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Chunky shawl-collared cardigan sweater roundup
For winter, I like chunky-knitted, shawl-collared cardigan sweaters. Above is one I picked up last year from Lands' End Canvas on sale. It's 100% donegal wool and feels great and definitely kept me warm.
I'm a fan of shawl collars because you have the option of leaving the collar down while indoors, or turning it up while outdoors to use it as a substitute for a scarf under another jacket to protect your neck. The cardigan's buttons let you remove it easier if you want to shed a layer and the pockets are handy to keep stuff in (the best would be a button-closure).
Unfortunately, LEC doesn't have a chunky 100%-wool shawl-collared cardigan available yet. But not to worry, as there are plenty of other options.
This is one of the cheaper options. The fabric used is boiled lambswool, which makes the fabric less itchy, according to the copywriting. I kind of prefer the itchiness, but maybe that's what turns some people off. Regardless, I'm a fan of that extra chest pocket.
Made from 100% Shetland wool, this cardigan has some additional color due to the pattern in the fabric. Available in cream, brown and green.
While lots of brands are adding suede patches to their elbows, this sweater has reinforced, double-knitted elbows that are almost invisible. Available in grey, navy, red and multi-weave.
Lambswool and horn buttons with cable knitting. The classic look you'd expect from PRL.
Definitely one of the more expensive options, and the copywriting doesn't provide much detail other than the fact it's made in Scotland from 100% lambswool.
I posted this sweater a while ago when HY's F/W preview arrived and consider this my grail sweater. It's cashmere, got patches and just looks perfect. Sadly, I don't think I'll be able to afford one anytime in the near future, but it's certainly ideal.
ADDING from dieworkwear:
As long as we're talking about ones nobody can afford, Drake's has one that straight murders.
You can go ahead and convert £695.00 to U.S. dollars, but you'll end up in tears.
Some thoughts on Lands' End Canvas sweater sizing
About a month back I bought this Lands' End Canvas donegal shawl-collared sweater. Between a few discount codes, free shipping, etc., it was more than half off, coming in around $65. I needed a heavier sweater to wear for quick trips to the store or the corner Italian place, when a jacket wasn't necessary and I just wanted to throw on a parka rather than a full overcoat.
For that purpose, this sweater's fine. It's warm, it's quality is about what I'd expected for the price (although I do think full retail on this at $150 was absurd). But my main complaint is the sizing and fit.
This is a size small. For reference, I wear a size 38 Long in jackets, have a 15.5" neck, 35" sleeve, weigh around 150 lbs. and am 5'11". I was going back and forth between getting a medium and small, and decided to use the thought process of "when in doubt, size down." And yikes, I'm glad I did.
I don't consider myself a small, as my large arms often prevent that on most standard sizing — and I have a beer gut! But, LEC's "small" sizing is huge. I could probably put another layer on underneath this sweater before I'd consider this constricting. Also, the length is a bit long in the sleeves and torso. Compounding the problem, I'm fairly certain just wearing it has stretched the fabric a bit.
So, if you're going to go sweater hunting at LEC, definitely size down. If you're typically a small, I'd suggest not bothering (or just get a small and expect to have to return it). For those of you with larger builds, you'll probably find yourself at an advantage here.
Anyone else have a similar experience with LEC's sweaters?
Cashmere sweater & scarf for $129 from Ireland? Yup.
While searching around for some donegal cardigans yesterday, I stumbled across the site for Blarney Woollen Mills and was rather shocked to find a rather incredible deal they have going on for the holidays: $129 for a crewneck cashmere elbow-patch sweater and matching scarf — shipped from Ireland — in colors of camel, grey and lavender.
They're also running a deal on these donegal crewneck and v-neck pullovers for $100. And they have quite a bit of winter staple accessories, like these handknit aran gloves for $20. That sounds like a nice deal to me if you're in the market for these things.
Granted, I have no idea about the fit, quality, etc., but I haven't found anything negative about them yet with some initial googling.
Sadly, you've probably missed the opportunity to get items from them shipped to you before Christmas, but I thought I'd pass this find along.
This Fits: New Lands' End Canvas Sweaters
On the topic of business casual, thisfits has some great intel on the Land's End Canvas line of sweaters that's worth a read.
Why should you bother with sweaters, one might ask? Well, if your shirt's a bit too baggy in the sleeves and/or torso, then a sweater is a great way to hide all that and still keep those shirts in rotation for your wardrobe. Plus, they always look great when you layer them up with a jacket.
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The Silentist is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
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text:
Minerals Council of Australia - Latest News and Events
MCA submission to the variation to the Code of Practice for Mineral Exploration
MCA notes positive feedback from industry on the variation to the Code of Practice for Mineral Exploration and looks forward to working with DSDBI on its finalisation.
The Victorian Government's new web tool, Mining Licences Near Me, will provide Victorians with the facts on minerals and petroleum exploration and development and reduce the capacity for scaremongering by anti-mining activists.
Analysis of 'socially responsible investment' options
SRI options tend to underperform conventional options (with similar asset allocations) over long investment horizons (after fees and tax).
AFR: Coal delivers a clean future for the poor
Since 1980, 1.7 billion people have gained access to electricity for the first time. The curious thing is that the energy source that delivered the is now considered 'unethical' by some investors.
Submission on the Draft Assessment Bilateral with Victoria
The Minerals Council of Australia Victorian Division welcomes the opportunity to provide comment on the Victoria – Draft Assessment Bilateral Agreement and looks forward to consultation on the Draft Bilateral Approval Agreement.
The Minerals Council of Australia today announced the establishment of an industry-led Leadership Roundtable for the development of Low Emissions Technologies for Fossil Fuels.
15-16 October - Brisbane
The Australian Japan Coal Conference (AJCC) provides a forum for an exchange of views between Australian coal exporters and their major Japanese customers (power utilities, steel mills and cement manufacturers).
18-20 November - Adelaide
Held annually, the Sustainable Development Conference is recognised as the leading minerals industry forum to discuss and debate sustainable development and its practical implementation.
4-5 December - Darwin
The Summit will showcase the prosperity and potential for the Northern Territory minerals industry and debate the policies required to keep it strong. Celebrating 60 years of industry representation and the sector's continued status as the bedrock of the Northern Territory economy, the Summit will address the issues, successes and challenges facing the industry.

subset: commoncrawl


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The UK is a-buzz with the release of The Last Days of the Lacuna Cabal, the UK edition of Sean Dixon's The Girls Who Saw Everything (published by HarperCollins UK). The Fifth Estate asked Sean about his favourite moments from the cover contest held for the book's publication:
1) First thrill of seeing submissions. (Look! There's my name! Look at all the pretty pictures!)
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It has been a terribly exciting week of award nominations at the old Coach House! This morning, the Canada Council for the Arts announced the 2014 Governor General's Literary Award finalists, and we're thrilled to say that Sean Dixon was nominated for his play A God in Need of Help, as was Rhonda Mullins for her translation of Élise Turcotte's Guyana.
Congratulations, André! His gorgeous novel, Pastoral, is a finalist for the esteemed Rogers Writers Trust Fiction Prize.
The Writers' Trust of Canada revealed this morning the finalists for two major prizes for excellence in Canadian fiction: the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize and the Writers' Trust/McClelland and Stewart Journey Prize. The announcement was made at Ben McNally Books.
We have good news for lonely walls: Canadian artist duo Hadley+Maxwell have produced a beautiful set of eight posters inspired by Lisa Robertson's Cinema of the Present. We're extending the Cinema love by offering the whole set of eight posters for $40.
Wow. Much merCH. Such deals.
Come and find us all over the web!


text: History Plays for children have been presented regularly in Cedar Rapids since 1935; originally under the auspices of the Junior League of Cedar Rapids and eventually under the direction of the Children's Theatre of Cedar Rapids, Inc. From 1935 to 1941, the Junior League trouped plays to the elementary schools. During the war years, trouping became economically impossible and the plays were performed in the Paramount Theatre. From 1942-1946 the League sponsored the Rufus Rose Marionettes, a professional traveling company, instead of presenting its own play. After the war, because of the increased audience and the lack of a proper place to hold the plays, and the feeling that children's theatre was important to Cedar Rapids and therefore should become a community sponsored function, Mrs. Richard Morgan and Mrs. John Carey, members of the Junior League, began to work on the formation of a community children's theatre. Consultants and experts in the area cautioned that a childrens' theatre could only succeed if the community supported the project. They said, "take stock of the community, sell the program well, lay a groundwork and then proceed to the actual work of producing". In the summer of 1950, the work actually began. It is important to note that from the very inception of the CTCR, Inc., one of the basic aims was to establish creative dramatic classes, with the eventual possibility of some of the plays on the series being done by the children in the classes. Creative dramatics and dance classes were sponsored by the CTCR, Inc., for several years, but later discontinued. The first community organization approached about a children's theatre was the school boards and then progressively representatives from all major community organizations met with Mrs. Morgan and Mrs. Carey. The aims and purposes of the proposed children's theatre were explained to these representatives and it also was announced that the Junior League had voted to underwrite the project for two years after which it must stand alone. A brochure outlining the proposed program was compiled and sent to groups throughout the community and a public organizational workshop about children's theatre was led by Isabel Burger, a professional in the field, in the summer of 1951. This workshop marked the end of the preliminary steps in organization and pointed the way towards the actual formation of a childrens' theatre. Community support and interest had been aroused, and the community had been given a chance to discover from a professional what a children's theatre was all about. It was time for the incorporation. The CTCR, Inc., since that first year has grown and changed as the needs of its community's children have changed. However, increased budgets, or by-laws changes, or changing board members, do not hide the fact that one of the basic aims as set down by the founders: "to present educational and entertaining programs for children in the field of drama and the interpretive arts with the purpose of raising the standards of such program to the highest level" remains our primary goal today and is what the Children's Theare of Cedar Rapids, Inc., is really all about. References: "A History and Evaluation of the CTCR" by Patsy Herget Latshaw (1951-1957) For years succeeding, refer to the annual reports and minutes which are available from the Recording Secretary's permanent file.


