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Google Street View Lands in Manila
By Cris Larano
Google has just set new sights on the Philippines, bringing people around the world close to some of the country's ancient fortresses and historic churches.
On Tuesday the tech-giant began capturing images of the Philippines for Street View – a feature on Google Maps and Google Earth that allows users to virtually explore cities at ground level.
The company, which started on the streets of Manila using equipment called a trekker, will work its way through the capital before moving on to capture the rest of the Philippines' more than 7,000 islands. Google says it hopes to capture more off-road, natural and indoor destinations.
To collect the 360-degree imagery used in the service, the company will deploy specially equipped Street View cars to take photographs of both cities and historic sites.
In Manila, it will initially focus on four areas in historic Intramuros – the former seat of the country during 400 years of Spanish rule. Images taken Tuesday by Google using its mobile equipment are already available online.
Google is undertaking the project together with the Philippines' Department of Tourism, and special street views are being prepared for San Agustin, the oldest stone church in the Philippines; and Fort Santiago, the Spanish fortress that served as a prison for national hero and revolutionary Jose Rizal, who was executed by a firing squad in 1896.
Baluarte de San Diego, one of the oldest stone fortifications in Intramuros, and Plaza San Luis, a complex comprising several houses built in Hispanic architectural style will also be featured.
Philippine Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. said during Tuesday's launch that the partnership with Google would help "entice" more people to learn about the Philippines and visit, giving a boost to the tourism industry. The government aims to attract 10 million tourists to the country in 2016 from a little over four million last year.
The Street View feature will eventually allow visitors to glimpse hotels and other destinations, helping them navigate the country as they plan their trips.
Ryan Morales, the marketing manager for Google Philippines, said providing more useful map information could have a "lasting economic impact" on the country by attracting more tourists and encouraging domestic travel.
Street View first started in the U.S. and has since been launched in dozens of countries, including neighboring Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand.
The company has faced privacy issues in the past, since its Street View data capture panoramic images in real-time. Some people have expressed deep concern about their personal data being recorded and potentially seen by millions of Street View users.
Mr. Morales said Tuesday that faces and cars plate numbers will be blurred. He didn't provide a deadline for when the first batch of data would be ready.


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Definition of sitting in English:
1A continuous period of being seated, especially when engaged in a particular activity: the whole roast was eaten at one sitting
More example sentences
- The more calories you eat in a sitting, the more likely you are to store them as body fat.
- He eats around 10 pounds at a sitting at least three times a week before a big match, increasing the volume each time.
- Laser facials require eight sittings at intervals of two weeks.
1.1A period of time spent as a model for an artist or photographer.
Example sentences
- Blanch was his stand-in model between sittings with his portrait subjects, including the queen.
- During the first few sittings, the artist must concentrate on the face and any other physical qualities, such as hands, that need special attention.
- The portrait was completed in the artist's studio in Suffolk after five sittings in January.
1.2A scheduled period of time when a group of people are served a meal, especially in a restaurant: there will be two sittings for Christmas lunch
More example sentences
- The Ritz serves 300 covers a day at four sittings.
- There were two sittings for dinner in the restaurant and shortly after boarding you were allocated your sitting and your table number which you kept with you throughout the cruise.
- There were no sittings; passengers came to one of the ship's restaurants when they felt like it, and if a table was available, they took it.
1.3A period of time during which a committee or legislature is engaged in its normal business.
Example sentences
- He will be the key player in the meetings of the Conference of the Presidents, which meets monthly to set out the agenda for the sittings of the European Parliament.
- Today was the fourth time a serving US President has addressed a joint sitting of Parliament.
- A further rebuke took place during the first sitting of parliament.
1.4British Law A period of time when a court of law holds sessions.
Example sentences
- The defendant had been remanded in custody from a sitting of Wexford District Court the previous week.
- The next available Divisional Court sittings in Brampton is May 31.
- He was remanded in custody at a special sitting of Cork District Court yesterday, to appear again this morning.
session, meeting, assembly;
1In a seated position.
Example sentences
- Slowly slide your back down the wall until you are in a sitting position, as though seated on an imaginary chair.
- The taxi driver sits in his vehicle and watches as the other driver pulls himself out from under his motorbike and raises himself to a sitting position.
- He refuted the skeptics by proving that a man could still make concert-stage mayhem from a sitting position.
sedentary, seated
2(Of an elected representative) current; present: the resignation of the sitting congressman
More example sentences
- Not only will he have to deal with the sitting representative, there are others in his party gunning for the coveted seat and a place in the House.
- The leader is elected by the sitting members of the relevant party.
- A number of the current sitting board members have had close associations with Mr Murdoch or his company.
3(Of a hen or other bird) settled on eggs for the purpose of incubating them.
Example sentences
- If the sitting bird's body does not completely cover the nest, heat may also be lost to the air outside the nest.
- Nests are hidden in vegetation, each lined with an ample layer of down to cover the eggs when the sitting bird is absent.
Words that rhyme with sittingfitting, unbefitting, unremitting, witting
For editors and proofreaders
Syllabification: sit·ting
Definition of sitting in:
What do you find interesting about this word or phrase?
Comments that don't adhere to our Community Guidelines may be moderated or removed.
= trending

subset: commoncrawl


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- Jul 2:
- Santa Clara County same-sex couples celebrate marriages on Monday
- Jun 30:
- San Francisco Pride Parade: Downtown packed as marchers make their way up Market Street
- Gay marriage: Justice Kennedy denies request to stop California weddings
- Gay marriage opponents ask Supreme Court to halt same-sex weddings
- Jun 29:
- Supreme Court rulings on same-sex unions place spotlight on the weathered institution of marriage
- Same-sex couples marry at San Francisco City Hall as city celebrates Pride weekend
- Jun 28:
- Prop. 8 stay lifted, same-sex weddings can resume immediately
- San Francisco: Huge crowds expected for this weekend's gay pride parade, festivities
- Jun 27:
- July 28 Readers' letters: The Supreme Court rulings on gay marriage
- Prop. 8 case was once seen as a Supreme Court long shot
- Jun 26:
- Same-sex marriage: Evening rallies unleash jubilation after court rulings
- Prop. 8: Bay Area's gay rights advocates celebrate same-sex marriage rulings
- Gay marriage: Proposition 8 appears doomed in California after Supreme Court ruling
- Cassidy: Twitter moved us toward the Supreme Court's DOMA and Proposition 8 rulings on same-sex marriage
- Prop. 8 ruling: Bay Area marriage license officials eager to serve same-sex couples
- Gay marriage: How TV helped nudge society on the issue
- Biz Break: Google, Apple celebrate Supreme Court's same-sex marriage rulings, markets rise again
- Prop. 8, DOMA: Q-and-A
- Bay Area lawmakers' reactions to marriage rulings
- Timeline: Key dates in the American gay rights movement
- Bay Area rallies planned for DOMA, Prop. 8 decisions
- Prop. 8: Supreme Court ends California ban on gay marriage but fight remains
- Obama on DOMA: 'Supreme Court has righted a wrong'
- Mercury News editorial: Prop. 8, DOMA fall; it is a great day
- Document: California Attorney General Kamala Harris addresses marriage licenses
- Document: U.S. Supreme Court ruling on DOMA, the Defense of Marriage Act
- Raw Video: Prop 8 Supreme Court decision reactions
- Document: U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Proposition 8 and gay marriage
- Prop. 8 and DOMA: Bay Area greets gay marriage rulings with joy
SAN FRANCISCO -- They're here. It's their year. And on Sunday, for the first time in the history of the Gay Pride parade, more of them than ever before were texting their wedding planners.
Get used to it.
The Pride parade came into existence 43 years ago as a reaction to the Stonewall incident, during which New York cops beat up several patrons in a gay bar. This year's event took its marching orders from the U.S. Supreme Court, which handed down a historic ruling just four days before the parade, essentially overturning Proposition 8 and making same-sex marriage legal in California. By Friday, a parade down the matrimonial aisle began as soon as the 9th Circuit Court stayed its original order, allowing weddings to commence.
The day produced a perfect clear blue sky, and yet as the parade followed its traditional course up Market Street to Civic Center Plaza, it formed a dazzling rainbow, made up of a million and a half celebrants, according to the San Francisco police. It felt like a giant wedding reception, and though there were plenty of crazy uncles there, it was conducted with remarkable restraint. "It's a lot of people," said police spokesman Sgt. Dennis Toomer, "but everyone is pretty happy and just having a good time."
Probably happiest of all were the two newlywed couples whose legal challenge of Prop. 8 made the party possible. The couples -- Kris Perry and Sandy Stier, of Berkeley; and Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo, of Burbank -- received thunderous applause from the crowd as they floated the unlikely dreamscape in a pair of convertibles. Scurrying alongside the cars were attendants carrying cartoon-style signs that read, "Prop. 8-Kapow!"
California Attorney General Kamala Harris, whose refusal to defend Prop. 8 was what ultimately led to it being overturned, rode down Market in a cabernet-colored classic Buick convertible. "This is a culmination of all the parades before it," said Harris. These "parades were always full of hope, and full of vision, and full of fight and commitment."
She trailed Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who presided over the first wave of gay marriages at City Hall as mayor in 2006 and was greeted by the adoring crowd as both hero and hunky heartthrob.
Daft punks
A different sort of parade started hours earlier at BART stations throughout the Bay Area, where half-an-hour lines formed at ticket kiosks. At the Fremont station, a woman wearing shorts and a Mohawk haircut played "Get Lucky" by Daft Punk on a boom box, and suddenly the whole line began singing in unison. Some danced. Everybody got goose bumps. Every car into the city was packed with excited, sweating people, some with face paint that was running from the sauna-like conditions. It seemed likely that BART easily doubled its typical Sunday ridership. A spokeswoman for the agency tweeted that Sunday's ridership numbers wouldn't be available until Monday, when the transit agency's workers were scheduled to go on strike.
The event had all the customary trappings of a parade: Companies such as Safeway and Kaiser Permanente sponsored floats as an expression of goodwill, while others seemed intent on attracting new customers. McMillan Electric put in service a flatbed truck it dubbed "Court of the Wild Kingdom," with a cross-dressing go-go dancer in rainbow lamé, beneath a golden crown. They were trailing along behind Empress Marlene XXV, a statuesque drag queen of a certain age, who had ridden in the parade four times, but never before as a grand marshal.
"I love the parade because it's so magnificent," said the Empress. She didn't care much for the emphasis on gay marriage, however. "There are better places to fight at politics than the Gay Pride parade," she said. "But the marriage act that just came down makes this year very special. There are people at City Hall right now getting married."
Remarkably, there were almost no serious protesters along the parade route. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy denied one final attempt to reverse Wednesday's decision on Sunday morning, and with that, the Prop. 8 backers appeared to fold their tents. There was one guy spewing invective at passersby from a bullhorn, while wearing a T-shirt that said, "Jesus Like You," but his dismay with the gay lifestyle seemed to be of long standing. He instructed sinners to "read your bible," then as he finished screaming about the pit of hell to which they were all about to descend, he concluded with, "I love you all."
There was lots of love to go around.
'Like' the parade
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, marched for the first time, according to parade organizers, although he managed to melt into the middle of about a hundred dancing Facebookers who seemed to "Like" the parade. The Wall Street Journal reported up to 700 Zuck employees -- 15 percent of the staff -- attended the festivities, and photos of them were all over social media. As half-naked men in gold lame hotpants -- seemingly borne aloft by angel's wings but actually walking on stilts -- passed by a bewildered Jeff and Andrea Vlahovich, the couple stood at the curb next to a pair of large suitcases on wheels. They had just landed following a 15-hour flight from their home in Sydney, Australia, which, coincidentally, is home of the world's largest Gay Pride parade. Their hotel was just two blocks away but on the wrong side of Market.
"We had no idea this would be going on," Jeff said. "But it looks pretty great."
"There's a really good vibe here," Andrea concluded. "Everybody seems so happy. I wonder why."
One person who wouldn't be around to explain it to them was the new Archbishop of the San Francisco diocese, who had departed for a conference with the Pope at Vatican City earlier in the week. Before leaving, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, who had campaigned for Prop. 8, told the San Francisco Chronicle that the Supreme Court's ruling changes "the basic understanding of marriage from a child-centered institution to one that sees it as a temporary, revocable commitment which prioritizes the romantic happiness of adults over building a loving, lasting family."
Megan Callaghan, 22, a San Francisco native who just moved back to the city after attending college in Oregon, was wearing a lime green tulle tutu, purple roller blades, a rainbow bikini top and pink angel wings. She described herself as a "skate fairy." Callaghan was excited about the parade's marital zeitgeist. "It means for the first time I'll have the opportunity to marry somebody of my same sex in the city I grew up in." She said she didn't have anybody in mind yet, then added, "There's definitely nothing like this in Oregon."
On Sunday, there was nothing like it anywhere.
Staff writer Mark Emmons and The Associated Press contributed to this story. Contact Bruce Newman at 408-920-5004. Follow him on Twitter at BruceNewmanTwit.


