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VIDEO: School Bus Expectations Explained
An animated version of a trainer for San Antonio (Texas) Independent School District explains the rules for safely riding the school bus to students.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Questions about the safety of 15-passenger vans received national spotlight after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) held a press conference April 15 to reissue a cautionary warning to the users of these vans. Later that week, CBS' "60 Minutes II" ran an in-depth feature segment on the rollover risks of these vehicles.
In select crash studies, 15-passenger vans have been found to have a high rollover rate when transporting more than 10 passengers. According to NHTSA statistics of single-vehicle crashes involving a fatality, the vans rolled over 85 percent of the time when there were more than 10 occupants onboard. They rolled over only 38 percent of the time when carrying fewer than 10 passengers.
NHTSA re-emphasized the federal law that prohibits the sale or lease of 15-passenger vans for use in home-to-school transportation. The agency also made recommendations to organizations that are not barred from purchasing and using 15-passenger vans, such as colleges and church groups.
"It is vital that users of 15-passenger vans be aware of some safety precautions that will significantly reduce their risks," said Dr. Jeffrey Runge, administrator of NHTSA, in his speech at the news conference. Some of the safety tips outlined included selecting trained drivers, requiring seat-belt use, maintaining tires, ensuring drivers are well-rested and avoiding storage of anything on the van's roof.
Taking a more urgent approach, the "60 Minutes II" program used NHTSA statistics, accounts from relatives of van crash victims and statements from two engineers formerly employed by Ford Motor Company, the leading manufacturer of 15-passenger vans, to address the issue. The April 17 segment called 15-passenger vans "one of the most dangerous vehicles on the road."
Steve Jansen, director of transportation for La Petite Academy in Overland Park, Kan., is a spokesperson for transportation safety in the childcare industry, which relies heavily on 15-passenger vans for transportation. Jansen feels that the attention given to 15-passenger vans has been one-sided and that, if operated with the proper safety precautions and driver training, the vehicles can be a viable form of childcare transportation. "A lot of this is common sense," he said. "If you get hit by a tractor trailer broadside, people are going to get hurt, I don't care if you are transporting students in an anvil."
Several widely publicized 15-passenger van crashes have aggravated the ongoing van controversy. The most recent crash occurred on April 4 in Memphis, Tenn., when the driver of a childcare van and four children died after the van skidded off an interstate and crashed into a utility pole. Two others were seriously injured in the accident.
The National Transportation Safety Board is currently investigating the accident, but there are indications that it had nothing to do with the safety of the vehicle. Rather, the accident is likely the fault of the driver, who authorities said had marijuana in his possession.
Rae Tyson, spokesperson for NHTSA, said the 15-passenger van warning was not issued as a response to the Memphis crash. Rollover was not listed as a factor in the accident report. A complete consumer advisory is available at http://www.nhtsa.gov, including the potential dangers of vans as well as information about the federal law prohibiting 15-passenger van sales for school transport.
Jansen said he supports the federal prohibition but thinks that clarification of the law is needed. Right now, he said, "depending on who you talk to from state to state, you get a different interpretation of the law."
OAKLAND, Calif. — After a year of budget woes, emissions controversy and terrorist scares, the annual conference of the California Association of School Transportation Officials (CASTO) encouraged attendees to keep track of a number of state and federal legislative issues that will affect student transportation in the near future.
CASTO is watching the status of House Bill 2518 "The Clean Green School Bus Act of 2001," which will create a federal pilot program to fund $300 million for purchasing cleaner emitting school buses. CASTO is also following several state bills that deal with driver certifications, emissions control and state specifications of school buses. One of the major state bills supported by the association is Assembly Bill 2681 that will require school activity buses to be equipped at all designated seating positions with a lap-shoulder passenger restraint system.
The conference, held March 23-26, included a state agency panel with representatives from the highway patrol, department of education and department of motor vehicles to answer questions and provide updates on school bus legislation and other issues in California. CASTO officials also emphasized active attendance at local meetings and called for a greater understanding of students among industry professionals.
"We need to know how to communicate with children and know what bothers them," said Dano Rybar, CASTO president. To that end, workshops were offered on special-needs and early childhood transportation. The conference also offered sessions for instructors and trainers, managers and supervisors, mechanics and drivers.
Highlighting the driver workshops was a session titled "Effective Communication" presented by Pete Baxter, state director of pupil transportation for Indiana. The goal of the session, said Baxter, "is to teach the bus driver how to use body language, habit, mindsets and misdirected messages when interacting with pupils, parents or others in the performance of their duties."
Charlie Gauthier, executive director of the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services (NASDPTS), gave a NASDPTS update and conducted a workshop on communicating with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). "The key to NHTSA finding out about school bus safety defects is the safety hotline," said Gauthier. "And the best source of information is mechanics." The hotline, which handles consumer complaints on vehicle safety problems, can be reached at 1-888-DASH-2-DOT.
CASTO's annual conference drew an estimated attendance of 1,000 people, and approximately 60 vendors displayed their products at the trade show. Next year's conference will be held in Ontario, Calif.
REDWOOD SHORES, Calif. — Eileen Noonan of A & E Transportation Services in Foster City, Calif., has been named School Bus Driver of the Year for the state of California by the California Highway Patrol (CHP). The annual award honors those individuals who demonstrate exceptional moral character and provide service to the industry beyond the level expected of the average school bus driver.
Noonan has spent most of her 21 years in the industry training drivers. "That's my love, working with all the people and making sure they're ready to get their certificates," she said. "I do the behind-the-wheel and a lot of the classroom."
The CHP presented Noonan the award on April 23 (School Bus Driver Appreciation Day) at a banquet that drew notable guests from all over the state. "We had the Calif. State commissioner, assistant commissioner, John Green from DOE and Murray Esprey from DMV," said Noonan. "And then our drivers were there and people from my past and other companies that I had helped along the way."
Noonan, who was chosen from among 40,000 other nominees, says winning the award is an amazing experience. "It's beyond anything I could ever imagine," she said.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Passing a stopped school bus with red lights flashing and stop arms extended is a serious and widespread problem, according to the latest publication by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The report, which is five years in the making, is a result of four NHTSA-sponsored demonstration programs aimed at identifying solutions to the stop-arm running problem. "The intent was to show what different approaches could be taken to address the stop-arm violation problem and to demonstrate what worked and what didn't work, and why," said the report.
The 88-page publication, "Best Practices Guide: Reducing the Illegal Passing of School Buses," includes a detailed analysis of the problem, a model solution to the problem, several real-life success stories and a list of resources. The guide is available in its entirety on the Web at www.nhtsa.org/people/injury/buses/2000schoolbus/index.htm
This photograph was taken on March 13 after members of Thomas Built Buses' marketing and engineering staff decided to duplicate a feat performed by the company more than 35 years ago.
"The ad was inspired by an old photograph of two stacked Thomas conventionals that was taken in the mid 1960s," explained Allan Haggai, marketing manager for Thomas Built Buses. "We studied that old photo and thought it would be a great way to graphically show how well we build our Minotour Type A bus."
According to Haggai, the 18,000-pound Type D bus was hoisted on top of the Minotour without a problem. "We left them stacked for over three hours while photos and measurements were taken. The steel-cage body construction held up so well that all windows and doors still opened without binding. For safety, the slackened lift cables remained attached to the Type D bus. The photo was re-touched only to remove the cables for a more aesthetically-pleasing ad."
KINTNERSVILLE, Pa. — On Feb. 8, Val Housworth, manager at First Student, received distressing news from driver Donna Lippincott. She had been diagnosed with lung cancer. Later that day, driver Grace Rosenberg announced that she too had lung cancer. One week passed and Sue Toal, who also drives a Palisades School District route for First Student, said she had been diagnosed with breast cancer.
"I was totally stunned," said Housworth. "It was very upsetting to everyone here, because they're not only your employees, they're also your friends."
Lippincott, 46, is a single mother without health insurance. "I asked [the doctors] if I could go back to work, and they said definitely not. I told them to fight this, please, I have a 5-year-old, fight this," she said to The Morning Call. Her fellow drivers heard her cry for help and many donated their personal day pay to Lippincott. Even Rosenberg handed over her two personal days to Lippincott. Altogether, she received about three paychecks' worth of money through donations, along with an additional $1,000 her coworkers raised. A fel-low driver's husband paid Lippincott's April rent.
Lippincott is amazed at their generosity. "They've given me time with my child, which now is more important than ever. They're like an army of angels," she said.
Rosenberg, who just received Driver of the Month, is touched by the support of her coworkers. "They're more or less like a family, not just a business," she said. Rosenberg couldn't work for one week in April because she was in the hospital, and afterwards owed insurance money that was supposed to have come out of her paycheck. A fellow driver came in to work, did a three-hour trip and donated the earnings to Rosenberg so she could pay her insurance that week, while still another driver donated a personal day to Rosenberg.
The bus operation has organized a few fundraisers for the three women. Employees sold refreshments and candy at the Pennsylvania Equine Open House in April. They also held a raffle that raised $3,700, with local businesses donating over 50 raffle prizes. Housworth said they are planning more fundraisers in the coming months.
The strength of these women has been awe-inspiring to the entire operation. "The girls in the office and I, we've discussed many times that the three women, with everything they've been through, their spirits are high. They're very upbeat," said Housworth.
ALBANY, N.Y. — On the morning of April 29, Joseph Guirlain, driver for Stock Transportation, prevented a kidnapping by chasing away a man who was trying to abduct a young girl.
Arriving early at his first stop, Guirlain noticed in his rearview mirror a driver trying to pull a girl into a red Taurus. Guirlain knew something was suspicious when the girl ran from the car and the man pursued her. Guirlain jumped out of the bus and chased after the man, who got into his car and sped away.
Guirlain approached the girl, who told him she did not know the man. Guirlain called his dispatcher to report the incident and provide the perpetrator's description.
The timely rescue has garnered widespread attention. "People everywhere want to meet and thank me. They tell me that what I did was very important because a lot of children in this country have been lost and they haven't found them," said Guirlain.
FBI investigators met with Guirlain and informed him that two more attempted kidnappings involving the red Taurus occurred on the same day, and several more a couple of days later. The suspect remains at large.
At Stock Transportation, the incident raised awareness of the importance of training drivers to look for unusual circumstances in their surroundings.
"Joseph identified the unusual circumstances and then chose to get involved and scare the perpetrator away. As far as I'm concerned, that's what makes him a hero," said Melodie Monica, Stock's safety supervisor.
Do you feel that a school bus driver strike is an effective way to improve wages, benefits or treatment? What are the alternatives? From the Forum at www.schoolbusfleet.com
Strikes hurt more than they help
When I drove for a major district in our area, our union representative was trying to get the school board to give us a 7 percent raise every year for three years. The board wanted to give us only 3.5 percent a year for three years. We had just suffered a major layoff at IBM here that year, and the local economy was hurting. No one could afford what the board wanted.
I remember the union rep asking me what I would do if they decided to take more pay away from us. I figured I probably couldn't have paid my taxes, fed my kids and afforded daycare if this were to happen. So I looked at him and said, "I'd find a better job that wasn't driving a bus." It stunned him. Then he asked if I'd strike, and I told him that I wouldn't. I had two toddlers to think about, and drivers at the time were a dime a dozen.
So I don't think striking is the way to go; compromise is. Sometimes you have to give a little to get the return.
Sarah Durland
Retired bus driver
Fishkill, N.Y.
Strikes should be last resort
I work for a school district where there have never been any walkouts or strikes. We try to treat our drivers as we would like to be treated. I feel that if a district or company does that, it won't have to resort to striking.
I agree that working for a contractor is much different than working for a school district. In most cases, working for a contractor, you're just a social security number. Working with a school district, we are more like family. Our children are our first priority.
There may be occasions where employees have to strike, and I'm not criticizing them if that is the last resort. But it all depends on the situation. If at all possible, I would try not to strike. I would vote that everyone work together as a team.
Ruth McGrath
Transportation director
Pevely, Mo.
A greedy system is the problem
Why do school bus drivers ever consider striking? Because the school administration and the contracted service provider are unscrupulous groups who act together to balance the books by impoverishing drivers and destroying their careers. This drives the good and experienced driver out and replaces him with any bum who comes in the door. Any thought of the children's welfare is trashed in the drive to save a few bucks. When school districts contract out their drivers, they should know it's just business thereafter.
David G. Cobb
School bus driver
Austin, Texas
Strikes can be a positive outlet
A strike may be the only voice left for a unified group. Too often deals are hammered out that leave only a new bone for the working dogs to chew on. Let your administration realize that the cargo you carry is the most precious cargo any driver can haul. Quality people deserve quality settlements.
Dave Wehrle
Lead Driver, KCI Head Start
Anchorage, Alaska
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The Pupil Transportation Safety Institute (PTSI) has released its Final Rule Training Package for new Head Start drivers and monitors. The instruction provided in the 30-hour training program fulfills all of the driver and monitor training requirements of the Head Start Final Rule. "We wanted to provide Head Starts a simple-to-use training package that not only fulfills Final Rule regulations, but one that ultimately gives new drivers and monitors all the fundamentals for the safe operation of a Head Start bus," said Jim Ellis, curriculum development specialist for PTSI.
The training package, made up of 10 modules, includes a 175-plus-page trainer's guide, a CD PowerPoint presentation of more than 200 overhead transparencies, ten 96-page trainee workbooks and a set of full-color trainee certificates. "This training package accommodates a wide variety of learning styles and literacy levels, as well as different levels of experience with vehicles and children," said Ted Finlayson-Schueler, executive director of PTSI and co-author of the program.
The training package goes beyond Head Start transportation guidelines and also meets the Federal requirements for drug and alcohol training and Occupational Safety and Health Administration hazardous material training. "Head Starts have always been hungry to do things right and this package will give them the assurance that the training their new drivers and monitors receive is comprehensive, federally compliant and effective," said Kathy Furneaux, PTSI training specialist and co-author of the program.
For more information on the training program, go to www.ptsi.org or call (800) 836-2210.
MINNESOTA — In the wake of the attacks of Sept. 11, patriotic school bus drivers across the United States have been displaying American flags on their buses, sometimes in violation of state statutes.
In Minnesota, American flags have been displayed on all areas of the school bus, including cloth flags attached to crossover mirrors, rear-view mirrors and in windows — including windshields, according to Capt. Ken Urquhart of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.
However, Urquhart points out that a Minnesota statute states in part that "only signs and lettering approved or required by state law may be displayed."
In an effort to allow school bus drivers and fleets to show patriotism, while not compromising safety, Urquhart developed the following standards for attaching the American flag on the outside of the school bus:
An interesting Website pertaining to flag etiquette can be found at www.ushistory.org/betsy/flagetiq.html.
Why is the flag sometimes displayed backward on the side of airplanes and buses? The flag decals have the union (the blue area with the stars) on the side closer to the front of the plane. On the plane's left, the decal shows the flag with the union at the left, as usual. On the plane's right side, the union is on the right. This is done so that the flag looks as if it is blowing in the wind created by the forward movement of the bus or airplane.
An animated version of a trainer for San Antonio (Texas) Independent School District explains the rules for safely riding the school bus to students.
The Driver Alert Message Sign is designed to help reduce illegal passing of school buses by improving direct line of sight visibility for oncoming drivers.
An animated version of a trainer for San Antonio Independent School District explains the rules for safely riding the school bus to students.
According to the Virginia DOE, as many as 4,000 buses may be missing the state-required device, which prevents the parking brake from accidentally disengaging.
A New Jersey superintendent's call to fire Gaye Kish for using her phone, having a friend board her bus, and taking a bathroom break during her route is rejected by the board of education. Kish cites a medical condition as the reason for taking the break.
More than 100 drivers take part in the 46th New York State School Bus Safety Competition, hosted by the New York School Bus Contractors Association.
After a loaded logging truck failed to stop for a school bus in Alberta, the local transportation director took a powerful message to the mill's contracted drivers.
With the upgraded buses, Eugene School District is bolstering safety, saving money, and providing a comfortable ride for students on activity trips. An alarming crash sealed the district's shift away from motorcoaches.
Blue Bird Corp. and HSM's convertible NextGen seat allows the customer to change the seat back frame to have three-point belts or child restraints without having to purchase new seats.
The agency launches a project to learn more about the decision-making process on whether to implement two-point or three-point belts.
The transportation team at Selah (Wash.) School District delivers a zany tribute to the yellow bus in this spoof of a Sir Mix-a-Lot hit.
After a steering component fails and the bus hits a sign that cracks the windshield, the Michigan driver guides it between two trees and brings it to a stop.
The free web seminar will give an in-depth look at Fortress Mobile's all-in-one solution for surveillance and fleet management technology.
A Pennsylvania motorist allegedly causes a crash involving the bus while trying to pass other vehicles. One student is ejected from the bus and is in critical condition.
The PBS NewsHour piece looks at safety benefits and financial concerns involved in the issue. Interviews include transportation directors and NHTSA's former administrator.
Get the latest news and most popular articles from SBF delivered straight to your inbox. Stay on top of the school bus industry and don't miss a thing!


