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Clarity is demoing a new corded phone with an integrated Android tablet that can display real-time captions. The Ensemble has a 7-inch touchscreen that can be used to place calls, alter volume, and display full transcripts of past calls. It was developed in collaboration with ClearCaptions, a company certified by the FCC to caption conversations for the hearing impaired. The phone itself doesn't do any of the transcribing; instead, as with existing systems, the call is routed through a US-based call center. A representative at the call center listens in and repeats the conversation to Nuance's speech-recognition software. That's then sent down through the internet to the tablet — the whole process is apparently near-realtime, but due to some technical hitches (with the phone line at CES, rather than the device itself) we weren't able to see it in action. The Clarity Ensemble will be available nationwide for $229 at the end of this week, but ClearCaptions told us that those that need it most will be able to receive one for free or heavily subsidized from local health authorities.
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Trendy Bearden boutique relocating
Kristi Ogle, owner of Kristi, is moving her fashion boutique from the Shops at Bearden Place to Cherokee Plaza, an upscale retail center currently under construction at 5508 Kingston Pike.
Kristi is moving just down the road where the former Goodwill headquarters building and Wedding Wonderland were located.
Ogle opened Kristi in 1998. Expect some good moving sales.

subset: commoncrawl


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Outdoor Christmas Lights
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I wrote a short article showing Abe Morell's beautiful black and white camera obscuras before, and recently came across some of his color ones that I thought were well worth sharing. They're all such amazing compositions of both shapes and colors.
Central Park Looking North, Summer 2008
Central Park Looking North, Fall 2008
Grand Canal with Bridge, 2007
View of Volta del Canal in Palazzo Room Painted With Jungle Motif, Venice, Italy, 2008
View of the Manhattan Bridge, 2010
This year Bonni Benrubi Gallery will be represented at Paris Photo November 15-18 at the Grand Palais where I will be exhibited with Paolo Pellegrin, Matthew Pillsbury, Louis Stettner and Massimo Vitali


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Monday was the first legal day to sell fireworks in California, and for Mike Smith, chairman of the Merced High School's Marching 100's fireworks booth, sales weren't booming.
The good news is that he expects sales to spark later in the week.
Smith, who has manned the same fireworks booth at the corner of Olive Avenue and G Street for 19 years, said only a handful of people bought fireworks Monday.
It wasn't the 104-degree heat that kept people away -- it was the fact that the first legal day to sell fireworks in California, which is always June 28, fell at the beginning of the week, Smith said.
"We are anticipating to beat last year's sales, which was a record for us," he said. "This is the largest fundraiser of the year for the band, and last year we were the No. 1 booth in the Valley."
Last Fourth of July, the nonprofit booth donated $25,000 to the high school band. "We have loyal customers," he said.
This year, 26 people in Merced submitted applications to open fireworks stands, but only 24 submitted the proper paperwork to the city, said Merced City Fire Chief Kenneth Mitten.
As of Monday, 19 booths have been scheduled to receive inspections, the Merced City fire inspector said.
Mitten said the number of inspections will increase later in the week, as some people prefer to open closer to the holiday.
Inspectors make sure that vendors are selling safe and sane fireworks and that booths comply with safety standards, said local fire officials.
If fireworks don't meet safety standards, Mitten said he confiscates them, then destroys them.
This week and up to the Fourth of July, fire officials will conduct spot checks at all fireworks booths.
"Our goal is for everyone to have a safe and sane Fourth of July," Mitten said.
The Merced Marching 100's will host a free fireworks safety demonstration at Merced High School Thursday and Saturday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the northwest corner of G Street and Olive Avenue.
Legal fireworks are are only allowed in the the cities of Merced, Atwater, Dos Palos, Gustine, Livingston and Los Banos.
Reporter Jamie Oppenheim can be reached at (209) 385-2407 or email@example.com.


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The school board is taking a tough stance when it comes to bullying and defining what bullying is so school officials can then take action.
On Monday night, the school board passed a first reading of an impact statement on bullying.
The state mandate is an official definitive of bullying that continues the corporation's current anti-bullying efforts. It basically allows school officials to go in and investigate cases of bullying when they come to their attention.
Superintendent Brad Schneider says that bullying is simply not tolerated and steps to combat the problems are essential, he says, to make sure kids feel safe and concentrate in the classroom.
"In order for that to happen, for kids to achieve at a high level, they have to feel safe. I think that's what this policy is all about," Schneider says.
School officials say stopping bullying in it's tracks is one of their top priorities.
"That's basically a statement that says, this is how we feel about it. We're going to do something about it. We're going to take action," says Rick Reid, the school safety coordinator.
The impact statement will be adopted after a second reading.
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text: The couple that feeds each other, loves each other. If you enjoy fine foods and trying new dishes, then you might like date nights for foodies. These are dates that don't really have to take place at night but revolve around food. You might be doing the cooking or you might be a guest at a restaurant, but you'll always be eating. Here are some ideas for date nights for foodies:


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10:16 p.m. - A caller on SR 257S reported hearing gunshots in the area.
10 p.m. - A caller at 6740 Church St., Loogootee, reported a dark colored car was taking items from the residence. The subject was identified by officers as the homeowner's brother who had been instructed to remove all firearms from the residence.
8:13 a.m. - A caller on Bypass 50 reported a farm truck weaving all over the road.
6:20 a.m. - A caller near CR 100 W and north of CR 450 S. reported hitting a deer.
2:04 p.m. - An accident was reported near Hoefling's. No other information was available as of press time.
12:34 p.m. - A complainant on station turned in a baseball cap and wallet.
12:05 p.m. - Don Altmeyer, 812 Maxwell Ave., reported that overnight someone had run off the road and destroyed his mailbox and tossed the mailbox into his yard.
11:08 a.m. - Natalie Booth, 2007 Grand Ave., reported someone stole her gas grill from her patio.
11:01 a.m. - A caller at Walmart, 100 Bypass 50 Plaza, advised she had witnessed a female driving a red moped with a small child riding on the back without a helmet. The driver of the moped came to an abrupt stop and the child fell from the moped. The caller said the moped was parked on the food center side and both the female and the child were now inside the store.
10:26 p.m. - Tina Thomas, 401 Mound St., reported that her German American bank card had been stolen.
7:31 p.m. - An employee of Southwest Medical advised their ambulance was nearly hit while on the way to a run by a maroon colored van that ran the stop sign at Meridian and Van Trees streets. The van was later located by officers and the driver claimed to be unaware of what had happened. Officers told the driver to pay better attention and that they could be cited if they disregarded medical personnel again.


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A Bridgeport woman has been sentenced for embezzling more than $20,000 from the Johnson Elementary School Parent-Teacher Association.
Judge Thomas Bedell sentenced Melissa Wilfong, 36, to five years of probation for one count of embezzlement.
If Wilfong violates her probation, she would spend between one to 10 years in prison.
Wilfong acted as the treasurer of the PTA between January 2011 and 2012, according to State Police.
Judge Bedell ordered Wilfong to pay $27,334.92 in restitution to the Johnson Elementary PTA and $14,312 to the Harrison County Board of Education for the audit it performed as part of its investigation into the embezzlement.
Wilfong was able to repay $31,000 of that restitution back Thursday, March 7 and she must pay the remaining balance back within two years.
Bedell also ordered Wilfong to perform 250 hours of community service and she has to write a letter of apology to the Johnson Elementary PTA and the Harrison County Board of Education within 30 days.


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LATHAM, N.Y. - A happy homecoming took place in Latham early Wednesday morning for 20 soldiers with New York's National Guard's 27th Brigade Special Troops Battalion.
The soldiers are coming home after spending nearly a year in Kuwait in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. They returned to the New York State Armory in Latham, greeted by family and friends around 3:30 a.m.
It was the morning Monica Gaetano has been waiting months for, to hug Specialist Michael Ellithorpe. "We hadn't talked since high school," she told NEWS10.
It had been 24 years since Monica had seen Michael while attending Gloversville High School, and recently they connected on Facebook.
Specialist Ellithorpe was deployed to Kuwait last January, being home for Christmas is special and even more special to have someone to spend the holidays with.
"I just asked her out," Michael said. And Monica said yes.
"We haven't seen each other in forever, and yet it feels like we've been with each other for a long time," he said.
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CATEGORIES Comedy, Drama, Independent, Casting, CinematicalHave a happy Canada Day with these casting bites!
When I heard that Gore Vidal was going to pop up in Shrink, I went into literary fangirl heaven, which quickly became a fan rant. The movie stars Kevin Spacey as a shrink who isn't able to deal with a personal tragedy and becomes a burn-out pothead. And now The Hollywood Reporter posts that some young blood is being injected into the indie. Jesse Plemons (Friday Night Lights) gets to co-star as a pot dealer named Jesus. I'm going to go out on a limb and say he's the shrink's drug connection.
Meanwhile, Doris Roberts, who became a household fixture as the overbearing mom and grandma on Everybody Loves Raymond, has picked up a new film gig. Variety reports that she's starring with Ernest Borgnine in a new film called Another Harvest Moon. She'll play "a relentlessly peppy septuagenarian in a nursing home." The film has got a pretty sweet cast that boasts the likes of Piper Laurie, Anne Meara, Cybill Shepherd, and Amber Benson.
Finally, there is Brian Baumgartner. Variety has posted that The Office star has picked up a gig in Into Temptation. This is the flick about the prostitute who plans to kill herself on her birthday, and the priest who tries to talk her out of it. Baumgartner will play a fellow priest named Fr. Ralph O'Brien.