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- Library Card Application
- Homebound Service Program
- Book a Librarian
- Do Research
- Guide to the Library
- Events & Photos
- Best Reads / Reader's Advisory
- Employment & Volunteering
- I Love NJ Libraries
- MTPL Blog
- Contact Us
- Site Map
Update for Library Supporters
Greetings library supporters!
Thanks to the many of you who have written letters of support and/or attended the meeting of the Board of Trustees on Wednesday evening. It turned into a Town Hall type of event, with dozens of people taking their turn to speak.
The resolution of the giveback issue is that there will be a negotiation involving attorneys and administrators for both sides next week, and then the Township Committee and Library Board will each vote of acceptance of the agreement.
On this, I will keep you posted, particularly as the library board may decide to have a special meeting in early March for the express purpose of voting on a giveback of reserves.
Because the Township Committee meeting is next Tuesday at 8:00 p.m., I urge you to attend and let the TC know of your support for the library. In particular, we are fearful that the TC will proceed without public vote on dissolving the library and becoming a member of the Monmouth County Library. Unfortunately, as you may already know, public comments at the TC meetings are always at the end of their meeting. [L]
This threat now must be moved to center stage. There has been no proof presented of savings to Middletown taxpayers, and, in its own investigation, we have found out the possibility that costs might be more. Further, there is no evidence that the Monmouth Cty Library Commission or the Monmouth County Freeholders would vote to approve taking on the services to Middletown, and the prospect of doing so in a hostile environment may make it even less palatable.
On our website [mtpl.org] we are posting background information, budgets, reports, legislation and more. Not everything is there yet- but we've been asked for more info and we're getting it up there as fast as possible. Our webmaster Megan is doing a great job trying to make this access as obvious and easy as possible for you to find. In addition, there's a table in front of the borrower's desk at Main with handouts of much of the same information. Next week I'll have packets to go to the branch libraries with the same.
It's been a rough week …………….. but it's always you, our customers that make us smile!
Susan O'Neal, M.S.L.S.


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The 28th Annual Atwood Lake Fall Festival is this coming weekend; Friday, Saturday and Sunday, October 1st, 2nd and 3rd. The colors are beginning to change and it's going to be beautiful at the park where the festival is held. Grab a sweatshirt and enjoy the weekend.
In addition to great outdoor cooking, music and entertainment, there are a multitude of things to do for the entire family. Many crafters with lots of interesting things to look at and purchase.
Sunday is the classic car show showcasing hundreds of fabulous old cars. Bill and I try to go every year to the car show and visit the vendors, it's always fun. If we have time we have some ribs or take them home with us.
Our Honeymoon Suite is available for Friday only – would love to have you stay. Call for reservations.
I'll look forward to seeing you soon,
Whispering Pines Bed and Breakfast ——————————-


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Customers' credit card information stolen at area restaurants
Published: Friday, December 6, 2013 at 6:32 p.m.
Last Modified: Friday, December 6, 2013 at 6:32 p.m.
Local Bojangles' restaurants are encouraging customers to "monitor their credit card statements and contact their financial institutions if they notice any suspicious activity," after credit card information was stolen from hundreds of people at area locations.
Detectives found account-compromising malware on the Bojangles' Reastaurants chain's computer system, and Bojangles officials said steps were immediately taken to safeguard customer data.
Outside experts were brought in to review and secure the system so that it is safe to process credit cards, according to a statement from Bojangles' Restaurants Inc.
"Bojangles' is aware that the credit card information of some customers may have been compromised at a small number of restaurants operated by a single franchisee, including restaurants in Asheville, Hendersonville and Waynesville," the statement says.
Henderson County Sheriff's Office Maj. Frank Stout said cloned cards were activated with the compromised account numbers.
"We did a lot of investigation to ensure that the crime was not being facilitated by employees or by any devices on their equipment," Stout added. "It appears to be that malware was used to compromise cards and (information from the cards were) sold to third parties."
The cloned cards were used at locations throughout the southeast, Stout said, popping up in places such as Atlanta and Orlando.
Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.


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September 15, 2006
Another teenager in Columbia County is charged with a sex crime.
A 16-year-old sophomore is accused of inappropriately touching a female student at Lakeside High School.
Teenagers are getting fair warning. Chief Magistrate Judge Wade Padgett is letting everyone know teenage sex is a crime through a series of seminars called "Teenage Years 101".
But just days after one of the classes, a 16-year-old Lakeside High student is charged with sexual battery.
"Obviously they haven't gotten the message," Capt. Steve Morris of the Columbia County Sheriff's Office told News 12. "We can only hope these classes educate parents that this cannot and will not be not tolerated."
The juvenile, whose name is not being released, is accused of inappropriately touching a fellow sophomore on the bus.
It's considered a felony because the female is only 15 years old.
If she were a year older, the charge would be a misdemeanor.
"The parents and the kids would come in and say, 'Well, if only I knew,' and that gets frustrating, because people ruin their lives," Judge Padgett said.
And as the judge works to clarify the law for parents, Capt. Morris says in this case there should've been no confusion.
"In some cases there's no gray areas, there's no question, and sometimes there are," he said. "In these classes the judge clears that up. But these kids know better. They chose to make wrong decision."
That's because under Georgia law, "a person commits the offense of sexual battery when he intentionally makes physical contact with the intimate parts of the body of another person without the consent of that person."
School board member Regina Buccafusco says students need to know the legal consequences because they will be held accountable.
"People know where the line is and know what is proper and what's not," she told News 12. "Why would someone want to push it? They need to be punished."
The 16-year-old male has been charged and released back to his parents.
If you'd like to attend Judge Padgett's next class, it will be on September 26 at 7 p.m. at the new Columbia County Performing Arts Theater.
This class is only for teens.


