace industry helped fuel larger and more frequent shows over the ensuing years. During this time there was significant crossover, both in terms of personnel and co-performing, with the performance-art/musical outfits Woodpussy and The Mutaytor.
Starting in 1999 Ristow and cohorts began performing at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. The performances at the first two years of the festival, 1999 and 2001, were relataively modest, featuring only two or three robots with few props. The four performances from 2002 to 2005, however, saw greatly expanded crew sizes, increasingly ambitious, complex props, and set pieces intended to convey theatrical "narratives". These shows represented the apex of the group's activities, both in terms of fully realized spectacle and audience exposure. The 2006 film "Coachella" features footage culled from Robochrist performances from several different years as well as a brief interview with Ristow.
In early 2006 Ristow again relocated, this time leaving Los Angeles for Taos, New Mexico, effectively killing Robochrist Industries, at least in terms of its Los Angeles incarnation. Future incarnations or use of the name are unknown at this time.


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CALEDONIA, Minnesota (WXOW) – Federal authorities continue to investigate what caused a twin-engine plane crash in Houston County Friday.
About a dozen units responded to the crash.
When dealing with a mass trauma, mutual aid is crucial, said Caledonia Ambulance Director Mike Tornstrom.
Tornstrom has worked as a paramedic for more than 20 years, and in that time, has only seen a plane crash twice, maybe three times.
"We used to dealing with car accidents. That's one of the things that we deal with on a common basis. So we know exactly what our fellow fire department personnel are going to do," Tornstrom said. "In the situation of an airplane crash, we have no idea."
But with any trauma, Tornstrom and his fellow paramedics rely heavily on other responding units, like firefighters, who help extricate patients.
Friday's plane crash near Caledonia had four. And since Caledonia only has two ambulances, they had to rely on Tri-State and Spring Grove to back them up. Generally one ambulance is assigned to one patient.
"The first unit on scene is instant command. Once you arrive on scene as an additional unit, you take orders from them," Tornstrom said.
"Obviously a plane crash this magnitude, they would just launch us," said Terry Dorshorst, flight nurse for MedLink AIR.
If MedLink AIR is called, they often land while paramedics are triaging, Dorshorst said. "If we don't take anyone, we don't take anyone. At least we're up, we're in the air, and we're there if they need us."
According to Dorshorst, transporting a patient via helicopter isn't always the quickest option. But when there's a lot of traffic, or the accident is in a rural area, MedLink often lends a hand.
"To us it's a trauma. If someone needs expedient help, then we get here as fast as we can," Dorshorst said, adding that extra speed can help save a life.
The National Transportation Safety Board said at the earliest, they expect a preliminary report on the crash to be out by the end of the week.
The Houston County Sheriff's Office and NTSB are looking to talk to anyone who has information regarding the crash, or witnessed the crash.
The Sheriff's Office can be reached at (507) 725-3379. NTSB can be contacted 24/7 at (202) 314-6297.
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Brianna Demato, a 15-year-old student at Newton High School in Queens, N.Y. was sent home Tuesday because school officials deemed her "I Enjoy Vagina" T-shirt too distracting.
The bisexual teen says the school violated her rights to free speech, and her mother is standing behind her.
"It's hypocritical," Brianna told the New York Daily News. "They use the word in class -- why can't I, on a shirt?"
She notes that she's worn the same shirt to school several times before, but a dean caught sight of it during lunch hour Tuesday and demanded that she either change the shirt or go home. The teen stood her ground and walked out. School officials reportedly said Brianna could return the next day with another shirt, or she'll complete assignments isolated from her peers.
"They're discriminating against Brianna. They pulled her out of class for nothing," mother Cathy Demato told the Daily News. "She's not hurting anyone…. [Wednesday] she's wearing a shirt that says 'I'm the B---h From Down The Block. The message is, she can wear whatever she wants."
City Education Department officials said the shirt's language could cause disruption and is not appropriate for a school setting.
In August, communities nationwide showed support for Cooper Barton, a 5-year-old kindergarten student in Oklahoma who was told to turn his University of Michigan T-shirt inside out because it violated Oklahoma City Public Schools' dress code, which bars students from wearing "clothing bearing the names or emblems of all professional and collegiate athletic teams (with the exception of Oklahoma colleges and universities)."
In response, Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon made a personal call to Cooper and his family, inviting them to the UM-UMass game in Ann Arbor, Mich., all expenses paid. He also planned to introduce Cooper to the 109,000-plus crowd at Michigan Stadium, and sent the boy a custom Michigan T-shirt that when turned inside out, still reads "Michigan."
Jordan Griffith, a 13-year-old student at South Jones Elementary School in Mississippi, was told by his teacher to turn his shirt inside out. Griffith wore the shirt in support of his brother, who was deployed to Afghanistan, but his teachers thought that its depiction of the United States Marine Corps bulldog's testicles on the back was too much.
The front read, "If you are not the lead dog," and the back read, "The view never changes."
Controversy over school dress codes heightened last August when Pami Gibbs, the mother of a Stockton, Calif. elementary student, was arrested for physically attacking her son's school principal.
Gibbs allegedly punched Fillmore Elementary School principal Evangelina Ramos several times after Ramos told Gibbs' 9-year-old son that he had to turn his shirt inside out because it had skulls and crossbones on it -- violating the dress code.
Also on HuffPost:
Holding Hands
A bill passed in Tennessee earlier this year declared hand-holding a 'gateway sexual activity,' with teachers facing firing for even demonstrating the action.
Surprisingly, the ban on hugging isn't a one-off rule at a select school, but a trend that seems to be spreading. Schools in Portland and Florida started instituting these rules in 2010, while administrations in New Jersey, Brooklyn and New Zealand took it upon themselves in 2012. For all, the reasoning appears to be the same: Respecting personal space and "unsuitable interactions" between students.
