text:
Victoria Lowery's resume includes Mrs. Ohio 2001, about two years as CEO for the Tiffin Area Chamber of Commerce and a position with the Chamber of Commerce of Ohio. Now, the Tiffin resident has begun a new venture in her life.
Divorced and a single mother of three daughters, ages 17, 19 and 20, she is a speaker, life coach and author. Valentine's Day 2012, Lowery released her first book, "Love ... Happily Ever After."
The title is a bit deceiving because it traces the life of a young woman, ready to go out and make a difference in the world, and follows the character through the challenges of parental expectations, love lost, parenthood, an alcoholic spouse, juggling family and career, financial instability and divorce.
Even during her year as Mrs. Ohio, she had to hide her difficulties behind a cheerful facade, as detailed on page 157: "She will get to the Mrs. Ohio appearance, sign autographs and be treated like royalty, but in her purse, there isn't even enough money to buy a granola bar. ..."
The "happily" part comes from surviving the harsh lessons that strengthened her character and led her to new outlooks and endeavors.
On page 181, she writes "... it is in the moments of discomfort that our deepest learning can take place."
"This started as my journal, when I was going through divorce. That was in 2003. ... At the time, it was something really intended for me," Lowery said. "It was way too personal and too much to share with anybody. I kept a lot of what I experienced to myself."
The journal became the vehicle to document events in her life, look at what they meant, and cope with the personal burden she was carrying.
Being a "silver lining kind of person," Lowery said she did not want to focus on the negative aspects of her life, but they were dominating her existence long before the divorce.
On some occasions, she wrote all night as memories, thoughts and emotions poured onto the pages.
Written in first person, the journal remained stored away, out of sight. As she recovered from the crises, Lowery thought about developing her story into a handbook for divorced parents. Instead, the journal entries evolved into a narrative based on her life thus far, but no real names have been used.
Lowery suspected her story could help someone else to avoid the painful "live and learn" technique.
"I was thinking this was something I should share with other people, because if I'd had the knowledge in this book, some decisions I would have made in life would have been very different," she said.
Toward the end of the book, she included some statistics about divorce in the United States and quotes from various experts. One, by motivational speaker Brian Tracy, asserts 85 percent of success comes from social skills rather than training in a given career or occupation.
Another author observes that most happiness in life comes from relationships, and most problems come from unhappy relationships.
Lowery said she thought about all the songs written about love and angst and wondered why schools do not teach more skills in cooperation and tolerance.
"Why don't we study the four Rs in school - reading, writing, 'rithmetic and relationships? I think there's kind of a growing movement that supports the idea," Lowery said.
Even though school curriculums already are packed, perhaps more social skills could be incorporated into existing lessons. Lowery said the high divorce rate indicates the need for more knowledge, and divorced parents are not the best ones to give that instruction to their children.
Interacting with other students offers some experience, but Lowery would like to see more adults passing on what they have discovered in their own lives to younger generations.
"As we get older, we learn more, so why not share those things we have already figured out so someone else doesn't have to making the same mistakes?" Lowery said. "We all want 'happily ever after,' but if we only get it 50 percent of the time, there's a hole somewhere."
Last summer, Lowery traveled to California to attend a writers' conference sponsored by Author House, the company she chose to produce her book. The presentations emphasized that writers without an established name need to establish a platform, or area of expertise, based on their experiences, employment and other connections.
"They kept talking about 'platform, platform, platform.' That's the buzzword ... self-publishing is a way of developing that platform. For me, it's relationships. That's what the book's about," Lowery said.
Before finishing the final draft of the book, Lowery called as many Rotary clubs as she could and offered to speak at their meetings. She explained the contents of her book and conducted short surveys to elicit feedback.
The book concludes with a nine-question yes-or-no test. Lowery said a "no" answer on any question indicates a problem area.
The feedback she has received so far has been rewarding, she said.
Amazon.com has tracked the book at No. 274,527 on its best-seller list. Since the book came out, many of Lowery's classmates have contacted her. Readers have asked her to talk to family members and say they are giving the book to loved ones.
Closer to home, she tries to share observations with her daughters and their friends.
"I think everybody should write their story. It was therapeutic for me at the time I did it, but then I literally put it in a drawer for seven years and just didn't look at it," she said. "In fact, the computer that I typed it on has since blown up. All I had was the manuscript, so I had to totally re-type it all again, and I had to change it from first person into third person."
In doing that, she learned more about the writing process for future writing projects.
The self-published "Love ... Happily Ever After" is available as an e-book and in softcover. Lowery said she has more books in the works, all nonfiction.
"The next four books are already started, already titled, already partially written. I hope to write for the rest of my life. I really like it," she said. "I always knew I'd write a book some day, and it worked out to be right now."
Lowery said she has made a number of contacts in the Chicago area.
Locally, Keith Hodkinson is to interview the author
about the book at 8:10 a.m. Wednesday on Seneca County Radio.
The author's website is www.victorialowery.com.


text: Save on fun weekend getaways Finding the right place to stay can often be the most difficult–and most expensive-part of planning a vacation. For a great trip on a budget, Arkansas offers lodging deals and packages that make overnight stays and your favorite Arkansas activities more affordable, whether you're looking for romantic escapes or fun family weekend getaways. Browse our list of lodging deals and weekend travel packages below to find fun family weekend getaways that the whole family can enjoy. Book your stay today! Find Deals and Coupons Start Date: End Date: And/Or City: Any City Bentonville Bismarck Calico Rock Cotter Eureka Springs Flippin Gassville Greers Ferry Hot Springs Jasper Jessieville Jonesboro Kingston Lake Village Little Rock Mena Mountain Home Ozark Paris Ponca Rogers Wickes Wynne Yellville Keywords: Area: Any Region Central Lower Delta North Central Northwest Southwest Upper Delta Lakes/Rivers: Any Lake/River Beaver Lake Buffalo National River Bull Shoals Lake Cossatot River DeGray Lake Kings River Lake Austell Lake Chicot Lake Hamilton Norfork Lake Table Rock Lake White River (Bull Shoals Lake to Newport) Price: pricelow Low pricehigh High Sort By: ending Ending Soonest city City title Alphabetical SEARCH [ Reset All Qualifications ] Key: Deals Coupons Tent camping 2.5 miles from Oaklawn Racing In city limits and on Lake Hamilton From: Young's Lakeshore RV Resort, Hot Springs, AR Price: $25 Expiration Date: 10/31/2016 DETAILS $100/night - panoramic lake view, large cottages, pool & boat dock on Bull Shoals Lake From: Sister Creek Resort, Mountain Home, AR Price: $100 Expiration Date: 11/1/2016 DETAILS $242+tax (and up) per person - four folks for trout - Package D From: His Place Resort, Cotter, AR Price: $242 - $303 Expiration Date: 11/10/2016 DETAILS $249+tax per person - three day trout fishing getaway for two! - Package B From: His Place Resort, Cotter, AR Price: $249 Expiration Date: 11/10/2016 DETAILS $269+tax per person - three guys, three nights, two guides, trout - Package C From: His Place Resort, Cotter, AR Price: $269 Expiration Date: 11/10/2016 DETAILS $99 Couple's Lakeside Getaway on Norfork Lake From: The Cove Vacation Lake Homes, Gamaliel, AR Price: $99 Expiration Date: 12/15/2016 DETAILS 15% off lodging From: Red Bud Valley Resort, Eureka Springs, AR Price: $128 - $200 Expiration Date: 9/30/2016 DETAILS 34Th Preservation Society Christmas Tour Of Homes AND Parade Weekend From: The Border House, Eureka Springs, AR Price: $299 Expiration Date: 12/4/2016 DETAILS 50+ Special From: Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa, Hot Springs, AR Price: $99 - $290 Expiration Date: 12/30/2016 DETAILS A Hero's Welcome From: Tiffany's Bed & Breakfast, Bismarck, AR Price: $116 - $152 Expiration Date: 3/4/2017 DETAILS A Little Romance From: Bartee Meadow Bed & Breakfast, Hot Springs Arkansas 71901, AR Price: $549 Expiration Date: 10/31/2016 DETAILS A Woodlands Grand Getaway at Bartee Meadow B&B From: Bartee Meadow Bed & Breakfast, Hot Springs, AR Price: $1,299 Expiration Date: 10/31/2016 DETAILS Absolute serenity! From: Buffalo Lodge, Jasper, AR Price: $149 Expiration Date: 10/1/2016 DETAILS Al Capone Package at the Arlington From: Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa, Hot Springs, AR Price: $439 Expiration Date: 11/26/2016 DETAILS All You Need Is Love At A Cozy Bed & Breakfast From: Bartee Meadow Bed & Breakfast, Hot Springs, AR Price: $799 Expiration Date: 10/31/2016 DETAILS Always Kiss Me Goodnight From: Evening Shade Inn Bed and Breakfast, Eureka Springs, AR Price: $419 Expiration Date: 12/31/2016 DETAILS Anniversary Package From: Evening Shade Inn Bed and Breakfast, Eureka Springs, AR Price: $629 Expiration Date: 12/31/2016 DETAILS Arlington Golf Package From: Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa, Hot Springs, AR Price: $412 Expiration Date: 11/26/2016 DETAILS Bed & Breakfast Getaway From: 1 Gables Inn Bed & Breakfast, Hot Springs, AR Price: $468 - $578 Expiration Date: 4/29/2017 DETAILS Bed 'n' Breakfast Deal From: Hilton Garden Inn, Bentonville, AR Price: $99 - $199 Expiration Date: 12/10/2016 DETAILS Showing 1 - 20 of 206 Page: « Previous 12345...Next View: 20 per page 50 per page 100 per page

