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This article is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).
Primary paediatric health care is the foundation for preventative child health. In light of the recent obesity epidemic, paediatricians find themselves at the frontline of identification and management of childhood obesity. However, it is well recognized that evidence based approaches to obesity prevention and subsequent translation of this evidence into practice are critically needed. This paper explores the role of primary care in obesity prevention and introduces a novel application and development of a primary care research network in Canada—TARGet Kids!—to develop and translate an evidence-base on effective screening and prevention of childhood obesity.
The National Centre for Health Statistics in the United States estimates that 16.9% of children and adolescents age 2–19 years are obese [
The primary care setting provides a unique opportunity to identify young children at greatest risk of long-term cardiometabolic disease associated with obesity, who may benefit from early identification and intervention [
There is compelling reasoning that obesity prevention focus on pre-school aged children as the target age group; the pre-school age provides a unique opportunity to influence an individual's behaviour as it is a developmental stage where parents still have control over feeding and activity [
Disease prevention includes the appropriate use of screening and surveillance tests for early detection of disease. As we address childhood obesity, surveillance and screening at the front line is needed. A recent publication from the US Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) recognizes the role of primary care clinicians in surveillance for obesity and overweight especially in children [
Multiple interventions to prevent early childhood obesity have been conducted in the primary care setting [
Much has been written about the advantages of Primary Care Based Research Networks in the United States (PCBRN) [
The TARGet Kids! Toronto Area Research Group for Kids is a primary care practice based research network developed to respond to the need for evidence based primary care research in childhood obesity prevention. In Canada, TARGet Kids! is the first network of primary care practices to collect longitudinal data relevant to obesity prevention in healthy preschool children, and to aim to develop the evidence base for obesity prevention interventions through practice based interventions.
TARGet Kids! has emerged as a PCBRN to address obesity prevention in young children under 6 years of age, in partnership between researchers at the Paediatric Outcomes Research Team, SickKids Research Institute, The Applied Health Research Centre (AHRC), at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Research Institute, St. Michael's Hospital, and primary care providers in the Section on Community Paediatrics of the Department of Pediatrics and the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto.
The development of TARGet Kids! arose out of the recognition of the significant burden of illness of obesity, the potential of early intervention in the pre-school age as an ideal time for obesity surveillance and identification, the recognition of the access to this age group through primary care, and the important role of the primary care practitioner for anticipatory guidance to parents of young children. An improved evidence base for anticipatory guidance specifically targeted obesity related interventions and screening has been highlighted as a key research gap [
The central data collection unit of TARGet Kids! is the primary care group practice. There are currently five large paediatric group practices in TARGet Kids! and one academic family practice unit. These practices care for a large population of children including routine health maintenance visits, have between 3 to 10 practicing physicians, and include physicians with academic appointments through the University of Toronto. Children are recruited, data collection instruments administered, anthropometric measurements taken and blood obtained all during the child's routine health maintenance doctor's appointment by a trained research assistant and phlebotomist embedded into the practice site.
Development of Survey Tools: The TARGet Kids! instruments aim to measure obesity related factors including child and parent health, family history, dietary intake, physical activity, and sedentary activity. A detailed TARGet Kids! questionnaire regarding subject characteristics (including socio-economic status, ethnicity), parent health, dietary intake, physical and sedentary activity was developed and based on questions used in the Canadian Community Health Survey [
Health Measures: Measurement of height, weight and waist circumference of subjects and their mothers are performed using standardized anthropometric protocols [
Non-fasting blood samples related to obesity and cardiometabolic risk are drawn by trained pediatric phlebotomists on site, and include the following measures: lipid profile, insulin, glucose, ApoA1, ApoB, CRP, 25-HydroxyVitamin D and ALT, Adiponectin and Leptin [
Serum samples are sent daily to the Mount Sinai Services (MSS) Laboratory, a centralized research laboratory in Toronto. The MSS laboratory has defined itself through the use of automated sample processing and electronic data handling as the research laboratory for the University of Toronto clinical research.
Data Management: The TARGet Kids! central database is housed at the Applied Health Research Centre of the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto. Data entry is accomplished by research assistants at each practice site and uploaded to the central database in real time through a web‐based remote data entry system using the MediData Rave™ platform (MediData Solutions, New York, NY, USA). This ensures reliable, efficient, and secure data handling. Research ethics was approved through the Research Ethics Boards of the two institutions of the lead investigators of TARGet Kids; the Hospital for Sick Children research ethics board, and St Michael's Hospital research ethics board. The primary care practitioners have appointments through the Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, and use these research ethics boards. As TARGet Kids! expand to different jurisdictions, application through relevant research ethics boards will be required.
TARGet Kids! is a surveillance platform: The first child was enrolled into TARGet Kids! in September 2008. Since then as of August 2011, TARGet Kids! has recruited over 3,500 children from 0–5 years of age. Blood sample collection was instituted in December 2008, and laboratory data have been collected and analyzed on over 2,405 children. This is the largest cohort in this age group in Canada recruited from primary care. The mean age of participants at baseline is 33.5 months with the distribution of males at 51.6%. The current TARGet Kids! cohort consists of 1,331 children aged 12 to <24 months (37%), 512 children aged 24 to <36 months (14%), 577 children aged 36 to <48 months (16%), 670 children aged 48 to <60 months (19%), and 441 children aged 60 to <72 months (12%). TARGet Kids! has recently began to recruit participants <12 months of age.
Prevalence rates among TARGet Kids! participants for common paediatric conditions are consistent with available prevalence data providing evidence for the representativeness of the sample. For example, the proportion of children included in TARGet Kids! with zBMI > 1 is 20.5% and zBMI > 2 is 4.8%, which is consistent with Canadian national data [
TARGet Kids! is a platform for cross-sectional studies: A recent study in the TARGet Kids! platform identified factors associated with increased daily screen time in three year old children. Controlling for maternal education and age, eating lunch and dinner in front of the screen and mother being employed were associated with an increase in child weekday screen time of 96, 42, and 36 min/d, respectively. Family rules decreased child weekend screen time by 30 min/d [
TARGet Kids! is a platform for a longitudinal cohort studies: The longitudinal effects of child and parent nutrition, physical activity, and sedentary behaviours, their influence on growth, and cardiometabolic risk can all be determined. Children recruited through TARGet Kids! will be followed on an annual basis at each of their regularly scheduled well child visits. Studies underway include a longitudinal study on vitamin D levels and obesity outcomes, and early growth and cardiometabolic outcomes in early childhood. This efficient approach to follow up capitalizes on scheduled clinical follow up.
TARGet Kids! is a platform for randomized controlled trials: A pragmatic randomized controlled study in the TARGet Kids! platform was performed at the 9 month visit and was effective in promoting early cup use, bottle weaning, and reduced prolonged bottle feeding [
Other Data Collection Methods in PCRNS: Electronic Health Records: Other opportunities to generate evidence in primary care may be through the use of electronic health records data for research. The integration of electronic medical records (EMRs) into clinical care is emerging in Canada, but is slow and inconsistent. Indeed there is a variety of EMRs being used in TARGet Kids! current practice sites. We continue to work towards advancing our research through use of EMRs and prepare the groundwork for TARGet Kids! to be poised to utilize this technology effectively.
The development of TARGet Kids! as a PCBRN has been an example of an innovative and novel research platform within the field of child health. The challenges that have been faced provide important knowledge for others engaging in primary care research as follows:
Financial Support: Stable funding for the development of the TARGet Kids! infrastructure is a potential challenge, however, the relevance and rigor has been identified by external reviewers and we have been very successful in receiving funding from various sources including national federal granting agencies for the team grant and operating funds for individual projects (CIHR), other granting agencies (Physician Services Incorporated Foundation, the Danone Institute, Dairy Farmers of Canada), hospital foundations and through private donations. Innovative grants for the development of infrastructure are needed in order to further the development of important research in this area. The development of private-public partnerships may be important moving forward.
Data management: Managing a large set of data could be daunting, however, the TARGet Kids! research has been highly supported by an academic research organization, the Applied Health Research Center (AHRC) which provides a rigorous data management platform of personnel (coordinators, biostatisticians) and an electronic platform (Rave) which has enabled the collection of large quantities of data in order to build the TARGet Kids! database. Furthermore, laboratory information has been managed through Mount Sinai Services Inc. (MSS) which is a global provider of customized laboratory and research services. The MSS allows real-time feedback to the front line health providers as well as appropriate storage and data linking to the TARGet Kids! database.
Communication and team building: Effective communication with all members of the team is key and early collaboration with primary care providers who are also local opinion leaders in the field of pediatric obesity was essential in order to build the TARGet Kids! research platform. The development of a TARGet Kids! steering committee, and regular meetings with all stakeholders is crucial to provide feedback and to allow the front-line clinicians to take a keen role in the development of research based on their own clinical queries. The use of the research assistant within each office practice links the child to the research team however, further ways to build communicative links with health care providers to change health care provider behavior based on novel evidence generated through TARGet Kids! is an area that is being looked at further as a new area of research within the TARGet Kids! platform.
Academic Recognition: Appropriate academic recognitions for the primary care practitioners has been facilitated through the section of Community Pediatrics within the department of Paediatrics at University of Toronto. Other methods of recognition have not been explored.
The TARGet Kids! network provides a novel opportunity for
There are opportunities to develop and translate obesity prevention knowledge in primary care practice through the development of a research platform in primary care. The TARGet Kids! Research network represents the development of a novel platform for research to further our understanding of obesity prevention through surveillance, cross sectional, longitudinal, and pragmatic randomized controlled trials in order to develop and translate an evidence-base on effective screening and prevention of childhood obesity to improve the health of Canadian children.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Thank you to the practitioners, paediatric and family medicine practices and families who are currently involved in the v research network, this work would be unable to be completed without their hard work and dedication.
Steering committee: Tony Barozzino, Brian Chisamore, Mark Feldman, Moshe Ipp.
Practicing physicians: Anna Banerji, Philip Berger, Andrea Berntson, Onil Bhattacharyya, Gary Bloch, Ashna Bowry, Chris Cavacuiti, Brian Cornelson, Sam Cammisuli, Douglas Campbell, Sohail Cheema, Karoon Danayan, Anh Do, Michael Evans, Amy Freedman, Sloane Freeman, Abbas Ghavam-Rassoul, Richard Glazier, Abress Gordon, Charlie Guiang, Ra Han, Curtis Handford, Sheila Jacobson, Gwen Jansz, Gabor Kandel, Tara Kiran, Holly Knowles, Margarita Lam-Antoniades, Eddy Lau, Fok-Han Leung, Sharon Naymark, Patricia Neelands, Andrew Pinto, Michael Peer, Marty Perlmutar, Nav Persaud, Nasreen Ramji, Noor Ramji, Alana Rosenthal, Katherine Rouleau, Janet Saunderson, Giovanna Schiralli, Michael Sgro, Rajiv Shah, Susan Shepherd, Diann Superina, Carolyn Taylor, Joanne Vaughan, Thea Weisdorf, Sheila Wijayasinghe, Ethel Ying.
Research Team: Research Managers/Coordinators: Sarah Carsley, Julie DeGroot, Marina Khovratovich; Research Assistants: Kanthi Kavikondala, Tarandeep Malhi, Subitha Rajakumaran, Juela Sejdo, Laurie Thompson; Research Nurse: Nancy Brunetti; Applied Health Research Centre: Muhammad Mamdani, Andreas Laupacis, David Klein, Gerald Lebovic, Kevin Thorpe, Magda Melo, Kim Phu, Judith Hall, Rino La Grassa, Bryan Boodhoo, Nike Onabajo, Karen Pope; Mount Sinai Services: Azar Azad.