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Tuesday, October 22, 2013
© Copyright 2014 Albany Herald
ALBANY — Wrestling fans — and we know you're out there in droves — are you ready for "A Nightmare on Pine Avenue?"
The State Theatre and Showtime Wrestling will bring the "Nightmare" Saturday in a Halloween-themed event that will provide plenty of thrills, chills and spills in the squared circle at the 313 Pine Ave. venue. Local fans can expect exciting matches featuring all of their favorite Showtime wrestlers.
In addition to the action in the ring, fun Nightmare on Pine Avenue events also include a kids' Halloween costume contest and goody bags for all kids. The treats are provided by Drawdy Roofing & Vinyl Siding.
Bell time for the opening match Saturday is 7:30 p.m. Tickets, which will be available at the door on the day of the show, are $8 for adults and $5 for children.
For more information about Saturday's Nightmare, contact Sean Hatcher at (229) 344-6678 or go online to facebook.com/showtimewrestling.
More like this story
- Albany's Chandler Dabbs plans hometown wrestling, movie debuts ( January 13, 2014 )
- Showtime Wrestling at State ( April 9, 2013 )
- Southwest Georgia Briefs - Aug. 16, 2013 ( August 15, 2013 )
- 'Always Patsy Cline' opens 2014-15 Theatre Albany season ( August 9, 2014 )
- Albany State crowns new Miss ASU ( October 12, 2013 )


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HUFFINGTONPOST.COM - The U.S. Postal Service may be able to deliver your bill payments, but it's having a little trouble delivering its own.
Come Sept. 30, USPS will default on a $5.6 billion payment mandated by Congress to prefund employee retirement benefits, CNNMoney reports. That will be the second time the government agency has defaulted in as many months after missing an August payment worth $5.5 billion.
While mail operations will continue as usual, the second default is
yet another sign of the postal service's increasingly desperate
financial situation. By May of this year it had already lost $6 billion. click here to read more


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By Doug Ireland
---- — SALEM — Town officials have taken some heat in the past for not fixing dilapidated roads and bridges.
But that's changed in recent years as Town Manager Keith Hickey and the Board of Selectmen have committed to repairing several roads and bridges each year.
The projects are part of Salem's 10-year road plan, which spends roughly $5 million a year on improvements. The town also is tackling a half dozen bridge projects over the next three years in addition to the replacement of a failing culvert on Teague Drive.
Voters will be asked in March to approve $1.6 million for the replacement of the Providence Hill Road and Bluff Street bridges — both "red-listed."
Red-listed means the bridges have been designated as a top priority for replacement because they are becoming unsafe.
In 2014, the town will replace two aging bridges on Town Farm and Shannon Roads. Then, work begins in 2015 on the Bluff Street Extension bridge and the Teague Drive culvert, where problems closed one of two lanes on the residential road for the past year.
It will cost $2.6 million to replace those bridges and $800,000 to repair the culvert.
The projects were among numerous capital improvement projects reviewed by selectmen at their meeting Monday night. The board met with the leaders of several departments, including engineering director Robert Puff.
Puff outlined the town's need to continue repairing roads and bridges. Selectman Stephen Campbell said the town's five-year capital improvement plan was a little too costly.
"From my outlook, there is a little too much spending in the overall plan," he said.
But there was no argument from Campbell and the four other selectmen that the road and bridge upgrades are needed. Hickey told selectmen the Teague Drive culvert is especially a concern.
"In my mind, having a failed culvert and one lane of a road closed is not acceptable," Hickey said.
Another concern is the need to correct drainage problems on Route 28, especially if Rockingham Park becomes a casino.
Hickey said no one should jump to conclusions. A proposal to build a casino at the shuttered racetrack could mean several hundred jobs and further economic development.
But the Legislature must first vote to allow expanded gambling in the state. If that happens, Salem would still have to be chosen as the site for a casino.
The possibility of a casino at Rockingham Park also spurred discussion Monday of the best possible location for a proposed public safety complex to house the Police and Fire Departments.
"This plan is based on what we know today, and what we know today is expanded gambling hasn't been approved yet," Hickey said.
Puff said yesterday the five bridge projects planned over the next three years are in addition to eight others replaced in recent years.
"That will be 13 bridges in less than a decade, which is pretty good," he said.
Puff said the five bridges to be replaced in 2013-2015 are about 50 to 60 years old and can still be driven on — at least for now.
But selectmen's goal of saving money during tight times prompted them to decide earlier this year to push back some bridge projects.
Replacement of the Town Farm Road and Bluff Street Extension bridges was scheduled for this year, but was delayed until 2014 and 2015, respectively.


