text:
Milton Rogovin
American, 1989
Gelatin silver prints
Everything that I did, like photography, was always to show those who I call "the forgotten ones," the people who are poor. The most convincing thing I could do is just to show them as they are. If you see the way they look, the way they stand, what's in the background, you can decide for yourself. -Milton Rogovin Milton Rogovin's signature approach to his subjects was that he never posed them. He simply asked them if he could take their pictures-both in their workplaces and at home. Here, workers dressed in dirty jeans and white shirts stand at the entrance of the mine where they work. Rogovin focused on a young man with glistening skin, which shows beneath his open shirt. The man gazes pleasantly toward the camera, in contrast to his coworkers who seem rather tentative about being photographed. In Rogovin's accompanying portrait of the worker at home, everyone looks relaxed. The man wears a similar expression, but smiles. He stands with one arm wrapped around his tall wife, and in the other, holds their child. Dark palm leaves and a painting of a tropical scene hint at where they live: Cuba. In the 1980s, Rogovin decided to portray an international community of coal miners. He traveled to mining areas around the world, including this one in Moa Bay near Guantánamo.


text:
December 23 2014 Latest news:
Recently, I was nominated by a friend on Facebook to find and share (ie post online) five photographs that make me smile.
Warm congratulations to all the pubs and restaurants that this week won awards for being dog friendly.
I am an excellent driver. I expect you are, too. In fact, there isn't a person that I have ever met who thinks anything else.
Sometimes, the truth hurts. So if you are easily offended, go now to another page.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
According to current plans, will K-ISOM No. 3 May / June 2012 Issue 23 on 24 April in the sale or at the remote base dealers, as well as under email@example.com, subscribers are free to get included new 5:11-catalog content to follow and cover. "
Can pick and choose different languages, its free and pretty accurate. Add it to your favourites


text:
Very impressive gallery!!!
Estupenda galería, me encanta el sabor clásico y la influencia de Buscema y Frazetta que no eclipsan tu estilo propio. No se si se ha publicado algo tuyo en España pero si no es así me parece un grave error y una pena, gracias por compartir tu arte!
An incredible gallery... thanks to 11 O'Clock Comics to helping me find your great work
Great gallery of art, awesome themes using the wrestlers/Luchadors. I'm supposed to be working now but i got to caught up browsing your gallery
Awesome work!
these are all mad sick, but i got to say i love when you have your characters talking to eachother i catn read spanish...but there body langue speaks volumes lol, love it
Hello! How are you?? I have written a journal about manuals of artistic anatomy and have left a few links with the most interesting images of every part of the human body... Maybe you are interested in seeing it. Greetings from Valencia!!
Even that your art little cheapens women, I must still say that you are awesome. WATCH!!
Wow your work rocks it hard! Cheers and happy 2012!
I love your work. It reminds me of some of Vallejo's work in Heavy Metal Magazine. Simply outstanding, happy doodles.


text:
Throwing a Halloween
Keeping your guests' bellies full is half the battle when throwing a great party. So consider the following ideas for your festive Halloween menu:
Games keep guests entertained and help everyone get into the spirit of things. Consider the following Halloween game
Have a psychic table set up where guests can get their fortunes read or conduct a seance using the time-honoured Ouija Board.
Bobbing for apples is a classic autumn game that could make a splash at your Halloween party. Don't forget to have prizes for the winner--from cheese and wine baskets
Ask your friends to stick their hands into the mystery box for a fright-filled experience. Use peeled grapes for eye balls, spaghetti for worms and chopped up jello
Serve s'mores and read scary stories by candlelight or torch.
Pin the names of famous monsters on your guests backs and and have them guess their identities by asking yes or no questions.
Have guests tuck a small pumpkin under their chin and pass it on to other players, or see who can thread a slippery pumpkin seed necklace the fastest.
Run wild with your Halloween décor and don't forget to supplement it with some eerie music


text:
I and two teenage children had a great 5 night stay in this friendly family-run hotel. Don't go if you require five star luxury and 24/7 room service, but if you want a central - but nonetheless quiet - location with decent grub, comfortable beds and the feel of a proper small French hotel, this may be for you.
- Reservation Options:
- TripAdvisor is proud to partner with Booking.com, Hotels.com, Expedia, Priceline, Travelocity, Odigeo and Tingo so you can book your Hotel Bellier reservations with confidence. We help millions of travelers each month to find the perfect hotel for both vacation and business trips, always with the best discounts and special offers.
- Also Known As:
- Hotel Bellier France/Savoie


text:
Rio is a hot Asian student. She is trying to get her guy´s attention by showing him her nice ass. He fingers her and licks her hairy pussy and plays with her small tits for a while with his tongue. He turns her and sticks his hard cock into her pussy for a hard rear fuck!
|Screenshots (Total 132)
|Comments (0)
|Detailed Info
|More Stuff
Yuria Satomi
Yuria Satomi is a hot Asian MILF in her office suit. She is in the break room with a co worker and he is interested in her sexy pantyhose and her pussy. She is making out with him and doing some hand work on his cock when he gets to her w..
Yuria Satomi
Round tit and horny babe Yuria Satomi making out and hardcore fucked. She tease and makes out with her hung lover and strips down on her sexy dress. She get her boobies squuezed and wet pussy licked. She humps on his cock, grinds on it ti..
Yuri Matsushima
Yuri Matsushima is a hot Asian MILF with a busty form she likes having her boyfriend lick when she is lactating. They are in the bedroom and she is in her sexy lingerie while participating in some foot licking through her ripped pantyho..
More Risa Tsukino
Steaming Japanese AV model Mashiro Kaname gets her luscious hairy pussy fingered and her big amazing boobs teased by her horny boyfriend. The sweetie really likes this sex game, and takes his steely shaft in mouth. The guy rams her glorious bean from behind and drills her heavily!
You Might Also Like
Gorgeous Japanese porn model gets..
Shameless Asian milf Rina Itou en..
Rear fuck with Reiko Nakamori out..
Stunning Japanese milf Ai Haneda ..
Bubble butt babe Kaede Fuyutsuki ..
Sweet Ai Nakaidou loves to have s..
Asian milf Ai Sayama is a fascina..
Flawless Asian AV model gets her ..
Hand work by seductive babe Iroha..
Hot sexy Japanese teacher Natsume..
Alluring Asian cutie Nanmi Kawaka..
Busty chick Asahi Mizuno masturba..
Related DVDs
- Sky Angel 151
- 80%109 min. 35 sec.
- Soil And Sexymissy..
- 85%111 min. 6 sec.
- Hospitality Seduce..
- 73%114 min. 52 sec.
- Want To See The Wi..
- 81%66 min. 2 sec.
@ Idols69.com - High definition AV Idol website...


text:
May We Help You?
Call 1-877-692-2922Monday-Friday, 8am to 5pm
Persons with hearing and speech disabilities can reach the above number through TDD and other specialized equipment by calling the Florida Relay Service at 711. Contact UsSend e-mailSearch jobs
FRIDAY, Dec. 14 (HealthDay News) -- Quitting smoking helps reduce back pain in people being treated for spinal problems, according to a new study.
The findings show the need for programs to help these patients quit smoking, the researchers said.
They looked at more than 5,300 patients who had back pain caused by a spinal disorder and underwent surgical or nonsurgical treatment over eight months.
When they began treatment, prior smokers and patients who had never smoked reported much less back pain than current smokers and those who quit smoking during the study. Current smokers had significantly greater scores on all pain ratings used in the study -- worst, current and average weekly pain -- than patients who never smoked.
Patients who quit smoking during treatment reported greater improvements in pain than those who continued to smoke, according to the study, which was published in the December issue of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery.
"We know that nicotine increases pain," study author Dr. Glenn Rechtine, of the department of orthopedics at the University of Rochester in New York, said in a journal news release. "In this study, if you quit smoking during treatment, you got better. If you continued to smoke, there was statistically no improvement, regardless of the treatment you had. Smoking is bad for you. Basically, the likelihood to improve your care -- surgical or nonsurgical -- was dramatically decreased if you are a smoker."
"This study supports the need for smoking cessation programs for patients with a painful spinal disorder given a strong association between improved patient-reported pain and smoking cessation," Rechtine added.
Although the study found an association between smoking cessation and decreased back pain, it did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship.
More information
The U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke has more about back pain.
SOURCE: Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, news release, Dec. 5, 2012
Copyright © 2012 HealthDay. All rights reserved.


