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Orlando 2013 (16)
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Orlando 2010 (14)
Newspapers are still a viable option for ad placement, but publishers need to put more effort into flexibility, creativity and building personal relationships with advertisers, said a panel of experts at the NAA mediaXchange 2014 conference.
The panelists, some from advertising and some from publishing, began by saying that with the increasing popularity of digital and social advertising, it is up to newspaper publications to show advertisers why print ads are still worth it.
To do this, the panel recommended that publishers form personal relationships with advertisers in order to adapt to each individual client's needs.
"I would get my butt out of the office and into some of the offices of the CEO's of the companies and the clients," said Richard Branch, media director of Sports Authority. "If I was named the publisher of a newspaper the first thing I would want to do is get out there and understand the needs of my clients."
The panel also recommended that print media continue to propose new and innovative ideas to advertisers. These ideas should include the integration of all media types available, including print, broadcast, digital and radio.
"People have many choices today in the way they consume their media, so we need to be relevant at all times," said Steve Mueller, president of NSA Media, a company that offers marketing strategies that combine digital and print media. "Every day is exciting and every client is a new strategy."
Next, the panelists said that publishers need to remain as flexible as possible with advertisers. This includes being open to late publishing, and working with the advertisers' schedules.
"Listen to your clients," said Alison Karp, senior partner at MEC/AT&T. "It means a lot if you're willing to work with us."
Mueller warned that as publishers go above and beyond to impress advertisers, it may be tempting to lie about the current state that their papers are in. He advised against this, saying that the quality of newspaper content is always more important than the quantity it reaches.
The panelists then took a positive note by reminding the audience that newspaper media is still important to advertising today.
"The perceived change (in print media) is much larger than the actual change," said Karp. "We need to remember that someone is going to find a story wherever they can find a story."
Caitlin Curley is a journalism student at Colorado State University. Find her on Twitter at @caitlinjcurley.
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Sorry for being away so long. I'm still trying to work out what to do with this site! I'm so busy elsewhere that I have nary a second to work on my beloved home site. Here's some of my recent work:
Hawkeye #1 Review on The Beat
A look into episode 1 of All-Winners Squad
Marvel's teasers for new Thor and Iron Man books
July's X-Wing on Comics Bulletin
An interview with lovely James Asmus about Gambit and Thief of Thieves!
And with Greg Pak for X-Treme X-Men!
Review for Axe Cop and Wander
Tuesday, 31 July 2012
Tuesday, 24 July 2012
Hopey and Shadows
Valiant have released yet another teaser (they really just don't stop, and it's excellent work from whoever their PR person is) today, this time revealing the reappearance of Shadowman.
It's meant to be hard to see.
My knowledge of Shadowman is exclusively limited to his classic game for the N64, where he was friends with an Irish bone snake (not a euphemism) and stole a lot of ideas from Jacob's Ladder. It's a book about a voodoo warrior, essentially, and he uses jazz to fight evil spirits. There's no indication as to whether this is a cameo appearance or a new series -- given his popularity, my GUESS would be a series -- but it's yet another reminder that Valiant exists, and are going strong. Also, they they've managed to reclaim the franchise after it was handled by Acclaim Studios. Will Turok be next? Or is that still under lock and key?
In other news. After being fairly disappointed with The Dark Knight Rises, I decided to finally listen to the internet and buy the first volume of Love and Rockets from OK Comics in Leeds. Expect thoughts once I finish!
Saturday, 21 July 2012
5 Things I liked about Captain Marvel #1
My review of Captain Marvel #1 by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Dexter Soy went online last week, and it's fair to say I came away with a slightly disappointed shrug. While the issue was fine, it wasn't what I had hoped it would be, and it wasn't as powerful or exciting. I didn't feel like Carol Danvers came off as dynamic as she needed to. You can read the review, really, if you want to see into it.
But! It wasn't a bad comic. It was fine, and there were some good moments. Five. I've pinpointed five of the things I liked, and here we go with the list right now HERE WE GO
1: Dexter Soy's art and colouring.
Much of the critical response to the comic has centred around Soy's work with the issue. It's very similar to Crayton Crain in terms of sheen - I believe it's painted, and the faces have the same pointy-chin elfish quality that you see in Crain's work. However it's lighter, with a brighter tone and more agility at displaying facial expression. I really enjoyed the art. When you hire someone like Soy to do a book like this, you have to expect for him to be unique, and continue to be himself. While some mourn the lack of classic-style art on the book, Soy solely achieves the art of making the comic feel unique and interesting. Without him, the book would be far less magnetic and have far less interest. His artwork is perhaps not suited to a book of this style, but that's exactly what makes the book so interesting to look at.
2: The humour
There's a style I call 'ironic one-upmanship', which is where writers and readers seemingly love something precisely because it's stupid. If you have a dinosaur, that's fine. But then you give it the ability to talk. You one-up yourself. Then you give it a jetpack. Congratulations, you just went too far and now the sole reason to like the dinosaur is because it's a ridiculous thing. It's a difficult balance to make, and is the reason why a lot of webcomics fall apart. If you only have ironic one-upmanship, you can't make the characters work. DeConnick manages to make it funny, however, in the opening sequence with Crusher Creel. Although his sexism is awkwardly inserted, his declaration that he wants MOON ROCKS because they give him MOON POWERS is brilliantly fun. Similarly, Carol's put-downs are the most entertaining lines of the issue. I want more of that.
3. Done-in-one
Possibly a dangerous move, but there was no hook for readers to stick with the book in the long-term. It told a one-and-done storyline of sorts, in which everything was ostensibly wrapped up at the end of the issue. Granted this was because there was no particular storyline here, but I did enjoy the boldness of the creative choice. The issue could've been a one-shot, but instead feels like a prologue. Readers might have picked up the issue, got to the end, and then decided not to bother with any subsequent issues. Instead, the main reaction seems to have been that this was a prologue, which will segue into the series proper, and readers will stick with it until then.
4. The supporting characters
Not the human characters, who I didn't care for and didn't provide any interest. Captain America and Spider-Man, who came across as human versions of their typical personas. Steve Rogers was inspiring but you could also sense an old-fashioned sense to him which made his jokes feel flat (and DeConnick almost certainly WAS deliberately writing his jokes as a bit flat. Meanwhile Spider-Man was slightly annoying, slightly childlike, but still absolutely himself. That human approach took the style of Brian Michael Bendis but provided decent dialogue, which you can read more than once (seriously -- TRY re-reading an issue of Powers. It's no fun at all).
5. The positioning
It was spot-on to portray Carol Danvers as an All-American, military woman. She seriously doesn't have as much charisma or appeal as you wish you could remember her having, and the cover and marketing were absolutely on the money. Make her someone to be proud of, and position her there. It's the way that Superman is typically presented, and Captain America should be. She doesn't have the clout by herself, so make the image into something which appeals to the sense of patriotism and pride.
I'll read an issue on the merits of the creative work, and not on outside factors like diversity, thanks.
Thursday, 19 July 2012
New Teaser Suggests Vengeance, Young Avengers, Kid Loki team
Marvel have spent this week teasing the above image, with a different one of the five blanks revealed every day. We've seen Ant Man and Cable pop up so far, but this image seems most interesting. Revealing Wiccan, America Chavez (from Joe Casey's 'Vengeance' miniseries) and Kid Loki, it looks like a teaser for a one-shot book spinning out as part of the Marvel Now campaign. Or, a full series? Creative people I'd like to this project? Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, or Nick Spencer. But who knows?!
Wednesday, 18 July 2012
Punk Jesus, Vampire Queens and Bloodshot
I picked up three books last week. UND HERE IS WHAT I THOUGHT OF THEM
Punk Rock Jesus #1, by Sean Murphy and published by Vertigo, is an incredibly well-crafted book. Not only a smart idea played convincingly, the book refrains from overexciting itself or going too far. The idea is that a TV station have taken DNA from the Shroud of Turin, and will clone it in order to create 'Jesus 2' While everybody promptly goes utterly crazy at the idea, we see the various people behind the decision manoeuvre around each other for position and power, with varying agendas. Presented in hatched black-and-white, the book is a superb read from Murphy, with crackling dialogue, realistic characters, and an inventive core concept which plays out in unexpected and imaginative ways.
Meredith Gran's Marceline and The Scream Queens #1 suffers a little from focusing on a side-character from the Adventure Time TV series I've never seen before. While my lack of exposure to the series didn't harm the eponymous title from Kaboom, here is likely detracts a little from my enjoyment. Marceline seems to have a unique personality which I can't put a voice to, exactly, and the book almost certainly would be more fun for a fan of the series to pick up. Having said that, Gran's sense of humour is on-point here, with some smart, subtle jokes hidden in the art and some slightly more obvious, still-funny-though jokes in the dialogue. It's a fun, quirky title, as you'd expect, and sets up an unpredictable next issue. The story is simple enough to get past the fact I don't know the characters well, and the lightness of the storytelling actually adds to the charm of the book.
Valiant's relaunch continues with Bloodshot #1 from Duane Swierczynski, a pulp war story featuring an assassin with an identity crisis -- one forced upon him by his controllers. A little obtuse to begin with, the book quickly settles into a fast-paced, entertaining read. It's the comic equivalent of a Tom Clancy novel, probably, but I've never read Tom Clancy so maybe not. It's an entertaining, throwaway story at the moment, which has several hints of depth lurking behind the gunplay and mind-games. It's a worthy addition to a still-stellar line-up of books from the publisher.
Monday, 16 July 2012
Kickstarter: No Enemy But Peace
Here's a very well put-together Kickstarter page from Richard C. Meyer, which does everything you'd want to see from a Kickstarter. For his project 'No Enemy But Peace'; the aim is to re-complete a book which was previously already made and distributed.
It's a true-life story about a Marine called Marco Martinez, whose squad was ambushed in Iraq and his team leader wounded. Fired upon from a vantage-point and pinned down, he managed to neutralise the attack for long enough to get his wounded team-leader to safety, before assaulting and taking the building himself. Meyer, who was in Martinez's squad, previously wrote the story and published it himself back in 2009, gaining positive reviews from sites like Newsarama and CBR.
This Kickstarter is looking to take the book and fix it up. It was previously half drawn by artist and Martin Montiel Luna and half by Martinez himself (whose art style is actually really good! And reminds me of Shaky Kane), but the money sought here is to pay for Luna to redraw the Martinez pages, have the book coloured and inked, and have the book ready for print.
Nearing the target already, the project has 15 days left, and just under $1000 left to raise.
That list of Image Titles in full
Image released a LOT of information this weekend at San Diego Comic-Con. Taken from my post on The Beat and including as many of the covers as I could find thus far, is a full list of the books they announced. On a weekend where Marvel had nothing to announce due to being stuck in AvX, and DC's New 52 wave also precludes them from doing new books or having anything exciting to talk about, Image (and to a smaller extent IDW and KaBoom) were the publisher who took most attention this year. The lineup of forthcoming titles from Image also reveals a number of creators are no longer on exclusive contracts. Matt Fraction writing for Image again would suggest that he decided not to try publishing through Marvel's 'Icon' line, for example.
We also see writers like Greg Rucka, who have no books for the major companies anymore, trying something with Image. Also noteworthy that he's working with Michael Lark, who I believe he first met while writing Gotham Central for DC. There are a number of creators here who met doing Marvel/DC work, and have now decided to try something for themselves.KellySue DeConnick and Emma Rios, who first worked together on a Norman Osborne series, are now doing a western for Image. It's suggestive of a move away from mainstream works, in order to create a new mainstream where creators are valued over the characters. It's a fascinating lineup to read through, and there are some incredible exciting new books here.
Non-Humans - Whilce Portacio and Glen Brunswick
Nowhere Men – Eric Stephenson
Satellite Sam - Matt Fraction and Howard Chaykin.
A murder mystery set in the world of children's television.
Pretty Deadly - KellySue DeConnick and Emma Rios
A spaghetti western in classic style
Multiple Warheads – Brandon Graham
Saviour - James Robinson and J. Bone
About an alien invasion of earth by shapeshifters, and a stoner's attempts to stop them
Sex - Joe Casey and Piotr Kowalski
The Bounce – Joe Casey and David Messina
Lazarus – Greg Rucka and Michael Lark
Gritty sci-fi thriller set in a dystopian future
Reign – Chris Roberson and Paul Mayberry
Oliver – Darick Robertson and Gary Whitta
Point of Impact – Jay Faerber
Great Pacific – Joe Harris
Posted by Steve Morris at 12:00 No comments: Links to this post
Labels: Brandon Graham, Chris Roberson, Emma Rios, Eric Stephenson, Greg Rucka, Howard Chaykin, Image Comics, James Robinson, Joe Casey, Kelly Sue Deconnick, Matt Fraction, Michael Lark, SDCC, Whilce Portacio
Saturday, 14 July 2012
Review: The Only Living Boy Vol #1
Kickstarted successfully, David Gallaher and Steve Ellis' newest project together is The Only Living Boy which, if you read Comics Vanguard a lot, you'll already have heard about. The premise is fairly basic, with a young boy running away from home, spending one night alone, and then waking up into a world of monsters. And it's a fun story, although not without a problem or two.
Interestingly, it's perhaps the only living boy himself – Erik – who is one of the bigger problems for the story. Gallaher convincingly puts together a world full of interesting characters and struggles, but Erik's journey through them isn't as well-defined. He doesn't really have a goal or ambition, which makes his story feel a little flat. He also has an overly wordy narration, which at times works well – there's a gladiatorial scene where his narration mirrors his attempts to avoid getting beaten – and at other times is overwritten. The start, in particular, is clunky.
Once he starts meeting monsters, the story picks up, in part because the monsters are interesting and varied, and brilliantly conceptualised. Ellis' art plays a large part in this, with a rounded-out style which seems more like his 'Darkstar & The Winter Guard' work than the more scratchy style of previous books like Box 13 or Iron Man.
The dialogue also improves with their introduction, especially once the main villain walks in. The scenes in the monster prison are perhaps the best of the book, with a darkness which isn't too overwhelming but still pushes tension onto the characters. It feels like a grim, unforgiving place, and we don't have to see graphic violence or over-the-top depictions (a Mark Millar tendency) in order to get that tone. Erik feels more in-place here than he does when he's wandering aimlessly, as it gives him something to attempt for.
Assisting Ellis' art are a stunning artistic team made up of letterer Scott O. Brown (whose work here is excellent, especially when he starts trying stranger approaches to delivering the narration boxes) and colourist Mike Paar. The book switches in tone and location every ten pages or so, and each one of these feels like a different section of Gallaher's world. The use of colour and Ellis' storyboarding work together to build up the idea that the whole world has been taken over somehow, and that Erik really is alone here.
The design is strong throughout, in fact, with the monsters taking on a range of forms and attitudes which don't fall into stereotypes. There are warrior women and princesses and gruff prisoners, but Gallaher's approach to them feels more organic and open than most. It probably helps that he has no compunction about abandoning them whenever he feels the story requires, and leaves several of them for dead seemingly at random.
That sense of cruelty gives more focus to Erik's central journey, although the character still really needs some direction or ultimate ambition. His personality isn't well-defined enough to really earn a big speech he tries to give, and thank goodness Gallaher realises that and interrupts it with a new monster running in to cut Erik off. The Only Living Boy is a fun, somewhat throwaway book at the moment, which plans to have three more volumes before concluding the story. If the creative team can find a reason to connect readers with their main character – and not just with the intriguing and fun side-characters – then the story will really be able to take off and grab people.
You can pick up The Only Living Boy at Comixology for a dollar, which is insanely good value for money.
Friday, 13 July 2012
Sandman and Ponies
Quick post, as I'm focused on The Beat this weekend. Announced at SDCC! Neil Gaiman and JH Williams will be teaming up to do a prequel set-up comic thingy for SANDMAN. Thankfully not written by Williams, the book, published by Vertigo, will tell the story which leads directly into the first issue of the original series.