Red Ink
At schools in both Australia and the U.K., green ink has replaced red ink in marking children's paper because of its 'confrontational' nature.
Due to its "aggressive" nature, dodgeball has been banned in schools across North America, as it's frequently named the cause of injuries and fights. Adult dodgeball, on the other hand, has been enjoying a continued popularity.
Non-Motorized Transportation
You'd think, with all the talk about childhood obesity these days, schools would be encouraging students to ride their bikes or skateboards to school. One New York said it was illegal for kids to have bikes, while another Orthodox school disagreed with the freedom afford by the two wheels.
There's plenty of debate about the best possible bookbag for kids -- but one school in Michigan doesn't allow bags into the classroom at all. Citing safety concerns in lunchrooms and classes, the high school asked students to keep returning to their lockers between classes to retrieve the appropriate books.
There have been many toy bans in schools, but Pogs -- those tradeable metal disks -- made a huge splash when their safety, and the competitive rush spurred by their very existence, was called into question by schools around the world.
Bake Sales
Though later overturned, a Massachusetts school attempted to ban bake sales on the basis of their lack of nutrition.
Black Makeup
In Ohio earlier this year, a 13-year-old boy was sent home from school because of his black lipstick, eye makeup and nail polish (boy is not shown here). The school claimed it had a rule against "extreme or distracting" makeup.
Yoga Pants
An Ottawa school banned yoga pants last year -- unless the tight bottoms were covered up with long shirts.
Silly Bandz
Silly Bandz are fun! Silly Bandz are cute! Silly Bandz are, apparently, a distraction in the classroom and should not be permitted. Schools all over North America have banned these collectables from class, but that sure doesn't keep them from getting trading at recess.
Best Friends
No more BFFs for you, British kids! At a few U.K. schools, teachers are preventing children from making "best friends" in an attempt to save others' feelings.
Milk was always seen as part of a wholesome school lunch, but now a group of doctors wants it off the menu entirely. A vegan and physician group in the U.S. is pushing a petition to get rid of milk in schools, due to it being "...high in sugar, high in fat and high in animal protein that is harmful to, rather than protective of, bone health."
Well, not dinosaurs exactly, but the word dinosaur, in addition to other words like "poverty," "birthdays," "Halloween," and "dancing," which might elicit "unpleasant emotions" in students.
Ugg Boots
It might get chilly in Pennsylvania, but students there won't be allowed to wear their sheepskin Ugg boots into class, thanks to the potential for storing contraband like cell phones in the roomy footwear.
Baggy Pants
You may have thought baggy pants were more of a '90s thing, but schools today are continuing to push for bans on the sagging pants, with some schools claiming it interferes with learning, and others saying the style is related to gangs.
Skinny Jeans
And then there's the opposite end of the spectrum. Much like yoga pants, skinny jeans have been banned in schools all over the place, due to their lack of modesty and distraction factor for the opposite sex.
It's physical and emotional injury teachers are attempting to avoid by banning competitive games in schools and at recess, goes the claim.
A Toronto school made headlines last year when it was announced it would ban hard balls from its premises, following a parent suffering a concussion after being hit by a ball.
Grinch, much? We've all heard of holiday trees and all-encompassing December concerts, but some schools have gone as far as banning references to Santa and carols, among other Christmas-oriented terms.


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Immigration lawyers and attorneys, under the leadership of the Founder/Principal, Paul M. Heller, Esq., have been successfully serving the greater San Francisco Bay Area and Santa Clara county communities for over 25 years.
We are located just a few minutes from Stanford University. Many of the giants of Silicon Valley are also close by: Google, Apple, Hewlett Packard, Yahoo, Genentech, Linkedin, VMware, Oracle, Craigslist, Cisco Systems, Facebook, Pandora, and Netflix. We assist companies, venture backed startups, and often non-citizen entrepreneurs, with obtaining immigration benefits, visas, and green cards.
Besides the many well and less-known private and public companies and venture backed startups, the San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley are home to numerous U.S. government labs, universities, think tanks, institutes, 'parcs', and many incubators.
Innovation is a cornerstone of the San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley, and rabid competition for limited talent is a byproduct of that drive. The immigrant population is a key component of any successful company here.
Our law firm assists HR/corporate, mid-sized and small business, entrepreneurs, and individual clients here in Silicon Valley with all their Immigration needs, including: H1b work permits, transfers and extensions, E-3 (Australian) and TN (Canadian and Mexican) work visas, PERM Labor Certifications, E-2 & EB5 Investors, L-1A Executives & Managers, L-1B 'specialized knowledge' personnel, 0-1 Researchers and self-petitioning Extraordinary Ability Aliens, Postdoc Scholars and Scientists, and a myriad of other immigrant and non-immigrant visa categories.
A primary focus of the Heller Immigration Law Group is the many cases filed by self-petitioning individuals, i.e., green card cases filed under the EB1 (Extraordinary Alien) and EB2 (National Interest Waiver) categories. These cases can speed up the process of immigration by eliminating the need to first obtain labor certification with the U.S. Dept. of Labor.
Heller Immigration Law Group also handles all family and relative petitions, including: marriage to U.S. citizens, Immediate Relative I-130 Spousal Petitions, I-485 Adjustment of Status applications, EAD I-765 Employment Authorization I-131 Advance Parole Travel Permits, K-1 Fiance/e and K-3 visas, N400 U.S. citizenship and naturalization applications, I-360 VAWA Abused Spousal petitions, visa denials, as well as I-751 petitions to remove conditional resident status.
Whether an employment or family-based immigration matter, Heller Immigration Law Group will provide comprehensive and individualized attention to each and every case.
To discuss any immigration matter, or to discuss becoming a client, please contact us via email (firstname.lastname@example.com) or phone (650.424.1900).