text: Ryan should get a public award and the key to the city. We need more Ryans. Backbone, guts and bravery got him out of an ugly situation. In today's world people threaten, steal then try and leave no witnesses. This is the second story this week where a BG had the drop on a potential victim and ended up dead. (I posted a story from St. Louis - a garage invaded by a knife wielding BG, disarmed and killed with his own knife - follow up, not from St. Louis and had a LONG rap sheet like this loser). One less scumbag walking the earth works for me. Too bad the other spineless loser didn't get his too. Ryan had 2 doses of 357 MAG with his name on 'em.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Thank you for Zeel
Verified Purchase
Thank you for Zeel
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Absolutely Great Product
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Dog and I take Zeel
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Both of us have arthritis. I give our Golden Retriever a pill once a day, and I take one after my workout. Dog is 10-1/2 and I'm 69-1/2.
Thank you for Zeel
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Both my husband and my dog Bear (Samoyed) have been taking Zeel for about two weeks. Both have had excellent results. I would highly recommend Zeel. My husband has far less pains and stiffness and Bear is walking up and down stairs much better. Thank you very much Heel for a great product.
Zeel/Traumeel Winning Combination
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Zeel is an excellent product for joint pain. My old dog and I both take it. BHI is an excellent company.
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we use the product for our dogs, works really well, shipped fast
Zeel for inflamed and sore feet
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Under advice of my naturopath, I have used Zeel in conjunction with Traumeel and now added Osteoheel for severe plantar fascitis and the later for heel spurs. As a result of the mis-aligned foot, I also have osteo-arthritic changes to one of my knees which has caused severe pain upon lying down ( a pillow under my leg has helped at night). My naturopath used these three aforementioned homeopathics and injected these into my feet (this is called bio-mesotherapy) and successfully dealt with the severe, debilitating pain over a period of weeks. Initially, treatment was twice a week. This same condition relapsed several months ago and although these homeopathics helped, it was not enough. Upon discussion/advice with my naturopath, I undertook very intensive therapy with a podiatrist who works at correcting the STRUCTURAL PROBLEM OF THE MIS-ALIGNED BONES IN BOTH MY FEET. His technique utilises chiropractic adjustments of the foot (and knee - since this affected by the foot adjustment), and advice on daily compulsory exercises to strtch and strengthen the muscles in my feet / legs to accommodate the new - and correct - position of the properly aligned bones in my feet. All this is to be done without orthotics or in severe circumstances, temporary and limited use of orthotics. I include this later information because although the homeopathics were very helpful and continue to be, in my circumstances, this alone is not enough, since they cannot be expected to deal with the structural changes that need to take place for successful treatment. I have been advised that I can take Zeel up to eight times per day paced out at 15 minute intervals or more, when pain is severe.
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Dogs best friend
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My alternative Vet. uses Heel for arthritic dogs vs. the prescription medications. It works wonders for Angel's arthrititis with no side effects:)