text:
BGA: Digging deeper into Geno and the Shotgun
Yesterday on TJB, Bassett posted a link to an interesting article by the Star Ledger's Michael Fensom. Fensom wrote about adjustments that Marty Mornhinweg made to the offense over the last month of the season that contributed to the improved success for the offense as a whole and Geno Smith individually.
The part that caught my attention was this:
…one noticeable adjustment over the season's concluding month was the Jets operated quite a lot out of the shotgun formation.
There's no question that the Jets did operate out of the shotgun a lot over the last month of the season and that Smith showed some progress in such situations. However, did it really represent an adjustment that one could attribute Smith's improvements to? We analyze in more detail after the jump.
How often did the Jets pass out of the shotgun?
I'm going to start by giving consideration not to the total number of shotgun snaps, but limiting my focus specifically to when Smith actually passed the ball. I'll discuss running the ball from the shotgun later on.
The easiest way to evaluate this is to isolate the numbers for when Smith was under center but still threw the ball. All information is compiled from NFL data, so any inaccuracies are theirs, not mine and for the sake of consistency I've removed any plays that ended up being negated by a penalty from the data. If Fensom's perception that the Jets helped Smith by getting him to work out of the shotgun more over the last month, you'd expect to see a reduction in the number of times he threw from under center.
However, this was not the case. Over the first four games, he threw 30 times from under center. This dropped to 15 over the next four games, then 14 for the next four. Over the last four games, this rose up to 21 again. So, actually Fensom is wrong and the Jets passed less out of the shotgun over that last month? Actually, that's not correct either.
During that last four games, Smith threw 116 passes. However, in the previous four, he had only thrown 74 due to a combination of the Jets paring back their passing game and the fact that he was benched twice. Therefore, as a percentage, he was throwing from the shotgun about the same amount over the last four games as he had while struggling during the previous four.
Looking back to earlier in the season, this is actually where there was a clear increase in how often he worked out of the shotgun from the first four games to the next four, which didn't see him make any on-field improvements. There's one outlier in there, as Smith actually passed from under center 11 times in the first game, more than in any other game all year and well above his average (five times per game).
One final point to note about those last four games is that the number of times he threw from under center did show some signs of reduction. It was six in week 14 and eight in week 15, but only four in week 16 and three in week 17. That still wasn't less than earlier in the year though – Smith had three or fewer passes from under center in six of the first 12 games. In addition, the fact that there was an above average number of attempts from under center in weeks 14 and 15 would appear to suggest that the assumption more shotgun was a factor in Smith's improvements is an over-simplification at best.
How often do teams generally pass out of the shotgun?
These numbers are slightly meaningless without context, so I ran the numbers for this weekend's playoff games to see how they compare with the teams that played this week. As you might expect, five pass attempts per game from under center seems to fall within the bounds of normality.
Alex Smith – 15
Kaepernick – 12
Brees – 11
Foles, Dalton – 4
Rodgers, Rivers – 3
Luck – 1
It's perhaps not surprising that two run-heavy teams in San Francisco and Kansas City passed out of the shotgun more than the rest, but it's more of a surprise to see Drew Brees up there. That may have been gameplan specific, though, because the Eagles are weak against the run. At the other end of the scale, you can see that most of the quarterbacks passed from under center about the same as Smith over those last couple of games. Clearly the Colts use the shotgun almost all the time.
Success when passing from the shotgun
When we talk about Smith operating more out of the shotgun and seeing more success as a result, we're really talking about eliminating those under-center plays where he might not be as comfortable or might struggle to see the field. The effect of this is two-fold. Not only are you removing plays where he might be statistically efficient and therefore improving his numbers overall, you're also perhaps helping him to get into a better rhythm. The downside could be that the offense becomes more one dimensional and predictable, but at the same time, if you pass from under center less, then those plays in isolation perhaps have more chance of being successful.
When passing from under center, Smith completed just 40-of-80 passes for 414 yards, two touchdowns and five interceptions. That's a quarterback rating of just 47.6. On that basis, eradicating such plays from the playbook perhaps would have had a positive effect upon his numbers. From the shotgun, Smith had a quarterback rating of over 70 during the season, a modest improvement on his 66.5 final rating. If he was operating solely out of the shotgun, would we see improvements of this order (perhaps further augmented by the rhythm factor mentioned above) or would the increased predictability of the offense outweigh this?
Over that last month, Smith's numbers while passing from under center were not so bad. He had a quarterback rating of 60.8 having had a quarterback rating of just 9.8 in the previous four games when passing from under center. We're getting into small sample sizes here though. For what it's worth, from games five to eight – where we've identified that there was an unsuccessful shift towards more shotgun – his rating while passing from under center was just under 70, lending weight to the "less is more" theory noted earlier.
It gets even more interesting when you consider the outlier mentioned earlier where he passed a season-high 11 times from under center in week one. In that game, he actually went 9-of-11 for 77 yards and a touchdown. He did also have an interception, but that was easily the most success he had passing from under center all year and rather than build on this, the Jets opted to go away from having him pass from under center as the year went on. The result, of course, was that he saw less success when he did that. Removing that first game from the numbers when passing from under center drops his rating down to just 40.5. So maybe less isn't more.
Clearly passing from under center was something they placed an emphasis on during the offseason and also in that first game they were perhaps trying to capitalize on the fact that maybe the Bucs wouldn't be expecting him to pass in those situations. If this was something that he needed to work at, obviously he would need to reinforce that work over the course of the season and with the Jets shifting towards more shotgun over the rest of the first half of the year, perhaps this had an adverse affect on Smith's development by not enabling him to continue to work at that aspect as much as he perhaps needed to.
In order to place these numbers in the proper context, we can look at the difference between quarterback ratings and the ratings when in the shotgun for other players around the league. For many of them, these two numbers will be close. That's not just a sign of their overall consistency, but also a sign that many quarterbacks operate primarily from the shotgun and therefore their overall rating shouldn't differ too significantly from their rating when in the shotgun. Luck, for example, has an 87.0 overall rating and an 86.9 rating when in the shotgun.
First, let's consider those quarterbacks whose overall rating is markedly better than their shotgun rating. The overall ratings for Russell Wilson, Peyton Manning and Cam Newton are all about five points higher overall than when in the shotgun. Maybe this is because those three are more effective with play-action. Let's come back to that thought later.
Now, let's consider which quarterbacks were better in the shotgun and saw their overall rating reduced by their passing from under center. The biggest discrepancies belong to the likes of Robert Griffin, Kellen Clemens and Colin Kaepernick. Clemens' rating was almost ten points higher than his overall average when passing from the shotgun, but maybe this is just a product of the fact that the Rams were trailing a lot and therefore went into the hurry-up against some soft zone and prevent defenses. Kaepernick, of course, comes from an offense where a bigger discrepancy is less surprising because they do have more plays where they pass from run formations. He continued to struggle more when under center on Sunday though, completing just four of 12 passes for 47 yards and a pick (Alex Smith was the most effective when under center this weekend – 11-of-15 for 180 yards). As for Griffin, a point worth noting is that NFL data doesn't differentiate between shotgun and pistol, so all those plays would be included within the shotgun data.
Back to Smith. We can see that there are some other examples of players that seem to do better when throwing from the shotgun and obviously their coaches will be weighing up how best to overcome this (including simply throwing from the shotgun more), just like the Jets will.
Play-action passing
One might expect there to be a correlation between the numbers when throwing from under center and in play-action. If you're lined up in a run formation, but end up throwing the ball, that's something we would naturally associate with play-action passing. However, once again this may be an over-simplification.
Many teams run play-action from the shotgun just as much as they do from under center. In fact, there is less of a need to make a play-action fake when you're in a run formation, because you're likely to have already affected the alignment of the defense before the ball is snapped.
I've often thought that those quarterbacks who are inexperienced at operating from under center would struggle with play-action in particular because you usually have to turn away from looking downfield and then look up and make a read. From the shotgun, at least the quarterback can keep his head up and read the field more easily before and after the fake. I've theorized in the past that this is why Brian Schottenheimer seemed to favor shotgun sets in short yardage situations while Mark Sanchez was his quarterback (although this doesn't explain his propensity for empty backfields).
Let's go back to my previous comment that perhaps the improvements in overall rating as against rating in the shotgun for Wilson, Manning and Newton could be attributed to play-action. If that theory were correct, then each of them would have a higher rating when making a play-action fake than when not making a fake. Sure enough, based on data from PFF they all have significantly better numbers on play-action passes than non-play-action. Wilson's rating is 17 points better, Manning's is almost 30 points better and Newton's is even more than that.
It gets even more interesting when we look at 2012's numbers, though.
Starting with Newton, he had a 109.4 rating on play-action passes, much better than his rating for non-play-action (75.4). So far, so good. Manning also shows some improvement, albeit not quite so pronounced (108.8 as against 104.8). Wilson, however, actually had a better rating on non-play-action passes (102.6 as against 95.0). Clearly, therefore, it's not always that simple and maybe this is a sign of where Wilson has grown this year and the next logical step for Smith if he wants to get better.
How about Smith this year, though? His quarterback rating was 68.2 on non-play-action passes but just below 60 on play-action throws. It would seem that this is somewhere he needs to improve, but the discrepancy is not as big as that between shotgun and non-shotgun. The sample size is slightly more – he threw 98 play-action passes and made a play-fake 22.4% of the time, the 12th most in the league.
Aside from Smith, the only other quarterbacks with a lower rating on non-play-action passes were Cutler, Roethlisberger and Griffin, all three of whom also had a better rating from the shotgun than when under center, so there does seem to be some correlation.
Running from the shotgun
Earlier on, I admitted that I was restricting my analysis to actual passes from the shotgun (or, more accurately, not from the shotgun). However, Fensom's article (and Bassett's focus) talked about the Jets operating more out of the shotgun, not just Smith passing from the shotgun. Could it be that they were in the shotgun more and although the percentage of throws that were shotgun throws didn't really change, this was reflected in more runs from the shotgun formation? Then, taking that one step further, is there any reason that this would help Smith? Maybe it could in terms of helping him to stay in rhythm and read the defense better over a series of plays, but there's nothing tangible or obvious.
Looking at the final game of the season, the Jets ran the ball a surprising 33 times from the shotgun in that game. They only had 42 carries in total, although the 33 runs noted above does incorporate penalties this time. That would seem to represent a significant increase from earlier in the season. If we go back to a run-heavy game (36 carries) from earlier in the year – the Saints game – then they only ran 18 times from the shotgun in that game. There was one significant factor in that last game though and that's Chris Ivory's injury. Maybe the Jets simply have more shotgun packages for Bilal Powell, who ended up being the lead back in that game, and more under center packages for Ivory. Sure enough, if we look back to the previous week against the Browns, when Ivory was available, the Jets had 39 carries, but only ran 20 times from the shotgun. Again this would suggest that if they were running more from the shotgun over that last month, it's perhaps not as pronounced as you might think.
Another factor at the end of the season was that Smith ran the ball more, which was also acknowledged by Fensom in his article. While I've included these in the run-from-the-shotgun data in the above paragraph, some of these would have been designed as pass plays with Smith making the decision to take off. That being the case, perhaps we can account for a slight uptick in the amount of shotgun pass plays dialed up over the last month and should also factor some of Smith's running statistics into any evaluation of the improvements he made as a passer.
Does it matter?
If Smith is struggling to be as effective when operating from under center, couldn't the Jets just give consideration to getting him to operate almost exclusively from the shotgun?
While this works well for Luck and others, there are limitations. Marty Mornhinweg runs a complex offense which has multiple formations, personnel groupings and different variations of plays. A play like the sprint draw, a Mornhinweg running-game staple, simply wouldn't be as effective if you moved the quarterback into the backfield. That would affect all variations of that play, including tendency busting passes. You can't therefore just make the adjustment of moving the quarterback into the backfield unless you stop running certain plays, which removes some of the benefits of having a complex offense in the first place. Only passing from the shotgun and running the ball every time when the quarterback is under center isn't a long-term option either (although it's evident they did this at times). That would make the play selection too obvious for the opposing defense, even if you broke tendency from time to time.
Mornhinweg has shown a willingness to tweak his offenses based on personnel in the past – running the ball more often at times this year and employing fullbacks to varying degrees over the years, dependent on his team's personnel strengths and weaknesses. Perhaps he would give consideration to running a consecutive series of plays from the shotgun in order to get the benefit of Smith finding a rhythm, without compromising the effectiveness of the running game or increasing how predictable the offense is.
To what else can we attribute any improvements?
So, having reached the conclusion that any adjustment to operate more out of the shotgun was perhaps not as significant as first thought, but at the same time acknowledged that this is still likely a factor in his improvements over the last month, what were the other factors?
Down the stretch, I identified improvements in Smith's decision making and decisiveness, but also his pocket presence, confidence and consistency. While all of those are things that could be improved through him having a better comfort level within the offense, I'd also attribute them to the personnel around him. There was a marked difference in how much he trusted his receivers, which manifested himself in some well timed throws, whereas the same timing patterns would almost always be thrown late earlier in the season, with Smith unwilling to release the pass until after his receiver had made his break. His pocket presence was likely helped out by the Jets tweaking their protection schemes over the last month and Brian Winters finally starting to find his feet.
You also have to give some credit to David Lee. While Mornhinweg, the offensive line settling down and the return of the injured players may have made Smith's job easier for him, he still had to do that job well. While his technique was still inconsistent at times, he did show progress throughout the year and it will be interesting to see if he develops faster with a full offseason to refine that.
Sometimes the media will oversimplify things based on gut feel or, just as bad, by relying on statistics that they fail to place within the correct context. Some fans do this too, often when the article in question does give consideration to all the factors. I also don't doubt that there are coaches and maybe even players around the league that are guilty of doing the same thing.
Adjusting to more shotgun sets alone didn't magically turn Geno Smith into the solid quarterback we saw over the last month of the season. If it were that simple, we'd have seen improvements from him when they did that (to a more pronounced degree) after the first four weeks of the season. We'd also know for certain that he could remain at that level and develop from there if they continued with that approach in 2014. Of course, there could well still be ups and downs in store for Smith in the years ahead. He might not even end up as the starter next year.
Whatever the reasons, there were improvements over the last month and Jets fans will be hoping Smith can pick up where he left off.
it seems to me the essay only briefly mentioned the actual MAJOR factor - in mid season the Jets were playing receivers who were barely on the team a week, had no real practice time. G.Salas anyone ? in addition to which Winters wasn't ready replacing Ducasse.
I hope the Jets sign TWO receivers in Free agency ( I think they have the $ - saving half the $ 40 or $50 mill for renegotiation, Wilk to start) I want Maclin ( assuming the knee is a one time injury, not series) & Sanders. - rookies are still : rookies.
then, it looks now like at 18 there won't be a top playmaker avail so O' line is also needed. Then in the 2 nd rnd a big receiver of which it seems there will be a handfull- or T.E.
oh, of course, I'm all in on G.S., I don't even want to split practice time in Aug. IF he can't do it, we'll know in Nov. and the Jets will have a fairly high draft pick.
Bent - Some of your best work ever (and that's saying something)
Taking everything you said into account above, I was just wondering how the Falcons game falls into all of this. For some reason that game popped up in my head time and time again as I was reading and I cant for the life remember if there was more shotgun than under center for him that night or why that was the game that keep coming into my thoughts.
I am pretty sure the last drive 90% shotgun.....
I am not sure why I keep thinking about this game when I read this analysis.....
Some thoughts:
1.) I don't want to follow what I remember as the Tannenbaum quote of drafting a QB every year. Especially in the later rounds, and then not developing them.
2.) Unlike Sanchez, we got Geno "on the cheap" as far as QB's, so we can move on more easily if necessary.
3.) It is rare that any QB is perfect right out of the gate without bad games or seasons
4.) There is no doubt that our wide receiver, tight end, and pass catching RBs have not been elite. (However, I really like Kerley, but then again I thought not using Cotchery was a shame too.)
5.) So, if the right BPA QB falls to us, of course we should draft them (just as I agreed with Geno in the 2nd Round). Just don't see one falling to us with "starter" potential early in the draft (doesn't mean it won't happen -- we've seen some weird drafts!)
6.) During some of the games, I certainly wanted Geno pulled earlier (for a variety of reasons). Doesn't mean I still don't think he could (emphasis, here) be our franchise QB.
7.) With our draft position (damn Jets winning those last 2 games caused a major draft shift), initially I don't see who we can draft in the first round (though there are some intriguing flyers in the later rounds), so you have to pencil in Geno as our starting QB next year unless something really weird happens to Sanchez (he agrees to the vet minimum to stay?).
8.) Unless someone special on defense falls, the Jets seem to be in a good spot to draft a wide receiver or tight end to help the offense in Round 1 without any moves.
9.) I think if they want a tight end (but not a specific one, they could even trade down to get the player they want).
10.) I'm excited to see Geno play next year, something I couldn't say mid-season.
Bent -- Cormartie recently said Geno "stays late". Do your sources confirm that Geno is studying any harder than Sanchez or any other typical rookie QB?
Excellent write-up, but the bottom line to me is there are so many variables within a game that it's almost impossible to draw concrete conclusions wrt Geno (small sample size) and the specific plays that are most effective using the shotgun. The variables range from overall strength, strategy, blocking techniques and individual players talents on both offense and defense to the peculiarities of a particular game (i.e., timeouts, penalties on specific down and distance, play calls, field position, score in 1st > 4th Qtr, field & weather conditions, player availability, strength of running game, QB's ability to play fake - screen - move in the pocket - scramble - QB sneak etc,) The list of variables is infinite.
That being said, the fact that more teams are using the shotgun in the high scoring QB driven NFL of today seems to be the trend until defenses (or rules) evolve to necessitate the ongoing evolution of the sport.