Employment-based Immigration Law & PERM labor certification (1981-present). Green cards and working permits for non-immigrants. We serve both the 'start-up' and VC community, as well as business, corporate, and individual clients. Corporate 'multi-case' discounts available. We will match any existing arrangement in price. Finally, we can arrange 'General Counsel' services for startups – as well as 'Of Counsel' services to law firms who want to establish an immigration arm.
We serve the entire San Francisco Bay Area, Silicon Valley and California, at large; here are just a few local communities where we have clients:
Cities: San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Clara, Cupertino, Portola Valley, Woodsite, Palo Alto, Redwood City, Redwood Shores, Menlo Park, Los Gatos, Milpitas, Mountain View, Alameda, Oakland, Albany, South San Francisco, San Mateo, Brisbane, Colma, Daly City, Berkeley, Concord, Pleasanton, Emeryville, Foster City, Dublin, Fremont, Hayward, Carmel and Scotts Valley, San Bruno, Richmond, Newark, Concord, Walnut Creek.
University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley), Stanford University, San Francisco State University, California State Universities, University of San Francisco, UC San Francisco (UCSF), Golden Gate University, University of Santa Clara, UC Davis, et. al.
United States Department of Energy (USDOE), Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), NASA Ames Research Center, Sandia National Laboratories, Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), formerly Xerox Parc, et.al.


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We're SorryClose
Bow-Meow-Ween Pet Costume Contest
There's no place like home
- Contest Photo by: kennymre8
- Federal Way, WA
- Category: Horror-ific Hounds
Brief Description:
Although normally the princess of the family, Holly wanted to rock the Dorothy look last Halloween. With hand-made ruby slippers, the classic blue and white dress, and matching gingham hair bows, Holly is right at home over the rainbow.
Contest Photo Tips and Guidelines:
- Avoid clutter. Keep the background simple -- your gingerbread house or holiday cookie is the star!
- Daytime, natural light is best. If your area is bright enough, try taking the photo without the flash.
- Upload a horizontal photo. If you crop the image on your computer, make sure you keep a landscape 4:3 aspect ratio.
- For best results, make your image 1200x900 (or "save for web").
- With a digital camera, you can take as many photos as possible and choose the best one. Have fun!


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Love List Lunes #12
Sí, hoy es lunes
I have two things on my love list today.
First, "SPRING BREAK!" (and please be sure to yell that out like a college frat boy)
Second, I love this sequence of pictures between my oldest brother and his youngest daughter.
What's on your love list today?
Ten years? TEN years?
Tonight El Jefe and I celebrated the ten year anniversary of our first date. How the heck do I remember the actual DATE of our first date you may ask? Well, as I was getting ready for the historic event, I made a mental note that it was the birthday of my niece, Lauren. And something in me said, "Hey you can always remember your first date with El Jefe because it's Lauren's b-day."
So, Happy Birthday to this girl:
Lauren, while you were turning 14 and dancing to Justin Timberlake, El Jefe and I shared a pork burrito, enchilada style, at the new hot spot of Provo – Cafe Rio.
Can anyone imagine our joy when Cafe Rio came to Sin City? Well only if you're Cafe Rio fans I suppose. Now we can eat there, every year, on this day….or any other time we feel like it.
I will admit though, we almost didn't go tonight. I found out that today is also National Waffle Day (so many things to celebrate on this day, the 25th). El Jefe had the option of Pumpkin Waffles or Cafe Rio. Although Pumpkin Waffles are my fave (and I happen to LOVE "Brinner" – yes, that's short for Breakfast for Dinner – no I did not make it up but I wish I did), where was I? Oh, yes, I kind of wanted Pumpkin Waffles for dinner but I was glad I did not have to cook. El Jefe chose Cafe Rio. Yum!
Oh, and the story gets better. As we were paying I looked at the price and said "[El Jefe], why's it so cheap?" He said "we got a discount." Oh really, you just asked for a discount and "Viola!"
I was so confused. What discount? How'd you do that? Then El Jefe pointed out my niece's cousin. Now, when I say that, you say, "La, then that would be your niece, too." No, this cousin is on my niece's other side of their family. This gal could also be called my "sister's niece", or my "brother-in-law's brother's daughter." Confusing enough? Oh, but let me add some more confusion to the pot. This lovely girl, let's call her "S", is weirdly "related, but not related" to us in two different ways.
- One: She is my niece's cousin, or, my sister's niece, or, my brother-in-law's brother's daughter (as I already said).
- Two: Her sister married a boy who is the son of my father-in-law's cousin, or, she married my husband's second cousin. (who we've actually never met…)
I love it! It's like we're related but, really, we're not. But we are, but we're not…..for some reason I feel like we could be characters in a Jane Austen novel but I'm not sure why…..
Alright, after all that, I'll bring it to the point: she works there and threw us a discount. Thank you "S".
Some snapshots around the table:
Rather than a picture of me, I felt you should see a picture of the Cafe Rio salad with grilled steak and cilantro lime vinaigrette. Did you read that? CILANTRO LIME. Like my brother would say, "Aaaaaaaaaah, delicious."
So my dear, El Jefe, who knew ten years ago that we would be married, with a couple of chunks, and I'd be typing up blog entries in bed about how ten years ago we went on our first date while you snored away next to me in our own Blue Bungalow? Who knew?
Love List Lunes #11
Have you ever had a Boylan Soda? I love them. The Black Cherry, natural kind, happens to be my fave but I like almost all the flavors (natural or not). Perhaps this is a lame love for my love list lunes but there are other reasons to like this soda.
A) It is yummy,
B) I like old fashioned soda in a glass bottle made with real sugar rather than high fructose corn syrup,
and, C) This soda is photogenic, bottle caps even, especially in the hands of a six year old…
What's on your love list today?
On this day….