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Takeshi's Castle meets The Bachelor in E4's new show My Little Princess.
Set in a real life fairytale, a group of men battle it out to win a date with one single lady. The only thing that stands in their way is a series of crazy challenges and one very overprotective father.
The men, dressed as knights, must defeat obstacles such as mud pits, dash through forests (or so it appears in the video below), cross wobbly bridges and even survive a grilling from an ominous King while strapped to a giant catapult.
If the trailer is anything to go by, the show which starts at the end of January looks set to be a right hoot.
And if you simply can't wait that long, here a few of the funniest Takeshi's Castle clips to get you in the mood.
* My Little Princess starts on E4 at the end of January
Ouch...football in the face, backflips gone wrong and more fab Takeshi fails
It's even better with wings...
You're not hiding in here... man up.
Some sort of skeleton lizard in a maze. Of course.
And believe it or not, someone actually defeats the castle... winning!


text:
D-10 football teams accept challenge
Give District 10 football teams credit: They're not afraid to play anyone.
D-10 teams are proving this season that they're willing to play brutal schedules against top competition.
McDowell, Cathedral Prep and Strong Vincent, in particular, have loaded up on powerhouse programs.
The challenging opponent list was one of the major themes of the preseason, and area teams hit the meat of those rugged schedules this week.
McDowell will face three consecutive recent state champions starting Saturday with 2011 PIAA Class AA champion Lancaster Catholic. The Trojans will travel to Altoona to take on the Crusaders and their prolific all-state running back, Roman Clay. Lancaster Catholic has moved up to Class AAA where it is ranked No. 7 in the state.
After Saturday, McDowell will host Cleveland-area powers St. Ignatius and St. Edward on consecutive Fridays. St. Ignatius, of course, is one of Ohio's storied programs and is coming off its 11th Ohio big-school state title. St. Ed's is another superb program that won its first state title in 2010. The Eagles are loaded again this year.
As if that three-week run weren't enough, McDowell then meets archrival Prep, the No. 1-ranked Class AAA team in Pennsylvania, before taking on another defending Ohio state champion, Cardinal Mooney.
I know this is high school football, but to put that five-game stretch into perspective for NFL fans, that would be the equivalent of playing the Giants, Patriots, Packers, Steelers and Ravens on consecutive weeks.
Remember, McDowell opened the season against another strong Ohio program, Mentor. The Trojans lost 34-27 after leading for much of the game.
Then there's Cathedral Prep's schedule.
The Ramblers will visit a solid Lake Catholic team in Mentor, Ohio, Saturday as the beginning of their own run of potent competition. The matchup has been slightly diminished by an injury to Lake Catholic's quarterback and two straight losses by the Cougars. However, this is a tough road matchup for Prep, which moved into the No. 1 spot in the PIAA Class AAA rankings this week.
Over the next few weeks, the Ramblers also will play Ohio power Youngstown Ursuline and New York heavyweight Aquinas Institute, in addition to facing McDowell.
If Prep can get through all of those games with a perfect record, it will prove that it deserves that No. 1 ranking. However, that will be difficult to accomplish.
Strong Vincent, meanwhile, has the misfortune of playing St. Ignatius this week. The Colonels must regroup from back-to-back losses to Hickory (44-22) and Prep (48-22) in time to take on one of the premier high school programs in the country. Consider what they've already faced: Hickory is the PIAA's No. 4-ranked team in Class AA and Prep is No. 1 in Class AAA.
Vincent will be a heavy underdog when it meets St. Ignatius Saturday afternoon. Quarterback Michael LaManna and tailback Tim McVey lead the Wildcats, who have pounded three very good teams -- Mooney, De La Salle (Mich.) and Mentor -- by an average score of 43-14.
These cross-border showdowns between District 10 teams and elite Ohio programs are the result of necessity from both sides. Because teams like St. Ignatius, St. Edward and Ursuline are such powerhouses, they sometimes have trouble filling out their schedules with willing opponents. Big-school programs from District 10, meanwhile, have very few options if they want to play teams of their own size.
We'll see over the next few weeks if D-10 teams made a good decision by agreeing to play against Ohio's best.
D-10 ends Mercyhurst Prep suspension:
Last week's Varsity Letter discussed District 10's decision to ban Mercyhurst Prep's girls soccer team from the postseason after the Lakers played an illegal scrimmage during the preseason. As I speculated in the Varsity Letter, D-10 officials lifted the ban this week. Apparently, the District 10 Committee believed that the team had suffered enough of a penalty when its coach, Pedro Argaez, resigned in the wake of the team's suspension.
One letter writer from last week, David Hildebrand of Oil City, disagreed with the idea of reversing Mercyhurst Prep's ban:
"I can't understand why District 10 would rescind its suspension of the MPS girls soccer program. As a matter of fact, I think the whole season should be suspended, considering the better than thou attitude that this supposedly "religious institution" seems to carry. I guess losing the D-10 baseball championship was not enough to prove to these cheaters that rules are not meant to be broken. I believe the coach should have a multi-year suspension for creating the situation. Parochial schools have been getting away with rules violations for years and the gutless wonders of D-10 and the PIAA show no intention of solving these problems. Keep the suspension."
Varsity Letter feedback:
To provide feedback or ideas, send an e-mail to email@example.com. Write "Varsity Letter" in the subject line.
-- Jeff Kirik, sports editor


text:
Purple Reign
God gets angry, wrote author Alice Walker, "if you walk by the color purple and don't notice it." Fat chance of that these days, with stars like Janet Jackson, Mick Jagger and Ashley Judd donning the ultra violet hue. Purple "has a timeless quality reminiscent of royalty and yet feels very now," says Extra host Leeza Gibbons, who sported a pansy-colored ensemble at a recent premiere. It can also be strikingly sexy. "I love purple because I equate it with passion," says ex-City of Angels star Vivica A. Fox. "Everybody has that kind of emotional reaction," says designer Christina Perrin, whose fall line bursts with plum tones. "They go, 'Oh, I love purple!' People don't usually comment on a color like that." Must be divine inspiration.
with Karen Brailsford in Los Angeles
behind the seams
Coy Madonna says the diamond ring boyfriend Guy Ritchie gave her after the birth of their son Rocco is a friendship ring, but I hear the bauble is steeped in syrupy sentiment. Romantic Ritchie chose the ring—a ca. 1900 five-carat dazzler from L.A.'s Neil Lane jewelry shop—because its three diamonds represent Madonna, Ritchie and their new addition. The platinum filigree mounting, which features tiny diamonds, represents Lourdes, Madonna's 3-year-old daughter with Carlos Leon....
Jennifer Lopez was on a mission just before the Latin Grammy Awards. The stunner simply couldn't hit the stage without getting her brows tended to, so she dashed into the salon of Beverly Hills eyebrow queen Anastasia Soare. La Lopez got a perfect arch and was out the door in minutes....
Ben Affleck may have tried to play it low-key at the Toronto International Film Festival, but Affleck watchers noticed subtle gold streaks in his mane. Has the actor gone terminally trendy on us? Nah: according to his rep, the lightened locks are for Ben's role as an Army pilot in the big-screen drama Pearl Harbor, opening next May....
Sex and the City's Kim Cattrall, who plays saucy sexpot Samantha, is getting chic on the cheap these days. She showed up at designer Joseph Abboud's fashion show in New York City swathed in a vintage silk floral Ralph Lauren frock that cost about as much as cab fare. "It was $10 at a tag sale," Cattrall boasted. "I got it dry-cleaned for $10, and here I am!"...
Seen: Michael J. Fox in a baseball cap, T-shirt and shorts, searching for wife Tracy Pollan at L.A.'s Fred Segal. He found her in the high-fashion section, natch.... Tori Spelling (in burgundy halter top and pants) and Beverly Hills, 90210 alum Tiffani-Amber Thiessen (in a white blouse and pinstripe pants) dancing the night away together on the terrace of Chanel's Rodeo Drive boutique.
star talk
We chatted with singer-actress Queen Latifah about her latest role: model for plus-size clothier Lane Bryant.
Have you ever felt uncomfortable about your size?
When I was younger, I compared myself to thinner friends. My self-esteem suffered.
What's your biggest shopping challenge?
Finding designers making my cut. Big girls should not have to wear things that don't fit.
Who are your favorites?
Prada and Gucci.
Are there styles you won't wear?
Short shirts; I've got a gut.
What do you say to large women?
There is nothing more fly than a big pretty girl with confidence.
Yes, that was the same Gucci top worn by Salma Hayek and Lil' Kim at separate events. "It's bold and sexy," says Gucci spokeswoman Lisa Schiek. But while each star lent the blouse her own stylish stamp, Kim's gold hot pants put her over the top.
winner's circle
A slimmed-down Bette Midler left a heavenly impression at a Manhattan fund-raiser in a chiffon-and-crystal Pamela Dennis gown. "Her personality is so strong," notes the designer. "It's a nice juxtaposition to put her in a soft style with a feminine modern dress."
The Kindest Cut of All
Leather pants are hot this season, but designers thought the look could use some venting. The fix? Stars like Kirsten Dunst and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos are donning pants slit not just on the sides, but also front and back. "Everybody started getting tired of the boot cut, and it was like, what should we do now? So the front slit was born," explains L.A. stylist Cary Fetman. "It gives you a long, slim silhouette," says Tenflo designer Judy Richardson. "It's also a great way to focus on a pair of beautiful shoes."
presto change-o
Has Cate Blanchett, her lovely locks shaved off, gone punk? Nope. It's for a role as a grieving widow in the film Heaven. But "she likes it," says a Miramax rep. "That's why she's not wearing a wig."
Meanwhile, Christina Ricci clipped and streaked her raven tresses for a role. "I've never had short hair before," she says. "I have serious bed head now. When I wake up, I look like Andy Warhol."
Style Watch
updated 10/02/2000 AT 01:00 AM EDT
•originally published 10/02/2000 AT 01:00 AM EDT