WRT MM & Geno specifically, it will be interesting to see just how much MM will be able to adjust his sets to accommodate Geno w/o becoming predictable over the long haul b/c I'm convinced that Geno (baring injury) will start every game next year and maybe the next 2-3. For I remember that Idzik asked Garrard (who can't play) to return next year and it was Garrard who refused. That's a clear indication that within Jets management circle, they are committed to Geno as the starter despite what they say publicly. Let's just hope Geno doesn't turn out to be Sanchez 4 Year Experiment Revisited.
I wouldn't think the Colts actually do pass out of the shotgun all that often. Their need for a comeback from the very first minutes of the game undoubtedly contributed to those numbers.
My other thought: if Smith doesn't pass from under center very often, and we don't run from the shotgun very often, we're making the offense unnecessarily predictable.
a57s and Brendan with the top comments on the PFF D Rookie of the Year article well done fellas
Bent, you're good. Thanks. Your data-driven brand of journalism would fit well with what Nate Silver is building at the upcoming 538.
Geno Smith's got to become more accurate with his passes. Isn't every successful QB an accurate passer. The problem is that it's my sense that accuracy is not something that gets much better with experience. Accuracy doesn't change. I may be wrong about that, but I don't think so. All this voluminous analysis about shot-gun, under-center, % of this and % of that is worthless unless Geno Smith's accuracy improves.
And I have my doubts.
@bldsgrnNwht It fits in interestingly because it was after that first four games from which point the shotgun usage picked up. It's also interesting because that was a four game swing where he played pretty poorly on the whole but that was one of his best games all year.
That last drive was all shotgun, yes, but that's less of a tactical ploy that simply the fact that they were in the hurry-up and most teams operate out of the gun when they go no-huddle.
In that particular game, he was 2-of-3 for 48 yards and a score when throwing from under center.
8) If we want a WR, TE or OL unless the player is an immediate starter who played in a Pro-style O, fall back a couple of spots and get extra picks
10) Hope you can say that after year 2.
@maynardfanWe heard the same thing repeatedly said about Sanchez until it came out years later that it was bogus. Some of us picked up on it earlier when after year two Rex would say something like "he's working hard now" or " to get better this year." If he's always been a hard worker since Day 1, you don;t need the "now." Instead, you would say he's STILL working hard.
@maynardfan Not heard anything either way to be honest.
Agreed on Geno probably starting all of 2014 and maybe another year after that........
@juunitI think you're right, but the question is how often does Luck pass out of run formations? My guess is that he passes a lot less than he hands off and he also runs a lot himself. I don't think there's a game where Luck passes out of run formations more than he does the shotgun.
I think Smith does hand off from the shotgun, just not that often to Ivory. I think that was Bent's point.
@MarshRandy I just think it's a little odd that the guy who lead the entire season didn't win, I don't really care, though. PFF was one of the reasons Sheldon got buzz early on because his high PFF grades helped highlight the fact he was playing better than people realized. Then the media hopped on board and by midseason the rest of the media had caught up.
So, I can't kill the guys who helped create the buzz in the first place over a fake award.
@Stanley Bostitch
What is the 538?
What is a baseball guy like Silver building ?
@Jim IsraelStatistics would overwhelmingly prove you wrong. Just for an example, Eli Manning's completion percentage was 48.2% his rookie season and 52.8% in his second. By his 5th season he got to the 60% plateau, the year AFTER he won a Super Bowl.
Andrew Luck was at 54.1% last year and is now at the 60% plateau. I think if the QB wasn't ever accurate in college and had a rookie season under 55%, I might be concerned. But, I'd say Geno's first season is roughly where you'd expect a rookie out of a non-pro style college system to be. Now, if he isn't 60% next season, I'd be concerned.
Join the one man "Jets fan who doubts Geno will ever improve enough" Club but be prepared to get ripped for it.
Which probably doesn't matter too much, since defenses already know Ivory is one-dimensional.
I'm not sure of the numbers on the Colts offense. But, I wouldn't jump to conclusions either. They've really tried to establish a power run game this season. Richardson just hasn't been up for the challenge.
@a57se Isn't that the politics guy who turned his methods to sports (or was it the other way round)?
Eli has a career 58.5% completion percentage.
If that is the bar you have for your QB, fine.....Geno may reach that one day and still be a turnover machine like Eli......
@SackDance99 @Jim Israel His percentage is okay for a rookie, but like Sanchez before him, I do think he could improve his placement on some of the routine completions he does make. That'll boost his YPA.
He was hitting guys in stride better by the end of the year though, so fingers crossed.
You were writing him on after 2 pre season games. No qb comes out and wins a Super Bowl sorry this isn't a video game.
Yeah, you are definitely in the minority on Sparano.
We agree on Schotty though. There is something about that entire family that just doesn't understand coaching. I know you'll say Marty was solid, but he got constantly outcoached in the playoffs. Until Sunday, I thought he'd cursed the entire city of San Diego.
The Ginger Giraffe isn't very good so he'll have his work cut out for him. Beyond that, my only other thought is: "Sparano? BOOOOOOOO!"
@SackDance99 @juunit Slightly OT but ICYMI Sparano is bolting Oakland to join the Bucs staff. That staff is looking intriguing. Lovie HC Frasier DC Sparano (I assume) OL but most interesting of all is Tedford OC. How will the guy who has never coached in the NFL, and mentored Aaron Rodgers but until then seemed to mentor a bunch of top prospects that all busted out at the pro level fare in his big league debut?
Anyone have thoughts/reactions on that?
@juunit@SackDance99Schotty's offense was a disaster. I'm in the minority because I thought Sparano's offense would've worked with better QB play. But, Schotty's system is guaranteed to make the QB look bad. Too many passes downfield, not enough use of the TE or RBs in the passing game and an unwillingness to stick with the running game (going under center) when it's working.
For instance, Jared Cook, who was the Rams' big free agent signing, had his best game (with 7 receptions, 141 yards and 2 TDs) in his first game. You'd think that defenses would have gotten a steady dose of him over the next 15 games...you'd be wrong. He only got 44 receptions in his last 15 games. Mind boggling.
He just doesn't know how to maximize the talent given to him.
I dunno. I always felt like with Schotty we were constantly passing out of run personnel.
It was like, "Hey, it's 3rd & 8. Now let's put in a TE and a FB who can't catch, then try and convert here. Hooray me!"
@juunit@SackDance99I don't disagree. It's just what would be the expectation from Luck as a passer in run formations? Like any QB, he'd have to mix in some passes to prevent 8 in the box, but I'd expect him to go to shotgun when the down and distance dictated pass. Also, most offenses have different personnel groupings with their RBs, so with Donald Brown, you'd expect the shotgun, except when the game situation (like a 4th quarter lead) dictates running, I'd expect run formations with maybe some safe checkdown passes (unless the WR was wide open downfield) mixed in.
Overall, I think the whole "passing under center" meme is overblown. Geno looked comfortable under center and, like most QBs, he'd hand off the vast majority of times anyhow. With experience and better talent, maybe he could make play action a weapon. In any event, there are times when going under center, even to pass, is warranted and we all want Geno to be as well-rounded as possible in order to give the coaches the most flexibility in game-planning. Whether he goes under center or is in shotgun, we all want accurate passes that result in points. Whichever way achieves the goal of scoring TDs, I'm all for.
@Stanley Bostitch@pcjs@Bent@a57se
True, but I am talking about the "secret sauce". What is the composition of next year's electorate? In 2004, about 12 million voters voted over the previous election, in 2012 about 4 million fewer voters voted than the previous election. Those results were not predicted. The total number of voters in 2012 was about the same as in 2004 (so the % of voters decreased due to increase population). He has done either a great analytical job (or an informed guess) on which polls are "good data" and which ones are "garbage data" on who is going to go to the polls. My hat is currently off to him -- but I expect to put it back on my head eventually.
@pcjs @Stanley Bostitch @Bent @a57se Not to stay OT too long, but Silver uses an aggregation model, and doesn't do his own polling. So there is in some ways no "mean" to return to. He's just re-presenting other data; granted, he has his own secret sauce/formula that accounts for things like house effects, lean, and so forth, but end of day it's good data in, good data out.
@Stanley Bostitch@Bent@a57seThere is no doubt Nate Silver has been accurate. The question is, will he return to the mean like most high flying mutual fund advisors, or does he truly have a competitive advantage in his methods. Only time will tell...
@Bent @a57se He's the poker guy-turned baseball guy-turned politics guy. Created a site for the 2008 elections, 538.com, to create aggregate polls-of-polls with forecasts that have been more accurate than anyone for two cycles now. Licensed 538 to the NYT for a few years, now moving to ESPN where he is creating the next "Grantland" focusing on data-driven journalism across politics, sports, and other areas. He's got a good book out too, if you're into data, called "The Signal and the Noise".
@rkymtnjet @Bent @a57se Wrong Silver. They're talking about Nate Silver.
@rkymtnjet @Bent @a57se He sold 538 to ESPN last year, right?
@Bent @a57se He currently works for the NFL Media http://www.nfl.com/news/author?id=0ap1000000232099
@a57se@haroldIn season, every loss and Geno was a bum; every victory and Geno was the new franchise. I was positive on Geno from what I saw the first weekend at Cortland and never wavered. You were negative on Geno from the time he was drafted and never wavered. I just wonder what would change your mind? Or, is it personal with you and no matter how successful Geno is, you'll hate him because you won't be right in your prediction that he's a bust?
I'll be the first one to dump on Geno if I feel that he cannot make NFL throws and is not progressing, like I dropped my support for Sanchez in late 2011. At this point, all I can say is that Geno has looked better than any other Jets' rookie QB since I've been watching them. Post-Namath, that's not a very high bar. But, it's a start.
@Bytor@a57se@bklyndude@SackDance99@Jim Israel
It would depend on who the QB was......obviously. i have already stated numerous times that i like David Fales in this years class. If we are going to shift more to a pistol/read option offense where we want a QB who can run, then Tajh Boyd should be on the radar as well.
I don't think we will end up getting a McCown/Hill type of guy into camp. Apparently the Jets were talking to Garrard about coming back for 2014 halfway through 2013......I wouldn't be surprised if we end up with Geno, Simms, Garrard and a late round pick or UDFA QB as our 4 guys going into OTA's.
It is nice that you guys only want to look at the positive side of things, you are welcome to do that all you want. I would venture to guess that there have been more comments doing just that concerning Geno then the opposite.
You don't have the right to try and shut down any other opinions on the subject.
Then you missed the reason he was nominated 7 times for rookie of the week and how he also won the AFC player of the Week. You watched the season but it seems you missed the story.
Rookie soars , crashes and then rises up again. We need a lot of parts but 2nd in the NFL for total QBR over the last 4 games to Peyton I think is pretty good.
Great Post Sackdance99
That sums it up in a nutshell. People believe what they want. Fact Geno had a higher completion percentage than Andrew Luck did as a rookie. Without a Reggie Wayne or T.Y. Hilton. Not syaing he is Andrew Luck just don't be so quick to say he is a bum.
Geno did several things never done in franchise history some good some bad. But the eye test told me he had better rookie year than Sanchez. It also showed me he has more upside. I look at a QB who in all the games Kerley played looked like a potential solid starter in the NFL.
I love Kerley but he is not a top 50 WR in the NFL and just having soeone that good Geno was solid. Kerley played all last year and we still gave Sanchez a pass. Geno has talent and potential those are the facts. history will tell the story.
@a57se @bklyndude @SackDance99 @Jim Israel Assuming we get a McCown/Hill type as the vet for insurance, what round are you drafting a QB? If one of your favorites fall to 18, do you pull the trigger? Do you wait until later rounds?
@a57se@SackDance99@Jim IsraelNo, you spend the time making snarky comments about Geno. I saw the same games, the same QB, the same throws, the same mistakes, etc. It's just that I don't expect a rookie with the type of personnel the Jets had to put up average numbers. Difference is, I look at those 8 rookie wins, especially the game in Miami, and I see promise, where you don't.
If the Jets are thinking of drafting a QB, then they're making a mistake. If their board dictates a QB as BPA, then fine, but not for the first 5 rounds. Signing a vet that can run a WCO is a much better hedge on Geno.
@a57se @bklyndude @SackDance99 @Jim Israel
I agree and I think they will draft somebody later and hope to catch lightning in a bottle.
But constantly pointing out what Geno doesn't do well or can't do seems counter intuitive to being a Jets fan. Maybe he can improve on some of those things.
I don't disagree with your first sentence though I would not give it a high probability of occurring from what I have seen.
And Geno could end easily end up being better than all of them. You didn't say much at all with that statement.
I watched Andrew Luck last year and while his footwork and decivesness were ahead of Geno (minus Geno in the Falcons, 2nd Pats game and the last 4 games of the year). The major difference between them statistically as rookies was called Reggie Wayne and T.Y. Hilton.
@bklyndude@a57se@SackDance99@Jim Israel
Look, all the QB's in the NFL and the upcoming draft have similar physical abilities, they wouldn't be in this position if they didn't. What separates them into Franchise QB's, Good QB's, all the way down to scrubs is what happens between the ears.
We won't find anyone in the draft or free agency who is markedly better physically than Geno but then again, neither is Peyton Manning or Ton Brady. You could argue Geno is better physically then either of those guys because they can't run worth a darn.
It is very difficult to scout players and really get what goes on between the ears and that is why so many QB's taken high in the draft fail..........
IMHO, you keep on drafting guys until you find the guy you believe in.
@a57se @bklyndude @SackDance99 @Jim Israel Hey if somebody drafted later turns out better then Geno.....great.
But if for some crazy reason they turn out to be no better than Geno, where is the team as far their ever ending quest to find "The Guy"
@a57se @bklyndude @SackDance99 @Jim Israel Easily end up better then Geno...........or possibly better.
@bklyndude@a57se@SackDance99@Jim Israel
I think there are a couple players in this draft worthy of drafting who could easily end up better then Geno.
i am tempted to tell you what you can do with yourself but that would just inspire the wrath of Bent the Moderator.
So all I will say is too bad if you don't like it, I will continue to post what I want.
You nor anyone else will stop people from freely expressing themselves so take your Nazi tactics elsewhere!
@a57se @bklyndude @SackDance99 @Jim Israel Well that's kind of the point.....there is no easy solution to finding an elite QB. It doesn't mean you stop looking, but not much sense drafting somebody similar to Geno in terms of ability.
So repeating your opinion that he sucks does what exactly.
I certainly don't see anybody worth trading up for in this draft, and I'm sure they will draft somebody later, but how much can you hope for from that pick.
@a57se @SackDance99 @Jim Israel Dude let it go. Geno is the qb it sucks that you dont like him but shut up we dont need the comments about how bad a rookie is.
@bklyndude@a57se@SackDance99@Jim Israel
You are probably gonna get your head chopped off in your scenario.....
@a57se @SackDance99 @Jim Israel OK....suppose your the GM of the Jets for one year, how do you fix the QB spot going forward.
Which player do you stick your neck out for and make a move to fix the Jets.
Your legacy as a GM will be based on this move.
I am convinced Geno sucked this year and I don't spend the amount of time you obviously do trying to justify having a rosy outlook for Geno. I also will not compare him to Sanchez, Eli or anyone else as those comparisons are useless in evaluating where he is at. I have a very clear picture where he is at...........I don't know where he will end up but if I had any say in the matter, I would be planning on drafting a QB this year.
@a57se@SackDance99@Jim IsraelThere you go again, I was just using Eli as an example and I hate it when you make me defend someone like Eli, who I think is just an average QB. But, he is one with 2 SB rings and SB MVP trophies and the HOF is littered with QBs who, at one point in their careers, led the NFL in INTs. And, fwiw, Peyton's rookie year he had a 56.7% completions and is now over 65% for his career and he improved his percentage each of his first 7 years as a pro, to over 67%. So, maybe Peyton is the bar? Point is that after 1 rookie season, it's impossible to know what kind of QB Geno will turn out to be, even though you're convinced that he sucks.
@Brendan@Jim IsraelI expect that Geno will work with a QB guru in the off-season. Brady, for instance, worked his ass off between his rookie and second year to improve his mechanics and he goes to the same guy (Tom House?) every year. I've heard Brady say that he has to constantly work on his mechanics and says to himself "left pocket" to make sure his throwing hand ends at his left pocket after every throw. Geno seems to be a hard-working kid and judging from his improvement between OTAs and training camp, I'm optimistic that he'll use his off-season productively.
@Jim Israel@BentOkay, my take on the difference between Sanchez and Geno is that I think the Nelson pass was a misfire by Geno that can be corrected and Geno has thrown many other passes that were spot on. Sanchez was making those same type of errant throws as a 4th year pro, as well as, not reading defenses well, going through his progressions quick enough, and, generally, not passing accurately on the simple NFL throws.
Sanchez was spoon-fed, coddled and overhyped. We saw that he had accuracy problems as a rookie, but we forget how raw his game was compared to Geno's. Sanchez couldn't run well, couldn't complete screen passes, and was inaccurate on his short sideline routes. Geno does all these things well. Geno has to improve his throwing on the run and adjusting to the speed of the NFL, but it's hard for me to point out anything that Sanchez ever did as a QB that was flat out better than Geno, especially as a rookie.
We can't frame our experiences by Sanchez. Geno is a different QB, in a different system, with different personnel. His rookie performance was what you would expect from a rookie, except his INTs were too high, but he made significant improvements on overall ball security as the season progressed.
Do I think Geno is a surefire franchise QB? No. Do I think he can be a franchise QB? Yes. Would it be the best for the Jets franchise that a 2nd round QB ends up being a franchise QB? Absolutely. And, that's why the Jets front office will give Geno the benefit of the doubt next year...they will likely bring in a veteran for "competition" but I expect that the focus will be on getting better offensive talent to put around Geno or any QB that knows how to execute the WCO.
@Jim Israel @Bent You never know sometimes. If the depth of the receiver's route is one or two yards off or he gets bumped off course that can make a throw that went exactly where it was supposed to look inaccurate.
My take is that he was very inconsistent with his accuracy but slightly better by the end of the year, but there's some room for error.
@Jim Israel I am very interested to see what tweaks Lee/Marty make to Geno's mechanics this offseason. I assume they'll work to quicken his release, since it's a bit long. Footwork would be #2 on my list, just getting him used to setting and throwing quickly and realizing that he doesn't need to plant, step, and throw every time he wants to zip a quick pass out there.
My hope with Geno is tied to the fact that he fought through a terrible stretch that would have potentially ruined a different QB (like Sanchez) and finished strong. Doing that here, in this media market, took some major league stones and that fortitude, coupled with his demeanor, gives me the impression that he has the personality to triumph here.
So he has the make-up to succeed in NY, he has the talent to win as a QB, he needs to refine his skill and prove he can be a leader.
The difficulty is when the QB 'flashes'.......it is easy to get caught up in the 'Oh, he only needs more time to turn the flashes into consistent play'. The problem is most QB's DON'T. They all flash the ability at one time or another.......otherwise they wouldn't get a shot.
I hope, Bent, your optimism triumphs.
Observing that front-corner end zone errant throw to Nelson in this past Miami game -- and I know I'm being anecdotal -- gave me pause. It reminded me so much of Sanchez. I wish fervently that Geno works out, but throws like that one -- and there were more than just a few during the season -- are just so disheartening. I wonder how long they're going to give Geno Smith : too little time could blow up in their faces and too much time could be a disaster as well. They -- Idzik, Ryan, et al -- are in a jam, I think, because everything rides on this decision. My guess is that they're not going to be particularly patient, not after all the time wasted with Sanchez. Yeah, I know, playoffs in the first two years, but the ultimate Sanchez decision -- stay with him as the #1 QB -- was a disaster.
You can laugh all you want, it doesn't change the facts.
@a57se You didnt write him off?!!!!! OK 57 lol ok. You and Marvel were begging for Simms and saying how awful Geno was.
QBs need to be placed in a good system. Continuity and adding weapons will add to Genos success you dont give up on a rookie qb after 4 games let alone a season.
I have never written him off. I have never considered him to be worth the second round pick we spent on him either.
I have been very consistent on this despite some peoples attempts to make my comments out to be extreme on Geno.