On March 21st, 1976, my mother had nine children. Before she left to have her tenth on that Sunday evening, she made dinner. My dad took her to the Women's Hospital, then located on East Sahara in Las Vegas. Her hospital bill was $185.00. That was without insurance.
Out of all the 10 births in our family, mine was the only one my dad attended. Those were the days of men sitting in the waiting room, but Dr. Christofferson insisted that my father be at this one, the last one. My mom said that Daddy looked at her differently after that experience.
Born at 8:46 pm, I was a fat one – 9 lbs 5 oz – 23 inches long – and my head was 14 and quarter inches. (I need to compare that to my children cause I'm pretty sure their noggins were much bigger.)
My mom was grateful when we got home because I slept and slept and slept.
I love my huge family. I'm so glad to have grown up with them … and to keep growing up with them. Last year was a good one, and I look forward to the next.
See my sweet hubby's birthday wishes to me….except ignore the fact that he calls me snookums….he never calls me snookums…..
Stupid but funny
If you know El Jefe and me, you know that we enjoy the "vintage". We like "retro". We are "unique buyers". Eh, say it how you like, we are thrift store shoppers. And, I have to say, I have some seriously awesome thrift store finds. Boots, coats, dresses, jeans, skirts…….our LIME GREEN CHAIR that has lasted our whole marriage……I could go on but I shall spare you.
I will add, thrift store shopping takes work. There are even blogs dedicated to sharing the secrets of thrifting. Like this one .
I'll warn you though, as you meander through the aisles you need your "crap filters" on. There is some serious junk out there. But then again, there is good junk and bad junk. The good junk is the stuff that makes you go "Ber?" Wondering, why would somebody have this in the first place? And, you really wish you knew the history of that item. Or there is good junk that you want to have because it is so weird/funny but you can't justify owning it other than, "Hey, this is funny!". That is why I bring my camera.
Let me show you some good junk.
Is that Athena's temple? As a bird house? What bird could resist this gem? Shoot. This would actually look good next to our lion statue.
Or there is this:
This goes under "why would anyone have this in the first place?" category (oh, and are they really charging 19.99?)
Aah, the hook rug. Framed, even, like fine art. Those were the days. For two seconds I thought this would go extremely well with my living room….I liked the colors. Don't worry, I had my "filter" on. However, kudos to whoever bought this.
And then there is the "literature":
El Jefe especially found this one amusing.
Oh, and this:
Just for the record this is the second book about, uh, Satanism we've found at Deseret Industries. This goes under the "I wonder about the history of this one" category.
El Jefe looks hip in these but it goes under the "no reason to buy this" category (and yes, I make up my categories as I go):
Ok, this last one is my favorite.
"The Avenging Unicorn" is currently stabbing a mime in this box. A MIME. It comes "with 4 magical horns and 3 figures to impale". What the crap?!
(El Jefe wants you to know, if you are interested in owning your own Avenging Unicorn you can get it on Amazon.)
All these pictures make me laugh and I needed a laugh, thus my reason for sharing. Perhaps one day I should share my serious finds that would knock your socks off. Oh yes, knock. your. socks. Right off!
Post Edit: This one is for Amber and Ty. I did not have "my head on straight" according to El Jefe. This next item was not in a thrift store. No, it was in an elite Las Vegas neighborhood, "The Scotch Eighties", which probably means nothing to you but just know that it is Old Time Vegas special. After leaving my friend's house, I saw this sitting outside the trash. I thought El Jefe would enjoy a picture. However, upon presentation I found that not only did he enjoy it, but he wanted the item. Apparently, so did somebody else. Had it been there when we returned, this would have been one of your Christmas gifts.
Amber, be grateful. Ty, I know you are digging that 'stache.
So…that's life…unscripted even
In my previous pregnancies I waited a long time to tell people I was pregnant. Like, 16 weeks. The first was because I was in denial, the second was because I thought it was a fun game. But both had the underlying reason of "just in case we miscarry, we'll wait to share." This one I waited 9 weeks.
Yesterday, when I finished my post, and just before I clicked "publish", something in me asked, is this too soon? Naw.
Later that afternoon, however, I found that, for lack of a better description, something was "amiss". I worried, did some research, felt ok, hopeful even, and went to bed.
Around 2:00 am I had to come to terms that I would, in fact, be experiencing a miscarriage.
I guess you could call this post a "retraction". And yes, at about 3:00 am I was kicking myself for posting the announcement. But that IS life and it IS unscripted. And this blog, is to share parts of my journey in motherhood.
If you're wondering how I feel, just tired. I will say this though, a miscarriage sucks. (I don't like to use the word "suck" because I feel my 15 year old self feel slightly ashamed as the voice of my father says: "We don't talk like that." And I don't. I really don't like that word in that context. It bugs. However, I find it fitting here and I'm not saying it, I'm typing it…..and there you have it.)
Mainly, I feel sad.
Luckily I had El Jefe with me. The kids are sick and so he is offering all sorts of support. And as always, he finds a way to make me laugh.
Exhibit A: When I asked how we would tell the kids about this he said: "Maybe we should tell them that the leprachauns took the baby." I imagined in my head my children hating St. Patrick's day for their whole lives because "the leprachauns took away our baby." Sick sense of humor. We cracked up for a good five minutes.
Joking aside, I apologize for the retraction, for getting anyone's hopes up etc.. etc…
But please know that blue skies are ahead.
Muchos besos.
This has two titles: "How many of my siblings actually read my blog" or "#3″
Well, we're all excitement around here.
But before I tell you the reason, let me ask, don't you think she'd make a good big sister?
And we all know that Chunk #1 has been a great big brother.
are you ready for a secret?
Our third installment of Chunk will be arriving sometime in October. Yea!