In bigger news, Katie Cook and Andy Price have been announced as the creative team for a new IDW series called My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Yes. It's happening.
Thursday, 12 July 2012
Dynamite Do a BIG CROSSOVER
Everyone loves crossovers! Apart from those guys making The Danger Club at Image, I guess. Dynamite have finally jumped onto the big story bandwagon this week, with the announcement that lovely Chris Roberson and big Alex Ross are going to be the creative team for a crossover between all the company's most famous pulp characters.
That means Zorro, Green Hornet, The Shadow, The Spider and…. Some others, are all going to appear on the same team. This'll be Ross' first full issue in years - we don't know whether he'll be staying on beyond the first issue, but he'll be providing covers for the entire run - and also marks the first is a few new projects Roberson says will be revealed during SDCC.
Issue one of the title, which did I mention is called Masks? No I didn't, how short-sighted of me, will be released in November.
Wednesday, 11 July 2012
Marvel cancel a load of stuff
The next wave of solicitation information reveals the cancellation/ending of approximately 10 of Marvel's titles, which will presumably be relaunched/consigned to the limbo bin as a result. The books are:
Fantastic Four
Invincible Iron Man
The Mighty Thor
Uncanny X-Men
New Mutants
Captain America
X-Men Legacy
The Incredible Hulk
Journey Into Mystery
JIM isn't a definite finale, but Kieron Gillen is certainly leaving the title, which surely counts as a cancellation in anyone's book. The other titles are all announced as ending, aside from Punisher - which simply wasn't listed on the solicits.
Most of these will reboot - rumours place Gillen on an Iron Man relaunch, Matt Fraction on a Fantastic Four relaunch, and so on. But this is likely the end of the line for books like New Mutants. Punisher, too, will probably not see a solo title again for a while. It's likely he'll be folded into an Avengers team somewhere down the line, probably.
This means we have 11 titles cancelled so far… but there are still a few more months before the 20-issue Marvel Now lineup is completely unveiled. That could mean we still have 9 more books to lose before January starts. Most likely? Secret Avengers and Uncanny X-Force, along with Brian Wood's adjectiveless X-Men. Just rumour at the moment, but we'll have to wait and see.
Monday, 9 July 2012
The Arctic, Alan Moore, Hellboy and Dazzler
Mat Rees has made a video chronicling the totally-real-promise story behind the making of Before Watchmen, in which a dick has to counter-react to being dicked over by some dicks. Seriously, has there been any story this year more filled with people nobody really likes? Anyway, this take on Alan Moore seems in-line with what I've heard from people in the know, and also shows just how influential Moore was on not only the comic-book industry, but Liam Neeson's film career.
Mike Mignola returns to full writing/drawing duties this December, as Hellboy in Hell finally gets a release date. After getting killed off at the start of this year (right?), Hellboy now finds himself in an environment even more filled with monsters than any he's been in before. Who would've thought it, right?
Interestingly enough though, Mignola says that this version of Hell is going to be more like John Milton's 'Paradise Lost' than anything else, which suggests it may start to ramble interminably halfway through, before picking up steam towards the end when some more familiar characters show up. Also, that there'll be a whole load of weird raping going on. At least it's not based on Pilgrim's Progress!
Kickstarter news, and I've been sent an email by Christian Sager and Kelly Williams about their lovely-looking proposed project 'The Cabinet'. At 110 pages long, it's quite the mission, for both the creators and the cast. The story sees a group of doomed explorers attempt to conquer the arctic, only to go mad and so forth. Like The Thing! Which, as I read further down the press release, is actually exactly how the team are describing the book. Nice work reading my mind, you guys! You can find the Kickstarter here, if you so wish todonate towards the project. They're about halfway there, with only a few days left!
And finally, who wants to read an interview I did with Greg Pak about X-Treme X-Men? Why, you do, of course! Right? RIGHT? Head to Comics Bulletin for more!
Saturday, 7 July 2012
Marvel Announce a Video Game About a Monkey
"Monkeys are inherently funny" sayeth the internet, and thus comes a video game from Marvel and Activision based on Daniel Way and Dalibor Talijic's 'Hitman Monkey' character. Yes, this happened, and yes, most people tried to forget that it happened. And yet here is a game based on the character. In the game, you will play a monkey. You will have guns. You will shoot things. This is, apparently, what you've demanded.
I hope you're ashamed of yourselves, Internet.
Friday, 6 July 2012
Catwoman, Spider-Trilogy, Oatmeal and Carnage
Judd Winick will leave Catwoman after the end of the first year, with luxurious Ann Nocenti taking over with the 'zero' issue and continuing on from then. Excellent news on the Nocenti front! Surely, the character she is most suited to writing? And Winick will keep busy, as he turns his attention to a new all-ages graphic novel, the details of which are still under wraps.
This is the new Marvel teaser for a third Carnage miniseries, presumably to be written by Zeb Wells.
The lawyer who wanted to sue webcomics site The Oatmeal for strange reasons has dropped his suit, and claimed victory. Why he's done this when the whole case has been a massive backfire for his credibility, reputation and client is beyond me, although I suppose any publicity is… some publicity. CBR have an overview of the story over on their Robot 6 blog.
The official facebook page for Sony's Amazing Spider-Man film – out now, fact-fans – has announced that this film will be the first in a planned trilogy. If you're going to see the movie this weekend, make sure to stick around after the credits for, you guessed it, a bonus scene setting up a sequel. The movie has had a lukewarm reception, with many people not interested in seeing another origin story and all the same story points used again – but noting that Andrew Garfield is a superior Peter Parker to Tobey Maguire, and that the love story with Emma Stone's Gwen Stacy is excellently done. Who will appear as the villain in the next one? Norman Osborn again? Or will we see a previously unused villain like Shocker, Rhino, Hobgoblin (a PROPER one, I mean), Mysterio or, uh, The Jackal?
For the next five days on The Beat I'll be running down the nominees for this year's Russ Manning art award, which is given out at San Diego Comic-Con. The first one is up now!
Thursday, 5 July 2012
Marvel Now! Becky Cloonan's Thing! Monkeybrain! More
Marvel have announced that they will be revamping (don't call it a reboot, or Dan Slott will scold you) their entire line after AvX, with most of their books getting cancelled and replaced with new ones. Brian Bendis will write All-New X-Men, with the original 5 X-Men returning to the present. Which is, he tells us, important or something. Can't really tell why, because it's not like this hasn't been done several times before. It seems like a quirk title, which isn't the case for the other three books. So far we have Uncanny Avengers, with X-Men and Avengers mixing together so the popular X-Men can carry rubbish Avengers like (and I am assuming wildly here) Hawkeye and Vision.
The other two books are by Jonathan Hickman, and are Avengers/New Avengers. Characters have been redesigned! Jerome Opena, Dustin Weaver and the Kubert brother who works for Marvel are involved somewhere! This does seem exciting, and a case of a good writer being put on a book which needs a revamp. Although giving both titles to one writer still seems ridiculous, when a range of different voices would surely make the books more exciting for fans (which is how the X-Men/Spider-Man books have operated recently). Random characters are involved at random points for all four titles, and the main draws at the moment seem to be regular monthly appearances for character-turned-plot-device Scarlet Witch, John Cassaday returning to draw for Marvel, and Jean Grey showing up via time travel. But when are they announcing a return for my beloved Winter Guard?!
Becky Cloonan and Sholly Fisch have been wandering in and out of the DC Universe for a while now, but Fisch gives the first indication he'll be taking over as main writer for Action Comics in October, as he writes an annual for Superman. This will fill in some of the five years between the start of Morrison's run and the start of George Perez's run in the main Superman series. This is part of a series of annual releases, including Becky Cloonan drawing a Swamp Thing annual (perfect casting for her: her short stories The Mire and Wolves show she can draw trees like no other) and Frankenstein showing up for a Justice League Dark annual.
Gail Simone will write a Batgirl annual, as she continues to try and get this ship moving.
Chris Roberson and Allison Baker have launched a new comic imprint, called Monkeybrain Comics. This will see a range of different creators put comics up on Comixology, which will range in size and price. Bandette, which I reviewed for Comics Bulletin, is the pick of the five titles released so far, but the books are fascinating all-round. Some are better than others, but the model is intriguing. Will fans go for short, cheap comics? Once the various stories, which will be released on varying schedules, have enough pages to fit a lovely trade, they'll be sent to print and put in your local stores. Roberson and Baker have put something amazing together here, and it'd be thrilling to see it succeed. With many writers moving mainstream comics (Ed Brubaker being one of the latest, as he announced he will be stepping away from Captain America later this year), it looks like comics are starting to really expand as a medium for fans. But will fans follow them!?
Read how people don't like it when I like things! Black Lightning is returning to DC! http://www.comicsbeat.com/2012/07/04/dc-finally-remember-that-black-lightning-is-amazing/
Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey's 'Comic Book History of Comics', published by IDW, has sold out, and is going to a second printing! Here's how they chose to break the news:
Amethyst's creator Dan Mishkin is unhappy – as are we all – with the idea that the character is going to be revived WITHOUT THE FLYING PONIES.
He's done an interview with CBR about it, and you can go over there to read it I'm not going to bother cut-pasting it yo. It's also a reminder that many creators are still unhappy with their treatment over the years. Tony Isabella, you may have noticed in that article about Black Lightning, isn't happy about that character getting brought out again. Yikes!
Posted by Steve Morris at 20:00 No comments: Links to this post
Labels: Amethyst, Avengers Vs X-Men, Becky Cloonan, BENDIS, Chris Roberson, Fred Van Lente, Jonathan Hickman, Marvel Comics, Monkeybrain Comics, Ryan Dunlavey, Sholly Fisch, The Avengers, Uncanny Avengers, X-Men
Tuesday, 3 July 2012
Lizard is as Lizard Does
If you haven't read Zeb Wells' 'Shed' storyline from back in the Brand New Day era of Spider-Man comics, I heartily recommend you do so before picking up issue #688. Yes, we're into lizard territory now, and your enjoyment of the movie cross-promotion story will increase if you've already read about the creation of the current lizard. In that previous story, Curt Connors (the human alter-ego of lizard) turned into the monster, completely shed his human side, killed his own son, and went down into the sewers by himself. The human side seemed to be completely disintegrated, as animal instinct destroyed human reasoning.
Which is where we start with the first part of the current storyline. Dan Slott has very slowly brought us a new Peter Parker breakdown over the past few months, cleverly introducing a new motto for the character which he could never hope to live up to. 'With great power comes great responsibility' is an aspiration and moral. 'Nobody dies' is an impossible mission statement. And so it proved with the end of 'Ends of the Earth', a final battle between Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus in which one of Spidey's allies apparently died. With his ambition broken already, we have a repentant and angry Peter Parker in the books at the moment, who has turned from defensive reaction to aggressive action by the time this first issue in the lizard battle starts.
Drawn by Giuseppi Camuncoli, who is simply one of the very best around at the moment, issue #688 anticipates new readers and develops the new status quo for Peter Parker deftly, without going too far into angst and woe. We also get to check in briefly with all the other members of his supporting cast, and see how his universe works at the moment. The Peter Parker side of the story is brilliantly done. The lizard side is a little less built-up, and really does rely on the reader knowing about 'Shed'. The story is simple enough that new readers will be able to jump in – but the payoff is far greater for those who know what's been happening for the past few years.
The story flashes between present and past quickly, establishing a battle between Spidey and lizard before going back in time to show us how he got to this point. It allows Slott to make this first issue almost a one-shot in nature, with next issue starting with a new storyline that builds from here, with the same antagonist. It's an interesting approach, and Slott has really been trying out some new approaches to narratives recently. Primarily known for writing short arcs, here we're seeing a three-issue story cut down into a one-shot followed by a two-parter. It's an interesting experiment, although it does mean that it's hard to evaluate the story without having the whole thing in front of me.
It's a little bit slight, which is a worry, but Slott's last page manages to build on both Peter Parker's old and new mission statements, and leaves the story in an interesting place for next issue.
Monday, 2 July 2012
Birds in the Wild
Artist Travel Foreman reports back for duty with old ally Duane Swierczynski, and yes I have totally memorised his name by heart that's just how professional I am, in Birds of Prey #10. Coming off his acclaimed run on Animal Man, we see a more subdued art style from Foreman here, perhaps because he has a different colourist in the form of Gabe Eltaeb. It makes for an interesting, if slightly off-kilter, introduction to the series.
At this point, the lineup for the book has solidified to Black Canary, Katana, Swierczynski original Starling, Poison Ivy and Batgirl, as they go off on varying spy missions. And it really is a spy book, for the most part, even though Swierczynskiu infuses the book with more pulp styling than before, and throws in a bit of wild adventure to the mix. The dialogue remains strong, even while the storytelling is deliberately obtuse and long-winded.
This issue sees the team fresh from their tie-in to 'Night of the Owls', with an injured Poison Ivy requesting to be taken to the Amazon in order to recuperate. So Starling arranges a lift from a local cocaine dealer, they get blown up by a mysterious plane, and then get attacked by bizarre plant creatures. Business as usual for one of the better team books in the New 52. It's all an excuse for Foreman to have some fun with misshapen plant monsters, which he does with some aplomb. He was never much for perspective or attention to anatomy, and that pays off in the wild forests of the Amazon. Less so with the characters.
When drawing Animal Man, Foreman's style was tripped-out and crazy – which doesn't translate so well when the characters aren't hallucinating, transforming their bodies into weird shapes, or monsters. Some of the artwork is particularly off in this issue, such as a scene in which Black Canary yells at Batman, and her head morphs a giant forehead. Little things like perspective are skewed, and it works on a 50/50 basis. This is also Foreman's first time drawing superhero women in a while and the breasts are, in several cases, drawn larger than the faces. Which is also a little unsettling. Eltaeb tries to calm down some of the wilder missteps, but this does at times serve to accentuate them.
The writing continues to highlight the strengths of the characters, in a mismatched team. Batgirl is here portrayed as someone trying to follow in Batman's footsteps, but not sure whether she wants to be drawn into his darkness or the darker side of her teammates. Starling continues to be a brilliant new addition to the New 52, while Black Canary gets a slight upgrade in her power set. Which, really, serves to make her into a DC version of Siryn from Peter David's X-Factor series. The sound effects are the same and everything.
Birds of Prey #10 is a standard issue for the series. Poison Ivy, one of my favourite DC characters, sits this one out – well, she lies this one out, in a glass container until the last page – while the rest of the team muck around and are rather entertaining. It's another decent story from Swierczynski, if a little lacking in any particular momentum at present. Birds of Prey needs a mission statement rather badly at the moment, but if the narrative keeps getting distracted by fun side-stories like this one, then I can wait a while longer.
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Cognitive Neuroscience
research areas
Area Contact: Scott Slotnick—Cognitive Neuroscience: Neural mechanisms of visual memory; control regions and sensory effects associated with retrieval of visual memories; subjective experience during memory retrieval; cortical substrates associated with visual feature-based perception/attention.
Hiram Brownell—Cognitive neuropsychology: how injury to various parts of the brain can selectively impair linguistic and cognitive ability; language: theory of mind, discourse, narrative, and lexical semantics; methodology.
Elizabeth Kensinger—Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience: The effect of emotional content on memory; specifically, the cognitive and neural mechanisms through which emotion influences the vividness and accuracy of memory, and how these influences change across the adult lifespan; research questions are investigated through behavioral testing of young and older adults and functional neuroimaging (fMRI).
Sean MacEvoy—Human visual neuroscience, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and psychophysics; neural mechanisms of form perception and object recognition; perceptual learning; functional organization of the human visual cortex. History of neuroscience.
Joseph Tecce—Psychophysiology of health, including body languages as indicators of emotions and stress and cognitive-behavioral methods to control stress.
For information on the Neuroscience Ph.D. track, see this description in the Graduate Program Handbook.


