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Published: Sunday, March 5, 2006 at 6:01 a.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, March 4, 2006 at 10:19 p.m.
Real-estate agent elected as officer
HOUMA -- Bill G. Boyd, real-estate broker with Town & Country Real Estate, recently was elected as vice chairman of the Louisiana Real Estate Commission.
The nine commission members are charges with regulating the activities of more than 20,000 real-estate licenses, helping protect the publics real-estate rights and refine agency laws. The commission, formed in 1920, recently has been busy with the implementation of the new statewide real-estate property-disclosure forms.
TGMC campaign wins award
HOUMA -- Terrebonne General Medical Centers current television advertising campaign has earned a Gold ADDYÆ Award in the American Advertising Awards competition.
The 2005-06 campaign was collaborated by the TGMC Marketing Department and Sullivan-St. Clair Marketing/Public Relations firm in Mobile, Ala.
The campaign was shot entirely on location in Houma. The three commercials are part of an overall "Trust" campaign that positions TGMC as the hospital most trusted by patients, health-care providers and other hospitals.
"For the third year in a row TGMC is honored to be recognized for its impressive advertising campaigns, and we are proud to receive the ADDYÆ Award," said Phyllis Peoples, TGMC president and CEO. "These campaigns focus on TGMCs employees and the higher level of care that we are able to provide because of their knowledge, experience, dedication and expertise. Most importantly, our employees love what they do, taking care of our community" said Peoples.
"The core of this campaign was different from the previous three years and focused on Terrebonne General being the preferred health-care provider in the tri-parish area as well as a facility that offers a higher level of care and overall experience," said Karen St. Clair, account supervisor and a principal with the advertising agency.
The American Advertising Awards is the largest advertising-awards competition in the country and is a three-level competition: local, district and national. The campaign will be judged at the district level in Macon, Ga., in April.
Local safety award winners named
WASHINGTON -- The Minerals Management Services 2005 District Safety Award for Excellence program has named three local operators as award winners.
In the Houma district, Anadarko Petroleum Corp., Global Santa Fe Corp. and Baker Energy have all garnered the safety award.
"The winners of the District SAFE Awards have set very high standards for safety by their technical accomplishments and commitment to protection of their workers while conducting offshore oil and natural gas operations on the federal OCS," or Outer Continental Shelf, said Regional Director Chris Oynes.
The program was established in 1983.
Ponder diplomat for pain physicians
HOUMA -- Dr. Jimmy Ponder of the Headache and Pain Center has recently become certified as a diplomat of the American Board of Interventional Pain Physicians.
He met certification requirements by completing the certification tests held by the World Institute of Pain held in Puerto Rico in January 2005 and in Washington, D.C., in October of 2005. By completing these certifications, Ponder is one of 16 physicians in the United States to be certified as a fellow of the American Board of Interventional Pain Physicians.
Ponder will complete his two-year tenure as president of the Louisiana Society of Interventional Pain Physicians in April.
$30 million due to Louisianians
WASHINGTON -- The IRS has unclaimed refunds of more than $30 million for Louisianans who failed to file a tax return for 2002.
About half of those taxpayers would receive more than $550 in refunds. But to collect the money, a tax return for 2002 must be filed by April 17.
The law provides most taxpayers a three-year window for claiming refunds; there is no penalty for filing a late return qualifying for a refund. But if these taxpayers have not filed returns for 2003 or 2004, the money will be held. It also may be applied to past-due federal debts or child support.
Call (800) 829-1040 for information or (800) 829-3676 for tax forms.
Humana names new consultant
BATON ROUGE -- Humana Inc. has named David Saltzman as the health-benefits companys new consumerism consultant for the southeast region that encompasses Louisiana, Florida and Georgia.
In this newly created position, Saltzman will be responsible for communicating Humanas consumer-choice strategies across all commercial segments and to all sizes of employer groups in the southeast, as well as educating commercial, community and industry groups on how Humanas consumer-directed approach to health benefits can result in reduced medical-claims costs and improved health.
Saltzman has been with Humana since 2003 as the companys Smart products consultant. In that capacity, he served as the companys subject matter expert to educate health insurance brokers, community organizations and industry groups about Humanas consumer-directed Smart products portfolio.
Prior to joining Humana, Saltzman was president and chief technology officer of Administrative Services Inc., a third-party benefits administrator; and president and CEO of D.A. Saltzman & Associates, an insurance sales and brokerage firm.
He is a past president of the National Association of Health Underwriters, and serves on the faculty of the national Consumer Directed Health Care Conference.
Raceland resident tours China
NEW ORLEANS -- Andre Danos of Raceland was one of 17 graduates of the LSU AgCenters Agricultural Leadership Development Program who returned from an 11-day agricultural study tour of China Jan. 13 to 24.
The tour concluded a two-year series of leadership seminars. They visited The Great Wall of China, The Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square, Beijing Textile Co., a forestry nursery and an agricultural university in Beijing. The delegation was briefed on agricultural and trade issues by U.S. Embassy, USDA and Department of Commerce officials.
They also visited the Yi Li Ya clothing Manufacturing Co., which produces silk garments from extracting the silk from the cocoon to packaging the finished product, including price and bar code; the Fresh Water Fisheries Institute where they saw the Chineses aggressive approach to cultivating all kinds of fresh water fish; and a high-tech production company where workers were harvesting greenhouse-grown orchids for the Chinese New Year.
Danos is a salesman for Raceland Ag Services. To graduate from the leadership program, he attended 10 seminars -- seven in a Baton Rouge classroom and three in Washington, D.C., Chicago/St. Louis and China.
The program aims to expose participants to people, places and ideas that will help them assume leadership roles in their communities, commodities and state, as well as how competitive other countries are, according to its director Mike Futrell.
Energy Partners reports record
NEW ORLEANS -- Energy Partners has reported record highs for production, net income, cash flow and revenues.
For the fourth quarter of 2005, net income available to common stockholders was $28.1 million, or 69 cents per diluted share, up 102 percent from $13.9 million, or 37 cents per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2004.
For the 2005 year, net income available to common stockholders was $72.2 million, or $1.79 per diluted share, a 68 percent increase from net income in 2004 of $43 million, or $1.20 per diluted share. Net income for both the quarter and the year were record highs for the company.
Discretionary cash flow -- from operations before changes in working capital and exploration expenditures -- totaled $98.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2005, a 68 percent increase more than $58.8 million in the fourth quarter last year. For the full year, discretionary cash flow rose 51 percent to $308.8 million from $205.1 million in 2004.
In the fourth quarter of 2005, which was significantly affected by shut ins due to tropical weather, production averaged 18,583 barrels of oil-equivalent per day, compared to 22,374 per day in the fourth quarter of 2004. Natural-gas production in the fourth quarter of 2005 averaged 82.0 million cubic feet per day and oil production averaged 4,916 barrels per day.
Production for 2005 averaged 22,722 barrels of oil per day, a slight increase over the 2004 average of 22,346. Natural-gas production averaged 88.4 million cubic feet per day in 2005, and oil production averaged 7,984 barrels per day.
Fourth quarter 2005 results benefited from strong commodity prices and $20.6 million in claims accrued under the companys business-interruption insurance coverage. Offsetting the effects of the insurance claims and record revenue in the quarter were higher than expected exploration expense, including $20.8 million in dry hole costs, and $8.0 million in impairments of certain properties.
Regions named to 'admired list
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Regions Financial Corp. again has been named to the Fortune list of Most Admired Superregional Banks in the United States, coming in at No. 10 for 2006.
The ranking, published in the magazines March 6 issue, is a result of Fortunes annual poll to determine Americas Most Admired Companies. The poll, conducted by an independent research firm, surveyed 10,000 executives, directors and analysts about the companies in their industries. They were judged on social responsibility, innovation, long-term investment value, use of corporate assets, employee talent, financial soundness, quality of products/services and quality of management.
Regions received its highest rankings in the categories of social responsibility, use of corporate assets and quality of management.
"Our corporate values include practicing sound financial management and doing the right thing, both of which influence how we manage corporate assets and fulfill social responsibilities in the communities we serve," said Regions President and CEO Jackson W. Moore.
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Definition of Port-au-Prince in English:
Words that rhyme with Port-au-Princechintz, convince, evince, Linz, mince, prince, quince, rinse, since, Vince, wince
For editors and proofreaders
Syllabification: Port-au-Prince
Definition of Port-au-Prince in:
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= trending

subset: commoncrawl


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These are excerpts from online reader comments on some of the most talked-about stories. Join the conversation at facebook.com/ArizonaDailyStarOpinion
Re: Brewer veto keeps guns out of public buildings.
Let's see, so now we're to leave our legally possessed firearms in our vehicles — in Phoenix, where car thefts are common. No thanks; I'll carry mine.
Cory Schwarzkopf
So Brewer decides not to run, says she'll focus on making the Legislature less bipartisan and is actually doing it. It's amazing what can be done when you're not tied to money anymore. I think I am open to changing my mind on her.
Marcia Ring
Has common sense finally entered her mind?
Mike Cline
Great, now only criminals will have guns in those buildings. All I keep hearing is how to limit law-abiding citizens and nothing about limiting the criminals.
Juan Adame
Thank you, Gov. Brewer!
Donna Alvarado
Sen. Al Melvin's Earth Day message: Blame trees for water shortage.
How the heck are they going to have enough water for golf courses if those infernal trees are sucking it all up? It's not like they supply oxygen or anything … oh, wait.
Anne Roberts Vasquez
Is the heat just sucking out the brains of these politicians? I mean, I expect asinine statements, but jeez.
Deb Stevenson
Next he will be blaming rivers for flooding.
Deyo Swartz
Maybe he should be interviewed by Anderson Cooper again to explain this.