text:
Condoleezza Rice has backed out of delivering Rutgers University's commencement address, citing the controversy that followed her invitation.
Rice, who served as secretary of state from 2005 to 2009 and before that as national security adviser, notified Rutgers president Robert L. Barchi on Saturday that she was withdrawing from delivering the address and receiving an honorary degree May 18.
"Commencement should be a time of joyous celebration for the graduates and their families. Rutgers' invitation to me to speak has become a distraction for the university community at this very special time," Rice said in a statement.
Some students, faculty, and alumni had protested the invitation, objecting in particular to her role in the Bush administration's claims of the existence of weapons of mass destruction to justify war in Iraq, and its waterboarding policy.


text:
Hands-free devices still distract drivers, study says
Using voice commands to send text messages and e-mails from behind the wheel, which is marketed as a safer alternative for drivers, actually is more distracting and dangerous than simply talking on a cell phone, a new AAA study found.
There are about 9 million cars and trucks on the road with infotainment systems, and that will jump to about 62 million vehicles by 2018, AAA spokeswoman Yolanda Cade said. At the same time, drivers tell AAA they believe phones and other devices are safe to use behind the wheel if they are hands-free.
AAA officials who briefed automakers, safety advocates and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on the study's findings said they want to limit in-vehicle, voice-driven technologies to "core driving tasks."
Researchers at the University of Utah who conducted the study for AAA measured the brainwaves, eye movement, driving performance and other indicators of 32 university students as they drove and performed a variety of secondary tasks.


text:
VP Fire Department and District II respond to several calls
By: CARISSA HEBERT
Managing Editor
The Ville Platte Fire Department had several calls during the last two weeks. Some of those calls were in District Two, Ward One's area.
Fire calls included:
On October 25:
•A gas leak was reported at a Ville Platte Housing apartment at 903 W. Hickory St. No alarm was given. One truck responded at 7 a.m. and checked the area.
On November 1,
•A bomb threat at Walmart at 2:16 a.m. One truck responded and stood by until the area was cleared.
•A grass fire at 5183 L'anse Bleu Road. The side of the road was on fire. Two trucks from Ville Platte and two trucks from Belaire Cove responded at 3:30 p.m. with 11 firefighters.
•A bomb threat at the Sports Bar at 2:29 a.m. Three trucks from Ville Platte responded with eight firefighters and conducted traffic detail until the area was cleared.
On November 4:
•A pot on the stove at the residence of Dallas Toussaint, 1020 N. Reed Street, was reported at 10:16 p.m. Three trucks from Ville Platte and four firefighters responded.
On November 5:
•The alarm was activated at Heritage Manor, 220 S. Thompson, at 5:41 a.m. The alarm was reset.
•A grass fire on the side of the road was reported at Highway 104 and Camp Road at 2:21 p.m. Two Ville Platte trucks and five firefighters responded.
On November 6:
•Heavy damage was reported to a vehicle belonging to Cemella Wilson Arvie, 111 E. Jackson, when fire appeared under the hood at 4:48 p.m. Twelve firefighters and two trucks responded.
•Eight firefighters rescued a man at 616 E. Desota by pulling his leg from a hole in the road at 6:15 a.m. at the corner of Stagg and Long streets.
•A grass fire was reported on the side of the road near the residence of Jody Fontenot, Highway 167 South at 1:57 p.m. Seven firefighters, two trucks from Ville Platte and two trucks from Faubourg responded.
On November 8:
•A grass fire at the corner of Clifton and Fruge was reported at 11:24 a.m. Two trucks from Ville Platte and two from Belaire Cove responded along with 13 firefighters.
•A trailer fire was reported at 4:37 p.m. near Chataignier at the residence of Martin Bellow, 225 Grant St. Four trucks from Ville Platte, four trucks from Chataignier, one truck from Belaire Cove and two trucks from the Eunice Fire Department responded with 25 firefighters.
•A rice bin was reported on fire at the intersection of state Highways 104 and 165 at 7:36 p.m. Two firefighters, four trucks from Ville Platte and one truck from Chataignier responded.
On November 9:
•A splice in a wire in the attic caused a fire at Lee Freeman's residence, 505 SW Railroad at 9:24 a.m. Nineteen firefighters and three Ville Platte trucks responded and pulled the meter and removed insulation out of the attic.
On November 11:
•Nineteen firefighters were called to assist Acadian when a car went into a house on the Chataignier Road at 2:54 a.m. One truck from Ville Platte, one truck from Belaire Cove and two from Chataignier responded.
•An accident was reported on the Chicot Road at 11:08 p.m. Sixteen firefighters assisted Acadian Ambulance and used tools to open the door.
On November 13:
•No alarm was given when the alarm rang at Developmental Head Start on the Te Mamou Road at 10:48 a.m. The building was checked and the alarm was reset.
On November 17:
•First responders were called to 510 Canal St. at 6:51 p.m. when the person at this residence didn't respond. One truck and 11 firefighters assisted Acadian Ambulance.
On November 19:
•No alarm was given when the fire alarm rang at the Evangeline Parish Courthouse at 12:07 a.m. The alarm was reset.
•A truck, belonging to Ronald Frank, 611 N. Dupre, was reported on fire at 5:40 p.m. on this day. Ten firefighters and two trucks from Ville Platte responded.
•The alarm was activated at the courthouse again at 12:41 a.m. For the second time it was reset and the area was checked.
On November 20:
•No alarm was given when an 18-wheeler went into a ditch and had fuel leaking at 10:42 p.m.
•A grass fire was reported at 1078 Snooks Road. Two trucks from Ville Platte and one truck from Belaire Cove responded along with 14 firefighters before the call was canceled.
On November 21:
•A truck overheated at 402 E. WIlson at 8:59 p.m. Thirteen firefighters and two trucks responded.
•After a heater sparked at 308 Court St., one truck responded to the call at 10:45 a.m. The capacitor was disconnected.
•A grass fire was reported at the intersection of state Highway 104 and Ruth Lane. Two trucks and six firefighters responded at 11:48 a.m.
On November 23:
•The alarm was activated in the jail when an inmate burned incense at 11:58 p.m. One truck responded to the call and advised not to burn the incense.
•A tree smoking, which caught fire from burning leaves, was reported at the Duane Urbina residence, 4120 Whiteville Road, at 12:44 p.m. One truck responded.
On November 25:
•Eight firefighters assisted Acadian Ambulance at 5627 Vine St. at 4:31 p.m.
On November 27:
•No alarm was given when a smoke alarm sounded at the residence of Dianne Deshotel, 804 Oak Alley at 8:59 a.m. One firefighter responded and checked the alarm, which was reset.
•A back bedroom was on fire at a vacant house, 718 W. Beech St. at 11 a.m. Two trucks and 19 firefighters responded.
On November 28:
•No alarm was given when firefighters checked an alarm at Ida Deshotel's residence, 804 Oak Alley, at 4:05 p.m. They discovered a wiring problem.


text:
With so much attention on Google's new video service and the Google Pack today, little attention has been paid to the fact that Google has acquired Reqwireless based in Waterloo, Ontario.
According to the National Post article: Waterloo gets Googled, Google acquired Reqwirless last summer but was disclosed yesterday. The article also says Google will, "staff up a recently established research and development facility." I was unaware of this facility but have blogged about an Open Text research initiative at the university.
The acquisition of Reqwireless once again reaffirms Google's interest in the wireless marketplace. The company develops wireless web browsers (Opera is a big player in this space) and wireless email tools. Products listed on their web site include:
+ Reqwireless Web
+ Email Viewer
+ Hot Viewer
In August, we learned that Google acquired Android Inc., another developer of mobile phone software.
Waterloo, Ontario is also home to Research In Motion (BlackBerry), OpenText, and the University of Waterloo which is well-known for the high quality engineers it turns out. According to the article, Google has been recruiting at UoW for years.
Google, which has recruited University of Waterloo graduates to work in Silicon Valley for several years, recently placed a job posting on its Web site looking for a mobile wireless application developer based in the southern Ontario city. "Google is hiring engineers to bring our wireless products to the next level," the company says in the posting
Gary Will, the editor of Waterloo Tech Digest, has comments and background about the acquisitin on his blog.
Sun's Tim Bray has strong ties to the Waterloo area and the Univ of Waterloo. It's there he worked on the New Oxford English Dictionary and then founded Open Text (remember the Open Text web engine?) and Antarctica Systems. Of course, Bray is also one of the original developers/editors of XML.
A current student at the University of Waterloo and well-known for creating useful web search tools is Michael Fagan. Mike's the developer of FaganFinder, URLInfo, and the very useful Translation Wizard. I also see his introduction to RSS and syndication linked to fromn many sites and articles. He's also the developer of UWHub, a search tool for University of Waterloo info.
Thanks to Michel for the news tip.
Related reading
How mobile is transforming the restaurant order and delivery business
To date the leaders of restaurant takeaway and delivery have prospered, largely, on an open approach, that allows customers to choose between mobile web and apps.
Adblock Plus gets into the ad business with launch of RTB platform
Adblock Plus, one of the most popular ad blocking add-ons for browsers, is getting into the ad business.
Google announces two mobile-first product innovations at DMEXCO
Sridhar Ramaswamy, Google's SVP of Ads & Commerce made two major product announcements this morning at DMEXCO 2016.
Which is the king of mobile: China or US? Where is the biggest opportunity?
When the enormity of the population is taken into account, how does China compare with the US on mobile?