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Old School GhoulTalk82
this wiki
Old School Ghoul
Maybe I'm not as tough as I used to be, but my brains can make up for that, and my hands are still quick enough. It's time to put the guns back on."— Raul Tejada
Old School Ghoul[1] is an unmarked quest in Fallout: New Vegas.
Activating the questEdit
Raul Tejada, the ghoul found captive at Black Mountain, must be the player's active companion when the player initiates dialogue with Ranger Andy in Novac, Corporal Sterling in Camp McCarran (or Camp Forlorn Hope) and Loyal at Nellis Air Force Base. There is no set order to which non-player character you approach first, but all three must be spoken to until their dialogue trees have been exhausted. At the end of each interaction, Raul will start a conversation with the player that revolves around both his observation of the characters and anecdotes about his history.
Quick walkthroughEdit
|Unmarked Quest: Old School Ghoul
|Speak with Ranger Andy in Novac.
|Let Raul speak to the player about Ranger Andy.
|Travel to Camp McCarran or Camp Forlorn Hope and speak to Corporal Sterling.
|Let Raul speak to the player about Sterling.
|Travel to Nellis Air Force Base and speak to Loyal.
|Let Raul speak to the player about Loyal.
|Help Raul decide on whether or not to pick up his guns again.
|Reward: Old Vaquero OR Full Maintenance depending on choice.
Detailed walkthroughEdit
Talk to Ranger Andy with Raul present. The key topics are what he does in Novac ("what do you do here?"), and what happened to his leg ("Did something happen to your leg?" or "What happened?"). Raul must hear these answers, so you may need to repeat dialog you've already had with Andy. Learning the takedown move is NOT necessary, but doesn't hurt. After this, leave the building and wait a few seconds for Raul to run up to you and talk. Raul will initiate a dialogue concerning the player's opinion of Ranger Andy's place as a crippled, older man in a harsh world. The choices made by the player will influence which way Raul decides to proceed at the end of the quest, ultimately affecting the player's reward. The player has an opportunity to hear part of Raul's story but may skip this portion of the dialogue at no penalty.
The player must then travel to either Camp McCarran or Camp Forlorn Hope depending on the completion status of the quest Three-Card Bounty. The player must speak with Corporal Sterling, a 1st Recon NCR sniper stationed with the rest of his squad at Camp McCarran, defending the region against fiends. If the bounties have all already been turned in to Major Dhatri during the quest "Three-Card Bounty", his squad will have been reassigned to Camp Forlorn Hope. After initiating and ending conversation with Sterling, Raul will initiate a dialogue similar to the one held after learning the takedown move from Ranger Andy.
Upon completion of the first conversation, the player must travel to Nellis Air Force Base and initiate a similar conversation with Loyal. He can typically be found in either his own house or the hangar housing the bomber. After ending the conversation, Raul will initiate a final conversation wherein he ties the stories of the three men the player has met thus far to his own story. He will decide to either return to his gunslinging vaquero ways or relegate himself to a quieter life of machine (and armament) maintenance. The decision at which he will arrive is influenced entirely by the player's dialogue responses during the progression of this quest. However, the player has the opportunity to sway him to the other alternative with a speech skill of 66.
If the player convinces Raul to return to the ways of his gunslinging past, then, after completing the final dialogue, Raul will receive the Old Vaquero perk, increasing his fire rate with revolvers and lever-action rifles by 33%. Raul's outfit will change to the Vaquero outfit, and he will continue to provide the Regular Maintenance perk, which reduces the rate of equipment degradation by 50%.
If the player convinces Raul not to return to the way of the vaquero, but to contribute in other ways, then Raul's outfit will change to the Armored Petró-Chico outfit, and the Regular Maintenance perk will be replaced by the Full Maintenance perk, which reduces the rate of equipment degradation by 75%.
- The non-player characters can be talked to in any order.
- If the quest doesn't start, speak to Loyal and Raul will come talk to you, then you can proceed to speaking to the other two non-player characters. (This was an issue on PS3.)
- If Raul doesn't come to talk to you after speaking with one of the people, try leaving the location of the person you had talked to, this seemed to work when speaking with Ranger Andy and Corporal Sterling.
- Despite Raul's sympathies for the Legion, it is not possible to complete this quest if you have been branded a terrorist by the NCR. Even wearing NCR faction-clothing will not help you advance, as Ranger Andy in particular can see through faction disguises.
- pc If you have already learned the Ranger Takedown technique from Ranger Andy in Novac without Raul present, you can correct this by using the console and typing the following exactly: [verified]
- set "000e61a5".MetRangerAndy to 1. This must be done in an indoor area. Transition to an outdoor area and Raul should initiate conversation. If that console command doesn't do the trick, try set "000e61a5".MetRangerAndy to 2, then talk to Raul and pick his new dialogue option about Ranger Andy.
- Worth a try if nothing else is working with the Ranger Andy/Raul interaction. If you have already completed all dialogue options with Ranger Andy, open the console and target Ranger Andy, or enter prid 0008f0b8. You can reset all his dialogue options by entering rdf. (This will also reset any other NPC dialogue, so be careful!) Once you've done this, close the console and speak to Ranger Andy. He will now talk to you as if you'd never met, allowing you to trigger the Raul interaction, once you walk outside, if he is in your party.
- Also, if you are not able to access Raul's story after speaking with Corporal Sterling, you can input a similar console command: set "000e61a5".MetCorporalSterling to 1. Again, if the previous console command doesn't help you can try set "000e61a5".MetCorporalSterling to 2 and select the dialogue line about Sterling.
- And, lastly, if Raul is making problems about not giving you the dialogue after meeting Loyal, you can of course use the console to fix that as well: set "000e61a5".MetLoyal to 1 will open the "spontaneous" dialogue, set "000e61a5".MetLoyal to 2 will give you the ability to talk to him — "You wanted to say something about Loyal…".
- pc ps3 xbox360 It is possible that Raul will engage in conversation with the player about Loyal even if Volare! has been completed and Loyal's conversation tree has been exhausted. This event was triggered just by walking close to Loyal. [verified]
- pc ps3 xbox360 It is possible that Ranger Andy will not engage in dialog at all, resulting in an inability to progress in the quest. Even though the HUD will zoom in to make it seem as if he is about to talk, the HUD will automatically zoom back out, making it impossible to speak with Ranger Andy. [verified]
- pc ps3 xbox360 It is possible that the player will be unable to talk with Corporal Sterling (sometimes other members of 1st Recon are also affected). He only replies with a generic line without opening dialogue if he is stationed at Camp Forlorn Hope. This happens if a player asks 1st Recon stationed in Camp McCarran for help taking down Driver Nephi and kills him solo, so members of 1st Recon are transferred to Camp Forlorn Hope. This may be fixed by spawning Driver Nephi and letting the rangers kill him: player.placeleveledactoratme 000f56ff. [verified]
- pc ps3 xbox360 It is possible that talking to Ranger Andy in Novac will not trigger Raul to speak to the player. This will make it impossible to start the quest, even if you have not learned Ranger Takedown prior to having Raul with you. Note: this bug may be corrected on the PC version by using console commands. See the section marked "Quick Walkthrough" for details.Using the Xbox, load the the pervious auto save from exiting the bungalow, and then Raul will initiate the dialogue.[verified]
- pc ps3 xbox360 After Patch 1.02 it is now possible to initiate the quest by talking to Ranger Andy after learning the Ranger Takedown Move, though you must still have Raul as a companion at the time. [verified]
- pc ps3 xbox360 Raul doesn't start the final conversation after talking to all 3 Characters and receiving all 3 NPC-related dialogues from Raul. To avoid this, the player must not talk to Loyal after completing the quest Volare!, when he thanks the player for making his dreams a reality; can't initiate the side-quest I Don't Hurt Anymore AND talk to Corporal Sterling; can't talk to Ranger Andy prior to having Raul as a companion. After having Raul as a companion you can talk with Loyal, Corporal Sterling and Ranger Andy in whatever order you want, as long these conditions have been fulfilled. (This was tested in three different playthroughs.) Sometimes, if the final conversation does not occur, it can be remedied by declining to continue listening to Raul's conversation after speaking to the last person, by saying "Not now Raul", and then re-entering the related dialog (on xbox with Corporal Sterling last). However there is another possible alternative do the quest backwards, meaning start with Loyal, then Sterling and lastly Andy
- PC Users: If Raul won't initiate the final conversation, open the console, click on Raul and try the following commands: set "000e61a5".RepairTrack to 2 followed by set "000e61a5".GunSlingerTrack to 2 and finally startconversation player vDialogueRaulRaulTejadaTopic084. [verified]
- Note that it's not case sensitive, and you MUST click on Raul before entering the "startconversation" command.
- ps3 There is a possibility that if you fast-travel immediately after exiting Ranger Andy's Bungalow, Raul's dialogue option will not be triggered. Just wait a minute to see if you get the trigger. Note: This may have been fixed in a patch, as if you "Talk To" Raul, you can scroll down & ask him what he wanted to say after visiting Ranger Andy's, but didn't have the chance to. [verified]
- ps3 xbox360 A known bug occurs with Loyal where he sometimes disappears from the game. If you complete Volare! before recruiting Raul, Loyal may no longer be present at Nellis, making the quest impossible to finish. [verified]
- xbox360 A known bug occurs with Corporal Sterling where he sometimes disappears from the game. After completing the quest Three-Card Bounty, when Corporal Sterling and 1st Recon should be relocated to Camp Forlon Hope, they all disappear instead, making the quest impossible to finish. [verified]
- ↑ Quest name from Fallout: New Vegas Official Game Guide


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UTZ Certified Coffee
UTZ is the largest certification program for coffee production and it consists on the special care for the product, the people and the environment. The coffee is of the best quality and it is produced under strict food safety regulations. The people growing the coffee are provided with water, housing, healthcare and training. The environmental impact is reduced with good soil and water management preventing soil erosion and deforestation.