Barbara Elmore
And they said there's no comedy in Tucson.
Andrea Hauck


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From School Library Journal
Robert Gray, East Central Regional Library, Cambridge, MN
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Gr. 9-12. In these novels about first love, a high-school girl falls hard for another girl and faces the complicated pain of coming out to family, friends, and to one's self. In Gravel Queen, the author's debut novel, Aurin explores her first gay relationship, and finds that her best friend, a glamorous, possessive drama queen, is jealous. Benduhn focus on Aurin's self-discovery and friendships, closing the novel before Aurin tells her family what's going on. In Keeping You a Secret, model high-school senior Holland, who has a boyfriend, develops an overwhelming crush on Cece. The girls fall passionately in love and a tragic coming-out story ensues. Holland finds herself homeless and alone, except for Cece and a new gay support system.
Both novels, written in first-person, are filled with believable inner monologues and finely tuned contemporary dialogue. Benduhn includes some interesting cinematic references related to Aurin's filmmaking aspirations, but some of her descriptions are over-the-top. Peters' story and characters are more developed. Both books are romantic and layered, and many teens, particularly those with fluid sexual identities, will recognize the questions: Do you have to kiss someone to be gay? What do fantasies mean? Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


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Title: Unmasked
Category: Anime/Manga » TMoHS
Author: xXxJazzy B. RealxXx
Rating: Mature
Genres: Horror/Violence/Romance
Published: August 13, 2008
∞ Disclaimer:
I do not declare ownership of the characters that are used in this non-profit work of fanfiction.
Inspired by the verses to, "Can You See Me Now (Clowns)" and "Sacrifice" from TATU, I was moved enough to dramatize a darker interpretation of Itsuki Koizumi's innards. As a throw back to my inspirations, lyrics from the Russian pair will {vaguely} summarize each chapter. The symbol (*) will indicate that an event or quote is from canon material. If this is your first time reading this story, then please head straight to chapter fourteen's Author's Note after you've read chapter one.
Happy reading!
¶ Chapter: The Demolished Man
"Clowns will only let you know where you let your senses go..." ~ T.A.T.U.
It wasn't a soothing sight to behold: unicorn-shaped clouds pillowing the red sky to sensationalize one's eyeshot of the sunset.
It didn't win him.
Not when rain could've given his melancholy a better cleansing. Yet, while he favored cat-and-dog weather over sunshine, he was usually able to at least smile nigglingly at it with a sense of nostalgia for those rainier days. Arms crossed and hand chin-clasped, the deputy chief licked his lips, supposing that maybe they were too dry to crack anymore smiles for the evening.
There was, in precise estimation, zero-point-zero activity in the S.O.S. Brigade's clubroom. A few exceptions might've been the clicking of a computer mouse, the shuffling of a book being thumbed through, the purling of tea being poured, and―of course―the coquetry between Mikuru and Kyon. Overseeing them from his shoulder, the deputy chief remained stationed by the window; careful not to invite suspicion. He would later relax his hands into his pockets and decide that he could no longer lie to himself: the problem was her.
Slipping his fingers through his bangs, he fell under the clock's ticking hypnosis and replayed the scene in his head...
They were late.
Such a bother.
"Miss Suzumiya and Kyon are certainly taking their time!" He would remember smiling at the clock; he would remember itching to smash its white face and tear out its black hands.
For the sake of better judgment, he kept the urge camouflaged under the aegis of his smile. Besides, the sun's rainbow-ringed precognition had become a rather popular extravaganza among the student body. Chair by the window, Itsuki could overhear campus gossip.
"I insist on saying there's an angel's halo around our sun! It must be foretelling Judgment Day!" The sun's audience said in their newscaster voices, giving him enough bigotry to foretell their academic scores.
"Bad weather is imminent," Itsuki explained to no one in particular as he stroked a bang away from his eye. "That is the message the sun's "halo" is billboarding."
He shook out his hair before entertaining himself to another round of chess. As he played alone, he didn't expect a reply from Mikuru Asahina or Yuki Nagato. It would have been unusual, really.
The Moe character's arms were tucked into her apron as she trembled like a hen before a slaughterhouse. This behavior was not unusual for her character, but such exaggeration of it was usually reserved for Kyon and Haruhi. Circumspect by nature, he rotated his head by half an an inch, double-blinked, and gave her an innocent grin.
"Yes, Miss Asahina?" His organs contracted at his own voice—the voice of a boy who had no real flesh.
"Ehhmm..." Mikuru glanced at the tea kettle, jittering from the shoulders with knee-knocking anxiety. "Here's your...tea!"
Her shifty eyes made him suspicious enough, but the smile beaded in sweat gave her away. Mikuru's heels clacked across the floor as she hurried over to him with her titter-tottering tray, expectedly tripping on the end of her dress when she reached him. Squealing like a kitten, she just barely managed to balance the two cups of tea on the platter.
Itsuki helped steady her by the waist with the grace of a million charms. "Oh my, careful now!"―chuckle, chuckle―"Are you alright?"
"E-Eh―um," Mikuru's face went pink and blue. "Y―Yes, thank you, I'm...fine..." She handed him his cup with a smile. "The tea―it's not as hot as it was, but I hope you can enjoy it."
Itsuki thanked her for the offer as he cradled the bottom of the cup and gave the treat a test sip. Carefully inventing his next reaction, he hummed his compliments to the tea maiden, "Mmm, although it may have more of a tang than yesterday's, it holds the same excellence. Is this a new brand, Miss Asahina?"
She fidgeted once, twice―perhaps a full three times, and the little peeps she clearly wanted to squeal out were muffled behind her teeth-bitten lips. Itsuki paid a critical eye to the substance steaming in his tea cup and began to weigh out the chances of poison being the new tang.
Mikuru's head sank between her shoulders as she began to relay: "According to―...within an axiomatic transgression...and...you are...―ah no, this isn't right. One's responsibility as beta reader...―ahh, this isn't right either. Uwah! U-Um, th―...there is a message...something that I...! I have been assigned to pass on an important message...! Yes..."
"Oh, really?"
Contrary to the sheepish face he gave her, Itsuki was miles from it. He could play dumb, but he was never stupid, for there was no better gentleman than a Cad wearing the bow-tie of one.
"Koi―zumi," Mikuru braced herself and looked him in the eye, voice surprisingly firm at the cords. "In the future, please do not overestimate the importance of the role as..."―her abashment was coming back up her throat, so she swallowed it down―"...editor of "Snow White" in this temporal plane. It reinforces the responsibility to edit the screenplay, but any investment outside and inside of that..." Mikuru's pupils suddenly enlarged as she clapped her hand over her ear.
The actor lost concentration on the canon personality he'd skeletonized for his character when his face gave way to a more genuine emotion. Yuki, who usually turned a blind eye from her associates during club time, had now looked their way. Itsuki looked from Mikuru to Yuki with the preying eye of a mildly-peeved Siamese, eyebrows suddenly snapping up with a type of, "Ah!" expression.
"Then, I presume, that must've been an omen of some kind?" The smile he faked wasn't pretty this time.
No answer; just the clock:
His hand clenched around his tea cup.
Mikuru whimpered despite the glare she wore.
Yuki pushed up her glasses with a mid-finger.
He squeezed it tighter.
"I understand." —Itsuki turned and drank his tea, continuing to grin.
That little lamb's bodement made his lips too stiff to grin more than five watts last week, and now his blue funk was following into this week. Their transaction was no anomaly at this point, however; he recalled himself saying crystal halos around the sun foretold bad weather.
"Deputy Chief!"
Itsuki flinched and turned around to face the brigade's pissed off Hell Cat. With her hands on her hips and a childish pout, her unmerciful glare was no more threatening than a girl in her terrible-two stage.
"Oh! Miss Suzumiya," Itsuki took on the grin of her ex-transfer student, even though the growl in her chest convinced him that his existence was on the slip of extinction.
Haruhi stuck her face in Itsuki's to inspect it, which made his lips strain wider. His shameless Commander was so close that he could smell last period's chewing gum, along with the mounds of deodorant overcoating the musk she had accumulated from sweating during gym's push-up exam. Itsuki's eyebrows curled higher as his closed eyes remained uplifted to hide his discomfort, but the sweat sheening on his temple betrayed him.
"Where's your head been for the last two weeks?" Haruhi squinted. "You've been attached to this window with an umbilical cord all afternoon, and you haven't been adhering to your duties, either!" The scrawny girl searched him―head bobbing up and down as she analyzed his stance before staring him blank in the face again. "...And your face..."
The heteroclite made a face like his was displeasing to look at.
"As guilty as charged, Miss Suzumiya..." The court jester held out both hands while his shoulders deflated. "Fortunately, the crime isn't as felonious as it appears. My concern has simply been preoccupied with my test results."
"Your tests? Hmph! Don't lie to me, Deputy."
His smile broke like a plate.
"Vice Commanders can't have their nuts and bolts unscrewed!" She wagged a finger, completely oblivious to the anxiety she had stirred in him. "He has to always be on his toes! If you can't keep up with the requirements the position demands―"
An unshakable chill ran down his tailbone before he went blank and muted her out. Haruhi's words were not the cause of this sensation, but rather, her terrifyingly accurate perception.
"Are you listening, Deputy?"
Had he really―truly―been so butter-fingered with trying to hide his melancholy behind the typical masquerade this week? Was she always going to be able to fish out the fibbery in his rehearsals now?
"Hey! Do you understand me or not?"
Apperceiving Haruhi's impatience, he returned to the daylight with a little piece of his mask missing. Itsuki's waist seemed to fold in half as he bowed before saying, "I understand, Miss Suzumiya."
Slighting her eyes at the Cheshire one last time, the Hell Cat marched off without a second look back.