text:
No "check engine light" with headers!!!
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Location: SLC, UT
Posts: 605
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Originally Posted by
well, it's most likely user error. our cars are all wired the same. if installed correctly, an o2 sim will keep the CEL off, allow readiness to be set, and emissions testing to be passed indefinitely. i've never experienced any issues using o2 sims. no CEL, not codes, no problems.
No. No, no no. It has everything to do with typical usage routines and driving styles/habits. Not every car 'adapts' the same.
If you're not here to contribute to the information and discussion initiated by the OP then please leave. I have used both, wired correctly every time, and the O2 sim WILL fail eventually. I don't care if you pretended to be impartial in your first post, you keep following-up with people who did nothing but answer your question, blaming them for not knowing how to wire something in. Yet these are the people who installed LC-1s.
My O2 sim threw codes within 170 miles of driving on highway. In the city, no problem. But any highway trip over 40 minutes and BAM, codes.
A programmable curve output is the only complete solution, period.
AA Stg2+ 325xiA? Are you stupid? Maybe a little.
I can program cars
fo' freeee near Salt Lake City. PM for details.
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Royal Shakespeare Company at the Park Avenue Armory, Summer 2011
"However, my devotion to and love of Shakespeare was reconfirmed and reenergized during a 72-hour period in early August of this year"
2011 marks a personal golden anniversary of sorts for me: It is the 50th consecutive year that I have attended at least one live performance of a Shakespeare play. I have attended a number of memorable (in every sense of the word) star vehicle performances beginning with Richard Burton as Hamlet (Broadway 1964) and continuing with such productions as James Earl Jones as Lear (Shakespeare-in-the-Park 1974), Albert Finney as Macbeth (London's National Theatre, 1978), Al Pacino as Richard III (Broadway 1979), Liev Schreiber as Henry V (Shakespeare-in- the-Park 2003), and Kevin Kline as Lear (Public Theater 2007).
I have also had the opportunity of seeing stirring regional performances such as David Ogden Stiers (Duke of Vienna) and David Schramm in "Measure for Measure" (The Acting Company at Saratoga Springs 1973), Miriam Laube as Rosalind in "As You Like It" (Oregon Shakespeare Festival 2007), and Dan Donohue as Hamlet and Susannah Flood as Ophelia (OSF 2009). Finally, I have had the good fortune of attending impeccable productions that worked on every level, including "Richard III" (Seattle's Intiman Theater 2003) and "The Winter's Tale" (OSF 2006).
I have lived in Santa Fe for the past 29 years and have tried to attend all local productions of Shakespeare's plays mounted by former and current theater companies from Shakespeare in the Park to the Arden Players to Theaterwork to Santa Fe Stages to the frequent independent and touring company productions in northern New Mexico. One may have thought I would have been Barded-out and ready to spend my golden years watching less challenging fare. However, my devotion to and love of Shakespeare was reconfirmed and reenergized during a 72-hour period in early August of this year.
The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) with support from the Lincoln Center Summer Festival and Ohio State University brought five of its full productions of Shakespeare for a six-week run of 44 performances to New York City's Park Avenue Armory. Not only did the RSC bring 41 actors (many of whom made a more than two-year commitment that culminated in this residency), 21 musicians, ten stage managers, 425 costumes and 50 crates of props, but the company also brought a "full-size replica of its new theater in Stratford-Upon-Avon," which it assembled inside the Grand Drill Hall in the Park Avenue Armory (New York Observer, July 12, 2011). The three-leveled edifice was a 954-seat Elizabethan-style theater that thrust into the audience on three sides of the stage, creating an intimate setting in which no playgoer was more than 50 feet from the unamplified performers. Artistic Director Michael Boyd and Head of Technical Design and Construction Alan Bartlett defended the $1 million cost of transporting the pre-built theater as necessary since they had only 15 days of
pre-production in New York.
On August 2, I saw "The Winter's Tale" (WT) (directed by David Farr) in a completely successful production that revealed all the strengths of the RSC. The clarity and intelligence of Farr's direction of a work that was a late attempt by the mature Shakespeare to create an emotionally resonant tragic-comedy (a sub-genre wildly popular in the first decade of the 17th century) successfully accommodates the abrupt shifts in tone that reflect both the action of the play and the natural cycles of the life itself that the play evokes. The powerful and privileged ruler of Sicily Leontes (Greg Hicks) becomes obsessed by his unfounded belief that his wife Hermoine (Kelly Hunter) is cuckolding him with a close friend. As in the medieval philosophy of the humors, once a person falls out of a state of equilibrium, he suffers until balance and harmony is restored. Leontes's jealousy so poisons him that he defies the Oracle of Apollo and orders his wife and new born daughter to be exiled and then executed. The action then shifts to Bohemia which in contrast to autocratically (and irrationally) ruled Sicily is a land of natural feeling and pastoral existence unofficially overseen by a lord of misrule Autolycus.
It is also the home of Perdita, the now 16-year old daughter of Leontes who has grown and blossomed in her new home. The play ends in a series of reversals in which the women who represent the natural moral force that was so lacking in Leontes's Sicily triumph. The queen's confidante Paulina (Noma Dumezweni) is both the voice and agent of reason as she restores order to the world of the play. The self-interested Autolycus is literally left out in the cold at the conclusion of WT suggesting that the happily-ever-after re-established order may be a tentative one as fallible humanity is once again left outside the gates of Sicily.
This production succeeds on all levels: The acting is uniformly superb with Hicks' steely irrationality, Hunter's dignified outrage, and Dumezweni's purposeful moral re-education of the principals being impeccable interpretations of Shakespeare's characters. Farr's direction never falters from its intention to create recognizable emotional responses in characters and scenes that are often dismissed as one-dimensional. The production is also full of well-earned and quite salient cautionary observations about humanity.
On August 3, I experienced not the restoration of the natural order but the destruction of it in Shakespeare's historical political thriller, "Julius Caesar" (JC), directed by Lucy Bailey. The play is both literally and figuratively sanguineous. From the opening prologue in which Romulus defeats Remus in a blood-spattered wrestling match to the butchery of Caesar's assassination to the battlefields and beyond, Bailey's JC reflects the major focus and theme of the work: "Depraved humanity gets the flawed, venal, and corrupt leaders it deserves" (Charles Isherwood, New York Times, July 31, 2011). Employing a series of digital images above the action on the stage and a chorus of actors on it to underscore the Saturnalian nature and out-of-control behavior of the Roman rabble who appear always to be on the edge of a cataclysmic explosion, Bailey is relentless in creating a poisonous environment where Caesar (Greg Hicks) as the quintessential egoist who is vulnerable to the mass appeal of a Mark Anthony (Darrell D'Silva) as the self-declared man of the people and to the manipulation of Brutus (Sam Troughton) as the ambivalent but shrewd politician. Caesar and his main adversaries are all destroyed by personal ambition wrapped in the guise of honor.
The image of politics as a take-no-prisoners blood sport pursued for private rather than public gain has relevance for the 21st century as does the creation of a self-interested, howling body politic in search for the Dionysian excesses of the latest Lupercalia (a pagan festival which begins on the Ides of February, or Feb. 13). The three male leads are all more than competent and reveal the character limitations beyond their rhetorical exteriors. (This is especially true of D'Silva's Mark Antony); however, these characters have little depth beyond their political masks (which is, perhaps, Bailey's main contention). Only Brutus in the one scene with his wife Portia (a role-defining performance by Hannah Young) suggests a passion that makes his later transformation into the consummate politician understandable and sadly inevitable.
Finally, on August 4, I finished my Shakespeare blitz by attending a production of my favorite Shakespeare play, "King Lear" (KL), a work that I have read over 40 times and have taught for over 30 consecutive years. My bias regarding this play is inherent in the question I always asked my students: "Agree or disagree with the proposition that KL is a "great poem but poor play." I still find the plot unbelievable, but the performers in this production with the notable exception of the one playing Edmund revealed a depth of humanity that is often lacking in characters who are too-frequently played as either victims or victimizers. The irony, then, is that King Lear (Greg Hicks) falls short of the passion and majesty required to move this play from the level of political intrigue and domestic conflict into the realm of classical tragedy. His performance in KL is intelligent, perceptive, thoughtful, and a bit bloodless. There is plenty of anger and outrage at his treatment but little of the rage and confusion that comes from Lear's lack of self-knowledge. It is one of the few productions where I found myself in agreement with Lear's cry that "I am a man more sinned against than sinning."
Again, there are memorable performances in this play, including Charles Aitken as Edgar who grows into the leadership role he accepts at the end of the play. Sophie Russell as the Fool is so overwhelmed by the irrationality of her supposed betters that I clearly understood why she crawls into the hovel and disappears from the play: once reason and logic have been banished there is no place for the Fool in such an irrational and unnatural world. Finally, Darrell D'Silva as Kent displays a rough-hewn devotion and loyalty to his retainer that is the only proof in the play of Lear's former greatness. Farr's direction is of a piece with Hicks' Lear: clear, correct, and competent but lacking the fire to ignite the groundlings.
Despite my quibbles with individual performances and or production elements, my three-day immersion in the work of the Royal Shakespeare Company was an epiphany of sorts: I learned how a major theater company of skilled dramatic artists speaking the language of William Shakespeare clearly and intelligently in an intimate space with thoughtful direction can create if not theatrical magic at least an unforgettable experience in a once-in-a-lifetime setting. The three works I saw all dealt with the corrupting potential of unrestrained power. This was a particularly significant historical subject in the first decade of the 17th century as England faced a crisis in leadership on the death of Elizabeth I. A desire for uncorrupted and effective political leadership is as pertinent today as it was four hundred years ago.
Yes, the tickets were over-priced at $250 for the best seats; yes, the productions were a bit too conventional and the modern insertions, such as the digital additions in JC and the dramatic (and metaphorical) set design and changes in WT, weren't totally successful; yes, the performances lacked the full emotional and psychological dimensions of truly transporting performances. Yet, the major response I had at the conclusion of my theater-going was a feeling of immense good fortune that I had had the opportunity to see such professional and thoughtful work. My only regret is that I didn't see the other two productions offered by the RSC. Now I plan to turn off the computer and return to the plays themselves—the true source of Shakespeare's lasting legacy—at least until the RSC decides to return to the colonies.
All photos by Stephanie Berger and available here and are from productions "The Winter's Tale" and "King Lear."