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Keep up with Triangle business
Get the latest news on local companies and people who keep capitalism moving on our business blog.
Looking to buy or sell?
Look up sales prices for homes in your neighborhood.
Archive by category ''Economy
Fed keeps rate at record low, ends bond buying
The Federal Reserve plans to keep a key interest rate at a record low to support a US job market that's improving but still isn't fully healthy and help lift inflation from unusually low levels. As expected, it's also ending a bond purchase program that was intended to keep long-term rates low.
NC businesses look to help same-sex couples plan weddings
North Carolina small businesses, such as Lez Get Married in Durham, are hoping to use the legalization of same-sex marriage as a business opportunity.
Follow these tips to make a great first impression at a job fair
Job fairs are an opportunity to make a great first impression on a prospective employer – if you play your cards right. Here are some job fair do's and don'ts.
Rent-to-own stores thrive as working poor struggle
The love seat and sofa that Jamie Abbott can't quite afford ended up in her double-wide trailer because of the day earlier this year when she and her family walked into a new store called Buddy's. Abbott had no access to credit, no bank account and little cash, but here was a place...
BofA reaches Project New BAC goal ahead of schedule
Bank of America on Wednesday said the Charlotte-based bank managed only a small third-quarter profit after spending billions on legal costs, but executives touted progress in one area: cutting costs.
Wells Fargo reports higher profit in 3rd quarter
As the largest U.S. mortgage lender, Wells Fargo is often looked at as a bellwether for the housing market as a whole. On Tuesday, CEO John Stumpf described that market as facing a list of challenges holding back its recovery from the bursting of the housing bubble.
Can't make ends meet on $7.25, single mom says on 'Minimum Wage Day'
Janet Rowland, a single mom in Raleigh, N.C., told reporters on Friday a bit of what it's like to earn $7.25 an hour working full-time at a fast-food restaurant and support three children.
NC's new economic development agency begins work
North Carolina's new private economic development and marketing agency opened its doors Monday at 15000 Weston Parkway in Cary, taking over roles historically performed by the state Commerce Department.
September jobless rate under 6 percent, but wages flat
A stronger-than-expected jobs report Friday that featured an unemployment rate below 6 percent for the first time in more than six years eased concerns about a softening economy but highlighted moribund wage growth.
Dole chairman David Murdock to donate $15M a year to Kannapolis research campus
Dole Food chairman and owner David Murdock wants to take his vision of a plant-based, healthy diet from Kannapolis to the world. On Tuesday, he said he is starting an endowment that will donate $15 million a year to the North Carolina Research Campus he founded.


text:
Click any word in a definition or example to find the entry for that word
90% of the time, speakers of English use just 7,500 words in speech and writing. These words appear in red, and are graded with stars. One-star words are frequent, two-star words are more frequent, and three-star words are the most frequent.
The thesaurus of synonyms and related words is fully integrated into the dictionary entries. Click on the T button in an entry to review the synonyms and related words for that meaning.more
Officials were confident there had been no threat to public health.
a threat to freedom/democracy
The dispute poses a direct threat (=is a threat) to peace.
He would not make threats he wasn't prepared to carry out.
After threats of legal action they stopped the building work.
This isn't just an idle threat.
A bomb threat forced them to make an emergency landing.
He had received death threats.
Any contract made under threat of violence is not legal.
This is the British English definition of threat. View American English definition of threat.
Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to American English.
the belief that every problem has a solution based in technologyBuzzWord Article
Open Dictionary
any random process, such as a competition in which a name is drawn from a hatadd a word
More submissionsview entries
A must for anyone with an interest in the changing face of language. The Macmillan Dictionary blog explores English as it is spoken around the world today.global English and language change from our blog


text:
I had been having some ISP problems connecting to Feedburner for a couple of days so I hadn't logged into my Feedburner account.
I am happy to see that I have crossed the 200 subscriber count. It isn't a number to create a big fanfare about, but would like to thank those who have subscribed.
Hopefully I can reward your subscription by maintaining a different thought provoking perspective to other blogs you subscribe to.
I was also interested to note that Feedburner's new statistics offering now features on your front page when you log in. I will probably add the Feedburner code to this blog sometime today to compare statistics for my planned reviews on stats packages.
Liked this post? Follow this blog to get more.


text: Radio Daze By: admin April 19, 1993 Boston Bar Association President Sandra L. Lynch braved the sometimes bizarre world of talk radio recently to push for the ouster of suspended Probate Court Judge B. Joseph Fitzsimmons and discuss other issues of judicial conduct. Lynch spent most of her hour with talkmeister David Brudnoy describing in sober terms the charges against Fitzsimmons and the ... Subscribe Login Email Address: Password: Already a paid subscriber but not registered for online access yet? For instructions on how to get premium web access, click here.Forgot your password? Share this:EmailPrintFacebookLinkedInTwitterGoogle +1 1:00 am Mon, April 19, 1993 Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly admin


text:
Securitas Area Vice Presidents earn $90,000 annually, or $43 per hour, which is 31% lower than the national average for all Area Vice Presidents at $123,000 annually and 45% higher than the national salary average for all working Americans. The highest paid Area Vice Presidents work for Airgas at $151,000 annually and the lowest paid Area Vice Presidents work for Alternatives Unlimited at $64,000 annually. Browse Securitas Salaries by Job Title →
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text:
by William T. Hathaway
Guest Writer
Dandelion Salad
December 28, 2011
"I used to be a war criminal, now I'm an anti-war criminal. The government awarded me medals for the first crime, now they're trying to imprison me for the second," says ex-Green Beret William T. Hathaway. "I'm a war criminal not because I committed atrocities. I didn't, and most soldiers don't. But the US government's invasions of Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq were war crimes. The United Nations Charter clearly forbids aggressive attacks on other countries. That's exactly what those invasions were. Every GI who participates in that has to share some of the blame.
Filed under: Anti-war, Capitalism, Dandelion Salad Guest Writers, Dandelion Salad Posts News Politics and-or Videos 2, Death-destruction, GI Resistance, Military, Politics, Soldiers - Troops, Veterans, War, War Crimes | Tagged: Activism - Protests - Boycotts, Before You Enlist, Capitalism on Dandelion Salad, Hathaway-William T., William T. Hathaway | 3 Comments »


text:
Dr. Lydia Masud, MD
Adolescent Medicine, Sunset & South Miami Pediatrics
- 8701 SW 128th St
Miami, FL 33176
- 1 Office Location
- Email a Friend
- (305) 234-1700
Dr. Lydia Masud has been practicing medicine for 33 years. Dr. Masud graduated from the University of Illinois, Chicago College of Medicine in 1981. She practices medicine in Miami, FL and specializes in Adolescent Medicine and Pediatrics. Dr. Masud is affiliated with South Miami Hospital and Baptist Hospital Of Miami. She speaks English and Spanish.
Gender: Female
Years in Practice: 33 Years
Languages Spoken: English, Spanish
Medical School: University of Illinois, Chicago College of Medicine
Graduation Date: 1981
Hospital Affiliations: South Miami Hospital, Baptist Hospital Of Miami
Specialties: Adolescent Medicine, Pediatrics
©2005-2014 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.
WebMD does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See additional information.


text:
A Steady Heart in Turbulent Times
- When: Tuesday, April 19, 2011, 7 p.m.
- Where: Buddhist Center of Steamboat Springs, Steamboat Springs
- Cost: Free
- Age limit: Not available
- Categories: Class, Health
The Buddhist Center hosts an event called A Steady Heart in Turbulent Times at 7 p.m. April 19 at Library Hall at Bud Werner Memorial Library. Meditation teacher Tim Olmsted will present the free program.
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text:
Save Me Lyrics - Edguy
Review The Song (3)
Waiting for a little sign
Seems like to no avail
Strolling down the pavement aimlessly
Waitin´ for someone
To snatch her bag of memories
How come you call it destiny
When the cross you bear is your only company?
Never seen you, I don't even know your name
but still I believe
That you are gonna save me
somehow I got a notion
Just a little affection on this cold and windy road
Save me from a state of unemotion
Just a little affection on this windy road..
Why so long, so confusing?
Why does growing up hurt so bad?
sponsored linksWe seek and we get lost
we get found and go again
and I don't know what's gonna be...
I won't make any promise I believe
I don't know if I can
I don't know if I should
I don't know what is right and what's to come if you would
Here I stand in the rain
Here I stand in the cold
I'm reluctant to get another shot in my soul... no
I'm afraid of that harm...
Save me, save me...
Lonesome road...
Click here to submit the Corrections of Save Me Lyrics
Thanks to firstname.lastname@example.com for submitting Save Me Lyrics.
Nice | Reviewer: monique | 3/28/2008
Well everytime i listen to that song im thinking about an nice person i meet once in the holidays.. and had really much fun with him.. and we're still one mind.. or how to say it in english words :O
Absolutely love this song | Reviewer: Frealaf | 12/31/2007
Everytime I listen this song I remember on my ex-girlfriend... I don´t know if I love her even now, but I know that I can´t get her out of my mind (and I don´t want it)...
Absolutely love this song | Reviewer: Frealaf | 12/31/2007
Everytime I listen this song I remember on my ex-girlfriend... I don´t know if I love her even now, but I know that I can´t leave her out of my mind...
The following area is only for review, if you want to submit the lyrics or the corrections of the lyrics, please click the link at the end of Save Me Lyrics.


