text:
Gund 'Comfy Cozy - Lopsy Lamb' Blanket
Infant Comotomo Baby Bottle
A soft, squeezable bottle features a silicone nipple that mimics breastfeeding and eases breast-to-bottle transitioning. The wide-neck design makes for easy dishwasher cleaning, while strategic, leak-free vents are designed to help prevent colic. 8 oz. 6 1/2"H; 9 1/2" circumference. 3 months and up. Includes medium-flow nipple. 100% BPA-free medical-grade ... Learn More
Gund 'Boo - Earmuffs' Stuffed Animal (Nordstrom Exclusive)
The world's cutest dog strikes again in a snuggly plush form, this time donning adorable earmuffs and a chic, Fair Isle patterned sweater. 11"W x 9"H x 8"D. Polyester with plastic pellet fill. Wipe clean. By Gund; imported. Kids' Wear. Learn More
Infant Elegant Baby 'Jungle Party' Squirtie Bath Set
Soft plastic squirt toys shaped like favorite jungle animals are perfect for the tub or wading pool. Recommended for ages six months and up. BPA-, lead- and phthalate-free. Plastic. Hand wash, dry flat. By Elegant Baby; imported. Kids' Wear. Learn More
Gund 'Dancing Boo' Animated Stuffed Animal
This stuffed-animal tribute to the world's cutest dog may be small, but he's ready to groove through every day with plenty of pep in his Pomeranian steps. 9 1/2" x 5" x 9 1/2". Ages 3 and up. Requires three AA batteries (included). Polyester with plastic pellet fill. Wipe clean. ... Learn More
Infant Gund 'My First Boo' Stuffed Animal
A perfect baby's gift, little ones will love to snuggle up to this darling plush animal modeled after Boo, the real-life dog who has become an Internet sensation. 8" x 9" x 6". Polyester with plastic pellet fill. Machine wash cold, dry flat. By Gund; imported. Kids' Wear. Learn More
Infant Gund 'Itty Bitty Boo - Quackin' Up'
The world's cutest dog will quack you up in an absolutely adorable duck costume. Ages 1 and up. 4"L x 5"H x 4"D. Polyester with plastic pellet fill. Hand wash cold, dry flat. By Gund; imported. Kids' Wear. Learn More
Infant Mary Meyer Play Mat
An adorable, lightly cushioned play mat shaped like a fuzzy friend makes supervised tummy time extra fun. 32"W x 30"L. Do not leave infant unattended on mat. Not safe for sleeping. Polyester with polyester fill. Machine wash cold, lay flat to dry. By Mary Meyer; imported. Kids' Wear. Learn More
Infant Boy's Saucony 'Jazz' Crib Shoe, Size 3
Suede overlays detail a stylish sneaker-inspired crib shoe outfitted with a flexible, well-tractioned sole. Hook-and-loop closure ensures a secure, comfy fit. Suede and nylon upper/fabric lining/nonmarking rubber sole. By Saucony; imported. Kids' Shoes. Measure Your Child's Feet (1 MB PDF) Learn More


text:
Choose Between Two Options
- $37 for one 60-minute custom or sports massage ($75 value)
- $99 for three 60-minute custom or sports massages ($225 value)
Kneading Ways Massage
James Hopgood knows that not everybody requires the same type of massage. That's why the licensed massage therapist draws upon myriad modalities—from slower Swedish strokes to intensive trigger-point release—to craft custom sessions at Kneading Ways Massage. Inside his space at Rhode Island Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine, James diligently relieves his clients of chronic pain and anxiety, while simultaneously strengthening their immune systems and improving circulation. He even conducts sports massages, which ready athletes of all ages for the big game or help baseball players recover from particularly strenuous bunts.
99% of 124 customers recommend
"Excellent massage Very professional atmosphere"
"Jim is a wonderful massage therapist."
"Jim was fantastic. Wonderful massage!"
621 Pound Hill Rd.
Suite 102
North Smithfield, RI 02896Get Directions

subset: commoncrawl


text: Quick View save 77% Alex Little Hands Learn To Write! by Alex $10.95 $2.50 Out of stock online Take along double-sided erasable board. Turn a wheel, select an A to Z picture and trace the letter. Safe, washable water-based blue ink marker included. Wipes clean with a damp cloth. An easy introduction for learning to write your ABC's. See Details was


text:
Thanks for helping us sort this video!
Thanks for helping us associate the correct Pornstars to this video!
Help Us: Do these Pornstars appear in this video?
Pornstar Name:
All Comments (7)
German ?
that is not german, that is dutch
she's so sexy
i love this bath room
it is Dutch...not German and I would rather say it is mature, not exactly cougar...


text:
The Amazing Spider-Man & Captain America in Dr. Doom's Revenge Cheats & Codes
| Cheats | Unlockables | Hints | Easter Eggs | Achievements
Be the first to submit a cheat for The Amazing Spider-Man & Captain America in Dr. Doom's Revenge.
You must be Logged in to submit a cheat.
Game Details
Published by: Empire Software
Developed by: Paragon Software
Genre: Action
Also known as: Spider-Man & Captain America in Doctor Doom's Revenge
Games You May Like
- Action
- Atari ST
Necron's back in town and he wants revenge. Only you -- in the guise of Hegor the Barbarian -- have the courage, strength and stupidity to…
The sequel to the top-down RPG Phantasie.
Watch the feathers fly as you guide Tiki through the islands of New Zealand defeating fiendish foes and rescuing his kiwi friends.


text:
Does this webpage look like it will be helpful to you? Please tell us why.
What problem are you trying to fix today?
Thank you for helping make our site better.
PartSelect Number PS306910
This drawer track supports the right hand side of the sliding drawer.
This part works with the following brands: GE, Hotpoint & Kenmore.
This drawer track supports the left hand side of the sliding drawer.
For the past 6 months I've dreaded trying to find the parts and make the needed repairs to the slide rails. I just didn't have time to search for part numbers and drag all the tools out. I even contemplated buying a new frig. I thought I would have to find the original "Owners Manual". How stupid was I? Within 15 minutes the model number was determined and the parts (VERY EASY to find the exact part) were ordered. They arrived within a week (in a GE wrapper). I unscrewed two parts per rail and within minutes the repairs were done. It took me a lot longer to clean and wipe down everything to make the refrigerator look like new again. I bragged to all my friends (like I was some type of engineer) and have referred this website to many of them. What a fantastic experience. I saved over $1,200 and the hassle of moving a frig in and out of the house. Glad you're in business and on the web.
Help other customers find the most helpful instructions.
Were these instructions helpful?
Took out drawers, unscrewed broken rails, screwed on new railings with new screws, replaced old drawer with new one. Less than 15 min.
We took the drawers out unsrewed the slide rails, screwed the new ones back on and replaced the drawers. the door cam was alittle harder because we had to lift the door to put it in but it still took under 10 min. altogether it took about 25 minutes. I am also planning on buying a few more parts from the company so I will end up paying about $50 to fix a fridge that I got for free. WHAT A GREAT DEAL!!!!!
I replaced all the parts and it was easy. I still need a door drawer that I will get later.
Removed 2 screws that hold it on, put the new one in with the 2 screws that were removed.
All brand logos are trademarks of their respective owners.
The PartSelect logo is a Registered Trademark of Atlantic Laundry Centres, Ltd.
Copyright © 1999-2016 , Eldis Group Partnership. All rights reserved.


text:
Buy online and pick up in store.See details.
Exclusive finds with a new theme each month.
Shop: Pop-In
Our VP of creative projects shares what she's into.
Read More
Stay updated with a steady stream of new info.
Brand Castle 'Easter Bunny' Carrot Cake Cupcake Kit
Was: $9.00
Now: $5.4040% off
2 colors
The Rail Carrot Fit French Terry Sweat Shorts
Was: $49.50
Now: $29.7040% off
C.O. Bigelow® 'Dr. Hiosous' Quince Hand Lotion
7 colors
Urban Decay 'Heavy Metal' Glitter Eyeliner
Gift with Purchase
Jack Black Beard Oil
jane iredale 'BeautyPrep' Face Toner


text:
We Eat Crap. It Makes Us Sick.
Our inability to talk about it is driving the hysteria around Europe's E. coli outbreak.
Escherichia coli is back. Every year an attack of food vs. people grips us, makes us think twice about crunching into that fresh cucumber or apple or celery stick, and reminds us of how deep in excrement we all are.
This year's E. coli outbreak in Germany is by all accounts a real doozy. In the past two weeks, 2,000 people across Europe and at least four in the United States have been affected. About 500 have developed hemolytic uremic syndrome—an otherwise rare complication that damages kidneys and destroys red blood cells—and 22 have died. Indeed, this outbreak appears to have stricken ill a record number of people for E. coli, though it falls far short of the legendary salmonella outbreak in 1994 that hit 224,000 people who ate contaminated American ice cream.
The severity of this E. colihas led some talking heads to hint that this might be the big one—a super-toxic, super-drug-resistant, super-sticky, never-before-seen, Armageddon sort of thing. To add to the drama, irate Spanish farmers are dumping vegetables at the local German Embassy, haggard public health officials are advising simultaneous calm with extra-heightened awareness (read: paranoia), and clumsy medical experts are grinning on TV like they just won the lottery. It's the typical circus that accompanies most public-health calamities, which begs the question: Should we be significantly more frightened of the German strain than of other E. coli?
My strong sense is no— the facts simply don't support a doomsday scenario. While any new strain carries the potential for a new wrinkle, this one seems to have only the usual bag of E. coli tricks. The German E. coli is categorized scientifically as strain O104 (that's oh-104, not zero-104) based on various characteristics of its cellular composition. Yet it causes a disease identical to that caused by the famous O157 strain, previously the dominant perpetrator of severe E. coli- related intestinal disease.
Beyond its lack of novelty, the most important clue that this is not the big one is the lack of secondary cases; the disease has spread to few if any people living with or caring for the sick. In contrast, outbreaks of diseases like cholera are fueled by secondary (and tertiary, etc.) cases, such that a single person can sicken an entire town. With the German O104, ingestion of bean sprouts (or perhaps another food to be blamed later) is the cause, not your neighbor's lousy hygiene.
Yet here we are in the midst of extreme hype around the situation. Why all the fuss? There are at least two distinct reasons for the mismatch. First is the always-present, always-perverse financial incentive for news organizations to goose up any outbreak or fan any panic: For them, bigger and badder sells more papers, drives more clicks, and attracts more eyeballs.