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i realize that analyzing from only one half of the spectrum has pitfalls (much like attributing defensive statistics to actual defense played) but i hope it provides some food for thought some stiffs might be missing by focusing heavily on the offensive numbers:
1st qtr: very even to start. 1st substitutions come at the 6 minute mark: anre in for a hot wilson chandler, al in for moz who is struggling with love/catching passes. why take out wilson at all, why not insert one of our numerous centers for moz? why compound this mistake by playing al on love when you could slide faried (who played very well on him previously) over to him and put al on derrick williams? we are severely undersized at this point in the game.
4 minute mark: javale comes in for faried. to guard love. minnesota counters by bringing in beasley for wesley johnson. al decides to stay in paint rather than show on beasley (after his man brewer missed a corner three and was out of position to catch up to beasley). beasleys wide open corner three makes it a 19-2 run. al's fault for doing what al does, but g.k.'s fault for failing to mach up. our transition defense is deplorable with this lineup which counter acts the slightly better half court offense it provides.
28 seconds left in 1st; hamilton comes in for a completely ineffective ty. mcghee is giving minesota problems on the offensive glass. end of first. 33-20 t-wolves.
=most issues thus far are simply being outplayed due to our poor perimiter/transition defense, but this goes hand in hand with g.k. failing to match up with the right guys at the right time. it's ok to be reactionary in basketball when something is wrong.
2nd quarter: al anre and hamilton are all refusing to leave no man's land between the paint and the three point line to guard the perimiter, leaving mgghee to guard any and all offensive rebounders. the nuggets are getting killed by offensive boards as a result. to g.k's credit hamilton is now replaced with chandler after only a couple of minutes. brewer has yet to get a blow and don't know that he can be since he is constantly covering the men being left open on the perimiter. may have to play him and chandler the rest of the game to get back into it and pray someone else can take the offensive burdon, (ty what the fuck?)
9:30 mark faried comes in for mcghee (rather than al). a moment later ty gives brewer his first blow. playing tiny ball again. (lawson anre chandler, faried, harington). visibly exhausted, al is called for an illegal screen. minesota is now small as well to react to denver's lineup. (lee ellington, beasley, williams and toliver) ridnour comes in for lee. without love in the game minesota is not attacking the paint (fortunately). they are making up for it by burrying wide open midrange jumpers however. conversely our tired unit is committing lazy turnovers on offense. might not be a bad time to replace anre and al. just sayin'. mozgov might catch passes the second time in if he ever got that chance.instead love comes in after a quick blow. ty and al are getting killed on the p&r. anre is being assertive on offense. unfortunately we aren't making headway since he can't guard anyone.
5:00 minute mark, anre and al FINALLY come out. hamilton and brewer replace them. still no center on the floor against a larger minesota lineup with love and toliver.
4:40 mark bird (who i assumed was inactive) comes in for faried. this energetic lineup is playing much better defensively and offensively than the oldies. minnesota however is making contested jumpers. chandler's jumper is keeping us (in the game? down 20). love is starting to abuse bird in the half court. it seems glaringly obvious that in the second half, when love is in the game, faried needs to be in the game and in his pocket. we'll see if g.k. sees this. wouldn't hurt to use a center along with him. minesota has no one who can match up with mozgov or mcghee defensively and it would free faried up on the offensive glass. kind of curious why hamilton got a second chance in the first half, in which he has played poorly, but timo never did. minnesota is starting to take this inexperienced lineup apart with the pick and roll.
halftime: 68-43 min. mostly execution problems. we'd be losing no matter what the way minnesota has played with our poor defense and their hot shooting, but g.k. didn't help himself by being too stubborn to be reactionary and relying on his trust guys for far too long. time for me to smoke two cigarettes at once.
third qtr: my opinion is that faried mcghee/mozgov chandler and brewer need to play the majority of the second half. not as one unit, but you know what i mean. my prediction is that karl is going to stubbornly ignore the score/reality and play small "since minnesota is, and i trust my small ball lineup against anyone". trouble is that minesota's undersized players all play half court/transition defense and rebound, while ours simply do not.
mcghee is starting the second half. mozgov appears to be in the gk doghouse for this game. we are playing them pretty even for the first several minutes. minesota is still making contested 3's. our transition offense is the best it's been however. minesota is having a lot of trouble guarding faried and mcghee down low. kevin love attempts to block faried's path to the basket with his testicles. that didn't work either. the nuggets are playing their best ball so far with this lineup. i certainly hope g.k. sticks with it. these guys are all young and CAN go extended minutes on the court. the scoreboard still says we are down 23 at the 6:45 mark but we are making headway in play.
5 minute mark the nuggets FINALLY have momentum in their favor, and as i type this we are down 18 and i see al heading towards the scorers table for what will likely be the next in a long line of 18 minute close out shifts. what the fuck g.k.? why on earth are you making a change when this lineup is CLEARLY clicking, and the defensive intensity has appeared for the fist time all day? al had better have just been coming to bring a towel or water to mcghee or faried. HOLY FUCK! gk changed his mind and al stays out. is g.k. not a complete fool after all? chandler and brewer are very tired but we can't afford to take them out.
3 minute mark: gk's two sons al and andre come in for mcghee and ty. not a horrible substitution a this point, and at least there aren't 2 pg's playing d at once, but i dislike most occasions when they both come in at once.
2 minute mark: hamilton comes in for chandler and javale comes in after a very brief blow, replacing faried. this could get ugly fast with hamilton anre and al in at once, and javale barely rested. where is timo? al quickly commits two slow footed fouls giving him 4 for the game. the athleticism drop when he and anre come in together is staggering. we are now traiding buckets for all of the obvious reasons. 3rd qtr ends with the score 93-75 minnesota. here's hoping that the breaks brewer and faried are getting coupled with the qtr timeout are effective and we can get them back in for the "son's" soon.
4th qtr. hamilton get's blown by guarding beasley. nuggets first two shots are three's by al (1-2). anre gets rejected on the next. so far it hasn't hurt as the minnesota jumpers are cooling off despite lackadaisical perimeter d. next possession lawson missed a three and mcghee fouls over the back. love hits a three of the lazy p&r defense. anre makes a nice driving layup. hamilton leaves beasley wide open for three and he luckily misses it. hamilton shoots one of his own and bricks. he needs to be replaced soon. first timeout break won't be the time as he is fouled going up for a transition dunk after leaking out hella early on d. PLEASE bring in chandler for hamilton asap g.k. please and thank you.
9 minute mark. would be the perfect time to insert brewer and faried to play out the game for better or worse. not happening. hamilton bricks both ft.'s and isn't into the game. beasly abused hamilton again for a bucket. lawson draws a foul, yet passes it off. typifies the way he's been playing lately.
8:00 mark. faried and chandler come in for hamilton and mcghee. al and andre are STILL in the game dispite looking dog tired. al ilustrates my point by badly bricking a three, andre defies it by getting an offensive board and putting it in, then quickly goes back to illustrating it by leaving ellington wide open for a three that he of course drills.
5 minute mark. this game is over. why isn't timo in there for al, and why isn't brewer in for anre? are we trying to develop the "son's" burgeoning skill sets?
at 3:45 visibly exhausted anre and al both look over to the bench after a foul, one begging to be mercifully pulled (al) one begging ty to instead go to the bench (anre). anre is successful. hamilton stone and mcghee come in for al, ty and chandler. who's the coach here? one minute later brewer finally comes in for anre.
2:40 mark: 114-92 minnesota. i refuse to do anymore analysis.


text: ALLISON & CURT FEATURED ON EVER OURS Allison and Curt's engagement pictures got a little blog love today at Ever Ours! Check it here. « ROSS WEDDING {evolution of dance} THE FIRST & OUR WEDDING {part two} » no comments Your email is never published or shared. Required fields are marked * Name * Email * Website Comment


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SPOKANE, Wash. - A Spokane family is struggling to cope with a double loss. First, a local dad narrowly escaped a fire over the weekend, which forced his family out of their rental home, and now thieves are walking off with any property not destroyed in the fire.
The fire tore through the home on the 5,000 block of Maple, near Joseph, on Saturday.
"I never expected something like this to happen to me," Joe Katruska said, who's rented the home with his family for 15 years. "It's surreal; It's almost like a death in the family."
On Monday, a lifetime of his family's belongings was stacked, charred and in shambles, on his front lawn.
"There was a fire that started behind my bed," Joe explained. "I was like 'what the heck?' I started to try and put it out and I jumped on the bed and got up for a second and - with the blankets - it just went whoosh."
Joe's family was already out of danger, outside in the backyard, but Joe said he kept running back in the house to save their belongings. Joe's forearm was covered with bandages on Monday where he said he suffered second degree burns.
By the time crews put the flames out, the fire had gutted everything inside. KHQ called the Spokane Fire Department to find out more about caused the fire but they did not immediately return calls on Monday.
"Ii haven't really dealt with it; It hasn't really soaked in yet," Joe continued.
In the days that followed, Joe tried to salvage what he could but described the home as "a total loss." The fire left Joe, his wife, and their five children - who range in age from 17 to 10 - homeless.
The family had barely begun to process the trauma when they were suddenly forced to deal with another: theft.
"I heard that people were coming and looting but the fire people told me to expect that," Joe said.
With 15 years of belongings to sort through, Joe is still trying to figure out exactly what the thieves stole.
"I would never do anything like that," he said.
Joe has since rented a storage unit to protect his remaining valuables. Plus, a local church has also offered to store his belongings.


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The flames are out in south Lubbock County. Now, investigators are looking into what caused the Classic Cars & Parts salvage yard to catch fire Friday afternoon.
Flames broke out inside the yard on 114th street, around 2 p.m. The yard covers around 20 to 30 acres. The owner collects cars, motor homes, and camper trailers.
At one point the flames got so out of control they put neighboring homes in danger.
"You couldn't see because of the smoke, there was a pretty good fire going," neighbor Randy Airhart said.
"I saw the smoke and figured there was a fire because there were flames shooting up at least ten feet," witness Juan R. Martinez said.
"There's a lot of wind and everything is really dry, so it doesn't take much and once it gets started you can hardly stop it," Airhart said.
Crews say the fire is contained and everything has been soaked to prevent flare-ups. The flames destroyed several cars and some mobile homes.
Just minutes after this fire, a second wildfire was reported north of Lubbock. Firefighters responded to F.M. 2641, just east of the airport. The fire was contained within about an hour.
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Welcome to our website, we look forward to offering you a warm welcome when you arrive at our family run hotel. John Alongi & Family.
The Lord of Abercorn built the Robert Burns Hotel in the late 1700's. It is situated on a main Edinburgh bus route and only minutes from the city centre, the number 26 bus stops at the front gate of the hotel!!There are no parking restrictions at The Robert Burns Hotel, Free Parking! We are also within walking distance from health clubs, a bowling alley and a 2 minute stroll from a 3-mile long beach promenade, restaurants, bars, shops, tennis courts and minutes from some of the finest golf courses in the world.


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Four Points By Sheraton Richmond Airport4700 South Laburnum Avenue, Sandston (Map) Good, 3.85 Based on 91 reviews
4.2 miles from St Paul's Baptist Church Richmond ( 9 mins )
To enter this competition, you need to have stayed in a ConcertHotels.com hotel close to St Paul's Baptist Church Richmond - that way we can assure our fans that all reviews on our website are genuine. For every 200 valid reviews we receive one lucky winner will be randomly selected to receive a $150 Amazon voucher.
We hope you find our St Paul's Baptist Church Richmond pages useful, with 61 nearby hotels to choose from.
For whatever reason you're visiting St Paul's Baptist Church Richmond, we hope you have a fantastic time!