text:
Added To Cart
Subtotal: $26.45
Items in Cart: 5
Vibrant colors with a flowy feel! Designed in soft fabric to keep you comfortable. Beautiful colors combine on a woven front for a bright, fun pop of color. Underneath you'll find a solid black inner knit tee with sheer overlay to provide you with full coverage. A lovely scoop neck is met by feminine flutter sleeves that are sure to flatter your arms. Completed with stitched down release pleats for a fit a flare sty
So easy to wear, this top pairs well with multiple items from your closet. Try wearing with dress pants for work or denim for the weekends. Great for layering under a cardigan or light jacket when the weather is cooler. An ideal way to add to color to your outfit.
Additional Information
Made of 100% rayon. Hand wash with like colors. Do not bleach. Cool iron, line dry. Made in India.
Garment Measurements
Small: Bust: 37-1/2", Center Back: 25-1/2"
Medium: Bust: 40", Center Back: 26"
Large: Bust: 43", Center Back: 26-1/2"
X-Large: Bust: 46", Center Back: 27"
1X: Bust: 47-1/2", Center Back: 27-1/2"
2X: Bust: 51-1/2", Center Back: 28"
3X: Bust: 55-1/2", Center Back: 28-1/2"


text:
0cart: $0.00
Previous Page
[x] Close Window
Send your friend(s) a link to this product along with a personal message!
Your Name:
Your E-mail:
To: (your friend's email)
Your Message:
Cc me
Please enter the text below:
Overall Rating:
Read all reviews |
Write a review
Put a smile on that never goes away just like the insane Joker this Halloween! Includes one tube water washable white cream makeup, one tube water washable green hair color with applicator comb, one small black makeup stick, one large red makeup stick, mouth scars and face adhesive. Cleans up best with makeup remover (sold separately.)
This is an officially licensed Batman product. This item will not be accepted for return unless it is unopened and sealed in its original packaging.
© CelebrateExpress.com. All Rights Reserved.CEWEB02