text:
President Obama's dream of connecting 80 percent of Americans to a high-speed rail line appears to be dead. Congress appropriated $8 billion for high-speed rail in the 2009 stimulus bill and $2 billion more in the 2010 appropriations bill. But, after newly elected governors of Florida, Ohio, and Wisconsin rejected high-speed rail projects in those states, Congress declined to include any more funds in 2011 and it is unlikely to spend any more on this boondoggle as long as Republicans have a hold on the House.
Downsizing Blog
Lobbying Wolves on the Prowl
The other day I noted that the budget cuts agreed to last week contained lots of familiar faces. Many of the agencies and programs getting a trim were also cut in 1995 in a rescissions package put together by Gingrich Republicans. In the fifteen intervening years, federal spending exploded across the board, which means that an occasional trim job doesn't accomplish much if the goal is to limit government.
Air Traffic Control: Too Important for Feds
The government's air traffic controllers have been sleeping on the job, watching movies rather than guiding planes, and misdirecting the First Lady's plane over Washington. There have been soaring numbers of airplane near misses caused by ATC errors over the last year.
Adventures in Air Traffic Control
It is often said that silence is golden. But not when you're trying to land a passenger plane at Reagan National Airport. Last night the control tower at Reagan went silent, which forced the pilots of two airliners to land on their own. According to the Washington Post, the same situation occurred last year when the lone controller on duty locked himself out.
Air Traffic Control Errors
New data from the Federal Aviation Administration shows that reported air traffic control errors have increased by 81 percent since 2007. Errors that were most likely to result in a collision or accident jumped 26 percent from 2007 to 2010.
HSR: Joe Biden Channels The Simpsons
In his customary salesman style, Vice President Joe Biden recently made a pitch to a Philadelphia crowd for a plan to spend $53 billion over the next six years on a national system of high-speed rail.
FAA IG Report
We have discussed continuing problems the Federal Aviation Administration is having implementing a new air traffic control (ATC) system. And we've contrasted it with Canada's privatized ATC system, which is one of the best in the world.
Privatize the FAA
Bloomberg is reporting more bad news for the nation's air traffic control system, which is run by the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA is $500 million overbudget and six years behind schedule on a $2.1 billion technology upgrade project.
Privatizing Roads
A major shortcoming of the deficit reduction plan concocted by the president's Fiscal Commission is that it assumed that the federal government should continue doing everything it currently does. For example, the plan proposed a 15 cent per gallon increase in the federal gasoline tax to fund infrastructure projects. But why not allow the private sector to play a greater role in financing and maintaining infrastructure like roads?
Huge Cost Overrun for FAA's NextGen
A year ago I discussed problems that the Federal Aviation Administration was having in trying to implement an overhaul of the nation's air traffic control system. The "NextGen" overhaul would replace old-fashioned radar technology with modern satellite-based GPS navigation.


text:
PARSONS -- Fort Scott High School's junior varsity tennis team competed in a six-team round-robin tournament here Tuesday.
The best finish for the day was the 4-1 record by the Tigers' No. 2 doubles team of Brittany Burns and Kandice Rost. They defeated Emily Baden/Laikya Long of Pittsburg 6-2, Samantha Fletcher/Jessica Nickelson of Parsons 6-2, Brittany Porter/Patricia Haner of Iola 6-0, and Jessica Hutto/Caitlin Closs of LCHS Gold 6-1. Their only loss was to Tiffani Sexton/Kayle Kabrey of LCHS Red, 6-4.
"Brittany and Kandice had a good tournament," Fort Scott head coach Lynn Barr said. "They played some solid doubles most of the day. They have things that they will have to continue to work on to make the step from being a solid JV doubles team to a solid varsity team, but they are making progress."
In No. 2 doubles, Hannah Messer and Sammi Carr went 2-3. They beat Megan Smith/Katie Lieurance of Iola 6-1 and Bethany Baker/Katie Harrison of LCHS Gold 6-4. Emily Hicks and Brittany Wilde of Pittsburg won 6-3, Brea Harris and Kelsey Jump of Parsons took a 6-2 win and Lora Nance and Kelsey Baker of LCHS Red won 6-0.
"Hannah and Sammi played some good tennis at times, but also hurt themselves with unforced errors," Barr said. "They are working on it and just have to stick with it till they get it right, but I believe they will."
Bailee Hall was 2-3 in No. 1 singles. She had victories over Katana Smith of Iola, 6-3, and Karleigh Wells of LCHS Gold, 6-0. She lost to Erica Springer of Pittsburg, Malina Kipp of Parsons and Elysse Merritt of LCHS Red by 6-1 scores.
"Bailee did not have as good a tournament as she did last week," Barr noted. "Unforced errors hurt her more today than last week in Pittsburg. Her forehand just wasn't working for her today like it was last week."
Becky Lemke was 0-5 in No. 2 singles. Jessica Curlee of Pittsburg, Jennifer Nickelson of Parsons, Audrey Pain of Iola and Jenna Bogner of LCHS red were all 6-0 winners while Sami Brown of LCHS Gold took a 6-1 win.
"I was really pleased with Becky's effort today," Barr said. "She was really trying to do some of the things we have been working on in practice which is the first step in getting better."
The Tiger JV will host a tournament Monday that starts at 1 p.m. At least four other teams are scheduled to attend.
The JV has also added a home dual with Pittsburg for Sept. 16 at 5 p.m.
NOTES -- Barr took the varsity team to Parsons Wednesday in an effort to complete a tournament that was suspended by thunderstorms last Thursday. However, it began to rain when the Tigers got there and, although some of the other suspended matches were played on the wet courts, Barr decided to bring the Tigers home.
The remaining matches, which are Courtney Crain's No. 2 singles and Michelle Buntain and Corina Harrison's No. 1 doubles matches against Coffeyville, will be played Sept. 16 at Chanute before Coffeyville is set to play in a round-robin tournament there....


text:
Can a story work without a structure?
Of course not.
But a structure itself is not a plot.
A structure is a Holiday Inn. A plot is a Gaudi cathedral. It has twists, turrets, flying buttresses…
So how do we find a plot?
The instinctive way is to start with a strong idea, incident or character. Introduce conflict. Then see what happens.


text:
Monday, November 10, 2008
Zine Swap- Ben Hutchings
This swap actually took place during the TINA zine fair, and I have read the zine (and showed it off to my friends) many times since.
It's been years since I had a comic in my hands. Probably the last one I bought was "Johnny the Homicidal Maniac" by Jhonen Vasquez. If you don't recognise the name, try Invader Zim. Not that his work is anything like Lesson Master, but um... yeah.. I'm a flake today.
Anyway, the cover of "Lesson Master: Master of Lessons" caught my eye as I was trawling the stalls at the zine fair. It's full colour, with an image of a wrinkled balding school teacherey type person, surrounded by lightning and little grey versions of the same dude. I asked the stall holder (whom shall be hereafter referred to as Ben) if he did trades, he did, we did, and I had some lessons to learn.
When I got home, I arranged all the zines I had swapped/bought in piles of "read NOW", "read tomorrow" and "read soon" based on the front covers alone.... HEY I'm an artist, I'm allowed to judge on appearences. Lesson Master was on the top of the pile.
This comic zine made me laugh out loud, something I do often, but not usually while reading. I'm trying to find a way to describe who the Lesson Master is, but all that comes to mind is "Social Niceties Enforcement Officer". It seems that he has some sort of inbuild detector that goes off when people don't follow the generally agreed upon rules of society. He then swoops in, sets them straight, then stamps a massive "Lesson Learned" on them and takes off. As someone bought up with manners, and witness to the rudeness of... pretty much everyone, the concept held a serious amount of appeal.
I was half in love with the comic already, when I came across a strip that deals with book signing. An author called Reg Wobbles is signing copies of "The Poo Conspiracy", I won't spoil it for you, but I do want to tell you that the panel in which the Lesson Master bursts through the wall leaving a Lesson Master-shaped hole in it is where I really started laughing properly ;)
Ben's style of drawing is incredible, besides being very funny. Some of the panels are so detailed, stipples, cross hatched, it makes my technique loving mind go all warm and fuzzy.
So thankyou Ben, for re-introducing me to comics. Wishing the Lesson Master could be deployed in Newcastle, we need him.
Check out Lesson Master here:
Posted by Emerald Arts at 10:07 PM
Labels: zine swap
No comments:
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
Sci-Fi Channel has teamed with Richard Branson's Virgin Comics to create comic books that also will be developed into content for feature film, television, digital, and gaming.
Five new comic-book titles will kick off the joint venture, dubbed Sci-Fi/Virgin Comics. Details on those titles are forthcoming, but the idea is to create original properties that will be eyed across all media.
Sci-Fi and its parent company, NBC Universal, will have first look at any projects that come out of the partnership. Sci-Fi and Virgin, who are equal partners in the joint venture, said they want to attract some of the biggest names and talent who work in comic books, television, and movies.
An eight-member editorial board--representing comic books, television, movies, digital, gaming, licensing, and merchandising--will be responsible for determining which stories make the cut. The first Sci-Fi/Virgin titles, distributed by Diamond Comics, are expected to be available to consumers this year.