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Crispin Sheridan | November 13, 2013 | Comments
SEOs must strive for a combination of both quality and quantity, but there's always a tension between the two. Sometimes it can feel that by focusing on one it means losing ground on the other.
After Google announced its new algorithm "Hummingbird" at the end of September, Internet marketers and search engine optimization professionals started to work on their new optimization strategies for the coming year. With all the changes, many professionals are now concentrating on content, authority and trust, as well how the changes will affect keyword relevance and link building. By the way, if these concepts weren't first and foremost on their minds already, they were missing the boat.
The challenge site owners find themselves addressing is the balance of quantity vs. quality. Once again, site owners have to ask themselves, "Do I build more pages? Or do I need better pages?"
Part of the reason to revisit these ideas is due to the recent release of a video from Matt Cutts at Google. Matt reinforces the idea that having more pages doesn't necessarily directly influence your search rankings.
From that, webmasters might infer that websites like Amazon or other big ecommerce sites where it is very common to see many pages about the same product a website with a large number of pages won't automatically rank better than others. From there, some may incorrectly conclude that adding more pages to your website may not help your domain automatically rank better than smaller sites.
However, he inferred that a website with more pages has a greater chance to rank better for a broader set of keywords, achieving a wider number of visitors. Also, a website with more pages has a better chance to get more natural links.
"Now typically if the site does have more pages, it might have more links pointing to it, which means it has higher PageRank," Cutts said. "If that is the case, we might be willing to crawl a little bit deeper into the website and if it has higher PageRank, then we might think it's a little bit of a better match for users queries." This would almost certainly encourage site owners to lean towards a "bigger is better" mindset.
In some cases, it might be necessary to have more pages for the same subject or product/service. While it may be impossible for supporting pages to not overlap, they should have clear separation and stand well on their own. This is established through their keyword focus and optimization. It's also important that site owners are honest with themselves and, where necessary, minimize duplication through the use of elements like canonical tags.
After all, the goal shouldn't be to create more of the same content, but to create content that is compelling and that people might want to link to. Diversity and visual effects are important when producing content.
Quality vs. Quantity
In the end, the best situation is still a combination of both quality and quantity, but there's always a tension between the two. Sometimes it can feel that by focusing on one it means losing focus on the other.
Quantity is by far the easiest road. It is the road someone might take when they lack focus on any topic, are not considering who will visit the website, and simply want to build more links, and so on. The main problem is that if Google decides to punish websites for bad behavior, all the efforts might be lost. After all, Panda, the Google algorithm filter designed to gauge content quality has been around since 2011. That cannot be ignored.
Quality is the safest road, but also the more difficult one to follow. Creating quality content that will be enticing for readers to share and convincing for search engines to rank better at the SERPS takes time. It takes effort, but in the long run it gets rewarded. Over the long run, quality will prove to be more powerful than quantity.
In conclusion, a website with a great number of pages doesn't automatically get higher ranking, but there can be indirect advantages to having a larger website, such as having more quality pages and more potential to acquire natural links to the website, as well as getting overall search traffic on those internal pages. Those things undeniably help SEO. However, it's important to remember quality first, then quantity, to ensure the long range SEO success of your site.
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The lilacs are in full bloom and have been all week long. My dad was quite a mushroom hunter and he always told me that the big yellow sponge mushrooms are best when the lilacs are in full bloom.
I've not had any e-mails on big mushroom finds, either they aren't being found in large amounts or people are not talking much about their finds. Remember, they aren't gold nuggets; just mushrooms
The wooded areas are definitely wet enough to support mushroom growth and the warm days should have made the mushrooms pop. I've read many articles on how long it takes for a mushroom to form. Some reports have them forming in only a few minutes; others a half hour to an hour.
Mushrooms come from a mass of threads that eventually send up a cap full of spores. I talked with one person last week who found two under one tree in the morning and over a dozen that afternoon under the same tree. All of those came up in short period of time.
The old question as to whether a mushroom will grow once it is up comes down to who is going to let one go and then check on it from time to time. I've had some tell me they grow; others say they don't. I generally don't leave one long enough to see as someone else may find it.
Mushroom hunting is a peaceful relaxing time in the woods for me. It makes a great family activity unless you are like me and just want to be alone. Walking through the woods, a walking and poking stick in my hand is relaxing as it can be for me. It seems only fun, however, when I'm finding them
Dam meeting raises questions
The dam meeting last Tuesday evening raised many questions concerning safety and how fishing might change around the rivers if the dams are removed. Many area residents showed up supporting retaining the dams. Area residents are to send comments to the IDNR concerning their thoughts and opinions.
It was pretty well concluded that the boat ramp in Ellsworth Park would be useless during the later part of summer and fall and it is questionable if there will be enough water in the North Fork River to reach the Big Vermilion River by boat.
The IDNR's opinion is that the removal of the Danville Dam will not affect the Middle Fork River as many feared. As I see it, removing the Danville Dam will allow for more waling the banks of the river. Most of the people I talked with after the meeting were of the same opinion; it is a done deal!
I was asked at the meeting what my favorite bass bait was in the spring of the year. I like the spinner baits during the spring better than anything else I have in my tackle box. The plastic worm comes in a distant second for me. We are past what I call the good jig and pig season but one year I fished that bait all year long and was surprised with the results I had.
If you are night fishing the spinner baits are definitely best but don't be afraid to use the plastic worms at night. Believe it or not the bass can actually see them without a problem and I've taken some big stringers in tournaments using the plastic worms after dark.
Sam Van Camp writes about the outdoors on Fridays and Sundays. Call him at 662-6559. Fax: 446-6648. E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com