text: Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images Now I Know How Soccer Fans Feel By Chad McKenzie November 12, 2012 I have a new respect for soccer fans after watching Sunday's 49ers - Rams game. Read More Category: Articles Tags: Football, Rams, Tie Game Send to a friend! Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Pin it! Reddit This! Share on Tumblr!


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- Another Google Chrome Security Flaw Identified
- Windows 7 hits Milestone 3
- Professor Given $100,000 to Study World of Warcraft
- VMware Fusion 2.0 Available
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Birds of the Bay
Rain or shine, we'll take in stunning views of San Francisco Bay, Golden Gate Bridge, and Alcatraz as we look for resident and migratory birds in areas such as the public shoreline adjacent to Hyde Street Pier, Victorian Park, and the lower hillside of Fort Mason off Van Ness, and the abandoned pier adjacent to Municipal Pier.
Meet at the entrance to the Hyde Street Pier at Hyde and Jefferson on the western border of Fisherman's Wharf. Dress in layers, wear a wide-brimmed hat and sunscreen, and bring binoculars and guide books if you have them (we can provide binoculars and books if you don't have any).
Unmetered street parking is located at the foot of Van Ness Avenue (free for four hours). There is limited metered street parking in the neighborhood and hourly fee-based parking garages nearby.


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Posted by Ellen Carney on the eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals Blog on June 17, 2014
Don't you hate when a company advertises a product but fails to make it easy to find and buy?
Mad Men's Don Draper, who, in the 1960's could have been as likely to work in insurance as advertising (but the story would have been not nearly so interesting), would have a field day with the findings from Forrester's just published report, "The Next Act For Usage-Based Car Insurance", the first in a four-report series addressing the UBI landscape in the US, Canada,and Europe and the future of UBI.
Smart devices, smartphones, and smart cars are converging to create what should be a smart insurance choice for safe drivers and their insurers. The report examines American consumer interest and adoption of usage-based car insurance and the obstacles to purchase, many of which point directly to insurance eBusiness failings.
When Forrester last looked at the UBI market in 2008 (then termed "Pay As You Drive" or PAYD), consumers couldn't get it because of a big distribution problem: It was offered by few insurers in just a few states. A couple of months ago, we decided to see just what had changed over the past five or so years when it came to consumer interest and purchase. What did we learn?
Posted by Ellen Carney on the eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals Blog on April 23, 2014
Alright, I admit it. I'm not necessarily the most loyal insurance customer. I like mixing things up to test out different experiences, which means that if you're my insurance company, I'm going to talk about you in my job...a lot.
Back in 2012 when I was writing the US Secure Auto Insurance Site Rankings report, I changed my car insurance to Progressive (so underwhelmed was I by their predecessor, I can't remember the name of the insurer, just that I got from my agent). And I not only changed to Progressive, I also switched from a traditional auto policy to the company's usage-based insurance coverage, SnapShot.
A few days after signing up, I was surprised to get this box in the mail--note the SnapShot logo on the packaging tape (and trust me that there's a Progressive logo on both ends of the box). Best of all, there was a compelling call to action on the box: "Plug In Today!"
And inside the shipping container? This smaller box, about the size of...the box an engagement ring might come in. Oh my! I felt like I was about to go with Flo on a Thelma and Louise-like adventure, assuming that we'd be safer drivers than they were, at least when the movie ended.