text:
Home Delivery Order Customer Service
Your Community News & Weather
Read Today's E-Edition Read now
Get the
Daily Herald
your way
every day!
Daily Herald
your way
every day!
in Print
7-Day Subscribers,
Activate Your Free
Digital Account
Activate Your Free
Digital Account
Top Jobs
Showing Job
Latest Video
Suburban Calendar
Most Commented
- Rebuilding the Bulls won't be easy
- After disciplined Elgin cop becomes sergeant, chief seeks promotion rules change
- Rozner: End for Blackhawks summed up in one play
- $22.7 million awarded in fatal I-294 crash case
- Softball: Tuesday, April 26 scoreboard
- Batavia considers incentive to lure Blue Goose Market
- Elgin hospital first to offer paramedic home visits
- Softball: Fremd coach Weaver doubles down in the fight against Rett syndrome
- Bobby Knight's support of Trump no surprise
- Sale up to 5-0, White Sox rout Blue Jays for 5th win in row
- Rebuilding the Bulls won't be easy
- How Dist. 204 wins so many Grammys
- Rozner: End for Blackhawks summed up in one play
- Rozner: Summer comes early for Chicago Blackhawks
- How lacrosse is becoming an official IHSA sport
- Girls track: Naperville North's Pendergast runs nation's fastest 3,200 meters
- Mariano breaks ground on new Des Plaines store
- One U-46 board member blasts social studies textbooks, but they're OK'd
- Football. Draft Town. Fun. It must be 2016 NFL Draft in Chicago
- Old friend Troy Brouwer seals Chicago Blackhawks' 3-2 loss
- Bulls may consider giving Rose a new position
- Rozner: End for Blackhawks summed up in one play
- After disciplined Elgin cop becomes sergeant, chief seeks promotion rules change
- Judge needs more time to decide on new trial in day care death
- How Dist. 204 wins so many Grammys
- Carpentersville firefighters union seeking arbitrator in disputed layoffs
- Rebuilding the Bulls won't be easy
- Parents 'blindsided' by removal of beloved principal, blame Rahm
- Softball: Tuesday, April 26 scoreboard
- Former Motorola Harvard campus sells to Chinese firm for $9.3 million
Top Jobs
- CONTRACT COURIER DRIVER - Independent Contractor-Messenger Use your own vehicle-Make your own hours 24-7-Pick up and delivery within 50 miles-Reliable car-Current Drivers License-Min Ins Requirement-Good MVR; Apply to 1550 W Bryn Mawr Ave Itasca IL 60143 (id:4437345) LIFEGUARD - LIFEGUARDS LAKESIDE VILLAS in Wheeling is looking for Lifeguards for the 2016 pool season. Guards must have current certification and be at least 18 years old or must be entering their senior year of high school in the fall of 2016. Working hours from Sunday thru Saturday. Starting pay is $10.50 per hour. If you are interested or need further information, please contact the community's Property Manager, Maria Cardenas at firstname.lastname@example.com or at (630) 627-3303. (id:4436565) LIGHT ASSEMBLY - LIGHT ASSEMBLY In Addison. Clean, pleasant working conditions, Non-Smok- ing, Full time, 7-3:30. Nimble hands. Knowledge of measurements helpful. Apply in person -729 W Winthrop Ave 630-628-9221 (id:4438800)
- RN - PT - RN FT or PT TO ASSIST WITH NURSE AIDE CLASS LOMBARD AREA 708-261-8375 (id:4438892) GENERAL LABOR - MANUFACTURER NEEDS ASSEMBLY WORKERS. NO EXP RQ'D APPLY IN PERSON 1821 INDUSTRIAL DR LIBERTYVILLE (id:4438913) DOG BATHER - Dog Bather Full-time during the day, Saturday's a must. Will teach, starts at $10 per hour. Call 630-969-1198 ?Cedar Lane Kennels, Downers Grove, IL? (id:4439098)
- CHILD CARE TEACHER - Education -Child Care Teach-er needed for child care center in BurrRidge. Must have 2 years of college w/15hrs of ECE. Ft and Pt positions avail-able. Ft benefits include Health/ Dental/Life, 401K, and discount- ed child care. Call 630-887-7010 or email resume to firstname.lastname@example.com EOE (id:4438322) DENTAL ASSISTANT - Dental assistant needed for general dentist in AH, 1-2 days a wk & every other Sat. Invisalign knowledge helpful Exp. pre'd, willing to train right person. Call 847-398-0326 (id:4438628) TECHNOLOGY ASSISTANT - Education Keeneyville School District 20 Technology Assistant Apply online: http://www.generalasp.com/ ndep/onlineapp (id:4439258)


text:
Change Location
ACE Fit Share
Fit Life Articles
If you're struggling to find the motivation to add regular cardiovascular exercise to your fitness routine, here are some lesser-known benefits of cardiovascular exercise that just might help you get moving.
If you've stopped seeing progress with your health and fitness efforts, your body has likely hit a plateau and adapted to whatever physical stimulus you have been giving it. To experience continuous progress, it is essential to keep both your mind and body guessing. Here...
Incline workouts, when done properly and safely, can greatly benefit anyone looking to increase the intensity of their workouts. In fact, incorporating some form of hill running into your regular workout routine is one of the best ways to increase speed, strength and power....


text:
Alpha Media Merced currently has positions available. If you are 18 and over,
have a valid driver's license& have a good driving record... we're looking for you! Entry positions available now for street team, promotions team, on-air host and sales.
If you ever wanted to get into radio broadcasting...now is your chance.
If you are interested, please visit AlphaMediaUSA.com.
Must be 18 or over to apply.
Come work for the fastest growing radio company in the US! ALPHA MEDIA USA
Positions NOW OPEN!!
Afternoon Show Host/Promotions Director: CLICK HERE!
Account Executive: CLICK HERE!
Street Team/Promotions Assistant: CLICK HERE!
Alpha Media is an equal opportunity employer.
In college? We're looking for INTERNS! Click here for the details!


text:
Top Definition
A human with two X chromosomes who is a citizen of the United States of America
"...I believe the correct term is 'Vagina American."
by Jack Daniels and Duct Tape February 27, 2009
Type your email address below to get our free Urban Word of the Day every morning!
Emails are sent from email@example.com. We'll never spam you.×


text:
Atentutankh-pasheri, on 11 November 2012 - 01:27 PM, said:
Likely I will wite a blog about my exact position about AE, "orthodox" and alternaviks, as I suspect there is a clash of cultures and some misunderstanding here....
I do not think we should regard the Dream Stela as an historical document. That's not the purpose it served for Tuthmosis IV. Alcibiades's earlier point about Tuthmosis VI's separation in time from the Old Kingdom is valid: people living in Dynasty 18, royals included, would've known very few real facts about what had happened back in Dynasty 4, a thousand years earlier. Histories were not recorded, fact-checked, and stored in a manner similar to what we take for granted today. This is why I sided with Alcibiades earlier.
At the same time, however, what Tuthmosis IV recorded at the end of the stela is significant. Fortunately Karl Lepsius carefully drew the monument in the nineteenth century, before it deteriorated further. The bottom several registers were already in a fragmented state. I have Lepsius' carefully rendered drawing in my digital library, and although the name of the king in the cartouche near the end is badly damaged, there is no mistaking two glyphs: N8 (sound value xa) and I9 (sound value f). This produces xaf, "Khaf." I can't think of another king with this arrangement of glyphs in his name, so there's no sense in arguing against the fact that the name in full was Khafre.
That said, while I don't regard the Dream Stela as an historical document, it's clear that Tuthmosis IV himself regarded the Sphinx as the work of Khafre from Dynasty 4. We can confidently state that much.