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Chimney Design On This Here Conversion Of Mine
Posted 10 November 2013 - 05:07 PM
I am now in possession of both The Kiln Book and The Art of Firing. And am thoroughly confused. Well, at least a bit confused.
In addition, I now have 250 hard bricks. And, coming soon, two pails of mortar. Today I cut holes in the kiln for burners, wood, thermocouple, draw rings, soda. And the exit flue. Burner holes are 4.5" square - two of them. So I made the exit flue 9 x 4.5.
My plan right now is to pretty much exactly duplicate the chimney design on p. 20 - 21 in The Art of Firing. But with mortar between the bricks. And 8 1/2" high.
My questions, to start, are:
1. Is this the right size/design for my needs?
2. After the photo on the bottom right (the second Venturi-effect section) do you cut bricks to fill up the spaces outside of these bricks, then stack up the rest of the stack in the fashion of the photo just to the left of it? (9 x 9 hole)
3. Besides the mortar section in The Kiln Book, do you folks have any helpful hints to offer about setting bricks? My husband has done a fair amount of it in landscaping projects, but not in this application.
I know from experience y'all are going to answer questions I don't even know I have. For which I'm so grateful.
Posted 12 November 2013 - 02:21 AM
My questions, to start, are:
1. Is this the right size/design for my needs?
It will work-I do not know your kiln size but its smaller than Nils and could even be smaller than his
2. After the photo on the bottom right (the second Venturi-effect section) do you cut bricks to fill up the spaces outside of these bricks, then stack up the rest of the stack in the fashion of the photo just to the left of it? (9 x 9 hole)
Yes-brick cutting you will need a wet diamond saw
I would put this second venturi a tad bit higher (another few feet) so damper works better. I did on our salt kiln and it does indeed work better.
3. Besides the mortar section in The Kiln Book, do you folks have any helpful hints to offer about setting bricks? My husband has done a fair amount of it in landscaping projects, but not in this application.
Do not over use mortar-just make it air tight-apply thin layers-trowel off excess-keep level.
I do not like his span the damper shelve with two bricks as these unsupported bricks can and will crack and fall over time.As seen on lower right side photo.
I always use an extra long brick to span my 12 inch dampers-they are at least 13 inch's long over damper slot
Landscaping and kiln brick work are really two different skill sets as he will learn.
Posted 12 November 2013 - 09:02 PM
Hi Mark. Thank you so much for your help.
I've been 'round here so much asking questions about setting it up, I'm certain it must seem as though I'm looking for a free design. I hope not, though. I just have these ideas and plans, and want to run them by people who actually know about it before jumping in and ruining gobs of hours and money.
Internal dimensions of the kiln are 27.5" wide, 41.5" long, 30" high, if this makes a difference.
I'll certainly move the second Venturi thing up higher, and follow your advice with the mortar. I'll even see if I can find a couple long bricks before this weekend, too.
Thank you again and again.
Posted 12 November 2013 - 10:29 PM
No need for free designs as this is a first conversion only yours will be like this-its all new ground.
Know one knows how this will work including you-and it will take time and gobs of $$
Look what you have spent so far and how much time-welcome to building kilns and kiln sheds
Now back to basics
Here are some photos of my stack rebuild a few years ago on my 35 foot stacking space car kiln-the chamber is larger with combustion and bag wall space.
Nils stack is for his 40 cubic flat top kiln so I suggest scaling back a wee bit as your space is way smaller (kiln space)
These photos show the base just past my damper slot.
1st see the use of kiln mortar enough to keep air from getting in but not slopped all over the place.
2nd note the plum bob string keeping it easy to keep going up without going sideways
3rd note the thin bricks (1 1/4 inch thick) called splits to form a space for my 1 inch shelve damper.You will need some splits to make a solid slot
4th notice the extra long brick that spans the damper slot-this is what lasts the longest and is what I referred to in above post
You can cut these down on a wet diamond saw or buy them but unless you have a great brick outlet these speciality shapes are hard to find qiuckly
The loose fiber only fills a void in rear and really is overkill
My stack is dry so fiber stays dry.My stack has no soft brick only hard bricks
You can make this from soft bricks but they need to stay dry to live a long life
I had to redo the stack after 30 some years as my 1st one was done with free materials-with whatever I could scrounge up
My current stack as well as my salt kiln stack (double venturi design) are life time stacks.
The brick go about 10 feet then transition to a 12-14 inch diameter stainless steel round stack-over all its around 18-22 feet tall and sucks great
Yours does not need to be this large or tall
Working with 9 inch series bricks one can only make a limited small chimney unless you love to cut bricks.
one last note I put in a port ( a soft brick plug) so I can look into from rear of chimney and see the exit flue in kiln. This can help you see whats going in flue if needed. I admit I never use it now but used to.
Take your time building the stack-most half ass it and it does not work well-a tight proper design stack make a kiln work that much better.
I have only made 10 or so kilns -the guy you need to chine is is John Baymore he is the kiln guru-
Posted 14 November 2013 - 07:39 PM
I helped, briefly, to fire a wood kiln at the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse about a decade ago. They had a removable brick about 5' up their chimney stack - to see if the flame was making it that far up. I understood nothing about it at the time, and still don't. Would this be about judging reduction? Temperature? Anyway. Would this serve the same function as your removable brick to view your flue?
Posted 14 November 2013 - 08:47 PM
I wanted to view the flue-you can see the action (flow and reduction) at that point very well- If you choke that space with bricks you can see whats happening as it is happening-Its great as a leaning tool-now I do not need to see it after all these years but I did build it back into the new stack.
I once had a damper break and fall into that space and this helped me break it up and remove it.
One last note the splits for the damper are 1 1/4 inch thick not 1 1/8 as I said-I just measured one-sorry-old brain.I edited it for the next chimney person
You will need at least 1/4 thicker than your damper shelve so it slides even if its warped some.
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Remembering epic elephants
South Africa has hundreds of museums. Among the biggest and the best are the Iziko Museums of Cape Town, Museum Africa, the Apartheid Museum and the Johannesburg Art Museum. Then you get the smaller gems in towns and cities around South Africa. They range from converted houses dedicated to individuals (like the Louw Huis Museum in Sutherland), to sheds of farming implements (the Bathurst Agricultural Museum). There are also some dedicated to animals, like the Richmond Horse Museum.
Popping into these often-obscure establishments is always a highlight on any road trip I take.
To my knowledge, the Letaba Elephant Hall is the only museum in South Africa dedicated to elephants. And why not? When you see an elephant, it's impossible not to marvel at their size. They symbolise strength, curiosity and the ability to endure. They have been immortalised in literature, art and history. In many fables, the elephant is the wise chief, with a long memory and many stories to tell. Their trunks are astonishingly deft, their family interactions are strangely familiar to us, and their tusks inspire wonder, respect and, all too often, greed.
Their trunks are astonishingly deft, their family interactions are strangely familiar to us, and their tusks inspire wonder, respect and, all too often, greed.
Today's elephant populations wander freely in South Africa's national parks. It is always a thrill to see them and some of my best memories in the bush involve sitting for hours, watching them. Predictably, I was late for my appointment in Letaba for exactly this reason – I stopped to watch a herd of ellies digging for water in a riverbed; and for another elephant, who felt he had just as much right to the road as me and wouldn't move out the way.
I got there, though, and with my recent sightings fresh in my mind, spent a fascinating hour or so exploring the Elephant Hall, which preserves the histories of some of the Kruger National Park's most epic elephants. Generally, dead things on the wall give me the creeps, but the museum, which houses the ivory and skulls of some of Kruger's largest tuskers, like the Magnificent 7, is different. Each exhibit is accompanied by extensive notes and is clearly intended to honour the elephant in question
Kulani Mashamba, host at the hall, has his own favourite, Mafunyane, 'because he had a hole in his head which he breathed through'. His 1st encounters with elephants took place as a child growing up near the Punda Maria gate. He's grown to love these pachyderms and talks at length about a particular encounter that stuck in his mind, when 1 of the emerging tuskers, whom he'd been longing to see, paid him a close visit.
For him, as well as many visitors, the elephants seem to symbolise all that is good and important about South Africa's conservation efforts, as well as something deeper: a personal feeling of connection to these animals as individuals. They have roamed far, seen much and survived to grow bigger and stronger than any other land mammal. In the process they've earned our respect.
While the elephants in the hall live in memory alone, there is an ongoing project to track a new generation of emerging tuskers, with the help of photos submitted by the public. To qualify as an emerging tusker, the ivory should protrude at least 1.5m on a young bull, with tusks that will still grow.
It's not of scientific value, but the data collected, with the help of public sightings, is nonetheless interesting, explains Kristy Redman, who has been involved in the Elephant Hall since 2000. She explains that the museum is due for an overhaul at some stage, 'but people feel so strongly about it and 'their' elephants, we can't change it too much!'.
My visit to the museum was strangely moving and, aside from what I learnt about the big tuskers, I also enjoyed the general display, tracking the history and biology of elephants. There is a complete elephant skeleton, information on their age classes and respective heights, and a replica of an elephant's heart – massive!
It's good and fitting that these big tuskers have a museum dedicated to preserving their memory and sharing their magnificence with future generations. And, of course, another thing that I really like about elephants is that although size does matter, the female is (almost) always the boss.
Category: Attractions, Wildlife