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Oracle has agreed to acquire virtual networking company Xsigo Systems.
The software giant announced the deal on Monday, but terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Although comparisons with VMware's $1.26 billion acquisition of Nicira are inevitable, Xsigo actually makes a very different type of product. Whereas Nicira offers a tool that lets you build entire computer networks using nothing but software, Xsigo sells a simpler product called Data Centre Fabric (DCF), which is specifically designed to virtualize network cards and connections, reducing the amount of physical hardware and network cabling required to run a network of virtual machines.
Data centers are relying more and more on virtual servers — machines that exist only as software — but those virtual servers still have physical network requirements, and running multiple virtual servers from one physical server can put a strain on its network resources. Most hypervisors — the software systems that manage virtual machines — tend to require six to eight physical network cards for each physical server. Virtual I/O systems like DCF lighten the load by creating virtual network cards that manage network activity and fool hypervisors into thinking the physical server has more network cards than it actually has.
This reduces both the amount of physical networking hardware required and the amount of cabling required. DCF is more comparable to HP's Virtual Connect product. But Virtual Connect only works with HP hardware and DCF works with servers and hardware from multiple vendors.
But both Xsigo and Nicira are gunning for network hardware giant Cisco. Nicira is doing it by making it possible to use commodity hardware instead of expensive Cisco switches and routers. Its network controller can be used with practically any networking hardware, including the new breed of low-cost gear coming straight from Taiwan. Xsigo is doing it by reducing the number of switches you need in the first place.
Both go right to the heart of the "converged infrastructure" approach that major vendors — including Cisco, HP, and Oracle — are pushing. Converged infrastructure generally refers to large packages of integrated hardware and software purchased from a single vendor. Though a converged infrastructure system may include components from a vendor's partners, the basic idea is to get everything you need from one place.
The downside is that the individual components — blade servers, network gear, etc. — aren't necessarily cross-compatible with products from other vendors. This locks you into one vendor's converged infrastructure offering. Xsigo and Nicira's tools push back against this trend.
But it remains to be seen whether Xsigo will continue to be a cross-vendor solution or if it will become a proprietary solution for Oracle's Sun hardware after the acquisition. It wouldn't be the first time Oracle acquired a company and turned a product into an Oracle-only solution: Last year it bought Ksplice, a company that made software that enables system administrators to apply updates to the Linux operating system without rebooting. After the acquisition, Oracle stopped supporting non-Oracle versions of Linux for new customers.
Virtual networking isn't as sexy as big data or the consumerization of IT, but these acquisitions prove that it's an important revolution in the way enterprises manage infrastructure.
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Basement Bathroom Plumbing & Venting - Need Help!
1 Attachment(s)
I enjoy doing projects myself and have recently undertaken a big one. I am finishing my basement. I figured I would start with the bathroom since that involved removing portions of the slab and installing a sewage ejector pump (my main sewer line is 8' above the basement floor). I have already removed the concrete and have the pump where I would like it, but am uncertain exactly how the venting should work. After reading through these forums I understand the basics of what size drain and vent lines are necessary ... I'm just not sure if my plan is best suited for the fixtures I have. I am attaching a very basic drawing with how I am planning on laying out the drain lines and vent lines.
Any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated! I live in Atlanta, GA, so if anyone has any experience with code in or around the area ... let me know (my calls to the building department have gone unreturned).
Thanks so much!:)
The ejector pump should have a separate vent through the roof, not one connected to other fixtures.
Is there any way to avoid running a separate vent for the sewage ejector pump? I live in an older home that poses a lot of challenges for running a separate vent, so if it's avoidable I would definitely want to go that route!
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Housing & Residential Life
International Resident Coordinator
Title: International Resident Coordinator (IRC)
Department: Housing and Residential Life
Reports to: Assistant Director Housing & Student Life
Supervises: International Students within the Residence Halls
Purpose of Position
The IRC serves as a para- professional position within the Housing & Residence Life department and the Division of Student Affairs. The IRC is the key connection between international students living in the halls, the Office of Housing and Residence Life, and the University. The IRC serves as a liaison between international students in the halls and university departments and administrators; fosters an atmosphere conducive to academic, social, cultural, and emotional growth by serving as an advisor/counselor to international students living on campus; presents programs and services for international students; and assists the Housing department as needed in the overall operations of all residence hall programs and services.
Primary Duties
The duties of the IRC can be broken down into five key areas: administrative duties, general duties, community development, programming responsibilities, and manuals/training.
Administrative Duties
- Maintain regular room hours in which to be clearly available to international students.
- Maintain required records of international students living in the residence halls.
- Have reference materials available (university catalog, handbooks, schedules, campus calendar, etc.)
- Be aware of international residents' needs (physical, emotional, and personal) and make them known to administration.
- Know how to contact appropriate campus and community agencies in case of an emergency; understand and be able to implement the campus Emergency Response Plan.
- Assist with public relations for the department and university as instructed by senior staff.
- Prepare necessary records, reports, and documentation.
- Assist with international student room check-ins and file room inventories and information card as required by the hall directors.
- Participate in staff meetings and committees as required.
- Assist with communication between staff, international residents, and the university.
- Keep hall directors informed of major plans being developed by international residents.
- Assist with and notify of any general physical needs of the halls.
- Participate in necessary evaluations of staff, self-evaluation and directors' performance.
- Report incidents in the halls which are of concern to administration.
- Participate in the selection process of new staff members.
- Act as liaison between the university administration and international residents.
- Assist the BFF team as needed in transportation needs of the incoming int. students.
- Other duties as assigned.
General Duties
- Perform required duties and be present in the hall during scheduled duty/on-call shifts.
- Be in your room or on your floor more often than not.
- Staff is not permitted to hold outside employment from the department that exceeds more than 10 hours a week, and must acquire prior approval from their immediate supervisor before beginning a job outside of the department.
- Be in the building by 12:00 am on all weekdays (Sunday-Thursday).
- Watch for any vandalism or damage and report it to the hall director.
- Assist international students in becoming a part of a community if they are struggling with a language barrier or having trouble communicating to other residents, staff, faculty or others outside of the residence halls
- Be aware of different cultural backgrounds and the difference in attitudes
- Develop international student's respect for one another and all residents living in the residence halls.
- Attend all meetings called by the Office of Housing and Residential Life.
- OIS and Housing will coordinate training schedules to allow for the IRC to attend pertinent workshops and sessions, including but not limited to:
- Conflict Resolution and Counseling Skills
- Legal Issues
- Campus Resources Lunch
- Check-in Procedures
- How to Care for International Students
- Be aware of international residents' needs and have the ability to connect them to the proper on- or off-campus resources.
- Communicate with all international residents any information they may need to know about campus policies or events through meetings, fliers, or door to door.
Community Development Roles
- Develop students' respect for one another, as well as private and public property and authority.
- Assist in the development of an environment conductive to studying and academic success.
- Be an example of friendliness and assist international students in becoming acquainted with the university and city.
- Be aware of study habits and academic problems of international residents in the halls.
- Show sincere interest and friendliness to all international students.
- Be a good listener.
- Be aware of social isolates or transition issues and help them whenever possible to make friends and become a part of the campus community.
- Be aware of attitude and behavior patterns of international students.
- Be aware of and assist students who are ill.
- Effectively refer international students who need help.
- Encourage international student involvement in the Montana State University Billings Residence Hall Association (RHA), including supporting meeting, activities, events and functions.
- Support hall and campus wide activities through personal attendance and participation; invite international residents to join you in attending these events.
- Help inform international residents of events and programs sponsored by the Office of International Studies, the International Studies Club and the Be a Foreign Friend program
- Build connections between non-international residents in the halls and international student community.
- Make continued efforts to help each international resident connect with other students and staff at MSU Billings.
Programming & International Student Orientation Responsibilities
- Welcome international residents to campus by making sure they have everything they need to be comfortable and successful
- Be available to meet with and welcome international residents who may arrive early to campus
- Assist with international residence hall check-ins
- Assist in the International Orientation program at the beginning of each semester as well as each IELP start date by working with the OIS staff to help build agenda items and workshops, including but not limited to:
- Getting to know Campus and the Halls
- Making meals on the floor and cleaning up
- Meet and greet with staff and students
- Be available to help as needed during International Orientations
- Promote the development of residence hall programs by and for international students; including active, passive programming, and door decorations.
- Programming Expectations:
- 2 Formal Programs
- 1 Academic Program
- 1 Community Service Program
- 1 Diversity/International Awareness Program
- 3 Community Developers
- 3 "Get off the Campus" Days
- The IRC will schedule, plan and coordinate events that get international residents out of the halls and into the Billings community.
- Conduct programs according to HRL requirements, including all aspects of paperwork.
- Be aware of possible hall activities and have creative suggestions for international students to consider.
- Work in conjunction with other staff members to provide excellence in programming throughout the entire residence hall and not just on international students.
Manuals and Training
- The IRC is given a Manual which specifically outlines all duties and responsibilities. They are required to know & understand all materials in the manual.
- The IRC is required to attend a two week training and in-hall preparation prior to the start of Fall semester and a one week session prior to the start of Spring semester. They need to specifically be present during the following topics:
- Conflict Resolution and Counseling Skills
- Legal Issues
- Campus Resources Lunch
- Check-in Procedures
- IRC is required to attend all RA classes, in-service programs, and staff meetings throughout the semester.
- IRC is required to attend OIS meetings as needed for support and input on topics regarding international students who live in the residence halls.
Scope and Impact of the Position
The IRC determines the general well-being of the international students who live in the hall. He/She has a powerful influence on his/her peer group. IRCs can accomplish certain goals better than anyone else. Such a person is an influence in the lives of the people around him/her, and must conduct themselves in a manner consistent with this influence. The IRC focuses onconnecting international students with the university and assists students towards achieving academic success and personal growth. The IRC works with a supportive staff of diverse individuals and student leaders. The differences in personality are used as elements for synthesis, this making the staff, as a whole, more effective and able than any one individual could possibly be. The job involves many facets and requires one to balance priorities and needs, but is also rewarding for those who undertake the challenge. The IRC needs to be a person who has a passion for seeing international students at MSU Billings succeed. They need to understand (or be open to learning) the challenges and joys of working with people from other cultures. They need to be a person who will not be biased toward one ethnic group or another but will strive to understand each group's differences and similarities. They will need to think creatively on how to help the MSU Billings campus as a whole learn those differences and similarities as well.


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Women's Basketball Falls to Arizona
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - Arizona's Adia Barnes scored 24 points to lead No. 9 Arizona to a 72-53 Pac 10 Conference victory over Southern California Thursday night.
Barnes came up with six steals as well as converting 10 of 11 free throws. Marte Alexander added 12 points.
Adrian Williams led the Trojans with 21 points, 13 coming in the second half.
Arizona (20-6, 13-4 Pac 10) shut Southern Cal down in the second half, holding the Trojans' leading scorer, Kristin Clark, scoreless after intermission after she scored 12 in the first half.
Barnes scored six of her nine second-half points during a 12-2 run that gave Arizona control.
Southern Cal (11-15, 6-11) turned the ball over 33 times, including 11 by Clark.


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BSides Vancouver 2014
1100 Granville Street
Vancouver, BC V6Z 2B6
BSides Vancouver 2014
The Mainland Advanced Research Society is proud to announce its second annual Security B-Sides Conference. The inaugural 2013 event attracted over 80 attendees ranging from developers to network administrators to vulnerability researchers to IT directors and featured speakers from a broad range of organizations locally as well as internationally. We are excited to finally announce the details of our 2014 event which will be hosted at the Chateau Granville Hotel over two days and will be more than double the size of the 2013 event featuring not only a speaker's track but new to this year: a workshop track.
What is B-Sides you might ask? Well, B-Sides are not-for-profit, open-source, independently run, community supported information security conferences that happen all over the world. Security B-Side Conferences strive to be the unconference to the stereotypical and seemingly homogenous security conferences that have evolved from educational forums to marketing junkets.
Security B-Sides strives to provide smaller, more intimate networking and knowledge sharing atmospheres, fascinating breakout discussions and typically fosters stronger audience participation, overall group interaction and access to some of the brightest minds in the information security community.
This conference is for everyone who has an interest or desire to learn about computer security.
New this year, Security BSides Vancouver 2014 will be running a Workshop track which will provide attendees with the opportunities to get their hands dirty. We need members of the information security community who want to share a skill or teach a trick and give back to the community.
We have opened a Call For Workshops and… also want you to submit!B-Sides is accepting proposals for:
- 180 minute (2 hours) workshops
- 240 minute (3 hours) workshops
Security B-Sides is proud to offer low cost and no cost options for attendees who are interested in being a part of the conference and the community. We will be releasing tickets in January 2014. Stay tuned!
More info on BSides Vancouver 2014 will be posted when it becomes available.
In the meantime, follow them on Twitter @BSidesVancouver


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Christian/Santamaria Snag NCAA Semifinal Slot
May 25, 2013
URBANA, ILL. -- USC's No. 2 seeded doubles pair of Kaitlyn Christian and Sabrina Santamaria is in hot pursuit of history. A dominating quarterfinal win today in Urbana, Ill., sets up the Trojan duo for the NCAA Doubles semifinals tomorrow, where they become just the second USC team ever to reach that round. Christian was a freshman on USC's first NCAA semifinalist team in 2011, and tomorrow afternoon the junior will look to take that extra step into the title match alongside friend and sophomore teammate Santamaria.
Ever since taking their first loss of the season last week, Christian/Santamaria seem to have locked back in on the task at hand. The winners of back-to-back ITA National Indoor Doubles and Pac-12 Doubles championships, Christian/Santamaria have now leveled their gaze at an NCAA crown. Today's smooth 6-2, 6-0 win over Illinois' Kopinski/White added some extra momentum to that cause. Now, the No. 2 seeded Trojan pair will line up in a semifinal bout tomorrow (May 26) against No. 4 seed Boren/Szekely of Tennessee for the right to play for the NCAA title on Memorial Day. Tomorrow's semifinal match is slated to be played no earlier than 4 p.m. CT.
Complete USC results below.
Round of 16 - May 24
Quarterfinals - May 25
Semifinals - May 26
[2] Christian/Santamaria (USC) vs. [4] Boren/Szekely (Tennessee)
Round of 32 - May 23


text: aliyah A Kind Stranger Helped My Kids During a Tel Aviv Air Raid Jul 29, 2014 6:20PMDona Inselberg My Israeli husband and I, along with our kids, made aliyah two months ago. Our new neighborhood, a sleepy suburb of Tel Aviv, has been disrupted several times a day by the sound of a long piercing… siren. Our 3-year-old twins, born and raised in New York, refer to the sirens as "a big fire truck," but this time was different. I was caught outside alone with the twins and our 6-month-old baby on our way to the playground after school. We had stopped to feed the baby and they sat next… >> Read More