If you need proof, see picture below. If that grosses you out, don't look. Ah ha ha ha ha ha……
Between 11:00 am and noon the other day…
I went for a walk with Chunk #2, and this was my view most of the way:
Then we got home, she was hungry. So I had her make her own mini pizzas….
…with olives of course.
As the sleep tiptoed away from my eyes this morning, and I discovered Chunk #1's slumberous form had replaced my early-risin' hubby, I could feel spring making its way into my house.
How does it do that?
Is it the early sunshine? Probably. But the air. What exactly makes the air in my house have a hint of Easter Egg hunts, my birthday, spring break, warm sunshine, and flowered skirts?
And then settles the memories of camping in the spring.
Fires, 'smores, hot dogs, that tent-y smell, starry nights, card games by lanterns, a breezy silence, dirt, laughter, snuggly sleeping bags, bright sunshiney mornings, pancakes.
I got a hankerin'.
Where should we go camping?
Just wondering…
Could anyone please explain to me why I'm in such a crappy mood today? It's one of those moods where if someone breathes wrong they are on my "I hate you list."
In other news, Chunk #2 has informed me that she has given up on trying to fly.
Chunk #2 (flapping her arms): I really can't fly. I'm working on my flying right now.
Me: Oh, you're practicing?
Chunk #2: Yes.
Me: Do you think you'll be able to fly one day?
Chunk #2 (jumping off my bed while flapping arms): Yes!
A conversation
I picked up the kids from the "kids' gym" after my workout today:
Me: How'd it go?
Chunk #1: Good, I made a friend.
Me: Really? What'd you do?
Chunk #1: She told me to stop following her.
Chunk #1: I wasn't following her.
(The look on his face was very similar to his look in this picture….cutie!)


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If you call Myra Griffin's little eatery a health food restaurant, you wouldn't be doing it an injustice. The idea of healthy eating has evolved into something very different—and more manufactured—since the '70s when Myra's Dionysus opened. But this place remains wonderfully stuck in a holistically wholesome era. You know how you can go to a place and have some magic meal, then go back and you're served up a plate of disappointment? (Not because the restaurant has changed, but because you have?) That doesn't happen at Myra's. It still has a hippie magic that time hasn't been able to peck away at. Myra's recipes seem eternal with their Mediterranean and vegetarian slant. Tofu? They do that amazingly well. But why not try the Zapata Pita, a Greek-Mex combo? Or the Hoppin' Juan—black-eyed peas that ventured a little too far south? The vegetarian dishes are bold and hearty, as are the few meat dishes on the menu, especially the gyros and the curried chicken salad. And 33 soups that rotate? You've got to be around a while to pull off a stunt like that. What about dessert? Here you'll find many different treats in the deli case, and at prices stuck in the '70s. For sure, Myra's is a throwback to a time when service ambled at a different pace, when everybody had a Baba Ram Dass book on the coffee table and when Clifton was a very different place. Turn on. Tune in. Eat lunch.
121 Calhoun St., Clifton, (513) 961-1578
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3 Back-to-School Bargains
August 19, 2010 at 2:46 pm , by Megan Finnegan
If you're still scrambling to get your kid off to college, the last-minute expenses are probably getting you in a tizzy. (It costs how much for textbooks?!) Here are some deals from savings.com to take the edge off.
Buy a Mac for College & Get a Free iPod Touch
Our pick: MacBook
> Get Apple coupon
> All Apple Deals
Get 10% off sitewide
Our pick: Anything! The site rents out college textbooks for well below purchase prices.
> Get Chegg.com 10% coupon
> All Chegg.com Deals
Save 10% off plus Free Shipping on $50+ School Supply Orders
Our pick: Hewlett-Packard Deskjet F4480 All-In-One Thermal Inkjet Printer ENERGY STAR®
> Get Kmart 10% coupon
> All Kmart Deals
Categories: Ladies' Lounge | Tags: | No Comments
Spa Getaway Sweepstakes
August 18, 2010 at 12:44 pm , by Megan Finnegan
LHJ is giving away seven different spa getaway packages to some amazing destinations:
- Windjammer Landing Villa Beach Resort, St. Lucia
- Chocolate Spa at The Hershey Hotel
- Maroma Resort and Spa, Riviera Maya, Mexico
- Paradisus Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
- Westin Diplomat, Hollywood, Florida
- Taheima Wellness Resort & Spa, Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico
- Joy of Spa
Check out what each spa has to offer and then click here to enter the sweepstakes!
Categories: Beauty, Fun, Health, Ladies' Lounge | Tags: resort, spa, spa getaway, spa giveaway, sweepstakes, vacation | 3 Comments
Cheat Sheet: 4 Things You Maybe Missed This Week
August 13, 2010 at 2:30 pm , by Megan Finnegan
1. Jet Blue Flight Attendant Goes Bonkers.
While there are several varied accounts floating around the Internet, the basic story goes like this: A passenger was rude to Jet Blue flight attendant Steven Slater, hurled some expletives his way and refused to sit down; something hit Slater in the head, and he lost it. He took over the intercom to tell everyone off, grabbed two cans of beer, inflated the emergency exit ramp and slid down to the tarmac before escaping home, where he was later arrested. Over the course of this week, he's garnered criticism and accolades, been denounced as a danger and proclaimed a hero. Late night comedians have of course pounced on this story, providing us with some hilarious spoofs and even a tribute song:
2. Friggatriskaidekaphobia!
It means fear of Friday the 13th, which is today. Most of us suffer from a bit of friggastriskaidekaphobia, or even simply from triskaidekaphobia, which is fear of the number 13 in any context. Many office buildings skip the 13th floor, for example, and some cities eliminate 13th Street in grids. Here are some more spooky examples.