text:
Alejandro Guarín
Dr. Edgar Blanco
Prof. Ralph Gakenheimer
Prof. Martha Bonilla
Ms. Alexa Mills
Fall 2009
The purpose of this seminar is to provide a context for understanding the challenges of urban food provisioning from a perspective of sustainability and social inclusion in cities of the global South. The seminar will be specifically geared towards preparing students for direct participation in urban markets and food policy project intervention in Cartagena, Colombia.
To learn more about the Cartagena Practicum, visit the class website.
Guarín, Alejandro, Edgar Blanco, Ralph Gakenheimer, Martha Bonilla, and Alexa Mills. 11.975 Feeding Cities in the Global South: Challenges and Opportunities for Action in Cartagena, Fall 2009. (MIT OpenCourseWare: Massachusetts Institute of Technology), http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/urban-studies-and-planning/11-975-feeding-cities-in-the-global-south-challenges-and-opportunities-for-action-in-cartagena-fall-2009 (Accessed). License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA
For more information about using these materials and the Creative Commons license, see our Terms of Use.


text:
Boil water order lifted in Claremont
Updated On: Dec 07 2012 02:11:00 PM EST
The boil water order in Claremont was lifted Friday morning.
Residents were first told to boil their water on Wednesday due to the presence of E. coli bacteria in the water supply.
The order was lifted around 10:30 a.m.
It is no longer necessary to boil the water or use bottled water.
"We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your patience," said the Claremont Department of Public Works in a press release.
Copyright 2012 by WMUR.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