text:
Definition of let-out clause in English:
let-out clauseLine breaks: let-out clause
A clause specifying a circumstance in which the terms of an agreement or contract shall not apply.
More example sentences
- I see no value at all in reopening the question whether Mr Sage was telling the solicitors in 1985-6 that the 1975 agreement had binding effect subject to the let-out clause.
- The tribunal had a let-out clause that would have saved North and West's commissioning from competition law even when defined as economic activity.
- There's no rounded definition on how we will reduce tariffs, and then they have the let-out clause which Australia in particular will be damaged by.
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Word of the day demoralize
Pronunciation: dɪˈmɒrəlʌɪz
cause (someone) to lose confidence or hope


text:
Dini's Bistro By the Sea Offers Ocean View Dining in a Relaxed Atmosphere with Delicious Cuisine
Web: www.dinisbistro.com
Carlsbad, CA 92008
- Type: California Cuisine
- Price Range: ($10.95–$34.95)
- Parking: Street, Private Lot
- Hours: Sun.-Thurs. 11:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m., and Fri. and Sat. till 10 p.m., Bar Menu Served 9:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m.
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Reservations: Yes
- Delivery: No
- Take-Out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Great For: Lunch & Dinner
- Wi-Fi: Customer Wi-Fi
- Alcohol: Full Bar
- Happy Hour: Mon.–Fri.,
4:30 p.m.–7 p.m.
- Events: Banquets & Catering
- Event Pricing: $15-$50/pp
- Event Size: 75 people, 35-40 patio.
- Credit Cards: AE, DC, DISC, MC, VISA
Ocean view dining in a relaxed atmosphere with delicious tasting bistro-style regional cuisine is what you can expect when you dine at Dini's. Light, healthy and artistically presented entrées accented with a Pacific Rim influence are prepared by Executive Chef Paul Glazzard.
They offer show-stopping appetizers like crabcakes and oysters Rockefeller. Their delicious salads are filling enough to be your main course. Don't overlook Dini's inventive house salads ($6.95).
They also serve steaks and a wide array of lighter fare such as a fresh catch of the day or lobster ravioli. Be sure to have a home-made dessert, such as the New York cheesecake. Kids menu. Banquets. Catering. Full bar. Dini's is also famous for their bar festivities and host birthday parties and sports events.
Sunday Brunch Thurs.-Sat., 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Bar Menu served 9:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m.
Dini's Bistro by the Sea
Lively Evenings & Nightlife
Ocean View Patio Dining
Banquets & Catering at Dini's Bistro By the Sea
3290 Carlsbad Blvd.
Price: $15-$50/pp


text:
Written by:
To All of you guys and gals, that read my poems.
I want to thank each and everyone of you, for
congratulating me on my win. I just found out.
I was the last one to enter the contest.
I am sorry that I have not been around. I will catch
up with you later. I had to take some time off, after
the passing of my mother. I went to spend some
time with my brother in West Texas. He didn't want
me to stay here by myself. I am now back and will
be reading some of your poetry and posting some
Thanks again for being The kind of people and
friends that you are. You are all so very special.
God bless you all...
09/18/ 2012
Lucilla M. Carrillo


text:
480.982.3363 -
Monster Energy
A stylish choice for the emerging racer
Black bodywork, frame and wheels, green hubs and Monster Energy® graphics can mean only one thing-this is a special Kawasaki motorcycle. For racers making the leap from the mini ranks, the KX100 Monster Energy is a natural link to the full-size Lites-class machines. With its larger wheels and tires, the KX100 provides adolescent racers with an appropriately-sized machine, allowing them to focus on riding technique and cornering speed, instead of wrestling with excessive power.
Besides larger wheels than an 85 class machine, the KX100 also sports a bigger 99cc liquid-cooled, two-stroke engine. It breathes through a 28mm carburetor with a carbon-fiber intake reed valve to aid throttle response and is fitted with the Kawasaki Integrated Power-valve System (KIPS®) to help produce a broad powerband with good low-end torque and strong top-end power. The engine is connected to a smooth-shifting, six-speed transmission, which gives the KX100 a gear for every situation on the race track.
The engine is bolted into a high-tensile steel perimeter frame with the specially designed gas tank located inside the frame to lower the fuel load and center of gravity for improved handling. Adjustable long-travel suspension at both ends helps to smooth even the roughest motocross courses.
The 36mm inverted cartridge fork has compression damping adjustment capability and the UNI-TRAK® rear suspension system comes equipped with a shock that is fully adjustable for spring preload, compression and rebound damping. In the braking department, both front and rear discs are mounted with shoulder bolts for easier maintenance.
Those who race their KX100 Monster Energy edition at designated events are eligible to receive support from Team Green, Kawasaki's amateur racing support program. Each year, Team Green provides regional support vehicles and highly trained technicians at more than 100 events, offering technical information and assistance to those who race Kawasaki products. Kawasaki also offers a comprehensive contingency program for amateur and professional riders who place well at designated events.
Monster Energy Edition
- Special Monster Energy graphics package
- Black bodywork, frame and wheels
- Green hubs highlight the special Monster Energy graphics
Liquid-cooled, 99cc, Two-stroke Engine
- Utilizes a separate clutch cover on the right side of the engine for quick servicing without removing the water pump cover
- Liquid-cooling assures even-running temperatures, consistent power output and greater reliability
- Bridges between intake and exhaust ports are machine finished for increased durability
- Rotor comes with rare-earth magnets the unitized piece is small, light and more efficient with low inertial moment improves low-rpm response
- Connecting rod big-end bearing has more rigid cage for improved durability
- Intake port shape and cylinder skirt allow cooling air into the crankcase chamber
- Primary gear is secured using a lock-nut to help reduce mechanical noise
- Metafoam gaskets for the generator and water pump covers improve sealing
Kawasaki Integrated Power Valve System (KIPS®)
- KIPS system varies exhaust port height for increased horsepower and torque at all rpm's
- Produces a broad powerband with more low-end torque while retaining excellent top-end power
- Breather in KIPS cover improves high-rpm and overrun performance
28mm Keihin Carburetor
- Crescent slide carburetor puts the needle closer to the intake ports for excellent throttle response
- Adjustable for various conditions
- Clutch hub rides on needle bearings for smooth action
- Large clutch plates are 119mm in diameter for durability and control
- Clutch-release lever ratio provides light clutch lever action
- Thick clutch basket housing improves durability
- Clutch plate service cover simplifies maintenance and utilizes a metal-carbon composite gasket
Six-speed Transmission
- Fifth and sixth gears on the input shaft ride on bushings for added reliability
- Positive shifting action and rugged durability
- Allows the engine's full potential to be realized
- Provides oil level window
- Hard chrome-finished shift forks resist wear and seizure
High-tensile Steel Perimeter Frame
- Wide footpegs for better control, made of cast steel for strength
- Thick footpeg brackets withstand today's rigorous tracks
- Engine and chassis bolts have rust-resistant coating
Fuel Tank
- Positioned in the frame to lower center of gravity and improve handling
UNI-TRAK® Rear Suspension
- Swingarm uses large cross-section beams for more rigidity and control
- Swingarm incorporates cast-aluminum drive chain adjuster sections for easy chain adjustments
- Flanged collars at the bearings to protect the seals from mud
- Fully adjustable shock with compression, rebound damping and spring preload adjustments
36mm Inverted Cartridge Fork
- Aluminum upper tubes are 49.5mm in diameter for excellent control and steering response
- Compression damping is 18-way adjustable
Front and Rear Disc Brakes
- Front brake lever shape offers better feel
- Forged-aluminum rear brake pedal is strong, lightweight and features two seals at the pivot for smooth operation
Front and Rear Wheels
- Rear hub features two wheel bearings on the drive side of the hub for durability
- Thick spokes are used in the front and rear for stronger wheels, requiring less adjustment
- Light weight aluminum rims
- Aggressive Kawasaki Lime Green and Black graphics just like larger KX models
Technical Specifications
Engine: Two-stroke single with KIPS®
Displacement: 99cc
Bore x stroke: 52.5 x 45.8mm
Cooling: Liquid
Carburetion: Keihin PWK28
Induction: Two-petal reed valve
Compression ratio: 9.6:1 (low speed) 8.8:1 (high speed)
Ignition: Digital CDI
Transmission: Six-speed
Final drive: Chain
Frame: High-tensile steel perimeter design with subframe member
Rake / trail: 27 degrees / 4.1 in.
Front suspension / wheel travel: 36mm inverted telescopic cartridge fork with 18-way compression damping / 10.8 in.
Rear suspension / wheel travel: UNI-TRAK® single shock system with 4-way compression and 18-way rebound damping plus adjustable spring preload / 10.8 in.
Front tire: 70/100x19
Rear tire: 90/100x16
Front brake / rear brake: Hydraulic disc / Disc
Overall length: 75.2 in.
Overall width: 28.9 in.
Overall height: 43.5 in.
Ground clearance: 15.0 in.
Seat height: 34.3 in.
Curb weight: 156.5 lbs.
Fuel capacity: 1.5 gal.
Wheelbase: 50.8 in.
Color: Ebony
* Price and specifications subject to change


text:
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The Hess Estate Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is a new wine program from The Hess Collection Winery. Inspired by the maturation of excellent vineyard sources and winemaker's vineyard selections, the Hess Estate Cabernet Sauvignon is an expression of Napa Valley terroir. The fruit is chosen from vineyards in several districts in the Napa Valley including Dry Creek, Oakville, Mt. Veeder and with the 2001 vintage, the newest vineyard in Pope Valley.
The Hess Collection was founded by Swiss entrepreneur Donald Hess, who first purchased vineyards on Mount Veeder in 1978 and began making wine under The Hess Collection label in 1983. In 1986, he began renovation of the historic winery, originally constructed in 1903 by Colonel Theodore Gier. The winery opened to the public in 1989. The Hess Collection has vineyards on Mount...Read More About Hess
It's hard not to think of Napa Valley when thinking of California wines. The region is, after all, the one that brought world recognition to California wine making. The area was settled by a few choice wine families in the 1960's who bet that the wines of the area would grow and flourish. They were right. The Napa wine industry really took off in the 1980's, when vineyard...Read More About Napa Valley
(cab-uhr-NAY sow-veeh-yawn) King of Red Many refer to Cabernet Sauvignon as the king of red grapes. Perhaps that title is due to its ability to grow worldwide in a number of climates, or to the fact that it produces wine with such character yet such diversity. Either way, this grape is responsible, as a whole or a partner, for some of the greatest wines in the world. In Bordeaux,...Read More About Cabernet Sauvignon
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Friday, December 6th, 2013
Tom Hulce Is 60
It is a mystery to me how this film is not seen as a modern classic, but then again I have not been back to watch it since I first saw it about a quarter of a century ago, so maybe it sucks. But I doubt it. Anyway, happy birthday Thomas Edward Hulce! Most people know you from Animal House or Parenthood or the Mozart movie but I don't think you were ever better than you were here.
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It was such a pleasure to see him in Stranger than Fiction, a movie I liked much more than I thought I would.
He's also in Dominick & Eugene, which is beyond atrocious. But Pinto!
Slam Dance!