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Anna Jerve
Advisor: Ray Rogers
Senior Honors Thesis: 2004
Geochemical analysis and characterization of paleosols from the Upper Cretaceous Masorobe Member of the Maevarano Formation, Mahajunga Basin, northwestern Madagascar
Paleosols, or ancient soils, are excellent indicators of climate because they tend to maintain much of their formative chemical and biological signatures. They have been identified and used for paleoenvironmental reconstruction in localities worldwide and in rocks dating as far back as the Precambrian. Upper Cretaceous terrestrial strata of the Maevarano Formation of the Mahajunga Basin in northwestern Madagascar preserve numerous exquisite paleosol profiles. Thirty-six well-preserved paleosol units were recently identified in the Masorobe Member, which comprises the lower 80 m of the Maevarano Formation, and six of the paleosols were described in detail and sampled at 10-cm increments. The Masorobe paleosols are alluvial in origin, compound, and generally red in color. They tend to consist of clay-rich silty sandstone. They are also characterized by pervasive pedogenic features such as color banding, strong vertical root traces, drab root halos, and slickensides. Pedogenic carbonate, in the form of carbonate nodules and carbonate-encrusted rhizoliths, is also common. The geochemistry of the six well-sampled paleosol units was analyzed using X-ray fluorescence spectrometry to assist in identifying diagnostic horizons indicative of organismal nutrient intake (A-horizons) and the illuviation of minerals and elements (B-horizons). Horizons were then used to classify the paleosols units from the Masorobe Member using a paleosol classification scheme designed specifically for fossil soils. Lithologic attributes suggest that these paleosols formed under alkaline conditions in a semiarid climate. Molecular weathering ratios, which represent the degree of hydrolysis and leaching, support a general interpretation of minimal to moderate weathering and leaching. Subtle differences developed among he Masorobe paleosols may possibly represent climatic variations that transpired during deposition of the 80-m-thick unit. Alternatively, the minor variations documented among the Masorobe paleosols may be due to (1) local variations in formative environment (topography and/or position on the floodplain), or (2) complications involving paleosol classification. Overall, the Masorobe Member paleosols provide key insights into paleoclimate of Madagascar.
Brady Z. Foreman
Advisor: Ray Rogers
Senior Honors Thesis: 2004
Geochemical Charaterization and Discrimination of Bentonites in the Upper Cretaceous Two Medicine Formation, Northwestern Montana
Volcaniclastic terrestrial sediments of the Upper Cretaceous Two Medicine Formation of northwestern Montana preserve several discrete bentonite beds. These beds hold significant potential for geochemical fingerprinting and high-resolution correlation. This study focuses on three bentonites within the formation, and employs geochemistry to distinguish the "Seven Mile Hill bentonite" from the "Bed 2 bentonite" both found near Choteau, Montana, and the "Hadro-Hill bentonite" on the Two Medicine River. Major and trace element concentration were determined using X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. The bentonite units successfully discriminated using bivariate plots and ternary diagrams utilized by previous researchers. In addition, discrimination was refined by plotting source-related and petrogenically-significant rations of elements after a rigorous element mobility analysis. Th/Zr, V/Ti. U/Nb, and V/Y proved to be particularly useful for discriminating between the two bentonite begs. Analysis of these ratios and others not only provides geochemical signatures, but can be used to describe general volcanic processes and possible magmatic source composition changes overtime. This study indicates that geochemical discrimination of Two medicine bentonites can be used to generate a high-resolution stratigraphic framework, and this in turn can be employed to frame a variety of paleobiological questions.


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(CNSNews.com) - Votes from overseas military personnel should not be discounted simply because they lacked a postmark, said Democratic Attorney General Bob Butterworth in a letter Monday to Florida's 67 county elections supervisors.
"No man or woman in military service to this nation should have his or her vote rejected solely due to the absence of a postmark," he said.
Butterworth's letter comes on the heels of sharp criticism - from both Republicans and Democrats - of Democratic officials who threw out 1,500 postal ballots over the weekend, many of them from soldiers and sailors on active duty overseas, because their envelopes were not postmarked.
Senator Bob Graham, a Democrat from Florida, said election officials should "bend over backward" to have military votes count.
"The federal law provides that a postmark is not required for overseas-stationed military personnel," he said on NBC's "Today Show" Monday.
With Republican George W. Bush leading his Democratic rival Al Gore by less than 1,000 votes in Florida, the overseas military vote could be key to securing the state's 25 Electoral College votes and thus the presidency. The overseas vote boosted Bush's lead over Gore in Florida from 300 votes to 930 votes on Saturday.
Bush gained 1,380 votes among overseas absentee ballots compared to 750 for Gore.
Robert Maginnis, vice president of national security and foreign affairs with the Family Research Council, said the Florida administrative code specifically states that a postmark is not required on overseas military ballots.
"This is because of the unique circumstances of military life," said Maginnis, a former Army colonel. "For example, when three ships were diverted to the Persian Gulf to provide support and security for the bombed USS Cole and her crew, the Navy flew the ballots of the men and women on board those ships to Florida so that their votes could be delivered by the statutory deadline.
"Little did those who are laying their lives on the line in the Persian Gulf know that, in a change from previous elections, this year their ballots would be thrown out because they lacked something the law does not require - a postmark."
Historically, Republican candidates have benefited from Florida's overseas vote. In 1996, Republican Bob Dole, who won 42 percent of Florida's total turnout, received 54 percent of Florida's 2,000 absentee votes. After that election, the Defense Department determined that 64 percent of active-duty military voted. Of that figure, almost 90 percent voted by absentee ballot.
"Canvassing boards should count overseas ballots which are from qualified military electors and which bear no postmark if the ballot is signed and dated no later than the date of the election," wrote Butterworth, a fourth-term Democratic attorney general who served as Gore's state chairman in Florida.
The discard of military votes this weekend drew a sharp rebuke from Defense Secretary William Cohen, who is on a farewell tour of the Middle East and Persian Gulf states as the Pentagon chief.
"I'm not sure there is anything legally that can be done at this point given the rules that are in effect," Cohen told reporters Sunday, referring to Florida state rules.
"I would love to see them counted and that would be my hope," he said.
General Norman Schwarzkopf, the former Gulf War commander who now lives in Florida, blasted a five-page guide that advised Democratic tellers how to raise objections to the postal votes.
"It is a very sad day in our country when the men and women of the armed forces are serving abroad and facing danger on a daily basis ... and are denied the right to vote for the president of the United States who will be their commander in chief," he said.
A Pentagon spokesman said it is a Defense Department requirement that all mail be postmarked. "But just like in the United States, some mail might not get a cancellation stamp for a number of reasons, such as human error, or mechanical error ... but the policy of the Defense Department and that of the Military Postal Service is that all mail, whether it's postage free or not, must be cancelled or postmarked. But you'll always get a piece of mail that didn't have a postmark on it."
In Florida's Broward County alone, 92 overseas ballots were accepted while 304 - 76 percent - were rejected.


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Near the Northern Blvd stop on the R line.
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THE PROBLEM: Nothing in San Diego County brings more complaints to Just Fix It than Witherby Street, the only route to the main gate of the Marine Corps Recruit Depot.
The narrow, heavily traversed street is constantly soaked around the Pacific Highway overpass. The water has so badly eroded the asphalt that many vehicles headed into the Recruit Depot slow to a crawl or cross into the oncoming traffic lane to avert the numerous potholes.
In 2007, city officials told Just Fix It that the seepage seemed to be groundwater from San Diego Bay. A permanent solution might require replacing the retaining walls beneath Pacific Highway and installing a new drainage system, they said, a prohibitively expensive course.
Bob Seelos, who drives onto the base regularly, says conditions have worsened since then. Water used to be intermittent; now it's "wet all the time," said Seelos, one of nine readers who've contacted Just Fix It about the problem since Jan. 1.
Hundreds of out-of-towners experience the rough road weekly, heading in for Marine graduation ceremonies, and "it's not a very good reflection on the city," Seelos said. Others are more blunt: "It's a disgrace," said caller Fran Keller.
STATUS: San Diego Gas & Electric, which dug trenches in the area as part of underground work in 2007, is investigating the source of the water, said utility spokeswoman Stephanie Donovan. The problem predates SDG&E's work, she said, but there's a possibility the trenching disturbed a natural flow of water in the area.
Donovan said lab tests on the water are inconclusive so far. "There's a little seawater there, there's some fresh water – the question is, what is the source?"
Monday, an SDG&E team with a geotechnical engineer was on site looking at possible locations for observation wells to try to pin down the source. The utility will seek city approval to continue, Donovan said.
WHO'S RESPONSIBLE: Hasan Yousef, deputy director of the San Diego Street Division, is among several city officials aware of the problem and involved in the search for a solution. He can be reached at (619) 527-7504 or email@example.com .
NEED A PROBLEM SOLVED: Is there a problem that government hasn't taken care of despite your complaints? Just Fix It might be able to help.
Complaint forms are at justfixit.uniontrib.com, or call (800) 820-8714.