'...That encounter ended sooner than it should've. Normally she'd choke her victim until the truth was gagged out in tears.' Itsuki's plastic grin relaxed into a smirk. Contradictory to its more relaxed feel, he was troubled.
The new year showed its changes in mostly her, and as the saying goes, change did not always equal improvement. In the physical range, the short haircut that once emblematized the length of her attention span grew back into its wild streamers. While it didn't river down her legs like it did in her first year, it was long enough to middle her back. He projected his speculations onto Kyon―almost on purpose―by telling the cynic that she must have specifically grown it out to wear ponytails. Ducking and dodging such adventurous topics became a ritual for Kyon, so his significant other reacted with wise-cracking counterarguments and a dismissive snort.
In the mental range, the year had trifled with Haruhi's emotional altitude. Housing a type of raw longing in place of last year's eccentricity, repressed libido and sugary whimsies were now locking horns with her conscience. "I am an energetic girl after all, plus my body has its needs, but I'm not dumb enough to take on this troublesome stuff...!"(*) Of course, subliminal drives have always "operated below the threshold of her consciousness" before then. They were too far under the surface to be distinct, but they were always intense enough to "influence her mental processing." She then decided to determine a diagnosis by combining existing statements. "A mental illness," she guessed. "All feelings are white noise."
She'd whisper that so-called "All A are B" syllogism over and over on her mattress as she churned the sheets; using only denial to narcotize her "hormonal imbalance." It was simple: Haruhi Suzumiya's humanity was ambushing her. The only imbalance he detected was her heavy-heartedness. It was human to fantasize about authoring one's own fictional romance and desiring every bathetic sensation that came with it, but romance was a villain in red to her. With Kyon's attention still rollicking around Mikuru and passionate pairs exploiting themselves in bathrooms, it was no wonder she aimed her pistol at the human heart itself.
Coveting romance behind the back-doors of her mind―or more precisely, the intimate subcategories under its title―and denying her right to bathe in them caused moodiness. She could be sitting quietly, twirling her hair with that Suzumiya-glare of hers, and he could sense her state of daze and unsorted melancholy. It was as if she could not make sense of her feelings and opted for depositing the hairiest ones into a trash bag. While she decided to contain it instead of cure it, Closed Space reacted. As he had mentioned to Kyon, he was concerned about the splurge of Closed Space, but he felt likewise when, "Miss Suzumiya was not herself."(*)
Itsuki's grin dimmed by another watt as he watched her yammer on about how a graveyard had more life than their clubroom.
"Koi―zumi," Mikuru braced herself and looked him in the eye, voice surprisingly firm at the cords. "In the future, please do not overestimate the importance of the role as..."―her abashment was coming back up her throat, so she swallowed it down―"...editor of "Snow White" in this temporal plane. It reinforces the responsibility to edit the screenplay, but any investment outside and inside of that..."
Bunny eyes with the adorable, butterball face of Mikuru Asahina would haunt him in his nightmares for a week more.
"That almost made me forget...—Kyon! Help Itsuki find his brain's nuts and bolts while I drop by the Computer Room!"
'"Itsuki"?' Itsuki's smile was cracking like glass.
"What happened to those blackmail photos?" Kyon mumbled over the rim of his tea cup, having been fairly content with the lax atmosphere. "And how many more payolas do you need to milk their president, Emperor Showa [Hirohito]?"
The voice of reason was automatically ignored by the voice of impulse. "Seventh sense tells me they're planning on pulling some shenanigans on our wireless, and eighth sense"—'There is no eighth sense!' Kyon's head screamed—"tells me they thought I wouldn't have been able to sniff them out beforehand, so the goal is to enslave their leader's best henchmen and force them into paying off their debts with elbow-grease!"
So Adolf Hilter was now donning sailor uniforms; go figure.
"And plus, we could use a few extra hands on the mops!"
Kyon held the knot between his eyebrows. 'I'm guessing Toyotomi Hideyoshi forgot to tell Haruhi that the idea of banning slavery was quite popular in the late 1500s...'
"And since Mikuru's behavior has been marking off her points too, it's time to earn back those tally marks, Mikuru!"
The computer chair Haruhi kicked aside went wheeling past Yuki in a whirlwind that took the chapters of her book with it. Pupils chasing the flying pages, the cyborg moved her hand up to hold them down, but the back-shelf's sudden earthquake caused her to turn and blink at the pyramid of books on the floor. If Kyon had to guess, it might've even made her eyesore.
"Kya!" Mikuru edged back as Haruhi stalked forward. "H―Hah, M-Miss Suzumiya...! Can't we consider an―nother way to negotiate with the president...?"
Mikuru's voice weakened into a squeak when Haruhi closed in with a cannibalistic grin. Kyon's compassion for the sinless Time Traveler cranked up five dials as he spectated the theatrical drama. After all, seeing such a bitsy, lily-white beauty decide to use his back for shelter inspired him to believe it was his duty as a man to protect the Cherubim from the Apollyon, but his heroic deed resulted in Haruhi mistiming her step and crashing into his chest. That hadn't been a part of his strategy at all, so when he suddenly felt his nipples being seared off through his blazer by the girl's glare, he wondered if it were too late to throw courage back into the sea. He compared Haruhi's expression to the contorted face of Kiyo, for those eyes were wildly similar to the dragoness in Japanese myth that'd been said to have sought revenge on a priest who'd fallen out of love with her. Evidently reenacting the fate of that very priest, Kyon felt his soul bid farewell to his body.
'Honestly, why me?'
Determined to get his spine back, he tried to give her tooth and nail with an argument that had the possibility to stick―
"Look, Your Excellency," Kyon folded his arms, sounding braver than he actually was. "If you plan on navigating in this world, why don't you hear out Miss Asahina's advice and negotiate professionally for once? You'd get what you wanted at a faster rate, Miss Asahina wouldn't have to play the role of God's sacrificial lamb, and we'd all be happy for a change." '...No "irony" intended on the God-metaphor.'
The weight of Haruhi's glare was still on his blazer, and unless his eyes were playing optical illusions on him, he believed to have seen a decimal of melancholy in it.
The mascot's head popped up.
"A-Ah! Y―Yes?"
"Come on!"
Haruhi elbowed Kyon out of her way and snatched the third-year's wrist. The fire was everywhere―in her temper, in her snarl, and in her breath, but to make matters worse, she spat not one insult Kyon's way. If she had, this could've been passed off as a "normal event."
"Yuki! You're coming with us, so borrow my book-marker."
"Uwah! W-Wait! Pl...please, slow down~!" Mikuru's breathless sobs did not guilt-trip or stop Haruhi from dragging her past the doorframe and into the halls.
Yuki departed with them, and the room was left with Kyon and Haruhi's deputy chief.
"...Couldn't you have executed that with better...'craftsmanship'?" asked the latter.
This guy―was he complaining already?
"I was never good at arts and crafts." Kyon glared at the tall figure blaming him from his spot by the window.
There was nothing too dangerous about this person's smile, but the message in his eyes was transmitting very unpleasant signals.
"I understand that I didn't have much tact with it, but it's not like it was done for the shits and giggles of purposely making her..." Kyon tried to find a synonym for the word. "...sourpussed." '...I didn't want to say angry, but didn't that sound too goofy just now?' He accidentally let his thoughts escape into the current conversation: "Then again, there couldn't have been a better way of phrasing that sentence with Haruhi as the topic..."
It would have been more sensible to not reply to his self-talk, but Itsuki invited himself to Kyon's reflections anyway.
"You needn't worry about phraseology." Irritating his ally with another smile, he went on to address Kyon's first statement. "This is true from your standpoint, but that truth does not necessarily repair the situation. Instead of restating the problem, we should try to come up with a solution."
Making a point of that kind sounded like this sphinx of a person was blaming him. The tone was polite as could be, enough to make the Red Queen bat her lashes and curtsey for him, but that didn't alter the accusatory subtext. Nothing was more two-faced than his Charles Grandison act, as it was often used as a pipeline to splurt out careless opinions and indirect arrogance.
Armed to the teeth, Kyon sassed him right back. "There's nothing wrong with my gray matter, so you don't have to be a broken record. Don't you think I experienced trauma from that myself?"
He was positive that he was more unsettled by Haruhi's actions than this slippery fellow. Because she was in the same class as a flammable liquid with high volatility, it was screwy for such a detonative girl to keep her feelings boxed in without eventually blowing up on him. The situation could be compared to lighting a gas can on fire and finding the gas station completely intact.
"I have a theory―"
'It's for the birds!'
"Relying on pure hindsight, it's possible that your words were not the cause of Miss Suzumiya's change in mood. Perhaps the sight of you rescuing Miss Asahina and condemning her as the villain did trigger it, but the root must lie elsewhere."
"Is it even more possible to pigeonhole this as her brain simply being a madhouse?"
"Is it? I would classify this as a matter of the heart. I'm sorry, but I was under the impression that you might've understood the way this worked after all of our discussions concerning Miss Suzumiya's subconscious mind."
'That smile on his face...how irritating when it's fused with words like that!' He wasn't trying to seem spoiled, but Kyon was not in the mood for this today. "Your "scientific" psychoanalyses for the anatomy of Haruhi's brain have always detonated mine, so naturally, I might not be in sync with you."
"The whole of science is nothing more than a refinement of everyday thinking."
Kyon's sarcastic look spoke volumes. 'No, you are not Albert Einstein, and I wouldn't call your beliefs "science" until Haruhi-tology has been printed in the text books.' "Your belief system about Haruhi being God and recreating this world four years ago "was aided by invention," wasn't it? It's a hair away from Thales's, "the Earth is flat and floats in water like a log," so commercializing beliefs like that would be an insult to people with common sense. I'd also like to throw Einstein's quote right back at you: "In so far as the statements of your geometry speak about reality, they are not certain, and in so far as they are certain, they do not speak about reality. You should take care not to make that intellect your God.'"