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The Gift of the Magi
by O. Henry
The Gift of the Magi Sacrifice Quotes
How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Paragraph)
Quote #4
And then she did it up again nervously and quickly. Once she faltered for a minute and stood still while a tear or two splashed on the worn red carpet. (10)
Della's not unaffected by her plan. She's nervous about it, and she sheds a couple of tears. In spite of her love for Jim, losing her hair isn't easy for her, since she's so fond of it. This is really the only indication in the story we get of that. Is she still considering what to do at this point, or has she already made up her mind?
Quote #5
On went her old brown jacket; on went her old brown hat. With a whirl of skirts and with the brilliant sparkle still in her eyes, she fluttered out the door and down the stairs to the street. (11)
Again we get an indication (with her whirling, and sparkling eyes) that Della is more excited at the thought of sacrificing her hair than down in the dumps about it. This is also the point in the text where it's clear that Della's made the decision to go through with the plan.
Quote #6
Within forty minutes her head was covered with tiny, close-lying curls that made her look wonderfully like a truant schoolboy. She looked at her reflection in the mirror long, carefully, and critically (21)
Della's not only lost the single valuable thing she had to sell, and the thing of which she was most proud. She's actually affected her own looks, and potentially made herself unattractive to Jim. Does that make her sacrifice perhaps a greater one than Jim's?