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- Alan DeNiro quotes David Foster Wallace: "I think TV promulgates the idea that good art is just art which makes people like and depend on the vehicle that brings them the art. This seems like a poisonous lesson for a would-be artist to grow up with."
- Cornell University Library's "The Fantastic in Art and Fiction"
- Suggested Rules for Non-Transsexuals Writing about Transsexuals, Transsexuality, Transsexualism, or Trans ____.
- The Book Depository looks to be a good source for books from the U.K., and amazingly offers free delivery anywhere. The web editor, complete with blog, is Mark Thwaite, of ReadySteadyBook. The site includes an interview with Gabriel Josipovici. (In fact, this will probably be my source for Josipovici's new collection of essays, The Singer on the Shore...)
- Nick Mamatas: The Website
- The British Science Fiction Association's critical journal, Vector now has a website, and it includes an essay I wrote some time back about the short fiction of 2005 that I'd encountered. It's an odd perspective, because I wrote it while being in the midst of reading way too many other things. I made that clear in the article, because sometimes it seems to me that critics should probably note their state of mind when formulating a criticism; not every situation affects judgment, of course, but sometimes, such as being in the midst of reading too much, it can (often in interesting ways -- I wouldn't privilege a more relaxed mindset over a more frazzled one, so long as the expression remains articulate).
- The new Ratbastards chapbook is now available for ordering. And there's a great deal on the backissues -- you can get 4 of the 5 previous editions for $19 (including shipping) or all 5 books for $24 (including shipping).
- Faces of the Grotesque
- I'm not a big fan of labels for fiction, but some of my best friends are, and there's nothing wrong with that. They enjoy debating things like the term "slipstream", and often come up with interesting insights by doing so. For instance, here, here, here, here, here. I've got a copy of Kelly & Kessel's Feeling Very Strange: The Slipstream Anthology, and it's a nice collection of stories, including a new one by M. Rickert (which should be reason enough for anyone to buy it). I love that they included excerpts from the discussion at David Moles's blog. If you like arguing about labels, the anthology will give you plenty to argue about. If you don't, just read the stories and enjoy them, because there's really not a dud in the bunch.
13 June 2006
Getting the Links Out
6 comments:
I've got my copy pre-ordered, mostly because of some of the writers in it that I love.ReplyDelete
But I have to ask- what is the big deal with M. Rickert? I think I must be missing something. I went and read a few more of her stories after being disapointed with The Harrowing and I still don't see what the big deal is.
I just don't lover her work- it's ok. It's good. But not something I would rave about, and the prose feels sloppy to me. What am I missing?
there's really not a dud in the bunch.ReplyDelete
I don't know if I'd go quite that far, but it's certainly got an extremely good hit rate, and the Ricker story is one of my favourites by her, now, I think.
I'm trying to write a review of the book; and specifically trying to write a meaningful review that doesn't just come down to "I agree with David Moles." Ah well.
(Oh, and there's also a Vector blog.)
I've written more fully about Rickert's work here, here, and here, but in general I'd say what has most impressed me is the complexity of the narratives, the openness to ambiguity within them, which, when it works, creates a rich reading experience (at least for me). I don't think it always works, and I do worry that some of her recent material is, for whatever reason, moving more toward ordinary storytelling (the last story of hers I read in F&SF began very well, I thought, and then was scuttled by an ending that tied things up too neatly). In her best stories, the prose is not sloppy at all, but it can feel that way if you're only looking at one of the levels of the story -- every sentence does have a purpose, every word a function, but the purposes and functions are often toward different goals. Even her least successful stories (and "The Harrowing" isn't one that did a lot for me, though I did enjoy it on a second reading more than a first) seem to be the product of an assured and thoughtful writer, so I jump at the chance to read any new ones, because compared to most of what's out there, even sub-par Rickert at least offers something to think about, because she seldom does anything in a predictable way. People will have different levels of appreciation for it, of course, and if what you're primarily looking for is just a fun read, "a good story", then she's probably not a writer who'll do a lot for you. (I'm not saying you are, Paul, just that that's probably the biggest group of readers who wouldn't be likely to connect to her writing.)ReplyDelete
I meant to mention the Vector blog in the main post. Stupid me. There's a Vector blog. It's got all the things you'd expect from a blog connected to Vector, hence it's a Vector blog...ReplyDelete
As for duds, I tend to think of them as stories that don't work at all, and though I definitely prefer some of the tales in the book to others, and were I to have been the editor it would have been vastly different (as it would have been had anybody else been the editor, 'cuz that's how anthologies work), nonetheless, unless I've repressed a memory of one of them, all of the stories had at least some sort of spark of life in them for me.
the openness to ambiguity within them, which, when it works, creates a rich reading experience (at least for me).
Y'know- that's only something I've recently begun to appreaciate in works (ambiguity). Most of it due to reading Wizard/Knight, and having a sudden epiphiny of "Ah-ha!". It was one of those defining moments as a reader- that completely changes the way you read works and appreciate them.
Until then, ambiguity just turned me off.
I think I'll go back and reread Cold Fires. Might be able to appreciate it now.
Thanks for the tip about Feeling Very Strange. Now commences the long wait for the book to appear in UK bookshelves.ReplyDelete
I'm not a big fan of subgenre labels normaly but the idea of slipstream (not a new one really just a new label) is a worthy one.


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Few can argue that the golden years of the pharmaceutical industry with high-margin products and regular new blockbusters coming into the market to replace products going off patent is over.
A changing modelAlthough there is sales growth in exciting new global markets, these markets simply cannot command the high-priced drugs of the past. Granted, the potential exists for significantly increased sales volume over time, but the increased sales will be at a lower price and at lower margins.
To counter these trends, Big Pharma has aggressively deployed network rationalization strategies, other restructuring, outsourcing, and reorganizing, which has resulted in massive layoffs. Reducing infrastructure and operational costs has become the new norm within the industry. Some doomsayers are even predicting the demise of Big Pharma in the decades to come as there will no longer be a financial model that is attractive to investors. Now that may sound a bit farfetched, but one thing is certain: every function and every person is being called upon and challenged to become lean, to cut cost, and to do more with less.
I've written many times in the past that adopting best-practice procurement methods is a great way to reduce cost and to recover margin. My experience has shown that when the right sourcing strategies are deployed and the maximum amount of spend is truly competitively bid, the resulting savings can range from 10–30% of the starting baseline pricing of a company's total third-party purchases. Additionally, if a company is willing to focus on specifications, requirements, demand, and consumption, especially when buying indirect goods and services, significant incremental savings can be achieved on an ongoing basis.
An example of the resulting margin improvement (i.e., recovery) from a best-practice procurement-transformation initiative is as follows. Take the case of a company that generates $20 billion in annual revenues and has total costs for third-party purchases (both direct materials and indirect goods and services) of $8 billion annually with gross margins of 33% (i.e., $6.67 billion). If a company reduced its costs by 10% (i.e., $800 million), its gross margin would increase to $7.47 billion, or a gross margin gain of 12%. If a company reduced the cost by 15%, the gross margin gain would be 18%.
Based on this example, it is clear that a transformed procurement organization is a strong investment. It also should be noted that when done properly, the transformation can be accomplished at net cost post initial investment. Some organizations are even lowering the overall cost of procurement through the use of innovative technology and outsourcing strategies and are seeing a sharp rise in procurement's return on investment.


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by Ryan Kennedy - July 29, 2011 11:37 AM UTC
Only one first-rounder from the 2011 draft will play college hockey after many top prospects chose to play junior instead. Anomaly or trend?
Call it "Black Wednesday." Because earlier this week, the NCAA was dealt a double body-blow. There was Phoenix first-rounder and Miami commit Connor Murphy deciding to take his game to the Ontario League's Sarnia Sting instead.
by Ryan Kennedy - July 15, 2011 12:35 PM UTC
Two new conferences has some suggesting small schools will struggle. But there's plenty of opportunity all around.
When we here at The Hockey News put together our annual People of Power issue this fall, I will strongly suggest a high standing for new Buffalo Sabres owner Terry Pegula.
by Ryan Kennedy - July 8, 2011 12:30 PM UTC
The Winnipeg Jets have a lot of excitement behind them, but since "arriving" the team has made some questionable decisions.
Let it first be established that this column is not directed at the fans of the new Winnipeg Jets, who scooped up so many season tickets and made up the second-largest cheering section at the draft in Minnesota.
by Ryan Kennedy - June 25, 2011 4:10 PM UTC
Minnesota players played a big role in the festivities on Day 2 after none were taken in the opening round Friday.
ST. PAUL - If there was a big picture story to the second day of the NHL draft, it was the role Minnesota played in its own backyard. Local high-schoolers were taken with great frequency, while the biggest slider of the draft also hailed from the State of Hockey.
by Ryan Kennedy - June 25, 2011 12:07 AM UTC
There were some surprising names that dropped and rose in the first round, so we take a look at which teams came out on top and who could have done better.
ST. PAUL - The draft never lacks for drama and the first round of 2011 lived up to that premise. While Ryan Nugent-Hopkins did indeed go first overall to the Edmonton Oilers, there were plenty of surprises after that to keep pundits on their toes.
by Ryan Kennedy - June 24, 2011 10:05 AM UTC
Today is the big day, so what can we expect? How about some surprises, trades and much, much more.
For the second straight year, I'm going to wade into the waters of draft prognostication. And while mock drafts are teeming out there, this will once again be more of a bullet point affair, based on observations and insider information about what is likely to occur.
by Ryan Kennedy - June 17, 2011 3:48 PM UTC
After randomly selecting a slot in the draft, our prospect guru picks a player in each of the seven rounds.
Everyone loves to guess their favorite team's early picks, but I'm going a step further and mocking up an entire draft. That's right, I've taken over a fictional team and we have one pick in each of the seven rounds in Minnesota.
by Ryan Kennedy - June 10, 2011 12:51 PM UTC
From charges of diving and embellishing to the fact they won the Presidents' Trophy, there are many reasons to root against the Canucks.
"You need people like me so you can point your finger and say 'that's the bad guy.'…Well say good night to the bad guy.
by Ryan Kennedy - June 4, 2011 10:44 AM UTC
Can a prospect's stock be hurt if his bench press is weak? How do the interviews play into the process? Ryan Kennedy shares some draft thoughts.
It's an event that has grown largely in scope over the years, but how important is the draft combine to the most important decision-makers, the NHL teams themselves? While the pomp and circumstance would lead you to believe the fitness portion has a lot of bearing on matters, the reality is a little more subtle.
by Ryan Kennedy - May 30, 2011 7:25 AM UTC
Led by high-end 2011 NHL draft prospect Jonathan Huberdeau, a number of future stars came through at this year's junior tournament.
MISSISSAUGA, ONT. - The Saint John Sea Dogs brought the Memorial Cup back to the Quebec League and became the first Maritime franchise to do so in the process.
by Ryan Kennedy - May 27, 2011 11:38 AM UTC
Mike Polidor turned his focus from hockey to flying and became a decorated pilot for his work in Afghanistan.
Hockey and the military have a long history together, from the origins of the Memorial Cup as a tribute to the soldiers in the First World War to the NHLers and other pros who served in the Second World War and Vietnam.
by Ryan Kennedy - May 20, 2011 1:20 PM UTC
Ben Eager may not have had the most effective Game 2, but his style is exactly the type that can get Vancouver off its game.
Sometimes when life is at its darkest and fate seems to have turned against you, only the crazy survive. And true, the San Jose Sharks have yet to play a home game in the Western Conference final, but they are down 2-0 to Vancouver and the second match was worse than the first.