"Are you implying that the Organization's theory about this reality is false?"
"I'm saying beliefs of this nature have some personality, but they butt heads with the just-as-justifiable beliefs of Miss Asahina and Nagato, and unfortunately, this "God" does play dice with the world."
"But can we deny that Miss Suzumiya is a person with a sun and crown of twelve stars upon her head, while the Earth simply lies beneath her feet?"
'What sappy Greek novel did you get that from?' "What you call "God" is an eccentric girl who makes a mess."
"In contrast to the Organization's gospel, I do not believe in singular "Gods" or Deities obliviously living in a world that they themselves have created, and I've expressed these plot holes with you. The subconscious power of Miss Suzumiya has changed everything except mankind's need to rationalize the paranormal, and thus we, the Organization, lean towards paralleled explanations to rationalize the phenomenon that is Miss Suzumiya. There is faith in the possibility that our way of interpreting this reality could turn out to be paper-thin, but as I've also stated, Miss Suzumiya is the source of our powers, and this universal fact is irrefutable. The belief that she can either reconstruct or accidentally destroy this world is something each faction has agreed upon. If we were made to think otherwise, we would be troubled by our existence. My sanity's stability depends on this belief like a Christian to Christianity. This is the side I am with, and that can not be changed."
"From a subjective point of view, I think Western films like Inception and The Matrix had better roots for their axiological approaches on reality, and haven't you referred to ours as a possible dream or virtual world?(*)"
Itsuki flashed him an elusive grin. "So this is something you remember? That was my third eye speaking out. Do not think much of that kind of imagination. After all, there is no evidence to support a feeling in the bones. I have the talent of making incredibly useless things sound premonitory."
"I pledge "agreeance" with both hands, but I'm not as troubled by it as you are. Though as Thomas Jefferson might've said, "speeches measured by the hour, die by the hour," and I'll admit that I've been looking at the clock every once in a while for the past eight minutes."
With an apologetic smile, Itsuki freed Kyon from the conversation and returned to the window. No one said a thing for the remaining ten minutes, but Kyon was perceptive enough to sense his ally's plight. As he stood there in brown study, there was a sinister look on his face that should've never been introduced to his expression to begin with. It could be guesstimated that the expression was symptomatic of his mood towards the destruction Haruhi's Celestials were bound to create, but...
Kyon sighed.
He didn't want to do it, but he did it anyway, and while he was doing what he didn't want to do, he sooner than later discovered nothing could save him from another convoluted rambling now.
"..." Kyon squinted. "Are you sure you're not just being too paranoid? Your interpretation of it is already negative, and calling Miss Asahina's message an omen is over the top. There isn't enough evidence to throw it into the apocalypse-cubbyhole just because the undertone sounded scary."
"I suppose I should be grateful for your concern," Itsuki chuckled half-heartedly as he tapped a chess piece against the table.
If Kyon hadn't known any better, he would've graded this unusual show of impatience as a sign of future warnings. He began to wonder whether or not the serious demeanor that was Itsuki's potential personality would ever materialize in front of him. It couldn't still be hibernating at a time like this!
"I wouldn't rank the feeling as something of concernment compared to actual unsettlement, but I'm not as heartless as you think I am."
"I never had such impressions of you. It's been said once before, but you are a very kindhearted person by my standards."
"I really don't feel my ego being fed when you try catering to it with glib compliments."
"As expected of you."
A laugh, but not enough to divert Kyon from the Esper's melancholy. The assistant leader would not share any eye contact with him―a distinctive quality that triggered the emergency alarm in Kyon's brain―and now the cynic felt himself panic to pick a feeling to be ill with. Nonchalance didn't suit the situation, sarcasm would be like serving him cold fish, and uneasiness might've made the atmosphere heavier than what was necessary. While his mood was like an open vein, he highly doubted that he could request the Esper to lie horizontally on a couch and unleash the dormant feelings he usually kept inactive. Something like that required a crowbar over friendly chatter and rhetorical questions.
Like many actors, he wanted to keep his private self private. The Esper had changed his entire personality for Haruhi to fit the way her conscience imagined him to be, but to counterbalance her mysterious-transfer-student stereotype, he had to act like the exact opposite of one to parallel with her more rational thinking. It was in his best interests to stabilize her mentality, so even if she'd get bored with him in the future and carelessly toss him aside like a paper ball hitting the rim of a waste basket, the outcome of her mental stability was more important.
'...But Koizumi had let himself go today, in front of Haruhi, and she noticed―not too happily,' Kyon added.
His lap-dog behavior and Colgate smiles were either over the top or not enough to costume the new temperament he was donning, and if it had Haruhi paying any kind of, "Ehh?" attention to it, then it was certainly more than him just having an off-week.
Kyon glared at the profile of Itsuki's smiling face. 'I also can't write-off Haruhi's behavior...'
Itsuki's catlike eyes sliced into Kyon's face for longer than what was comfortable. Without warning―and really, there should've been a warning for this―he exploded into the type of laughter that would make a trick-or-treater skip his house on purpose.
Muffling this shuddersome laughter into his fist, he went on to giggle, "For some reason, all of this has been causing my usual brain pattern to fluctuate; my withdrawal from reality is really quite phenomenal."
'Don't you mean troublesome? A regular person would be troubled, I think.'
He became serious―"As an overseer of Miss Suzumiya's status quo, I would not encourage obstacles for either of you, and this goes without repeating."
"I figured that much." 'I mean, you're a Kyon x Haruhi shipper or something creepy like that, even if you know your wishful thinking will never happen.'
As if that split-personality did not exist a moment ago, Itsuki folded his hands on the table and smiled like a pure-hearted Catholic boy. "Then, you can see why I do not understand Miss Asahina's perspective."
"...To be frank with you," Kyon raised a finger. "This almost reminds me of the time when the adult Miss-Asahina from the future told me not to get too friendly with the Miss Asahina in this temporal plane..."
"Is that so?"
"...Gch!" The odd noise that came out of Kyon's mouth when he hit another realization made them both jump.
"...Hm?" Itsuki blinked, before―"Oh! ...Were you considering what I think you were?" He leaned across the table as if to taunt him. "If you don't mind me saying, these are very odd thoughts for you."
"Tch! And you weren't thinking these same things just now? You read my mind by coincidence, so that must mean you were assuming something similar to me!"
"What you're assuming is something that is not in my role to play. As I've said before, that role was given to someone else, wasn't it? I wish for the story to carry on the way it was assembled. Miss Suzumiya and I..." he giggled into his balled hand again. "Yes, since this is coming from you, I should feel honored by that kind of assumption, but such an assumption would not be the case."
"You aren't giving my psychic skills enough credit here. After a year of this, you should know when I can tell you're talking backwards to convince yourself of the very same half-lie you're telling me in that moment."
"Oh? Can you also sense a few demons residing inside of me?"
"That's Lorraine Warren-psychic, you bastard."
Toying with his bangs as he grinned at him, Itsuki began to ramble: "Then taking your earlier hypotheses out of the picture, I can't put my finger on Miss Asahina's meaning. Cryptograms and Da Vinci Codes of this nature are really not my specialities, you see. Perhaps you can help me with this?"
"That's the language you speak in all the time!"
"Let's change the angle, then. Why do you believe her superior decided to toss me such a prophecy in the middle of sophomore year? I'd have more than enough self-control after four years of the same business, don't you agree? This recommendation from her could either be a predetermined event or a lie to elude me. If the former, it may mean that I somehow rewrite what was meant to occur in the future and lapse reality single-handedly. Or maybe you have some association with this omen?"
"Why are you asking me?"
"What could possibly happen, I wonder? It's beyond absurd, isn't it? I put you and Miss Suzumiya before myself; I have no interest in my own affairs."
"I don't feel like that last sentence was relevant unless you were pleading your case for something else, but do you want my honest opinion?"
"I'm not certain – I feel an anchor of sarcasm dropping in."
Kyon's eyebrow ticked. "Buy yourself a sense of humor before you leave here."
"Just kidding...sorry about that. As you were saying?"
"I would discuss this again with Miss Asahina herself. Running around in circles with questions, unless you're asking questions you already know the answers to, won't take you anywhere other than a dead end. It really can't be so predetermined, but maybe you are inviting your own destruction. After all, "any man who insists on faking an innocence that isn't there turns himself into a monster." At the same time, I have a hard time believing this isn't something deeper than own your psychological state."
Itsuki propped his chin up on his fingers like a solemn-faced detective exchanging secret information under a lamplight.
"Then you too believe this involves Miss Suzumiya's psychological state." He closed his eyes and smiled coolly. "I am a being who is an embodiment of Miss Suzumiya's unconsciousness(*), so therefore, our psychological states bisect. In this way, we are...interlinked."
A flashback of scattered phrases from another conversation floated up to Kyon's mind:
"...I'm envious of the deep level of trust between you and [Miss] Suzumiya. [She] always seems to count on you a lot, while you place a great deal of trust in her as well. Now do you understand why I'm envious of you?"(*)
Curiosity shined in his eyes. "...Do you find that unlucky or honorable, Koizumi?"
Opposed to the curiosity in his, melancholy had shone in Itsuki's. Kyon identified the look of half-cloaked feebleness with the same look the alternative-universe Itsuki gave him after he revealed his envy of Haruhi's interest in Kyon(*), but proceeded to justify them as the rightful match.
"Somewhere in between," Itsuki answered with a light-hearted laugh.
"...Then maybe this is why Miss Asahina predicts you'll be the one to alter something without even being conscious of it. If there's something you're building up or putting off, your reaction might be similar to Nagato's overload(*), so maybe something has to change, and maybe it'll end up being necessary."