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Thu 23 Apr 2009
Army kitchen Part 2Posted by admin under gay porn , gay porn stories
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Soldiers were sent off to the barracks. They went to sleep. The next day was all the same – they had classes again. Chris and John didn't speak too much. When the classes were over, John was called to the Sergeant's office again. This time Kevin was accompanied by another sergeant, whose face and name were totally unfamiliar to John.
'Today there's gonna be three of us' said Kevin.


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On this day in history October 29th, 1929 "Black Tuesday" marked the beginning of America's Great Depression.
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by Pregnancy.org Staff
Different seasons bring an endless bounty of produce from the vegetable garden, local farmer's market, your refrigerator or grocery store. This recipe takes a little of this and a touch of that. Try scavenging for whatever looks good and turn it into an elegant side dish! You can add leftover cold chicken, pork, beef or cheese and you've got a main dish!
Garden Pasta Salad
Prep time: 20 minutes | Total time: 45 minutes | Yield: 6 servings
• 8 ounces whole-grain pasta (penne, rotelle, bow tie or fusilli), cooked and cooled
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh herb, such as basil, parsley, thyme or tarragon
• 1/4 red or garden onion, chopped or 1/4 cup snipped chives or green onions
• 5 cups total of any of the following:
--Cucumber, chopped
--Cherry tomatoes, halved or regular tomatoes, chopped
--Summer squash, cubed
--Zucchini, cubed
--Bell peppers, cut into 1-inch squares
--Spinach or arugula, cut into strips
--Carrots, grated
--Green beans, blanched
--Broccoli florets, blanched
--Eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes and lightly sautéed in olive oil and salted
• 3/4 cup salad dressing of your choice (we suggest Italian, vinaigrette or the creamy dijon yogurt recipe below)
Creamy Dijon Dressing
Whisk together 2/3 cup plain Greek yogurt, 1/4 cup olive oil, 3 tablespoons dijon mustard, 2 tablespoons cider vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon celery seed and 1 teaspoon honey (optional). The dressing should have a thick substance.
To make the pasta salad, combine pasta, vegetables and dressing in a large bowl. Refrigerate a half hour before serving to allow the flavors to blend. If you're short on time, mix the vegetables together with the dressing while the pasta cooks. Run the pasta under cold water until its cool to the touch. Mix all ingredients together and serve.
Cook's Note
That's only the beginning! Customize your pasta salad to your tastes and appetite with any of the following:
- Crushed red pepper
- Sliced olives
- Leftover cubed chicken, pork or beef
- Drained, rinsed chickpeas or kidney beans
- Cheese cubes
- Grated parmesan cheese
- Pine nuts
- Chopped celery
- Sliced almonds
Copyright © Pregnancy.org.


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NY Acting Markets: Print/Modeling
Unlike runway models—who must be a specific height and weight—print models represent a spectrum of ages, shapes, and sizes. The emphasis is on real-looking people. "Of course, it depends on the product," says Moran, "but there is a demand for quirky-looking actors who may have gaps between their teeth, or freckles, or be a little heavy."
Rick Miller, who heads the Rick Miller Agency, agrees, explaining that there's a definite market for actor-models who are "real, friendly, and approachable. I like delicious-looking people, but not so beautiful as to be off-putting."
The downturn in the economy has diminished the volume of print modeling jobs, but actors can still supplement their income by working in the field. Jessica Seeley, who has been doing print work for six years and has appeared in ads in Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Seventeen, and other magazines, does one print job a week while auditioning for acting roles, and she finds that acting and print work inform each other. "When you're modeling," she says, "you are becoming someone else's idea. That gives me an opportunity to play a character." Modeling has also enriched her acting by broadening her life experience, which is essential for an actor, she explains. Equally important, it has taught her about effective lighting, how to be comfortable in front of a camera, and what her best angles are.
The competition in print modeling is very stiff. Unless a particular model is requested—and that generally won't happen early in your career—models are sent by their agents on a "go-see," where dozens of similar types are interviewed and photos are taken that simulate the job or campaign. If the model's style and appearance coincide with what the client is seeking, the model may be booked or called back. The pay can range from a few hundred dollars to $1,500 or more per day, depending on the product, the model, and the agency. Some projects pay by the hour; others pay a flat fee. Agents typically take 20 percent of the model's fee and earn an additional 20 percent from the client.
Moran likes models who have acting backgrounds, but she's even more drawn to those with special skills "that can jump-start a conversation," she says. "After that, I want to know the directors they've worked with and who has cast them."
Miller points out that it's a fast-paced world, the calls come in quickly, and the "talent always has to be in touch with a cell phone, be available the next day, return calls quickly, have great communication skills, and be honest about such problems as scheduling. Be reliable, positive, a joy to work with. Low-maintenance talent."
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Emtek E1000US10B Oil Rubbed Bronze Single Cylinder Solid Brass Electronic Deadbolt from the Brass Collection
Huge Savings on All EMTEK
Use Coupon Code: EMTEK at checkout and save
Offer Ends 8/26/2016
Technical Specs
|Specification Sheet
|Installation Guide
|Auto-Lock Capable
|2-3/4", 2-3/8"
|Classic Brass
|Cross Bore
|Cylinder Type
|Single Cylinder
|Door Thickness
|1-1/2", 1-3/4", 1-3/8", 1-5/8", 1-7/8", 2", 2-1/4", 2-1/8"
|Keypad Deadbolt
|Left, Reversible, Right
|Input Type
|Lit Keypad
|Number of Codes
|Product Class
|Remote Access
|Electronic Keypad
|Smartphone Enabled
|Solid Construction
|Solid Brass
|Temporary Access
|Usage Monitoring
Configure your Emtek E1000US10B Single Cylinder Solid Brass Electronic Deadbolt from the Brass Collection
Backset more info ▼The backset of your door is the measurement from the edge of the door to the center of the bore hole. Some products have an adjustable backset latch; however this product does require a designation.
Door Thickness more info ▼Measure this dimension to determine what your needs are for your door hardware. Please refer to the installation instructions and technical specifications of each product to make sure your doors and the door hardware you choose are compatible.
Free Keying Option more info ▼
Choose "Keyed Alike" to use the same key on multiple locks or "Keyed Different" to ensure that your locks will have different key codes.
Please contact customer service for quotes on master keying or to key multiple manufacturers alike.
Two keys provided per key code.
Latch Type more info ▼Most residential doors are mortised for either a round corner or square corner latch. Drive-in latches do not have a faceplate and are generally used on hollow doors.
Please finish configuring product before adding to cart
All Emtek items are made to order.
Leave the keys at home with this Emtek Keypad Deadbolt. This lock is perfect if you like to go for runs, walks, have children, frequent guests or if you own a rental home. To use this electronic lock, simply push the Emtek button and turn the thumb knob. In order to unlock the deadbolt you must enter a 4 digit code. These codes can be both created and deleted with ease. Need a temporary code for the cable guy? No problem, simply create a new code for the day and then delete. Each lock will hold up to 20 different codes, allowing you to have different codes for different occasions or guests. In addition to the locking functions, the E1000 has a protective coating to prevent wear patterns and the keys illuminate after dark making code entry a breeze after the sun goes down
This heavy duty electronic deadbolt will fit any door between 1-3/8" – 2-1/4" thickness with a standard 2-1/8" bore door prop. This lock is known for its easy installation and user friendliness. Emtek electronic locks come with two unique user codes, allowing owners to use the lock right out of the box.
- Solid Brass
- Standard Door Prep
- Height: 6-1/8"
- Width: 3"
- Door Thickness: 1-3/8" - 2-1/4"
Emtek is dedicated to bringing interesting, well made hardware back into American homes. Emtek's mission is to satisfy the higher expectations of today's homeowners with regard to door locks. They strive to provide a broad and interesting range of products that consumers can use as elements of decor, and not just as a way to latch a door.
Additional Emtek Links
Our SKU: E1000
This product is listed under the following manufacturer number(s):
- Lifetime Polished Brass
- Oil Rubbed Bronze
- Satin Nickel
*Denotes a finish or option that has been discontinued
4 Questions from the Community
The Emtek E1000 electronic keypad deadbolt measures 2-5/8" from the center of the bore hole to the bottom of the face plate. The face plate has a full height of 6-1/8".
What is the distance between the deadbolt opening to the bottom of the plate?
A. The Emtek E1000 electronic keypad deadbolt measures 2-5/8" from the center of the bore hole to the bottom of the face plate. The face plate has a full height of 6-1/8".
This item uses a Schlage keyway.
does this use a Schlage or Kwikset core?
A. This item uses a Schlage keyway.
The Emtek E1000 does not have a keypad in the inside.
is there a keypad on the inside?
A. The Emtek E1000 does not have a keypad in the inside.
We have linked the Installation Guide for the Emtek E1000 right here on the product page for your continued convenience.
Can I get intructions to set the combination for tor the keypad?
We have linked the Installation Guide for the Emtek E1000 right here on the product page for your continued convenience.
Product Reviews
Emtek Electronic Keypad Collection
Warranty Info
Emtek Limited Warranty
Emtek Products, Inc. (the "Company") warrants to the original purchaser that, except for products with Rust, Deep Burgundy, Medium Bronze, Flat Black Patina and Silver Patina finishes, the products manufactured by it (the "Products") are free of defects in material and workmanship, provided:
- the Company has been notified within five years of purchase date and has been given the opportunity of inspection by return of any alleged defective Products to the Company, free and clear of all liens and encumbrances, transportation prepaid, accompanied by a statement of defects and proof of purchase; and
- the Product has not been modified, abused, misused or improperly installed, maintained and/or repaired during such period; and there is no warranty on Rust, Deep Burgundy, Medium Bronze, Flat Black Patina and Silver Patina finishes.
The Company shall, at its option, either repair or replace, free of charge, any Products or part thereof found upon the Company's inspection, to be so defective, or at the Company's sole discretion refund the purchase price, less a reasonable allowance for depreciation, in exchange for the Product.
The Company makes no other warranty, and all implied warranties including any warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose are limited to the duration of the expressed warranty period as set forth above. The Company's maximum liability hereunder is limited to the purchase price of the product. In no event shall the Company be liable for any consequential, indirect, incidental or special damages of any nature arising from the sale or use of the product, whether in contract, tort, strict liability or otherwise.
- Some states do not allow limitations on incidental consequential damages or how long an implied warranty lasts so that the above limitations may not fully apply.
- This warranty gives specific legal rights and a buyer may also have other rights which may vary from state to state.
- For warranty service please contact Build.com customer service at (800) 375-3403.