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A local eatery will take center stage on the Travel Channel on Tuesday.
Rich Maxwell/69 News Freelance Photojournalist
New Jersey State Police say two people have died in a small plane crash in Alexandria Township Sunday afternoon.
After a seasonable afternoon with plenty of sunshine, temperatures will fall back down into the chilly lower 40s under mainly clear skies tonight.
Police arrested a man Saturday who they say fired a gun in an apartment while his child slept nearby.
A report of a suspicious package had part of Main Street shut down in historic Bethlehem Saturday night.
WFMZ's very own weather forecaster and host, Kathy Craine, received a special honor during Saturday night's 34th annual Emmy Awards banquet in Philadelphia.
At least 85 people were killed in intense airstrikes on opposition-held eastern Aleppo Sunday, an activist group reported, as the Syrian government continued its furious offensive in the wake of a collapsed ceasefire.
More than 300 people were wounded...
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Miami Marlins pitcher José Fernández, who defected from Cuba at 15 and went on to become one of baseball's brightest stars, was killed early Sunday in a boating accident, Florida authorities said.
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Southern Adventist University has a good reputation for a number of reasons. Its successful academic programs, nurturing Christian atmosphere, and beautiful campus are perhaps the most obvious. One thing missing at Southern, however, is varsity sports. But for these three athletic students, the opportunities for spiritual growth at Southern were worth stepping away from the sports—even scholarships—available at other colleges and universities.
Silvia Bernard: Sophomore Social Work Major
Silvia began her college studies at Andrews University and from the moment she got there it had been her dream to play college basketball. This dream was almost fulfilled her first semester when she made the basketball team, but then stepped away to focus on her schoolwork.
The opportunity to play on the Andrews University girls basketball team presented itself again the next year, but once again Silvia declined the offer and is now attending Southern.
"It was a hard decision because I love playing basketball, but I turned it down because I had already decided to come here," Silvia said. "I'm missing out on improving my skills as a basketball player, but I've been able to progress spiritually, and that is more important."
Andrew Ashley: Freshman Social Work Major
Andrew grew up in Warner Robins, GA and was home schooled until high school. He began playing tennis competitively when he was 14, but his father had been teaching him and his twin brother the game since he was just two years old.
"I really didn't enjoy tennis until I got to high school," Andrew said. "But when I got to high school I realized that I actually had potential in the sport. In fact, my two brothers and I were the top three players on the tennis team, my sophomore and junior year."
Andrew and his twin brother were informally recruited by Valdosta State University to play tennis. A potential scholarship was even on the table, but the brothers had other plans. God's plans.
"If I had gone there I would have had to play on Sabbath and compromise my beliefs," Andrew said. "I miss playing competitive tennis, but at the same time I know that my character has grown a great deal since I've come to Southern."
Brandon Kroeger: Sophomore Nursing Major
College baseball coaches first started contacting Brandon about potential scholarships beginning in his junior year of high school. He had been playing competitive baseball since he was 13 years old and he had won the state championship four times. He had dealt with the Sabbath conflicts, stood up for his beliefs, and had still been able to be very good at his sport.
Martin Methodist College, Dyersburg State Community College, and Hiwassee College all pursued him heavily and offered him scholarships. One of the colleges even said they were okay with him not playing on Sabbath. None of this was enough to persuade Brandon.
"The reason I came to Southern was because the other places that I could have played baseball at would have led me away from God and I knew that. It took a lot of prayer to come to this decision, but I know it was the right one," Brandon said.
All of these students were star athletes in high school and had the opportunity to use their talents at the collegiate level. For some, this would also have meant less student loans and debt—possibly even an ell-expense paid education. Evidently all the other things Southern has to offer were too much to pass up!


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so i downloaded kai and al it had was the engine and config files. where do i download the front end (GUI) so i can start playing games with this thing?!
the engine starts, but due to it not including a GUI it just sets there. some help on the GUI part on linux, please!
Kai On Ubuntu - Need The Front End Gui!
Started by osmorphyus , Jan 18 2010 04:37 AM
1 reply to this topic
Posted 18 January 2010 - 04:37 AM
Posted 01 February 2010 - 11:39 PM
post in the linux section of the official forums..
jKaiUI is what your looking for if i remember correctly.
jKaiUI is what your looking for if i remember correctly.
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WASHINGTON (PAI) - Money to repair the nation's crumbling roads and rehab its creaky mass transit lines will run out by July, a key lawmaker on budget issues warns.
In an Apr. 8 floor speech, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Patty Murray, D-Wash., added that the highway-mass transit trust fund could be exhausted by then, bringing construction projects to a dead halt at the height of construction season.
That would not only force present construction workers off the job, but prevent future hiring, she added. Indeed, the uncertainty over the future funding has already stopped highway projects in Arkansas, Colorado, and elsewhere, she said.
All that harm and a crisis could be avoided if Congress approves a new long-term highway-mass transit bill - and the federal gas tax that funds the projects - before the current law expires on Sept. 30, she added. She pleaded with colleagues to set aside partisan sniping and do so.
Laborers President Terry O'Sullivan made the same points. Murray and O'Sullivan cited federal data for their warning that the trust fund is about to run out of cash.
"With the Department of Transportation now warning of a shortfall in the highway trust fund as early as this summer, Congress needs to get moving right away on a highway bill reauthorization before it is too late," O'Sullivan said.
"Cities and states that rely on this funding to keep our highways efficient and safe will soon be forced to delay or cancel critical new projects, which could be catastrophic to the construction industry and have a damaging ripple effect throughout the economy.
"With an 11.3 percent construction unemployment rate, we still have plenty of workers who are ready and willing to rebuild our congested, pot-hole ridden and dangerous roads and bridges," he pointed out.
"If Congress doesn't act, we are headed toward crisis in just a few months," Murray warned. It would be "a construction shutdown that could ramp up when the highway trust fund reaches critically low levels, and get worse and worse if we don't solve the problem."
Murray pleaded for bipartisan support to renew the trust fund with a new highway-mass transit bill. She may get it in the Senate, but the GOP-run House is another matter. There, the Tea Partyites who control the GOP oppose highway spending and laws to help workers.
"As soon as July - just a few months from now - the Department of Transportation predicts the highway trust fund will reach a critically low level," Murray explained. "If this isn't resolved, construction projects to improve our roads and bridges could shut down and leave workers without a paycheck."
"This crisis could also cost jobs," she warned. "Construction is at its peak in the summer months. But without funding, states might have no choice but to stop construction and leave workers without a job.
"This is unacceptable, and it's unnecessary. Congress must act to avoid this construction shutdown. There is no reason to lurch to another avoidable crisis when workers and families across the country are still struggling."
While Murray and O'Sullivan warned of one looming transportation funding crisis, the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee took a small step in the same field. It voted to restore the full pre-tax mass transit voucher subsidy, $250 monthly, that employers could give to workers to take buses and subways to their jobs.
Until the end of 2013, vouchers for both mass transit users and drivers were $245 monthly. The transit voucher dropped to $130. The parking voucher rose to $250. The Finance Committee voted to make them equal and make the mass transit voucher retroactive to Jan. 1, undoing prior congressional inaction. That led union leaders to turn their attention to the GOP-run tax-writing Ways and Means Committee.
"Without action, there will remain a bias in the tax code against public transpor-tation, the millions of working people" who use it and firms that use the benefit to cut payroll costs, AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department President Ed Wytkind wrote.
"The transit tax benefit allows employers to use pre-tax dollars to pay for employees' transit expenses. By reducing payroll taxes, commuters save as much as $2,940 a year on their transit costs. The tax benefit also incentivizes the use of public transportation, which reduces commutes, keeps people employed and makes transportation accessible and affordable for all," he added.
The split between the declining transit voucher and the rising parking voucher "is an effective tax on transit users" and hits hardest at the 70 percent of transit users who are working families or poor, Wytkind said. "The status quo" - the split - "is unacceptable."
Treasury Employees President Colleen Kelley gave Ways and Means the same points: "The mass transit benefit provides much needed relief in reduced commuting costs for many working people...Restoring it to parity with parking also encourages greater transit ridership, which helps lessen congestion on the roadways, reduces pollution, conserves energy, and saves money in road construction and maintenance."
Photo: Sen. Patty Murphy. Erika Schultz/AP


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text: When the talents of Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx clash together, you know you're in for some high-end quality music. Guardian now provides the full stream of their collaborative project We're New Here. The gifted producer takes on the songs on Heron's outstanding comeback album I'm New Here. Listen to all 13 tracks below.