text:
Career Warfare: 10 Rules for Building a Successful Personal Brand and Fighting to Keep It: 10 Rules for Building a Successful Personal Brand and Keeping Itby David D'Alessandro, Michele Owens
View All Available Formats & Editions
A genuine winner shows you how to stand out from the crowd
As the youngest-ever CEO of John Hancock Financial Services and the bestselling author of Brand Warfare, David D'Alessandro knows plenty about breaking away from the pack. In Career Warfare, this/i>/i>/p>/b>/p>/b>/i>… See more details below
- Overview
- Editorial Reviews
- Product Details
- Related Subjects
- Read an Excerpt
- What People Are Saying
- Meet the author
A genuine winner shows you how to stand out from the crowd
As the youngest-ever CEO of John Hancock Financial Services and the bestselling author of Brand Warfare, David D'Alessandro knows plenty about breaking away from the pack. In Career Warfare, this ultimate insider tells the true story of how he learned the unwritten rules of corporate ladder climbing.
In his signature, outspoken style, D'Alessandro offers concrete advice on building a reputation that commands respect, coping with office politics, and surviving the less-than-sane aspects of any organization. He explains why only 20 percent of the people in a given corporation are truly valuable to the organization, demonstrates the right way to polish the boss's image and prevent the boss from tarnishing the reader's, and provides valuable lessons in the etiquette of reputation building.
Through engaging, often-hilarious stories drawn from his own dramatic climb to the top, David D'Alessandro speaks to success-oriented readers at every level and explains:
- How to make people want to take a chance on them
- How to gain and keep a great reputation
- Why success will not proceed in a rational manner
- Why hard work and accomplishment aren't enough
- What character has to do with it
Editorial Reviews
It's not easy to build a great personal brand, however. D'Alessandro writes that you first have to understand that people will judge you based on the way you behave even in the most insignificant moments. Then you have to become conscious of the personal impression you are making every day. Next you have to be noticed - and noticed for the right qualities. Ultimately, he explains, a big career requires everything from the right kind of manners, to the right style of handling your detractors, to the right instincts about when to leave a job and when to stick with it.
Career Warfare offers the unwritten rules of organizational life, the real truths you need to know in order to build the kind of personal brand that shouts "headed for the top."
According to D'Alessandro, the greatest obstacle to building a good personal brand is self-absorption. Few of us escape seeing the places we work in terms of our own self-interest. But to build a personal brand that will help you succeed, he writes, you will have to turn self-absorption into a desire for self-respect and the respect of the people around you. You may still be a navel-gazing egotist, but at least you'll be an egotist who recognizes the value of other people's approval. In order to build a good reputation, he adds, you have to view your actions in the same way that the people judging you will view them.
You can't build a good brand if you can't see yourself as others see you. Guard against excessive self-forgiveness, D'Alessandro warns. While you will tend to view your own less-than-heroic actions as no reflection on your basic goodness, others will have the opposite response - they believe you do what you do because of the kind of person you are. Your behavior defines you, he writes, and you are going to be judged by your external actions, not by your intentions.
D'Alessandro explains that the best way to establish a personal brand when you are new to an organization is by becoming uniquely useful. Be smart. Stake out your territory by finding something the organization is missing that you can provide. This may involve tackling less than glamorous tasks since the high-profile ones get plenty of volunteers. By doing what needs to be done rather than what you would ideally like to do, you set yourself apart. Do something humble but essential, he writes, and you'll get noticed by those in power.
When you are young, D'Alessandro explains, getting access to powerful people is the name of the game. If you gain access to power early, you will learn an enormous amount very quickly and put yourself in an entirely different category from your peers who communicate with these people only through a hierarchy.
Getting the positive notice of powerful people is only the first step, he writes. You want them to help you move up. For that, D'Alessandro adds, you have to develop a brand that shouts, "Upward mobility." Package yourself as an expensive product - because that's exactly what you are to your organization, your boss and your customers. You cost them as much a year as a Mercedes. You'd better deliver the performance they expect from a luxury brand.
When it comes to employees, certain things are not negotiable when it comes to being considered for higher office. To go far, D'Alessandro writes, you must develop a reputation for five key qualities:
- Earning the organization money
- Telling the truth
- Being discreet
- Keeping your promises
- Making people want to work for you
If you are missing any one of these qualities, he explains, you don't have the right kind of brand for a big career and it is highly unlikely anyone will consider you executive office material. Copyright © 2004 Soundview Executive Book Summaries
Product Details
- 9780071436342
- Publisher:
- McGraw-Hill Education
- Publication date:
- 11/22/2003
- Sold by:
- Barnes & Noble
- Format:
- NOOK Book
- Pages:
- 224
- File size:
Read an Excerpt
Any book about personal brands should by rights start with the greatest obstacle of all to building a good one, and that is the extreme self-absorption from which most of us suffer. In The Devil's Dictionary, Ambrose Bierce defines the word "I" this way: "I is the first letter of the alphabet, the first word of the language, the first thought of the mind, the first object of affection." "I" is certainly the first consideration in organizational life. Most people's reaction to anything that happens in the outfit they work for is, "What about me? Will this be good for me?" For example, the company is suddenly engulfed in scandal. Your first thought is probably not, "How will we get out of this mess?" It's, "Am I in trouble?" Or, you'll hear that management is transferring a division to Arizona. Your immediate thought is not, "Will this be good for the business?" It's, "Would I enjoy living in Scottsdale?"
Short of Mother Teresa, very few of us escape seeing the places where we work largely in terms of our own self-interest. However, to build the kind of personal brand that will help you to be successful, you will have to add another filter to the lens. You will have to turn this self-absorption into a desire for self-respect and the respect of the people around you. You may still be a navel-gazing egotist, but at least you'll be an egotist who recognizes the value of other people's approval. And in that case, before you say or do anything, you will have to consider whether the move will reflect well upon you. Will it enhance your reputation or tarnish it? Will you be proud of what you've said or done down the road? In other words, you have to view your own actions in the same way that the people judging you will view them.
Unfortunately, it is not easy to adopt an external perspective on your own activities, because such a perspective is extremely unnatural. In fact, social psychologists have documented a Grand Canyon-sized gulf between the way in which a person perpetrating an action explains his or her behavior and the way in which outside observers explain it. The "actor" tends to view the things he or she does as a reaction to external circumstances. For example, if you snap at somebody, you may say to yourself, "I snapped at him only because he drove me to the breaking point." In addition, the actor is very much aware of his or her own intentions in performing an action and is also aware of whether
In order to build a good reputation, you have to view your own actions in the same way that the people judging you will view them.
this type of behavior is normal for him or her. You may say to yourself, "Yes, I sounded snappish, but I didn't mean to." Or, "Yes, I did snap at him, but I'm usually a very easy-going person." Add it all up, and we tend to view our own activities in a very forgiving light. The dog ate the homework, so what could we do? People who happen to find themselves thrust into some kind of unpleasant spotlight often display this self-forgiving bias. Consider, for example, Darva Conger, the nurse who married a stranger on the 2000 Fox TV show Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire? and then left him shortly thereafter, only to be stunned by an avalanche of bad press. She told Good Morning America, "I am not a gold digger" and "I just want my life back." Then she did the most hypocritical thing of all for someone claiming not to be an opportunist or to like the public attention: She took her clothes off for Playboy magazine in return for a substantial payday. But Conger seemed blind to the hypocrisy, arguing instead that her own good intentions excused the Playboy spread: "It was my way of poking fun at myself."
Another excellent example of self-forgiveness is Jeffrey Skilling, the former president of Enron. In February 2002, he testified before Congress about the company's collapse. When asked whether he had been aware of the partnership transactions that brought down the company, he blamed external circumstances for his lack of awareness to the point of absurdity. Why did he not hear his CFO promise board members that he would approve these questionable deals? Because the power went out. "The room was dark, quite frankly, and people were walking in and out of the meeting,'' he said. To outside observers, on the other hand, the fact that the lights went out during one meeting was hardly material. The problem was Skilling himself, whom one congressman compared to Sergeant Schultz of the old TV show Hogan's Heroes, the bumbling Nazi who said, "I see nothing! I hear nothing!"
Rule One: Try to Look Beyond Your Own Navel
The truth is that while we tend to view our own less-than-heroic actions as no reflection on the basic goodness of our character, outside observers believe just the opposite: that we do the things we do because of the kind of people we are. After all, they have far less information than we do about our actions. They have no idea that we met a dog on the way who ate our homework, or that we didn't really intend to have our homework be eaten, or that we've never had our homework eaten before. As far as the outside observer is concerned-particularly one who does not know us very well-we don't have our homework because we're the kind of unreliable personality whose homework does get eaten.
Social psychologists call this tendency of outside observers to assume that internal attributes are the cause of every action "the fundamental attribution error." It may be an error of perception, but it is also a fact of life. Everything you do and say will be viewed by the people around you as evidence of who you are. Actually, this tendency to interpret other people's actions in terms of their basic character is extremely useful. It adds some sense of control and predictability to the chaotic world of human relations. Person A may decide whether Person B is trustworthy based on very little information -but once A has labeled B, A has the comfort of knowing what to expect from B and is able to adjust his or her own behavior accordingly. And once A's assessment of B becomes common wisdom within his or her organization, everybody in the office feels as if he or she is on solid ground with B as well. Person B now has a recognizable brand.
Once, when I was young and in the public relations business, I witnessed an example of stunningly rapid brand building that immediately told my entire firm how to handle one of its clients. The client was a Everyone has a natural tendency to make excuses for their behavior. Don't make excuses for yours. People will decide who you are on the basis of the things you do.
wine vintner's group, and I was such a minor player at that point that it was my job to make sure that the head of the wine group and his wife were comfortable when they came to New York City. Since they were staying in an incredible suite at the Plaza, you'd think this would have been easy. But this was at a time when the domestic wine industry was still insecure regarding the French, and, maybe as a result, this couple was imperious beyond belief. The guy behaved as if he had been born into the wine business as a Rothschild, instead of having been hired into it as the PR person for a trade organization. And his consort was worse.
We were given a long list of her requirements. One of the things she insisted on was that there be no footprints on the carpet when they entered the hotel room. I'm not talking about dirt; I'm talking about indentations. Since we were constantly in their suite, trying to provide the many amenities they demanded, we were endlessly calling housekeeping and persuading the poor confused chambermaids to vacuum the plush carpet while walking backwards out of the room.
The most specific of the wine woman's requirements involved the light she needed in the bathroom in order to properly apply her makeup. The sheet I received actually specified a setting on a light meter. So I dutifully went over there with a light meter, trying to figure out whether to add or subtract lamps and makeup mirrors. I guess I don't know how to read a light meter, because there was not enough light in the room. Never mind that there was neither enough light nor enough makeup in all of Bloomingdale's to make this woman attractive. She caused a ruckus beyond belief because she had been handicapped in her makeup application, and she insisted that there be a reprimand. So, I was yelled at by the higher-ups. The story spread like wildfire within my firm. Within a day, no one in that office who had any talent was willing to do anything for this client. The better people all said, "I won't work on the account," and they got away with it because they had choices. As I said, personal brands are definitely useful-for the really good employees, there was now one less client to worry about.
Though the wine people were an extreme example, they were suffering from a disease that frequently holds people back in their working lives: What they saw when they looked in the mirror in no way corresponded to external reality. They thought they resembled Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco. We saw Nicolae and Elena Ceausescu of Romania-petty despots with no culture and a monstrous appetite for luxury. Of course, developing an accurate self-image is always a struggle. None of us is as benevolent, intelligent, or impressive as we believe-or, for that matter, as the people who want to flatter us would have us believe. But if you can't begin to look at yourself with some detachment, you will never be able to alter your behavior so that it corresponds to the kind of person you would ideally like to be. Instead, you will be the professional equivalent of poor Darva Conger, moving from embarrassment to embarrassment, denying all the while that these embarrassments express anything significant about you.
In fact, being able to peel back the layer of denial that keeps us from understanding our own behavior is such a huge advantage in professional life that I am all for acquiring that knowledge in any way you can. You can read great novels, or you can consult your wise Uncle Eddie. I'm a big believer in shrinks-good shrinks, not the kind that get employed by corporations-to give you insight into what motivates you to act the way you do. With any luck, they will also give you something else just as valuable: insight into why other people behave as bizarrely as they do.
Above all, be aware that your behavior defines you. Since you are going to be judged not on your intentions and desires, but rather on Don't flatter yourself. You can't build a good personal brand if you can't see yourself as others see you.
your external actions, try not to develop tunnel vision. Consider things beyond your own self-interest, such as the well-being of the people you work with and the organization you work for.
Once you have become self-aware enough to shape your behavior, where do you go from there? Obviously, in order to establish a reputation with the powerful people in your organization, you first have to be noticed by them. This is not always easy.
Let me tell you about the first time I really got the attention of someone powerful.