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Consol Energy Center to host Duquesne basketball games
The Duquesne men's basketball team will play at least three games this season at the Consol Energy Center, the school announced Tuesday.
Details of the Dukes' season-opening game against a yet-to-be determined opponent and the site of their annual City Game against Pitt on Dec. 1 weren't immediately revealed, leaving open the possibility that one or both could be played at the new arena.
The Dukes are scheduled to face West Virginia, a Final Four team last season, on Dec. 12; Dayton on Jan. 30; and Xavier on Feb. 13 at Consol.
Duquesne, which lost to Princeton in the first round of the College Basketball Invitational and posted a 16-16 record last season, will face 13 opponents that reached the postseason, including six that played in the NCAA Tournament.
Duquesne's Atlantic 10 opener is Jan. 5 at Saint Joseph's.
Six games have been confirmed for television broadcasts, including against West Virginia on CBS College Sports and Penn State on Dec. 4 on the Big Ten Network. The others are A-10 games on CBS College Sports against Temple (Jan. 15), Charlotte (Jan. 22), Dayton (Feb. 19) and Richmond (March 5).
Duquesne said the opening game date and opponent were expected to be announced later this week. The remaining 11 home games will be played at Palumbo Center.
"We're really looking forward to playing in both a renovated Palumbo Center as well as what is already one of the great arenas in the country in the Consol Energy Center," said Duquesne coach Ron Everhart, beginning his fifth season with the Dukes and 17th overall.
Renovations over the summer to Palumbo Center include the addition of chairback seats on both sides of the playing floor, four new lower-level corner scoreboards and custom-designed center-hung Daktronics video board.
"Our fans will not only be treated to some great new amenities, but they'll also have the opportunity to see some pretty good college basketball," said Everhart, who welcomes back four starters, including senior forward Damian Saunders, the 2009 Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year.Additional Information:
The schedule, so far
Nov. 19: at Robert Morris, TBA
Nov. 22: at Bowling Green, 7 p.m.
Nov. 27: Maryland-Baltimore County, 7 p.m.
Dec. 1: at Pittsburgh, TBA
Dec. 4: at Penn St., 6 p.m. (Big Ten Network)
Dec. 8: at at Wisconsin-Green Bay, 8:05 p.m.
Dec. 12: West Virginia (at Consol Energy Center), 6 p.m. (CBS College Sports)
Dec. 18: Indiana/Purdue-Indianapolis, 7 p.m.
Dec. 22: George Mason, 8 p.m.
Dec. 31: Northwestern St., La., 4 p.m.
Jan. 2: Norfolk St., 4 p.m.
Jan. 5: at Saint Joseph's, TBA
Jan. 8: at Houston Baptist, TBA
Jan. 12: Saint Louis, TBA
Jan. 15: Temple, TBA (CBS College Sports)
Jan. 19: at La Salle, TBA
Jan. 22: Charlotte, TBA (CBS College Sports)
Jan. 26: at Fordham, TBA
Jan. 30: Dayton (at Consol Energy Center), 2 p.m.
Feb. 2: George Washington, TBA
Feb. 5: at St. Bonaventure, TBA
Feb. 13: Xavier (at Consol Energy Center), 2 p.m.
Feb. 16: at Massachusetts, TBA
Feb. 19: at Dayton, TBA (CBS College Sports)
Feb. 23: Rhode Island, TBA
Feb. 26: at Saint Louis, TBA
March 2: St. Bonaventure, TBA
March 5: at Richmond, TBA (CBS College Sports)


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HOUSTON (AP) - Some might prepare for the end of the world by checking off items on their bucket list. But at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, curators are launching an exhibit designed to demystify the Maya and debunk the myth that the ancient culture predicted doomsday on Dec. 21, 2012.
NEW YORK (AP) - Did Minnie Mouse do a catwalk cleanse?
LOS ANGELES (AP) - The act of Congress is in the books, the bills are paid, the sculptures are being cast, and one of the biggest parades in the world will start a glory tour and countdown to dedication.
GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz. (AP) - Google and its street-view cameras already have taken users to narrow cobblestone alleys in Spain using a tricycle, inside the Smithsonian with a push cart and to British Columbia's snow-covered slopes by snowmobile.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - It turns out there will be another day for Scarlett O'Hara's green curtain dress. Many of them.
The Kia Optima is considered a midsize sedan built to be unlike any other of its kind.
LAS VEGAS (AP) - The images of Las Vegas are familiar: gambling, ostentatious theme hotels, gambling, shows, the Strip ... and gambling.
LAS VEGAS - If you've got the money, Las Vegas has a million ways for you to spend it - the limo, the penthouse suite, the finest champagne money can buy - and that's before you even hit the casino floor. But even in this town of glamour and excess, there's enough for the guys and girls who didn't get so lucky at the tables last night. Here's a sampling of the best Las Vegas has to offer without spending a dime.
The Jeep Wrangler Rubicon has been around for a decade.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - A beloved pet dressed in a Halloween costume, posed next to a lit jack-o-lantern, sounds like a great photo opportunity - but it's also a fire hazard.
NEW YORK (AP) - Can't figure out how to dress as a binder full of women for Halloween? There's always Big Bird, the other star of the presidential debates.
NEW YORK (AP) - Hey mom and dad: Halloween's not really all that scary - except when it comes to traffic safety.
SACRAMENTO - With a nod to the future and a wave from the past, the Sacramento International Auto Show will feature hundreds of cars both new and old from automakers the world over when it comes to Cal Expo today through Sunday.
I had to temper the enthusiasm of friends when they asked about the Hyundai Elantra GT I was testing. "Ooooh, GT, sounds nice!" was their frequent response. "Yes, but ..." was mine.
SACRAMENTO – Do you have questions about general driving related requirements like registration and insurance? Are you unclear about laws and restrictions related to driving? The California Department of Motor Vehicles has answers. Save Time. Go Online at www.DMV.ca.gov.
Page 13 of 26
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Let them eat cake
They are throwing a party today to mark the one-year anniversary of their slots operation. As anyone who read our Sunday piece knows, they had a pretty good year.
All they took in was a measly $1.7 billion dollars. You read that correctly. Yep, that's a lot of zeroes. Of course, you have to temper that with the notion that of that amount they atually paid out $1.5 billion. They don't say how much of what they paid out is simply dumped right back in the machines.
At any rate, they're throwing a little shindig at the waterfront casino today. If you're watching your 401K disappear in front of your eyes as the markets go into the toilet and are considering dumping it all into a slot machine, the casino wants you to know you can have your cake and eat it, too.
To mark their first birthday, casino officials will roll out a huge birthday cake this morning. The confection will measure 8 feet by 4 feet and will be rolled out in the casino lobby on the fourth floor at 9:30 a.m.
The public is invited to snag a slice. First come, first served. Of course casino officials are hoping you'll pick up that slice on your way to your favorite slot machine.
Only a cynic would make a crack about "Let them eat cake."
Hey, the way the markets look, by the end of the day we might all be eating cake.


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This read-aloud series is designed for parents to share with elementary-school children. Enjoy it together and introduce your child to the marvelous story of the world's civilizations.
Now more than ever, other cultures are affecting our everyday lives—and our children need to learn about the other countries of the world and their history.
Susan Wise Bauer has provided a captivating guide to the history of other lands. Written in an engaging, straightforward manner, The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child; Volume 3: Early Modern Times weaves world history into a story book format. Who was the Sun King? Why did the Luddites go around England smashing machines? And how did samurai become sumo wrestlers?
The Story of the World covers the sweep of human history from ancient times until the present. Africa, China, Europe, the Americas—find out what happened all around the world in long-ago times. Designed as a read-aloud project for parents and children to share together, The Story of the World includes each continent and major people group. Volume 3: Early Modern Times is the third of a four volume series and covers the major historical events in the years 1600 to 1850, as well as including maps, illustrations, and tales from each culture.


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....Burn your body until your blood coagulates and becomes gold bio-plasmic liquid light.
Yeah. March 20, 2013 is the DROP DEAD date to do that.
Wiley Brooks
|Crazy Mother Fucker
The basic tenet of Breatharianism is to not eat nor drink...but learn to live off of breathing as the sole method of sustaining the mind and body.
Anyone who reads a lot of kook writing knows that all kooks fall into 2 basic categories. On the one hand, you have the ones who say the craziest shit to convince dumb people to give them money, and the other group are people who are genuinely insane and out of their respective minds.
Wiley is 100% a kook who says the craziest shit to get people to give him money....and oh man...this guy says the craziest shit.
Wiley has been running this shtick for a pretty long time now, (as evidenced by this Tom Snyder interview): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rybFmE2qtaw
I got to thinking about Wiley again for two reasons. For one, March 20, 2013 is approaching and Wiley prophesized that this is the date you must set fire to your body in order to heat your blood in order to remove the iron particles and coagulate it into a paste of golden bio-plasmic liquid light.
Also, Wiley claims to have been Saint Francis of Assisi in a past life...and yesterday the new Pope chose the name Saint Francis of Assisi. It made me think that Wiley would be writing kooky nonsense again and he surely did not disappoint...
Wiley is back writing and it's....it's.....fantastically insane. This is a statement from his site:
I AM THE LORD, THY GOD AND CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE" -Brooks, W.
Wiley is now claiming to be the "Creator of the Universe" and he's recommending his followers do some amazingly stupid things.
He's actually telling people to light themselves on fire before the due date of March 20, 2013. I hope that no one takes this seriously, I really really do.
"Before you can withstand the amount of heat (fire) generated by this Ascension initiation process your blood stream must have already been converted to a type of gold bio-plasmic liquid light. Therefore replacing the iron that is normally found in the blood. A body that still contains blood cells with iron will not be able to survive the heat (wall of fire) that protects the entrances, portals, vortices and stargates into the 5th Dimensional Worlds.If you thought telling people to stop eating and drinking was dangerous, what do think about him telling people to light themselves on fire? Oh boy...
THE DROP DEAD DATE FOR THIS PROCESS TO BE COMPLETED IS: MARCH 20, 2013" - Brooks, W.
If Anyone is Taking this Seriously
I know people who join cults and organized religions are pretty stupid and all...but if anyone out there is seriously considering burning themselves in order to train their blood to withstand a "wall of fire" that separates the 3rd dimension from the 5th dimension.....please....back the fuck up and re-examine the situation. Honestly, this is hilarious and everything, but it is really dumb for Wiley to tell people to do something like this.
This new aspect to Breathanarianism is so fucked up that I think Wiley has become my favorite kook of all time. Move over Gene Ray, I have a new All-Time Favorite Kook. Wiley is numero uno in the bat shittery department from now on.
On A Serious Note Though...
I'm being 100% honest now, if any of you reading this are in a cult or organized religion of any sort, please, don't listen to your spiritual leader if they tell you to harm yourself or others. As hilarious as Wiley's new writings are there is a possibility that someone will cause harm to themselves because of this bullshit. Don't believe me? Maybe you should browse that great site "What's the Harm" in your spare time one day.
"What's the Harm" categorizes news stories of people who harmed themselves or others due to beliefs in cults and organized religions. Believe me, there's people dumb enough to try this, I'm not joking.
Link: http://whatstheharm.net/