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Thursday, Dec. 4, about 6:15 p.m.: Timothy D. Abrams, 25, Hope, was charged with DWI after being stopped by State Police on Rt. 30 near Yates Road for traveling 77 mph in a 55 mph zone. Police say a breath test showed his blood alcohol concentration was more than .08 percent (.12 percent). Abrams was to appear in Mayfield Town Court Dec. 10.
Wednesday, Dec. 4, 7 p.m.: Teddy S. Miner, 44, Indian Lake, was charged with second-degree criminal contempt of court and second-degree aggravated harassment - telephone. State Police made the arrest at 105 Stanton Road in the Town of Indian Lake. Miner was released on his own recognizance.
Saturday, Dec. 7, 11:55 p.m.: Anthony E. Harrison, 23, Ballston Spa, was charged with DWI - first offense and operating a motor vehicle with a BAC of more than .08 percent - first offense, both misdemeanors; failure to use designated lane, an infraction; and unlawful possession of marijuana, a violation. State Police made the arrest on Rt. 30 in the Town of Hope.
Sunday, Dec. 8, 7:18 p.m.: Emmanuel J. Scarpa, 46, Johnstown, was charged with second-degree aggravated harassment, a Class A misdemeanor, following an incident reported at 12:36 p.m. Dec. 3 in the Town of Hope. State Police made the arrest on Rt. 30 in Hope.
Unless otherwise noted, information in the Police Report is provided by the law enforcement agencies cited.


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Ataxia means without coordination. People with ataxia lose muscle control in their arms and legs, which may lead to a lack of balance, coordination, and trouble walking. Ataxia may affect the fingers, hands, arms, legs, body, speech, and even eye movements.
The symptom of ataxia can be caused by stroke, multiple sclerosis, tumors, alcoholism, peripheral neuropathy, metabolic disorders, and vitamin deficiencies. In these cases, treating the condition that caused ataxia may improve it.
While the term ataxia usually describes symptoms, it also describes a group of specific degenerative diseases of the central nervous system called the hereditary and sporadic ataxias:
The defective gene makes abnormal proteins that cause the nerve cell degeneration. As the disease progresses, muscles become less and less responsive to the commands of the brain. This causes balance and coordination to worsen.
Symptoms and time of onset may vary according to the type of ataxia. Each person may experience symptoms differently.
Typically, the most common are listed below:
The symptoms of ataxia may resemble other conditions or medical problems. Always consult your health care provider for a diagnosis.
In addition to a thorough medical history, family history, and complete neurological and physical exam, the following diagnostic procedures may be done:
These diagnostic procedures may also be used to rule out other conditions that can cause ataxia. Certain conditions can cause ataxia to develop suddenly, such as head injury, stroke, brain hemorrhage, brain tumor, congenital abnormalities, infections, post exposure to certain drugs, and also if the heart or breathing slow or stop.
Some conditions can cause ataxia to appear gradually, such as hypothyroidism, certain vitamin deficiencies, exposure to certain drugs, multiple sclerosis, syphilis, and other disorders.
There is no cure for the hereditary ataxias. And, there is no medication to treat the specific symptom of ataxia.
If ataxia is due to a stroke, a low vitamin level, or exposure to a toxic drug or chemical, then treatment is aimed at treating those specific conditions.
The treatment for the lack of coordination or imbalance mostly involves the use of adaptive devices to allow the person to maintain as much independence as possible. These devices may include a cane, crutches, a walker, or a wheelchair. Physical therapy, speech therapy, and medications to help symptoms, such as tremor, stiffness, depression, spasticity, and sleep disorders may also help.
Research is being done on cerebellar and spinocerebellar degeneration, including work aimed at finding the cause(s) of ataxias and ways to treat, cure, and ultimately prevent them.
The treatment for the lack of coordination or imbalance mostly involves the use of adaptive devices to allow the individual to maintain as much independence as possible. Such devices may include the use of a cane, crutches, walker, or wheelchair. Physical therapy, speech therapy, and medications to help symptoms, such as tremor, stiffness, depression, spasticity, and sleep disorders, may also help.
Progression of the different types of ataxia may vary with each specific syndrome. In the worst case scenario, the person may have untreatable rigidity, breathing trouble, or choking which can lead to death. Some of the most difficult symptoms include management with continuous positive airway pressure devices (CPAP), tracheostomy, or a feeding tube.
Falling or becoming chair- or bed-bound may lead to other life threatening complications, such as injury, pressure sores, infection, and blood clots. Dementia, behavioral problems, and depression may influence compliance and care. Symptom will focus on the management of the following symptoms:
There is always something that can be done to improve the quality of life of the person with ataxia.
Symptoms and time of onset may vary according to the type of ataxia. Each person may experience symptoms differently. Contact your provider if you have any of the following symptoms:
Tips to help you get the most from a visit to your health care provider:
UC San Diego | School of Medicine | Health Sciences


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Accessories Wedding Fashion Wedding Style
Hair Accessories Hairpiece Headpiece Veil
Jennifer Behr
You know we obsess over gorgeous details, so it should come as no surprise that we're completely enamored with the beautiful bridal collection from Jennifer Behr. We've just added several of her headpieces and belts to our Fashion Look Book and quite frankly, I'm feeling a little bit star struck. Her designs have not only graced the pages of Martha Stewart, InStyle, and Harper's Bazaar, but have also been worn by Maggie Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman, and the accessory goddess herself, Lady Gaga. So needless to say, we're feeling pretty giddy about showing off her work right here on SMP.
{Click here to see the look book collection}
These beauties are quite simply some of the. most. stunning accessories I have ever laid my eyes on. Embellished with Swarovski crystals, delicate silk organza flowers and elegant ostrich feathers… each handmade design is an absolute masterpiece. You can see even more gorgeousness right here. If you feeling like spoiling your bridesmaids or if you're like me, and you just can't stop staring, head over the Jennifer Behr's website for even more pretty pieces.