It was my first job out of school. I was working at a big New York City communications firm and suffering every humiliation you can possibly suffer at the beginning of a career. I was barely able to live on my salary. After paying my rent and other bills, I would literally have $5 for the weekend. I owned two pairs of dress slacks and one sports coat. That was my wardrobe. I had a secretary who refused to type for me because she was making $11,000 and I was making just $10,800. And, to top it off, one day, when I'd been there only a few months, I was told to come to the boss's boss's office at 6 p.m. Obviously, I was about to be fired. That was the time of day people got fired at that firm. They never fired people first thing in the morning. If they had to pay you for the day, they wanted to make sure that they got a full day's work out of you. Besides, what other reason would the head of the office have for wanting to see me? The guy was so uptight and so "my-ancestors-cameover- on-the-Mayflower" superior that we used to call him Mr. Stiff. Mr. Stiff and I had barely exchanged a word during my short tenure. His behavior that evening only confirmed my suspicion that I was getting the ax. At the end of a long workday, he did not invite me to sit. He had me stand in front of his desk as if it were the military. My stomach churned. Mr. Stiff finally opened his mouth, and as I waited for the blade to fall, he did something very strange. He offered me a promotion and matter-of-factly said, "I'm going to raise your salary to $12,000." Twelve thousand dollars! I thought it was incredible. Now my secretary would have to type for me! I wanted to express my joy and gratitude and relief, but, in all honesty, I was still feeling a little queasy. I wasn't sure if it was nerves or the scrod I'd had for lunch at the Captain's Table. I hadn't eaten fish since I was a child, ever since my mother had fried up the family goldfish for my dinner. Of course, I was the one who'd fished the goldfish out of the tank, in retaliation for not being allowed to go on a fishing trip with my older brother. The smell of fried fish had haunted me for years, but this was the day that I thought I'd finally give seafood another try.
Unfortunately, this was not the best time to discover that I was actually allergic to fish. Then it happened.
I was trying to concentrate on the prospect of a hundred extra dollars a month, when all of a sudden, I retched-just straight at him, with incredible force, all over his desk, his papers, his beautiful gray flannel suit. Linda Blair of The Exorcist was a piker compared to me.
He was too repressed to mention the fact that I had just vomited on him. I think he thought it was some Italian negotiating technique he was unfamiliar with. His reaction was so peculiar that it actually saved me from feeling too bad about what I'd just done. I was outraged by his coldness. Did he ask me to sit down? Did he offer to call a doctor? Did he get angry? No. I would have taken anger over the complete lack of emotion and concern.
Despite the raise and the promotion, Mr. Stiff clearly had yet to see me as a human being. This incident gave me a little insight: My bosses were not about to launch a voyage of discovery to learn about me. To them, I was a tool. And, as a tool, I had better find ways to distinguish myself, aside from throwing up.
The fact is, Mr. Stiff's attitude is not uncommon. You may be barely real to the people above you in an organization if you don't find a way to improve their lives. So, the single best way to establish a personal brand when you are new to an organization is by becoming useful- ideally, uniquely useful. Be smart. Stake out your own territory by finding something that the organization is missing that you can provide. That is exactly what I did with Mr. Stiff, and I soon became indispensable to him.
First, I took my youth and inexperience and turned it into something that had value. I became known as the young "idea" guy to whom you could hand any project and he would come up with a number of ideas to move the project forward. This was important in that office because the middle-aged people I was surrounded by were short on ideas. They all wanted to be philosophers, wise men who edited other people's ideas. Soon, there was no new business pitch in that office that didn't include me.
Second, I became a source of news that people could not do without.
These were the days when breaking news came in, not over the Internet or cable TV, but over a Dow Jones Teletype that left reams of paper on the floor. I volunteered to do something incredibly simple: I would leave my office every 30 minutes or so, cut the Teletype, and post the stories on a bulletin board. My peers thought this The best way to establish a brand when you are new to an organization is by offering something that the organization is missing.
To get noticed, turn whatever particular qualities you offer into something that is of value to the higher-ups.
task was far too menial for them, but it put me on the radar. Since I got to monitor the news related to our clients first, I could poke my head into my boss's office or another account head's office and say, "By the way, Engelhard Industries just announced it is going to buy tons of platinum from Russia." The higher-ups could then jump on the phone, call their clients, and look as if they were paying incredible attention to them.
The truth is, the powerful people in any organization have plenty of volunteers to take on the high-profile, high-status assignments. Sometimes the smartest thing you can do is take on a humble task that needs doing.
The third thing I did to establish myself was to become the way to get a reservation at the finest restaurants in the country. This was quite an ironic development for an Italian-American kid from upstate New York who until that point had never eaten in a two-star restaurant, let alone a five-star. But I took on an account called the Mobil Travel Guides, which rated restaurants. Mobil had this incredibly great-looking award that it would give to the restaurants that won its top ranking, but it had never really publicized it properly.
I convinced Mobil to do a series of press releases and features when it awarded any restaurant five stars. Then I got the food critics from the local television stations to come in and do these three- or four-minute bits with the owner and the chef. Even in New York City, we got tremendous publicity, and publicity is extremely hard for restaurants to come by, given the intense competition they face. So I came away with tremendous gratitude from the owners and chefs of the top restaurants around the country.
There are probably plenty of volunteers for every high-profile task, so sometimes the best way to be noticed by those in power is to do something humble but essential.
As a result, I never had any trouble getting a restaurant reservation anywhere. Soon, my bosses figured out that the way to get into a restaurant that was impossible to get into-La Grenouille, La Côte Basque, Lutèce, The Four Seasons-was through me. With clients, it was very impressive. If they were from out of town, their spouse was with them, and they were hoping for a romantic dinner at one of the best restaurants in New York, I could always say, "No problem. Where do you want to go?"
And when you walk into Lutèce and you're 22 years old and legendary proprietor André Soltner comes over and greets you, but doesn't greet your boss until you introduce the two of them and make them both feel important-that is something. If you have the opportunity, try to take advantage of what marketers call "the halo effect." Associate your brand with something glamorous and valuable, and by extension, you will become valuable, too. Of course, my early achievements in terms of the halo effect were minimal compared to those of Virgin Group founder Richard Branson. As a 17-year-old boy, Branson turned a brush with glamour into an empire. He and a friend founded a magazine in London called Student with nothing more than nerve. Somehow they got the hip young actress Vanessa Redgrave-who must have been a very good sport indeed- to agree to talk with them.
"The interview was a turning point for us," Branson wrote in his book Losing My Virginity, "since we could now use her name as a magnet to attract other contributors." Suddenly, Branson was interviewing Mick Jagger and John Lennon and convincing advertisers who were eager to reach a young audience that they should send money his way. He was barely shaving, but he was now a player in the world of entertainment.
Associate your brand with something glamorous and valuable, and you will become valuable, too. When you are young, getting access to powerful people is the name of the game. If you gain access to power early, you will learn an enormous amount very quickly-and you will put yourself in an entirely different category from your peers who communicate with these people only through a hierarchy.
Of course, getting the positive notice of powerful people is only the first step. You want them not just to appreciate you where you are, but also to move you up. And for that, you will have to develop a brand that shouts "upward mobility."
How do you do that?
At the risk of appalling all the humanists out there, I can tell you that it's smart for you to try to think of yourself as a product-an expensive one-because at the end of the day, that's exactly what you are to your organization, to your boss, and to your customers. You probably cost them as much every year as a top-of-the-line Mercedes, and that's how they think of you, too. And you'd better deliver the performance they expect from a luxury brand, because who wants an unreliable Mercedes? No one.
When it comes to luxury sedans, cheap upholstery and poor pickup will not cut it. When it comes to employees, certain things are simply not negotiable if they are going to be considered for higher office. It doesn't matter whether you work in the software industry or the steel industry; or whether you aspire to Warren Buffett's folksy com- When you are young, getting access to powerful people is the name of the game.
mon sense or Phil Knight of Nike's "bad to the bone" attitude. If you expect to go far, you have to develop a reputation for five key qualities:
- Earning the organization money
- Telling the truth
Keeping your promises
- Making people want to work for you
If you are missing any one of these qualities, you don't have the right kind of brand for a big career, and it is highly unlikely that anyone will consider you executive-office material. Let's consider these brand cornerstones one by one.
Organizational life is not that different from life among the cavemen. There are the hunters and the trappers, the skinners, and the cooks, as well as the engineering geniuses who invented the clubs and snares used by the hunters and the trappers. This last group, the engineers, is frequently a little bitter, because they think they never get enough credit for their inventions. If it weren't for them, they believe, the tribe would not be able to eat.
In fact, everyone considers his or her function to be the most essential. For example, the skinners-the cave equivalent of a corporation's financial types-truly believe that cutting up the meat and divvying it up trumps all other functions. If they had their way, no one would spend any money on bows and arrows or clubs. They'd just put all the tribe's resources into weighing the meat more precisely. Yet, the greatest respect in cave society invariably goes to one type of caveman: the hunters and trappers who bring home the bear. In other words, those who make money for the corporation or bring in donations for the nonprofit rise first.
It is always smart, therefore, to make your way at some point or other into a production or development job where you can be credited directly for beautifying the bottom line. Especially when you are young, being a successful hunter can give you a huge advantage over your peers. You know, I played on my high school football team one year. I remember one night when we had just lost a game and were on the bus coming back late.
A lot of the people in the bus were chattering. Suddenly, the quarterback spoke up: "Look, the only guys who should be talking are the guys who played. Guys who didn't play, don't talk." A lot of organizations have the same attitude. If you are young and unaccomplished, no one wants to hear from you-unless, of course, you become a starter in one of three ways:
- By offering such incredible wisdom, skill, ideas, or connections that the higher-ups need you immediately in a consigliere role
- By being the boss's kid or in-law
- By the most likely route-selling your way into people's notice
If you are generating a lot of revenue for an organization, the people in charge simply have to listen to you. You are also less likely to be fired or laid off if you are a hunter. That's why there are so many obnoxious salespeople in the world: People who can sell are retained even if their personality defects are numerous. Just as in the tribes of old, hunters are allowed to be unshaven and crude and unkempt. Of course, none of this means that you cannot rise to the upper ranks of your organization from the club-inventing or meat-weighing side of the business. But in that case, you'll have to become skilled at getting the people who work for you to bring home the bear. You also have to demonstrate faith in the bear-hunting abilities of the entire tribe. I frequently offer the junior executives at my firm a choice: a higher guaranteed salary or a lower guarantee but a greater potential upside linked to our performance. Anyone who chooses the higher guarantee is going nowhere.
Dishonesty is fatal in business, and for good reason. Trust is the oil that greases the wheels of commerce. As early as 1766, political economist Adam Smith noticed that scrupulous honesty and a thriving business went hand in hand. "Of all the nations in Europe," he wrote, "the Dutch, the most commercial, are the most faithful to their word." Smith observed that it was specifically because their businesses were so wide-ranging and active that Dutch merchants knew that they could not afford a dent in their reputations. "When a person makes perhaps twenty contracts in a day . . . the very appearance of a cheat would make him lose," Smith wrote.
Over 200 years later, eBay operates a vibrant online marketplace on the exact same principle. Buyers are able to trust sellers that they do not know and cannot visit because other buyers in the past have posted feedback about them on the site. And the more active the seller, and the more feedback he or she has collected, the more likely he or she is to jealously guard the quality of that feedback, and the more trustworthy he or she is likely to be.
To be considered for the upper ranks, get into a position where you are making money for your organization.
An active seller cannot afford to fleece even a single customer. At "the very appearance of a cheat," thousands of potential customers would flee. The truth is, when you have a thriving business, the risks of dishonesty tend to far outweigh any potential profit you might gain from it. Any funny business, and the resulting exodus of customers and investors can shrink a big operation into a small one in a matter of weeks. Just consider how rapidly the market capitalization of WorldCom and Enron collapsed after the dishonesty of their accounting was revealed.
All this means one simple thing for you: Any organization you are going to want to work for will consider dishonest people a risk that it cannot bear.
Fortunately, I learned how seriously good organizations take even a little white lie very early in my career. When I was 23, I wanted a job so badly that I said on my résumé that I was 25. I thought they would want someone older. It didn't make a lot of sense. I got the job. Then, as I was filling out the paperwork for Personnel, I saw that practically every form asked me for my birthdate. To my horror, I discovered that I was going to have to lie again and again and again.
I had a profound revelation: Little white lies can haunt you. If I persisted in this lie, I would wind up living it for a long time. I'd already accepted this job and had quit my old one. But I knew that I'd made a terrible mistake. So I called my boss-to-be, a smart, decent guy named Traug Keller, and told him the humiliating truth, recognizing that it might cost me the job. Traug was very concerned. He said he'd have to think about it and call me back. He called me the next day. He was still unhappy, but he had discussed the matter with his boss. And because I'd come forward and admitted what I had done, they were going to take me on. However, they wanted to put me on notice that one more lie at that level, and I would be fired. Traug, who went on to become one of the great mentors in my career, saved me from oblivion at that particular moment. He also kept me from winding up like Sandy Baldwin, the former president of the United States Olympic Committee, who was disgraced for lying about her educational accomplishments, or George O'Leary, briefly the football coach for Notre Dame, who resigned after admitting that he had glorified both his academic background and his college football career. Both of them had been carrying around their little white lies for two decades-until they were successful enough for it to be worth someone's while to look into the truth of their curriculum vitae, and they were caught. I'm sure those résumé-boosting lies were helpful when they were first used. However, no matter what a lie wins you in the short term, it is not worth the cost to your career in the long term. Tell your assistant that her new haircut looks great even when it doesn't, but do not perjure yourself when it comes to your job. No amount of talent, brains, or accomplishments will save you if you do.