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Top Definition
the ironic form of smart; dumb
That was real smert to light your hand on fire.
by Colin.LA March 15, 2006
Trending Now
Can you define these popular missing words?
Attempting to be smart, but failing terribly.
I wrote an essay yesterday, only to end up being more smert then smart.
by Bazimon March 15, 2014
aww poor brent didnt know what it meant.. its a different form of smrat or as you would say smart
When your boyfriend thinks he's smart but he really isn't
by Damix_55 March 04, 2005
when you really dont wanna do something but you have to.
your mum wants you to come to dinner and has already invited your boyfriend. you dont want to go bout kinda have to.
by c0ldAussie March 02, 2005


text:
NEWARK — The teenage mother of a 3-month-old girl was shot and killed in the city's West Ward Wednesday night, authorities said.
Kamara Ingram, 17, who was sitting on a South 10th Street porch visiting with a male friend, was not the intended target, according to police sources who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case.
"If you can't sit on the porch, what can you do?" said Kamara's mother, Towanna Vaden, outside her home on Ellis Avenue. "I'm just numb. I don't know what to feel."
Kamara, who had moved from South 10th Street to Irvington with her family a few weeks ago, was taken to University Hospital where she was pronounced dead about 10 p.m., some 15 minutes after the shooting, said the Essex County Prosecutor's Office.
No arrests have been made, the prosecutor's office said. The office's Homicide/Major Crimes Task Force is investigating.
An upstairs neighbor, Holland Jackson, said he was playing a video game when at least five gunshots punctured the otherwise quiet night.
He made sure each of his family's six children were safe, but did not venture outside. "Not in this neighborhood," said Jackson, 42.
Kamara's mother said her daughter had gone to meet a girlfriend. She recalled Kamara always met the world with a smile.
"She was funny, always smiling," said Vaden, 39. "She was outgoing."
Kamara, who had four sisters and a brother, was something of a jokester, was also working on tying up a few loose ends, Vaden said. Kamara intended to earn her GED certificate and then enroll in college.
Vaden said she didn't know what led to the shooting. She condemned the culture of violence and easy access to guns that led to her daughter's death.
"These kids have no remorse. No feelings," she said. "They kill and move along."
But she also lamented what she said was the lack of opportunities for the city's youth.
Authorities said Kamara's killing was the first in Essex County since Oct. 6.
But Jackson, who lives with his family on the second floor of the home where Kamara was killed, said the neighborhood is overrun by drugs and violence.
"They need (police) foot patrols, constant foot patrols," he said.
Jackson said the street has taken a turn for the worse in the three years he has lived there.
Jackson said Kamara was a familiar presence even after her move.
"She knew everybody in the neighborhood," he said. "She was a sweet person. She had no problems."
Staff writer James Queally contributed to this report.
Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported the age of Kamara Ingram's daughter.
Related coverage:
• Irvington girl, 17, is fatally shot in Newark


text:
The following article is based on a discussion with a gentleman whose been conducting a penis stretching and exercise regime from home for about one month. The author, an advisor and the practitioner sat down to discuss what is advisable, what the normal practice is and what was actually working for the man doing the exercises. The goal was to put the standard advice up to the test by looking at the penis exercise and stretching regime conducted by an actual subject.
We attempted then to summarize the advice that we would collect give after leaning what we did:
Do one day on, one day off exercises.
Exercising every second day allows your penis the time to heal and recuperate. Without proper rest time you won't have the endurance to really go at the exercises vigorously enough to see considerable penis growth.
Do a regular warm up. Do some light stretching before doing anything, focusing on the groin area and all the muscles in and around your thighs. If you loosen up the general area you're much less likely to pull a muscle during exercise.
Next apply light tension to the penis and hold it, stretched for twenty or so seconds, in various different directions. Remember to start off lightly.
Another common way to literally warm the penis up is to draw a hot bath, or simply fill a small basin with hot water and submerge your penis and scrotum. The warmer you're skin and muscles, the more nubile they'll be, and the less likely to be damaged.
Combine the exercises with natural supplements. Herbal penis enlargement in combinations with penis stretching exercise is continuously proven to be the most effective overall method to get results.
The Sit down stretch is commonly considered the most effective. Any exercise regime will certainly include it. It also corrects penis curvature quite effectively and is known to affect both flaccid and erect length gain.
Find a bench, chair or stool and elevate your right leg. Then reach from behind your body and pull your penis toward your left leg, and downward. This is going to feel intense, and it should. Hold the position for 3-5 minutes, depending on your tolerance, and then do the same with your left leg elevated (and stretch your penis toward your right leg).
This stretch should be a regular part of your routine. But it should not be the only one. There are literally thousands of exercise styles. The trick is to try a lot and find the ones that work best for you. This means finding the exercises that bring you results and put the least amount of stress on your body. You want to work hard at it, but not do damage to yourself.
Next step is jelquing. Jelquing can be done by hand or by wearing a mechanical device. Without the device your pretty much hopeless though so bear in mind the importance of finding a device that's comfortable for you to wear long term. Penis stretching is about both conducting penis exercise and wearing a stretching device during the off hours. Also remember what we said about herbal penis enlargement. Taking the herbal supplement by pill or patch is essential.
Vimax is a powerful natural herbal penis enlargement pill that increases penis length and girth, sexual desire, sexual health and helps to achieve stronger erections. Formulated from herbs from around the world that have been proven to work, you can be assured Vimax will improve your performance. Vimax uses some of the same type of herbs found in Polynesia.
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It's made using state-of-the-art extraction technologies in CNL approved manufacturing labs. That gives you a pure, powerful, effective formula!
Overall Rating
9.75User Satisfaction