3. Eat, Pray, Love is Released in Theaters.
The sure-to-be-a-blockbuster film, based on Elizabeth Gilbert's best-selling memoir and starring Julia Roberts, opens this weekend. It's directed by Ryan Murphy, creator of Nip/Tuck and Glee, and features a star-packed cast. Will it live up to the hype? Is it just as good as the book? Reviews are mixed so far, but critics are at least unanimous in describing the amazing scenery of the movie, shot in Italy, India and Indonesia. If you liked the book and are a Julia Roberts fan (and really, who isn't?), it's probably worth the ticket price.
4. The Happiest Baby in the World.
If you're feeling down, or like you're missing the simple joys in life, just watch this video of a baby laughing hysterically every time his dad tears a piece of paper. It's been up on YouTube for a few years already, but it never gets old. I dare you to watch it without smiling.
Categories: Fun, Ladies' Lounge | Tags: Eat Pray Love, Elizabeth Gilbert, Ethan laughing, flight attendant, Friday the 13th, friggatriskaidekaphobia, Jet Blue, Julia Roberts, laughing baby, Steven Slater | No Comments
Angela Kinsey on Life as a Working Mom
August 12, 2010 at 6:13 pm , by Megan Finnegan
Though they share the same first name, Angela Kinsey, the bubbly, petite blonde star of The Office, is nothing like her stern television counterpart. I chatted with Angela when she came to New York City for an event sponsored by Post-it (her personal favorites are the tiny ones she can stick on her packed calendar) about her life as a working mom and the upcoming season of her hit show.
How do you balance life as a busy actress with being the mother to a 2-year-old?
I am very lucky that Isabel can come to set and visit me during the day, but that dynamic is going to change, because she's very busy. She's wanting to do activities, and now work might just be boring for her. She's got quite the social calendar. Growing up, my mom had a magnet on the fridge, and it was this frazzled woman, and it said, "If a mom's place is in the home, then why am I always in the car?" I feel like that chapter of my life is about to begin.
I think as a working mom, you're always balancing things. You're balancing your commitments and then you're having to work really hard to set boundaries so that you can be fully present in your child's life. And that's the thing I think I've learned the most - when to say no, and how to say no.
What are some ways that you Do Good?
Anything to do with kids is important to me. I just did this thing for Do Something 101. If you go to Staples, you can pick up a pack of pencils or erasers or whatever, and they have these bins right by the checkout and you can just put the extra office supplies in the bin and they go to students who can't afford their school supplies. And it's so easy, and inexpensive. A pack of pens is like $2. And every little bit helps.
What can we expect from the upcoming season of The Office?
I think the demise of Michael Scott is going to be really fun to watch. One story line is, supposedly Michael has a medical condition, and because of this condition he has to contact his former lovers, so we're going to see Melora Hardin come back as Jan, and Holly [Amy Ryan] is going to come back as well. Read more
Categories: Do Good, Entertainment, Fun, Ladies' Lounge | Tags: Angela Kinsey, charity, Do Something 101, The Office, working moms | No Comments
3 Sweet Deals on Jewelry
August 5, 2010 at 5:48 pm , by Megan Finnegan
Accessorizing is the easiest way to jazz up an old outfit or try out a trend without committing your entire season's wardrobe budget. Today we've got some fabulous deals from savings.com on jewelry to liven your look.
15% off all jewelry
Our pick: Foxy Originals Lilith Earrings
> Get Manhattanite 15% off coupon
> All Manhattanite Deals
20% off entire order
Our pick: 1/2 Carat Diamond Sterling Silver Pendant w/ Black Rhodium & Chain
> Get the Ice.com 20% off coupon
> All Ice.com Deals
My Jewelry Box
20% off entire order
Our pick: Antique Vintage Amber Ring in Sterling Silver
> Get My Jewelry Box 20% off coupon
< All My Jewelry Box Deals
Categories: Fashion, Fun, Ladies' Lounge | Tags: deals, jewelry, online coupons, savings | No Comments
Giant Post-It Art
August 4, 2010 at 4:33 pm , by Megan Finnegan
Walking through New York's Grand Central Station, I'm used to seeing the beautiful architecture and art deco chandeliers. Yesterday, however, the gigantic billboard made out of thousands of Post-its caught me by surprise.
Post-its turn 30 this year, and to celebrate this birthday, Post-it Brand teamed up with Publicolor, a not-for-profit organization that paints the interiors of public schools and buildings in at-risk communities in bright, fun colors. They challenged kids to complete the phrase "In 30 years I will…" by creating a collage made entirely of Post-it products. The winners of the art contest, Ysanne Taylor, 16, and Allison Hilgert, 17, saw their project transformed into an oversized billboard version by pushpin artist Eric Daigh.
Daigh used over 100,000 Super Sticky Post-its to create this massive billboard, which measures 40 feet wide and 44 feet tall. Check out more photos of Post-it art after the jump. Read more
Categories: Fun, Ladies' Lounge | Tags: 3M, art contest, Post-it, post-it art, post-it notes, student art | 2 Comments
Haiti: Six Months After the Earthquake
July 12, 2010 at 2:30 pm , by Megan Finnegan
Today marks the six-month anniversary of the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that hit Haiti. A good friend of mine and fellow journalist, Eleanor A. Miller, is spending the summer reporting for the Haitian Times in Port-au-Prince. I asked Eleanor via email about her experience, and what she's observed on the ground in Haiti.
Shelter is the biggest issue. "There are tent cities everywhere. There is no open public space anymore–every park, every open lot, everywhere has tents and shacks and people living on it," Eleanor said. "If any sort of tropical storm blows through, causing heavy rains, winds or mudslides, it will be another disaster all over again. Tents and tarps are already falling apart because they simply aren't meant to be used continuously, and the strong heat and rains of the Caribbean have taken their toll."
According to Eleanor, the mood among Haitians is frustration. Many look to the United States for much needed help. So what can average Americans do?