BECOME FAMOUS FOR YOUR GARBO-ESQUE SILENCE Somebody recently said to me, "Information is power only if you can pass it on."
This seems to me to be a particularly naïve way to look at information. Frequently, it offers more of an advantage when you don't pass it A reputation for dishonesty is a career-ender.
on, when you simply keep something to yourself that you and you alone are able to act on. That is one great argument for discretion. The second great argument is that if you are indiscreet, no one with any power will trust you. While it's enjoyable to gossip, especially about colleagues you don't like, I've seen enough people damage their reputations by saying something in public that they shouldn't have said, to believe that it is frequently smarter to keep your own counsel. As you might guess, this was one lesson I had to learn the hard way.
For example, I once had a boss whom I considered a complete nincompoop. And when I was told that I wasn't going to be working for him anymore, I actually made the mistake of informing him how glad I was-without reservation.
Lo and behold, three years later, I was reassigned to him. His memory was particularly keen, and he made my life miserable. All of a sudden, my expense reports were gone over with a fine-toothed comb. I had no authority to sign bills anymore. All my ideas were unworthy. It was like having your ex-mother-in-law for your boss. Absolute torture, two full years of it, as punishment for five minutes of enjoyment in telling him off. Fortunately, however, with this particular instance of tactlessness, I did little more than hurt myself. If that were all that were at stake-a little personal embarrassment, a bit of a decline in personal reputation for those who talk out of school-no one would consider discretion a particularly important quality. But that is not all that is at stake. If you are the type of person who routinely says more than he or she should and says it in the wrong place to the wrong people, you could wind up costing your company a tremendous amount of money and respect. For example, John Hancock once had a good relationship with a nationally acclaimed consulting company that was doing $7 million worth of business with us every year. This was a very strong group, and they had infiltrated our organization like locusts. Every time you opened a door, there was another one of them.
Then one day, the consulting company held an off-site seminar for its senior partners, and someone lower down in the organization did a very smart presentation in which he called two or three of Hancock's top executives idiots and laid out a plan for taking advantage of our stupidity. The idea was to move from $7 million a year in fees to $12 million without a corresponding increase in the consulting company's costs. The guy expected to go from a 28 percent margin to a 50 percent margin.
And he had thoughtfully provided hard copies of his presentation for all attending. Sure enough, someone forgot the thing under his or her chair, and the person who found it posted it on the Internet, from whence it made its way to us. The best part was, the then-chairman of John Hancock learned that his high-priced consultants thought he was a moron. A mistake. The chairman was both brilliant and tough. I told him I would take care of it.
So, I called in the most senior partner in the firm, not the partner who had prepared the presentation. He arrived at my office, we gave him some coffee, and he settled in complacently, sure that we were going to give him the extra $5 million in business that his company wanted. Instead, he received a gasoline enema, and he rocketed out of there, having learned that he had lost every penny of the $7 million the company was already getting. Sometimes the cost of saying too much is even greater than that. For example, the CEO of Cerner Corp. sent his company's stock price down 21 percent in just three days in 2001 by venting indiscreetly at his employees in an email. Complaining that the parking lot was too empty and employees were not working long enough hours, he wrote, "Hell will freeze over before this CEO implements ANOTHER EMPLOYEE benefit in this Culture." He went on, "What you are doing, as managers, with this company makes me SICK." Thanks to its hysterical language, the email was ripe for an Internet posting. And it immediately made investors want to dump the stock.
While the temptation to be indiscreet probably goes back to cave times, we live in an age in which the chance that any indiscretion will go unpunished are slim and getting slimmer. Technology allows your thoughtless words to be snatched out of the air and turned from a private communication into a mass release with ease.
The indiscreet voicemails that you leave, for example, can be broadcast to anyone in your organization-something that happened to me once when a colleague who didn't like me as much as she might have "accidentally" pushed the wrong button on her phone. And the indiscreet memos that you write can be posted within hours on web sites like www.InternalMemos.com that exist just to make internal communications very public indeed.
And the indiscreet emails that you bang out not only are easily forwarded to the universe and easily eavesdropped on by your bosses, but also are easily retrieved even after they are erased. History has shown that they can be used by regulators and prosecutors to cause you and your organization a heap of trouble.
One of the problems with email in particular is that it's quick and solitary, and it encourages bravado. People tend to say things in an email that they would never say in person. Try to avoid the temptation to be a paper tiger. Do not write or record anything that you would not want to have subpoenaed or published. Ultimately, the organizational costs of a single indiscretion can be so high-you can derail a merger, ruin your company's brand, cost your CEO his or her job-that if you gain a reputation for being indiscreet, you may as well pack it up. You will have no career
Indiscretions can cost an organization a great deal, so become known for your excellent judgment about when to speak and when to keep quiet.
worth having. If, on the other hand, you gain a reputation as someone who can keep a secret and has good judgment about when to speak and when to be reticent, powerful people will want you around.
WIN A NAME AS THE HUMAN EQUIVALENT OF FEDEX: ALWAYS DELIVER ON TIME Like discretion and honesty, delivering on your promises is a trust issue. If you overpromise and underdeliver, you won't be trusted by your bosses, and you will go nowhere. If you say, "I will make this sales goal," you simply have to do it, by any legal and ethical means. In fact, the judicious use of promises that you can deliver on can propel you up the ladder faster than anything except bringing home the bear. Promising to do something that your more timid peers think cannot be done will distinguish you from the pack, provided that you deliver.
Can you do things that other people cannot do? That's one of the questions that determines how high you rise. For example, I once made a promise to a boss I had in the advertising business that I knew would require a lot of delicacy and thought to keep. One of the boss's best friends worked for the agency and was not performing. They had been in each other's weddings, but he had to go.
I promised the boss that I would take care of it in such a way that his friend would not blame him. I called in the friend. He was very cocky because he had such a close relationship with the boss. "So what job am I getting with you?" he asked. "You don't have a job," I said. He was astonished. I explained my problems with his work ethic and went on. "If you fight me on this," I said, "I will give you the standard severance deal, and that's it. But if you accept my decision, I will give you twice that deal."
Then I added, "If you decide to go the boss and complain, you'll have to take the risk that he won't back you up. And even if he does, you'll last only until I rise high enough to overrule him. And then the quality of the severance deal will be a lot lower than what I'm offering you today."
He weighed the odds and took the deal. So the guy got to save face-he simply said to the boss that he'd decided to leave. The boss looked good, too, because everybody knew it was time for this guy to go, even though it would be hard for him personally. Because I was willing to be the bad guy in the situation, I had kept my promise and had risen in the estimation of someone who held my career in his hands. The two men are still friends today. And the friend still thinks I am a jerk, a cross I seem to be willing to bear.
BECOME KNOWN AS THE COACH THE PLAYERS WANT TO PLAY FOR Almost everyone starts his or her career managing a simple task. Then you get to manage more than one task, and people start calling these tasks projects. After a while, you come to manage people who manage projects. It's at that point that people become your project. Eventually, you will wind up managing people across different disciplines, often disciplines that you have no familiarity with. Then you
To quickly elevate your personal brand, make bold promises and deliver on them.
are really into exponential management. At that point, your ability to do things yourself is relatively meaningless. Your ability to get things done through others becomes what you're getting paid for.
And the difference between what can be accomplished by a group of people who are willing to do only the minimum and a group of people who are willing to go the extra mile for you is enormous. The recent history of the Boston Celtics offers an excellent example. A talented team had three and a half losing seasons under coach Rick Pitino. Pitino had been a legendary college basketball coach, but many people believed that his micromanaging, overbearing style backfired with self-respecting adults. It appeared that the players just would not play for him. Pitino left mid-season in 2001, and his assistant, Jim O'Brien, took over. In O'Brien's first full season, the team made it to the NBA's Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 14 years. The apparent difference was, O'Brien treated the players like collaborators, not like errant children, and they were willing to give their all for him. Celtics guard Tony Delk told the press, "Coach O'Brien shows us respect and, in turn, we show it to him."
People above you will notice whether your team is willing to play for you. You will never rise as far as you want to if you do not develop a reputation for leadership.
Unfortunately, few things are more difficult to acquire. The most complex undertaking that anyone faces in a career is managing other people. There is only one thing in life that is more complex, and that is raising children. The difference is, the people at work have to listen to you.
You have to develop a reputation for leadership, because at some point your ability to do things yourself becomes meaningless. What counts is whether you can get other people to do them. I am the last person who would call himself a great manager, but I have learned a few simple rules about leading a team that seem to help: First, it's about the people, not the theory. While I find the many management theories out there interesting-the "One-Minute Manager," management by walking around, total quality management -the best managers are not the most brilliant strategists. They are the people who have figured out how to get the most out of what is probably a highly diverse group of players. My advice is, try to look at the people you manage as individuals. They all need to be motivated differently. With some people, you'll need a whip, a gun, and a chair. With other people, it's sugar cubes and schmoozing. Flexibility is a sign of leadership.
Second, know what you don't know. It's not your job to be an expert on everything, and you will never be effective if you insist on pretending that you are. Instead of trying to teach all your subordinates how to do their jobs, it is far smarter to hire people with great skills who will teach you something and can give you advice and counsel on matters you know nothing about. Recognize that you will need people with expertise in many different areas. Recognize also that this is unlikely to be a homogeneous group, and make sure that you don't surround yourself with people who walk and talk just like you. Recognize also that not everybody who works for you is necessarily someone you would want to take home for dinner. Third, a reputation for fairness is everything. Before people will really show you what they can do, you have to inspire trust and confidence. You have to listen to them, value their ideas, and treat them respectfully. You have to prove to them that if they do a great job
Here are a few simple ideas for adding leadership to your brand:
- It's about the people, not the theory.
- Know what you don't know.
- A reputation for fairness is everything.
for you, they will be recognized and rewarded for it. And fairness on your part becomes more meaningful to them the higher you rise and the more power you have to be unfair. The formula for a successful personal brand is pretty simple: Become self-aware. Get noticed by people in power. Develop qualities that suggest that you are going places.
Here is what is not simple: convincing your immediate boss to give you the opportunity to demonstrate those attractive qualities. In the next chapter, I will lay out the basic rules of conduct for the most significant and fraught relationship in your working life: the relationship you have with your boss-that frequently problematic person who gives you your assignments, reviews your accomplishments, decides how much you are worth monetarily, and largely determines how you are seen by the organization at large.
What People are saying about this
Harvard Business School
Chairman, U.S., Spencer Stuart
Meet the Author
David F. D'Alessandro is chairman and CEO of John Hancock Financial Services, Inc., a Fortune 500 Company.The youngest CEO in the company's history, D'Alessandro spearheaded John Hancock's appearance on the New York Times list as one of the top 100 brands of the 20th century.
Customer Reviews
Average Review:
and post it to your social network
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
See all customer reviews >
This book delivers one of the most powerful insights you will ever collect in your life, and with incredible humor, too! I found this book extremely helpful in explaining what truly sets one individual apart from the next equally capable individual. Hard work is merely half of the game and this book shows you how to win the other half. This amazing book absolutely will give you an advantage over your competitors. The book was not penned specifically with the female audience in mind, but the lessons are so solid that they should be the framework of your overall career strategy. You can forge ahead with all the female specific tips and tactics you fancy, but trust that the branding war will always be the most important one to wage and win.
Every business person needs a cranky mentor who speaks from vast experience and offers lessons and examples about the skills necessary to realize their ambitions in various business cultures. Author David F. D¿Alessandro is a marketing guru, and a skilled phrase maker and spin doctor. To his own surprise, he was offered a chair at the management table where the bottom line decisions get made on his way to becoming CEO of John Hancock Financial Services. In the framework of rules for personal branding and in the interest helping you play office politics successfully, D¿Alessandro spins dozens of yarns that bring context and reality to a subject that is often speculated about by authors who have never really achieved the success their books describe. His advice is ruthlessly honest, pointed, witty, precise and ripe with polished anecdotes. For this reason We recommend this book to business persons anywhere on the corporate ladder who suspect their battle plan may be ready for a few new moves.
I¿m not much for career advice books, but I bought this book because I loved D¿Alessandro¿s first book, Brand Warfare. I¿m glad I did, because this is a real gem. It¿s a book that I¿d wish someone had given to me the day I entered the working world. And if you don¿t have patience for boring books, don¿t worry, this is a very fun read.
Full of smart advice for the real world, not just another complilation of ego driven tales by an out-of-touch CEO. This book is full of advice that anyone can use. And it is a great read, instructive and entertaining. I would recommend it to anyone, especially those just entering the working world.
'This is both a smart book and a very entertaining book. In addition to the often hilarious but useful stories, I loved the comparison the author makes between companies and towns. Anyone who has ever worked in a corporate setting knows that organizations are not rational. I loved the concept of workplaces as 'vertical villages' that D'Alessandro refers to, complete with a mayor, a planning board and a town drunk. This is a great book for recent and soon-to-be college graduates.'
I picked this book up figuring I might find a couple of tips to help me navigate office politics. What a surprise! I was totally blown away by the quality of the writing, the humor, and volume of valuable insights. I highly recommend this to anyone that has to work for a living.