text:
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text:
The classic hoots and hollers of a powder-happy crowd sounded Tuesday morning at Sierra-at-Tahoe Ski Resort's Grandview chairlift. A fresh blanket covered the runs.
"I'm glad winter finally showed up," said John Borchard, a South Lake Tahoe snowboarder who came up for some fresh turns. "It's the last day of February and we finally got a powder day."
Though not massive, the foot or so of fresh snow renewed slopes at all three South Shore resorts. It also added to California's water supply, which primarily comes from mountain snowmelt.
Runs at Sierra were peppered with granite boulders, small trees and other obstacles, testaments to this year's below-average snowfall. But at least they were open.
"They just opened Dynamite," snowboarder Blair Carlson said as he rounded the lift line for another run. "It's bottomless up there. Most of the other runs, you'll hit stuff underneath."
Sierra spokesman Steve Hemphill said ski patrol and mountain staff are warning people that, despite the soft, fluffy powder, there are still dangers.
"That's something we're really trying to get out to people," Hemphill said. "Be careful when going through the trees."
Nonetheless, the Monday's snow along with the accumulation forecasted for Wednesday will allow the mountain to open more terrain and maybe even get started on their half-pipe, Hemphill said.
Just down the road from Sierra at Phillips, Frank Gehrke, chief of California Cooperative Snow Surveys was taking measurements of the fresh snow for the monthly survey.
"It would've looked a lot different had we done this on Sunday," Gehrke said, walking out into the field. "This is pretty all new snow."
The snow survey found 17 inches of snow with 3.9 inches of water content, a dismal 16 percent of the long-term average.
"Probably to no one's surprise, we're not doing too well," Gehrke said to the group of reporters covering the survey. "While the storm totals have been obviously better than nothing, we're still way, way down."
Last year at this time, the Phillips snow survey read 44 inches of water content, or 178 percent of the long-term average, Gehrke said.
"I think it illustrates the variability," he said. "We talk about average and normal, and that really doesn't describe our weather very well. We're typically in the extremes."
As far as the density of the most recent snow, at about 25 percent water content, it's about as light and powdery as it gets for the maritime snowpack in the Sierra Nevada, Gehrke said. That makes for great skiing conditions.
"It's game on again," said Kirkwood Mountain Resort spokesman Kevin Cooper. "With (Wednesday's snowfall), it's just going to put us over the top."
With enough snow, Kirkwood will be able to hold the North Face Masters and the Freeskiing World Tour at the end of March and beginning of April, two events that have already been delayed due to too little snow.
"Things we had to push back, are looking more positive now," Cooper said.
Heavenly Mountain Resort opened some new terrain and is excited to launch their "Fresh tracks for season pass-holders" program, said spokeswoman Sally Gunter. As part of the program, the gondola will open at 8:15 a.m. to season pass-holders each Wednesday between Feb. 29 and March 28.


text:
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Product Description
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text:
A new Colorado state law brought students to their feet, and will continue to do so every day.
The law requires all public school students from kindergarten through high school to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. It was one of dozens of laws that went into effect.
There is no punishment for disobeying, and officials admit it may be hard to enforce. As one teacher put it, "if they just stand up, that's good enough for me."
There are also exemptions for students who aren't American citizens or whose parents write a note.
Colorado is now among 33 states requiring schools to include the pledge sometime during the school day.
But the American Civil Liberties Union says the requirement is unconstitutional because it mandates what children should say.
The Supreme Court may decide to take up the larger issues involved in the pledge later this fall.
Extended Web Coverage
History of the Pledge of Allegiance
Source: http://www.aclu.org/news/move/pledgeorigin.html (The American Civil Liberties Union Web site)


text:
Warm, fresh pretzels and German beer gardens have always gone hand-in-hand, says Andrea Slonecker, author of "Pretzel Making at Home" (Chronicle Books, $16.95, 128 pages), but a new wave of beer gardens from Oregon and California to New York is elevating German cuisine.
"All over the East Coast and Northwest we're seeing these beer gardens," she says. "They grill German style sausages and hamburgers and make their own pretzels. There are also so many great bakeries that beer gardens and bars are buying them locally."
Unlike the wimpy, concession-style pretzels, many of these pretzels -- and Slonecker's homemade versions -- are dark-crusted creations made with beer or "liquid bread." The pretzels' flavors complement the complex craft brews sweeping the nation. Here are her tips to achieve the top quality effect at home:
1. Make your dough a day in advance so it can rise slowly in the refrigerator. In a cold environment, the activity of the yeast is slowed, allowing the flavor and structure of the dough to develop gradually.
2. To get the all-important dark, leathery crust, dip them in a food-grade lye solution -- or baked baking soda solution -- before baking.
3. Bake the pretzels immediately after dipping. Don't wait -- and don't forget to rotate your pans for even baking.


text:
1.2-2 Nature of the Charges
Revised to December 1, 2007
This is a criminal case. The state has brought charges against <insert name of defendant> as follows: <read information>.
The information which I just read is not evidence. It is merely the formal means of accusing a person of a crime and bringing (him/her) to trial. You must not consider it as any evidence of the guilt of the defendant or draw any inference of guilt because the defendant has been arrested and formally charged. Each charge against the defendant is set forth in the information as a separate count, and you must consider each count separately in deciding this case.
<Identify each offense charged and summarize the elements.>


text:
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Soft and snuggly, this pair of pajamas will keep your little one warm. Great for movie nights! Features a darling baby rocking horse applique.
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It was that time of year again--when the turkey stuffing and pumpkin pie slide directly to the waistline as another Thanksgiving has come and gone.
But no sooner had the wishbone been snapped and the Cowboys and Lions lost again than it was time for the traditions that follow on Thanksgiving weekend--a little decorating, followed by a lot of shopping and then some more decorating.
Thanksgiving may have come early this year, but that didn't keep us from beginning the Christmas season on the third Friday of November.
It all started with that most joyful of holiday traditions ... while Natalie cleans up the last of the Thanksgiving dishes, I start to pull out the many dust-covered boxes and decorations to bring Christmas into the house. It's enough to make even Pig-Pen of Peanuts fame sneeze!
Of course, the alternative is to scrape the day-old turkey grease off of the plates, the counter, the floor and wherever else it splattered from my carving effort that looked less Saturday Evening Post and more Saturday Night Live! So I left Natalie to her cleanup chores, and I hauled in the boxes before giving in to my turkey tryptophan nap.
That led us to the second phase of our Thanksgiving weekend traditions--our annual trip to the Harvest Festival.
Every year, my wife drags me to the San Jose Convention Center to walk down the aisles--and aisles and aisles and aisles--of booths, where vendors are selling everything from jewelry and artwork to almonds and salsa, from hats and T-shirts to caramel apples and fudge, from books and ornaments to soups and dips ... it's almost endless.
Hundreds and hundreds of very different items for sale, and Natalie needs to look at every single one of them.
For a nominal donation to the Humane Society Silicon Valley, we picked up a shopping bag, which she promptly handed to me, and we were off on our shopping spree.
Her first stop was at the booth where they sold the personalized Christmas ornaments.
"Which ones do you like better?" she asked, holding up a couple of pink ornaments and two more blue ones. Before I could even answer, she had turned to the artist and asked her to scrawl Liliana on one of the pink ones and Caleb on a blue one.
"That will be $18.78," said the vendor. And with that Natalie turned to me again, this time more interested in my wallet than my opinion. I paid the woman and she dropped the two new ornaments into my bag.
We continued down the aisle, checking out all of the treasures, and Natalie's eyes quickly lit up again.
"Oh, I need some Thanksgiving candles," she said as we approached a booth covered with ... well, candles. "What do you think of these?"
"Thanksgiving is over," I said. "Why do you need candles now?"
She glared at me, and said, "They're for next year!" repeating a little more sternly, "What do think of these?" as she held up a couple of orange and brown candles.
"Well, I think ... " but before I could get out an answer she turned to the vendor and said, "I'll take these."
Another $10 later and I had more to add to my bag.
"Hey, fudge!" I shrieked, but Natalie tugged me past the booth, barely allowing me to get a whiff of delightful treats. "You don't need any fudge," she said. "You're still walking off that second helping of pumpkin pie."
So we marched on, her stopping at what seemed to be every second or third booth while I walked off my pie. We would stop long enough for me to pull out my wallet to pay for something and her to add another item to my shopping bag.
OK, so I have to admit that I stopped every time I saw a San Francisco Giants logo (or at a booth where they were giving out food samples). But it was beginning to become very clear why I was there--to "pay the man" and carry the bag.
And boy, was that bag ever filling up fast! The ornaments and candles, but also CDs, earrings, pictures, bags of almonds, Christmas decorations, shirts and hats, a Lazy Susan made from the lid of a wine barrel, a garden sculpture ... yeah, it was getting pretty heavy. But that's OK--my wallet was getting pretty light, so they seemed to balance each other out.
A day later we took on the third phase of our weekend ... more decorating. I brought in the last of the boxes and set up the tree, and Natalie started to put out her treasures and place the ornaments on the branches. And I did my part. From my seat on the couch, I said, "Boy, you're doing a beautiful job, but could you move a little to the left--I can't see the football game."
You know, those ornaments may look small and delicate, but when Natalie fires one across the room it can really raise a welt!
Yeah, some traditions can be pretty painful.