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Grids of Grey by Shannon Mullett-Bowlsby
Welcome! You are browsing as a guestWould you like to see 7 projects made from this pattern and much more? create a free account What am I missing?
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Grids of Grey
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Goodyear and fashion retailer Lucky Brand have joined forces to launch an exclusive capsule collection featuring the tire company.
Lifestyle label Lucky Brand has partnered with NASCAR to create a line of vintage inspired t-shirts.
Apparel retailer Lucky Brand has partnered with U.K.-based Norton Motorcycles for an apparel range.
Lucky Brand is expanding its collaboration with Ford Motor Company for a new collection of men's and women's apparel featuring Mustang.
Lucky Brand is expanding its ongoing partnership with music legend Johnny Cash in honor of the release of a lost Johnny Cash album.
Vince Camuto has built a fashion empire through his creative inspiration, love of people and focus on licensing.
Carlos Alberini has resigned from his position as co-CEO of Restoration Hardware Holdings in order to lead Lucky Brand.
Fender has launched a new licensed apparel collection with Lucky Brand, and is supporting the line with a sweepstakes for music fans.
©2017 UBM. All rights reserved. A UBM Company.


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But unlike the epic drama of the 2000 debacle, this result feels like the big British dither.
We cannot dither, we cannot just twiddle our thumbs, or wait and see.
We dither, we argue, we do little, as the world moves rapidly.
Imagine anyone trying to get the Old Man into a dither—and getting away with it.
There must be enough play between the vital parts to allow of some movement; "dither" is, I believe, the Scotch word for it.
The planks at his feet had started to dither again, and practice told him that the vessel must be moving.
Every new batch of fluff-balls drove him to a dither of vicarious maternity.
About seventy-five per cent of the golfers who follow the usual tuition are "all of a dither."
The voice broke and the colonel, who habitually roared forth his sentiments, began to dither.
And the more perfectly made the engine, the less will the amount of this "dither" be.
1640s, "to quake, tremble," phonetic variant of Middle English didderen (late 14c.), of uncertain origin. The sense of "vacillate, be anxious" is from 1819. Related: Dithered; dithering.


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Best Of :: Shopping & Services
You may be feeling apocalyptic about brick-and-mortar bookstores; perhaps your doomy self keeps telling you soon we shall sit quietly in front of our computers in the dark facing the comforting Amazon glow, wondering why we have forsaken the soft touch of the page for the cold, hard, lifeless buzz of a screen. Until that day, we can still flock to Skylight Books, the best indie bookstore in town. (Book Soup is almost as good, and scores bonus points for longevity and what some might call heart, but once you factor in the Botoxed celebs, and the hellish parking situation, and the almost certain fact that you will have a ticket for not rotating your wheels toward the curb upon your return...). Skylight has become unrivaled since the opening of its annex two years ago, housing books on the arts, music, architecture, fashion and an edlessly fascinating magazine stand thats still one of the few racks in town to sell zines. Want Eileen Myless latest, The Importance of Being Iceland, on Semiotext(e)? No problem. Wanna order Eileen Myles new book Inferno before its release? Sure, can do. Wanna see Eileen Myles read from either of these books? Not on Skylights handy list of upcoming events, but absolutely the kind of thing that could happen. Skylight supports the local writing scene, hosting MFA reading events for CalArts critical studies candidates, Steve Ericksons literary journal Black Clock and more, and it has a history of employing talented writers and artists [Music Editors note: including certain alt-weekly Music Eds]. In other words, screw your doomy self and go revel in the all-senses pleasures of interesting words and pictures on good ole paper. 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Feliz. (323) 660-1175, skylightbooks.com. Nikki Darling
Rolling Greens is for things for your garden you cant find at Home Depot exotic plants and cacti, containers, statuary and other garden nonsense in four broad levels, sprawling down a hillside in the outer wilds of Culver City. I went there looking for some Mexican feather grass, that landscaping cliché that has become the staple of every new Southland mall. And, before you know it, Im wandering and wondering, Would it be better to go with a cast-iron planter, or the zinc? Do I have space in the corner by the telephone pole for that nice wooden bodhisattva? And what about that topiary bush anyway? And I was thinking the distressed Mexican pottery would be good in my 4-foot patch of L.A. maybe go for the whole post-Revolution hacienda-ruins look. Plenty of nonessential items to make your petty burgher dreams come true. 9528 Jefferson Blvd., Culver City. (310) 559-8656; also 7505 Beverly Blvd., Mid-City. (323) 934-4500, rollinggreensnursery.com. Jedd Birkner
One of the last large independent bookstores in Southern California, Book Soup, which bills itself as the Bookseller to the Great and Infamous, survived the death of longtime owner Glenn Goldman in 2009, as well as the competition from Internet shopping and the huge chain bookstores and their discounted wares. In fact, according to Book Soup staff, the West Hollywood landmark is booming. A big reason for that is Vromans, a major independent bookstore in Pasadena, which bought Book Soup after Goldman died, and over the past year has invested its deep-pocketed resources to maintain and build upon Book Soups inventory of more than 60,000 titles. Another reason is that Book Soup, which opened in 1975, still specializes in books customers crave in the areas of art, photography, film, music, literary fiction, L.A. noir, celebrity biographies and controversial nonfiction. The store continues to champion hard-to-find books by university, international and small presses, while offering author signings every week. If you want to learn about a world of ideas and transforming stories, Book Soup is the place to go. 8818 Sunset Blvd., W. Hlywd. (310) 659-3110, booksoup.com. Patrick Range McDonald
The Japanese garden district on Sawtelle Boulevard in West Los Angeles features three nurseries side by side, companion planted, as it were, for mutual benefit. Of them, Yamaguchi Bonsai Nursery is the most artistic. As the name implies, bonsai is their specialty. But someone here has a keen eye for plant arrangements of all types for the way in which dainty alyssum blossoms, say, complement a hefty profusion of petunias, mints and marjoram. Can a lowly house cactus inspire? It can here, jumbled into a pretty glazed clay pot with a squadron of weird little succulents. The place feels like nothing so much as someones wonderful backyard. Everything in tight spaces. Life bursting out of every corner. Yamaguchis is a great place for wandering, and it helps that the plants are happy, fat and healthy. The abundance of beneficial insects ladybugs, bees, lacewings zipping about is a good sign, too. Sales ladies Michiko and Kate wont mince words about which plants will thrive in shade and which require hours of blazing sun. Lest we forget, gardening is science as much as it is art. To some, its practically religion. If shes in good humor (and detects that you have a sense of humor), Michiko may even offer to whisper a blessing over your newly purchased plants. 1905 Sawtelle Blvd., W.L.A. (310) 473-5444. Gendy Alimurung
With its $30 million redesign completed last year, the Hotel Shangri-La in Santa Monica is the epitome of L.A. glamour something thats hard to define until youre practically immersed in it. Built in 1939, the Shangri-La, with a glorious Art Deco design and superb beachfront location, has always seemed special, and its only gotten better with the renovation. Remaining true to its architecture, the pool area and dining room are tastefully sleek and modern, with an ultra-posh rooftop bar that offers great views, particularly at sunset, of the Pacific Ocean and Santa Monica Pier. Nearly all of the rooms have an ocean view and come with flat-screen TVs, wireless Internet, super comfy beds and iPod docking stations. To top it off, Santa Monica Beachs clean white sand is a short walk away. 1301 Ocean Ave., Santa Monica. (310) 394-2791, shangrila-hotel.com. Patrick Range McDonald
Secret Headquarters in Silver Lake is not the oldest, or the biggest, or the cheapest comic book store in Los Angeles, but it is the most beautiful. The impeccable nerds version of a man cave, this place is outfitted like a private library, with dark wood shelves, creaky wood floors, a ta , manga then delve deep into one sub-specialty: alternative graphic novels. That Henry-Rollins-and-Glenn-Danzig-as-gay-lovers minicomic? Theyve got it. Along with Steve Reeders Cheetahs Never Win, Jeffrey Browns Cats Are Weird and Matt Haverons Harshmallow. What Secret Headquarters lacks in sheer bulk of mainstream titles (Isnt that what the internets for?), owners Dave Pifer and David Richie make up for with atmosphere and knowledge. If you dont speak geek, or dont know what you like, the person behind the register here is happy to recommend something. No secret password required. 3817 W. Sunset Blvd., Silver Lake. (323) 666-2228, secretheadquarters.com. Gendy Alimurung