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Archos 70b Android 3.2 Honeycomb Tab At $199
The new Archos 70b tablet powered by Android 3.2 Honeycomb will be less than two hundred USD. The 70b Internet Tablet, the company's first Honeycomb-based slate features with a 1.2 GHz processor, 1024 x 600 capacitive touchscreen, 8 gigs of flash storage, 512MB of RAM and WiFi connectivity. The Archos 70b may familiar to the tablet lovers, that is because this is an enhanced version of the Archos 70 IT Gen 8, with an upgraded capacitive touch screen display.
By Imrul Haque On December 21, 2011 Respond
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There are many subtle categories on the Latino continuum, and we here at The Daily Refried offices recognize that El Guapo is the face, voice, and mind of all shades along this complex and profoundly nuanced range. (We have a unanimously signed petition proving this.)
So what'd we do for you underserved coconuts? Those who grew up in the suburbs and at some point began to sigh audibly when another Gutierrez or Torres showed up in your junior high class? Those who stop at Pepe's and Taco Bell to occasionally touch base with your heritage? You have to compete in a cut-throat economy, in a business world where you have to dance the razor's edge between "handling yours" and sidestepping the off chance you might ratchet up the anxiety of your coworkers/employers/employees.
Well, you are a unique animal, coconut. Fear not, though. We brought in a consultant to provide valuable advice to those of you who desire to be respected in the mean streets of the inner city (the barr-i-o) and the demanding workforce.
A good snarl never hurt anyone…
We hope we have been of service.
Your handsome and humble servant —
El Guapo[Photo By singchan]
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text: Next Story > Digits Digits Live: Making Print Interactive with Netpage App By WSJ Staff Nov 19, 2012 3:47 pm ET Readers of Esquire's December print issue will be able digitally save images, view videos and purchase items via a new interactive app, Netpage. Netpage's CEO Paul Morris joins digits to discuss. To Read the Full Story, Subscribe or Sign In Previous Cisco Continues Software, Cloud-Mad Spending Spree Next Who's Next to Run Intel? A Look at the Contenders


text: I was just wondering if any owners here have ever been able to find a new WRX at MSRP ($25000), or are they always marked up and/or optioned out? I'm planning to get mine either late this year or early next year, I'm waiting for the 2011 because I want the STI looks, but not the STI price. I've looked around at my local dealers, and most of them never have any WRX's in stock, or they may have one STI for around $35000, which is frankly out of my price range. Based on your experiences, how likely will it be for me to walk into a dealer and drive out with a WRX for the MSRP?


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Capital Ideas for a Washington DC Visit
Washington DC Things to Do
Bill Clinton was President of the United States when I took a White House tour on my second Washington DC visit. I'm not telling who was in office when I visited the nation's capital for the first time, but I can assure you that it wasn't Teddy Roosevelt. In the past several months, I've been lucky enough to have taken two more trips to the United States Capital, most recently in May. Each time I found new places to visit in Washington DC to inform, inspire, or amuse me. You might like to have these experiences, too.
Let's Start With Lunch
As many of you know, eating out in places with good food, ambiance and local significance is a priority with me when I travel. A favorite of mine has become the landmark Occidental Grill and Seafood just one block from the White House. The walls are filled with photographs of the famous and powerful people who have dined there for over 100 years including Amelia Earhart, Robert Frost, statesmen and presidents. I like to sit on the large outdoor patio, but at a table inside the restaurant there's an interesting piece of 1960s history. A plaque at the table reads, "At this table during the tense moments of the Cuban missile crisis a Russian offer to withdraw missiles from Cuba was passed by the mysterious Russian 'Mr. X' to ABC-TV correspondent John Scali. On the basis of this meeting the threat of a possible nuclear war was avoided."
Go Undercover
What sort of subterfuge is this man engaged in?
The International Spy Museum was a big hit with me since I fantasized about being a spy when I was growing up and still enjoy films and books with international intrigue. There are extensive exhibits, interactive displays and in-depth historical information about espionage (the world's "second oldest profession") and the role that intelligence plays in current events. Many of the artifacts, such as a lipstick pistol, tear gas pen, disguise kit, and wristwatch microphone seem like they're straight from the movies. You really can go undercover in a one hour experience, "Operation Spy", by taking on the identity of an intelligence officer on a mission that is based on actual cases.
Celebrate Freedom of the Press
The impressively-designed Newseum with a 90 foot high atrium has wide-ranging exhibits emphasizing the freedoms of the First Amendment: Press, Speech, Religion, Petition and Assembly. The galleries showcase the history and evolution of news gathering, Pulitzer Prize photographs, a journalists memorial, world news, new media technologies and major events. There's also a full studio where ABC and (you might be surprised to hear) Al Jazeera do live broadcasts.
Most memorable for me were the FBI Exhibit, much of which is focused on the role of the organization in fighting terrorism, and the 9/11 Gallery. I really wasn't expecting to see some of the World Trade Center artifacts in this exhibit — engine parts of planes that crashed into the twin towers, cell phones found in the debris and items belonging to airplane passengers.
For those who haven't seen remnants of the Berlin Wall in Germany, they can see eight sections of the original wall and a guard tower at the Newseum.
Contemplate Modern Art
For extensive and eclectic modern art exhibits when you visit Washington DC, spend some time at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, located on the National Mall. There were many paintings and sculptures that I liked, including this one by Giacomo Balla below. I previously posted about other interesting installations in Round Rainbow and Four Artists, Four Photos. (Check with the museum for information on current exhibitions.)
Picture Early American History
My introduction to the National Portrait Gallery and Smithsonian American Art Museum was an excellent walking tour guided by Katie Wood Kirchoff of Context Travel.
The tour took us through galleries of selected works depicting the people who influenced and shaped America from its founding. We examined American art from the Revolution, through westward expansion, the Civil War and other crucial periods in American history — each painting telling stories of struggle, hope, social consciousness and everyday life.
The famous Landsdowne portrait of George Washington is at the entrance to the gallery's collection of 43 presidential portraits (not to be confused with the portraits at the landmark Occidental Grill in the first photo).
Explore the Neighborhoods
Getting around to Washington's neighborhoods is easy on the Metro system. One of the areas that I particularly like is DuPont Circle for shopping, dining and nightlife. I love the international feel of the neighborhood's Embassy Row which is home to many foreign embassies. Within walking distance of DuPont Circle are other popular districts such as historic Georgetown and Adams Morgan.
Pay Tribute
People around the world are familiar with the iconic images of Washington's many monuments and memorials, particularly the towering Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol building. There are statues and monuments everywhere in Washington from honoring, presidents, generals, prominent individuals and powerful leaders. There are also three memorials honoring our war veterans World War II, Vietnam and Korea that I visited just before Memorial Day and photographed for Remembrance in Washington D.C.
Venture Farther Afield
Besides places in Washington DC itself, nearby Alexandria, Virginia is definitely worth a visit, even for just an afternoon of walking in the footsteps of George Washington in Old Town Alexandria. Lunch at Gadsby's, where George often dined, is a good place to start your tour of some key sights, such as Christ Church, the Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum and the many historic homes of Alexandria.
Of course, there are many more places to explore on your Washington DC visit and the surrounding area. So plan your dates, book your flights, check out hotels and vacation apartments in Washington, and see D.C. during the Obama administration. A capital idea!
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51 Responses to "Capital Ideas for a Washington DC Visit"
I've yet to make it to Washington – except the airport but that doesn't count. I love the sound of lunch at the Occidental Grill and anything spy like would resonate with me. A great post Cathy.
So glad you made it to the Newseum! Far better than the Smithsonian in my opinion…
Nice selection of photos here. I'll have to get to Washington soon, after all, I have a brother living there.
Washington DC is one of my favorite places! Unfortunately I haven't been for quite a few years but the last time I was there they were still giving tours of the FBI building which was interesting. BTW I think we like the same type of books 🙂
It's been years since I've been in Washington as well but we are hoping to get there soon now that both of our girls are old enough to appreciate the museums and the historical and political attractions. These are great suggestions for things to do!
Informative and interesting story that's well-illustrated.
Great photos and story, Cathy. I can't remember seeing Dupont Circle so green!
I had to smile at the Roosevelt reference.
Oh, darn, I still can't stumble.
Cathy, I had no idea that there was a museum with pieces of the engines, cell phones and personal items of the passengers who died in 9/11. That would be deeply moving and sad to see. I would love to experience that restaurant and see all those famous presidential and historical photos, especially Amelia Earhart.
I've only been once back in 1992! As a broadcast journalist, I'd really like to get to the Newseum.
Such a great round-up of fun activities. I would love to visit the Spy Museum. It's been years since my husband and I visited. We're still waiting a bit until the kids can fully appreciate all the history and museums. Thanks for the tips, Cathy.
Cathy, you always manage to fit so much great info in your posts! I want to visit ALL of the places you mentioned when I'm in D.C. The spy museum and Newseum look especially cool.
I haven't been to Washington, DC since I was in college (a looong time ago!) It is the #1 place on my bucket list in the U.S. to visit again. Great article and great information!
Great idea for DC. I spent a week there many years ago, but only managed to get to know Georgetown and the Smithsonian. Of course, that easily takes a week in itself.
Those are great ideas for DC. I love the Newseum and Old Town Alexandria, and DuPont Circle for going out at night.
I'm late commenting this week on TPT posts… Washington, D.C. has so much, especially in terms of museums and historical significance. I would not have thought of going to museums about spying and news, but I'm sure they are very interesting! The last time I was there, I went to the Holocaust Museum and found it to be very well done, very moving.
I haven't been to DC as an adult. I'm hoping to go this fall. Cant wait!
Some interesting looking museums there. I like the sound of the spy one too. I wonder how they decide what they can allow us to see there and what's still under wraps? I'm just back from Leipzig's Staisi museum which was very chilling.
I love the Spy Museum!! I went there a couple years ago, and love how you can have lots of hands on experience there =D (I got good at the surveillance camera recognizing people part ~)
Reading your post I realized there are still a lot in Washington that I missed out though~ next time next time.
Ha! I didn't know they had bits of the Berlin wall in Washington. Another snappy title too…:)
I'm still so sad I missed out on the real sights of DC when I was there. I was helping a family friend and she only took me to Georgetown for dinner one night…I really have to go back. This looks like my kind of day out!
Great list. I used to live in Annapolis near D.C. for 6 months and I'm still kicking myself for not getting to the spy museum!
WOW! What a fabulous blog post on D.C. ! Makes me want to go back since it's been close to 20 years since my last visit. I'd really LOVE to go to the SPY Museum since I love spy movies like the Jason Bourne series and BBC's Spooks!
A good amount of activates in this comprehensive list, Cathy. I like how you started out with lunch, too. Good to get your priorities right! I'll certainly keep this post in mind for a future visit, so many thanks.
HI Cathy. Great post. I realize now my family and I missed a lot of interesting sites when we visited. I hope we can make it back again sometime. Thanks for the information.
[…] Cathy (Traveling with Sweeney) has ideas for visiting Washington D.C. […]
[…] Great ideas for exploring the nation's capital […]
What a great post! I've lived in the DC area for almost a decade now and still somehow let the Occidental Grill pass me by. I will make sure to find that special table.