text:
Site Map : http://www.esquire.com
Index -> Blogs -> The Politics Blog -> Miscellaneous
The Politics Blog Home
Your Evening Jemmy
Catholic Vote? What Catholic Vote?
Therefore, the notion that the hierarchy's authority is threatened by the election results is very much a case of locking the barn after the magisterium is stolen
The Real Problem with the Demented Republican Party
The Republican party's problem is one of competing, self-negating orthodoxies, writes Charles P. Pierce, each with its own center of power within the Republican electorate
George F. Will, Vampire Blunderer
In which he screws up history
What Occupy Did to 2012, What It Will Do to 2013
Occupy completely routed the economic balderdash spouted by the Tea Party and its billionaire sugar daddies. What now?
Willard Romney, Cutting Off The Help for Good
They're all lucky they're not working in China now.
Election Tales: 25 Writers, 140 Words (Not Characters)
25 writers tell their Election Day stories in 140 words each. Not characters. Because words matter.
My Election Day Pages: 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Before the hereafter, 25 writers reflect on Election Day 2012, each in 140 words or less. Not characters. Because words matter.
He, The People: Obama's Transformation of America
On Election Night in Chicago he celebrated the most sweeping political transformation in American political culture since Reagan in 1984: He had turned a center-right country into a center-left one.
Mitt's Would-Be Victory Party: Concession of a Salesman
In Boston, hope, change, denial, acceptance, and, eventually, a speech from the failed candidate
Governor Kasich and the Worst Victory Party in America
This was nothing new for Governor John Kasich, as he is tense come election night, whether the news be good or bad. But here was a man grappling with the way forward.
The Greatness of Barack Obama Is Our Great Project
He ran a great campaign, but the truth that he represents is the unfinished history of America
Election Day in America, from Every Swing State
Follow Charles P. Pierce's live election-night results, plus Esquire's reporting from every swing state, the candidate victory parties, and more
'How Can America Pick a Man Like That?'
"How can America pick a man like that? I feel devastated. I feel hopeless."
Senator Elizabeth Warren, Hell-Raiser Already
She ran as though she knew exactly the kind of hell she plans to raise down there. Oh, dear Jesus, she's going to cause so many people so much trouble down there.
Iowa and the Too-Easy Magic of the Battleground
What we are thinking about is not what is. America is just not as simple as that.
The Great Badgering of Wisconsin Voters Never Came
It was supposed to be this year's Ohio, with too many lawyers and a Romney misinformation effort. But despite a mysterious Orca project, the great badgering never happened. Joe Tarr reports from Madison.
In New Hampshire, Waiting Till the Rah-Rah Starts
Margaret Doris reports from UNH
The Agony of the Philadelphia Republican
It's been two decades since Pennsylvania went to a Republican candidate for president, but even in the bluest of blue Philly, they were still praying for red
For Virginia's Voter-ID Law, (Most) Problems Solved
The swing state's new election rules were expected to be the headache in counties that Obama turned blue for the first time in a half-century. But not so much. Elizabeth Sile reports.
Q&A: Rob Zerban Is the Last Candidate Talking
Charles P. Pierce talks to Paul Ryan's contender in that other Wisconsin race as the polls close
Breezy Point's Election: Post-Sandy, a World Goes On
Because, as the voters said in Queens on Tuesday, the world goes on. It's all part of the recovery.
The Novelization of the Mass. Senate Race, (Kit) Edition
Charles P. Pierce on the last worst political dispatch of the campaign season
On Strip, Searching for Super-PAC Man
During an Election Day trip to the Venetian, not a single employee could remember the last time they caught a glimpse of the boss. Jason Whithed reports from the Strip.
Ohio Guv: Romney Will Win Ohio (Tonight) Exclusive
Based on early reports, John Kasich tells Esquire.com that the swing state of swing states will go red, provisional ballots and all
In North Carolina, an Independent, Running Out of Later
The novelist, frustrated by division at the swing-state polls, can't bring himself to go it alone
Election PM in Ohio: True the Vote's Suppression Game
People seem to be getting fed-up with the phony citizen observers of the True the Vote crowd. Can't imagine why, except that the entire world is watching and the fakery was getting staggeringly obvious.
Election PM in Pennsylvania: Voter ID and Deanery
Republican operatives apparently were asking people for photo ID outside the polls, and even though a judge knocked it down, Howard Dean is in orbit
Election PM in Wisconsin: Machine Politics, Literally
Another broken-voting machine episode comes to us from Milwaukee, where a voting machine on the city's north side, where live many Democrats and many Certain People, threw things into a bit of a tizzy at Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School
Scott Brown: A Day Late and a Few Poll Numbers Short
If Scott Brown loses, as the polls seem to indicate that he will, he'll have to blame whomever advised him to run most of the campaign as drive-time talk-show host
Election AM in Virginia: A Blip, a Freakout & Kool-Aid
The logistical problems are real, starting in Virginia this morning, and they are growing, and almost nobody believes in accidents anymore
A Referendum We Can All Agree Upon
Down on the down ballot, a way to get around pain-in-the-ass governors
Election AM in Florida: A Line, a Machine, a Conspiracy
Charles P. Pierce reports on democracy in action from Fort Lauderdale
Alone at Mitt's Movable Feast on Election Day Eve
At his final election-night rally before two last-minute election-day rallies, the candidate has decided the media are going to have to pay to play. Margaret Doris reports from New Hampshire.
In Ohio, Premonitions & Provisional Votes Rule the Nite
After the candidate's visit to Columbus, talk of provisional ballots and the Jeep thing and the secretary of state who could rule the night, or the many days yet to come
Your Morning Dooley
Election Day: A Light at the End of Our Obstacle Course
The Politics Blog's live coverage from every swing state begins with a look back at the obstacle course that got us here, and what's left to fight for
Your Evening Jemmy
'We Needed Twice as Much Time, Twice as Many Places' End-to-End at the Last Early-Voting Line in Dade County
Charles P. Pierce reports from Day Two of an unprecedented nightmare at the Miami-Dade County Election Commission in Doral
Sandy's Secondary Disaster: The Institution of Voting
New Jersey has allowed for voting by e-mail and fax, but most people with kids to feed and lives to recover just won't do that, and they shouldn't be expected to
Paul Ryan, Culture Warrior, Launches a New Crusade
He allegedly was addressing the phony religious liberty controversy, but, honestly, what Ryan said means so much more that that
The Voter-Fraud Myth May Turn Suppression into One
People are starting to pretend that the two represent equal sides of the same reality. This does not bode well for before, during, or after Election Day.
Sarah Palin Can See Romney from Her Facebook Page
It has dawned on Princess Dumbass of the Northwoods that it's finally too late to jump in and game herself the nomination, let alone the presidency, so a dive for the spotlight is all that's left
Esquire's Best Long Reads of the Election
Because the time for Grand Opinions is well passed, and because even Nate Silver can't help anyone understand much by now, a few long reads with which to spend some time
Things in Politico That Don't Make Me Want to Guzzle Antifreeze, White-People-Mandate Edition
All of this would be a nifty little sociological discussion if it weren't taking place within a country in which a substantial block of the population, and its elected representatives, have worked to delegitmize the president based on his race
In Last Stand, Obama's Compassionate Combativeness Becomes Accidental Advantage and Might Just Work
On Sunday night in Aurora, Colorado, that he was responding to a stump-to-stump chess match was slightly clear; that tragedy had helped him was slightly clearer still
Alabama and the Rolling Tide of a Down Ballot
The contest for a federal judge may have never been this historic, and the after-party may never have been so ridiculous
What Are the Gobshites Saying These Days?
Including, but not limited to, the Washington Post's "endorsement" of Obama, David Gregory "tossing" to SNL, and possibly the most ridiculous panel in Sunday-morning TV
Florida Early-Voting Madness: Why Is This Still So Hard?
It just should be easier than this to vote. It just should be.
For Obama, the Clock's Running in His Own Head Now
He looks and sounds now like a man with a clock running in his head, win or lose


text:
The Graduates Prayer
- Parent Category: Learning
- Created on Friday, 02 September 2011 14:26
- Published Date
We are completing a leg in the journey of our studies ––
A journey of hard work, sacrifice, challenge and frustration,
A journey of commitment towards achieving our goals.
Studies and Research in France
- Parent Category: Learning
- Created on Saturday, 23 July 2011 07:53
- Published Date
Studies and Research in France
Are you looking for financial aid to support a period of study or research in France?
Our grant search engine click here: provides quick access to information about grants that match your profile.
Who needs social science?
- Parent Category: Learning
- Created on Saturday, 25 June 2011 10:16
- Published Date
What science means is not always clear to everyone, so to many people the idea of a social science can be doubly confusing – if not downright irrelevant – when it comes to questions about how to live, what to do and believe. This is a regrettable state of affairs in a country, region, and continent all sorely in need of more not less knowledge.
Bloem recovering from Oprah fever
- Parent Category: Learning
- Created on Saturday, 16 July 2011 07:33
- Published Date
What could possibly motivate varsity students to get up at 4am on a bitterly cold Friday morning? The thought of lectures or exams could force one back under the covers, but when one of the brightest stars of entertainment shines on your doorstep, you simply have no choice but to wake up.
Degrees not the only road to success for matrics
- Parent Category: Learning
- Created on Saturday, 18 June 2011 08:35
- Published Date
With fewer than 50, 000 placements available at top universities across South Africa, students will have to face the sobering reality that a university degree might not be on the cards for 2011.
However, experts advise that learners are missing a multitude of career opportunities by not considering vocational training study options.
More Articles...
Who's Online
We have 8 guests and no members online


text:
Weekend Wind-Down
Find a Conversation
|Sun, 10-07-2012 - 1:53pm
As the weekend comes to a close (bummer)....
-what did you do/accomplish this weekend and
-is there anything important/something you're looking forward to coming up in the week?
As for me, I got an impacted wisdom tooth and the one next to it pulled on Friday. So I have been recovering from that. Went for my gender re-scan on Saturday and now instead of the cord being in the way, baby had its legs crossed. Very disappointed. Really hoping that it cooperates at the anatomy scan (but very scared it won't). Did get some really cool pics of baby though and a cd. Today, is change the sheets and straighten up day. I also have to get my lesson plans done. That's about it.
In the upcoming week, I only have to work 3 days, Mon-Wed!! Yayyyy for Fall Break!!! Follow-up with oral surgeon on Thurs and OB appointment on Fri.
|Sun, 10-07-2012 - 4:36pm
Yesterday my boys had soccer games in the afternoon. Since it was a warm day yesterday we fired up the grill for one last hurrah and had burgers for dinner.
Temps plummeted today into the low 50's and rainy. We went to see Hotel Transylvania. Cute movie. Home now and getting ready t make a big pot of pasta and bean soup. Have laundry to finish up and more summer clothes to pack away. Fun, fun.
I have tomorrow off from work...yay! This work week should go by pretty fast.
Juana....I hope your mouth isn't too sore!!!
|Sun, 10-07-2012 - 4:51pm
Tomorrow is my next dr appt and then I'm finally getting my hair done on Tuesday!! Yea!


