text:
IT'S another busy week for Torfaen Warriors Boxing Club as coach Simon Weaver takes his fighters to Finland for the Pirkka Cup.
The Torfaen team will be up against the best amateur boxers from hosts Finland as well as fighters from Sweden, Norway, Estonia, Russia, Germany, England and the rest of Wales.
Weaver said: "This is our fourth time at the Pirkka Cup and previously we've taken nine fighters and come back with nine gold medals so we're hopeful of more success."
Meanwhile, Torfaen's Ashley Brace continues her build-up to the Commonwealth Games when she represents Wales in Canada next week.


text:
CHINO -The Rotary Club of Chino Wednesday will hear a talk about Boys Republic in Chino Hills.
The meeting will be 12:15 p.m. at the Chino Community Building, 5443 B St.
Chris Burns, the executive director of Boys Republic, will present on the past, current, and future of this internationally known non-profit organization.
Lunch is served followed by business and a weekly program speaker. The public is invited and lunch costs $15.
On Nov. 28, the club will hear a presentation by the Chino Hills City Manager Mike Fleager.
Information: 909-591-1496.

subset: commoncrawl


text: 'Catfish love shacks' By John McCoy June 15, 2013 Story Share John McCoy The DNR's Mike Nuckles (left) and Jeff Hansbarger use a small video camera attached to a painter's pole to determine whether catfish nesting boxes are getting used. So far this year, more than half the boxes have been occupied. LAVALETTE - With his video camera mounted to the end of a long pole, Jeff Hansbarger dunked the rig under the surface of Beech Fork Lake and got a glimpse into a world few people ever see - a catfish's nursery.Hansbarger, a biologist for the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, has spent several recent days inspecting catfish nesting boxes in several Mountain State lakes. The boxes, built by a DNR worker and placed in about a dozen impoundments, are designed to improve catfish reproduction and reduce the need for stockings."Hey, we've got a catfish!" Hansbarger said as he pushed the perch-shaped camera toward the morning's first box. "It's a flathead, and it's sitting on eggs."In short order, Hansbarger and his assistant, Mike Nuckles, checked six boxes. Five contained nesting catfish. "That's a really good percentage," Hansbarger said.DNR officials launched the nest box-building program three years ago. Zack Brown, the biologist who spearheaded the project, said it was first tried in Braxton County's Burnsville Lake."We weren't finding young catfish in Burnsville, and we wanted to enhance spawning activity there," he explained. "Catfish are cavity nesters, and Burnsville doesn't have very many natural cavities. So we built some boxes and put them in the lake."The wooden boxes, 32 inches deep by 16 inches wide and 10 inches tall, have a 6-inch hole offset to one side in the front. The hole gives the female catfish a secure place to lay her eggs, and gives the male catfish - which guards the nest after the eggs are laid - a nursery that's easier to defend from predators. "We call them 'catfish love shacks,'" Brown said, laughing. "But all joking aside, they seem to be working."Recent surveys have shown that more than half the boxes are being used. Brown said the percentage should improve as biologists better learn how and where to place the boxes."The first year, only 10 to 15 percent of them were getting used," he said. "And the results were clumped; boxes in some locations were used heavily, while ones in other locations weren't used at all." DNR workers studied what the well-used boxes had in common."We found that depth was a big factor. If we set them in 5 feet of water, they didn't get used much. Through trial and error, we found out that putting them in 3 feet of water works a lot better, especially if it's on a sunny slope with some sandy substrate nearby," Brown said.Moving poorly located boxes isn't easy. Weighted with patio paving stones, they tip the scales at roughly 120 pounds apiece."We've been waiting until the lakes are drawn down in winter to move the boxes into better locations," Brown said. "It's a tough job, but we're gradually getting it done."Brown and his co-workers have come up with a unique way to determine which boxes are being used. During the spawning season, they lower a waterproof video camera attached to a long stick into the water near each box. "It's amazing, some of the images we've gotten," Brown said. "You can see the catfish holed up in the boxes with hundreds of yellow eggs under them."Nuckles, a DNR wildlife manager based in Gassaway, builds the boxes from green, freshly sawn hemlock. So far he's made 350 of them at a cost of about $20 each."It's pretty cost-effective," Brown said. "Every time a catfish spawns successfully, it represents hundreds or even thousands of fish we won't have to raise in our hatcheries. That's a powerful incentive for us to put out more boxes, and to move unused boxes to places where they'll get used."In the past two years, boxes have been placed in Burnsville, Beech Fork, East Lynn, Stonewall Jackson and Tygart reservoirs, plus half a dozen or so smaller lakes. Brown expects the number of waters to grow."We'll continue to build new boxes and install them," he said. "The goal is to make fishing better by increasing the standing crops of catfish in all these waters. We think we're off to a pretty good start."Reach John McCoy at 304-348-1231 or firstname.lastname@example.com. Story Share Story Share Trending Now 1 Facebook founder visits Cabin Creek Health Systems 2 Congressional opioid investigation targets drug wholesaler Miami-Luken 3 WVU hopes to get injured defenders back for TCU 4 Rhode Island bank claims Justice companies owe $4.2M on helicopter loan 5 Safety shutoff disabled prior to June coal-mining death, report says Outdoors notes -- June 16 Previous Story Not a banner year for Big Buck Contest Next Story