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This was not the Serena Williams the tennis world is used to seeing on Centre Court. It was still good enough for the defending Wimbledon champion to advance to the second round in straight sets.
Struggling on serve and failing to dominate against a 148th-ranked Swiss qualifier playing in her first Grand Slam tournament on Tuesday, Williams labored to a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Amra Sadikovic — the 80th match win of her Wimbledon career.
What looked on paper like a complete mismatch turned into a tighter contest than expected.
"I never underestimate anyone," said Williams, who had only four aces and served five double-faults. "It was a really good match but I...


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Japanese New Year celebration
Trip Start Dec 27, 2011
48Trip End Apr 25, 2012
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What I did
Japanese New Year
There is a little park with about six to eight shrines. It looks kind of like a small side street. People line up and pay their respects at each individual shrine. I have not read about the significance of each shrine yet, but I am sure we will find out tomorrow.
There was very nice Japanese "shrine" music, bonfires, and lots of mika's (they get them when they pay tribute with coins). We are back at our house and we can still hear the gongs being rung. There were a few fireworks far off in the distance as well, but nothing like at home.
We have a busy day tomorrow, so bedtime here. Happy 2012!


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'Red Riding Hood,' 'Mirror Mirror' and 'Snow White and the Huntsman' - fairy-tale reworkings are fast become as synonymous with big-screen disaster as the dreaded video-game adaptation. Now, despite an impressive cast, 'Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters' is the latest turkey to suggest that the classic works of the Brothers Grimm are perhaps best left alone.
Indeed, other than cashing in on the familiarity of the title, it's not clear why Tommy Wirkola, who first came to attention with the enjoyably trashy Norwegian zombie horror, 'Dead Snow,' opted for the whole Hansel & Gretel angle in the first place.
The whole traditional edible house fable is done and dusted within the first two minutes. Whilst following the 20-year jump forward, only a brief return to the siblings' family home and a rare clever line about insulin and a childhood sugar overdose really alludes to their candy-eating past.
Instead, the mercilessly brief action flick focuses on a grown-up Hansel (Jeremy Renner) and Gretel (Gemma Arterton) and their mission to rescue several children who have been abducted by a plague of witches in the German city of Augsburg in preparation for a sacrificial ritual named Blood Moon.
So we get several clumsily-edited fights between our heroes and the admittedly gruesome witches, an obtrusive crunching nu-metal soundtrack that appears to have escaped from the early 00s and a series of lame one-liners that almost makes Arnie's Mr. Freeze appear a bastion of wit.
Quite why Renner and Arterton signed up for such nonsense is anyone's guess. The former is so expressionless as a bounty hunter attempting to avenge his parents' death that it's hard to believe he's been nominated for an Oscar, not once but twice. While following 'Prince of Persia,' the latter wastes her opportunity to show she can do more than the whole damsel in distress routine with an equally disinterested performance.
There are a couple of saving graces. Famke Janssen, the only cast member who appears to be enjoying herself, is good value as the powerful grand witch Muriel, there are a few decent bursts of blood and gore, particularly the tavern explosion scene, whilst giant troll Edward is an impressive display of animatronics.
But like last year's similarly-themed 'Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter,' 'Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters' is undeniably one of those films that appears far more fun on paper than it is in reality.


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It's official: the simplest things are the hardest. Look at this, a Tandem umbrella, of course! Why did we ever try to fit under one single umbrella in the pouring rain? One of us was destined to get wet!
The umbrella for two was designed by Jasmine Raznahan and Mark Owens for those who are inseparable.
Of course at first look you'd think, "I'd rather have my shoulders wet than not being able to snuggle up with my partner." But look at the picture again, and imagine how more cozy would be if both of them would hold the umbrella with their other hands! Now that is a perfect solution!
Double-Stemmed Umbrellas
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Lorde is one of the performances we've all been waiting to see at the BRIT Awards today. Generally, Lorde's performances are very simple and straight to the point. This time, she performed in collaboration with Disclosure, giving an interesting backbeat to Lorde's song "Royals." Later on in the performance, things take a more funky turn with Disclosure.
You can also check out a clip from the performance in the below tweet:
Lorde and Disclosure's amazing collaboration at #BRITs2014 #VO5Music @VO5ExtremeStyle https://t.co/1SGAYs49uy
— BRIT Awards (@BRITAwards) February 19, 2014
BRIT Awards 2014 Red Carpet Photos: Best Pics of The Night
The red carpet at the 2014 BRIT Awards is filled with celebrities. Check out the best pics from the red carpet action.Click here to read more


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It only takes a minute to get started. Fill out our uncomplicated sign up form and login to the site.
This step is discretionary but will drastically increase your chances of getting noticed by other people on the website. Tell people about yourself, your interests and upload any nice photos of yourself.
Utilise our website's sophisticated search to uncover over 60s members who match your needs. Or just leaf through listings and uncover people that pique your interest.
Discovered someone who is attractive to you? Send a note to them or just a wink and see what develops from there. With a little luck you'll be on your way to a once in a lifetime experience.
It only takes a few minutes


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Adam Bede HTML version
"I have not skill to write the words so small as you do and my pen moves slow.
And so I am straitened, and say but little of what is in my mind. Greet your
mother for me with a kiss. She asked me to kiss her twice when we parted."
Adam had refolded the letter, and was sitting meditatively with his head resting
on his arm at the head of the bed, when Seth came upstairs.
"Hast read the letter?" said Seth.
"Yes," said Adam. "I don't know what I should ha' thought of her and her letter if
I'd never seen her: I daresay I should ha' thought a preaching woman hateful. But
she's one as makes everything seem right she says and does, and I seemed to
see her and hear her speaking when I read the letter. It's wonderful how I
remember her looks and her voice. She'd make thee rare and happy, Seth; she's
just the woman for thee."
"It's no use thinking o' that," said Seth, despondingly. "She spoke so firm, and
she's not the woman to say one thing and mean another."
"Nay, but her feelings may grow different. A woman may get to love by degrees--
the best fire dosna flare up the soonest. I'd have thee go and see her by and by:
I'd make it convenient for thee to be away three or four days, and it 'ud be no
walk for thee--only between twenty and thirty mile."
"I should like to see her again, whether or no, if she wouldna be displeased with
me for going," said Seth.
"She'll be none displeased," said Adam emphatically, getting up and throwing off
his coat. "It might be a great happiness to us all if she'd have thee, for mother
took to her so wonderful and seemed so contented to be with her."
"Aye," said Seth, rather timidly, "and Dinah's fond o' Hetty too; she thinks a deal
about her."
Adam made no reply to that, and no other word but "good-night" passed between