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Anne Hathaway and Amanda Seyfried Kill It at 'Les Miserables' London Premiere in Eye-Catching Gowns: All the Red Carpet Fashion (PHOTOS)
But then Hathaway ditched the dramatic topper, inciting a collective gasp as she revealed the showstopper hidden underneath. The lithe starlet literally sparkled in the shimmery beaded Givenchy gown. The column stunner, featured draped and an eye-catching off-the-shoulder cum halter-neck style neckline. Radiating elegance, Hathaway continued her style show, as she turned to reveal the gown's sexy cutout back framed in studded rhinestone straps.
Following her costar's lead, Amanda Seyfried made a dramatic statement in a strapless black-and-white Balenciaga gown with dramatic flamenco-style ruffling.
Though both leading ladies had a subtle edge to their looks, they stayed on opposite ends of the glamour spectrum. Countering Hathaway's vintage glamour, Seyfried exuded modern glamour in the architectural gown, which she paired with an of-the-moment side ponytail.
And the red carpet drama didn't stop with Anne and Amanda. Amy Adams did a style 360, trading her classic red carpet glamour for modern minimalism in a white cutout gown and straight strands.
Gillian Anderson chose a festive crimson ball gown for a classic Grace Kelly-esque glamour, while Helena Bonham Carter, known for her costume-y red carpet choices, shocked in a surprisingly subdued midnight gown with subtle sparkle.
Click through the gallery for all the red carpet fashion from the Les Miserables UK premiere.
Which Les Mis star's version of red carpet glamour was your favorite? Share your pick in the comments below.
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I get a little nervous sometimes about how the search engines I use can track a lot of what I do when I'm on my computer. Is there any way I can keep this information private? I'm not saying that I search for anything out of the ordinary, but it's nice to know I can have a little privacy when I want it.
I agree with you on this one. I don't think we realize how much a search engine can pick up just from us using them. As a matter of fact, I'm really glad you asked this question. I've been trying to think of a way to fit this topic into the newsletter for awhile and now, I have the perfect opportunity. Plus, I'm sure the person who asked this question isn't the only one who has been wondering about it. So, let's clear some things up, shall we?!
First of all, let's go over a little background. Every time you use a search engine (Google, Yahoo!, etc.), that site is then able to collect and store the records of all your searches. They can track the terms you search for, the Web sites you visit after you find what you're looking for, the times at which you search and they can even pick up your IP address. From all of that, the search engine site is then able to figure out who you are, what you do while you're online and even what some of your likes and dislikes are. That's pretty crazy (and a little scary), isn't it?
So, since I care about all of you so much, I'm going to fill you in on a couple secrets as to how you can keep some of this information private from those nosy search engines. I have six tips for you today and if you follow them all, you'll be way ahead in keeping your search history private from any intruders, etc. Okay, here we go!
1.) Do not log into the search engine or any of their extra tools. If you go to your favorite search engine and log in right away, it makes it very easy for it to create a profile about you. Once you log in, they know your identity right away and after that, there's no turning back in what they can figure out next.
Now, you may think that you don't log into your search engine, but you actually may without even knowing it. For example, if you use Google as your main search engine (which a lot of us do), you are probably signed up for some of Google's other tools, such as Gmail, Google Talk, Google Groups, etc. If you're logged into any of those extra programs while you're performing a search, Google will be able to track down all of your information. So, just be sure that you log out of any other programs before you start searching. It may be hard to remember at first, but for your own safety, make sure you do it. Write yourself a note if you need to, because it's really easy to forget to log out of some of the programs you probably use on a very regular basis. You'll get the hang of it though! Again, make sure you do this for any search engine that you use that may have extra programs included.
2.) This next one has to do completely with keeping yourself safe from Google. As I said above, many of us use Google as our primary search engine, but in all actuality, Google can be one of the most risky to deal with. Google does things a little differently. It uses cookies to track your history from your search sessions. You may think that if you just delete your cookies, you'll be all set, but that's not really the best way to handle it. Cookies can be very helpful sometimes and if you deleted them, your Web surfing experience wouldn't always be as easy. So, the best thing to do is block only Google's cookies. Here's how.
In Internet Explorer, go to Tools, Internet Options and click on the Privacy tab. Next, click on the Sites button and in the "Address of Web site" box, type in Google's address (www.google.com). When you're finished, click on the Block button. In Firefox, go to Tools, Options and click on the Privacy tab as well. Choose Exceptions and type in Google's Web address. Click Block when you're done. If you do this, Google will no longer be able to place cookies on your hard disk, which will keep them from gathering up all of your information.
3.) Change your IP address on a regular basis. Search engines actually get the most information about you from your IP address, so it's best to change it every once in awhile. This will keep the search engines from learning so much about you so easily. If you use a cable or DSL modem, the easiest way to get a new IP address is to turn your modem off and leave it off for a few minutes. Then, turn it back on. This method will clear out your old IP address and you'll automatically be assigned a new one. If you use another type of Internet connection (dial-up, etc.), you may want to contact your ISP (Internet Service Provider) and ask them about getting a new address. Either way, it's an easy way to keep your information safe.
4.) Don't ever include any personal information in your searches. You may have searched for your own name before, which can be kind of fun, but it's really not all that safe. Every time you put any of your personal data into the search (your name, address, social security number, etc.), you're putting yourself in danger. Doing that makes it very easy for search engines to collect your information and then keep it forever. It could also sometimes lead to identity theft, depending on what you search for. Your information could land in the wrong hands and it could be very bad news.
5.) Always try to perform extra sensitive searches on a public computer. If you ever absolutely need to search for your personal information or any other extremely private data, don't do it on your home or office computer. That may not make much sense, but if you use your personal computer, it's more likely that you'll be logged into another program that could compromise your information. If you go to a computer that you've never used before, you won't have the tendency to log in and your information will be safer. Also, when you do this, make sure you don't log in on the computer you're using. If you accidentally do that, your information will be at risk all over again.
6.) The last one for today is to try and avoid using the search engine that your ISP provides. Your ISP already knows your IP address (and they'll know any new one that you get), so that means they can obtain your information even easier. Then, once you use their search engine, they will be able to collect even more information about you and it will just be bad. Most ISPs do have their own search engine (for example, search.comcast.net), so just steer clear of those. It's nice to think that we can trust our ISPs (and I mean, most the time, we can), but you really have to worry about protecting yourself first.
There you have it. Six tips you can follow to keep all of your search information as private as possible. Now, I know that some of you may not think it's necessary to do all this, but I wanted to give you options just in case you thought it was worth while. It doesn't hurt to try, right?!
~ Erin


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Stairs & Staircases Distributed Through the UK
Tel: (01938) 553311


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The Gainesville Planning and Appeals Board voted 3-2 Tuesday to recommend approving development of a 94,000-square-foot, 90-unit apartment complex on a 2.2-acre site off Queen City Parkway at Banks Street, across from the city's Public Safety Complex.
Nonprofit Atlanta-based developer Mercy Housing Southeast is under contract to purchase the land, which consists of 11 parcels, including housing rental units, accessory buildings and a metal warehouse used as a church.
Mercy Housing is seeking to rezone the land to construct the affordable apartment community, and the Gainesville City Council will vote on the matter later this month.
Mercy Housing plans to construct 21 one-bedroom/one-bath units, 36 two-bedroom/two-bath units, and 33 three-bedroom/two-bath units. Most apartments will be rented to households at 50 percent and 60 percent of the area median income, while some will have no income restrictions.
Jason Braga, a representative from Mercy Housing, said the developer would seek state tax credits to construct the affordable housing community, to be known as the Lofts at Midtown. The project still awaits approval by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs.
"It's a project that seems to be needed in this area," Braga said.
City officials first approached Mercy Housing last year, and the site was identified after a tour of Gainesville.
"There is a need for affordable housing," said Community Development Director Rusty Ligon, while adding the apartments should not be viewed as public housing. "I think it makes sense to redevelop here."
Residents of the existing homes on Banks Street, which would be demolished, expressed mixed reactions about the proposed apartments.
Wendy Wendt, who lives in a small home off Banks Street with her two children and mother, said she already has plans to move. She said crime and drug use in the area is rampant, and she said she's hoping to provide more for her family.
"I've just outgrown it," Wendt said. "This is not for us."
According to city planning officials, the police department raised concerns about the proposed apartments, including whether the property would have sufficient management, and whether plans for on-site parking could result in more accidents.
Meanwhile, Zacarias Solorzano, his wife and four young children are unsure where they would live if evicted from their home on Banks Street.
Solorzano said it would be difficult to move anytime soon because of an injury he recently suffered to his arm while doing construction work. He said he's concerned about the cost of living if his family is forced to relocate.
While the concerns of residents weren't addressed by the planning board, members Jane Fleming and Dexter Stanley voted against the project.
"This looks like a really attractive project," Fleming said, before adding the location gave her concerns. "I'm not so sure, for me, this is the best choice right now."


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Check BNN and Bulbanews for up-to-date Pokémon news and discuss it on the forums or in the Bulbagarden Discord server.
| Drew
シュウ Shū
| [[File:File:Drew.jpg|{{{size}}}]]
|10 (est. by Pokeani)
|LaRousse City
|Trainer class
|Anime debut
|Now That's Flower Power
|English voice actor
| Pete Zarustica (4Kids)
Bill Rogers (PUSA)
|Japanese voice actor
|Mitsuki Saiga
Drew (Japanese: シュウ Shū) is a Pokémon Coordinator from LaRousse City and May's greatest rival. He is voiced by 斎賀みつき Mitsuki Saiga in Japanese, Pete Zarustica (4Kids dub) and Bill Rogers (Pokémon USA/TAJ Productions dub) in English, Vagner Fagundes (AG033-AG035) and Thiago Longo (AG050-present) in Brazilian Portuguese and Irwin Daayán in Latin American Spanish.
May and her friends first met Drew while she was practicing with her Beautifly on the beach near Slateport City in Now that's Flower Power!. Like Ash's main rival, Gary, Drew is portrayed as being confident, critical, and popular among his supporters, though generally not as overtly insulting as Gary initially was. However, also like Gary, he is not a villain by any means, despite how his comments and attitude may have angered May and her friends. His first match against May pitted her Beautifly against his Roselia, only to have it end when Team Rocket interfered. Drew's skills have been a continuing inspiration for May to better herself as a coordinator, so much so that seeing a different Roselia will remind May of her rivalry.
In Drew's showing at the Slateport City Contest in Win, Lose or Drew!, he and his Roselia defeat May and Beautifly, but go on to lose to Robert and his Milotic. Drew shows up again for the Fallarbor Contest in Pros and Con Artists!, where May learns that he has three contest ribbons. Before the Fallarbor Contest begins, Drew has his first battle against Ash, pitting his Roselia against Ash's Taillow. During the contest, however, he loses to Grace and her Medicham. Following the contest, Drew congratulates the winner, May, by giving her a rose. The gesture (which is repeated in later encounters) is seen by some fans to be a hint towards a romantic relationship between the two. Drew claims that the roses are for May's Beautifly, but the excuse seems to become more cursory each time.
In A Fan with a Plan, Drew is mobbed by the M.F.P. (Mothers for Pokémon) fan club at the Rubello Town Pokémon Center. Before the contest, May spots Drew practicing outside with his new Pokémon, Masquerain. May introduces Drew to her latest Pokémon, Bulbasaur. Masquerain is shown to be a Pokémon well-suited for contest battling, while Bulbasaur, though rare in Hoenn, embarrasses May with its lack of discipline. Drew wins his fourth ribbon in Cruisin' for a Losin' using his Roselia in the first round, and his Masquerain in the 2nd. Notably, Drew placed 2nd at the Hoenn Grand Festival in Rhapsody in Drew beating out May in the semi-finals with his Roselia and newly-captured Flygon and losing to Robert in the finals.
Afterwards he decided to go for the Contests that reside in the Kanto Region. In May, We Harley Drew'd Ya!, he was reunited with his old rival and friend Solidad. She had defeated Drew in the last round of his very first battle a long time ago. She said the loss even made him cry. It had also been revealed in the same episode that he had been training an Absol for the Kanto Grand Festival, and he tells May at some point that he used to be very prone to nervousness back then.
During the Kanto Grand Festival, he lost to May, who ultimately lost to Solidad.
In The Unbeatable Lightness of Seeing, he revealed he would be traveling to Johto to participate in contests there. Also in this episode, he showed he has a Butterfree.
He has Contest Passes to compete in Hoenn, Kanto, and assumably now Johto as well.
On hand
External links
- Top Coordinator, the fanlisting for Drew at The Anime Fanlistings Network
- Shū's Profile on Pokeani (Japanese)
- Shū's Pokémon on Pokeani (Japanese)
|Top Coordinators