"I have to reject this theory. You see, I have more faith in myself than Miss Asahina's premonition."
"If that were true, then why would you let it eat you up for so long?"
...A tickled Esper sat back in his chair and folded his arms. "How is it that you can see through my own smoke-screens better than I can?"
"You're not exactly the Morse Code, and if this does involve Haruhi...―what's so funny? Do you always have to be giggling like that?"
"Sorry, I just couldn't help but...espy an onslaught of jealousy when you came to that name."
"Don't get poetic about your hallucinations and just use grammar normally!" Kyon tried to keep his cool on a reasonable temperature. "That whole sentence combination was grammatically incorrect because of its subject alone!"
"Listen," the laughing attitude Itsuki was playing at left as quickly as it came. "I ask you not to misunderstand my earlier bias."
"What exactly are you trying to get across to me by making a statement like that?" Kyon's monotonousness didn't switch like Itsuki's mood. "This conversation was more or less about why Miss Asahina—"
"What about 'Miss Asahina'?"
Kyon and Itsuki found themselves facing the wrath of Haruhi as a duo this time. It was a quiet type of wrath, one that was clear, but bottled up in the stance of her hands on her hips, the scorch in her eyes, and her sugary chirp.
"Dah―I…" Kyon felt like flailing like a hapless chick. 'Wait, why the hell should I be so nervous about this? I don't even know what I did wrong!'
"Did everything go as planned, Miss Suzumiya?" Itsuki's 'tweet-tweet' saved the day. "Kyon and I were just debating over whether we should check in on you and Miss Asahina."
"..." Haruhi narrowed her eyes at his optimism and darted them back to Kyon.
Inside of Haruhi's pupil, Kyon could see the reflection of himself being burned alive as his fists banged on her cornea.
"...W―Wait, where's...Miss Asahina?" Kyon's line of vision panned horizontally―'I mean, Nagato's standing by the computer with Haruhi's manga, but...―wait, why IS Nagato horning in on Haruhi's belongings?' Kyon watched the interface flip through Haruhi's possession conscientiously. 'It's almost as if she's scanning...'
"Idiot! You're so predictable. Your face looks more retarded than what's normal for you when it squinches up like that." Haruhi threw a thumb over her shoulder to point at the sniffling Mikuru.
Although he was watching the silver-haired second year cease her investigations and return to the chair by the window, Kyon rebuked Haruhi, "You didn't use Miss Asahina as your sacrificial lamb again, did you?"
The angle of Itsuki's eyebrows changed before he stepped back into the conversation with a rescue-mission, "We had anticipated all three of you, Miss Suzumiya."
Haruhi dragged her office chair away from the book-pile, plunked into it, and then angrily spun around to face her computer. The hot blue flames could almost been seen engulfing her body and the chair as one. Was that smoke piping out of her nostrils or was that his unshakable hallunications at work again?
"All of you, clear out in the next five minutes. I'm locking the clubroom early today."
Kyon was Haruhi's ripcord; he released gas from the hot air balloon during emergency, but this year he seemed to be inflating Haruhi with even more hot air, which meant more work for an Esper or ten.
"I'm sorry! This is all my fault...!" Mikuru sniveled into her palms, poorly avoiding the intensity of Itsuki's stare.
Kyon cracked out a half smile for the maid-cosplayer, "There's no reason for you to blame this on yourself, Miss Asahina."
Two minutes had passed, and already Haruhi was kicking everyone out of the clubroom. Her barking combined with Kyon's, "It hasn't even been five minutes yet!" was crystal clear orchestra for on-lookers in the hall to hug their books and blink pityingly at. As each member lined up in the hallway, Itsuki began to wonder if Kyon was simply clueless of the on-coming apocalypse when he accepted Mikuru's invitation to meet him after school. It was not so much the ambiguous invitation that vexed him, but the fact that it took place in front of Haruhi.
Reluctantly, and with a few cute stammers and forefinger-twirls, Mikuru whispered the location into his ear, which was a move that unknowingly made the two look even more suspicious. Itsuki studied the languor movements of Mikuru and Kyon as their backs became specks. Checking his LCD screen for a signal, he heaved his school-bag's strap a little higher on his shoulder and glanced in Haruhi's direction. To his amazement, she was not power-walking at top speed, but staggering along the halls in a mood she'd been fixed in for the past week. The source? Unidentifiable.
He monitored the halls like he'd done earlier; taking the white walls and tall ceiling into appreciation, and then visualizing the plague of gray contaminating it all. It was not hard to picture that very hallway being showered in avalanches as a blue orge's fist bulldozed the school house. Tonight, there was no doubt the world as they knew it would be altered.
He had been blamed for allowing the world to be suctioned into a pit of nonexistence the first time, and then testified against for insufficiently guiding Kyon the second. As the protector and overseer of Haruhi Suzumiya's lifestyle―the director of the script that he revolved around her―he was being viewed in a weak light by four factions, one of which was his own. Alongside their doubt, he also questioned his ability and whether "Miss Suzumiya" chose him to be fated to her journey through life. Three strikes, fifty votes, and someone else would replace his station in supervising her from a position within or outside of the S.O.S. Brigade.
The Esper timed the patterning sways of her hair.
...And tonight will be his third strike.
Because he had been too busy eating his own heart, he really hadn't heard the steps of the taciturn bibliophile approaching him―if there had been any to begin with.
"...Miss Nagato," Itsuki acknowledged with a half-in-character and half-himself nod, reacting to her presence with a foreboding one of his own.
Holding out a stack of notepads to him like a monk egging a foreigner to look into their future, Yuki Nagato's oblong orbs met Itsuki's with purpose. She looked at the book-bag under his arm, which carried his communicator, and then locked her attention on him with thinning eyes. Giving her the expression of someone who was amused by the transition, the smiling sycophant took the materials she offered to get a closer look.
"...You've obtained Miss Suzumiya's homework." Frown. "Did she leave this in the clubroom?"
In truth, he identified that last; what stood out to him first was the Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle under her thumb, and from observing her in the clubroom, it had stood out to the diligent super-human as well. When he looked back to the android's face, her pupils were directed at someone other than himself. Looking for the point of attraction, he found that centerpiece to be their Walter Mitty brigade leader. She had stopped in mid-stride to watch the sunset from the mouth of the hallway and take in the last rays of day. There was nothing unfamiliar about the glum disposition she often dressed herself in, but the sight of her unanimated face in this tranquil moment left him reflecting on the disasters that would come out of it.
Hardening at the heart, Itsuki turned back to Yuki and―"...Miss―...Nagato?"
...Her disappearing acts were not unfamiliar either. With a tight chest, he stood alone in the halls with Haruhi Suzumiya's homework in hand. A group of colorful first years gossiped about the expression on his face as he gave the school house windows a once over. It wasn't a pacifying vantage point to behold: stratus clouds cascading the red sky to sensationalize his eyeshot of the sunset. It didn't win him―not when liquid sunshine could have given his melancholy a better cleansing.
Itsuki closed his eyes and smiled emptily to himself. He pressed a finger to the groove of his brow, and...―with the trembling pause of his left foot―...changed direction.
Author's Notes
I definitely wanted the style to sound familiar before it gets the chance to wheel off. I didn't mention this, but this takes place before Sasaki comes into the picture, so this would be an AU that stands on its own two feet.
"-San" is not used because I feel that since this is English-translated, the English interpretation of it would be '-Ms/Miss' or 'Mr/Mister' and should be written as such. However, terms like "Sealed Reality" and "Avatars/Celestials" will be plucked straight out of the light novel, so you won't see the story using the Dub's "Shinijin" terms. Why change already English-translated titles? Seriously, Dub!


text:
Happy Sweet New Year!January 2nd, 2015 by Jonah Half
We don't just enjoy selling candy, but also have fun playing with it too. Please enjoy this stop-motion animation New Year's greeting and have a sweet 2015!
Candy Blogs Holiday Edition: The 'Stache BashDecember 4th, 2014 by Becca Droz
Trolli Santa & Elves Mustaches Gummi Candy
Classroom/movie Munchability: 5 (the fun is in the dress-up play!)
Melt Measure: 0
Novelty: 9
Sharability: 10
Trust me, it is as much a surprise to me as it is to you that the elves of Santa's toy shop have the same type of mustaches that Santa has! I always imagined the elves as baby faced little characters running around childishly as they assembled toys for the undersides of all the Christmas trees of children. (Despite growing up Jewish, I have still had many daydream about Santa and his elves).
Perhaps the elves were not preparing Christmas gifts, and instead were growing and grooming each other's mustaches. Perhaps these little elves look up to Santa and show their respectful admiration by mimicking his mustache, or lip brow, if you will.
With three flavors: Cherry, Cherry & Lime, and Strawberry & Cherry, and three different 'stache styles, this gummi provides adequate variables to balance with the consistency of the texture and chew density. Each gummi provides a substantial bite into the thickness of sweet delight.
Since I love to share, and I had more mustaches than I cared to try on, I offered to some of of these Christmas candies to my friends during a day of rock climbing in Connellsville, PA.
Here are some things that were said about the Mustaches:
|"The flavor is not overpowering, it's not in your face."
|"Tastes just like an elf!"
|"They are enjoyable… they are refreshing. Refreshing, that's definitely a word that should be in there! I was chewing away, tasting some cherry and before I knew it I was wondering, is that lime I'm tasting? It totally was lime. Lime makes it refreshing!"
|"How's the aroma?…I can smell them from here and my nose is stuffed…"
|"You actually enjoyed it?""Yes, and I'd have another one, and another one and another one. It might just be my new favorite candy."
|"I will remember them with pleasure."