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Does he need Lebron? Durant? CP3? Psh, please. Rubio? Griffin? Yeah right. Funny team name? Fuck it, he rolls Primo style. And Primo don't need no stinking super stars or All-Rookie/Sophomores. And in the process, he will destroy the universe.
Below you'll find a recap of the comings and goings of the first two weeks of the Unofficial StR Fantasy Basketball League.
For reference sake, here are the current rosters. The following is the list of team owner's StR usernames along with their respective teams.
- Wallywagon11 - Kissing Cousins
- J.R 50 - RudyGay and Chardonnay
- LightningStrike5 - Royal Court Jesters
- Juan Primo - Team Primo
- AnotherStupidSN - Burkle's Bombers
- Clicc916 - Travis. Rised the Hot, Hand
- Tomroadrunner - Lvl. 39 Vlade's Beard of Truth
- Sillysill - You Won't Fredette Me
- Rise_to_mediocrity - Team Stern
- Aykis16 - Welcome to Jimmerica!
- (The Lurker) - Tig Ol' Bibby's
- TheJust - Crappy Club for Jerks
Okay so even though Primo is in first he's not exactly destroying the universe. And yes, the stats and wins/losses from the beginning of the year are fairly meaningless in fantasy basketball given so many players can be added and still give a ton of value compared to other fantasy sports games. That being said, the one thing I always look at first are the percentages because it is awful hard to improve both your shooting and free throw shooting percentage at the same time let alone improve your shooting percentages on their own given you already likely have most of your big volume shooters on your team as is. Granted, it's a small sample size but it sure seems that Primo's FG% (and the fact it comes with so much scoring) is going to be really tough to beat week in and week out.
On the other side of things, Clicc916's "Travis.Rised the Hot, Hand" has a brutal record but was a timley 2 steals, 2 turnovers, 1 block, and 6 points away from a 7-11 record.
Biggest Injuries
In our league each team has one injured reserve spot so we did not see many player drops due to injuries. Currently I am dealing with the previously named "Never-Sat-Out-One-Game-Yet-In-My-Three-Year-Career" Brook Lopez who proceeded to break his foot immediately after our draft and will likely be out another 4 to 6 weeks. Juan Primo just got dealt a setback to his roster when Manu Ginoboli broke his shooting hand but he still has Ray Allen and Andre Iguodala who can both fill in at SG. Meanwhile, TheJust is having a real tough go at it first with Eric Gordon's swollen knee and now Zach Randolph is out possibly 8 weeks of our 12 week season with a slightly torn MCL.
One of the most annoying injuries right now has to be Tomroadrunner's Stephen Curry who has now twisted his ankle 7 times in the last 15 months. As one of the most versatile guards in fantasy who brings you steals, assists, scoring, and fantastic shooting percentages, he's a great player to have when healthy but one can hardly count on that right now.
Currently, SillySill has both Baron Davis and Chuck Hayes on his roster and neither in an IR spot. We might have our first dead team of the year.
Aykis16's Corey Maggette is currently out for between 2 to 4 weeks with a strained muscle but Aykis16 seems to be willing to stick with him ... for now at least.
"Maggette is the one guy I drafted that has really let me down. I picked him up in the auction for cheap because I thought that on a bad Charlotte team he would be the go-to scorer and he gets to the line a lot and hits them at a high rate. But he's been absolutely terrible, and in two games against Miamia he went 1-16. He's out the next few weeks and is on injured reserve, and I'm still debating whether to cut him or keep him."
Hottest Pickups
So far, we have had 52 player acquisitions. This will likely be one of the most hectic parts of the year for roster pickups and it was particularly crazy given how short preseason was this year. I was by far the worst offender here (acquiring a player 12 times so far) whereas Sillysill and Aykis16 each only picked up 1 player. There were a few of our usual middle tier fill in guys like Al Harrington and Udonis Haslem (NSFW, bad music), but there was a whole lot of upside hunting.
Tomroadrunner found early success when he picked up both "Udonis 2.0" Brandon Bass and Ryan Anderson (although gave up on Gerald Henderson in the process). Brandon Bass is providing solid shooting percentages (FT% could go higher) and playing for a shallow front line in Boston. Although you get no shot blocking from Bass or any earth shattering rebound numbers, there's no reason to think his numbers or minutes as of right now are a fluke and he's a solid all around contributor. Meanwhile, Ryan Anderson is currently averaging around 18-7 with over 3 three pointers a night in 30 minutes of playing time. There are some questions as to what would happen to his production if Dwight Howard gets traded away but right now Ryan Anderson is producing right around where people thought he could if he were to get minutes and there is no reason to believe he won't be one of the top (if not thee top) three point shooters in the league.
Unfortunately for Tomroadrunner, Gerald Henderson ended up being productive and I was able to grab him up off of free agency. Soon after the draft, I also finally realized that Omri Casspi is terrible and although I really wanted to find another wing I figured what the hell I would give it a shot with Spencer Hawes. Apparantly, unbeknownst to me, Hawes up and decided to become a legit NBA center with 12 points 10 boards and 2 blocks a game. A little more on Hawes and Henderson later.
Two of the more interesting prospect pure scorers nabbed up so far are MarShon Brooks and Byron Mullens, both picked up by the Lurker. Neither of these guys provides much outside of scoring; however, holy crap those guys can score. MarShon is currently the only wing player that is half way decent for the Nets. Although he's been nicked up a bit he is currently averaging 23.4 minutes and 13.9 points per game and started playing over 30 minutes a game before he sprained his ankle. That's a Per36 of over 21 points per game and other than his three point percentage it doesn't seem that far fetched when looking at his college numbers. And if he gets small forward eligibility it will be an even greater find. As for Mullens, he's been in the league for awhile and was a top prospect out of high school, he never got much playing time. Now with the Bobcats and their thin roster at center, Mullens has been getting 11.4 points in 18.8 minutes of playing time and continues to get more playing time as the season progresses. His rebounding and shot blocking are putrid for being a seven footer but right now he has an efficient Per36 of 21.8 points a game. Who knows what they end up doing with that roster but if Mullens gets more playing time that could be a really significant scoring asset. The Lurk spent a ton of money in the draft on Lebron and Wade and currently seems to be fielding a pretty quality team still thanks to smart trades, nice cheap grabs late in the draft, and solid pickups.
Then there is Iman Shumpert, the do it all stud from Georgia Institute of Technology. The one knock on the guy was his 3 point shooting which in college was 30.5% off of almost 4 attempts per game. Currently in the NBA he is knocking down 40% at approximately the same volume. Will it last? Who knows. Either way though, the guy looks to be a great add and is running one of the fastest paced offenses in the league.
And finally, we have Markieff Morris, who is fast becoming the second most popular player in the Phoenix area. Morris has scored double digits in four of his last five games, and just had the best game of his young career with 13 points, 3 three pointers, 10 rebounds, 2 block, and a steal in 30 minutes. It will be interesting to see if he can wrestle minutes away from Channing Frye at PF.
Surprising Player Drops/Players Still Available
Given all the movement, there have been a few interesting drops so far from the players who were drafted although given the talent availabble to be picked up it certaintly makes sense. We've seen Richard Hamilton, Nick Young (picked up by LightningStrike5), Gordon Hayward, Kemba Walker, Tyrus Thomas (picked up by Wallywagon11), Jason Richardson, Evan Turner, Brandon Knight (picked up by Wallywagon11), Ed Davis, Channing Frye, Shawn Marion (picked up by LightningStrike5), and Tyler Hansbrough all be dropped by the team that drafted them.
Trade Madness
So far we have had 6 trades. Again, I am a big offender here with 4 of them and it's a bit complicated given I actually traded away one player (Lowry) only to trade to get him back. Basically it was a wacky two weeks.
December 24th: Wallywagon11 trades Kyle Lowry, Emeka Okafor, and Amir Johnson to Lurker for Greg Monroe, JaVale McGee, Jerryd Bayless.
I only did this move because I had Ibaka and CP3 and Jrue Holiday on my team. I figured I would be okay with assists for now, get JaVale so I would have the most bad-ass two headed block team available, and perhaps move Monroe for someone like Kyle Irving. I was just fishing with Bayless given I thought perhaps Dwayne Casey would get tired of Calderon's horrid defense (later dropped Bayless).
December 28th: Wallywagon11 trades Greg Monroe for Mike Conley
Yeah, about that whole Kyle Irving idea. Didn't quite work out as Juan Primo wasn't willing to give up on the potential that Irving has so I was left fishing. The season was early and I was perhaps dumb and put out offers for Raymond Felton and Greg Monroe but nobody took them and the deals expired. TheJust then realized what happened and re-offered Conley for Monroe. I took it, not being really sure what other point guards I could get straight up for Monroe.
December 31st - January 1st: Yeah, about Gerald Henderson and Spencer Hawes ...
- Wallywagon11 offers to J.R 50 Spencer Hawes for Boris Diaw. Rejected
- Wallywagon11 offers to Rise_to Mediocrity Spencer Hawes and Gerald Henderon for Jeff Teague and Wesley Mathews. Rejected.
- Wallywagon11 writes message board about centers being available (particularly Hawes, Kaman, and Sideshow Bob) along with Henderson
- ASSN offers to Wallywagon11 Paul Pierce and Channing Frye for Spencer Hawes and Gerald Henderson. Meanwhile, Lurker offers Ricky Rubio for Spencer Hawes.
- Wallywagon11 emails Lurker letting him know that he can't have Hawes unless Lurker can do better than Paul Pierce and offers a second idea of Kyle Lowry and Tristan Thompson for Jrue Holiday and Chris Kaman (I later dumped Tristan Thompson for a waiver wire pick)
- Lurker accepts trade from Wallywagon11.
- Wallywagon11 immediately accepts trade from ASSN.
The Pierce/Hawes trade came close to being vetoed with 4 votes against it (need 6) but it passed. For me, I needed depth at the wing desperately and had plenty of centers. As for Lowry, love him and wanted him back even if it meant no Rubio. In explaining his side of the trade in an email, ASSN wrote the following:
"I'm aware that Paul Pierce is a much better player than Hawes or Henderson. But I'm building a Fantasy team, not an NBA Championship contender. When Pierce started off the season with a foot injury that kept him out of the first one or two games, I started thinking about how many minutes he's got on those wheels, about how the C's probably would have no problem giving him a great deal of rest during the season to save him for the playoffs, and about how a (potentially) nagging foot injury could hurt his stats even when he does play."
"When I saw your message that you were shopping your Centers along with Henderson, I decided I'd offer up Pierce (a good player who was causing me some worry) for Henderson and Hawes (two young players having great starts to their season). I know that both of those guys might end up cooling off quite a bit after playing over their heads to begin the season, but Henderson is the primary scorer on a bad team (and all Kings fans should know what that can do for a guy's stats) and Hawes is a starting Center with great all-around skills. I'm not relying on either of those guys to carry the load for my roster in any particular category (though, Spence could very well make-or-break me in blocks most weeks), but both of those guys should continue to have more good games than bad, and each of their good games is a huge boost to my team."
January 5th: ASSN offered to J.R 50 Jose Calderon and Ed Davis for Thaddeus Young and Joakim Noah.
This was the second controversial trade for the league but survived with only 3 no votes.
January 7th: TheJust offered to LightningStrike5 Tim Duncan for Luke Ridnour
Random Weird Stat Lines That Might Only Interest Me
Russel Westbrook: Against Memphis put up 0-13 shooting, 6 assists, 4 turnovers, 0 steals, and 4 points.
Kyle Lowry: Against Atlanta put up 0-6 shooting, 18 assists, 6 turnovers, 2 steals, 1 block, and 2 points.
Spencer Hawes: Every single game.
Boris Diaw: Against Miami put up 16 points, 8 assists, and 16 rebounds (over 8 games he has 54 rebounds).
Parting Shots
Aykis16 was kind enough to give some perspective on his roster.
"So far I quite like my current roster. My team as constructed can almost always win at least 4 of the statistical categories if everyone is healthy (FG%, Rebounds, Blocks, Points) while still contending in the assist, steals, 3PM and TO department. With Dwight on my team, I will almost always lose the FT% battle though."
ASSN was also willing to talk about his team going forward.
"I am happy with my roster. Even though the first week didn't go so great for me, it was largely due to good players under-performing ('Reke, Pau, Bosh) or injured (EDIT). All of those guys have performed in the second week more like I expected them to, and it's being reflected in my Week 2 matchup. Hopefully I continue to have consistency from my top guys moving forward after some slow starts. Also, I've made a few changes to my roster to bolster some categories and ditch people that weren't contributing much."
"After the draft, I knew my team would be weak in assists, but the Week 1 matchup showed me just how bad that category was for me. This was partly due to under-performance from a couple of my guards ('Reke, Felton), but mostly because my roster was seriously lacking in reliable assist guys. I was able to add Ramon Sessions from the FA list by dropping Anthony Morrow (who I was hoping would give me lots of 3s but wasn't giving much there, or anywhere, and had a terrible FG%), which helped a bit but didn't really fix the problem."
"I decided to 'go big' for some assist help, settled on Calderon to target in a trade, and my offer of Noah (who is not nearly as good a fantasy player as he is an actual player) and Thaddeus Young (who is decent in a lot of things, but only really good in FG%) was accepted by Rudy Gay and Chardonnay (with me taking back Ed 'Soon to be Waived' Davis). With Calderon on board, I feel much better about my assists moving forward (and he's not a bad all-around fantasy player, either), and I don't expect that I'll miss Noah (he was on the bottom of my Big Men Totem Pole, even before I added Spence) or Young (his consistency was nice, but he was consistently 'meh')."
As for me, personally I like my how my team is constructed right now, although I can always use more point guards given I am a bit of a point guard whore. Currently I have one roster spot I am tinkering with and now using it on Dragic as a safety valve for Lowry but who knows how long I'll have interest there.
Until Next Time ... Take Care Everybody