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Performing Downton Abbey with John Remak (#03-1750)
BATS Improv, Center for Improvised Theatre
Friday, March 15, 2013 at 7:00 PM (PDT)
Event Details
Class Time/Dates:
6-10pm on Friday March 15, 10am-5pm on Saturday March 16, 10am-5pm Sunday March 17. Performance 7pm Sunday March 17
Schedule: 4 sessions; once a week for four weeks
Class size: 10 students maximum
Class length: 3 hours (12 hours total)
Prerequisite: Long-form performance experience mandatory, along with coach and dean approval. Contact email@example.com to confirm eligibility before signing up.
Don't miss your chance to be in the first-ever BATS cast to perform the hottest genre today: Downton Abbey. An advanced improv intensive designed for experienced improvisers, This workshop will deeply focus on character, status, and sustaining an emotionally driven narrative. Plus you'll be served a full helping of the genre by exploring the life and manners (and costumes)! of early 20th century England and getting to know the real difference between a second footman and a Dowager Countess. Prepatory work will be required.
BATS Improv Class Refund Policy:
Your class tuition includes a non-refundable deposit equal to 20% of your payment.
If you have registered for a class and decide you want to drop that class AT LEAST 14 DAYS BEFORE THE FIRST CLASS SESSION, you may choose to receive a refund for the amount of the class minus your non-refundable deposit OR you may choose to reapply your payment IN FULL to another BATS class.
Classes dropped 4-13 days before the start of the class are not eligible for the re-application of full payment to another class. You may either reapply your payment (minus the applicable deposit) or receive a partial refund. This option is not available for those enrolled in summer intensives or youth/teen camps.
Regular classes/workshops dropped within 72 hours of the first class session, or summer intensives and youth/teen camps dropped within two weeks of the first session, are not eligible for either re-application or any refund.
When & Where
BATS Improv
Friday, March 15, 2013 at 7:00 PM (PDT)
Add to my calendar


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Mixer Stand, open base with bottom shelf, 30" W x 24" L-R x 24"H, 1-7/8" turn down on 4 sides, marine edges, 3 steel box channels, 14/304 s/s top, legs, undershelf and 48" utensil rack, "Aero Safety Edge", fully adjustable undershelf, shipped KD, NSF
- Aero's stainless steel shelving is commonly used at industries including restaurants & food service, hospitals, and fabrication. There are also many useful applications for Aero equipment in the home or garage.
Are you familiar with this product? Be the first to review this item!


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When it comes to fall home fashions, old is new again. Vintage, repurposed, reclaimed - all buzz words for this fall's hot new looks.
"Things got so slick in the world of home décor that it was only a matter of time before we returned to more of a vintage feel,'' said Kimberley Yant-Dominguez, a merchandise manager at Cost Plus World Market.
"The recycling movement helped move it forward,'' she added. "Pieces have an aged look, and they have a found feel.''
Whether from boats or barns, reclaimed wood is finding new life in furniture, said Morgan Trevers, general manager at Table Talk in Tucson.
"Furniture is made from reclaimed woods, with a French country appeal,'' Trevers said. "It gives wood a new lease on the world.''
Customers are looking for that cozy, familiar feel.
"People are buying what they perceive as comfortable,'' Trevers said. "They want familiarity, a comfort zone, and they want something that's been around and will be around.''
Here's a taste of what to expect in home fashions this fall:
Lisa Liu , who represents Simply Vera Vera Wang at Kohl's, said deep shades of red, purple and blue are trending, as well as softer shades of green. "We're not talking about a lot of wild colors, but definitely shades and textures in the comforters.''
It's all about comfort and texture in throw pillows and comforters - whether a delicate weave or a chunkier look.
"That little bit of added texture is important this year,'' Liu said.
Cost Plus World Market
Cost Plus is fusing African Safari with British Colonial for fall, Yant-Dominguez said. "I like to think of it as our ode to 'Out of Africa'," she said. "It's really grounded in neutrals with pops of color.''
From a chunky wool fishbone rug to animal and tribal prints, striking and soft are at the top of the list. Skin is in, with luxurious, faux animal prints.
Sprinkled throughout the fall collection are pieces that move. "Movable furniture - like when the British would go on safari and move their whole house - is very popular." Look for wheels on desks, ottomans and even a traveling bar that folds into a trunk.
Back again this year is the popular papasan chair, with a twist - newly updated faux fur cushions. "The papasan is a classic chair and we have carried it as long as we've been in business, since 1958,'' Yant-Dominguez said. "It's one of the most comfortable chairs you'll find to curl up in with a good book. It's kind of a guilty pleasure.''
Also new for fall is the Venetian Bazaar line. "In the 13th century Venice was a very important trading center, and we thought, 'What would a loft or flat look like in Venice today?' "
Crushed velvet, etched glass pieces and rich colors come together with distressed wood, darker metal accents and aged-looking pieces.
Blues and greens - accented with vibrant colors like bright apple green - are popular as well. "From bright blue to turquoise, everything in blue is working well,'' Yant-Dominguez said.
And don't forget throw pillows, which incorporate the ribbon used to finish saris.
"It adds a little shine without being too much, a little bit of bling without going overboard,'' Yant-Dominguez said.
Table Talk
"Coffee bean brown is the new color for fall, and we're seeing burnt oranges,'' said Table Talk's Trevers. "We're seeing deeper, richer colors.''
Reclaimed wood with metal accents - even good ol' chicken wire - is in fashion. "It's an eclectic look, very rustic,'' he said.
Southwestern has been replaced by ranch style, without a coyote in sight this season. "What we're seeing has more of a bunk-house cabin appeal,'' Trevers said.
Always popular at Table Talk is HF Coors dinnerware, made right here in Tucson. The homey dinnerware, platters and bowls come in a variety of bright colors.
And in a flashback to the '90s, Mexican glassware - rimmed in cobalt, amber or red - is flying off the shelves. "Pitchers and margarita glasses are popular like they were in the '90s,'' Trevers said.
Whimsical yard art with an arts and crafts appeal is in fashion, as is anything that is - or looks - reclaimed.
"Reusing, reclaiming, multipurposing - people want to figure out other ways to use things,'' Trevers said.
Sabrina Soto, Target Style Expert for Home and HGTV designer, said in an email that consumers are looking for "unexpected twists and updates on traditional home décor.'' Target's fall Threshold line offers patterns, colors and textures that can be incorporated into an existing look.
"The tribal prints are a popular trend this fall, as well as imagery of nature and the equestrian lifestyle,'' according to Soto. "Color and texture also will be a big trend this fall because they are an easy way to add definition and life to a room.''
Look for leather accents and metal hardware, as well as styles that pair deep hues - which create a feeling of warmth and comfort for cooler months - with brighter colors. Deep teal, eggplant, and moss green will be popular as well as tangerine, chartreuse and gold, Soto predicted.
Contact local freelance writer Gabrielle Fimbres at email@example.com


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Last week we introduced our RightScale State of the Cloud 2013 industry survey, a comprehensive report based on responses from 625 industry professionals. Today we'll dive into more details of the survey findings and show how they indicate that the greater the level of maturity organizations have with cloud, the more benefits they get from it.
By the way, when we say industry professionals, we don't just mean the technology industry. The survey respondents came from a variety of industries, with half coming from technology-focused companies and half came from a wide variety of other industries, including media, financial services, and education. Respondents were a mix of development staff as well as IT and operations, with almost one in five respondents coming from the business side.
Last week we noted that one of the key findings of the report was that the cloud is a given for organizations of all sizes today. Three-quarters of organizations are adopting cloud, and are at various stages of maturity in their use of cloud. Segmenting respondents based on their cloud maturity reveals that as organizations adopt cloud more broadly, they realize increasingly more value.
As organizations progress in cloud maturity, the workloads they deploy in the cloud get increasingly broader. While development, test, and customer-facing web applications continue to be the top workloads deployed by companies across the maturity spectrum, other workloads are not far behind. More than 50 percent of organizations that are Cloud Focused are also running internal web applications, batch processing, and mobile apps in the cloud.
Going hand in hand with the growth of the types of cloud workloads, we see that the benefits organizations report from cloud also increase with increasing cloud maturity. Organizations indicate that the top benefits they have already realized are faster access to infrastructure, greater scalability, and faster time to market for applications. These top three benefits are reported by more than 25 percent of Cloud Beginners, more than 50 percent of Cloud Explorers, and more than 80 percent of Cloud Focused organizations.
As organizations move toward more experience with the cloud, more than 50 percent report such benefits as business continuity and increased application availability, better application performance, expanded geographic reach, and increased IT staff efficiency. These findings show that cloud benefits are not only a future expectation, but also a reality today for many organizations.
In addition to an increase in reported benefits, the challenges of cloud show a sharp decrease with cloud maturity. Across the board, organizations with more experience in cloud report fewer challenges with security, governance, compliance, and integration.
As an example, while security is the most-cited challenge, the percentage of organizations that report that security is a significant challenge decreases from 38 percent of Cloud Beginners to 18 percent of Cloud Focused. In other words, the more you learn about how to work in the cloud, the more you understand how to address these issues and the less likely you are to see it as a significant challenge.
Cloud experience also pays off in handling inevitable outages associated with any data center - whether cloud or private. While news of cloud outages inevitably makes headlines, the reality is that in 2012 there were fewer publicly reported cloud outages than private data center outages. Not surprisingly, as organizations increase their usage of cloud and expand workloads, they are more likely to report being impacted by a cloud outage. However, organizations with more experience report that the impacts of those outages were of shorter duration, indicating that they have learned to architect for these situations and put failover and disaster processes in place to reduce their impact.
With increased benefits, fewer challenges, and fewer outages, increased cloud maturity clearly unlocks increasingly higher levels of value.
We have a few more points to talk about next time that will interest anyone who follows both DevOps and the cloud. To read the complete survey results, see the RightScale State of the Cloud Report 2013.