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Hi there! I bring to you new girl who will shows the hymen to you and you can see how her hymen will break by the huge hard cock. Meet the Andy Nemet – this virgin is 19 y.o. only. Very nice girl with young tits and petite plump pussy. And what is most matter for us she agree to show us all we need – her hymen and how the cherry will popped. Tell you by secret Andy's hymen was broken when she was 18 years. But now her cherry hymen virgin again. Yes it was restored few month ago and you must know that Andy restore her hymen for Defloration TV special. So we can view the scenes when man break restored hymen. As many virgins from Defloration TV Andy sign the contract when was write – "I fully agreed that breaking my hymen (loosing my virginity) will be videotaped" – that what we need and show was started. Andy take her clothes of and posing like prof models, she spread her long legs to show her pussy and than opened the pussy lips and show her restored hymen. It's looks like natural. When the actor was ready to make the defloration scene she was very wet and horny. She take his erected penis by hand and carrefuly insert it into "virgin" vagina.
Hey my dear deflorators. Look at this girl. Of course you know this Super Glamour Model, her name is Mia Stone. She played hundreds roles in hundreds adult movies. Her pictures you can find on thousands porn sites. But I have very interresting story for you (About breaking hymen). Lets make a litle excursion back in time, to 2001 year. Very young girl came to the Defloration TV studio and said: – "Hi my name is Anna. I am absolutely virgin, I studend of Paris Univesity in France. I have just turned 18 y.o. I fully agreed the moment of my hymen defloration will photographed and filmed. Probably I ain't a model and this the first time I am getting nude and make any action before the camera. Its looks stupid that I agreed to lose virginity here but I need some money".
Great news. We have new defloration movie with this young couple. Meet the Virgin Melissa and her horny boyfriend Titos. Virgin Melissa have 18 year old only. Her boyfriend is 19 year old. They came to Defloration TV stutio with one and only goal – make love for first time in front of the camera. Yes, they aggry to make the defloration right before your eyes. In interview Melissa said that she want to have her defloration video for a long memories – such event happens only once. So photographer can start the shooting. Before the shooting their act of defloration Melissa's virginity was verified. She don't allow the photographer to touch her virgin pussy and Titos gentle open her plump pussy lips so wide that we can see her intact hymen. Melissa asks the photographer to take few pictures of her innocent hymen close up before it will deflowered. She made such pictures herself by her mobile phone camera, but it was in very low quality. Now pictures of her hymen before defloration was made by professional. Fantastic fullscreen pictures of virgin hymen. While cameraman make her hymen pictures she got very wet. And they start playing their roles. Melissa is very sencitive girls. On this defloration movie you can see her cherry (hymen) and her reaction when Titos presses his finger there.
New virgin hymen pictures from Defloration TV. This is Timi, new virgin model. She is 18 years old only. There was difficult to work with this virgin girl, but she agree to pose nude before camera. A Timi is a pure virgin and too sensual, she haven't sexual experience of any kind. Her virginity was verified before starting work. The hymen was virgin absolutely. But Timi was refused to let shoot her virgin hymen close up at first. She allow only make some pictures of her hude body in various poses. Some time later she agry to shooting her virgin pussy using special light effect and transparent panties. It was great results! But on this pictures you can see only a part of her virgin pussy. Some time more and Timi allow to take pictures of her virgin hymen. I newer saw so beauty virgin pussy. You must see it! While the phographer take her hymen pictures Timi start touch her young pussy lips by her finger. Pussy got wet and girl make it faster and faster until got very hard orgasm. She talk that she did it allmost every night and she love it. Timi have not a boyfriend that is why her hymen virgin yet. But she promise if she decide to break the hymen she allow film her act of defloration. But now you can enjoy hundred of pictures her virgin hymen. In the Defloration TV member's area you can find huge collection of exclusive hymen pictures and defloration video. If you love it – you must join the Defloration TV.
Melinda Kiszner in act of defloration! Few month ago Melinda began the modeling as virgin girl. I had wrote about it i my last post. Of course you remember her intact hymen pictures. She was refused to lose her virginity at that time. But now this pretty virgin is back and agreed to break her hymen (lose virginity) with her boyfriend while the photographer will videotaped them with his HD camera! Melinda Kiszner is a very pretty girl, and she have high personality that she shows in the pictures I post in the my last post. You must check out the pictures of last minutes of her virginity. Before shooting her defloration video was started, Melinda told very interesting story about her first sexual experience, very interesting story. It was in the summer day and young Melinda was wearing just in short skirt without panties. She was in the parents apartment and was on her hands and knees cleaning a kitchen floor. Melinda was alone with her large dog only. Girl was shocked when the dog suddenly jumped on her back and held her with its paws…..
Hi again! In the last post i had promise to tell you about new Defloration TV model Melinda Kiszner! Voila. Meet this beautifull virgin at our blog. Melinda just turned 18 years. She is true virgin girl. And as you can see Melinda is first model who have a little hairy virgin pussy. She is very pretty and so funny girl, i hope you will love her, becouse she have everything what we need – young body, untouched hymen and desire to pose nude for us. She have very beautifull body, her young tits just right for it, full with no sag. Her plump pussy have a little trimmed brown hair, not shaved. Melinda agreed to pose nude for the camera. Before session was started her virgin hymen was verified. It was pure virgin. And the photographer made hundreds of her nude pictures. Of course she allow to make pictures of her hymen close up. I don't know how you, but i have very strong erection when her pink pussy lips fill my large monitor. I can look at her intact hymen by hours – its wonderfull. During the photo session Melinda was not deflowered. At this time we will not see her act of defloration. She was not agree to lose her virginity right now. But you can see how Melinda playing with her young tits and pussy. First she masturbate with her fingers than she take a little dildo and start playing with it. Melinda insert the dildo into virgin pussy but not too deep to did not break the hymen.
Hi. Today I tell you about new Russian virgin model Daisy!
She is only 18 years old. She have very young and fresh teen body, small tiny tits and very nice young pussy. But above all this she have absolutely virgin hymen. Daisy haven't sexual experience yet. She only tried to masturbate by her finger. She told that she love to play with her virgin pussy and love to touch her hymen (cherry) but she did it very carefully, she afrade her hymen will broken from it. Unfortunately this virgin babe not allowed to break her hymen in the studio but she agree to posing nude before the camera and we can not see her defloration at this time. Daisy allowed to take pictures of her plump pussy and her virgin hymen close up. Her young pussy got wet from this action and Daisy start play with it right before camera. Her hymen photos and masturbation video are excelent. When Daisy spread her pussy lips by finger you can see her intact hymen. You have to see it. Thanks Defloration Tv for this incredible video. I think you will like how they captured her innocence. Goog bue guys! Next time i tell you fantastic story about new virgin model Melinda Kiszner about her virginity and her defloration.
Young Russian model Anna Ribalko!
Anna living in the village in Siberia! She is 18 years old and she still virgin. Till now we didn't see the Siberian girls on our site! She does not have any sexual experience. She only love martubate. Every time she goes to bed she play with her young plump pussy. She love to fuck herself very fast and hard with her nice fingers and imagined that it was a hard cock! But Anna never lose control fucking herself, and never insert her finger or anything through the hymen (she don't want to be deflorated by herself). Once she came to the cow barn and was played with the cow udder, dreaming that is a male penis. Next day she take the cow teat into her mouth, and moved it slowly and tender like a warm throbbing penis into her mouth. To hard to imagine this young girl with such sexual desires is still virgin. Anna arrive to photostudio, because she wanted to break the hymen right now, she is tired from her virginity. When her hymen will broken she would be able to use the dildo and insert her fingers deep in the pussy! She did't want wait any more, she was horny for it. Anna told that her desire to have her young pussy fucked hard and deep every day. But Anna does not have a boy friend in her small village. That is why she came to Defloration TV studio. NP! This men were only happy to break her hymen before the camera! Anna's fresh hymen was filmed on video before defloration and then act of defloration was filmed too. Her act of defloration available for your viewing in the Defloration TV member section!
Hanna and Ricardo.
This girl is 20 years old only. Hanna living in Prague. Very beautiful virgin girl with greater sensual eyes and a beautiful body. Hanna has a small secret. She lost her virginity in 18 years, with the former guy. But she told that her hymen was restored. She just have a new boy. She just tell him that her hymen still virgin and he believes. (In studio her hymen was verified). They are going to get married in the near future. Therefore they have decided to film the act of defloration on video. They wished to remember this day for all life. But first Hanna asked the photographer to make some photos of her virgin hymen close up. Only after that shooting of defloration has begun. After Ricardo has inserted the penis into her vagina Hanna has shuddered a little, but has not stopped it. Around vagina there was a virgin blood. Hanna has reached orgasm more quickly, but Ricardo did not stop until from his penis sperm has not scattered. The operator masterful filmed this act of defloration on video. So we have new pictures and video of broken hymen. At the Defloration TV you can see full movie in High Definition quality of Hanna's defloration. And of course many another girls who lose virginity in front of the camera. Defloration TV – This unique place where you can see the real hymen close up, real act of defloration and most beautiful virgin pussy in the net.
Hi! New Real Act of Defloration for you. Maria and her boyfriend John. Maria is 18 year old brunette with beautiful face and body. She is virgin girls with untouched hymen. In interview Maria agreed for a nude photo only, she allow to shoot her virgin hymen too, but no defloration. But John purpose her make nude photo and video session together. Maria agreed. Maria and John planning on getting married in 2 months. They ask to leave they together. After maria talking with John she agreed to make act of defloration before the camera. Its like a marriage alboom for a long memmories. Next day they came in to shoot the video. John was a little nervous (only one in a thousand men can perform in an adult video, It is because other man is watching his penis), he never make sex and break any hymen yet. But one Viagra pill and no problem. Great video of innocent hymen and then act of defloration was made! So one more cherry being popped! Full set of Maria's defloration pictures and video you can find on Defloration TV.
Here is review of Maria by Defloration TV subscriber:
"This is the best defloration movie I have ever seen. It is obvious that they are not professionals, but two young people in love. They are embarrassed by you being there. The way he fondles her at the beginning is awkward, and gave me a smile. Like a virgin boy trying to have sex for the first time. Great. Guys remember their first time also. I liked the way you shot her while he was licking her pussy. It was a good clear view of his licking, and her dream-like facial expression.