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Two-term Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan has won re-election, defeating former Republican Rep. Pete Hoekstra.
Stabenow had no primary opposition and built a fundraising advantage over Hoekstra, who fended off a challenge for the GOP nomination from charter school founder Clark Durant.
Stabenow ran television ads portraying herself as a bipartisan champion of Michigan industries, particularly manufacturing and agriculture. As chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, she won a rare endorsement from the Michigan Farm Bureau.
Hoekstra's campaign tried to attract attention with low-budget Internet ads describing Stabenow as "the worst senator," but they drew little traction.
The candidates accused each other of favoring policies that would damage Medicare, the popular health program for seniors. Stabenow said Hoekstra supported budget cuts proposed by vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan.
Hoekstra issued this statement on the election results:
"First, I want to thank my family, staff and all the volunteers that worked so hard to get us to this point. Although we were not successful today, we must not let up as the challenges that face Michigan families remain real. America needs real solutions to get people working and ensure the next generation has better opportunities than this generation. I congratulate Senator Stabenow on her third term in the U.S. Senate and hope that she will listen to the ideas from the other side of the aisle to form policies that will get the job done for the people of Michigan."
Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved.


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One of the best films I saw in Venice, Hong Kong action maestro Tsui Hark's Detective Dee and The Mystery of the Phantom Flame, finally landed a U.S. release from new distributor Indomina Releasing, which has been on a buying spree lately and coughed up nearly $500,000, reports Film Business Asia, to acquire the rip-roaring action epic, which was a big hit in China (trailer below).
Here's what I wrote in Venice:
Tsui's Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame is an effective Hong Kong epic adventure jammed with extravagant VFX and starring high cheek-boned Andy Lau as the canny fearless incorruptible policeman of the title. He's working for two powerful women, the power-hungry would-be first empress in China (Carina Lau), and her lieutenant (Bingbing Li, pictured), who is sent to aid the detective (and spy on him) in a toxic environment where many oppose the empress and nobody trusts anyone. Dee is trying to figure out why a series of people keep spontaneously bursting into flame—and keep the Empress Wu alive until her coronation. It's Tsui's homage to Raiders of the Lost Ark, Hong Kong-style. It seems that as the West's film industries implode, Asia is where the action—and the money—is.
Red carpet at Venice:
cadavra | November 10, 2010 6:36 AM
Tsui's overdue for a comeback Stateside, and the vet cast and the source material (better known over here as "Judge Dee") will hopefully bring out the faithful to see it in theatres. (I was bummed that "Seven Swords" bypassed theatrical here, forcing me to watch it on DVD.)
Anne Thompson | November 9, 2010 9:09 AM
I added the actresses. Empress Wu is Carina Lau and her lieutenant is Bingbing Li.
Brian | November 9, 2010 7:04 AM
I'm curious to see this, but it shouts out "Early '90s Wire Fu!" to me, reminiscent of such earlier Hark productions as SWORDSMAN II, THE EAST IS RED, and THE MAGIC CRANE. That was great back then, but Hark's fans would like something different today.
(P.S. Who's the actress with the great legs? I wish both actresses had been identified.)


text:
Biogen Idec Inc. said Thursday that it has formed a consortium with several academic research centers that looks to identify new approaches to treating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, which is also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.
In a press release, Weston-based Biogen Idec said that it has committed more than $10 million over three years to fund research projects by members of the consortium. The initiative will complement a collaboration the company announced earlier this year with Duke University and the Hudson Alpha Institute to sequence the genomes of 1,000 people living with ALS.


text:
Trevor Loudon's New Book!
Liberal Kirstin Powers Admits It Is a 'State-Run' Press [Video]
Posted on 28 Jan 2013 @ 14:32 by Brent P.
About Brent P.Editor-in-Chief at TheRightPlanet.com, writer, tech editor, software engineer, web developer, graphic design, anti-Marxist, pro-American guitar shredding Glock owner.
This entry was posted in American Culture, American Sovereignty, Bill of Rights, Conservatism, Cultural Marxism, First Amendment, GOP, House of Representatives, Legal/Judicial, Main-Stream Media, Marxism, Plantation Liberalism, Politics, Prejudice, Presidential Campaign, Progressive Movement, Social Engineering, Social Justice, Socialism, Totalitarianism, U.S. Constitution and tagged 60 Minutes, Barack Hussein Obama, Hillary Clinton, State-Run Media, State-Run Press. Bookmark the permalink.


text:
A motorcyclist was hospitalized Saturday after he was struck by another car traveling on Broadway.
According to the Quincy Police Department the motorcyclist, Alex Heckenkemper, was riding west on Broadway near 38th Street, when a car trying to turn into Dollar Tree did not yield and struck him on the side.
Heckenkemper was thrown from his motorcycle, and was taken to Blessing Hospital for leg injuries.
The driver of the car was cited for failure to yield on a left turn.
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text:
Hello my friends! How's your Christmas preparation going? That's the burning question for the last couple of days hey?
Today was the last working day of the year. I'm all set and ready to enjoy the holiday season with good food and good company although all I wanted to do after work today was to sit back and catch up on my favourite TV shows. When it comes to dinner preparation, easy and meat free was the way to go for me to compensate my over-indulgence in my recent trip to Canberra (you can check out some of the good eats I've discovered in Canberra via my Instagram @FussFreeCooking) as well as my work Christmas party at Lolli Redini and my beloved's at Sweet Sour Salt.