text:
Vacuum Cleaner Bags
Vacuum cleaning systems that offer the best cleaning ability – is that what you are seeking? It's also likely that you believe that cleaning ability is related to power or suction. Actually, it's not. While there's no single factor that determines the cleaning ability of the vacuum cleaner you use, understanding how vacuums work and how you can help maintain your vacuum cleaner to perform its best is important. Changing your vacuum cleaner bag is an important step in maintaining the efficiency of your vacuum cleaner. While most vacuum cleaners come with an indicator to help you determine when your cleaner's dust bag needs to be changed, you can perform a check yourself to see if it is over 50% full as that's when you need to replace it. Don't wait until the dust bag in your vacuum cleaner is completely full as it can reduce the suction and cleaning capacity of your vacuum cleaning system. If you use your vacuum cleaner frequently, it is recommended that you change vacuum cleaner bags once a month, especially if you are cleaning a large area over 2000 square feet or if your pet sheds a lot.
What you need the most when you are considering vacuum cleaner bag replacement is a bag that is well-matched with the model of your vacuum cleaning system. You can find original equipment manufacturer (OEM) or replacement type bags online. While both serve the purpose, that is enhancing the cleaning capacity of your vacuum cleaning system and providing you an easy way to get rid of all the dirt that you vacuum cleaner collects, you can choose one according to your budget and cleaning needs. At GoVacuum, we have got a vast range of vacuum cleaner bags from the biggest and the best brands around. You'll find them here at great prices and shipping offers. We are the vacuum cleaning system experts and can recommend the right bag for your existing system all while staying within your budget.
Evolution 6000 Series H13 HEPA Filtration Vacuum Cleaner Bags, 5pk.Genuine Evolution EZT 6000 Series H13 HEPA Filtration vacuum cleaner bags, 5 bags per package. H13 is the highest certification for HEPA standards. These bags will drastically reduce the amount of dust exhausted into the air you breathe, and also keep you Learn More
Evolution Lite Upright Model DCC-658 Vacuum Cleaner Bags, 5 Pack.Evolution lite upright vacuum cleaner bags fits model dcc-658 Learn More
Evolution DCC-358 Vacuum Cleaner Bags, 5 Pack.Evolution DCC-358 Vacuum Cleaner Bags, 5 Pack Learn More
Dust Care Evolution Upright Vacuum Cleaner BagsWorks with: Evolution 6000, Evolution Prestige, Evolution 6100E, Evolution 6709Z, Evolution 6706Z, Evolution 6502Z, Evolution 6707Z, Evolution 6100C, Evolution 6500C, Evolution 6508CZ Learn More
Airway canister Vacuum Bags [12 Bags per Pack]These are the Airway Canister Vacuum bags by EnviroCare Technologies, which come 12 bags in a pack. These Airway Canister Vacuum bags fit all Airway models that use the Airway Type X and the Airway Type S vacuum bags. Learn More
Bissell Style 1 MCRLND [3 bags per pack]Bissell Style 1 MCRLND [3 bags per pack] Learn More
$22.95 As low as: $17.68
Bosch BBZ51AFG1U Type G Vacuum Cleaner BagsBosch G Vacuum Cleaner Bags BBZ51AFG1U. These Bosch Vacuum Bags Are OEM Original Bosch Type Style G Vacuum Bags Made By Bosch & Ship At No Cost! Learn More
Tristar Compact Vacuum Bags for All Tristar Compact Vacuum ModelsThis is a 12 Pack Of Tristar Compact Vacuum Bags which fit All Canister Tri Star Compact Vacuum Cleaners. Learn More
Electrolux Style C Canister Vacuum Cleaner Bags 100 pack in bulkThis is a box of 100 loose Electrolux Style C canister vacuum cleaner bags. Fits most all models since 1952! Bulk Buy Type C Bags For Elux! GoVacuum! Learn More
Electrolux tank mcrlnd[12 bags per pack]Electrolux tank mcrlnd[12 bags per pack] Learn More


text:
Alert Today Alive Tomorrow
As part of FDOT Secretary Prasad's initiative, the "Alert Today, Alive Tomorrow" campaign is being presented via TV, radio, social media, transit advertising, local education, and enforcement activities. In 2013, the media campaign was rolled out in ten Florida Counties with the highest numbers of pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities and injuries. The message that "Safety Doesn't Happen by Accident" is a reminder for all roadway users to pay attention and follow the rules of the road.
Alert Today Alive Tomorrow Tip Card
Alert Today Alive Tomorrow Audio
Alert Today Alive Tomorrow Video
Alerta Hoy Vivo Mañana Tarjeta de Consejos
Alerta Hoy Vivo Mañana Vídeo


text:
Argirds Family Photos
Find Argirds records
Find birth, death, marriage, military, and other Argirds records at Ancestry.com.Search for Argirds records
Latest Photos
We couldn't find any Argirds family photos, if you have any to share with the community, click here. Return to this page to find Argirds pictures as they are uploaded by the community. Here are the latest photos upload to AncientFaces:


text:
… keep your career on course with GolfingJobs.com!
Find or advertise jobs within golf around the globe! For global golf jobs, careers in golf, employment and sports recruitment opportunities in golf you have come to the right place.
Stand out out from the crowd!
Use our extensive network of websites to find a job in sport ahead of your rivals. Register your CV or for job alerts today!
Celebrate finding a new job in golf!
Register with us today! Our service is FREE to all jobseekers and we aim to list a wide range of jobs within the game of golf globally …
Welcome to GolfingJobs.com
Welcome to GolfingJobs.com, the job resource for jobs, employment, recruitment and careers in the golf industry. Search for golf jobs, golf industry related jobs or recruiting a PGA professional across the globe
GolfingJobs.com belongs to the Sports Industry Jobs Network of sites. All the websites are powered by ONE CENTRAL DATABASE, so when you post a job on one specific site it can also be seen across the whole of our network.
We are not a sports recruitment agency but offer a jobsboard solution to the sports industry! Think of us like a Monster.com for golf and sports jobs!
JOBSEEKERS: click here to search our jobs. It's FREE to register, view jobs, sign for job alerts by email and apply online! Register once and get access to jobs on more than 50 websites in our network today!
EMPLOYERS/CLUBS: click here to post jobs today FREE


text:
Fly Bottle Corkscrew:
Material: Stainless steel and polypropylene
Brand: Mepra
Origin: Italy
Italian kitchenware brand Mepra has been family-owned (and quality-fixated) for more than a century. Its utensils, which are crafted from the finest 18/10-gauge stainless steel, are ultra-sleek but versatile enough to join any style of place setting. Accessories, like serving bowls, wine coolers, and cruet trays, are equally sharp, and come in bright colors and in imaginative materials like wood, porcelain, and polycarbonate plastic.


text:
Southwest Books of the Year
- Complete List
- All Fiction Books
- All Nonfiction Books
- Children's Books
Browsing Children's Books - A :
Clicking on a book cover will search for the book in the catalog. If it is not part of our collection, you may request it by clicking on the Can't Find It link. An icon indicates if the book is chosen by a panelist as one of the year's best.
- A Bailar! / Let's Dance!
- By Judith Ortiz Cofer. Pinata Books. $16.95.
- Judith Ortiz Cofer's newest bilingual children's book is published by Pinata Books, an imprint of Arte Publico Press from the University of Houston.
The premise seemed inviting at first but as the story went on I grew tired of the caricaturized illustrations.
I also expected the text to be fully bilingual and it was not. Spanish phrases were thrown into the text but the story itself was not translated into Spanish. [ ]
- Alicia's Fruity Drinks / Las Aguas Frescas De Alicia
- By Laura Lacamara, Lupe Ruiz-Flores. Pinata Books. $19.95.
- A brief bilingual picture book about the value of drinking fruit drinks, aguas frescas, instead of soda. When Alicia's soccer team member develops diabetes,
Alicia's mother decides to make natural fruit drinks to serve the girls instead of sodas. Everyone loves the new drinks which the team decides to call 'Alicia's Fruity Drinks'. [ ]