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um... who me? uh i guess i'm the lounge's resident tranny. old school bustie formerly known as butta.
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it may be difficult to understand the mechanics of the film without a synopsis one can be found here
one thing i always like is when the opening credits really set the stage for a film. the opening credits for irreversible certainly does that. it starts with the end credits, copyrights etc, and goes backward, words and letters backwards, practically illegible inspite of the bold typeface. just like the film, those credits slide out of control, angling, curving to the left before ending up horizontal. just like the camera work. the cinematography is something elsem and very complex. it's construction is much like the work of julian temple-- who did the film young americans and the janet jackson video, when i think of you. the editing is made invisible, so it looks like one continuous shot. from the first scene we are disoriented, the camera swoops, swirls, shows us things that make no sense. we see people upside down, flipping as if going down a drain. what's more it's progression going from dizzy making at the start, or end of the night to the conventional camera movement of the end/beginning of the story almost makes this a case for a decent into hell. as things spiral further out of control, the camera does more acrobatics, and when the two male characters draw closer to the club that will seal their fate, the camera likes to slide to one side-- and extreme dutch angle, as if they were walking down a steep inline. into the gates-- or rectum (the name of a club) of hell.
i'd been dreading watching irreversable-- the film is infamous for it's single take rape scene, but that is certainly not the most violent part of the film. although it comes pretty close. what's worse, when the violence gets really intense, the camera finally snaps into focus, as if that's what the viewer was waiting for. trust me, long before the rape scene, one is very tired of violence. not to mention any kind of sex-- the opening scene is related only in that it connects to the themes of violation, sex, and guilt, has two men talking, rather blandly about how one man raped his daughter(a bit of intertexuality here. he's a character-- and actor-- from another gaspar noe film, i stand alone, who has only the apt name, "the butcher."*), and now he can't forget it, while the other one jokingly tries to comfort him, saying "there are no bad or good acts, just acts." what follows, makes it hard to agree with him. but it does set up the sort of "play" that director noe is inflicting on the audience: balancing fatalism against memory. the strange thing is that irreversable's structure-- we see the whole thing backwards, like memento, each scene leading taking us back in time-- strangely blunts the violence. if that sounds like a cop out, i don't think that it is....exactly. instead of showing the scenes over and over visually, in playing the scenes backward, the viewer is forced to play the violence over in their head. if you've seen quinton tarantino's death proof, he did something similar, if more literal, (and a bit more sickening, if you ask me) in the first 1/3 of his film, showing the violence over and over and over, until it becomes unwatchable. unfortunately (or fortunately for the viewer), trying to keep up with the chronology can be a distraction, although something replaces the visceral immediacy of the violence once it's off screen: a fatalistic dread. this is where that playing the scenes over in your head comes in and bites you on the ass. as we pull away from the violence earlier in the film an arm broken, and a man's face smashed in (literally and quite graphically) by the blunt end of a fire extinguisher and towards the violence of the rape scene, violence upon violence piles up. it is only after that scene that we get some respite. i say some because, once we've arrived at the safety of "before" we start to see foreshadowing of the events that will conclude and destroy what was supposed to be a beautiful, happy evening. we see how all of the players played their parts, culminating in the trainwreck of destruction.
that fatalism, while it worked in memento as a device to ratchet up the tension in a noir mystery, in irreversable, it ends up relieving any of the characters-- including the rapist-- of any responsiblity. the whole thing was preordained, as the man in the room says, there are "just acts." one of the themes is that "time destroys everything" a phrase flashed at the end of the movie, and taken from a book mentioned by alex (played by bellucci). i can see how that might justify the backward sequencing, but it puts the emphasis on cause and effect, rather than choice, a strange way to go about making a film that has rape in it. is alex's rape the result of her sexuality and her display at the party or just a combined series of events? is it her independence for leaving the party without her asshole boyfriend, or just because she was at the wrong place at the wrong time? cause and effect in film implies that there is no choice in film, that the people populating the screen have no more choice that figures that zoom in and out of a cuckoo clock. yet, alex says, the woman always chooses. but then says everything is preordained. perhaps it's just my moralizing but in a film with such violence, it seems strange that the director seems to simply shrug. usually in a film on the subject of film violence, the viewer is solidly implicated. that holds true here, although i a strange, muted way. played forward, it would be hard not to be drawn to alex/monica belucci's sexuality, and that is the usual trap. the audience is drawn in by her beauty and seeing her objectified, and then the director springs the trap. it worked for hitchcock, and many other directors exploring this theme. noe, however does things strangely. we see alex briefly, in a classic horror film manner, shot from behind. a visual that implies vulnerability, the camera is practically stalking her. the voyerism/objectifying that implicates the viewer occurs after the rape filmicly; the viewer is rather dared to think of her as a sex object, although, technically, she's little else by that time in the film. she's barely been mentioned up until that point, and she isn't, as a character, fleshed out until we are well before the rape. infact, noe seems to make a point of her being a cypher the closer she gets to being raped. perhaps that is one of his points-- sex for men is objectification. none of the men seem capable of anything sexually without the objectification of the other. this is not a simple male/female equation, for noe, i should add. there is a subtext of brutish masculinity running thru the film, the men constantly question each other's sexuality, and variations on "faggot" are constantly hurled. the second scene in the movie takes place in a gay bar called the "rectum," where we see all manner of sex acts taking place, one man even asking to be fisted; the rectum is frequented by the rapist, aka le tenia (the tapeworm) is also a pimp, who beats his transexual prostitute, insists on raping belucci in the ass, and saying she has a "tight faggot ass"; a transvestite the men (alex's ex and current bf, pierre and marcus) meet while looking for the rectum insists he's not a faggot; the two pimps trying to get the men to help them find le tenia, finally convince pierre and marcus after insulting thier masculinity; and marcus (who mirrors le tenia in some ways); tells alex he wants anal sex. in noe's world, it seems, men are easily manipulated, will do anything to hold on to what little masculinity they have left.
i'm still mulling over irreversable. like inside it's one of those films that i love-- ones that require you to chew on for a while, that need a bit of wool gathering in order to pull apart. the more i do, however, the more i really admire/ respect what noe was trying-- and i think largely succeeds in doing. it is of course a film that is hard to digest-- it has the most notorious rape scene in film, and there is no mediation (cuts etc.) between it and the viewer. we are made to suffer thru it with alex, the female lead. but pulling back, the structure shows us something much more profound. if we take it that irreversable (film wise) starts-- in hell, having arrived there thru the "rectum" the club of brutality, a club of death, where everything, metaphorically turns to shit, a specifically male space, an exclusively evil, with a character from another film, one noe calls the most hateful, evil, self loathing, spiteful human being that ever lived, and then "count backwards", we end up, at the chronological start-- eden. with alex untouched, perhaps as a child, playing in the sprinklers, a specifically idyllic, female place, a place of life, and birth, having arrived via the home, a somewhat female space, indicated by the rather ham handed shot of a 2001 poster.
i should rewind. the auteur theory posits that with a film master, the films are solely her/his vision, their obsessions, granted, most films are too big for that to be literally true, but they are the person in charge, and if we are talking about an auteur, not simply a director, then this is certainly true. behind that theory is that for the purposes of story telling, that person, the director is god/dess, ruler and controller of the world/universe or all that he sees, and thru their control, we glean their message, or their world view.
now, keeping in mind, noe's subtitle for irreversable is, "time destroys all things," and if the metaphor is an allegorical look at human progress using the human body, which is more than plausable, thanks to "the rectum," the tunnel and our friend, the tape worm, la tenia, then what noe does in showing everything backward is not the act of vomiting up the bile he shows us, but rather, undigesting it. taking the proverbial bite of the apple and piece by piece restoring it, rendering the apple-- and the body, at least in his universe, whole. more than that, however, it is a rejection of maleness, and male violence. brutality for brutality's sake is found on the male half of the film. the center of the film is the rape, a metaphor of corruption, to be sure, but it is after this, the energy or world spins out of control, if we head cronologically, and the narrative decisively switches from the mostly female centered alex, to the masculine animal pack of the pimps, pierre, marcus. the tapeworm and the roman quorum/bathhouse of the fire extinguisher scene in the rectum. shown filmically, the tunnel is, as i have mentioned, where alex is reduced to object, to the point that she disappears from the film. it is only when we return backward chronologically, that her humanity, her complexity is restored, and she centers the film.
contrast that to the way it would have appeared had the movie been shown chronologically, she would have slowly been stripped of that humanity, reduced to voyeuristic object of desire. alex -- women--represent hope, joy, kindness and love in the film, and when she is 'snuffed' the same happens to the film. it is rather obvious with the rape being center, that this film is concerned with the corruption of women, but aside from the rape, noe shows us the corruption in other ways, the closer we get to that center, the more corrupt the women become too, going from alex's friend who is pregnant and very sweet, on to the women who dance with alex, to the coke sniffing drugged up women, to finally the prostitutes marcus toys with, to the one that tells alex, the tunnel is safer. once in the tunnel, there is a transference (pun intended) the woman le tenia is harassing symbolizes, that filmic shift i talked about earlier-- she is, as we found out earlier (chronologically backwards) that she is not just a prostitute, but a transexual. both male and female, but she falls on corrupt side of the story line, although she is still sympathetic, she too is a victim of male energy/hate, along with the other women on the corrupt side, but eventually, they too will disappear, and all that is left is male rage. here, the corruption is almost a cain and abel parallel, with pierre's jealousy of the "ape" marcus (and of course there is the 2001 reference again too, natch). so it makes sense that he bludgeons the man he thinks harmed alex, much to the pleasure of the other apes/men.
other notes: the boards on imdb are pretty repulsive, with lots of trolls (with names like pederasty) saying really fucked up things, but-- there is a very interesting post of someone who found steven hawking's take on the film, which falls in line with my take on it, using the auteur theory. [/color]
so below is my take on the new batman movie, the dark knight. it contains no spoilers, and that brings me to the subject of this here para: why movie reviewers SUCK. it's not like they have to, i mean, i say they suck having been a film reviewer. i've written for all the major free papers in my burg, and well, film reviewers suck. but i should be clear. i don't only mean the majority of the ones who get paid to write about movies, i mean the movie bloggers too. yes, you. you really suck. but before you throw your rotten tomatoes (ha, ha) at me, let me give you a backhanded complement: you suck entirely no more or no less than most of the assholes in the paper. the problem with most reviewers nowadays (particularly the tv ones) is that they do nothing to illuminate their audiences understanding of what they watch. too often it's boiled down to talking about fucking weekend grosses, or a really shitty synopsis. another point is, they don't bother to learn about movies. seeing copious amounts of movies does not a film reviewer make.
that is all.
as for the dark night, i liked it, but i had some problems with it.
for me dc characters really need to be in that kind of mythic borderland between reality and fantasy. otherwise they don't quite hold up. the bm begins, was a bit stronger because it still stayed in that shadowland, yes, it was a more realistic batman, what with his batmobile, but it was still in an architecturally gothic landscape, and the scarecrow's explanation/psychotropics seemed to add even more unreality to things, think of the shots of batman on the horse, eyes blazing... the batman still inhabited a land of almost eternal darkness, and set against that, he loomed even larger. putting him in a real life chicago even still labeled Gotham, the quintessential Gothic city, batman can't help but look diminished.
if you watch any douglas sirk movies, he does something interesting-- his people are soap opera stock, like comics, usually well off, living in mansions, and they are normally-- in any other film or tv show-- shown in a way that makes them larger than life. but sirk did the exact opposite-- he put them in these mansions, but they seemed swallowed whole by them. they were not, the exact size of life, they were, smaller. the rooms were, like those in orson wells used in kane's san simeon, huge, cavernous, and the people in these cases, flailed, barely treading water. i don't think it was intentional, but i think for me that is what happened in this dark night.
now, i am certainly not saying i didn't enjoy it, but put in this real space, separated from his mythic status, the political questions raised in the film-- terrorism, privacy rights, vigilantism, torture, rendition -- are all the more troubling. granted we are talking about batman, a ubervigilante if there ever was one (eat your heart out bernard getz), but the dark knight tries to have it both ways, it is, (pardon the pun) two-faced, about it. it explicitly seems to be saying it's ok this once, but does things that seem to condone the patriot act. there are comments made that would lead you to believe that the joker is our stand in for bush, but then the vigilante that batman represents is the embodiment of the USA post 9/11.
like my sig used to say, on the whole it could have been crunchier, meatier, like bacon. at least in terms of it's message.
while people talk about how the dark knight is very dark, i can't help but comment about the joker's smile/scar it's actually a reference to a japanese film, ichi the killer you can see the references in ichi's movie poster here. i think i've posted in here about ichi before, and i never take moralistic stands on films (political stands, yes, moral stands, never), but ichi is the exception. it is by far the most brutal, depraved, fucked up, sadistic movie i hope to never see again. it's not the direction, i've seen and liked quite a few of takashi miike's films. this, was a whole 'nother kettle of fish.
so, i know nobody replies to these questions when i ask, but i do so love talking about film (and i seem to be on a writing tear). i was talking with one of my favorite film folks about jack nicholson films, (spurred on by a coffee shop quiz), and we started talking about our fave jn films. so i'm curious which films busties like.
my all time fave is the last detail, his chinatown.
and if i haven't recommended the pledge (in a year or two), i still love it. it's a close to the bone, play-it-straight neo-noir. it does what all great noir films do. there is a scene in noir films where there is almost an 'unreality' to them, where they come unglued from the normal and symbolize all that the film is about. in the pledge it is when nicholson goes into a turkey farm. there is this great shot where he is talking to someone in a sea of turkeys walking around. i don't know if it translates to the small screen, but in the theatre there was a palpable feeling of vertigo. as if there was no solid place for these people to stand, and the world around them shifted. a great visual metaphor for all that goes on in the film. oh, and ps, it was directed by the fantastic sean penn.