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It's fitting that "John Carter" opens with the death of its protagonist then follows his nephew as he tries to make sense of what happened to his eccentric uncle. Just a few days into its release, "John Carter" looks the victim of an early death as well -- at the box office. That means it's the perfect time to perform a post-mortem like the one Scott Mendelson posted at his blog, Mendelson's Memos. His piece, "R.I.P. 'John Carter.' What its failure means and why it matters..." is an astute observation of what went wrong with a film that cost upwards of $250 million and earned just $179 million worldwide through two weeks of release. The big takeaway, according to Mendelson? "Unless your film is a guaranteed home run, don't spend so much that you have to hit a home run in order to break even."
He continues:
"The film will likely fail to reach even $85 million at the US box office, and it will likely fail to reach $300 million in foreign grosses, putting its worldwide total at under $400 million. That's not a terrible outcome for most films and had the budget been kept in check, it would probably break even in the end. But Disney spent $250 million producing 'John Carter,' making it the most expensive non-sequel ever made. I've whined a lot about reckless budgets for long shot films, but the rule is simple. Do not spend 'Return of the King'-level money on 'Fellowship of the Ring.'"
Sound advice, particularly since dicey marketing made audiences reluctant to spend $12 on a film Disney poured hundreds of millions of dollars into. Mendelson is also the first pundit I've read to identify one of the central misfires in Disney's "Carter" promotional strategy. All along, according to numerous reports, Disney was worried about "John Carter"'s ability to draw a broad audience, to the point that they changed the film's title to "John Carter" from the original "John Carter of Mars" out of fear that women wouldn't pay to see a movie set on Mars. And yet, as Mendelson notes, Disney refused to play up the fact that "John Carter" contained a very strong female lead (Lynn Collins as Martian princess Dejah Thoris), a fact that might have actually attracted female audiences. When Collins was included in the marketing at all, she was little more than eye candy.
The only place Mendelson loses me is his conclusion. "More than anything else," he writes, "Disney's production of 'John Carter' was a defining exercise in cynicism," in that it was shameless and shamelessly generic pandering to a young male audience in the vein of previous Disney flops like "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" and "The Sorcerer's Apprentice." But how can one movie be both a reckless financial risk and a calculated decision motivated by financial concerns instead of artistic ones? If Disney made "John Carter" as a "defining exercise in cynicism," wouldn't they have budgeted it for $100 million, hired a hack instead of an opinionated auteur like Pixar's Andrew Stanton, and cast bankable stars instead of unknowns like Collins and Taylor Kitsch? It seems to me there were risks up and down the board with "John Carter," and if the film is already dead just days into its release, then that could mean risk-taking might be dead in Hollywood for the foreseeable future as well.
J.C. Young | March 21, 2012 11:41 AM
Risk-taking? 250 million plus is not the same as a studio willing to bank on a different kind of movie or idea.
They thought this was bankable and solid. And it could have been if their promotional people hadn't dropped the ball.
It should have been John Carter: Princess of Mars, not John Carter. So, it implies not only the female lead but also an epic tale with more chapters to come. And not showing her interactions and being something other than a damsel in distress probably could have bridged the gender gap they feared.
So many things can make a film fail.
Disney would have been smart to have created advanced material to educate on who John Carter is and why he's special. Only one trailer mentioned that the books inspired much of modern sci-fi but didnt get across why.
They would be wise to consider gutting the marketing department of the folks who missed the gorilla in the room and let this film miss its true potential.
Andy | March 20, 2012 4:52 PM
I thoroughly enjoyed John Carter, but even as a fan of the film I agree with the article. It feels like Disney doomed this movie from the start. "Here's a bunch of money to spend on a little known property, just make sure it is the next Avatar." does not seem like a sound business model. WAY too much pressure to put on something that isnt a sure fire hit.And that's a whole separate issue from the awful marketing. I only knew of the series because my father was a fan and so I grew up seeing the books on the shelf. If I hadnt, from the trailers I wouldn't have any idea what the hell the movie was about it. They should have done it for 100-150 mil and had a different marketing campaign. Then maybe people who enjoyed the movie would get to enjoy the sequels that at this point we will likely never get to see.
Scott Mendelson | March 20, 2012 3:17 PM
If I didn't successfully separate the perhaps genuine ambitions of those who made the film and those who greenlit and intended to profit from it, I can only fault over-editing (I can probably make three other essays out of what I cut out of this one). Where I see cynicism is the idea that Disney spent $250 million on a project that objectively had little chance of making its money back and simply presumed that it would be the next great global blockbuster merely because (on paper) it fit into the generic blockbuster template and because they arbitrarily coined it 'the next big thing'. I don't believe Stanton or the Pixar gang work like that (I've somewhat defended Cars 2 against such charges in the past). But the people who greenlit the film and allowed unlimited money to be spent where seemingly operating on the idea that it would do as well as Avatar without understanding *why* Avatar touched such a nerve with global audiences ('Oh, it was just outer-space 3D adventure!'). It's the sort of cynicism that made Disney think that Pearl Harbor and/or Armageddon would do as well as Titanic, or that 'vampire-fever' is why the Twilight series took off, or that The Dark Knight only broke records because it was 'dark and gritty'. The same meme that often fuels blockbuster backlash of these pictures ("Oh, Titanic was only a mega-hit because teen girls thought Leo was cute") is the same meme that fuels executives to constantly learn the wrong lessons about what separates a hit from a sensation. John Carter was a case of applying those wrong lessons with disastrous results.
Steve | March 20, 2012 1:56 PM
My main problem with what will come to define this film's failures is the assumption that this movie is somehow inferior to Avatar. It is not. In any way. John Carter is obviously a tough sell, especially in LIEU of Avatar. But its a far more ambitious AND structurally sound as far as story goes, and the effects are actually pretty cool. Also, its more competently shot than Avatar. So please, when discussing this movie's inability to recoup its money, lets give up trying to talk trash about the movie itself, because its obviously two separate issues. If Avatar can make as much as it did, then its really not an issue of quality.
Corey | March 20, 2012 1:48 PM
Whoa. Sorry abou that big block of text. Apparently the comments system on this site doesn't recognize paragraph breaks.
Corey Atad | March 20, 2012 1:47 PM
I agre with you about Mendelson's conclusion being the wrong one. John Carter was not an act of corporate cynicism (though the attempts to save it via title-change and 3D post-conversion were cynical). In truth it was an act of naive risk-taking. Disney was persuaded to buy the property, not because of some cynical strategy to get male audiences, but because John Lasseter convinced a few top execs that it would make for a great epic film and that Stanton would be perfect to direct it because of his love for the books.
I'm guessing that the budget skyrocketed after Disney saw the success of Avatar and were wrongly convinced that a director with a bold vision putting out an epic fantasy film set on an alien planet was a lot less risky than it might have seemed. The difference, of course, is that not only is Avatar a better film, but Cameron is a guy who's already had experience with out of control budgets and putting his vision on the screen in an exciting way despite that. His name alone could draw a good number of people who'd waited to see what the Titanic director had up his sleeves. It also got attention for its extremely innovative technology. It was a movie people HAD to see. John Carter didn't have that "it" factor, and Disney clued into that too late.
They basically made the Michael Cimino mistake. Sure, it's a business decision, which is inherently cynical, but the way they went about it was not cynical at all. They saw a director with a track record of quality and great box office returns, and they gave him a near-unlimited supply of money to deliver them something bold that could be a hit. Stanton didn't live up to his end of the bargain, but that's the risk they took.
If you want cynical, take a look at what Warner Bros did with Inception. That was an original idea, with a premise that didn't seem like it would attract a big Summer audience. But they gave Nolan the $150 million to make it. Partly because the execs saw his track record for quality and the box office of The Dark Knight. They also probably saw that there was potential for it to hit with audiences considering how audiences took to the serious subject matter of The Dark Knight. They probably even felt like their relationship with Nolan was good enough that they could risk losing money on the film. That way they'd keep him around, plus he'd already earned them more than expected on his previous film. (Which, by the way, is true of Stanton as well. Disney is taking a loss of $200 million on John Carter, after Stanton made them about $1 billion in profits off his two Pixar films.)
But where the cynicism comes in is clear. Nolan didn't have a contractual commitment to another Batman film. The execs at Warner knew they had to give him the crazy budget for Inception if they wanted another $1 billion in the bank from another Batman film. It was a purely calculated move that happened to pay off when the movie was both great and a sizeable hit. It was a risk, but they legitimately didn't mind if it flopped, because at least they'd have a third Batman film from Nolan.
In Disney's case, they do mind that John Carter flopped. It's a huge blow. They had pinned a lot of naive hopes on the film, and their risk was outsized and stupid and it completely backfired. If this had been any other director, he'd probably have a hard time finding work again. Lucky for Stanton, he has Pixar to go back to, and I'm sure Disney will be fine if he spends the next several years cooking up another Pixar hit.