text:
When Pastoral opened its doors in Lakeview in 2004 we had four employees not including ourselves. Over 10 years later, we have two additional stores plus wholesale and online businesses, so we have grown a great deal in staff from those original four. Despite our growth, we are proud to have maintained a working environment befitting a small, local business. While we are a professional environment, we never forget to have a little fun!
Pastoral employees are a community amongst themselves, and our shared passion is food. Beyond that, our diversity is endless. In addition to professionally trained chefs and bakers, Pastoral has employed neuroscientists, actors, former Congressional aides, haunted house aficionados, attorneys, professors, and martial arts experts, among others.
We expect all prospective employees to be responsible, motivated, self-starters who show initiative and a strong sense of personal and professional responsibility.
We welcome resume submissions for Counter Associates and Sandwich Bar Associates at all times, though the majority of our interviewing and hiring happens during February, April, September and November.
Read about each position below.
Counter Associate
This is a counter sales position in a dynamic, fast-paced, front-of-house culinary environment. Applicants must show excellent people skills, a strong desire to learn and educate customers, and a good service ethic. In addition to general counter service, responsibilities include preparing gourmet sandwiches, artisan catering trays and gift baskets.
- Prior education in or professional experience with small-batch, artisan cheeses and/or wines is strongly preferred
- Proficient knife skills
- Interest in artisan, hand-made and small-batch specialty foods and wines
- Availability 25-35 hours per week. Shifts generally run from either 9:00 am - 3:00 pm or 3:00 - 9:00 pm, Monday - Friday, and 10:00 am - 7:00 pm weekends
Starting pay is $10.00/hr. Additionally, employees receive a 25% store discount.
To apply, please send resumes WITH cover letters to firstname.lastname@example.com
These positions focus on fulfillment of sandwich, salad, and picnic orders in our Lake Street and French Market stores. Sandwich Bar Associates will also be given opportunities to learn about our core product categories: artisan cheese and wine. With its fast pace and physical similarity to working a kitchen line, the position provides a strong platform for future restaurant work, or supplemental work for those with evening kitchen or restaurant jobs. The position can be set up as an internship for culinary students, depending on your school's particular requirements.
- Proficient knife skills
- Previous experience in a food environment, with a particular interest in artisan, hand-made and small batch specialty foods and wines
- Ability and desire to work quickly in a sometimes-crowded, always fast-paced environment
- Weekday & weekend availability: Sandwich Bar Associates are needed for at least two morning/mid-day shifts (8:00am - 3:00pm), two evening shifts (2:30pm - 9:30pm), or a combination thereof
Starting pay is $9.00/hr. Additionally, employees receive a 25% store discount.
To apply, please send resumes WITH cover letters to firstname.lastname@example.com
Line Cook - Bar Pastoral
Responsibilities include:
- Perform daily duties such as prep, cook and clean up
- Prepare foods according to recipes and perform prep work as assigned
- Ensure that food quality, quantity, freshness, and presentation meet demands
- Prepare, handle, and store food in accordance with Chicago Health Department regulations
- Other duties as assigned
- 1 year experience working in a from scratch restaurant required
- Experience with preparing items for broiling, grilling, frying, sauteing or other cooking methods
- Demonstrated knowledge of kitchen conduct; excellent knife skills
- Open availability - able to work days and/or night shifts
- Must obtain Food Handler license upon employment
- Must be able to stand for extended periods of time and withstand exposure to cold, heat and water
To apply, please send resumes WITH cover letters to firstname.lastname@example.com . Please enter "Bar Pastoral/BOH/Your Name" in the subject line.


text:
The Dack Fayden/Vengevine deck I've been playing in Vintage on MTGO. Not sure if it's actually good, but I've won almost every match despite playing suboptimally. AND IT'S FUN.
This past weekend, I participated in the Magic Online Community Cup tournament at PAX. Long story short, we (Wizards of the Coast) lost, in no small part because of my abysmal match record.
Losing doesn't make me sad. Salty for a few hours, sure, but there's very little regret with the actual games. I made a bunch of loose decisions and sloppy plays, and was summarily punished. Justice. What does make me sad, however, was my inability to create a cohesive and somewhat competitive deck based around my secret ingredient in the allotted time for the "Ironroot Chef" portion of the event, so I've spent some hours since rectifying that.
My ingredient was the bizarre Return to Ravnica rare Conjured Currency:
I just went 4-0 at the employee Gatecrash prerelease here at Wizards. I tried to take pictures of my crazy deck to post on Twitter with my phone, but my phone's camera wasn't working, so I used my iPad, which ultimately produced blurry pictures that aren't very useful when trying to show off a deck full of cards that aren't out yet. So I'll talk about the deck here.
I played Gruul. Normally I'd have played Boros, as that's my guild of choice, but I had already built a Boros prerelease deck at a distributor summit last week. That deck had seven rares in it and was monstrously powerful; any Boros deck I built after that was bound to feel lame. A couple weeks ago in R&D we busted open some prerelease boxes, and I tried Dimir there, so it was down to Gruul, Orzhov, or Simic. Judging by the number of each box still on the registration table, Gruul was getting the least love of all the guilds by the WotC crowd, so I went with it.
The straight Gruul deck I built was only about 17 cards. I tried splashing blue, but that got me only barely above 20. I also tried an W/B/u deck which looked promising, but was also only about 20 cards. What to do?
Part of the reason I was so short on playable spells was because I had 5 Gates and a Godless Shrine. So I jammed all the good stuff together and played this five-color concoction:
(See card images at http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?output=spoiler&method=visual&sort=cn+&action=advanced&set=+%5b%22gatecrash%22%5d)
- Syndic of Tithes
- Assault Griffin
- Knight of Obligation
- 3x Knight Watch
- Rapid Hybridization
- Devour Flesh
- Grisly Spectacle
- Gateway Shade
- Wrecking Ogre
- Greenside Watcher
- Verdant Haven
- Bane Alley Broker
- Deathcult Rogue
- Call of the Nightwing
- One Thousand Lashes
- Merciless Eviction
- Dinrova Horror
- Rubblehulk
- 2x Nimbus Swimmer
- Biomass Mutation
- 2x Simic Guildgate
- Gruul Guildgate
- Orzhov Guildgate
- Dimir Guildgate
- Godless Shrine
- 4 Plains
- 2 Island
- 2 Swamp
- 2 Forest
- 1 Mountain
Plan A was to get ahead with tokens and seal the deal with Biomass Mutation. Plan B was to Wrath (Merciless Eviction) and follow up with fatties. Plan C was extort. Most victories involved a combination of plans.
Anyway, the set is super fun—the guilds have strong identities, but they can mesh together in interesting ways. Have fun this weekend, and don't be afraid to think outside the (guild) box!
And don't sleep on Rapid Hybridization. There are a lot of big turns with big creatures in this set, and the utility of a one-mana trick this potent is huge.
Sorin will get a printed emblem in Dark Ascension. It will show up in boosters from time to time in the "token slot."
I couldn't resist contributing… Luckliy, my eight-year-old has mad googly eyes.
Aaron Forsythe, ladies and gentlemen. http://twitter.com/#!/mtgaaron/status/131977946998128640
I was never asked to write the 2011 version of that article, but I'm happy to say that I am on the schedule to write one at the beginning of 2012!
For reference:
From the Director's Chair: 2009