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View the original article at: http://www.countryweekly.com/news/craig-morgan-headlines-new-years-eve-nashville-bash
Craig will be appearing along with classic Â70s rock band Ambrosia, John Ford Coley and former Hollies member Terry Sylvester. General admission is $75 with VIP floor tickets going for $150. For more information, call (615) 902-8200 or go to wildhorsesaloon.com.
[1] http://www.countryweekly.com/news/catch-gacs-top-videos-2007
[2] http://www.countryweekly.com/news/brad-dierks-head-austin


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Pastor apologizes for role in prayer vigil after Connecticut massacre
Our take: Rev. Rob Morris issued an apology for participating in an interfaith prayer vigil following the Sandy Hook massacre because his church bars its clergy from worshiping with other faiths.
A Connecticut Lutheran pastor has apologized for participating in an interfaith prayer vigil for the 26 children and adults killed at a Newtown elementary school in December because his church bars its clergy from worshiping with other faiths.
The December prayer vigil was attended by President Barack Obama, leaders from Christian, Muslim and Jewish faiths, and relatives of the 20 first graders who were gunned down in their classrooms two days earlier after a gunman entered their school.
The Dec. 14 shooting shook the nation and led to calls for improved school security, gun control and better mental health care.
The pastor, Rob Morris of Newtown's Christ the King Lutheran Church, provided the closing benediction at the interfaith event.
Earlier this month, the president of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, Pastor Matthew Harrison, wrote a letter to church members saying he had requested an apology from Morris for his participation in "joint worship with other religions."
Copyright 2016, Deseret News Publishing Company


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|Counselor's Corner
Our Counseling Program
The elementary counseling program at Deer Park is a child-centered, preventive, and developmental program that complements learning in the classroom. We work with teachers and parents to help maximize each student's potential. We encourage students' social, emotional, and personal growth at each stage of their development. To accomplish this, we conduct monthly counseling lessons, run groups and lunch bunches, as well as consult with parents, teachers, and other professionals.
We discuss character education through our CHEER program, which promotes the qualities of Cooperation, Honesty, Equality, Empathy, and Respect.
In addition to our work with the students, we are available to talk with parents, provide workshops, help with resources in the community and provide support to all of our Deer Park families. We love working with your students and if there is any way we can help make your child's year more successful, please feel free to contact us at the school at 802-5000 or by email.
Monthly Issue of "Helping Children Learn"
|Meet our Counselors
Donna Ford
Courtney Cottrell


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Lights, music and a dome.
Black lights and scorpions.
Several food trucks also provided food options for people with munchies.
Her Tern and Skinny Raven held a fashion in the museum's atrium.
DJ Spencer Lee plays jams as people enjoy LED hula hoops.
Attendees also had a chance to make art by decorating small pieces of wood.
Christopher Sutliff made some screen printed t-shirts.
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Recent Articles
« Older: Tennessee State Parks Easter Sunday Buffet Newer: Clarksville Pediatric Dentistry achieves Green Certification »
First Advantage Bank sponsors Golf Tournament to benefit Wounded Warriors
Clarksville, TN – The Clarksville Golf Association has announced their first tournament of the year with a two day event at Fort Campbell's Cole Park Golf course, April 21st-22nd. The two-person "trifecta", sponsored by First Advantage Bank, will feature a unique format that golfers will enjoy playing.
Tournament director, and CGA board member John Ignacio, said the golf association wanted a tournament in April, and wanted to help provide support to Cole Park for their work with the wounded warriors. "The golf pro at Fort Campbell provides assistance to soldiers returning from the war zone who have been injured, and want to continue playing the game of golf. We're going to support their efforts by organizing and running this tournament. Proceeds from the tournament will benefit the Wounded Warriors."
The Clarksville Golf Association sponsors all of the major amateur golf tournaments in Clarksville. The proceeds of those tournaments are given back to the community in some way. "We approached First Advantage Bank with the idea of sponsoring this tournament, and we can't thank Jim Durrett and Randy Clouser enough" said Ignacio.
The trifecta format requires that each two person team plays eighteen holes of golf. The first six holes is played "best ball." Both golfers play their own ball and the team takes the best score on each hole. The next six holes is a "scramble" format. The team plays the best shot on each hole to record their score. Then, the final six holes is "alternate shot." Ignacio calls this, "hate your partner" golf. Each player tees off on the first hole, then they alternate shots until the ball is holed. "That part of the format is usually the most challenging" Ignacio said. "But it's a lot of fun."
Entry forms are available at all area pro shops, including the Links at Novadell. Entry fee is $110.00 per person. The tournament will be flighted after the first round. Winners receive gift certificates redeemable at Golf Park Golf Course.
The field is limited, so get your entry forms in early. Golfers will be able to enter the base through Gate 1.
Exclusive coverage of the final round of the tournament can be heard on 1400 WJZM. Complete coverage of scores and photos will be available at www.clarksvillesportsnetwork.com, and www.clarksvilleonline.com.
About Hank Bonecutter
Hank Bonecutter is a forty year broadcast veteran and former radio station owner. His career included, talk-show host, journalist, writer, and producer. He is president of Bonehead Promotions, an advertising consulting and media firm. He is the owner of www.clarksvillesportsnetwork.com and www.nashvillesportsnetwork.com, and is a contributing author/journalist for Clarksville Online.
Hank worked at several Nashville radio stations, including WKDF, WLAC, WKQB and WKDA.
He hosted and produced Clarksville's longest running morning talk-show, "The Bone Show," from 1994-2012.
Hank is also a stand-up comedian, having performed at some of the top comedy clubs in Tennessee, Kentucky and Georgia.
Hank produced a series of stand-up comedy shows, "Comedy on the Cumberland, " in Clarksville to benefit local charities.
You can follow Hank on Facebook and Twitter, @bonecutter01 and @boneheadnews.
Web Site: http://www.clarksvillesportsnetwork.com/
Topics1400 AM WJZM, Clarksville Golf Association, Clarksville TN, ClarksvilleSportsNetwork.com., Cole Park Golf Course, First Advantage Bank, Fort Campbell KY, Gate 1, Golf Tournament, Jim Durrett, John Ignacio, Links at Novadell, Randy Clouser, Wounded Warriors Project
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HomeCurrent ResearchStem Cell Research at NIHNIH Stem Cell UnitFACScan Analysis
FACScan analysis is being used to quantitate immunocytochemistry results as a form of quality control. BG01(1) clones, UC06(1), WA01, WA07, and WA09 have been tested for SSEA-4 immunoreactivity and found to be greater than 80% positive. (These experiments are being repeated.)
Page citation: FACScan Analysis. In Stem Cell Information [World Wide Web site]. Bethesda, MD: National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2007 [cited Tuesday, August 23, 2016] Available at <http://stemcells.nih.gov/research/nihresearch/scunit/Pages/facscan.aspx>


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Welcome to Cupcake Tuesday! If you are new here, grab a cup of tea or a glass of milk and enjoy a cupcake!
My youngest son, Casey, turns 13 this weekend. One of the cupcakes he wanted me to bake were Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes.
Since, I haven't shared a flavored cupcake in quite some time, I figured it would be perfect. And by the way, I updated the Cupcake Heaven page yesterday, I now have 73 cupcake creations!! Hop on over and let me know what you think.
These Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes were very easy but big on flavor and presentation. I used a Chocolate Cake recipe that I've never tried before, it was very dense but had good flavor. We had a house divided on them, Doug and my youngest, Casey, loved them, the other 2 boys and myself liked the flavor, but like a more light tasting cupcake. Man oh Man is the frosting yummy though. I could just eat it by the spoonful!
- ¾ cup cocoa powder
- ¾ cup flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup sour cream
- 4 large Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, cut into small pieces
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 1 cup Peanut Butter
- 3 tablespoons milk, or as needed
- 2 - 2½ cups Powdered Sugar
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Line muffin tins with paper cupcake liners.
- In a separate bowl, combine cocoa, flour, baking powder and salt.
- In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.
- Beat in vanilla.
- Add dry ingredients, alternating with the sour cream, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.
- Gently fold in Peanut Butter Cup pieces.
- Divide batter into cupcake liners.
- Bake for about 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cream butter and Peanut Butter until fluffy.
- Gradually add powdered sugar, alternating with a little milk at a time.
- Beat well, until desired consistency.
- Frost cupcakes and garnish with a Mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cup
You could, of course, also use any Chocolate cake mix that you like.
You might also like…
Mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes
Linking to…Ingredient Spotlight, Gooseberry Patch