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Tour Guides
Tour guides will give you a chance to see aspects of academic and residential life from a current student's perspective. Tours are available Monday-Saturday throughout the year and serve as the central piece of every campus visit.
Brenda Kay Barnum '15
Major(s): Economics
Minor: Mathematics
Hometown: Tokyo, Japan
What is your favorite place on campus?
"My favorite place on campus would probably have to be the library! The library here is beautiful and it's the only place that I can study. It's open 24 hours a day, which is great when I'm cramming for a test or trying to finish up a paper. I like finding new spots to study in- my favorite study spot right now it the second floor reading room. My other favorite place on campus is the lawn near the reflecting pool, because you can see Mt. Hood when the weather is nice, and at night you can see glimpses of the skyline.
Kara Batdorff '14
Major(s): Environmental Science
Hometown: Portland, OR
Why did you choose LC? "I chose Lewis & Clark College because everyone is unique and open to new ideas. The campus is gorgeous.
What are you involved in? "I am involved in the animal club because animals are awesome and we get to travel to forums and various animal sanctuaries."
Faith Bendelow '16
Major(s); Biochemistry/Molecular Biology and French Studies
Hometown: Chicago, IL
What was your favorite event at LC? "I love poetry-slams and open-mic nights. I am consistently awed by the creative energy on Lewis & Clark College campus."
What advice would you give an incoming freshman/transfer student? "Don't be afraid to talk to new people. I have yet to meet anyone who has not been open to a new friendship."
Arthur Borden-Heilman '17
Major: Undeclared but interest in Political Science and Economics
Hometown: Boulder, CO
Who is your favorite professor and why?
"Susan Glosser in the History department has been one of my favorite professors so far. She is super knowledgeable and willing to help students whenever they need it."
What clubs are you involved in and why?
"Rock Climbing! In high school, I was an avid rock climber, and it was great to discover LC's rock climbing team. LC is conveniently located close to a bouldering gym, so being able to go climb whenever I want is super easy."
Allie Correll Buss '14
Major(s):International Affairs
Minor: Latin American Studies
Hometown: Denver, CO
What advice would you give an incoming freshman/transfer student? Make a space for yourself here. Whether that means decorating your room or climbing a tree. If you can find a place here where you're totally at east, it will be that much easier to transition.
Monique Calfe-Smith '17
Major: Undecided
Hometown: Berkeley, CA
What is your favorite class and why?
"I enjoy my Exploration and Discovery class, called 'Defining the Self' because of the engaging conversations we have together."
What advice would you give an incoming freshman/transfer student?
"Always keep lots of snacks in your dorm room if you're a snacker like me!"
Olivia Davis '16
Major(s): History
Minor: Religious Studies
Hometown: Oren, UT
Why did you choose LC? "I applied to 22 schools my senior year, nearly driving myself crazy by the end of December. After college decisions were sent out, I visited several schools on the West Coast and Lewis & Clark College was one of them. I instantly fell in love with the campus- the students and faculty were all so kind and interesting! (I highly recommend sitting in on a class) I attended an on-campus symposium and after that I knew it was the right place for me!"
What do you like to do in your free time? "At L&C it always feels like there is something to do. I like to check out the different events going on-campus, but I also like to just sit outside and listen to music or read a book. I love discussing things with my friends and exploring the areas around campus and in Portland."
Mia Freiberg '16
Major(s): Psychology
Minor: Art
Hometown: San Diego, CA
What is your favorite place on campus? "The trails that lead out from all sides of the Rose Gardens have to be one of my favorite places on campus. It's so beautiful there and it all the easier to 'get away from it all' without going too far."
Reasons for choosing LC?: I find Lewis & Clark to be an incredibly inclusive and open-minded environment, intent on every individuals growth, academically and otherwise.
Julie Jacobs '16
Major(s): Undecided
Hometon: Stowe, VT
Why did you choose LC? "I chose L&C for the strong academics, the beautiful campus and the close proximity to Portland."
What is your favorite place on campus? "My favorite place on campus is the lawns on South Campus and by the law campus. It's the perfect place to do homework on a beautiful day and watch people slack line."
Daniela Lopez '16
Major(s): Political Science & Economics
Hometown: Hillsboro, OR
What do you like to do in your free time? "I attend the fantastic lectures and events on campus, practice in the Platteau dance studio, or hop on the Pio to explore downtown Portland."
What clubs are you involved in? "Political Science Club because that is what I love. Ukulele Orchestra because it is so much fun and we get to play in awesome venues. Community Relations Committee because the LC community is so involved and connected inside and outside of campus."
Peter McCormick '16
Major(s): Undecided
Hometown: Tigard, OR
What would say to incoming students?: "Get Involved! LC really does have something for everyone. Play a sport or join a club that interests you."
What is your favorite place on campus? "The bridge across the ravine is my favorite place on campus because I feel like I'm lost in another world every time I cross it."
Robert Pirtle '14
Major: Physics
Hometown: Harwich, MA
What extracurricular activities are you involved in?
I am a professor's lab assistant, a physics tutor and a tour guide. I am also involved in Lewis & Clark's mixed choir, Cappella Nova, and one of the campus' student-led a cappella groups, Momo & the Coop.
What aspect(s) of physics are you most interested in?
I am an aspiring astrophysicist, and I'm currently writing a thesis in galaxy kinematics.
Eva Ramey '15
Major(s): Environmental Studies
Hometown: Nederland, CO
What clubs are you involved in?
I am involved with the College Outdoors program because I love being outside and exploring the natural world. It is also a great way to meet new people and make new friends. Overall it is a lot of fun!
Where is your favorite place on campus?
My favorite place on campus is the reflecting pool. It is a beautiful place to sit and enjoy the view and study.
Jessica Rosenblatt '17
Major: Rhetoric & Media Studies
Minor: International Affairs
Hometown: Denver, CO
Why did you choose L&C??
"I wanted a small school where everyone knows your name and you are a face as oppose to a number in the classroom. I also love the big city so close."
What was your favorite event at L&C and why?
"Slam Poetry open house. It showed how talented the students are here. Beautiful poetry and my very first event at L&C."
Katrina Staaf '16
Major(s): Art History, Rhetoric and Media Studies
Hometown: Danvers, MA
What do you like to do in your free time?: "Explore Portland on bike, run through Tyron Creek State Park, play around on the keyboards, crafts with friends."
What would say to incoming students?: "Don't be afraid to get involved with student groups that interest you because you will meet great people and learn unique things."
Erik Wilhelm '15
Major(s): Psychology
Hometown: Bend, OR
What was your favorite event at LC? "Well, the Luau is stuffed to the rafters with good food and some awesome performers (you know, like fire arts club and stuff) so I think that will be my vote."
What clubs are you involved in? "Historical Fencing-like I need an excuse to play with swords. Gaming Society-good place to chat and blow off steam with a good game. Capella Nova (choir)-I can't stop singing. It's a problem. This is my fix."


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Good morning Bendigo!
Max 22. Partly cloudy.
For more detailed weather news click here.
All trains have been replaced by coaches while works are done on the Bendigo railway.
Bali deaths: Qld mother Noelene Bischoff and daughter Yvana ate fish before deaths, family says
Relatives of a Queensland mother and daughter who died suddenly while on holidays in Bali say all they know is that the pair ate a fish meal before their deaths.
Noelene Gay Bischoff, 54, and Yvana Jeana Yuri Bischoff, 14, arrived on the Indonesian holiday island and checked into a resort on Friday.
Less than 24 hours later, after eating dinner at the local Buddha Restaurant, both fell sick and contacted staff for help.
Essendon drug use sparks copycat rush
The Essendon Football Club drug and supplements saga has sparked a rush in the use of cosmetic and performance-enhancing drugs, with experts reporting a disturbing rise in young people injecting hormones and peptides.
The staff of needle centres say recent sports doping revelations have been followed by a spike in new users of steroids and other performance and image-enhancing drugs - known as ''PIEDs''.
RMIT professor Aaron Smith, an expert in drugs in sport, said reports that Essendon players were being injected with peptides had become ''one of the best public relations success stories for performance-enhancing drugs around''.
Police release man following double fatality
Double fatality: Three in police custody
Reader pictures: Great days of summer
GALLERY: Two people under police guard following double fatality
Babies gallery: Meet our latest arrivals
You can buy square watermelons in Japan, which are developed to stack better in supermarkets.
1. What was Orlando Bloom's occupation in Elizabethtown?
2. What was the final Bond film in which Lois Maxwell played Miss Moneypenny?
3. In which country is the city of Las?
4. On a computer keyboard where is the letter B in relation to V?
5. Which cereal is polenta made from?
1066 - Harold is crowned king of England following the death of his brother-in-law Edward the Confessor.
1169 - England and France agree to peace when Louis VII and Henry II meet at Montmirail.
1852 - Louis Braille, French inventor of a system to enable blind people to read, dies.
1882 - Richard Henry Dana, US lawyer and author, dies; he wrote the popular sea novel Two Years Before The Mast.
1884 - Gregor Mendel, Austrian Augustine monk, biologist and botanist, dies. He pioneered the study of biological heredity and laid the mathematical foundation of the science of genetics.
1989 - Soviet Union calls downing of two Libyan aircraft by United States "absolutely unfounded".
1990 - Polish Communist leaders vote to disband their party and form a new leftist party under a different name.
1992 - Georgian President Zviad Gamsakhurdia and his supporters shoot their way out of their stronghold and speed away.
1994 - The Mexican government flies tonnes of food to San Cristobal De Las Casas in Chiapas state, where Indian rebels are staging an uprising; figure skater Nancy Kerrigan is clubbed on the leg by an assailant in Detroit. Four men, including the ex-husband of Kerrigan's rival, Tonya Harding, are later sentenced to prison.
2011 - US Defence Secretary Robert Gates announces he will cut $US78 billion from the Defence Department budget over the next five years, reducing the size of ground forces as part of a broader effort to trim fat from the military's half-trillion dollar annual budget in light of the nation's ballooning deficit.
2012 - The political tensions between the US and Iran over transit in and around the Persian Gulf give way to photos of rescued Iranian fisherman happily wearing American Navy ball caps.
2013 - Syrian president Bashar as-Assad makes a rare public appearance, sketching out a peace plan for his country while continuing to call his opponents "terrorists" and refusing to step down.
If today is your big day, happy birthday!
You share a birthday with Joan of Arc, French leader and saint (1412-1431); Jacques-Etienne Montgolfier, French balloonist (1745-1799); Max Bruch, German composer (1838-1920); Carl Sandburg, US poet (1878-1967); Tom Mix, US cowboy film star (1880-1940); Kahlil Gibran, Lebanese-American philosopher (1883-1931); EL Doctorow, US author (1931-); Harry M Miller, Australian entrepreneur (1934-); Murray Rose, Australian Olympic champion swimmer (1939-2012); Bonnie Franklin, US actress (1944-); Anthony Minghella, British film director (1954-2008); Rowan Atkinson, British actor-comedian (1955-).
I've just wrote a song about a tortilla.
Well it's actually more of a rap.
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Have a great day,
Daily quiz answers: 1. Shoe designer; 2. A View to Kill; 3. Romania; 4. Right; 5. Maize