Magic designer Shawn Main (@ShawnPlays Magic on Twitter) came up with a goofy constructed format that sounded like something I'd enjoy: "Gatherer-Terrible." The rules are simple—you can only use cards rated by the community on Wizards' Gatherer card database as 2.0 or less out of 5. There are currently over 12,000 cards legal in Magic's largest format, Vintage, and Gatherer-Terrible restricts you to the 1,400 (give or take) worst of them. That's barely 10%, and not all of them are on Magic Online!
Back in the mid-90s, my brother, my college roommate, and I played a similar format that was restricted to cards rated 2 stars or fewer out of five by InQuest magazine. My deck back then was built around the tournament-playable Fiery Justice (still one of my all-time favorites).
That card isn't legal in this format, so I had to look elsewhere for ways to get ahead on the board "with value," as card advantage is king when everyone's cards are bad. A look through the card list revealed the 7th Edition limited bomb Dakmor Lancer was available. Wow! There weren't any reasonable ways to get it back from my graveyard, so I settled on an old pet card of mine, Obelisk of Undoing, as a way to reuse the enters-the-battlefield ability of the Lancer.
From there I looked for other cards with good ETB abilities (there aren't many), and found Quirion Trailblazer and Abyssal Horror. The fact that the Tempest black-green dual land (Pine Barrens) and a slew of maligned two-mana accelerators (Moss Diamond, Blightsoil Druid, and Wirewood Elf) were around made me confident a high-mana card advantage Rock-style deck could work.
Obelisk of Undoing Rock
4 Abyssal Horror
1 Arctic Wolves
4 Blightsoil Druid
4 Dakmor Lancer
4 Quirion Trailblazer
4 Wirewood Elf
1 Absorb Vis
2 Afflict
2 Colfenor's Plans
2 Feebleness
4 Moss Diamond
3 Obelisk of Undoing
1 Pull Under
1 The Hive
7 Forest
4 Pine Barrens
11 Swamp
1 Tomb of Urami
1 Bottle of Suleiman
2 Execute
1 Gauntlets of Chaos
1 Morbid Hunger
1 Nantuko Calmer
1 Rebuking Ceremony
2 Rotting Legion
2 Slay
1 Three Tragedies
1 Torture Chamber
2 Uktabi Faerie
The sideboard was just a bunch of stuff. I thought the fact that Slay and Execute were both legal would keep green and white creature decks at bay (and kept my number of Arctic Wolves to 1). They'd certainly be 4-ofs if the metagame allowed it! Rebuking Ceremony is another card with the potential to be backbreaking, and against Shawn Main's deck I wish I had more than one in my list.
I played Shawn's mono-black deck first. It was based on the card Famine combined with creatures big enough to survive it. I had Dakmor Lancers for all his Thran War Machines, a timely Pull Under for his Dread Reaper, and ripped his hand apart with the Abyssal Horrors.
My other opponent was another Magic designer, Ethan Fleisher (@EthanFleischer on Twitter), boldly piloting green-white fatties (Nettletooth Djinn, Ruham Djinn, Whiptail Wurm, etc.). His Sudden Strengths were giving me fits, but I won game one by the skin of my teeth with my one Urami. I lost game two by making a bad decision not to block a 4/4 while at 7 life (Sudden Strength again), but won game three after pulling out of missing my second land drop with a string of Lancers and Slays.
The format is a fun diversion, although likely not deep enough for too much exploration.
Thanks to Shawn for the idea!
Follow me on Twitter: @mtgaaron
A few weeks ago, I got into a reasonably-friendly back-and-forth on Twitter with Marshall Sutcliffe (@MarshallLRCast), host of the "Limited Resources" podcast, about the fact that Overrun was reprinted in M12 at uncommon.
The resulting chatter informed me that a great many high-level limited players dislike losing to the card, but they were also implying that it was a "bomb" and that it was too powerful to be uncommon because it showed up far too often that way.
Magic doesn't do a lot of data-driven game design stuff on a card-by-card basis, mostly becuase—unlike games like World of Warcraft, League of Legends, and Farmville—we can't change what our game pieces do on the fly in a live environment. In the past we've relied on tournament results, sales data, market research, and good old intuition to make decisions, although we've recently started getting better data out of Magic Online.
We don't have access to anything that happens in-game (that stuff happens on different servers than the ones doing the data recording), but we can still see a lot of stuff. I'm not going to share a ton of data here, mostly because we still need to have a good plan for what exactly we want to share and how to best do so. I'm sensitive to handing players "the answers" about what cards to draft and play based on aggregated statistics, but there's so much interesting material that it would be a shame to keep it all locked up.
So here's a taste. The goal was to determine how much having any given card in your deck affected your win percentage in M10 sealed deck (I have no fear sharing these numbers as M10 sealed as a format is two years old and no one is playing it any more). The methodology was such: We looked at every games played in Round 1 of every M10 sealed event ever played on MTGO (later rounds were ignored to avoid selection bias towards good decks). Every card in the set was looked at—what percentage of games were won by decks containing at least one copy of the card in question?
Here are the top 25 finishers:
It takes a second to realize that there's no speculation here, no guessing. This is a historical record. A series of facts.
From these numbers it's hard to say Overrun is a bomb. It isn't the top green card, nor the top uncommon. Heck, it isn't the top green uncommon. That said, it still can be disheartening to lose to.
We've just scratched the surface; there are many other ways to analyze data like this, many more questions to ask. Which cards do better in the hands of more skilled players? How does color imbalance affect things? We're going to be taking deeper dives into this kind of data, and my hope is that we'll eventually share more of it on dailymtg.com or mtgonline.com, either as part of Tom LaPille's column or via some new outlet. If you have ideas of how to better slice what we have, I'd love to hear it.
Other factoids:
- Only 70 of the 229 cards in M10 have win % over 50%.
- The top-finishing card in full Scars block limited is Wurmcoil Engine at 59.79%. What a beast.
- Mind Control is in 6th place here and in 2nd place in M11. Now that's a power uncommon. This data may be the death knell for uncommon "Control Magic" effects, so enjoy Mind Control in M12 while you can.
I've played but a single four-player game on MTGO with this list, but I won and it was fun, so I'll be building the paper version in the next week or so. Lots of tuning to come…
1 Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mana Vault
1 Origin Spellbomb
1 Pyrite Spellbomb
1 Scrabbling Claws
1 Sol Ring
1 Wayfarer's Bauble
1 Dispeller's Capsule
1 Boros Signet
1 Mind Stone
1 Shrine of Loyal Legions
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Mimic Vat
1 Oblivion Stone
1 Sculpting Steel
1 Erratic Portal
1 Muse Vessel
1 Mirrorworks
1 Myr Turbine
1 Scourglass
1 Myr Incubator
1 Skullclamp
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Sunforger
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Batterskull
1 Gold Myr
1 Iron Myr
1 Myr Retriever
1 Steel Overseer
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Sanctum Gargoyle
1 Karn, Silver Golem
1 Kuldotha Forgemaster
1 Precursor Golem
1 Duplicant
1 Thopter Assembly
1 Triskelion
1 Myr Battlesphere
1 Sundering Titan
1 Goblin Welder
1 Myrsmith
1 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Puresteel Paladin
1 Treasure Hunter
1 Argivian Archaeologist
1 Auriok Salvagers
1 Brion Stoutarm
1 Leonin Abunas
1 Reveillark
1 Karmic Guide
1 Godo, Bandit Warlord
1 Tempered Steel
1 Glory of Warfare
1 Argivian Find
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Shattering Pulse
1 Allay
1 Lightning Helix
1 Chaos Warp
1 Ancient Den
1 Great Furnace
8 Mountain
10 Plains
1 Ancient Amphitheater
1 Ancient Tomb
1 Arid Mesa
1 Blinkmoth Nexus
1 Boros Garrison
1 Command Tower
1 Mishra's Factory
1 Mishra's Workshop
1 Phyrexia's Core
1 Rugged Prairie
1 Temple of the False God
1 Wasteland
1 Plateau
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Urza's Factory
1 Flagstones of Trokair