text:
Kat Graham reveals her style icon
The youngest of the Jackson clan, Janet sits squeezed in between brothers Randy and Michael.
Young Janet loved plaid! Here she stands with brother Michael at the American Music Awards.
Some of the Jackson Family poses together at the Annual Television Parade of Stars in 1977, with a wee Janet in the front.
Janet poses for a photo shoot featuring "The Jacksons," wearing a cute striped "Good Buddy" sweater.
Jump ahead just five years and Janet looks like a grown up at the 10th Annual American Music Awards in this red tiered strapless ball gown.
Janet and her sister LaToya look like they're attending an '80s prom, but nope -- it's the '85 American Music Awards instead.
We can certainly see a bit of her brother's influence here, with Janet's all-black ensemble and leather gloves.
Janet sure loves that key earring -- here she is dressed in all navy for the presentation of platinum records for her album "Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814" and two singles.
Janet shows off her bra and abs at the First Annual Billboard Music Awards.
Janet poses with her brother Michael at the Grammy Awards, dressed in a white suit.
The MTV Video Music Awards typically attracted casual attire, but this is taking it to the next level... into ho-down territory.
Janet dressed up a bit more for the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards, wearing a long maxi dress and tight red jacket to match her red curls.
Janet wore a metallic corset to the Source Hip-Hop Music Awards.
We're not sure why this choice was made, but this dress is just plain scary. There is such thing as "too much leather," and this dress is beyond too much leather!
Janet attended the 28th Annual American Music Awards in this cream silk wide-legged suit.
We think Janet is channeling Britney Spears with this tight sheer dress and pink hat.
We can see the fashion editors cringing at the 2002 Vanity Fair Oscar Party as Janet rolled in wearing this midriff-baring top and oversized coat.
Janet looked stunning for the 2002 Essence Awards in this silk halter gown.
Comfortable in silk, Janet attended a celebration of her new album "Damita Jo."
Menswear-inspired, bra showing... are we seeing a trend?
Yes, looks like we are. Janet wore this button down over a black skirt to the 32nd Annual AMAs.
Now that's better! Janet dressed up for the 2005 Vanity Fair Oscars party, and we are sure the fashion editors rejoiced that year.
We'll never understand the skirt-over-pants look (or dark-brown-with-black), but Jermaine Dupri didn't look much better than Janet at the ASCAP Pop Music Awards.
Janet Jackson wore a red Bill Blass gown to the 2006 CFDA Awards.
Janet looked lovely in this simple black dress for the Songs of Hope event.
Menswear-inspired for sure, Janet went for a mid-length dress to match her new haircut at the Billboard Music Awards.
Janet attended the "Why Did I Get Married?" screening in all black with white cuffs.
Janet emphasizes her tiny waist at the 39th NAACP Image Awards.
Janet attends the opening of the Los Angeles Alexander McQueen store, wearing a bright dress made by the designer himself.
Janet stands with Prince Azim in London, wearing boyfriend jeans and a white jacket.
Another menswear-inspired outfit, Jackson attended the Giorgio Armani Fashion Show during Milan Fashion Week.
Janet looked stunning in Alexander McQueen during the premiere of "Why Did I Get Married Too?"
Janet attended the premiere screening of "Why Did I Get Married, Too?" in London, wearing a sheer top.
Janet wore head-to-toe Haider Ackerman to the premiere of "For Colored Girls."
Janet looked stunning as she attended amfAR's Cinema Against AIDS Gala during the 64th Annual Cannes Film Festival in 2011.
Janet visits Jay Leno, wearing a lovely LBD and Christian Louboutins.
Jackson wore this Alexander McQueen jacket to the Marco Glaviano "Supermodels" exhibition opening at the Keszler Gallery in New York City.
Janet stands with Wissam al Mana in her go-to menswear inspired look with braids in her hair, attending the Giorgio Armani fashion show during Milan Fashion Week.
Janet is seen in an all-white ensemble with lace up heels.
For Kat Graham, style has always been a way of expressing herself and she isn't afraid to take risks. That risk-taking attitude towards fashion can be attributed to one singer known for her over-the-top looks, Janet Jackson.
"Janet Jackson has always been a huge style icon to me and some of my favorite looks from her are from the 90s, it was around the "Janet." Album. It was clean and felt totally natural, clean yet still sexy and edgy. Out of the big shoulder 80's phase, I feel like she was always one of the artists that truly went with the times and had the most graceful transitions but still maintained her own identity."
Check out Janet's style transformation in the gallery above!