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MOSCOW, Idaho -- Idaho has been a thorn in San Jose State's side in recent years.
The Spartans have lost three straight to the Vandals -- all by four points or fewer. SJSU scored the game's first 20 points last season but lost 32-29. That was Idaho's only Western Athletic Conference win and a defeat that helped keep the Spartans a victory shy of bowl eligibility.
"We're doing well this year. We thought we were doing good against them last year, and then they came back to win," senior defensive end Travis Johnson said. "There's never a time we can let down, especially knowing that I've never beat them and no one on this team ever has."
SJSU (6-2, 2-1 WAC) knows what is at stake. A win makes the Spartans bowl eligible for the first time since 2008, when they earned eligibility (but didn't receive a bowl invitation) with a win in Moscow.
A victory doesn't necessarily clinch a bowl. That notion helps keep SJSU on task as it faces a team in shambles. Idaho (1-7, 1-2) has struggled on and off the field. Interim coach Jason Gesser will make his debut after replacing the fired Robb Akey. Quarterback Logan Bushnell starts after Dominique Blackman was kicked off the team a week ago.
The Spartans are ignoring those issues and focusing on reversing the trend against a team they've struggled against.
"Our kids remember getting beat at Idaho a couple years ago. They remember the heartbreaker last year," SJSU coach Mike MacIntyre said. "Idaho is a good football team that definitely believes they can beat us and we know they can."
The Vandals aren't running away from their distractions, which Gesser concedes have had an effect on his team. But a bye week gave his players time to adjust, and Gesser said they're on schedule in their game preparations.
"There were those distractions on the side that obviously have taken a toll on everybody," Gesser said. "At the end of the day, I think these guys are responding so far. I think these guys are doing the right things right now, and they're ready to get back into a workweek."
Follow Jimmy Durkin on Twitter at Twitter.com/Jimmy_Durkin


text:
Pop, pop, slam! Pop, pop, slam! When a powerful boxer throws two left-handed jabs and a hard right in a practice session, the sound of leather pounding leather is loud enough to hurt. When the boxer is 64 years old, the sight is amazing.
But it's downright stunning when the middle-aged boxer is also a bookish, art-loving Roman Catholic priest who preaches "turn the other cheek" on Sundays and then trains during the week to break an opponent's jaw.
"Everybody has this other -- I don't want to use the word dark side -- but everybody has these two aspects of them," said the Rev. Jose Antonio Rubio. "Aggression is something natural to every human being and you express it somehow."
Although he's been a boxing fan most of his life, Rubio stepped into the ring only about six years ago. He needed to get in shape after surgery for cancer and to bring down his soaring blood pressure, sugar and cholesterol levels. He had bloated to 193 pounds.
"I started boxing to save my life!"
So far, the Diocese of San Jose and his pastor at St. Mary's Church in Gilroy are OK with his boxing, but they aren't about to start a priestly boxing team anytime soon. Rubio quietly gets in his workouts up Highway 101 at the San Martin Boxing Club.
"Come on!" boxing coach and gym owner Rafael Gomez told Rubio during a recent session. "Get on your toes. Move, move some more!"
Rubio wanted to follow Gomez's orders but it's hard to dance like a butterfly on arthritic knees.
At the end of another round in the ring, which did not involve any real hitting, Gomez gave the priest a much-needed pep talk. Rubio wanted to enter an amateur tournament for older boxers later this year, but Gomez told him he wouldn't be ready unless he trained a lot harder.
"Come on, I'll train you myself," the 55-year-old Gomez said. "What are you doing next week and after that?"
The physically spent priest slowly unwound the protective boxing tape from his hands as Gomez waited for an answer.
"Oh, I can't," Rubio said. "I'll be in Ashland for the Shakespeare festival."
Art aficionado
Rubio's room at the rectory of St. Mary's is filled with original art he buys from artists he knows. He has an eye for Latino art bearing social messages -- Rupert Garcia, Luis Jimenez and Victor Cartagena. Rubio has a collection of boxing art, too, and the images are not pretty.
He loves and regularly attends opera, ballet and classical music concerts around the Bay Area. When a Broadway hit goes to Mexico City, he'll fly down just to see it performed in Spanish.
He's a graduate of UC Berkeley whose political and social values were shaped by the 1960s movements for free speech, civil rights and improved working conditions for farm workers. But his main role models at the time weren't student leaders or politicians.
"The priests were out front in all these marches," he said on another day over a healthy lunch of salmon salad at an Italian restaurant. "Back then, all the priests were supporting Cesar Chavez. ... I was against the war in Vietnam. All these priests were into this stuff."
Growing up in Southern California, Rubio watched Gillette's "Friday Night Fights" on TV with his father, a Mexican immigrant welder. Odd as it may seem now, he signed up for boxing at Berkeley, but the class was full, and then the coach retired. Rubio put his pugilistic urges aside, took up distance running, and pursued his religious calling.
Ordained in 1980 in his native San Francisco, he joined the newly formed Diocese of San Jose as a parish priest at St. Mary's Church in Gilroy, where he finds himself again.
He recalled with an old featherweight's lament, "I weighed 130 pounds at my ordination!"
As he moved around the diocese, from one high-poverty, immigrant church to another, Rubio followed his academic streak, too. A doctorate from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley led to a teaching position at St. Patrick's Seminary and University in Menlo Park, a graduate school for priests based in the West and Pacific Rim.
The academic, religious life suited him just fine. Rubio happily joined the theology lecture circuit, speaking on how Catholic interpretation of Scripture has moved over the past 80 years from a literal, fundamentalist view to a more historical reading.
What happened to Rubio next fell into the abyss of church discreetness. He lost his dream job at the seminary a short time after the Vatican, then under Pope Benedict XVI, appointed the conservative Salvatore Cordileone to head the Archdiocese of San Francisco, which owns the seminary.
"I think it was a difference in style, not politics," Rubio said diplomatically.
A tough congregation
The Diocese of San Jose and Bishop Patrick McGrath hired him back.
At St. Mary's, Rubio says services in English and Spanish.
Every day, he's reminded he's not at a bucolic seminary on the Peninsula. St. Mary's runs one of the largest missions in the diocese for the poor, hungry and homeless. The church is often the last stop before the cemetery for victims of violence or despair.
He said he's buried a young stabbing victim and four people who committed suicide. "I'm still dealing with it, still adjusting to the change."
Back in Gomez's gym, Rubio takes heart that his weight has dropped to 165 pounds. But as the coach exhorts him to dance on his toes, he still can't.
"Age, it slows you down," the priest said, adding that he's rusty. "This is my first time in a gym in two or three weeks."
But Gomez won't tolerate the excuses. He challenged Rubio to a sparring session, when both will put on headgear and punch each other in a simulated fight. Rubio was skeptical about anything short of a real bout.
"I've sparred before at other gyms," he said. "Nobody hits me hard enough. No one wants to hurt me because I'm a priest."


text:
NEW: For a prettier blog interface, see the Wordpress version!
Today's headlines:
1. Birthdays
I'm planning to get myself a domain name tomorrow to celebrate my 22nd birthday. Geeky, huh? Well, it's about time I got something like that. For extra symbolism I should've gotten it last year, on my 21st birthday, but hey--better late than never. Jijo Sevilla of QSR Hosting has offered to host the domain name service for me, like the way he's currently handling sacha.sachachua.com. I really owe him and Richi Plana a lot for hosting my mail and website!
For practical purposes, I will also get myself a 3/4 or knee-length winter coat and perhaps winter boots as well. Yes, I know, it's the height of summer, but that's a good time to start rooting through vintage and second-hand shops. This is a hefty purchase, so I'm treating it as an expensive birthday gift that will help ensure that I have future birthdays. ;)
My friends are organizing a little Skype party for me tomorrow morning (evening, their time). It's nice to be loved! =)
I'll blog some more tomorrow, but in the meantime, let me post letters to two people who made all of this possible.
Dear Mom,
I really think that we should celebrate our moms during birthdays. It must not have been easy raising me, and despite the fact that I seem to be sorta doing well on my own (at least I can cook adobo!), a mom's job is never truly over, is it? <hug> I wouldn't want you to ever stop being my mom. I like having a mom: someone I can ask questions, someone I can tell stories to, someone I can even disagree with every so often because I know we're going to make up really quickly. Thanks for teaching me so many things about life. I love you, mom. Happy birthday!
And it _is_ a happy birthday. I'm really happy that I was born, and I think a lot of other people are happy too. I hope to make thousands and thousands of people happy about that, and thankful that I had such a wonderful mom.
I love you. =)
Dear Dad,
You always tell me, "Remember, I gave birth to you!" I paid attention during my biology classes, so I know that's not _literally_ true--but it's truer than people might think. You _did_ give birth to me.
You showed me what it's like to dream and to pursue that dream.
You showed me the sacrifices people make to do what they love, and how they can help the world by doing so.
You showed me how to excel.
You showed me how to tell stories and how to get people excited.
You showed me how to get myself out of scrapes (and, err, how to get myself into them, sometimes).
I love you. =)
My parents totally rock.
I'd love to hear about any questions, comments, suggestions or links that you might have. Your comments will not be posted on this website immediately, but will be e-mailed to me first. You can use this form to get in touch with me, or e-mail me at [email protected] .