text:
What do you call a fish in a barrel with no water? Dinner.
I can never tell what it is that triggers these little fits of mine. It's not always a love affair. Sometimes it's a lack of one. It think what makes me the most depressed and helpless is the silence.
The room seems smaller, and somehow looking at my lack of possessions makes me ashamed of my existence. I'm not sure that it's a coincidence that everyone seems to forget about me at the same time. Everyone just decides not to follow through with their tentative plans. I understand that everyone has a life, husbands and wives and fiances and children. I suppose that the honest truth is that in the times that I feel the lowest I realize that I have none of that, and my prospects of obtaining anything seem so minuscule.
There is no love in my life. I dislike my job. I dislike my tiny room.
On the upside, Americans spend hundreds of hours each year in their cars. I like my I can't breathe and I have no energy. I start dreading going back to work hours in advance.
I can't wait for someone to email me or send a text about logical steps to change one's profession. Guess what, folks? I'm already doing all of those things. Nothing happens overnight.
I think what is getting at me the most lately, is that people like to talk to me about their problems, but they don't realize that when I'm having issues that they aren't available to me. Why should they be, they are already in other relationships and have issues of their own. But whatever it is my fellow friends and family finds to bitch about–a solution typically exists.
I'm working on a resume. I am losing weight. I try to wear make up when I can. I've prepared a budget.
When I go to sleep at night no one says "Goodnight." Because no one is there. There's no one next to me when I wake up in the morning.
And despite my dating history, I feel like no one has ever been there. I've never really been close to anyone I was dating. It's like I was just passing the time and waiting for them to leave.
I'm never looking back on the past to things that I once possessed. I'm on the outside looking into a room that I've never been in, and I apparently don't belong in.
I'm not the first lonely person to exist in America. My problems are non unique. More than likely I'll have an alcohol binge at the end of the week and I won't feel quite so lonely anymore.
It's just that nagging knowledge that couples hang out with other couples. It's a realization that people don't want to include a sad lonely person in their gatherings. People with children typically don't hang out with people who don't have children.
And all the lonely people out there are floating around, punishing each other with the only tool of punishment that they have available–withdrawal and absence. We give love just to take it away. The only tool of power that we really have is the choice to disdain.
You can trick someone with smoke and mirrors, but at the end of the day each person chooses who they'd like to spend time with. You can't punish people for not choosing you. You can push them away, but more than likely you just suffer in the cold, and you end up punishing yourself doubly because you're actually not in control. I really hate being sad, almost more than I miss moments of being happy.
I'll get another job.
I'll lose more weight.
I'll handle the details of my life.
I'll meet someone else to date, inevitable.
I have no idea about how long it will be before I don't feel incredibly lonely.
Routine and Gifts
There is this awesome lady at work that told me that if I wanted to start to sleep at night again like a normal person that I needed to create a routine.
Here's what I've got going so far.
I wake up in just enough time to get dressed and run out of the door.
I hop into my car. Sometimes I listen to music, and sometimes I just drive in silence. All of my thoughts are in overdrive. I have to think about something. I have to think about everything. Why? Because in twenty minutes I'm going to have to completely shut off my brain in order to survive the torture that is my job. It's like taking the big breath before you go underwater, except for I get paid really poorly for it and it lasts for over eight hours.
Now once I get to work I have a cup of yogurt and then I start to think of things to do so that I don't look at the clock on the computer. I just right into my work, because I have absolutely no control over anything that happens at my job.
The first couple of calls are a little mellow sometimes. Sometimes my first call is someone telling me to go he-double hockey sticks, or some douche that is calling me some other sort of name. It's really okay though. My boyfriends almost never have pet names for me, so it's actually interesting to have someone call me a name with some sort of emotion behind it.
I know some of the people reading this just felt bad for me…please don't. Lots of people love me oodles…that was a failed joke and I'm just too lazy to edit.
So after I have my yogurt, I usually start in on whatever book I'm reading at the moment. The latest book that I was reading is the Awakening by Kate Chopin. How I feel about this book is a completely different issue, and I will definitely share my feelings in another blog.
I get a couple of breaks. I make tea. Sometimes I make small talk with some people who sit around me. It's hard. There's only one girl that doesn't think I'm the weirdest person on the planet that sits near me. Everyone else is really far away.
At lunch time I usually start sending texts to all of my friends, as literally a cry for help. Some answer, some don't. No matter what I can guarantee that the guy that I want to text me back is ignoring me. Typically I have tons of things to say, but since I've literally had my personality on hold for about five hours at this point, I have nothing relevant to say. I stop sending dumb ass texts to everyone. Lunch time is now over.
The last half of work, it just me totally trying to zone out until I leave. The worst part about it is that I'm peddling crap that I totally don't believe in. Hello! Would you also like to purchase the smelliest cheese on the face of the planet that you would not like? No? Great, My salary totally depends on that.
After work I try to call one of my friends. There are only like 5 people that will answer. The good news is that I'm completely entertaining. Unfortunately talking to anyone about anything with substance I am like a small puppy that has been in a kennel for weeks whose owner just got home. I'm surprised that I don't bark. On the way home I have a zillion thoughts. I think about my weekend, and my friends.
Sometimes I think about traffic.
I get home, I make dinner. Usually eggs and toast. Then I have a sweet potato.
Then I turn on the TV and watch socially awkward comedies. They are my favorite. Sometimes I do a little writing.
Do you know what I don't have worked into my routine? Sleeping at night. Damn it. I misunderstood the assignment of creating a routine for sleeping. :)
Since I've totally failed at my mission and assignment, I've made some resolutions.
I'm going to try very hard to knock a couple of things off of my bucket list.
First off I'm going to dedicate more of my free time to my writing. Music and otherwise.
Second, until I cross at least one thing off of my bucket list I'm not going to be distracted by any man. I need to spend time firing up the passion in my own life. I can't always run from it. Music and writing are my passions. I have to commit.
I'm going to continue to try to eat healthy and keep up with my physical appearance. I'm always in the doldrums but it's important for me not to look like a homeless person that doesn't know what a comb is.
I'm also going to try to only give effort into the friendships where I feel like we're equal folks. I'm only going to go out under the best conditions, I'm not going to try to force anything.
I'm also going to try harder to do things that make me happy. People I know may say that I'm the most selfish ever, but I'm not. Even if I am, I'm unsuccessfully selfish.
I'd like to learn to swing dance. I would like to leave the country. I'd like a mani pedi. I would like to read more. I would like to start exercising in a way that is manageable for me. Unique programming for a unique person. I'd like to sing somewhere else besides karaoke.
I want to make the best of the time that I have. There are so many signs letting me know that each day is a gift. Even those eight hours of agony are a part of a gift.
Well, this is awkward.
I had a fantastic weekend. Last weekend was awesome. I know from my last post it probably didn't seem like I'd had something fantastic happen as a precedent, but I take the good with the bad–and sometimes the good parts make me sound like a crazy pants lunatic, so I try not to harp on the good stuff. Terrible logic. I know it.
I firmly believe in balance. How does one deal with her fears of opposite sex rejection? By overcoming other non related fears. I wanted to write about this because it was something that I knew was absolutely silly, but I couldn't quite get over.
I'm thirty years old, and before today I'd never been seen by a gynecologist.
I made the appointment in a last minute effort to make a day off necessary. Yes. I would rather have a stranger poke around in my innards than spend the day at my job at this point.
I thought about cancelling twice, and by the time I got to the office I was nervous. My original blood pressure was through the roof. I kept telling myself that I was thirty years old and that I should not be so jittery. I realized that most people don't have legitimate fears. Fear is a limitation of a mental variety, and so I'd just have to suck it up.
After my blood pressure came down a bit, we did something else that I didn't like. I got on a scale. Though I don't know when to stop reading garbage on Facebook, I was totally aware that reading the scale would ruin my day. The nurse laughed at me. I politely asked her to not let me see the number. She seemed to understand how I felt even though she was 5'5″ latino woman who couldn't weigh more than a buck ten. Why do we have this connection as women, I wondered. She had nothing to worry about, unlike the 300 pound black woman who was in her care.
She asked me about my sexual history. It was odd to answer those questions out loud to a stranger. She asked when I got my first period, and when the first time I'd had intercourse was. When I answer the second question she paused a bit and asked again quite calmly. Yes, I was 24. No, I'm not making it up. No, I was not taking it up the back door for the sake of Catholicism. Besides the fact that I do everything super late and I'm terrified of simple tasks that people complete on an annual basis.
The next step was undressing and putting on some sort of paper gown thing. The doctor came in and introduced herself by her first name. She was kind and soft spoken. She asked how my last exam had been. I couldn't explain to her that the last person who poked around said everything looked fine but he was not a medical professional. Actually he didn't say things looked alright–He was much more enthusiastic, in fact. I explained that I had not been before instead of replying with awkward comedic outbursts.
Seeing a gyno for the first time is like having bad awkward sex. You don't know what they are looking for or really what their end goal might be. You don't know how long it is going to last, but you hope the are finished soon. There is a lot of poking, and you're not sure whether or not someone is trying to split you in half. Guys are always trying to stretch women out–Well guys who suck at sex.
When it was over I breathed a sigh of relief. The doctor said that everything seemed fine and asked if I wanted all the tests.
Of course I wanted all the tests! I don't wanna go out with Nietzsche with syphilis and a horse kick to the head, do I?
I got dressed quickly, because I'm puritan and I hate nudity. Hours later I found out that I'd put my underwear on backwards.
Oh, so fear number two–I hate the idea of having my blood taken. I don't donate blood because I'm contaminated by mad cow disease.
Actually I was in Europe in the 80's so just in case banks prefer that I not donate. I think having mad cow disease sounds way more interesting.
So the originally nurse comes back in, and I told her that I was squeamish. She asked another nurse to come in to contain me. You know, just incase I fucking hulked out.
Despite the fact that I have hard veins according to the nurse, she managed to take a sample after some minor bruising.
2 fears, one day.
Now, I need to figure out how to talk to guys I like.
Debbie Downer Vague Blog
What is to be done when you find out that someone doesn't love you as they should?
Can you really cry about it? It seems like crying would devalue the people who are truly dedicated to you.
Can you dwell on it?
Of course not. Dwelling would close your heart to the others who want to show you the world in all of it's wonder.
You can't talk to that person. I know better than anyone that you can't make someone love you when they've chosen to shut their hearts to you.
What is to be done?
The first person that I realized that didn't love me that assuredly was supposed to was my father. He knew the right things that someone would say to a daughter, but his mannerisms and his actions let me know that love was furthest from what he actually felt. I wonder if it's because I look so like my mother, or because of my brash personality–in the beginning of my adulthood I began to accept it. There was nothing that I could do, no olive branch that I could extend to make him love me. There was no getting to know me. I had to let it go. For the most part I have let it go. I'm hoping soon to stop picking men to date that show me the same type of criticism coupled with his lack of affection. No one I've ever met has been able to watch me cry and not give a fuck quite like him…with the exception of my ex Ray. Ray tried to beat him to the bottom of the "give a fuck" competition.
Now I'm trying to put my finger on how to feel about someone who can't feel sorry. How do I feel about someone who seriously bloody hates me. Even worse, what happens when you're surrounded by those people. You can't even have fun with them anymore. It's the drawback of being entertaining. People rave about loving you, but inwardly they don't want any part of you.
I always go on and on about whether or not my exes love me. I wonder why I do this. I know I'm not alone in this idea that you want to know that at some point, your feelings were mutual. What if they weren't? What does it matter? Someone that you're no longer involved with have no influence on what you'll do with your future.
I believe that the reason why is because I'm so worried that something is wrong with me that makes me unlovable. You can't really quantify how much someone loves you. Since I have this desire, I wonder why I choose men who only know how to love themselves. Why do I surround myself with people who can't grasp what it truly means to love.
I'm lovable to the people who really care for me. They are the people who matter. I'm trying to make room for people who deserve my love.
I'm wise to all this. If you don't love me, you can hate me.