Have fun with wearing the Santa & Elves Mustaches. I challenge you to try to wear the mustache, say "Ho! Ho! Ho!" and eat the mustache all without using your hands! You might even get some candy aroma therapy from this game, as the sweet tastes trickle into your brainwaves through your nasal passage. Have fun and get a laugh outa this gummi candy!
Mentos: The fresh (and fruity) makerAugust 25th, 2014 by Becca Droz
Allow me to go ahead and answer your first question: What is the difference between Mentos Rainbow and Mentos Fruit? The newer product, Mentos Rainbow, features seven flavors, five of which are distinct from the original fruit flavors: pineapple, raspberry, apple, watermelon, grape and the old school orange and strawberry. Mentos fruit keeps it simple with the trio of flavors: strawberry, orange and lemon. Either way, you'll find 14 pieces of fruity chew balls in each package.
My favorite Mentos flavor has always been the pink strawberry. I used to buy rolls of Mentos, pick out all of the pink ones and give the rest to my brothers.
Most people are probably more familiar with the minty version of Mentos. Pierre Van Melle conceived the idea of the Mentos in the Netherlands in 1932. In 1973 new flavors were introduced, cinnamon to the U.S. and fruit flavors to Europe. (I would love to try cinnamon Mentos! Where did that brilliant idea go?) In 1990, the Freshmaker campaign took sales of Mentos on a soaring current of success.
Regardless of which flavor is the best, flavor isn't even half the fun of the Mentos experience! What makes a Mentos a Mentos is the "secret" structure. Chewy center. Crunchy layer. Fresh coating. Could it be better balanced?!
Mentos are considered dragée candies, which means that they have a hard outer shell. Another example of a dragée candy is the Jordan Almond (see the blog here: http://www.candyfavorites.com/blog/jordan-almond-i-now-pronounce-you-man-and-wife/). Break through the shell into the soft chewy center and let the Mentos dragée take its time and run its course.
"I like Mentos, but I don't like what they break down to."
"You don't like the chew?"
"No, I just don't like that it's still in my teeth."
Candy Bucket ChallengeAugust 19th, 2014 by Jonah Half
Take the #CandyBucketChallenge to help fight ALS. For the next 24 hours, $3 will be donated for every order placed at CandyFavorites.com. You can also win the Bucket of Candy by making the best guess for the number of candy pieces dumped in the video! Please share with your friends to make this fundraising effort a sweet success! Place your order NOW!
Krackel: The old school crunch in a new school sizeAugust 15th, 2014 by Becca Droz
Classroom/Movie Munchability: 8
Melt Measure: 8
Novelty: 6
Sharability: 7
It might not be the simplest candy to spell correctly, but this Hershey's bar shows simplicity with style. It is the classic milk chocolate bar with a little crisped rice crunch to keep you paying attention.
When Krackels was originally introduced in 1938 as a full size candy bar, it had almonds and crisped rice in the formula. Soon after, peanuts were added to the party. In 1941, while war was at large on the other side of the globe, Krackel became a crisped rice, and crisped rice only, chocolate bar. In the late 90s, Krackel availability shrunk, in physical size. For almost 20 years, the Krackel bar has only been available in the miniature fun size bar, and now, the bar the people have been asking for is back. Catch up with the Krackel full size! It's a blast from the past, the old school krunch in its old school/new school size!
What resides in the center of your Milky Way? Simply CaramelAugust 11th, 2014 by Becca Droz
Classroom/Movie Munchability: 8
Melt Measure: 8
Novelty: 7
Sharability: 3
"I'm not a huge caramel fan, so my experience is jaded, but honestly it's good"
"It's like a Caramello log!"
It's no surprise that Mars created the MilkyWay candy; this candy bar is out of this world! If you really try, you might even be able to find a resemblance between the evolution of the MilkyWay bar from the nougat-caramel combo to caramel-solo and the dynamic Milky Way galaxy.
Between 100 and 400 billion stars paint what we see of the Milky Way galaxy and they say that there is at least one planet for every star! I have no idea how they create number estimates like these; who is counting how many of the hundreds of billions of stars?! It's absolutely mind blowing, just like the Milky Way Simply Caramel!
In the center of this Milky Way is a thick and gooey, soft and satisfying caramel core, slightly less chaotic than the supermassive black hole that is theorized to reside in the center of our Milky Way galaxy. It is supposedly a hole that is four million times the mass of the sun (over a million earths fit inside the sun) where stars zoom around like leaking balloons in formation. If you close your eyes, you can let this caramel delight, take you on a flight into the supermassive black hole of the MilkyWay Simpy Caramel.
- www.universetoday.com
- www.milkywaybar.com
Resident Candy Blog Aficionado UpdateAugust 11th, 2014 by Becca Droz
After reading the "a bit about Becca our resident candy blogger" bio for the first time in five years, I felt a little embarrassed that that's what is informing the current candy lovers about their resident blogger. Allow me to quickly catch you up on what I was doing during the five years that I was not writing candy blogs.
Last you heard, I was a sophomore at the University of Colorado in Boulder, beginning to discover myself. Since then, I took two years off of school. I lived in an intentionally community on a small farm in Israel, learning permaculture/small scale farming and sustainable living practices. I served people food in Pittsburgh and in Boulder. I harvested vegetables on an organic farm. I got involved with community initiatives regarding food, gardening, music and open mics along the way, all the meanwhile rock climbing every chance I could get. I transferred to Warren Wilson College near Asheville, NC in 2012 and graduated with a B.A. degree in Outdoor Leadership last May (2014). I just finished my first out-of-college summer job as a field instructor for a wilderness therapy program in North Carolina. I am currently funemployed with infinite worlds of adventure at the tips of my toes.
Candy blogs are a good way for me to remain engaged with consistency while I decide on my next steps, be they in wilderness therapy, urban gardening education, rock climbing, skiing, beatboxing or something else.
I hope you all enjoy reading my blogs, because I enjoy writing them. Take my thoughts, ideas and opinions with a grain of sugar and try the candies for yourself. I hope you find places you agree with me and places that you disagree, and I'm happy to hear about both.
I'll leave you candy lovers with a quote from the book I am currently reading. He is describing a large arch rock formation in the desert of Utah:
"The Delicate Arch explains nothing, for each thing in its own way, when true to its own character, is equally beautiful… If Delicate Arch has any significance, it lies, I will venture, in the power of the odd and unexpected to startle the senses and surprise the mind out of their ruts of habit, to compel us into a reawakened awareness of the wonderful—that which is full of wonder."
Hear them Shqueep: Peeps Minis: Chocolate CrèmeJuly 25th, 2014 by Becca Droz
These peeps are of an unfamiliar sort. All cramped up inside the bag, 24 to a room, it's the factory farming of peeps. They took them out of their bag free, free-range boxes and stuck them into a bag. After yesterday's "Peepa" march against bagged peeps, I decided to get a bag to see what the disturbance was about.
I rip off the seal and unzip the dark cave where the peeps reside. My hand reaches down and the bag crinkles. It's warm and soft, I just grab something because I'm not sure where each one starts and ends. I pull it out of the bag and it looks just like I'd expect any bagged peep to look after transport. Squished; no structural stability whatsoever, I can see the sadness in its eyes, it knows that life wasn't supposed to be like this, it dreams of what else could be out there, but it knows of nothing else but the bagged life. He has heard stories of the strong, brightly colored peeps with a whole box of room shared with only four others, where they were able to grow strong and stand up on their own. But those stories are as good as myth to this cramped marshmallow creature.
These mini peeps are a soft, melt-in-your-mouth style gooey substance, not quite the feeling of a typical marshmallow. (My guess is that they must have been affected by the inhumane culture of the bag). This gooey substance is the tar of a hot-chocolate-packet-tasting feather.
Satisfying and highly sharable, but these peeps lack the structural soundness of that classic peep that holds the memories and taste of Spring.
Hot chocolaty squished peeps… hear them shqueep.
Becca's Brilliant Candy Blogs, Round 2: BeginJuly 21st, 2014 by Becca Droz
The world of candy blogging has called me back. Maybe it is the expanded appreciation I have now for sweets; working in wilderness therapy, a treat of sugar at night, when all the students are zipped into their sleeping bags, brings a moment of absolute solitude and bliss. Nothing can interrupt the sweet serenity of a well-earned bit of melting chocolate on the tongue. Maybe I am back because it would be selfish and rude to pass up the candy blogging opportunity that every child dreams of… The reasoning is less important than the result, which is that Becca is back, which means the creative blogs that you've been waiting to see more of are back too!
Discontinued Candy Therapy BlogApril 23rd, 2014 by Jonah Half
If you have reached this page, chances are, you searched for a candy that has been discontinued…
Discovering that a favorite candy is being discontinued is akin to loosing someone close to you. You've shared lots of very special memories that will always be cherished. It has comforted you in times of need, or helped celebrate a special occasion. At CandyFavorites.com, we feel your pain and would like to assist in your candy therapy.
It is never easy to let go, but we hope that by sharing your memories on our blog, you can memorialize that sweet treat with the respect it deserves. Many candy manufacturers read our site, so there is a possibility of resurrecting your lost candy if enough comments are generated .
Since our company was founded in 1927, many of your favorite sweets have come and gone through our doors and we have provided a list of them here. Please let us know if we have missed any and share your special memories with friends who understand.
You can reminisce about past candies, or click here to shop the thousands of candies we do have.


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Disney stock is extremely cheap
And how to get out of that cycle
Join the NASDAQ Community today and get free, instant access to portfolios, stock ratings, real-time alerts, and more!
Alpha Natural Resources (
managed to beat forecasts earlier this week. The positive
financial data sent the shares 13% higher.
Maybe using "positive" is a misnomer. The company reported a
loss of $128 million.