"Consider donating to Haitian-run organizations on the ground that know the culture, work intimately with locals and are sustainable," Eleanor said.
Eleanor volunteers with The Sunday Project, run by local radio personality Carel Pedre. Every Sunday, the group heads to Cité Soleil, the poorest slum in Port-au-Prince, and distributes 300 boxed meals to seriously malnourished kids. You can donate to The Sunday Project or find other organizations to give to. But it doesn't cost anything to remain interested in the Haitian recovery and ask our government and aid organizations to do the same.
Categories: Do Good, Ladies' Lounge | Tags: Haiti, Haiti aid, Haiti earthquake, help Haiti, Port-au-Prince | 3 Comments


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Will Federal Request Delay Texas Voter ID Law?
Texas' practice of not inquiring about the race of registered voters could delay the state's controversial voter identification bill from being implemented on schedule in January.Full Story
After six years and three legislative sessions of sharp debate divided along party lines, the Texas Legislature passed a law in 2011 that required voters to show a photo ID in order to vote. The House passed its version in March, 101-48. After differences between the Senate and House versions were ironed out, both chambers approved the final version, SB ...
Texas' practice of not inquiring about the race of registered voters could delay the state's controversial voter identification bill from being implemented on schedule in January.Full Story
The Department of Justice advised the Texas Secretary of State today that its request for preclearance of the contentious voter ID bill lacked enough information for the government to render a decision.Full Story
A broad coalition of civil and minority rights groups is urging the U.S. Department of Justice today to reject Texas' submission for preclearance of the voter ID bill legislators approved this year.Full Story
El Paso's Democratic state representative on the media's portrayal of her hometown, why the grassroots is key to making gains for her party, and why she thinks immigration legislation will hurt Gov. Rick Perry on the campaign trail.Full Story
The first-term state senator on being outgunned by Republicans during the legislative session, what the Democrats accomplished and how he thinks Gov. Rick Perry will do in 2012.
Full Story
During an October 15, 2011 interview, Gov. Rick Perry sat down with Texas Tribune CEO and Editor-in-Chief Evan Smith for an interview co-presented by the Tribune and Austin's public broadcasting stations, KUT and KLRU.Full Story
DAY 24 of our month-long series on the effects of new state laws and budget cuts: The state is preparing to enforce more stringent voter ID requirements.Full Story
Aaronson analyzes TWIA claims and lawyer fees, Aguilar talks border security and voter ID with Chuy Hinojosa, Grissom on the latest inmate exonerated via DNA evidence, Hamilton interviews John Sharp on higher ed and the SEC, Murphy interactively maps the changes wrought by redistricting, Philpott on who's running Texas while Rick Perry is out campaigning for president, Ramsey on Perry's history of off-the-cuff remarks, Ramshaw on Perry's childhood years in Paint Creek, Root on Perry's extraordinary first week on the trail and Tan on even more ways Texas will change on Sept. 1: The best of our best content from Aug. 15-19, 2011.Full Story
The state senator from McAllen sat down with the Tribune to talk border security, how Democrats move forward after voter ID and what he thinks the upper chamber will look like in 2013.Full Story
When Texas voters are asked to show a photo ID at the polls in January, they will join voters in 29 other states that have adopted voter identification requirements — but only six of which require photo identification.Full Story
An amendment attached to SB 1 during the special session will require applicants for driver's licenses and other state-issued identification cards to produce government-issued documents affirming their legal status.Full Story
Gov. Rick Perry has added controversial immigration and homeland security measures to the agenda for the special legislative session that began last week.Full Story
The 82nd Texas Legislature's regular session ends as it started, with lawmakers arguing about a shrunken state budget and redistricting.Full Story
House Democrats put up one final fight against the voter ID bill but begrudgingly saw it move one step closer to the governor's desk today.Full Story
In keeping with Republican lawmakers' promises to strengthen state voting laws, the House today tentatively passed a bill that would make it a separate punishable offense for an illegal immigrant or non-citizen to vote or attempt to vote.Full Story
The state Senate today approved a conference committee report on the voter identification bill that includes changes that would allow citizens to use a new form of documentation to cast their ballots.Full Story
It's tense at the Texas Capitol. It's May — the last month of the session. Deadlines are arriving daily. Bills are dying. Legislative wish lists are drying up and blowing away. Blame the puppies.Full Story
With fewer than five weeks left in the regular session, none of Gov. Rick Perry's emergency items — voter ID, sanctuary cities, sonograms for women getting abortions, a federal balanced budget amendment, and eminent domain protection — have made it to his desk.Full Story
Fresh off its voter ID victory last month, the majority party in the House made good on its promise to go beyond that controversial measure to combat what it alleges is serious voter fraud with several new proposals.Full Story
M. Smith on the continuing controversy over Beaumont's school administrators, Tan on the deepening divide over the consequences of the House budget, Hamilton on the latest in the fight over higher ed accountability, Grissom on young inmates in adult prisons, Aguilar on the voter ID end game, Tan and Hasson's Rainy Day Fund infographic, Ramsey on the coming conflict over school district reserves, M. Smith and Aguilar on Laredo ISD's missing Social Security numbers, Galbraith on environmental regulators bracing for budget cuts and Ramshaw on greater scrutiny of neonatal intensive care units: The best of our best content from March 21 to 25, 2011.Full Story
Calling a point of order is a parliamentary delay tactic, but it can be a deadly one.Full Story
No time to follow every twist and turn of the Texas Legislature? We've made it easier for you with our weekly recaps of the action under the dome.Full Story
House Democrats unsuccessfully fired off a half-dozen points of order challenging several provisions in the voter ID bill all in an effort to halt or alter the controversial legislation. Republicans expressed exasperation at the Democrats' attempts to stall the legislation.Full Story
After more than 11 hours of debate, seven points of order, more than 60 amendments and nearly as many heated exchanges, a mentally vanquished and emotionally exhausted Texas House preliminarily approved the controversial voter ID bill late tonight.Full Story
State Rep. Rafael Anchia, (D) Dallas, expresses his concerns for the Voter ID bill.Full Story
Democrats stop Voter ID bill on a point of order. The bill now goes back to committee to fix before GOP returns it to Texas House.Full Story
One word in the voter ID bill brought debate in the Texas House to a halt today, postponing passage of the measure — one of Gov. Rick Perry's emergency items — for at least a couple of days.Full Story
The Hispanic Republican Conference has thrown its weight behind the controversial voter ID legislation slated to hit the House floor next week.Full Story


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An Adult's Christmas Tale
Written by Jacob Morningside
Illustrated by Nadja Andrasev
Published by Publish Green
Released on September 6, 2012
Format: Ebook
Pages: 40 illustrated
iBookstore buy link ($4.99):
About the Book:
The behind the scenes story of what really happened "The Night Before Christmas."