I'm fine with playing the villain.
I got up this morning, promptly around one in the afternoon, and I felt the urge to write. It was right that I should do so. I don't know what exactly to write about, so I'll begin just talking about things in general.
My life boils down to a few themes: My friends are outrageous. I hate my job. I'm magically drawn to men who are unstable charismatic alcohols that won't amount to anything.
I think I'm going to start with how much I abhor my crappy job. I don't make enough money. I spend way too much time there, and I'm pretty sure I'm slowly going insane. It might be the fact that everyone I encounter is pretty much angry, or it might be my intolerance to being called a cunt, but by the end of the day I'm ready to stab an innocent person with a fork in the eye. I get home and sit in my very small room with my TV that was given to me. It was made in 1994 I think. It's like a really old television, but it works sometimes and I'm glad that I didn't have to buy it.
Let me take a break from complaining for a second to share a realization that I had last night while I was driving up to visit friends.
It occurred to me that in all the time that civilization has existed, a very small percentage of that time allowed the technology to actually have people drive cars. Like if I'd lived just a hundred years ago–probably wouldn't have access to just hop in my car and drive up to see friends. If I'd lived during prohibition, I probably wouldn't be able to just go out and have a drink without worrying. If I'd lived in a less progressive sect of time, I wouldn't be able to just hang out with three dudes alone without having to be shunned.
"Shun the non believer. SSSSShhhhhhuunnnnnnnn."
So I should be grateful that all of these things are possible.
I mean if I did manage to get knocked up, the probability that my lover would try to kill and dispose of the baby before anyone found out he was sleeping with a black person would be slim.Kinda slim.
I can watch images of anything I want on a screen. I'm on this thing called the internet right now. What a miracle this is? We totally take it for granted. I know I do.
I don't have to sell my pee in a pot to the local pee buyer (taxidermist). And if I did have to, I actually have a pot to piss in.
I naturally have better than 20/20 vision. I can read signs from very far away. I can read! I can also write. Think about the rate of illiteracy just a bit ago. Living in Texas during ye old times of slavery that would not have been okay. My sass? Probably would've been hanged before I was 20 for that.
Not too long ago, would not have been able to just hang out with drag queens.
Everyone who is such an avid atheist, pantheist, whatever–all my friends like that–burned at the stake. I mean you could speak out and do whatever you want, but you'd be murdered for it.
What about the miracle of air conditioning? The fact that I can show my ankles in public. I'm allowed to dance, drink like a sailor, yell in public.
Even if you fuck up this modern life, I mean you have so many chances to change your stars and make a go of a new start.
How awesome is that? You marry the wrong person? You could find the right person and try it again. Did you get the wrong career card? You could scrap it and start all over again! Fantastic, no? I mean you don't have to be a blacksmith because your dad was, or marry someone your parents set up for you because of money.
I still have most of my friends alive and well. I don't have to worry about the plague or cholera killing off everyone I love.
Look at all these options we have…I mean, of course, it can be overwhelming–but we can choose not to feel overwhelmed. We can choose to take life by the balls and create whatever we'd like.
I don't like my job, I'll have to change it.
Blue Dolphins used to mean a good time…
I really need to be asleep right now, but I had to tell the tale of my last, and most recent hospital stay.
I'm not even going to rant about insurance, I'm going to focus on the more personal parts of the journey. There is nothing more jarring then laying down in a hospital bed and realizing that there isn't anyone who can come for you. It's not because you don't have friends, I mean I have friends a plenty. They may just be a little to spread out across the nation. The ones that are local just don't have the capabilities to rescue you.
Around Friday night, my coughing got a little worse. I went to work on Saturday for some make up hours, and by the time I left work, the coughing was almost unbearable. I was trying to take supplements and things to try to get better, but nothing was working. By Sunday I was a complete and utter mess.
By Sunday I hadn't been able to sleep in two days, there was so much pressure in my head I could feel it throbbing on the outside. I was sweating, and I couldn't walk more than a few paces without gagging and coughing. My throat was raw. I could barely see, and I was constantly dizzy.
Because I know a lot of my acquaintances are thinking, "I should post some absurd comment about how I was sicker once, or how I have an aunt with cancer or something or other that makes your sickness look stupid." Contrary to your belief that it will make me feel better if you one up me, I'll probably just thinking that you're a jerk that smells like mothballs and prides himself on getting jokes that really just go over his head. Everyone knows a person like this–and we should start sending these people to an island where they can complain to each other about who has it worse.
So yes, this is my blog and I can cry if I want to…
In order to tell this story properly, I also have to let everyone know how much I hate hospitals. I don't think I've ever spent the night in one, but each time I go I start to panic like I'll never get out. The last time I had to go was in 2005 or so, and my friend Emily took me. It seems like I had more people to call upon back then. More so than being a patient I hate going to the hospital alone.
After learning about my insurance, and how I actually don't make a livable wage, I drove myself to the hospital around 8 am. I couldn't find any parking, and I had such a hard time breathing and walking that by the time I got to admitting I was crying. The nurse got me checked in right away. I got this small room with a crappy dolphin painted on it. I posted a picture to facebook and sent a few texts while I was waiting on doctors and nurses to assess my condition.
The person who sent me into an existential crisis was an administrator just doing her job. She was asking some real questions. I was not happy with my answers.
"If your stay continues, who would you like us to call."
Well my mom doesn't have a cell phone. My brother just had his stolen. Tim is out of town, Christi is out of town, David is probably out of town. Everyone else I know either has a family, doesn't actually care about me if they can't bang me, or they love me but their lives are so shit wrecked that they might be drunk at 8 am and now able to make it down. So what was my answer.
Um, I can't think of anyone right now.
Next question "Who is your emergency contact? Should we still contact your grandma?"
She's old, and she usually doesn't answer the phone, but let's just stick with that.
"Do you have a living will?"
No. I have nothing to give, and apparently no one to give it to.
"What is your religious preference?"
I heard all the arguments on facebook clamor at once in my head. All the angry atheist and super religious freaks.I answered fairly quickly. You know it's easy to answer when you have a second and think to yourself, "I could die alone, in Lewisville Medical Center, looking at this dolphin that an eight year old painted, with no one to hold my hand- If this is my last confession then I ought to be true to myself.
I made confession in that room to a stranger. I think that's how Catholics do it in movies.
I don't mind making pharmacy runs, taking folks to the doctor when I can, but it hurts the smallest pieces of my heart to think that certain people can make it over to your place for sex, but they aren't able to say anything to you besides "I hope you get better."
Did you think I needed any food? Who needs food? Maybe I needed someone to go to the pharmacy? Drive me to the ER.
Probably best that I drive dizzy and almost have an accident. I'm a tough broad, I'll figure it out.
Don't tell me that you love me if you can't think about helping me when I really need help. If I can't call you from the hospital, you can't call me anymore.
Don't want to go on anymore dates with you folks, either.
I guess I have to find someone to get married to, otherwise I'm doomed to be alone, staring at that fucking dolphin.
Can my family fix their phone problems?
I can't spend any more time doing things that I don't like with people who don't care about me.
That includes this terrible draining job. I need a change. I need it badly. Since I clearly don't know how to pick men, I'm on vacation. I'm going to focus on the job part. So maybe I can buy my mom a phone so she can be my emergency contact.
Mac and Cheese is not for everyone.
When I was a kid I ate mac and cheese all the time. My brother loved it. I would try to protest, but I made a great deal of concessions being the oldest child. It was okay that our cabinets were full of this cheap imitation cheese crap, because when my brother ate it he was quiet. When I went to school, I would always eat everything but the mac and cheese, and I would offer it to the other kids. It always struck me as super odd that a child could not just take a second helping of their favorite food, they would have to make this comment right before: "What kind of person doesn't eat mac and cheese?" I let it roll off of my shoulder, but honestly it was the tone that got me. We have a mac and cheese surplus, you are going to benefit…do you have to point out that I'm a freak. Just take these carbs and get fat silently.
This kind of person doesn't eat mac and cheese. This kind of person. Me.
While in New Orleans, we were up on one of the balconies over Bourbon Street, and I have to admit it was pretty fucking cool. We basically had this entire floor to ourselves with a couple of other people passing through. There was a buffet, and we had our own bartender. Our bartender was awesome and delightful, but for a couple of minutes when he had to step out, two other guys came in to watch the bar… those guys were not so cool.
Welcome to my side story about my beloved cat, may she rest in peace. Now Ebony was a beautiful cat. She had lovely thick fluffy fur that was soft and always looked perfect. In the mornings before I'd walk to school, I'd always eat breakfast in the kitchen, and she'd always sit beside me, enjoying the sunlight, and grooming herself. One spring, there was this strange, poor excuse for a bird that made a nest right outside of our apartment. This bird had like five feathers, and I think it had been using meth. It would scream and squeak constantly, and occasionally it would run into the window just to upset my poor cat. I even pointed this out to my mom. This bird was ruining my cat's mornings. One day that cock eyed bird thing just perched on the window. I couldn't tell what it was looking at, but I could feel it looked pleased with itself. I looked at Ebony, she looked at me. We had a moment. I grabbed my backpack and opened the door, and Ebony walked out of the door jumped up and grabbed the bird, snapped his neck, left it on the porch and went back inside. When I left she was grooming herself in the sunlight.
Now I felt just as beautiful as Ebony while we were out on that balcony. Once I was drunk I was having a fantastic time, and then out of no where a small midget type person with a lazy eye just walked up to me and started running his mouth like a crazy Cajun mascot. He was like a public service announcement for why you shouldn't wander out into the swamps alone. He literally had to be like 5'2″ and he looked up in my general direction and said, "Yeah I see all these other girls here, but I like them BIIIIGGG women. Gurl, what you been eating?" He turned to his buddy and laughed, "She been eatin a lot." Then he followed me around and made fun of me. Like that meth bird.
Okay, so real talk…when he saw me I was eating red beans and rice…and I'm not the thinnest lady in the world, so maybe I set myself up for it. But it hurt my feelings and I wanted to snap his neck and leave him on the porch.
He also told me once I go white, my credit gets right. Which is a lie, because I've been sleeping with white men for years and my credit still blows. Why couldn't he get at me with some real advice like, "mmmm girl, if you have sex with me we'll get a secured credit card from a bank, and make the payments on time in your name, and then gradually your credit score could improve if you pay down your debt while increasing your income."
Then I would have said, "Meth Bird, that's an excellent idea, but I won't be sleeping with you."
It feels like that bird is with me always, and I really thought I would escape in on vacation.
"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard."
"The music you like is so depressing."
"You know it's absurd for a woman of your age to…"
"Well, it's simple common sense…"
I think the reason why this has always upset me is because I become so offended when people pick on my preferences is that I spend so much time listening to other people and their proclivities. When I listen it's a sign of my respect. I may not agree with you, but I commit to letting all ideas have value.
Ah ha! So here's where everything comes together for me. I do realize that the difference between most of my older friendships and my newer ones- The difference really being 13 years versus like 8 years or so–The newer friendships have a common bond of respect. There are a couple of exceptions, but people who met me while I was working full time tend to have this mutual respect for me, and I enjoy that. I ask for advice because I respect your opinions. I curb my tongue because I respect your feelings.
I'm so bad about this. Particularly when people introduce that nit picky energy, I follow along. I also lay down and take it for the sake of peace and I know I shouldn't. I just keep hearing my mom say, " You should always feel safe at home with your family. People in the world are always going to attack you. Here we need to make it safe." I did grow up with immediate family that were chronically shitty to me, but when we moved away from them my mom did a good job of making everyone abide by those rules of safety…well when she was watching.
We just need to do a better job.
I just need to do a better job.


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Music Appreciation 101: The Music in the Words with Allen Brings
Tuesday, March 11, 10 – 11:30 a.m.
Composer and pianist Allen Brings provides an understanding of how composers have put music to words and how profoundly these practices move and influence us. Allen Brings is a composer and pianist and is the Vice President of Connecticut Composers, Inc., a non-profit organization of composers living in or having ties to Connecticut. Mr. Brings also will be conducting a class on Tuesday, March 25: The Elements of Music Then and Now. No charge. Registration encouraged.