text:
Anonymous: Im having the same problem in the SF Bay area. Vo-Toys is one manufacturer but they dont have a way to buy online. Toy Shoppe is another but I can't find them online or in the stores anymore. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated as this is the toy my GSD prefers and its easy for me to throw. Jan 16, 13
Anonymous: I am having the same problem. I need these for my GSD? Anyone know where to find them? Jul 10, 13
Anonymous: I need them too for my GS/Collie Mix. He is playing with shredds and it's the only toy he likes to play catch with. :( Jul 15, 13
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Committee moves Parkersburg budget forward
March 6, 2013
PARKERSBURG — Despite a divided vote, Parkersburg City Council's Committee of the Whole Tuesday evening approved a balanced budget to continue on to the full council....
Missmm is pretty smart maybe she should run for city council kelly needs some help getting parkersburg going in the right direction.remember cut spending lower taxes for a better parkersburg
8 Agrees | 4 Disagrees | Report Abuse »
MothMan,you forgot to mention your suit against Newell,your slipping. It is going to be interesting to see what you do after you lawsuit is finalized. What will your next move be? Seem like you like to be in the spotlight.Being kicked out of Ohio Vally University because of a behavior issue,shoplifting incident,a feeble attempt to run for council, and now a suit against officials looking out for the public safety. Maybe if you were to shave and clean yourself up a little the spotlight would shine a little brighter for you.After all we all know, in your little mind you know you deserve the spotlight. PEACE
5 Agrees | 10 Disagrees | Report Abuse »
GoldNBlue: You are correct about Belpre and Marietta having a city tax. The only difference between the city tax and the user fee is that the city tax can be deducted on your federal and state income taxes and the user-fee canniot.
5 Agrees | 3 Disagrees | Report Abuse »
I would say Mr. Kelly has more knowledge of the budget than TAX NEWELL. How do you not fund a demolition fund as ordered to do and snub your nose at it and do less? TAX NEWELL'S flaws are just starting to expose themselves............
13 Agrees | 5 Disagrees | Report Abuse »
Before the biased opinions about Mayor Newell come out a couple of things.
1) Kelley arguing that big of a pay raise is more than rational
2) Mayor Newell wanting to give a payraises to city employees who provides that much oversight over 250 plus and remaining within market price is more than reasonable
3) West Virginia is below the average single family home salary base compared to other states, therefore why are we competing for market price if we are still paying some outrageous taxes? IE user fee.
4) Don't be biased towards the Mayor he proceeds with decisions from a group of people, and that he thinks will benefit long run. We may not agree on it but he tries to do what is right for his employees.
Just look rationally and not personally.
4 Agrees | 13 Disagrees | Report Abuse »
No MM; resident troll,cop wannabe.
15 Agrees | 2 Disagrees | Report Abuse »
Citykitty, Mr. Kelley is doing his job correctly. He is questioning the information before him and not blindly following Newell like sheep. I am curious though, a city kitty is an old fashioned word for a city police officer, are you a police officer?
17 Agrees | 3 Disagrees | Report Abuse »
Rubber stamps hard at work. Good attempt Mr. Kelley.
14 Agrees | 5 Disagrees | Report Abuse »
Showing 8 of 8 comments


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Results 1 to 10 of 64
Wednesday, 23rd May, 2012, 03:52 AM #1
A 1e title so awesome it's not in the book (Lvl 21)
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ø Block Piratecat
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Guidelines for D&D Next playtest/adventure discussion here at ENW
Please don't:
Repost any mechanics (but see below)
Post any of the rules or character sheets
Create video blogs or podcasts of live play
Put game mechanics into shared adventures
Edition war
Please do:
Discuss your opinions
Thrash out what works and what doesn't
Stay polite to people you completely disagree with
Share adventures with generic mechanics ("This room has 4 goblins in it.")
Share your experience in actual play
EDIT: from WotC: "You can talk about your current and previous playtest experiences and even talk about the rules and mechanics as long as you don't directly quote text."
You may now run online games via Skype, Google Hangout or our play-by-post forum provided you to do not post or upload any transcripts from your playtest, upload any playtest materials and make sure that all members of your group have signed up to playtest through the official playtest sign up process.
Last edited by Piratecat; Tuesday, 5th June, 2012 at 02:58 AM.- Piratecat, EN World Admin. Now writing TimeWatch, an investigative time travel game.
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Wednesday, 23rd May, 2012, 03:59 AM #2
Myrmidon (Lvl 10)
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Which of these would you say adding new monsters would fall under?Originally Posted by Piratecat
Any group can only fight so many goblins and it would be nice to share advice on expanding the range of possible adventures.
Wednesday, 23rd May, 2012, 04:00 AM #3
Myrmidon (Lvl 10)
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ø Block nnms
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Wednesday, 23rd May, 2012, 04:53 AM #4
Scout (Lvl 6)
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ø Block Kurtomatic
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Wednesday, 23rd May, 2012, 05:10 AM #5
Magsman (Lvl 14)
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ø Block Herremann the Wise
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Apologies for the questions but some examples of what is cool and what is not might help to make the line really clear to everyone.
Best Regards
Herremann the Wise
Imagination is a quality given a man to compensate him for what he is not,
and a sense of humor was provided to console him for what he is.
Oscar Wilde
He who is certain he knows the ending of things when he is only beginning them is either extremely wise or extremely foolish; no matter which is true, he is certainly an unhappy man, for he has put a knife in the heart of wonder.
Tad Williams
Wednesday, 23rd May, 2012, 05:38 AM #6
Defender (Lvl 8)
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ø Block hbarsquared
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I want to stay as true as I can to the spirit of the playtest and the ENWorld forums...
What about derived mechanics? Rules that may not be spelled out but we might be able to figure out?
As in, figuring out or hypothesizing that hp or bonuses are calculated with a guessed formula? Or predicting that particular abilities are slotted for background/theme/class/race?
Wednesday, 23rd May, 2012, 05:47 AM #7
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Wednesday, 23rd May, 2012, 06:47 AM #8
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Is that NDA related? Otherwise it's seems very wired not being able to reference actual rules as written while discussing them.
the essence of D&D is "The thrill of victory the agony of a natural 1" - Mike Mearls, Gen Con 2012
Starting From the Ground Up - ACKS Economic system
Starting From the Grounds Up, Part II - ACKS Economic system
Wednesday, 23rd May, 2012, 06:51 AM #9
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It'd be a fine line of how much mechanical detail is too much to reveal. Easiest way for ENWorld to moderate that kind of thing is to simply say "no" outright. No question of where the line is. No question of 'death by small parts'.
PbP Signature: http://www.enworld.org/forum/5934473-post84.html
Wednesday, 23rd May, 2012, 08:34 AM #10
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It should be possible to talk about the mechanics without reposting them. We do it all the time on these boards because we work from a common resource. It would be rare to see a rule posted verbatim in quotes.
Easy to avoid I think.
Last edited by vagabundo; Wednesday, 23rd May, 2012 at 12:09 PM.
"Mercy!? You want MERCY? I'M CHAOTIC NEUTRAL!!!"


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Firefighters hone skills in practice burn
Published: Tuesday, October 29, 2013 at 4:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Monday, October 28, 2013 at 3:29 p.m.
A tower of smoke billowed from an abandoned house on North Grove Street Monday afternoon as firefighters turned the unwanted home's destruction into a training opportunity.
Photo Galleries
The Hendersonville Fire Department held the practice burn and training exercise after the church that owns the property asked for it to be demolished to make room for extra parking.
The fire department was also testing new thermal imaging cameras.
Departments that took part in the training included: Hendersonville, Edneyville, Mountain Home, Valley Hill, Henderson County Rescue Squad, Henderson County EMS and Hendersonville Public Works.
Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.


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Five-Year-Old Shot in the Bronx
By Tamer El-Ghobashy and Danny Gold
UPDATED | A 5-year-old boy was accidentally shot in the arm on Friday inside his Bronx home by a weapon belonging to his father, a law enforcement official said.
Investigators were still trying to determine if the child, identified as Daniel Pantoja, shot himself or was shot by his 11-year-old brother, the official said. Daniel was listed in stable condition at Lincoln Hospital.
The incident unfolded at about 10:50 am when officers on patrol stopped a car being driven by the boy's father because the driver was speaking on a cell phone. The 33-year-old father told police his son had been shot during a robbery and that he was rushing him to the hospital, the official said.
But after further questioning, the father said the boy had walked into his room inside their Westchester Avenue apartment in Morrisania with a gunshot wound, the official said.
Police recovered a .38 caliber revolver from the father's car, and he was still being questioned by police late on Friday, the official said, adding that charges against the father were likely.
Neighbors at the family's building said the father was attentive and the two boys were rarely seen without him.
"He's real good with his son," said Shanee McCray, a 30 year old neighbor. She said the father would take his sons to the park and watch over them as they played with other kids.
Jon Scott, who works at a convenience store across the street from the building where Daniel lives, said the brothers were frequent visitors and would pick up items for their parents.
He said they are "polite, well mannered, always dressed nice."
"The kids were well mannered and around here, that's unusual," Scott said.


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Musculo-Skeletal Support
Tincture combinations are blends of single herb tinctures (herbs extracted in organic alcohol and distilled water, 50-75% alcohol) formulated to target specific health needs. We recommend putting the dose into a couple ounces of water for consuming. If the alcohol is of concern to you, the dose can be placed in hot water and allowed to stand for a few minutes. Three stars (***) means a formula is generally safe in pregnancy if used at the recommended dosage. Use caution in the first trimester or if you are prone to miscarriage. Always consult a health professional before taking any product if you have a major health issue.
Tincture Combinations Addiction Relief Cold and Flu Formulas Digestive Formulas Liver Formulas Men's Health Mind and Body Boosts Mouth and Gum Support Musculo-Skeletal Support Pain, Stress and Sleep Formulas Respiratory Formulas Women's Health Circulation Support


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Joyce Krenz of Century 21 Koeckeritz Realty, New Ulm and Sleepy Eye, has been appointed by the Realtors Association of Minnesota (RASM) to serve on the Association's Multiple Listing Service (MLS) Committee.
The MLS Committee serves to review MLS rules, regulations and procedures to establish policy recommendations in the best interest of its membership.
The Realtors Association of Southern Minnesota serves 10 counties with more than 400 members and 40 affiliate members.
Location, ST | website.com


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Game of Thrones is a site for the HBO-series based on George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire.
New to the series? Read our spoiler-free review of A Game of Thrones.
Read our Privacy Policy.
Filming on the Game of Thrones pilot has wrapped, according to VFX producer Julia Frey. So ends three weeks of shooting that took place in three different countries and involved a primary cast two dozen strong and more than a hundred extras. Cogratulations to the hard-working cast and crew, who pulled a number of all-nighters to get the job done!
Where to next? As we reported early last month, Modern VideoFilm will be carrying out some sort of post-production duties in February, with HBO expected to give its decision on a greenlight in around March. In the interim, we've really no idea what will be going on, though we hope to learn more soon.
The Westeros network consists of several different sites, including a forum and a wiki, for all your A Song of Ice and Fire needs.