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Southeast Sunday Parkways in Portland
I had fun walking all seven miles of the Southeast Sunday Parkways in Portland today. You can see all of the images I took: Southeast Sunday Parkways – Portland, Oregon.
Here are three of my favorite:
I had fun walking all seven miles of the Southeast Sunday Parkways in Portland today. You can see all of the images I took: Southeast Sunday Parkways – Portland, Oregon.
Here are three of my favorite:
After the truck attack in Nice, France, radio host Joe Walsh tweeted, "Not a gun. Not a bomb. This was a truck. 2-3 minutes. As of now over 80 dead. Please understand now. It's not the weapon. It's the ideology."
This got me into a Twitter argument with a friend who wrote, "Rules against guns will go just about as well as drug laws. And, to be consistent, the left should be going to war against vans." Another Walsh follower posted later, "Paris and Orlando: guns. Nice: Truck. Germany: Axe. The issue is the ideology, not the weapons."
But let's look at the facts on the ground in America.
According to the FBI, between 2010 and 2014, 87.8 percent of feloniously murdered police were killed by guns, not counting those killed with their own guns.
Between 2006 and 2015, 36.2 percent of police who died while on duty were killed by guns, 0.9 percent from terror attacks (source: NLEOMF).
In 2012, 69.37 percent of American murder victims were killed by guns, 12.5 percent from stabbing. For five years of available data between 2006 and 2012, 68 percent of American murder victims were killed by guns, 12.7 percent from stabbing.
In 2013, 33,636 Americans were killed or killed themselves with guns (Wikipedia) and more than the 32,719 Americans killed in car accidents; however, the latter figure equates to only 1.1 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (Wikipedia).
Recently, FiveThirtyEight reported "from 2002 to 2014, 85 percent of people killed by terrorists in the U.S. were killed using guns" and that "Every terrorist attack in the U.S. last year in which someone other than the perpetrator was killed involved guns."
For anyone who wants to reduce unnecessary death in America, making cars safer will help, but tightly regulating firearms is by far the statistically most effective approach to saving lives.
Regulating ideology would be anti-American. And sadly these days, guiding our actions by science and statistics is as well. Facts just don't matter much anymore.
Zoe and the Amazocalypse have been covered in three major Seattle news outlets (Geekwire, Seattle PI and The Stranger) and one major Internet news site (Slashdot), but there's been minimal interest and sparse sharing and pledging. After yesterday's slog post, only twelve readers actually bothered to visit our Kickstarter page … twelve. Local journalists thought the project is worth covering but the low response has left me wondering if Seattle's lost its sense of humor.
In fact, I was caught a bit off guard when The Stranger's Heidi Groover started grilling me on why I was so against density that I would write a kids book about it. Hers was such a serious take on what I thought was lighthearted, artful commentary on obvious change.
We all know Amazon's basically engulfed Seattle and while there are amazing benefits to economic growth, most pre-2010 residents don't recognize the place, can't afford it and (men) can't get a date anymore (unless they pay for it).
The idea of Amazon in the form of a monster recognizing that all of its actions haven't been great for everyone seems timely. And yes the text has girls, drones, hackers, traffic, homeless and artists. Humor and art are often the most effective cultural critiques we have.
Certainly, the framing as a children's book was loosely applied, but, as I told Groover, any kid growing up in Seattle sees cranes everyday and sits in traffic with their frustrated parents. Commenter John Reagan quoted his daughter telling he and his wife, "you two were much happier when we lived in Vegas."
I've been involved in a variety of projects in my career that have made national (and international) news, from running not for profit coffee shops to helping catch Wired journalist Evan Ratliff to marrying a corporation to a person. And, I've had projects not take off, like any creative person.
But I thought the concept of Zoe and Amazocalypse was funny and Megan Marie Myer's art outstanding. I thought one look at Amazocalypse and weary Seattle-ites would be breaking Facebook with shares. But instead, you could almost hear a pin drop if not for all the construction cranes.
I asked one of my editorial mentors and local historian Knute Berger, what gives? He wondered if I'd gotten old, increasingly the city is filling with millennials working for Amazon and other tech companies. He said, "maybe hating on Amazon is old hat—so 2014," or perhaps, "they don't want to kill the golden Amazon goose." He suggested, "a kid's book on how a STEM education made a little girl a billionaire at 13—and she lived happily ever after at a U-district tech hub within walking distance of light rail!"
Now, that's funny — and hopefully, so 2045.
Perhaps the idea of the Amazocalypse just sucks — or it just hits too close to home to joke about anymore in Seattle.
For curious reasons I'll be blogging about soon, I was to told to call Comcast to open up a few UDP ports. Comcast refused to offer any assistance saying the problem was with my router or my cable modem. I asked to speak to a supervisor and was hung up on. That's Comcast, that's just what they do courtesy of our government's lack of Internet service regulations.
Before trying again, I wanted to verify that my new cable modem didn't have something to do with this. But the new Netgear CM500 doesn't offer any real advanced settings like port forwarding. So, after a convoluted process of entering my serial number at Netgear's support website, I called in with a support code. The robot told me I was third in line and it would be seven minutes.
It was 38 minutes before I gave up and hung up. But, it wasn't a quiet 38 minutes of hold music, it was a repetitive cycle of "tips" like rebooting and unplugging over and over and over and over … and over and over. It's like water boarding for customer support. There's no real support here and the experience of calling is designed to get you to hang up.
I finally went on text chat while on hold and got a company response over the issue. I'm not sure if it's correct yet. I'm currently caught between three different providers trying to solve a problem — it's kind of like hell, but there's no sign of Trump.
I'll have a post about what this is all about in the coming week.
Last December, I traveled to India for my second visit, this time with Aum Adventures. Based on my experience, I want to warn others about the likelihood of problems traveling through this agency. In fact, a head injury I suffered on the trip led to six emergency room visits when I returned home to Seattle and thousands of dollars of expenses, pain and lost work. Let me summarize the problems I experienced.
17 Person Group Size
Firstly, the Aum brochure mentioned to "Expect anywhere from 8-14 travelers on a trip." However, they allowed 17 people on the trip which proved unwieldy and played a huge part in ruining it. Aum promised, "We keep our group sizes low so you have the freedom to move around and get involved with your surroundings." But, 17 people slowed us everywhere. Doing basic things like getting meals became prolonged and unmanageable (often 2+ hours). Similarly waiting for people to load and unload luggage on the bus(es), waiting at ATMs, bathrooms, airport security lines all contributed to ruining the quality of the trip. The quiet intimacy of a smaller travel group, like the one promised to me in pre-purchase conversations, never existed.
Unsuitable Travel Conditions
I'd been to India before and understand the conditions to expect but Aum failed to prepare us for the problems at the Parnath Ashram in Rishikesh, near the foothills of the Himalayas. Arriving late at night in the dark, I hit my head entering the bathroom which had not only a step up but a low knife-edged steel frame in which many foreigners have probably hurt themselves. The force of the blow nearly caused a concussion and I suffered lateral whiplash and compression bruising to my neck.
When I returned to Seattle, I was struck with two months of debilitating headaches and had to make six emergency room visits at the cost of thousands of dollars. A specialist confirmed that the headaches were cervical in source, almost certainly related to the head and neck injury I suffered there. Here's an excerpt of my medical costs and visits:
But the Parneth rooms were open air as you can see below — and this was winter! Mountain temperatures in Rishikesh were just above freezing, about 33-35 degrees Fahrenheit. The rooms were wide open to the elements. There were rectangular windows on opposite sides of the ceiling to bring cool air in in the summer. And, my bed was beside the wooden window where freezing cold air would continuously stream at me.
Aum's owner Ashley Melin never told the group to bring sleeping bags, nor was appropriate bedding provided. We were freezing every night — everyone in the group. One of the group leaders got so sick he barely left his room for several days. Many in the group were sickened or weakened or later sickened as the trip went on.
Changing Plans to Optimize Profit
Last fall, Melin had told us it was okay to book at the Delhi Holiday Inn for pre-arrival stays, which we did. However, at the last minute, she changed the hotel to reduce her expenditures on the 17 person group: "The group's flights pushed the budget out so we needed to find another hotel. It wasn't the Holiday Inn."
Because we'd just flown in and were dealing with time changes, jet lag, and a related meetup I'd planned at the Holiday Inn, it was a major problem to change hotels the morning after our arrival. I asked Melin to pay for our pre-arrival at the new hotel, she completely refused. I had to pay it out of pocket.
In 2014, I'd traveled with Sarah Joy Marsh on her trip via Redback Travels, the company Melin ran with her husband — I thought they had just changed the name and later learned that they divorced. Aum Adventures was the new company run solely by Melin. The Redback trip had been wonderful and all the road travel and accommodations were of a good quality for India. This proved not to be the case with Aum Adventures.
Where nearly all meals but two were included in 2014, only "breakfasts" were included by Aum. And, when we went out to breakfast one day, I was told that even that meal wasn't included.
To save money with the larger group, Melin changed the rail reservations at the last minute and put us in lower class travel for our six hour ride to Rishikesh. There was no area for luggage, the seats were badly broken and it was about as bad as you can imagine it. I understand it's India but the reason we paid more than $3,585 per person was to have some basic care provided with road and rail travel. None was. One of the unnecessarily changed reservations required a 4 am departure, just to maximize Aum's profit.
Problems with Tipping
There were also numerous problems with tipping and miscommunication which I'll just mention briefly here. The FAQ for this trip said, "Drivers, porters and restaurant tips are usually included in the trip price (unless otherwise indicated.)" This was sent out repeatedly in the PDF by Aum. But instead we were asked to tip ridiculous amounts, even for western standards (the equivalent of $76,500 U.S.D. salaries for guides – paid in tips).
Melin had the habit of responding in platitudes about traveling in India being challenging and you should just focus on the enlightenment the opportunity that these challenges bring. For example, when a fellow guest inquired to her about the tips, she replied:
"India is one of the most challenging, yet rewarding places to travel in the world. It has always made me face myself and test me in ways I could never have imagined. One of my darkest times was traveling in the general compartment for 7 hrs with 6 people next to me, 6 below me, and 6 above me in blistering heat on a wood bench. But still to this day, it is one of my most favorite stories and I would tell it to you over a beer sometime if you like! I have always found that just when something or someone tests me, another bright rainbow is usually waiting around the corner that blows my mind and makes me love the people and chaos even more."
Not only did it seem that she was hitting on him but we found this repetitive style of responding to serious trip concerns to be offensive and obfuscative.
Towards the end of the trip, Aum promised refunds for some of the tips. None were ever provided.
Refusal to Address Concerns
It was Melin's stubbornness and refusal to respond to travel quality concerns that ruined the trip, day by day and step by step.
From Rishikesh, I did inquire with one of the nearby hotels to see if my partner and I could move to a nearby hotel at my own expense but they were booked for the holidays. I also asked Melin to refund some of the costs from the trip. She responded: "I am sorry that you are having a rough trip. Clearly this is a bad fit. Aum Adventures provides an authentic experience of India, not a first class experience. The $166/day that you are paying covers all guides, all yoga classes/courses, transportation, accommodation, guides and logistical services. There are no refunds at this point. We hope you enjoy the rest of your time in India."
While the trip's downfall began in Rishikesh, Melin and the trip leaders just weren't responsive to concerns. It was three days before more bedding was provided — but it was never adequate for the cold, open air rooms and leaky windows.
The Parnath Ashram is such a low cost destination that it only costs $288 USD per week for an individual – room, board, and yoga – even less for 17 people. That's where Aum placed us for a week with our $166 per day travel reservation.
There were also lots of other problems on the trip that they refused to address. For the sake of brevity, I won't list them all here — however, I highly recommend against travel with Aum Adventures.
Related Links
Recently, I created a bug at Meeting Planner which took some time to track down. Everything worked on my local development environment, but adding dates and times and places and making meeting choices failed on the live production server.
Ultimately, it was this code change:
const TIMELAPSE = (3*60); // three minutes
I'd recently changed this value from an integer to a calculated integer i.e. 300 for five minutes to (3*60) for three minutes.
It turned out that this functionality is supported in PHP 5.6.0 and my development environment runs 5.6.10:
$ php -v
PHP 5.6.10 (cli) (built: Jul 6 2015 14:28:54)
Copyright (c) 1997-2015 The PHP Group
Zend Engine v2.6.0, Copyright (c) 1998-2015 Zend Technologies
But, my production environment 5.5.9:
$ php -v
PHP 5.5.9-1ubuntu4.17 (cli) (built: May 19 2016 19:05:57)
Copyright (c) 1997-2014 The PHP Group
Zend Engine v2.5.0, Copyright (c) 1998-2014 Zend Technologies
with Zend OPcache v7.0.3, Copyright (c) 1999-2014, by Zend Technologies
I haven't commonly run into PHP bugs (or perhaps "feature gap" in this case) like this that vary between incremental versions.
If you're in Portland, consider taking your children to the heartwarmingly beautiful show by localish artist Megan Marie Myers at the JoLa Cafe through July 22, 2016. As soon as you walk into JoLa, you're touched by large format originals and framed prints of Megan's nature scenes with children. There are girls with foxes, moose, bear and lamas, boys with walruses and mountain goats and more. You can see examples from the show below.
For me, her work inspires the joy of being a child with an innate appreciation of nature and animals. You can't make it through the cafe without having your heart literally warmed.
Of course, I may be a bit biased because I'm collaborating with Megan on Zoe and the Amazocalypse, a illustrated children's book about the tech boom's impact on Seattle (basically the Space Needle has disappeared and a young girl sets out to find it, meets a monster, etc.)
You can see more of Megan's work at her website: http://meganmariemyers.com — and yes, you can purchase prints online at her Etsy store.
I hope you'll check it out. Sales during the show at JoLa have been intense!