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Pizza is a treat for all ages, much like a cartoon with lots of innuendo. Savor something saucy with this Groupon.
The Deal
Vito's Pizzeria
If you had passed by in 1978, you probably would have missed Vito's Pizzeria. The storefront was completely invisible from the street, an unfortunate reality that might have been the death knell for a lesser business. But the 600-square-foot, strictly-take-out pizzeria managed to survive and even thrive based solely on word of mouth.
It's been more than 30 years, and people are still talking. Thankfully, the pizzeria has expanded quite a bit in terms of space and menu. Today, Vito's chefs craft everything from deep-dish pies to Italian grinders, which, as their name suggests, taste just as good when ground up and served with a straw.


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Paul Rudd Gets Smooched by a Dude in Seven Minutes in Heaven! (VIDEO)
Have you ever wondered what Paul Rudd would be like as a ghost?!
If you're like us, you'll take the Our Idiot Brother actor in any form. Rudd recently stopped by the hilarious web series Seven Minutes in Heaven to chat with Saturday Night Live writer Mike O'Brien in the comfort of his own closet.
Rudd was cute and charming as he discussed his nervousness with donkeys and his favorite dessert, among other uber funny topics — like laser hair removal. Hilarious?!? With Paul, it is.
Rudd goes on to imitate a ghost from the Paranormal Activity franchise after O'Brien reveals that his closet may be haunted and the result is pure comedy, including the inevitable awkward kiss at the end.
What was the most hilarious moment for you? Tell us in the comments!


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Guy Ritchie Gossip
Guy Ritchie gossip, latest news, photos, and video.
My favourite bromance & Noomi's bad dress
Tim Whitby/Dave Hogan/Getty
I appreciate the effort. That she didn't want to be boring. But this dress...It's really, really, REALLY bad. Maybe, like, MAYBE, and this is the weakest maybe ever, if the dots were smaller? Probably not. But sh-t, it's SH-T, right??? And the hair, the fringe, that doesn't help either. I don't understand how this happens. Full Story
Making money off Madonna
Guy Ritchie is promoting Sherlock. There's a short but rather insightful interview in Details and they actually get him to talk about Madonna which I suspect, if given the opportunity, he might do more if people actually gave him a platform. He certainly didn't seem shy about sharing his feelings with the magazine. Full Story
A very public Suck It
It has been a long, long time since Gwyneth Paltrow has been photographed in public with Madonna. It's been exactly 12 hours since Gwyneth Paltrow was photographed with Madonna's ex-husband and Jacqui, the mother of his newborn baby. GOOP will roll her eyes and say that gossips are making something out of nothing and that a dinner with Guy Ritchie doesn't mean she and Madge are no longer tight. Full Story
Snape & Jo! And ... they all say goodbye
Massive premiere in London today – the final, final, FINAL carpet for the Harry Potter series in the motherland. There will be a premiere in New York on Monday but ... Harry is English, England is the heart of it. And here they almost all are to say goodbye and thank you. No, thank YOU. F-ck me I am crying again. Full Story
RDJ vs GMD
Tom Cruise was at that Joel Silver Memorial Day party in Malibu. So was Joel Silver. Joel Silver is producing Sherlock Holmes 2. Sherlock Holmes 2 opens on December 16. You know what else opens on December 16? Mission Impossible 4. Head to head! So Robert Downey Jr was also there. As was Sherlock director Guy Ritchie with his pregnant girlfriend Jacquie. Full Story
Becks touches the bump!
Remember when Posh and Becks posed on thrones at their wedding? I thought about this when I saw them arriving at the Royal Wedding. What Victoria must have thought of the understated elegance at Westminster Abbey. And the pomp and the privilege and all of it that money can't buy. Which is perhaps why David was wearing his OBE on the wrong side. Full Story
Baby Mother not invited
Guy Ritchie is on the guest list for the Royal Wedding. Without a plus one. Which means he can't bring his girlfriend Jacqui Ainsley who is pregnant. I guess the Royal People don't want you unless you're, like, official. Being the knocked up GF doesn't count. Or maybe they only extended him one spot because they didn't want to take the chance that he'd bring his ex-wife Madonna. Full Story
Madge's fertile successor
According to the UK's News of the World (yeah my eyebrow is right up there with yours), Guy Ritchie and his girlfriend Jacqui Ainsley are expecting. Jacqui is a model. They've been together a year or so. And supposedly the baby is due in September. To celebrate, Guy took Jacqui away on holiday where they can both relax. Full Story
Sherlock 2 & Lane Pryce
In London today and they're back: Guy Ritchie at the helm, Robert Downey Jr, and Jude Law together on set shooting Sherlock Holmes 2 looking super comfortable and happy to be reunited. They however will not be joined by Brad Pitt or Daniel Day Lewis as Moriarty in the sequel. Instead, Moriarty will be played by Jared Harris. Full Story
Guy can be affectionate too
Yesterday it was Madonna getting mommy gushy with Lola on the set of W.E., now photos of her ex-husband Guy Ritchie picking up his boys Rocco and David Banda for his turn yesterday before taking them out for dinner at Wagamama. See Lorella? Wagamama! We had one right around the corner from our hotel. Full Story
RDJ and a new piece
Robert Downey Jr is in London. He was photographed leaving Guy Ritchie's house today. Guy Ritchie meanwhile was photographed last night after dinner with his new piece. It's too hot for me to bother with knowing her name and, frankly, do we have to? I'm all Snooked and JWowwed and Levi'd out. Full Story


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Aaron Geller Photographer
Katherine StaffordModel Female Clawson, Michigan, US
My MM URL: http://www.modelmayhem.com/katherinestafford
Mayhem # 2614745
About MeHi my name is Katie. I am 18 years old and I am very interested in beginning my modeling career. I have always been passionate about fashion and I want to make it my life. I am looking to get a portfolio started and I am shopping for amazing photographers in the area. My style is very upbeat and I love to try new things. Please feel free to contact me through ModelMayhem and we can go from there! Thank you for looking at my profile.
I have an array of 6 stars with some smaller ones tattooed on my right side. Also, I have a tattoo on the top of my left arm, and one on my upper back.
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Credit Notes** Means worked with more than once
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Let the Golden Shears begin…
Media Release
From Doug Laing, media officer, Shearing Sports New Zealand
February 27, 2014
Let the Golden Shears begin…
More than 150 mainly younger shearers, woolhandlers and pressers are today embarking on the road to possible glory in the World's biggest wool industry and sports festival as the 54th Golden Shears international championships begin in Masterton.
Some will compete in all three disciplines, raising to more than 200 the number of entries in the heats of the first-day novice, junior and intermediate shearing championships, novice, junior and senior woolhandling, and the woolpressing.
Their events are among more than 20 that will be decided over the three-day championships in Masterton's War Memorial Stadium, where the "Shears", or "Goldies" as they are affectionately known in the fraternity, were first held in front of sell-out crowds in 1961.
Competitors have come from at least eight overseas countries for the biggest of the 61 events on the Shearing Sports New Zealand calendar.
The competitors include the Australian national shearing and woolhandling teams which will contest the Masterton leg of a bi-annual home-and-away transtasman series, in which the first test at Euroa, Victoria, was heldt 40 years ago this year.
The glamour event is the Golden Shears Open shearing championship, for which the favourite is Northland-raised, Hastings-based defending champion Rowland Smith. It culminates with a six-man final on Saturday night, in which the World's fastest shearers are expected to each shear 20 second-shear sheep in under 18 minutes.
The fastest time in the event was King Country icon David Fagan's 15min 27.4sec, shorn in 2003 when he won the 14th of the record 16 titles he won in the event from 1986 to 2009.
The championships open with an air of expectancy that the 52-year-old's Golden Shears legacy is not yet complete, with Fagan rated by the TAB third on its order of favouritism after five wins in provincial competitions this season, taking him to 625 wins worldwide since his first Open-class competition in the Spring of 1981.
A stunning quarterfinals elimination last year, he has a second major opportunity also as top qualifier for the PGG Wrightson National Circuit finals, incorporating the McSkimming Memorial Triple Crown which was first presented in 1973 as a means of deciding the country's top shearer over all wool types.
The best six will on Saturday night each shear 15 sheep, comprising merinos, halfbreds, longwools, lambs and second-shears, with Fagan having already won the final nine times, from 1986 to 2008.
Most finals are on Saturday, with the final night programme also including the 30th Golden Shears Open woolhandling championship, for which the favourite is the youngest person ever to win a Golden Shears open shearing or woolhandling title, reigning World champion Joel Henare, 22, of Gisborne.
The winner of the Open shearing final will be the first of two machine shearers chosen to represent New Zealand at the World Championships in Gorey, Ireland, in May, while two woolhandlers will be decided in a Saturday-afternoon trial culminating a year-long , 10-show selection series.
The second shearer will be decided in the New Zealand championships Open final in Te Kuiti on March 29, and two blades shearing representatives will be named at the end of a qualifying series which ends at Fairlie in April.