But that's a huge improvement from a $793 million loss in last
year's fourth quarter.
Some of the losses reported by coal miners and other energy
companies are misleading. Companies have to write down the value
of their assets. So when coal or oil declines, miners may have to
account for that change by adjusting the value of their assets,
which is an expense that hurts their income.
Coal has tanked during the past several years as many businesses
took advantage of low natural gas prices. The fall in demand hurt
the price of coal, and that took all coal miners down, too.
This chart shows the price of
shares along with an important resistance level to
Alpha Natural is one of the many miners that sellers clobbered
as coal retreated. However, the shares are extremely close to a
breakout that could send them above $14. The trick ANR needs to
pull off is to climb above $10 resistance (blue arrows above).
ChartWatch previously noted this level in a January article.
Though I was highly
bearish on ANR
, the stock is starting to look better. In fact, I've taken a
position in preparation for an advance past $10.
I don't like ANR, and I don't like coal power - this will always
be the case. However, I don't have to like the company to make
money. I don't particularly like going onto
Facebook (
, and that didn't prevent me, or my fellow ChartWatch members,
from buying FB
at $19 last year.
The $10 level remains a huge barrier for ANR. However, should
they rise above this resistance level, which I suspect they're
about to do, then the stock could very easily rip to $14.50 on
nothing but pure bullish momentum.
Equities mentioned in this article: ANR, FB
Positions held in companies mentioned above: ANR,
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
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18 And Eager Ashley Perk And Dita Payne Pleasuring Each…
Views: 920 | Added: 4 years agoMoreWatch Video
Two teen blonds undress each other and begin playing around. Pussy eating ensues as they eat each other first one then the other. Change to 69 and hey do each other together. They rub their pussies together and end with a wet kiss.
Submitted by: madthumbs_premium1


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Scientists create edible battery made from freckles
Power source could be used in tiny machines designed to monitor the body and release medicine when necessary
Power source could be used in tiny machines designed to monitor the body and release medicine when necessary
Men with high levels of testosterone have a secret flaw - less effective immune systems, researchers have discovered
Coalition of leading scientists claim ferret experiments could lead to a pandemic
New CQC report reveals pockets of bad practice and serious lapses in safety standards
Britons should be given vaccination record cards and be advised it is their "civic duty" to get immunised, experts recommend on Tuesday, warning that increasing migration, an ageing population and the growth of antibiotic resistance is increasing the threat posed by infectious diseases.
An immunisation campaign is urgently needed
Study on mice in Japan has led to start of promising human trials using new probiotic drink
The decision came after the father of the girls brought the case to the High Court in September
The vaccine known as "RTS,S", made by GlaxoSmithKline, was the first "candidate" vaccine against malaria and was initially developed as long ago as 1987. This fact alone indicates just how difficult and tortuous it is to manufacture a safe, reliable and effective vaccine against the malaria parasite.
Public health bodies are calling for a universal vaccine for both girls and boys in the UK
Vaccine could be used on humans in clinical trials within two years
Cancer Research UK says that the technique shows 'real potential'
Gloucestershire remains a hotspot for clashes between protesters against the cull and the farmers and landowners who support it
Government's immunisation advisors say the jab is 'highly unlikely to be cost effective'
A curious Tom Bawden joins David Heath, the Farming minister, on the front line of the battle against bovine tuberculosis
Yes, if you think it's wrong to give a woman who campaigns against child vaccinations a spot on America's top daytime talk show
Environment Secretary Owen Paterson pledged to eradicate disease from English cattle within 25 years


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Simran roped in for Upendra's Godfather
Simran, who has been doing supporting roles after her marriage, will be playing one of the female lead roles in Godfather. Upendra will be seen in triple roles in which the actress is reportedly pairing up for the senior character of Uppi in the film.
Simran, who dominated the Tamil and Telugu films, made her Sandalwood debut in Shivraj Kumar starrer Simhada Mari in 1997. Meanwhile, the hunt for other female lead roles is on.
Godfather is a remake of Tamil blockbuster Varalaru, which starred Ajith Kumar, Asin Thottumkal and Kanika Subramaniam. The story was written and directed by KS Ravikumar. However, Tamil cinematographer PC Sriram directs the Kannada version of the film and K Manju is the producer.


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- Report: #312801
Report - Rebuttal - Arbitrate
Complaint Review: GSA,SBA EXPRESS, NETWORKAGENDA.COM
GSA,SBA EXPRESS, NETWORKAGENDA.COMSaint George, Utah U.S.A.
GSA, SBA EXPRESS, NETWORKAGENDA Long after I THOUGHT I had successfully cancelled my 'membership' I had 3 unauthorized chgs withdrwn from my bank! Saint George Utah
*UPDATE Employee: Resolution Offer
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When I contacted my bank they forwarded me emails from several other customers who have had exactly the same thing happen, thank god I found this website with GOOD contact info for this company! I also forwarded to my bank to share with the others who were ripped off.
I hope someone is taking legal action against this company!
beaufort, North Carolina
This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 02/27/2008 11:18 PM and is a permanent record located here: http://www.ripoffreport.com/r/GSASBA-EXPRESS-NETWORKAGENDACOM/Saint-George-Utah/GSA-SBA-EXPRESS-NETWORKAGENDA-Long-after-I-THOUGHT-I-had-successfully-cancelled-my-memb-312801. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year.
Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report.
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#1 UPDATE Employee
Resolution Offer
AUTHOR: Ryan - (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Tuesday, March 18, 2008POSTED: Tuesday, March 18, 2008
When you order our product you must select "Ship My FREE Kit!". Right next to that button is the following statement in no less than 10 pt font:
Terms and Disclosures. By clicking "Submit" I am ordering the Grant Master CD and trial membership for one dollar and ninety-seven cents, after the 7-day trial I will be charged thirty-nine dollars and ninety-five cents a month thereafter if I do not cancel. I also agree to the 14 day and 21 day bonus trials to Express Business Funding and Network Agenda for seven dollars and ninety-five cents a month and nine dollar and ninety-five cents a month thereafter, should I choose not to cancel. I have read and agree to the PRIVACY POLICY (last updated: 02/12/2007) & Terms and Conditions. Charges will appear on credit/debit statements as "GrantSearchAsst".To cancel call 1-866-396-5694, M - F, 9am - 9pm EST.
Toni, please contact customer service at the number listed above. There you will find a helpful agent waiting to assist you with your concern.
If you are another customer that is reading this and you feel that we have failed you in some way please call me directly at 435-773-1795 or email me at firstname.lastname@example.com and I would be happy to address your concerns ASAP.
Ryan R.
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text:
Find information on common issues.
Ask questions and find answers from other users.
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Check on status of your tickets.
Use this link to report a NEES network security incident
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PORTLAND, Maine (AP) � Regulators from East Coast states are considering possible new regulations that could place strict limits on or even close down Maine's lucrative glass eel fishery.
The American Eel Management Board of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is meeting Wednesday in Georgia to discuss and possibly vote on new regulations. Options range from maintaining the status quo to imposing quotas to closing the fishery.
The debate is being watched by Maine fishermen who net baby eels known as elvers that have fetched $2,000 a pound the past two seasons.
Separate sets of regulations are being considered for glass, yellow and silver eels, which are the same eel but at different life stages. The glass eel fishery has drawn the most attention because of the sky-high prices.
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Unique products designed by Jenny & Simon many made in the UK
Second hand, old or antique items
Set of 6 Bone China plates each decorated with a different region of the British Isles forming a spectacular map of 'Iles Britannique'. Fabulous on the wall or dinner table.
Designed by RE and produced in the UK, dishwasher safe.


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Ready to watch this entire course?
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- Overview
- Transcript
- View Offline
- Getting to know the Lightroom interface
- Establishing Lightroom preferences
- Using catalogs
- Importing images
- Image review
- Identifying and locating images
- Optimizing and sharing images
Skill Level Beginner
I generally take a two step approach when I'm reviewing my images. My primary focus is on identifying my favorite images, the ones that I'd like to optimize and share with others. But along the way, I might also add additional information about the photos. I might delete images that I decide just aren't worth keeping and a variety of other considerations. Let's take a look at that two-step approach that I typically use for reviewing images in Lightroom. The first step, of course, is to select which images we want to review. More often than not, that means navigating to a particular folder location, so that you can select the image collection that you'd like to actually work with.
If you're on a photo trip where you're reviewing images as you go, you could also choose the Previous Import option in the Catalog Section of the left panel in order to review only the images that were most recently imported in the Lightroom. In this case, I'll go ahead and choose the folder of images that I want to review. And then I'll get started in the Grid View. So, I can click the Grid View button on the toolbar or simply press the letter G to get to the Grid Display. When I'm using the Grid View, I'm obviously not seeing a high level of detail for the images.
I'm just seeing the small representation. And so this initial review is for two basic purposes. First and foremost, I'm reviewing the images just to remind myself of what subjects I photographed, what order the images might appear in, just getting an overall sense of the images as I'm going to review them. The second focus is to delete images, that even in the thumbnail display, are clearly so problematic that there's no sense keeping them. There might be an image that's completely out of focus, for example, or an image that was extremely over or underexposed.
When performing this review, I'm obviously focused on the images, and so all of the interface controls in Lightroom really aren't necessary. Therefore, when I'm initially reviewing my images in the Grid View, I'll press the Shift+Tab key in order to hide all of the panels. You might also want to adjust the thumbnail size. You'll find a slider at the far right of the toolbar, underneath the Grid View display. I generally like to work with moderately small thumbnails because, again, I'm not trying to perform a very detailed review of the images.