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|HylaFAX The world's most advanced open source fax server
At 05:17 PM 7/15/97 +1200, Jonathan Chen <firstname.lastname@example.com> wrote: >Yo. > >One thing I've noticed about the list lately is that we appear to >running slightly out of steam. Development on HylaFAX (fixes and more >importantly enhancements) have basically ground to a halt (either >that, or I'm not on the development list). >[snip] Hi. I've noticed the same thing, and agree with your thoughts. And I'd better say first that I'm one of the worst, contributing for a day or two, then disappearing ( well, lurking ) for the rest of the month. The mailing list seems to have plenty of practical, admin people who have problems to fix and are willing to share solutions with other people. What we are missing the C++ programmers (ideally a team) who are happy to delve into the code and produce patches, workrounds - even just to tell us what the existing code actually does ( a recent thread in the list ). The answer? I dunno. Somehow we need to encourage other people onto the list. Perhaps documentation of the source code to make easier for someone new to get to grips with it ? Anyone else got any ideas ? Just my 2 cents worth... Cheers, Phil Watkinson, Boston, UK.


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Paris Air Show: iXAir Flying High Despite Downturn
It's the Paris Air Show and it seems the wealthy and successful still travel in style, despite the tough economic conditions–in private jets and helicopters. So I had to see for myself how the other side travel efficiently.
We arrived at the iXAir's base rather early this morning but held up due to the poor weather and low visibility. Still, the French President Nicolas Sarkozy's helicopter was also delayed so I shouldn't really complain. When we finally got clearance, the journey was quick and provided awe inspiring views, mostly because of the size of the windows that provide near panoramic views. It certainly gets the adrenaline pumping.
But it's not the cheapest method, even if it is efficient and therefore restricts the clientele to those who can afford. A single journey costs about €190 per seat to get you to the Paris Airshow, while a return costs €350.
That's compared to the average €6 one could pay to take the metro and RER to Le Bourget and then the free shuttle bus. Tomorrow there's talk of a strike and taking a taxi isn't exactly quick due to the number of people who pour towards the venue in their cars.
Still, given that the helicopter only takes 15-odd minutes and that traditional methods of train and bus can take up to 1.5 hours to 2 hours, especially with all the traffic, I know which I would opt for.


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Elton John says he's helping Eminem fight drugs
Published: Saturday, January 2, 2010 at 12:13 p.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, January 2, 2010 at 12:13 p.m.
LONDON (AP) — Elton John says he has been helping American rapper Eminen fight drug problems for more than a year.
John says Eminem is succeeding in his well-publicized battle against substance abuse.
John told BBC Radio Saturday that as a recovered drug abuser he is happy to help people if they want the assistance but drugs make people so cocky and arrogant that they often reject help.
Eminem has written about his substance abuse problems in the past.
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.
Comments are currently unavailable on this article


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Rookie wide receiver Aaron Dobson, who has missed the last two games with a foot injury, practiced today for the first time of the week, on a limited basis. He is being called questionable for the Patriots' game Sunday at Miami.
The report listed eight other players as questionable: cornerback Kyle Arrington (groin), tackle Marcus Cannon (ankle), cornerback Alfonzo Dennard (knee/shoulder), tight end Michael Hoomanawanui (knee), tackle Nate Solder (concussion), linebacker Brandon Spikes (knee), tackle Will Svitek (ankle) and wide receiver Kenbrell Thompkins (hip).
Also, quarterback Tom Brady (right shoulder), safety Steve Gregory (finger) and cornerback Aqib Talib (hip) participated fully in practice for the first time of the week. All three are listed as probable.
The Dolphins listed two players -- safety Rashad Jones (groin) and cornerback Jamar Taylor (hamstring) as questionable.
Location, ST | website.com


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Texting while driving prevention program started by widow of John Bachman, Amherst benefit concert planned
AMHERST – A local band known for hosting benefit concerts to help people struggling with loss or other hardship has scheduled one of those gigs for June 21 to honor the life of
December accident victim John Bachman.
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The last time Rick Perry had visited a "spin room" after a Republican presidential debate, he was doing damage control minutes after the infamous "oops" moment in Michigan.
If Perry was having flashbacks last night, when he made an appearance in the post-debate spin room in Mesa, Ariz., after the 20th (and perhaps final) debate of the GOP primary campaign, he didn't let on. Any nostalgia for those days in the national spotlight?
"I made the right decision," Perry told reporters, according to a report by The Hill's Josh Lederman. "I'm supporting Newt (Gingrich). Newt's been a great friend and a very good and capable individual for many years. I'm comfortable I'm in the right place."
Perry called the contest "wide open" and he dutifully pushed the candidacy of Gingrich, who he endorsed when he dropped out of the race on Jan. 19.
"There's been ups and downs in this campaign," Perry said, according to Lederman's report. "He's coming back, and he's coming back in a strong way, because we're back to talking about the issues the American people care about."


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THE 2013 Group 7 Rugby League season may still be several months off but that didn't stop the Batemans Bay Tigers from announcing their first big signing of the off-season last week.
Front-row forward Sam Cunningham will join the Tigers next year as the club continues its rebuilding process under coach Deryck Fox.
Cunningham has joined the Bay from Championship One (English third tier) club Oldham Roughyeds, initially on a one-year deal.
The 22-year-old told the Bay Post/Moruya Examiner this week that it was a "dream" move.
"I received an email off Deryck asking me to join the Tigers back in October just after my season had finished with Oldham," he said.
"The main appeal was obviously the footy side to it. Playing in Australia, I think, is any British player's dream and hopefully this experience will improve me as a player."
Not only was it a dream move for the former Wigan Warriors, Widnes Vikings and Whitehaven player, but he also said it was a no-brainer even if the logistics were a bit complicated.
"It was an easy decision in my head, but it was a hard decision to actually get the ball rolling," he said.
"It's a big commitment but I'm not regretting it one bit.
"I haven't been to Australia before, but it's always been on my bucket list.
"I'm most looking forward to the footy, the sun, the Australian culture and also a little sightseeing along the way."
Since signing on the dotted line last week, Cunningham has done lots of reading in an attempt to learn as much as possible about his soon-to-be home.
"I have done a lot of research about the Tigers and Batemans Bay, and it looks beautiful," he said.
"Deryck has told me all about the club and the area, and it sounds right up my street."
However, Fox's influence in Cunningham's decision to sign was far greater than simply describing the Bay's coastal scenery.
"Deryck was a big influence really, especially with a playing history like his," Cunningham said.
"I know the coaching will be flawless."
When asked what he hoped to bring to the Tigers next season, Cunningham replied: "An element of professionalism, a good solid defence and hopefully get some points on the board in the process."
The Bay's newest recruit said he expected to arrive in Batemans Bay on January 16 and that he "can't wait for training to start and meet my new team".
Meanwhile, the club has also picked up former Bay junior Dylan Payne for next season, and has re-signed star hooker Adam Stone.


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Enhanced CRM Profiles For Better Identification
An Online CRM is a one which can be accessed from anywhere and is primarily a multi-user system.
As the number of users in an organization grow, there are high chances many of them are working from different geographical locations; in different branches.
Adding Life To CRM
When you log into the CRM everyday and you see the same screens again-and-again, you get used to it. You pretty much know where the buttons are and the tabs that are enabled.
That's why we decided to add some life to the CRM with profile pictures. Now you can add pictures into the profile page and have more fun while at work.
Avoid Confusion
When people are working from different geographical locations, there are chances that you might not have met them face-to-face. There is also a possibility of two or more people having the same name with the same spellings.
In these scenarios, if you assign a record to Person A from Chennai, instead of Person A from Delhi, it can cause confusion.
Hence to avoid confusion, now you have the option of verifying the person's visual identity along with their designation; email address; and other details to confirm the same.
From now add your profile pictures into melssCRM and avoid confusion.
Check out our previous blog on Manage Activities on Google Calendar, Apple iCal, Microsoft Outlook and more.
If you would like to keep yourself informed on the latest features and updates, you can subscribe to melssCRM blog through email or Get Social With melssCRM Team.


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I'm guessing. I don't know her. So I shouldn't really be so presumptuous. But she brightens my day, and when depression steals her away it's like someone put out a twinkly little star.
Same with Allie Brosh. She's the mad comic genius behind Hyperbole and A Half. And depression/anxiety blindsided her and took away the awesome cartoons about dogs that are responsible for the coffee stains I accidentally dribbled onto the desk at my old job. Turns out a good laugh and a gulp of coffee cannot occupy the same space in my mouth. Allie Brosh taught me that. *melodramatic, teary sniffle*
I don't have depression. When I get sad, I know why I'm sad. There's a reason. And I can fix it. I can get happy again. Apparently that's a luxury, because 18.8 million adults suffer depression in any given year. An inappropriately large number of those people are "creative"- artists, musicians, writers. My peeps. The people who entertain you, who make you think, laugh, cry, feel better, whatever: sometimes it might be nice if we returned the favor.
So today when The Bloggess tweeted/blogged that she was having some trouble, I went into helpfully-over-friendly-where-is-the-"stalker"-line-again?-mode. I, and everyone else who reads Jenny's blog, know that she thinks hedgehogs taking a bath are a good reason to laugh. She could maybe use a good reason to laugh. I happened to have a dirty hedgehog. He's not a very exciting bath taker, but, you know, whatever I can do to help.
|Click the pic.
Go make someone else happier today. Even if it's only a little happier, even if you aren't sure that it will work or they'll even get the message.