It's Christmas Eve. The reindeer go on strike with a list of demands for Santa, the elves and Mrs. Claus. Santa gets "loaded" and threatens to cancel Christmas, fire the deer and divorce Mrs. Claus. But, just when all seems lost, Christmas is saved by a timely fart.
My Thoughts:
When I received an email from Tribute Books (www.tribute-books.com) about the tour for The Fart That Saved Christmas, I thought to myself, why not? It's a Christmas story and I was looking for something for a December blog post. Actually it was the title that got my curiosity. I was wondering how could a fart save Christmas?
I shared the book with both my husband and son, so I want to share what they thought about it as well as what I thought.
I found the the book to be okay. Although I could see where many people would find it hilarious and comical, I didn't. It just wasn't my type of humor. The illustrations definitely go well with the story line.
My husband said it was cute. He said the illustrations were nice.
My son thought the book was funny and comical. He said he laughed at the story. He thought the illustrations were funny. His favorite one was the elf sitting on a cellophane wrapped toilet. If you want to know what that is all about, you'll have to read the book.
For anyone who finds hilarity in things a bit strange, you can't go wrong with reading The Fart That Saved Christmas.
About the Author:
Born into a body inhabited by multiple muse personalities, I create stories by stretching the "normal" beyond the boundaries of the absurd. The result is a worm-hole ride to the Far Side. I love a good story — so, I wrote one. Enjoy it with my wishes for a happy holiday season. - Jacob Morningside
Tribute Books Blog Tours Facebook:
The Fart That Saved Christmas blog tour site:


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Price hoping crossing threat will bridge gap with rail firm (From thisisoxfordshire)
When It Happens Panel Get involved: send your photos, videos, news & views by texting 'OXFORD NEWS' to 80360 or email
Price hoping crossing threat will bridge gap with rail firm
6:00am Saturday 14th June 2014 in News By Damian Fantato, Council Reporter, also covering Oxford city centre. Call me on 01865 425429
THE leader of Oxford City Council has threatened to scupper one of Network Rail's schemes if it does not provide 'disabled-friendly' bridges in South Oxford.
Bob Price has said he would allow the company to close the Aristotle Lane level crossing in North Oxford, but only if it played ball with the Hinksey and Whitehouse Road footbridges.
As part of its £1bn electrification scheme, Network Rail wants to close the level crossing, which leads to some allotments, as well as demolish the nearby bridge and replace it with a higher one.
It also wants to demolish the two bridges in South Oxford and make them taller.
The city council has objected to the fact that the bridges in South Oxford will not have ramps and so will be inaccessible for the disabled and those with buggies.
Mr Price said: "The two footbridges are very important links and when they were first put there in the 1920s they didn't accommodate for people who had disabilities or pushbuggies. We think it is perfectly reasonable to link the two issues. If, on the one hand, it would be sensible to close the crossing, it would also be sensible to accommodate the disabled at these two bridges.
"Since they have stuck to their guns, we are going to stick to ours."
The city council refused prior approval to Network Rail to demolish the two bridges and both have since gone to appeal.
A government planning inspector supported Network Rail with the Hinksey footbridge while a decision is still pending on the Whitehouse Road bridge.
Meanwhile, Network Rail has submitted a planning application to demolish the Aristotle Lane footbridge and replace it, which would in turn allow it to close the nearby level crossing.
But the city council is the owner of the crossing rights to the private footpath and Network Rail must ask it to surrender those rights so the crossing can be closed for safety reasons.
Allotment holder, Frenchay Road resident and former city councillor Jim Campbell said: "Anything that is done to keep the level crossing open in my opinion is a huge benefit.
"If the level crossing is closed it will take me a lot longer to get to my plot."
Hayfield Road resident Jonathan Clark, who also has a plot, said: "If Bob Price is using the level crossing as a negotiating strategy then good for him but it is slightly ironic because he was supporting the closure.
"I don't think it is dangerous. If you are quick to cross, it is fine."
Network Rail has said that it wants to demolish and replace the footbridge to enable the construction of a new passenger line between Oxford and Wolvercote.
Bringing this line back into use means it can run freight and passenger services on separate lines to reduce disruption and making the railway more reliable.
A Network Rail spokesman said: "We will continue to work with Oxford City Council on our plans to improve and modernise the railway across the region."
A decision on Network Rail's planning application will be made by a committee of city councillors at a date yet to be set.
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Comments (2)
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7:44am Sat 14 Jun 14
Andrew:Oxford says...
As for the other two bridges - well, since the Bicester bridge issue there hasn't been any noise from the Hinksey "Activists" - I rather suspect now that they've seen the quite magnificent and fully compliant replacement that they'd get - they aren't quite so keen.
4:12pm Sat 14 Jun 14
mytaxes says...
Comments are closed on this article.