addendum: it's been more than a week since viewing they shoot horses, don't they? and i have to say, it's only grown in my appreciation. it is the rare movie that i am interested in seeing more than once. they come around maybe once every 2 or 3 years. the thing that all movies that i want to see again have in common, is that they are always, very taut, tightly woven stories, they are the quintessentual "well made [movies]." there are no loose ends, often the first shot carries as much meaning as the last as to the film and the charecter's trajectories. the mise-en-scene is carefully chosen and shot to reinforce the story. these are films that are meant to be read, and re-read. the last few movies i have wanted to see again: tale of two sisters, oldboy, 3 iron, and memories of murder.
yesterday i watched a movie that i had been waiting to see for some time. it's a movie that always ends up having snippets in film studies classes or movies about movies or movies about movies in the 70's, like the brilliant, a decade under the influence which regularly shows on ifc. that movie is they shoot horses, don't they?"
part of the interest for me is the odd titlle, but as i've said, it was made in the 70's. in american film, the 70's were, are and odd age. gone is a lot of the optimism of the 40's 50's and 60's. they gave way, because of watergate, vietnam, and other things to a disillusionment, and cynicism. on top of that it was the end of the old studio system so there was a new wave of filmakers who were financed largely because the studio couldn't figure out what audiences liked. the result is a group of movies about the individual, so unique, so different, and many of them so great that they deserve to be studied. they shoot, is one of those films.
the essentual story of they shoot horses is that it is a look at two people who sign up for a dance marathon in atlantic city durring the depression. the two people are robert, a rather wide eyed kid who gets pulled into the "contest" on accident, and gloria (jane fonda) a cynical street wise girl who knows all the angles, but thinks this is her one shot to pull herself out of her misery. the other main charecter is rocky, the smiling mc of the contest who promises $1500 to the winner. what follows, like most 70's movies, is an examination of their complete loss of innocence and hope. if that sounds a little bleak, well it is. let me put it this way, the thread on the top of the imdb site for they shoot horses as a threat titled: "your top 10 depressing movies". they shoot horses, is that.
here is a brief break, where i list some of my favorite depressing movies, in no particular order:
killer of sheep
they shoot horses, don't they?
life is sweet
last exit to brooklyn
house of sand and fog
requiem for a dream
bless the beasts and the children
a woman under the influence
in the mood for love
the passenger
cool hand luke
cries and whispers
penny serenade
pulse (original kirosawa version)
Abre los ojos (open your eyes)
benny's video
memories of murder
samarian girl
boys don't cry
mie vie en rose (my life in pink)
dog day afternoon
at this point, i should confess, i have always prefered depressing movies. there is something about them that makes me think i'm being told the truth warts and all. i have never had much of an appitite for saccarine, so depressing is quite alright with me.
they shoot horses is a very strange movie. not in terms of it's telling, it's all in flash back, and it's naturalistic almost to a fault. no, what makes it odd is it's sparseness. save the last scene, there is nothing extra.it is unbelievably, spare: there is only one location, more or less, there is almost no back story on the people in it, the three main charecters are the exception, but even what we are given of them is trimmed to the bone. no one in this movie really wants to talk, they are all facing the grimness of their lives with an attempt at stoicism. for the meat of the movie, we are shown the marathon floor with it's racetrack and stands, backstage with the mc and backstage with the contestants. there are a couple of different places at the begining, ending and flashbacks, but they hardly amount to much, no, this movie wants you to concentrate on this claustrophobic little sadistic dog and pony show, and nothing else. by the end of the movie, one is so worn down, the end, which is no suprize really comes as much of a relief as it does to the two leads.
now that i've totally scared you off of the movie, i have to tell you, i loved it. i absolutely loved it. it was completely worth the wait of the umpteen years it's taken me to get around to seeing it. this, is what i love in a movie. not just the depressing aspect, but that it is so focused, so well made. nothing is in the movie unless it has reason to be. each event, the lines, the scenes, all of it. and the way it's shot, it seems so matter of fact, even though i know they had to produce special techniques to shoot the derby scenes, they fade in. the women's eyes, in they shoot horses, seem so loaded with misery, that they haunt. there is one scene with a woman in a shower, and her eyes well up in a way that is like a punch in the stomach. it's so effecting, and when i look back at it i am almost stupified as to how. but the secret here, is that they shoot horses is self reflexive-- it is about more than just this little "contest". it is about people in the movie theatre as well as in the stands at the marathon, it is, at it's heart it is an endictment of capitolism's failings in the depression era AND the 70's, and now. it is about having the deck stacked against you. one thing that has occured to me, in the last hour thinking about the film,(and this movie is one that gets better in hindsight the more you think about it), is that they shoot horses is neo-noir in the best 70's sense. a fantastic film, and one that i would consider one of my favorites.
below are snippets of my comments from imdb's they shoot horses, don't they? board. i post under the name, "it's poop!" my exclaimation when a movie is less than good. there is a bit of over lap but....you can read the comments in context there, or use them here to think about the film, to tell me your take on the movie or whatever, in the comments (i love a good film debate, especially when i am wrong) ..............or you can ignore them.
Q:why is gloria such a bitch?
i think i have to disagree with this idea of gloria being a bitch. she is the embodyment of people who have been so beaten down, the bite everyone. it's like that abused dog that turns on his master. she and rocky have been down this road before. they know each other, and every one of her snide comments is a growl warning others. when the dress gets stolen like most people i thought gloria might have done it, but it was rocky, who is the real villan in the piece-- the smiling facade of a sadistic system. it is no accident that he was a former faith healer's shill. and as it says he comes from a family of them, but back to the point-- the shill is the one who restores people's faith, returns their belief in something, but it is all a lie.
Q:why is robert so simple?
robert is the stand in for the audience in a lot of ways, innocent, but not easily led. when he talks about the brain tumor movie, it is gloria's cynical take on it that says it was, even in her words "probably" wrong. not proof of robert being simple. and when asked a second time about the marrage idea, he again protested. the point was that you had these two charecters-- one, gloria, cynical, streetwise, bitter and knowing all the angles (she had done these things before which is why the old lady was a fan), and the other rob't. who really didn't know about the marathon, but thru events (the death of the sailor, the dress), comes to know about them. both of these people-- polar opposites lose their optimism thru this horrible "contest." remember, at the end of the film, it's not gloria who starts with the depressed talk, he does. out on the pier, there is the shot of the ocean, and he starts talking about how he used to love the ocean, now he doesn't care. it's no accident this scene takes place at night-- remember the scene where rob't dances alone in the sunlight? or the one where he wants to watch the sunset? the movie charts his (and her),loss of innocence. i don't think that his last words, "they shoot horses, don't they?" was made to make him a simpleton either. to me it meant, "it was the least i could do." it struck me as a rather sophisticated understanding of his and gloria's situation-- it meant when someone is in such misery it's nothing but cruelty to leave them like that. even a horse gets put out of his misery. it's the sort of thing that was eluded to earlier in the film, and they are constantly refered to as animals in different ways, like when gloria sarcastically remarks before the wedding idea, "what's next? put us in cages and have them throw peanuts at us?
Q:what did rocky show gloria that got her so upset?
while the amount is NOT revealed to us, we can only go by her reaction, which, for someone who has dragged a deadman across a finishline and suffered for more than 45 days, is to see that it is all a scam. it seems she knows that her prize --if she won-- is zilch. the deck is stacked against her. it's like those people who bought things from the company store on credit-- sooner or later you find yourself an indentured servant, and working not for money but to pay an insurmoutable debt.
Q:why did gloria quit the contest?
it was a scam. the whole point of it was to put on a show. it's repeatedly refered to as such. when rob insists it's a contest, rocky sets him straight-- it's a show, and they are there to suffer, to give people something to believe in. rocky is, and always has been a sham artist-- think about it-- in a movie where the charecters have so little backstory, why do we know more about rocky than almost anyone else? thru the whole movie, he lies, cons, and cheats, he seduces. for all intents and purposes he is the devil himself, he is the loaded gun out to kill both gloria and rob from the very begining-- remember how and why rob got in the contest? he was curious, but rocky pulled him in as a partner to gloria.
Q:why does gloria want to die?
editorially, it's as she says, it's the finale, the climax of the movie. and the movie tells you many times thru roberts flashbacks (a sort of coming attractions) she will end up dead. as for her motivation, the reason she decides she wants to die is that she (and robert) have lost all hope. this was the one thing she thought she could do, and thru the whole movie she is cynical about everything but winning-- until-- the mc tells her even if she wins she gets nothing. the tab she will have acrued, it's implied, will eat up all her prize money. think about it, the mc tells her that the "kids" take up a lot of expenses, but the only people who have to pay for the expenses are the winners? what kind of sense does that make, if he's trying to make back his costs? here was the one thing that gloria thought she could do, and she finds the deck is stacked against her. she is cynical to a fault but this one ray of sunshine is taken away. she has nothing left.
Q:why don't we find out who won the contest?
one reason is that it was told in flashback by robert, and he was in jail/dead by the time the contest ended, but editorially,
anyone who wanted to see who won even for a second (myself included), fell for the trap in the film-- falling prey to the spectacle, wanting to see more of the awful suffering of those poor charecters. the sadistic show wasn't for the people in the stands of the movie, but rather for the audience WATCHING THE MOVIE. but more than that, not knowing serves the purpose of pointing out in this contest, there are no winners.
Q:what makes you think this is a neo-noir film?
well, it has all the componants of one:it's fatalistic, there is no escape for most of the charecters. they end up dead/having a nervous break down; it shows some sort of descent into darkness/immorality, it's claustrophobic, ends with a death, has the main charecter having some sort of visualization/mental break down (the horse/gloria shooting), and its told in flashback.
Q:ok, smart ass, if that was a neo-noir (and i'm not saying it was), who is the femme fatale?
not that all noir have them, but it's gloria. she seduces robert into being in the contest, and certianly fits the street wise architype.
there are two things i'm obsessed with, film and gendertheory. ok, that's not exactly true, but i don't feel like waxing on about how much i love big calves and legs right now. i want to talk about film. since i started welding school i haven't watched many movies. which is odd. i'm always seeing something, usually it takes me a while to get to anything new unless it's asian, then or i can sneak into it, which would explain why i haven't seen donnie darko, i've got a slate of teen angsty movies which i started yesterday with the covenant, which was not-so-good but i can't resist horror, especially vampires, werewolves, witches, etc. today's list looks pretty alt. i've got dd, like i said, mysterious skin, chumscrubber, thumbsucker, and breakfast on pluto. but as i said, i favor asian films and i have been dying to see, charisma, and i have 2 coppies of-- one from the library, the other from netflix. the public library here is awesome and almost any movie i can find on netflix, i can get from them, so i'll probably cancel n.f. i've seen almost every movie by kiyoshi kurosawa, except this one. he used to be one of my favorite directors till joon bong-ho (the host, memories of murder, barking dogs never bite.) pushed him off the top. some of kurosawa's best films are: cure, bright future, pulse, and seance i'd recommend each very highly, but you have to know his films, he makes strange films, charisma, as an egsample, is described as an existentialist eco-thriller/fable. bright future made me cry, although some people think it a bit too poetic and oblique, and cure is one of the strangest serial killer movies, a genre that i think is way past it's expiration date: anything after se7en is a retread-- except cure. it's about a detective trying to hunt down a serial killer who hypnotizes people to kill for him, never knowing the person slain, and having only briefly met the victim who kills. along the way the detective may be falling under the killer's spell. it also has a very subtle end.... great movie, and seance will remind most people of the ring,(haunting by a wet asian girl), athough i think it came out around the same time, it's chills are much more subtle. it's best seen on the big screen. you miss too much on dvd.
sooner or later i should post my list of asian extreme films i adore, but i actually meant to hop on here and talk about the best black films, just for cos. i think it's mostly because #1 is in release right now. i've written about it a couple of times in the lounge. anyways here is the list, i should mention it is just off the top of my head. i might elaborate more later.
1)killer of sheep
2)black is, black ain't.
3)devil in the blue dress
4)sweet sweetback's badass song
5)do the right thing
6)cooley high
7)boys in the hood
8)stormy weather
9)daughters of the dust
10)a soldier's story
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asian cinema- particularlly korean films, movies from the 60's + 70's, screwball comedies of the 30s-40's, german expresionist film, horror and film noir, neo-noir, sci-fi particularly dystopias, self-reflexive film. film theory.
almost any genre of musics, particularly soul, r&b, jazz, blues, old, new and true school hip-hop, jump blues, jazz vocals, "incredibly strange music", "golden throats", odd covers, asian underground, cock rock, hair metal, j and k pop and hop, the "countrypolian" sound, rockabilly, surf, soundtracks and theme songs, swing, big band, lounge, tradional ez listening, bossa-nova, international pop.
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Did You Know: Le Manoir Aux Quat Saisons
September 21, 2013
By: K. Clare Johnson
Le Manoir aux Quat Saisons maintains a vegetable garden, a herb garden, a mushroom valley, an orchard, a Japanese Tea Garden, and an English Water Garden. Also at Le Manoir, hundreds of courgettes (also known as zucchini) are grown in the cloche tunnels (shown below) for their flowers. The variety grown is Milano di Nero, which produces abundant, large blooms. That's a good thing, as the kitchen can use up to 200 flowers a day throughout the summer. In this garden you'll also find aubergines, peppers, and watercress.
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By: K. Clare Johnson
Condé Nast Traveler Gold List 2012: Le Manoir Aux Quat Saisons
May 16, 2012
By: Oksana Balytsky
We understand that no one aims to come in second place; there is no recognition for mediocrity. We at Five Star Alliance understand better than anyone the importance of offering the most luxurious resorts in the world, so we notice what's going on in the industry, and it matters to us, because it matters to you. We work hard to offer you the best in the industry, and we'd like to welcome you to our second blog series where we feature the best and most luxurious resorts in the world. But don't take our word for it. These resorts have been recognized as the best in the business and have made the prestigious Condé Nast Traveler Gold List 2012.
The Condé Nast Traveler Gold List 2012 is the eighth of their annual lists, and the hotels chosen by their team of editors and experts are the best for service, food, location, rooms, leisure facilities, ambiance and design.
Le Manoir Aux Quat Saisons is featured on the Gold List 2012: Best for food. This luxury hotel is nestled in the beautiful Oxfordshire village of Great Milton in Oxford, United Kingdom, which is renowned as one of Britain's best gastronomic experiences. This luxury hotel is recognized for its two Michelin Star modern French restaurant for 27 years. The manor only has 32 rooms creating an extremely personal and intimate setting for guests. Le Manoir Aux Quat Saisons has a 2 acre vegetable and herb garden which adds organic produce to the kitchen and allows the chefs to create phenomenal, epicurean experiences!
Make your reservations at Le Manoir Aux Quat Saisons for a culinary and luxurious journey unlike any other!
By: Oksana Balytsky