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Health and Human Performance (HHP)
Health and Human Performance (HHP)
130 Individual Sports
An introduction to the rules and techniques of individual sports including tennis, golf and archery. Meets Activity requirement in Liberal Arts Core.
Two hours, one credit.
136 Introduction to Muscular Fitness
This course is designed to instruct students in anaerobic activities including; free weights, machines and resistance tubes and bands. Meets Activity requirement in Liberal Arts Core.
Two hours, one credit.
144 Team Sports
An introduction to skills, playing strategy, rules and officiating mechanics of team sports such as volleyball, soccer, basketball, softball, baseball and football. Meets Activity requirement in Liberal Arts Core.
Two hours, one credit.
145 Rhythmics, Movement, and Games
An introduction to a variety of rhythmic, movement, and game activities that are developmentally appropriate for children, inclusive of those with special needs, and fun for adults. Meets Activity requirement in Liberal Arts Core.
Two hours, one credit.
149, 249, 349, 449: Selected Topics in Physical Education
This course is designed to provide students opportunities to study specialized topics and timely issues in physical education through the parameters of a class. The topics courses typically provide elective credit in the Physical Education Program, and may be repeated if the topics are different. Courses taught at the 149 level that exposed students to the basic knowledge and vocabulary of the discipline. Courses taught at the 249 level are those in which students are acquiring a knowledge base through the direction of the faculty member. Courses taught at the 349 level are those in which students will begin to apply knowledge and skills from other courses through the completion of instructor-led and independent projects. Courses taught at the 449 level require autonomous completion of tasks based on prior knowledge and skills demonstrating substantial growth in the field. Prerequisites: will be stipulated in each topics course description.
One to three hours, one to three credits.
153 Cardiorespiratory Activities
Combines sustained endurance exercise. Exercises are designed to condition the heart and lungs, tone muscles, and promote flexibility. Meets Activity requirement in Liberal Arts Core.
Two hours, one credit.
200 Health and Wellness Concepts
An introduction to the six dimensions of wellness: physical, psychological, spiritual, social, intellectual and environmental. The course content will focus on the health and wellness benefits of an active lifestyle and on healthy decision making. This course fulfills the Liberal Arts Core requirement for an activity course.
Three hours, three credits.
206 Introduction to Athletic Injuries
An introduction to the prevention, care, and evaluation of athletic injuries. Designed to teach a basic understanding of how to manage injuries on and off the field, with a look at special consideration of special injuries that are unique to athletics. Lab Fee required.
Three hours, three credits.
252 Foundations of Health and Human Performance Professions
An introductory course to the fields of physical education, including the allied fields of health, sports medicine, and exercise science. Professional opportunities will be explored, basic concepts will be addressed, and the history and philosophy of each allied field will be examined.
Three hours, three credits.
300 Responding to Emergencies
This course is designed to educate individuals about their environment and personal habits in order to reduce their risk of injury and illness. The course will provide participants with the ability to recognize emergencies and the knowledge and skills necessary to help sustain life, minimize pain and the consequences of injury or sudden illness until more advanced medical help is available. Lab Fee required.
Three hours, three credits.
301 Emergency Response
Designed for a wide variety of individuals with a job-related duty to act in the event of an acute injury or illness. Presents information essential for providing emergency care until more advanced medical personnel arrives.
Three hours, three credits.
305 Rehabilitative Techniques for Athletic Injuries
Advanced study of the prevention, evaluation, and care of athletic injuries with an emphasis on rehabilitation following athletic trauma or surgery. Prerequisites: BIO 254, HHP 206.
Three hours, three credits.
315 Exercise Assessment and Prescription
A study of the process and procedures of physical fitness evaluation and prescription. Emphasis will be placed on assessment of cardiovascular fitness, flexibility, muscle strength and endurance, and body composition.
Three hours, three credits.
316 Applications of Exercise Assessment and Prescription
Designed to provide practical experience for assessing fitness levels and determining proper exercise programming for all types of individuals. Students will complete a 20 hour practicum and meet with the instructor 1 hour per week in a laboratory session to focus their experiences on important theory and concepts that apply to fitness assessment and prescription. Co-requisite: HHP 315.
One hour, one credit.
320 Health and Physical Education for Children (Pre-K-6)
A systematic approach to planning, organizing, teaching, and evaluating physical education for children. Emphasis will be placed on developmentally appropriate content standards/competencies, assessment methods and techniques, adaptive physical education, management, and use of technology. Prerequisite: PSY 211 and PSY 291.
Three hours, three credits.
321 The Physical Education Experience for Adolescents
A systematic approach to planning, teaching, and evaluating physical education in middle and secondary schools. Emphasis will be placed on national content standards/competencies, evaluative methods and techniques, adaptive physical education, utilization of technology, and promotion of personal fitness/wellness. Prerequisites: PSY 211, PSY 291 and HHP 320.
Three hours, three credits.
330 Coaching the Athlete
An examination of the basic elements needed for a successful sport program. Emphasis on logistics and preparation.
Three hours, three credits.
332 Strength and Conditioning
Investigates the theories and applied principles of physical training and conditioning as they relate to improvements in flexibility, muscular strength, endurance and power development. This course also examines various aerobic, flexibility and muscular strength and power programs. Prerequisite: HHP 315.
Three hours, three credits.
338 Motor Learning
Principles and concepts of motor skill acquisition and motor performance.
Three hours, three credits.
340 Kinesiology: Scientific Basis of Human Movement
Study of the anatomical and mechanical fundamentals of human movement. Emphasis on application of the fundamentals through analysis, assessment, and ultimately improvement of human performance. Prerequisite: BIO 254.
Three hours, three credits.
345 Sport Psychology
Provides students with an overview of concepts and principles essential to understanding the behavioral aspects of sport and exercise. Emphasis is given to the conceptual frameworks and the applied aspects of performing enhancement, mental skills, exercise behavior and motivation, social factors and psychology of injury. Applications are made to the athlete/participant, exercise leader, and sport coach. Prerequisite: PSY 201 or PSY 211.
Three hours, three credits.
348 Sports Nutrition
Examines the nutritional needs and requirements of athletes. This course will integrate nutrient metabolism, nutrition science, and exercise physiology as it applies to sport performance, exercise and health. Prerequisite: BIO 254.
Three hours, three credits.
355 Physiology of Exercise
Lecture and laboratory experiences in the physiological responses related to physical activities and sports training. Prerequisite: BIO 254.
Three hours, three credits.
356 EKG Interpretation
This course is designed to teach the basic physiology of electrical conduction of the heart, how to interpret changes in EKG waveforms, and recognizing cardiac conditions based on EKG technology. This course will also provide an overview of heart anatomy, function, and neurophysiology. Prerequisite: BIO 254.
Three hours, three credits.
358 Health Promotion Program Development
Students shall acquire the knowledge and skills to develop fitness and health promotion programs for individuals with a variety of needs. In addition, students will develop an understanding of the procedures necessary to evaluate and contract with vendors who supply health and fitness services.
Three hours, three credits.
400 Advanced Exercise Assessment
Designed to teach students to properly conduct more advanced exercise stress tests and assessment and interpret the results. Students will learn how to work with various testing protocols and learn how to interpret basic changes through laboratory assignments. Prerequisites: HHP 315 and 356.
Three hours, three credits.
401 Methods for Teaching Health Education
Provides students with an understanding of teaching elementary through secondary school age children and young adults. This course provides the fundamental teaching skills needed for successful teaching in elementary, middle and high school health education. Prerequisite: HHP 320 and HHP 321.
Three hours, three credits.
402 Organization and Administration of Sport
The study of administrative principles and practices applied specifically to sport, including the management of personnel, programs, and facilities. Emphasis will also be placed on sport organizations and governance in sport at the professional, collegiate, high school, and amateur levels.
Three hours, three credits.
403 Physical Education Assessment Procedures
Provides the skills needed to design, implement and assess an out-come based curriculum in physical and health education. This course focuses on pedagogical assessment, and will include various forms of alternative assessment, such as current technologies, computer-based tools, and student profiles. Prerequisite: HHP 320 and HHP 321.
Three hours, three credits.
491, 492 Special Topics in Physical Education
This class is designed to teach advanced techniques and information regarding special topics in physical education and exercise science.
One to four credits.
499 Internship
This course provides students the opportunity to integrate previous course work with practical field experience. Students must meet eligibility internship requirements stated in internship manual as well as have 80% of courses completed within selected concentration area. The internship must be approved by program coordinator and be a minimum of 400 hours.
Four credits.