I'm just getting an overview and perhaps looking for some especially problematic images. So, then I'll simply scroll up to the top of the list of images. And then I'll scroll down through the images, reviewing all of them to get a sense of which subjects I've photographed, when I photographed them, and just getting an overall view of the images. For example, one thing I would note in this particular case is that I photographed some flowers, some tulips, and then a little bit later, I have more flower photos. So, I might keep that in mind when I'm reviewing the initial set of flowers, that I do have more flowers coming up a little bit later. If along the way, I find an image that seems to be especially problematic, I could also get rid of that image.
Let's assume for example, that this image were extremely underexposed. I could select that image and then press Delete on the keyboard in order to delete the image all together. When I press Delete, Lightroom will ask if I simply want to remove the image from the Lightroom catalog or actually delete it from the disk. In this case, of course, the image isn't extremely underexposed. So, I'll simply click the Cancel button. But generally speaking, if I were going to get rid of this image, I would not simply remove it from the Lightroom catalog and leave it on my hard drive.
But rather I would delete the image all together. I'll go ahead and click Cancel though and then I can continue reviewing my images. It looks like overall I don't have any problematic images. And now I have a pretty good sense of which images are included in this particular set of images. So, I'm ready to move on to a more detailed view of the photos. For that more detailed view, I'll first scroll up to the top of the list and select my first image. I can do that by clicking on the Loupe View button on the toolbar below the Grid Display, or by pressing the letter E on the keyboard.
When I'm working in the Loup View, I like to have the film strip available to me. Both, so I can see where I am in the group of images, which images are coming up next, et cetra. And also, just to make it a little bit easier to navigate. For example, I could click on an image to select that photo rather than just navigating with my Arrow keys. But generally, I would start with the first image, and then use the arrow keys on the keyboard to navigate among the photos. You can press the Right Arrow key to move to the next image, and the Left Arrow key to move to the previous images. At times along the way, you might need to get a closer look at an image. For example, you might want to check to make sure an image is critically sharp. To do so, you can simply click in the image to Zoom in to a one to one display. It may take a moment for the high quality image to update, but then you can pan around the image checking, for example, to make sure the image is sharp or that there's not excessive noise, or other issues that you might be concerned about. To return to the full image, simply click once again on that photo. In this way you can navigate among your images an start to get a sense of which ones you want to work with and which ones you might not be quite as concerned about.
And of course, as you go through this process, you'll likely want to assign attributes to those images, so that you can better locate your favorite images later in your workflow. The key thing, in my mind, is to have a consistent workflow for reviewing your images that will help make sure that you stay as organized as possible, so that, later, you're always able to find your best photos, very easily.


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An excerpt from www.HouseOfNames.com archives copyright © 2000 - 2016
The ancestry of the name Crotchman dates from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It comes from when the family lived near a crossroads. During the Middle Ages, such intersections were important as market places and centers of trade. The surname Crotchman is derived from the Old English word cruc, which means cross. The name belongs to the class of topographic surnames, which were given to people who resided near physical features such as hills, streams, churches, or types of trees.
The surname Crotchman was first found in Essex, where they held a family seat from ancient times.
Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Crotchman have been found, including Crotchman, Crouchman, Crucheman, Crocheman and many more.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Crotchman research. Another 219 words (16 lines of text) covering the years 1255, 1260, 1273, and 1327 are included under the topic Early Crotchman History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
More information is included under the topic Early Crotchman Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name Crotchman, or a variant listed above: Nicolas Crochet, who settled in Louisiana in 1719; Yves Crochet, who settled in New Orleans in 1785; Pelagie Benoit Crochet, who arrived in New Orleans in 1785.
Other References
The Crotchman Family Crest was acquired from the Houseofnames.com archives. The Crotchman Family Crest was drawn according to heraldic standards based on published blazons. We generally include the oldest published family crest once associated with each surname.
This page was last modified on 27 October 2010 at 13:29.
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My friend and I, which he was driving were stop at a club parking lot. my friend was arrested an tooken to jail for having a knife on him. I had to take taxi back home he later called that night an told me he had been released I drive my car to pick him up. When I arrived at the station cops suspected me of under the influence because my eyes were red he gave me sobriety test which I passed hen offered me a breathalyzer test. I refused an took a blood test instead , jus about two weeks I received my id an my test results. My bac was a 0.06 do I have a case?
Criminal Defense Attorney
Are you over 21? If so, yes. If not, maybe. Consult with a local DUI attorney.
Mr. Feasel is a former prosecutor in San Mateo County (CA) with over 10 years of criminal law experience. Nothing stated on this site shall in anyway be construed as legal advice, or as creating any attorney/client relationship. If you would like to hire Mr. Feasel to further investigate your situation, feel free to contact him thru this site.
Criminal Defense Attorney
Depends on your age.
Personal Injury Lawyer
As my colleagues stated, it depends on your age.
If you are over 21, the FSTs cannot really be passed. The officers look for standardized "clues" that you may or may not have displayed at that time.
Also, to be convicted under 23152(a) the prosecutor must prove that you were "under the influence" of alcohol or drugs or a combination of the two at the time of driving. "Under the influence" has a very technical meaning. Therefore, your best bet would be to consult with a DUI attorney and show any documentation, including the police report, to determine if you do have a case.
The information above is not intended as legal advice or to create an attorney-client relationship between you and any attorney. Such Legal Information is intended for general informational purposes only and should be used only as a starting point for addressing your legal issues. It is not a substitute for an in-person or telephone consultation with an attorney licensed to practice in your jurisdiction about your specific legal issue, and you should not rely upon such Legal Information.
I agree. If you are over 21, you may have a good case depending on your driving and the FST's, and whether the officer conducted the DUI investigation correctly. I won a case just like this and my client was .17 BAC, so you should contact an attorney immediately. DMV will suspend your license if you are convicted of a DUI, therefore it is wise to try to obtain a dismissal or reduction of the charge.
Criminal Defense Attorney
For a minor the BAC level is .04 . for an adult .08. Which are you? Get an attorney private or court appointed but don't go it alone.
minor is .01, trucker is .04 disregard the minor BAC lrevel I gave in my answer. California is a no tolerance for minors state.
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John Birch, M.D.
Department Orthopaedic Surgery
- Undergraduate
- University of Windsor - ? (1971)
- Medical School
- University of Western Ontario (1975)
Research Interest
- Limb Lengthening
- Skeletal Muscle Response to Lengthening
Featured Publications
- Sagittal Plane Deformity in the Thoracic Spine: A Clue to the Presence of Syringomyelia as a Cause for Scoliosis
- 5) J.A. Ouellet, J. LaPlaza, M.A. Erickson, J.G. Birch, S. Burke, and R. Browne Spine September 2003 28(18) 2147-2151
- Syme Amputation for the Treatment of Fibular Deficiency: An Evaluation of Long-Term Physical and Psychological Functional Status
- 4) J.G. Birch, M.B. Walsh, A. Morton, K.D. Koch, C. Smith, D. Cummings, and M.A. Buchanan J. Bone Joint Surg. Am. November 1999 81 1511-1518
- Measurement of Scoliosis and Kyphosis Radiographs: Intraobserver and Interobserver Variation
- 3) J.G. Birch, R.H. Browne, D.L. Carmen, J.A. Herring, C.E. Johnston, B.S. Richards, and J.W. Roach J. Bone Joint Surg. Am. March 1990 72(3) 328-333
- Use of the Pavlik Harness in Congenital Dislocation of the Hip: An Analysis of Failures of Treatment
- 2) R.G. Viere, J.G. Birch, J.A. Herring, J.W. Roach, and C.E. Johnston J. Bone Joint Surg. Am. February 1990 72(2) 238-244
- Surgical Anatomy of Selected Physes
- J. Birch, J. Herring, and D. Wenger J. Pediatr. Orthop. March 1984 4(2) 224-231
- Congenital Fibular Deficiency: A Review of Thirty Years? Experience at One Institution and a Proposed Classification System Based on Clinical Deformity
- J.G. Birch, T.L. Lincoln, P.W. Mack, and C.M. Birch J. Bone Joint Surg. Am. June 2011 93(12) 1144-1151
- Precocious Appearance of the Capital Femoral Ossific Nucleus in Larsen?s Syndrome
- 4) J.G. Birch, R.H. Browne, A. DeLaRocha, J.R. Schiller, and M.A. Khaleel J. Child. Orthop. April 2011 5 (Suppl 1) S24
- Femoral Nerve Palsy in Pavlik Harness Treatment for Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip
- M.L. Murnaghan, R.H. Browne, D.J. Sucato, and J.G. Birch J. Bone Joint Surg. Am. March 2011 93(5) 493-499
- Revised Modified Oxford Bone Score: A Simpler System for Prediction of Contralateral Involvement in Slipped Capital Femoral Epiphysis
- J.R. Zide, D. Popejoy, and J.G. Birch J. Pediatr. Orthop. March 2011 31(2) 159-164
- Revised Modified Oxford Bone Score: A Simpler System for Prediction of Contralateral Involvement in Slipped Capital Femoral Epiphysis
- J.R. Zide, D. Popejoy, J.G. Birch J. Pediatr. Orthop. March 2011 31(2) 159-164
Honors & Awards
- Board Member
to 2007 Board of Directors, Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America (2005)
- Associate Editor
to Present The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (2004)
- Examiner
to 2005 American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery Oral Examinations (2004)
- Vice President
to 2006 Associazione per lo Studio e Applicazione del Methodo Ilizarov (A.S.A.M.I. International) (2004)
- President
to 2004 Limb Lengthening and Reconstruction Society - A.S.A.M.I. North America (2003)
Professional Associations/Affiliations
- American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons - Fellow
- American Academy of Pediatrics
- American Medical Association
- Associazion per lo Studio e Applicazione del Methodo Ilizarov (A.S.A.M.I. International)
- Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America