text:
Drew Barrymore and Will Kopelman are ending their marriage after nearly four years. The couple released a joint statement to People to confirm the news that broke Friday. "Sadly our family is separating legally, although we do not...
Mike Smith who plays Bubbles on the cult comedy
Carol topped the 27th Annual GLAAD Media Awards Saturday night, which honored celebrities, television shows...
Caitlyn Jenner is going from transgender advocate to actress.
In a head-to-head match-up, it will probably be close.
Saturday Night Live kicked off with another attempt to railroad
Mischa Barton, who's going into her third week on Dancing with the...
Richard Childress Racing had a banner day, placing all three of its teams in the top-10 at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday in the STP 500.
Pete Pistone shares some news, notes and observations from a weekend of racing at Martinsville Speedway.
Delaware Directory
Business Name
Location, ST | website.com


text:
Polls. League polls or media polls, it doesn't matter. Hockey coaches almost universally abhor them, while school marketing and sports information types love promoting them. That's especially true if your address is Commonwealth Avenue, Boston.
At the top of the heap of this year's Hockey East preseason poll sit Boston College and Boston University, familiar territory for two schools with rich pedigrees and unrivaled recruiting clout. These teams don't rebuild as much as they reload. National championships (three of the last four) will do that for you. The result is a blue-chip talent rush that resembles a cattle drive.
Of course, the flip side to bringing in top talent is that those players often don't stick around for four years. When Boston College lost All-American goaltender Cory Schneider after his junior year, the Eagles replaced the Vancouver Canucks first-round draft choice with stalwart netminder John Muse. This year, BC forwards Cam Atkinson and Jimmy Hayes departed the Heights a year early.
"When it comes to the hockey side of it, we've got guys on the roster who can step up, and maybe fill a scoring role or fill a checking role," said BC captain Tommy Cross, who lost two roommates as well as teammates in Atkinson and Hayes. "Then you have newcomers come in, and we'll have to have them contribute. The mentality is you don't even think about the guys you lost, you just look at what you have and make the most of that."
It's that raw talent that often gives schools like BC and BU the preseason nod. But even Jack Parker, BU's legendary coach entering his 39th year at the helm of the Terrier program, knows the polls only reveal promise, or potential. The results still need to be earned on the ice.
"Two years ago, our guys were all full of themselves from the national championship the year before, and they thought they could turn it on anytime they wanted to," said Parker about his 2009-10 squad that failed to make the NCAAs. "They didn't realize how many great players they lost. We had a solid team, but we didn't come anywhere near playing up to our capabilities.
"Last year, we played up to our capabilities most of the year. We got off to a fast start, and it made it look like we were a better team than we were," he said, referring to BU's brief dalliance with the with a national No. 1 ranking before New Year's Eve. "We were generally a pretty solid team, and gave everybody a hard time, but weren't anywhere near as consistent game-in and game out as we should have been."
In a league as strong from top to bottom as Hockey East, consistency will be critical for any team that wants to be playing for one of 16 NCAA tournament spots next March. Boston College, which won both the Hockey East regular season and tournament crowns a year ago, is the prohibitive favorite to repeat this year. However, BC's archrival at Agganis Arena is raising a lot of eyebrows this fall.
"Over the years, we've lost a lot of good players to pro signings, but last year we lost only Dave (Warsofsky), and [seldom-used goalie] Adam Krause and (forward captain) Joe Pereira both graduated," said BU goaltender Kieran Millan, a four-year starter who won a national championship as a freshman. "Obviously, losing those guys is a big loss, but that's small for us (as a program). We're basically returning almost the entire team we had last year, and I think that bodes well for us."
Millan's assessment appears to be spot on. Led by captain Chris Connolly and fellow senior Corey Trivino, the Terriers 13 returning forwards, including leading scorer Alex Chiasson and bruising NHL draftee Charlie Coyle, accounted for 74 BU goals last year.
"As a whole, we should have a good team, because we had a good team last year," said Parker. "We came in third place in one of the toughest leagues in college hockey, and it was the youngest team I ever coached, both in terms of class-wise and age-wise. So, we're already way ahead of the game, because these guys all got older this year.
"We've got sophomores and juniors this year, instead of freshmen and sophomores, and that's a big help for us," he said. "But we do have some key seniors, like Trivino and Connolly, and obviously our goaltender, Kieran Millan. So we're solid in areas you have to be solid at, and I think we've got a little more depth up front."
Along the blueline sophomores Adam Clendening and Garrett Noonan anchor a solid core that also includes classmate Sean Escobao and juniors Max Nicastro and Ryan Ruikka. "Garrett Noonan is a kid that people are going to look at and say 'Wow, this kid is a terrific defenseman,'" said Parker. "We were really impressed with him last year as a freshman, and I think he should have an eye-opening year."
The No. 3 ranked New Hampshire Wildcats are hoping for the same from Stevie Moses, a lightning quick forward who has shown flashes of brilliance over the past three seasons.
"I think he's going to be one of the top forwards in the league," said Wildcat coach Dick Umile, now in his 22nd season behind the UNH bench. "We've been fortunate the past couple of years to have one of the top scorers in the league, and I think Stevie's going to fill that role for us."
The Wildcats will need some offensive pop, having lost their top four scorers, including last year's Hockey East player of the year, Paul Thompson (28 goals, 52 points), plus Mike Sislo (48 points) and Phil DeSimone (41 points). The fourth was junior defenseman Blake Kessel (brother of former Bruin Phil Kessel), who signed a pro deal after three years in Durham.
"Defense is going to be our challenge," said Umile. "We only have three returning defensemen with the loss of Blake Kessel. But (senior) Matt DiGirolamo is our goaltender, and we've got some young players coming in that will have to fill some important roles for us. But we're confident."
Umile said he was confident that his younger forwards, led by junior John Henrion, would pick up the offensive slack. "Obviously, there's a lot of parity in the league," he said. "It's going to be another long season, and we just want to be there at the end and give ourselves an opportunity to win it."
UNH's dance partner at Frozen Fenway doubleheader on Jan. 7, Maine, is slotted right behind the Wildcats in the preseason poll. Coach Tim Whitehead lost his top scorer and playmaker, Sweden's Gustav Nyquist (18 goals, 33 assists, 51 points), who left the Orono campus after his junior year to sign with Detroit Red Wings. The good news is that the Black Bears are returning their next two top scorers in Spencer Abbott and Brian Flynn.
"We've got two great captains in Brian Flynn and (defenseman) Will O'Neil, two Boston-area guys that are just fabulous," said Whitehead. "They've been tutoring under some good captain like (Tanner) House and (Jeff) Dimmen and Nyquist, so they both know how to lead. They're both naturals. They compliment each other really well, and both are fierce competitors and great hockey players. They'll be playing in every situation -- power play, penalty kill, first and last minute. So they'll have plenty of opportunity to lead on and off the ice. So far, they're doing a great job."
Whitehead will also have to hope that one of his two young goaltenders -- sophomores Dan Sullivan and Martin Ouellette -- steps up to seize the No. 1 spot in the mold of Ben Bishop or Jimmy Howard, though Sullivan, a league all-rookie selection, did log the bulk of the minutes last year.
At. No. 5 is the squad that bounced the Black Bears from last year's Hockey East tournament, Merrimack College. Warrior coach Mark Dennehy lost leading scorer Stephane Da Costa. The sophomore forward bolted after two sensational seasons for the Ottawa Senators, probably in no small part to a knee injury suffered last season. Harbingers like that are hard to ignore. Likewise, no one is ignoring the Warriors this season after last year's break-out, and record-breaking, 25-10-4 campaign, good for a fourth place league finish and an NCAA bid.
"We lost our top three point scorers," said Dennehy, referring to Da Costa (45 points), Chris Barton (39 points), and Joe Cucci (36 points). "But Jesse Todd scored 17 last year, and I don't think anybody had more goals than him on the roster. We return three of our top scoring defensemen in Karl Stollery, Jordan Heywood and Brenden Ellison. In today's game, a lot of offense gets generated from the blueline.
"I'd be a fool not to at least start that line of Elliott Sheen, Carter Madsen and Ryan Flanigan," said the Warrior bench boss. "They really cut their teeth in the final weekend of the season, and in the playoffs they were our best line. And I haven't even mentioned our all-rookie team member in Mike Collins. I like our depth. I think we might have to work a little harder to score goals than we did last year, and they might not be as pretty. We're going to have to play a little tighter to the vest than we did last year, a little bit more of a return to Merrimack hockey."
Suffice to say, Merrimack isn't sneaking up on anyone this year. But the No. 7 ranked Massachusetts Minutemen, like their namesake, just might. Tabbed to finish behind No. 6 Vermont, UMass-Amherst is Parker's pick to be the league's surprise squad, and coach Donald "Toot" Cahoon, a former BU assistant, isn't downplaying that possibility. Cahoon's young crew (14 freshmen on last year's 6-23-6 squad) returns more than 80 percent of its point producers, led by Danny Hobbs, Michael Pereira and T.J. Syner.
"Being young last year doesn't guarantee that everything's going to be just right this year, just because we're a year older," said Cahoon. "I was really happy with our competitiveness, but not the bottom-line results. But I felt, other than one weekend when we went to BC and Merrimack, there wasn't a weekend when this team didn't strap it on and compete. The thing that was disconcerting was that we didn't get the results, and it wasn't about effort, but our ability to bear down and take care of some little details that can make a difference in a game. Those areas need to be addressed."
One key will be whether sophomore Jeff Teglia or one of two freshmen -- Kevin Boyle and Steve Mastalerz -- can fill the void created by the departure of workhorse goaltender Paul Dainton.
"We've got three guys who clearly understand: Play well and you get rewarded with further play," said Cahoon. "There's great opportunity for one or more of those guys to really be a critical factor in our development."
"It must be interesting, from the outside, to see BU and BC and New Hampshire and Maine coveted as the top programs, and deservedly so, but I think the gap has closed between the bottom end of Hockey East and the top end," said Cahoon. "It's been pretty clear for a while now that, on any given night, any team can beat the other."
Brion O'Connor is a frequent contributor to ESPNBoston.com.