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Depends is the leading adult underwear product line marketed to those experiencing incontinence. Originally introduced in 1983 by Kimberly-Clark, these early Depends were the first such product ever marketed, and could be worn either with underwear or as an underwear replacement. Kimberly-Clark, which was founded in 1872, already had over a hundred years of experience with paper products and popular brands such as Kleenex, Kotex and Huggies when they first offered Depends to seniors and other people suffering from incontinence. This convenient product allowed people all over the world to regain some modicum of dignity and freedom, and the Depends line of products has been popular ever since.
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There has long been a stigma associated with adult incontinence and what have previously been known as "adult diapers," but Depends has made huge strides in the last decades. With their Adult Underwear for Men and Adult Underwear for Women products, they offer stylish choices in a variety of prints and colors that look and feel more like you're wearing regular underwear, and with their Guards for Men you can continue to wear your regular underwear without fearing embarrassing mistakes while out in public.
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I've only bought yarn online once. Generally I distrust images and descriptions of skeins and balls of yarn, because buying yarn is for me a sensory experience: I need to see the color in natural light (if I'm buying in a shop, I always step out into the daylight), to feel the texture, and to see close up the thread and how it's spun. None of which can be done online. And because I'm afraid of receiving something utterly unexpected, and having to go to the extra expense and hassle (ever been to a post office in this country?) of returning it, I resist online yarn purchases ... in principle.
But recently I made an exception to this rule, and bought yarn online to make Buttercup for my sister. It was a big occasion, and I felt fairly safe because it was exactly the same yarn and color that the pattern called for. And since I was paying for shipping, I also decided to buy some extra yarn for myself. Still, I agonized for days about this extra purchase. I reviewed over and over the tiny image of the colorway I intended to buy, and sieved through Ravelry's projects to check out what other knitters who'd used the same yarn had thought of it. Then I went ahead, and clicked "buy".
Imagine my shock and horror, when I opened the package, and instead of the color that I was expecting, I found some bright red yarn inside. Where did that come from? I pulled up my order, and ... well, I really can't explain how, but I had in fact selected the wrong colorway. Returning or exchanging would have been far too expensive so I was stuck with 3,328.5 meters of loud red yarn that wasn't suitable for anything any adult would want to wear. My immediate strategy was to go into denial, close the box, and not think about it anymore.
Except that brand new yarn has a particular way of making itself alluring, even irresistable. I couldn't forget it, no matter how hard I tried. Eventually I gave in, opened the box, held the delicately soft alpaca yarn in that bright, poppy-red color against my cheek. At which point I distinctly heard it say, "Knit me!!"
So I did.