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Sunday's letters: Game of chess?
Published: Sunday, July 6, 2014 at 4:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, July 3, 2014 at 2:20 p.m.
To the editor: What the Times-News (June 27) sees as a win-win for health care is actually a lose-lose for the nation. The planned construction of yet another duplication of health care services in the region highlights the why of bloated prices and stymied reform. What has all this competition led to? Valet parking, boutique menus and administrators' salaries that rival K Street lobbyists — an industry instead of a public service.
According to Becker's Hospital Review, "CEOs at some of the largest hospitals earned anywhere from a low of $540,000 to a high of $6.07 million. And "the average nonprofit hospital CEO earned $600,000 annually, although the median compensation was $405,000," according to JAMA. The CEO of our own N.C. Blue Cross Blue Shield earns shy of $3 million.
Are the hospital CEOs in our region making more than the governor? You can bet they are. No wonder the industry fights health care reform.
The nation is losing. Health care eats 17 percent of our gross domestic product (cms.gov) as opposed to 9 percent to 10 percent of the GDP of other countries with national health care.
The building of another health care center by Park Ridge may be a game of chess, but it is the citizens of this country that just got checkmated.
Eva L. Ritchey
Myopic vision
To the editor: The ability of Raymond Dyer ("The correct choice," June 28) to recite Old Testament scripture in support of his worldview is impressive. It is exceeded only by his stunning arrogance when he asserts that "Throughout history, the Bible has served as the absolute authority of truth."
Whose history? The history of American Indians? The tribes of Islam? The Harappan of the Indus Valley? The Aleuts? The Chinese? The Maya? (I could go on.)
Did God not create these non-Christians as well as Mr. Dyer and whomever he sees with his myopic vision? And what of the scientists throughout history who have contributed so much to humankind who held that the "absolute authority of truth" was what could be proven?
It is wonderful that Mr. Dyer can practice his religion as he sees fit. That is one of the most prized rights bestowed by our Constitution. Just don't get carried away, Mr. Dyer. Please.
Ron Redmon
Flat Rock
Wrong analysis
To the editor: In his June 29 letter, Ed Nielsen stated his belief that the negative feedback he received regarding his trickle-down theory of economics was because he had not been sufficiently clear in his earlier letter. In fact, the negative feedback was because he had been perfectly clear, and absolutely wrong.
He seems to believe that major corporations led by people making millions of dollars per year operate on the same basis as the corner hardware store. If a company president pays higher personal income taxes, there will be no impact on the employees' wages or benefits.
With respect to fairness, those making millions have been the clear beneficiaries of our economic system. They also benefit most from the safety, security and infrastructure provided by all levels of government. As such, it is only fair that they contribute to the source of those benefits.
Finally, some of our greatest periods of prosperity have been during times when the marginal tax rate was higher than it is today. So Mr. Nielsen's economic analysis just does not hold up against the facts. But then, the trickle-down theory of economics is part of the right's fact-free worldview.
Duane Johnson
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Meet the Past with Crosby Kemper III: George Caleb Bingham
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Location: The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
Meet the Past with Crosby Kemper III returns for a conversation with George Caleb Bingham, whose paintings of Missouri and the American frontier have earned him a reputation as one of America's greatest genre painters of the 19th century.
Bingham will be portrayed by Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre veteran Robert Gibby Brand, who portrayed Edgar Snow at a previous Meet the Past event. The program takes place on the 200th anniversary of Bingham's birthday.
This presentation is part of the Missouri Valley Speakers Series. Co-sponsored by the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.


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Better living through nature
by Susan Melgren, Web Editor
natural health, health, beauty, yogurt, probiotics, good bacteria, bacteria, digestion, immune system, IBS, stomach problems, cholesterol, lower cholesterol, weight loss, lose weight, stomach fat, bone health, bones, lactose intolerant, yeast infection, sunburn care, natural sunburn remedies, alph-hydroxy, bad breath
Yogurt has a lot going for it. Chock full of probiotics, yogurt is a storehouse of vitamins and minerals such as calcium, potassium, zinc, iodine and B vitamins. It's also a rich source of protein. Yogurt's live cultures, or "good bacteria," which turn milk into lactic acid, supply most of this food's health benefits. Used for centuries by some of the longest-living cultures, yogurt benefits a number of the body's systems, both inside and out. From stomach to skin problems, these nine uses of yogurt might make you think twice about that little blob on the end of your spoon.
1. Promotes Good Digestion
Because probiotics help keep the balance of bacteria in our gut, they have the ability to keep the digestive track in order and calm issues such as diarrhea, gas, cramps and even irritable bowel syndrome. Probiotics are especially useful at treating stomach conditions caused by antibiotics, which kill off all bacteria, good and bad.
2. Boosts Immune Function
Studies have shown that eating yogurt with probiotics can increase the amount of T lymphocytes, the white blood cells responsible for fighting off infections, by about 30 percent—effectively giving your immune system a hand.
3. Lowers Cholesterol
Certain strains of probiotics, such as Lactobacillus acidophilus, have been shown to help lower levels of bad, or LDL (low-density lipoprotein), cholesterol.
4. Aids Weight Loss
A study last year found that consuming dairy products with the probiotic Lactobacillus gasseri, such as yogurt, can help reduce abdominal fat and promote weight loss. Additionally, yogurt contains calcium, and calcium-rich foods have been shown to help burn fat.
5. Builds Strong Bones
Apart from its rich stores of calcium, yogurt contains lactoferrin, an iron-binding protein that stimulates growth of cells that build bones and reduces or prevents the onset of osteoporosis.
6. Builds Lactose Tolerance
Yogurt may be a dairy product, but it's easier on lactose-intolerant individuals. It seems that the good bacteria in yogurt can even help build a lactose tolerance.
7. Treats Yeast Infections
The probiotics in yogurt are helpful at restoring balance to all types of bacterial upsets in the body, including yeast infections. Eating yogurt daily can decrease the chance of contracting a yeast infection threefold. Studies have also shown vaginal suppositories of yogurt to be helpful in treating yeast infections.
8. Soothes Sunburns
The lactic acid in yogurt acts as a natural alph-hydroxy, which can smooth rough skin and also help even out discoloration from too much sun exposure. Applying a cool paste of yogurt to your face will also feel refreshing! Leave the yogurt mask on your face for 15 minutes then rinse with tepid water.
9. Freshens Breath
Among its other health benefits, yogurt can reduce the levels of hydrogen sulfide in the mouth and bacteria on the tongue that contribute to bad breath. Yogurt may also reduce plaque buildup and prevent cavities and gingivitis—but only if the yogurt is sugar-free!
Yogurt is easy to make at home. For instructions on how to make your own yogurt at home, read this excerpt from Ashley English's book "Home Dairy."
Images (top to bottom): Photo By Chiara/Courtesy Flickr; Photo By Stephanie Vacher/Courtesy Flickr
Susan Melgren is the Web Editor of Mother Earth Living. Find her on Google+.
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The other day we decided to take the afternoon off and visit the 'Joseph Saxton Gallery of Photography' in downtown Canton, Ohio. So glad we did, because we had the pleasure of viewing a special exhibit of National Geographic Photographer Steve McCurry. I believe there were over 50 prints showcasing his extraordinary eye. He has traveled the world to faraway places that most of us will never visit. He studies the people in these places poised in the landscape of the country. Really a visual education. Next month, the Joseph Saxton Gallery will be presenting an exhibit called 'Wilderness Visions' by Clyde Butcher and he will be at the gallery in person on May 7th. We'll make sure we take another day off to see his work.
There are many other galleries to visit as well and we enjoyed going through them. The '2nd April galerie' is the hub of the arts explosion. There are three different levels of art to explore and many of the artist's studios are upstairs. You can definitely make a purchase for yourself or for a special gift.
Stay overnight in one of our beautiful romantic guest rooms and enjoy an Ohio weekend getaway. Spend an afternoon in Canton and have lunch at one of the many outstanding restaurants in the downtown area.
Hope to see you soon,
Whispering Pines Bed & Breakfast


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Posted by: Keith Clark on April 9, 2010
Fortressby Alter Bridge
Shoutby Gov't Mule
Fight For My Soulby Jonny Lang
Uncleanby Richard Beck
A Light to the Nationsby Michael Goheen
Jesus Feministby Sarah Bessey
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The rebooting of "Godzilla" and "Planet of the Apes" makes San Francisco look like the new Tokyo or New York ... in terms of being destroyed on film. But the City by the Bay has a long history of being crushed, invaded and shook to pieces on film, including:
"It Came From Beneath the Sea" (1955): The title says it all. Legendary special effects master Ray Harryhausen's giant octopus roughs up the Golden Gate Bridge pretty good, even if it technically only has six arms due to budget constraints.
"Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (1978): Aliens invade San Francisco by cloning humans in this much-scarier remake of the classic 1956 film. The finale outside city hall may be the greatest, albeit strangest, scene in Donald Sutherland's storied career.
"Superman" (1978): Gene Hackman's Lex Luthor fires a missile into the San Andreas Fault, forcing Christopher Reeve's Superman to snatch a bus full of kids from plunging off a crumbling Golden Gate Bridge.
"A View to a Kill" (1985): In Roger Moore's last turn as James Bond, the villain Zorin, played by Christopher Walken, tries destroying Silicon Valley ... which is really close to San Francisco. We know this because the climactic scene is played out on the Golden Gate.
"The Rock" (1996): Disgruntled soldiers steal some missiles full of nerve gas and take over Alcatraz. Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage destroy as much of the city as possible during an epic car chase. But the real threat comes when General Hummel (Ed Harris) diverts a missile out to sea just before it slams into a packed Candlestick Park (to the chagrin of Raiders fans everywhere).
"Hulk" (2003): Hulk. Smash. San Francisco.
"The Core" (2003): So when a beam of solar energy gets through the Earth's failing magnetic field, what does it hit? The Golden Gate Bridge, of course.
"X-Men: The Last Stand" (2006): The Golden Gate is targeted yet again, as Magneto rips the bridge out of its Marin County moorings and moves Alcatraz. The showoff.
"Monsters vs. Aliens" (2009): Even cartoons go after the Golden Gate.
"Star Trek Into Darkness" (2013): The San Francisco of the future can also be ravaged, this time by falling spaceships.
Contact Tony Hicks at Facebook.com/BayAreaNewsGroup.TonyHicks or Twitter.com/insertfoot.