text:
i have been trying, for days, to find my way through something very difficult. something no one ever talks about; maybe something no one thinks they can or should talk about. finally i have realized that it's not that i want to talk about it, but that i need to talk about it. it was the fact that i read other women talking about it, read other women hurting over it and confiding in those who have been through it, that i knew i needed to just say it. just say it, kristina.
it's been no secret that i love being a mom. no secret that i love my child. no secret that i've wanted to grow our family, for my son to have a sibling to grow up with. beaz has asked me regularly for about a year when he gets to be a big brother. e and i finally decided, march of last year, that we were both ready for it. it was an exciting thing at first, the anticipation of another child. then it became stressful and heartbreaking as every month i waiting for that pink double line, only to be disappointed. finally, in august, i had this feeling, just a knowing feeling, and we got our wish. the excitement was so explosive i could barely contain it. we kept it pretty quiet, you know, "in case," and we were so happy. a few weeks later it all went away. i remember, when i realized what was happening, whispering the words "no.... no. no. no. no no!" knowing that something that i had wanted so badly was slipping away and there was nothing i could do about it. the following day i was at the hospital with my best friend by my side, sitting in the waiting room of the lab. her hand around my shoulders while i waited to get my blood taken so i could get my RhoGAM shot. i'm Rh negative, so i need the RhoGAM after each pregnancy to prevent build up of antibodies against any future pregnancies. the shot took an hour to prepare, so we went back home to wait. the whole day i tried my best to keep strong, keep my self contained no matter how much my heart was screaming. an hour later i sat, hand in hand with my bestie, while we waited the obligatory 30 minutes after the shot to ensure there would be no reaction. then we went home and used our favorite cure-all to distract me: old episodes and bloopers of the office and junk food. the physical pain lasted maybe a day, and then it passed, but the emotional pain left my heart a little tender permanently.
a few months went by and i felt ready to jump back in with renewed hope. again, months crawled by and i felt bitter and discouraged as nothing happened. then, at the beginning of march, while edward was away on a business trip and beaz was with my parents for the weekend so i could work, i decided to just take a test for the hell of it. i had suspected it would be negative, but out of habit and that slight hope it might be positive, i peed on that little stick as i had done for months, and left it in the bathroom. because i hadn't been anticipating anything, i actually forgot about it for about 20 minutes. then, while i was trying to recall what i had forgotten about, it occurred to me that i had taken the test. i walked into the bathroom and picked up the little stick, giving it a glance of little interest. there it was, a very faint second line. my heart leaped: i was pregnant! i remember muttering "well, that was unexpected." i didn't tell edward until he got home that night-- actually, i didn't even tell him at all. he had been anticipating it and made a joke about it and my straight face broke into a grin. "are you really!?" he said. "yup, i just found out this morning!"
i made it a point not to get overly excited this time. i was focused, driven, to be healthy and calm so i could have a good pregnancy. i worked out almost every day, i cut out sweets, caffeine, fried and processed foods. i had migraines nearly every day, i felt super pregnant. i was tired constantly, but could hardly sleep at night. i cared about none of that; in fact, i welcomed it. it just served as a reminder of what was happening to my body. i waited what felt like an extremely long 8 weeks to have my first appointment with my OBGYN. he was my doctor when i had beaz and i knew and trusted him implicitly. when we met in his office, we discussed my previous loss. he closed my file and looked at me, "i'm not even going to make you go through all of this right now. i just want to get you through this first trimester, then we can talk about all of this paperwork and genetics and stuff. just tell me of anything i need to know and we'll leave the rest until later." we had a long talk about everything we felt was important and left the stack of paperwork alone. i was feeling good, feeling supported. i was lead into the exam room where i followed the usual routine. it's not like i was my first time or anything. my OB came into the room and told the nurse there would be no exam "down there" because of my history. he wasn't even going to risk it if he didn't have to. he went straight to the ultrasound. his first comment "your bladder is HUGE. you need to go pee!" i laughed, "i have had so much water today, sorry!" the nurse wrapped me from the waist down in those lovely paper "blankets" and helped me pad down the hall to the bathroom. we made our way back to the room, spirits still high. he set me up for the ultrasound again and decided he needed an internal approach. he switched the ultrasound up and we finally got a view of the sac. then the walls came crashing in.
as i watched the screen, trying to remember what i should be seeing, my doctor sighed. "this doesn't look good.. this is abnormally shaped. i don't like those edges. i don't see anything in there, either. kid.. i don't think this is a good pregnancy.. you should be 8 weeks.. but i'm measuring 6 weeks, 4 days.." i inhaled and held my breath. shit. fucking shit. fuck fuck fuck. no. please no. i couldn't exhale. i couldn't say anything. i just stared at the screen, holding my breath. my eyes burned as i tried not to cry. he pointed out what he was seeing, and i knew he wasn't telling me anything that wasn't obvious. there was nothing there. he pointed out a small shadow of something to me. "i can't tell what that is, it could be something. i want you to come back in one week so i can monitor it. the edges of the sac looking like this, a little sharp like that, makes me think it's the start of it breaking down. i'm sorry kid, i can't tell you anything until next week. you know me, i won't do anything until i know for sure, but if by next week there's no progress and you haven't started to lose it naturally.. i'll have to schedule a D&C." i smiled, or what i think was my best impression of a smile, and he left the room. i remember dressing, so slowly. i looked at my phone and saw a new text. e, who was stuck at work and had been waiting for news, asking if everything was okay. "no.." was all i could respond. i stared at the image frozen on the screen and my heart shattered. i walked out as bravely as i could, no tears. my doctor was waiting there for me, "one week, tuesday would be the best. i need you to call me immediately if you start spotting or bleeding. i have to get you in for the RhoGAM right away if that's the case." i made my appointment at the front desk and turned to leave. i marched quickly across the parking lot to my car, unlocked the door, and my face crumpled. the tears came, though i was still fighting them the whole way home.
e came home from work to be with me. i looked him in the eye, through my tears, and told him as much as this hurt, i was glad to know now. i was glad my body, for whatever reason, was going to reject this pregnancy if it wasn't the 'right one.' i had already read about miscarriages that happen early on in pregnancy, and, though there is no true rhyme or reason for most of them, there's believed to be a link between a poorly developing pregnancy and miscarriage. survival of the fittest: our bodies tend to reject a pregnancy that may not be developing right. a lot of these miscarriages happen so early on that we wouldn't even know we were pregnant. in that moment i was grateful my body was taking care of me like that and i wanted to trust it. but it was a short lived gratitude. i woke up the next day and found my body was rejecting this pregnancy as predicted at my OB appointment. i waited, as the spotting stopped for a few hours, to see if it was just post appointment spotting. a few hours later, i knew it wasn't. i called the office to find my doctor was out for the day and they insisted i go to the ER to get my RhoGAM shot and be checked out. i spent a few hours in the ER, surprisingly calm and accepting of what was happening, and then was sent home to let my body miscarry naturally.
the miscarriage really didn't get underway in any real affect until the following evening. suddenly i was in immense pain. the cramps were excruciating and nothing touched the pain. extra strength tylenol and heating pads were only mildly comforting. i spent the following days saying "it will get better tomorrow, it won't hurt like this tomorrow," only to wake up in more pain with each day that passed. i spent my days in bed or on the couch, accepting any help with beaz that i was offered. e spent the whole weekend caring for him while i could barely managed to sit up. that's when i started to resent my body. i started to feel like my body had betrayed me, denying me of something women are naturally born to do: carry and birth babies. i suddenly felt angry, frustrated, disgusted. i was hurt.
and just as suddenly, i was aware of one thing.. beaz.
he was truly my miracle. how had i not seen that? how was it that my pregnancy with him was so normal? so without consequence, without complications? i felt lucky that i had even been able to experience that. it didn't stop the hurt. i still want to grow our family, i still want that for him and for us. he's so loving, so generous, and so wishing for a sibling (well, a brother, but i know he would love a sister just the same). all of this made me understand my own strength. instead of giving up or giving in to the despair, it has made me ferocious and determined. even if we never get a second child, i will not be resigned to feel defeat. i will love beaz, and not feel incomplete if we never have another, but i will not throw up my hands, either. i owe it to myself to seek out answers, and to empower myself to move forward. i will not be too afraid to try.
i don't know who said it, or where it came from, but a quote i read once has been helping me through this: an arrow can only be shot forward by being pulled back. if that's true, then i feel i am about to go very far.
Monday, April 7, 2014
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
pssst! be thankful, mama
let's just cut to the chase-- i'm tired today. i have been up since 3 this morning and it's certainly not how i wanted to start my day. beaz decided he was going to fight bedtime until 9:30 last night, then decided at 3 this morning that he was just done sleeping all together. i did everything i could, tried every approach both stern and sweet, used every bargaining tool, flat out exploited every bribing tactic i could think of to get him (and myself) back to sleep, but no sleep was granted.
finally at 6:00 i gave up and we officially "got up" for the day. beaz played in the living room with the curtains drawn against the unlit sky, and i eventually shuffled to the kitchen for a much needed caffeine fix. as my one cup finished brewing, and i was stirring in my two scoops of sugar and my creamer, i glanced up at what seemed like a change in light outside the kitchen window. i gasped out loud and literally ran like a clumsy child into the living room, hollering "BEAZ! IT'S SNOWING! LOOK!" i drew back the curtains and he exclaimed in mimicking amazement, "WOW! I LOVE SNOW!"
and that's when that little voice inside my heart whispered "be thankful."
yes, yes, i replied. it is that time of year to remember to be so. but that pesky little reminding voice is always right. because in the moment that the beautiful snow started to fall in great flakes and collect on everything around us, my child mirrored my love of snow for this season, and i was ever so thankful for it.
so let's forget the sleepless night; the kind of night that brings me to tears from shear exhaustion. let's forget whatever made me murmur those un-mother-like curse words under my breath as i got up for the 26th time to try to get my child to sleep just ONE hour. let's just remember this. this absolutely unexpected moment of beauty on this very tired morning. and let's always find some reason to be thankful. (and let's always have coffee in hand to aid us in the fight against sleepless zombies.)
finally at 6:00 i gave up and we officially "got up" for the day. beaz played in the living room with the curtains drawn against the unlit sky, and i eventually shuffled to the kitchen for a much needed caffeine fix. as my one cup finished brewing, and i was stirring in my two scoops of sugar and my creamer, i glanced up at what seemed like a change in light outside the kitchen window. i gasped out loud and literally ran like a clumsy child into the living room, hollering "BEAZ! IT'S SNOWING! LOOK!" i drew back the curtains and he exclaimed in mimicking amazement, "WOW! I LOVE SNOW!"
and that's when that little voice inside my heart whispered "be thankful."
yes, yes, i replied. it is that time of year to remember to be so. but that pesky little reminding voice is always right. because in the moment that the beautiful snow started to fall in great flakes and collect on everything around us, my child mirrored my love of snow for this season, and i was ever so thankful for it.
so let's forget the sleepless night; the kind of night that brings me to tears from shear exhaustion. let's forget whatever made me murmur those un-mother-like curse words under my breath as i got up for the 26th time to try to get my child to sleep just ONE hour. let's just remember this. this absolutely unexpected moment of beauty on this very tired morning. and let's always find some reason to be thankful. (and let's always have coffee in hand to aid us in the fight against sleepless zombies.)
Monday, October 7, 2013
from the ashes
i'd like to say, first, that i really do feel like this has been a rotten year. the collective total of absolute awful that's accumulated this year is outrageous and i am personally ready for a new year and some fresh perspective.
that being said, i'd like to tack 'house fire' on that list of 'awful.'
we really kicked off last week in style when we set fire to our kitchen monday morning. it all began with a pan of oil started for homefries and ended with our kitchen wall up in flames. i won't go into details here, as it's pretty embarrassing how both e and i managed to kind of tag team this disaster. needless to say, we all made it out safely and e was our legitimate superhero when he put the flames out with a bag of flour before the three fire trucks showed up to help us. c was so excited about the firemen and trucks, but exclaimed 'oh nooo, my pancakes got BURNED!?' when i explained what was happening. that freaking sweet kid. oh, to be two-going-on-three. there's so little to worry about in the world.
now we're in the middle of cleaning up the fire damage in the kitchen. above is just some of it. the smoke and soot really covered everything. we've been living on takeout and crockpot meals while we wait for the insurance check to cover a new stove, hood, wiring, walls, and cabinets on the one damaged wall of our kitchen. our cabinets are bare as they've been emptied and will need serious scrubbing and painting. our dishes are piled on the counters. our cupboard food is in plastic tubs on the floor. my recipes are all for the crockpot. and we are moving on.
i have been so overwhelmed for the past 3-4 weeks. really overwhelmed. i catch myself taking huge inhales and sighing a lot lately. like, a lot. there's been a lot to be upset about. and when i catch myself dwelling on it, i have to just stop me in my tracks. i really do have a lot to be thankful for. like, a lot.
so you won't find me hosting pity parties here. i don't have time for that. onward and upward, as it goes. the fire, as awful as it was, is a chance for a fresh start. building a whole new outlook. a whole new kitchen. a whole new start for our house.
i like to center my emotions around our home. it sounds bizarre, but i really feel that the home is where everything starts and ends. because inside of our home is everything to do with us as a family, as both individual people and as a collective whole. we start our days here. we breathe, eat, play, learn, mess, clean, laugh, cry, yell here. we end our days here. so my emotions are really heavily tied in our home. when it's not at it's best, neither am i. the scorched wall of our kitchen has really taught me a lot about how i feel about our home. i have a lot of hope for this place. and the wall is just the beginning. i can see it's potential. and it's frustrating at times that it's going to take patience and time to make our home really look like us. to feel right. but it's just a process of growth. i look forward to the changes to come.
after a forest fire, trees can grow from the ashes. so, from a kitchen fire, a home can grow from the ashes, too. clean, fresh, new. i am using our kitchen remodel as the jumping off point for the rest of the home's remodeling needs. it's going to be great, i can feel it. and i think it will begin to boost my spirits as well. i'm kind of counting on it.
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)