text: MO File Cases help you get control of clutter!The MO File System eliminates messy piles and brings order to your desktop. Fits in most file drawers and easily replaces hanging folders. It takes up 25% less space, eliminates hanging rods and tabs, and makes files easier to remove from the drawer with die-cut handles. Perfect for replacing large, unwieldy 3-ring binders on shelves.


text:
|October 25, 2008, 11:58 AM
Senior Member
Join Date: February 11, 2007
Location: "State of Discombobulation"
Posts: 1,333
I wasn't sure where to put this, but thought it might fit here, and was wondering if anyone else does anything similar.
I was forced to switch hands a few years ago due to medical reasons.
I'm naturally right handed, but shoot/carry my "Primary" left handed. I select a "larger than normal" as my EDC for my left hand. Lately, past five years, it's been either a 3" GP100, Glock 19 or 1911 and the "Secondary" is a J-Frame or SP101.
I was wondering if anybody else has "switched hands" so to speak?
|October 25, 2008, 01:11 PM
Junior member
Join Date: January 24, 2005
Location: SW Louisiana
Posts: 2,289
I wasn't forced to swith, but back when I was giving firearms training classes regularly I did a rotation pattern that included 3 months carrying with the off-hand as the primary every year. Never changed guns based on that, though.
|October 25, 2008, 01:41 PM
Join Date: September 16, 2008
Posts: 78
I got into a car accident back in May, and broke my right thumb. I was in a cast for a couple weeks and I wanted to practice with my left hand but I failed miserably.
BikerRN, besides having to do lots of practice, do you have any techniques or tips that could help improve shooting with the non-primary hand? I think it wouldn't hurt to be an ambidextrous shooter.
- Hiroshi
"In anything at all, perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away." - Antoine de Saint Exupéry
|October 25, 2008, 08:04 PM
Junior member
Join Date: June 7, 2004
Location: AZ
Posts: 392
At LFI Ayoob has us do a lot of shooting with the non-dominant hand because he finds that in after action reports the good guy is often, 25% or more hit in the dominant hand or shoulder because folks aim at the threat and the threat is your gun.
We take a tight grip, cant the hand 30 degrees so the dominant eye can easilly see the sight, then pull the trigger. We did many dry fires, then six live fires at a time. Do from 7 meters, then 10, farther only if you are hitting. Aim for center mass. You'll be shocked at how quickly you get good.
|October 25, 2008, 10:32 PM
Senior Member
Join Date: February 14, 2008
Posts: 279
I am left handed, but have always shot right handed with pistols and long guns. In addition to being right eye dominant, I shot this way because my Dad and everybody else that shot was right handed and that is the way they knew how to teach. Eventually, shooting guns right handed being natural for me.
I can also shot very well left handed but it is because that is my "strong hand" and it is the one I use every day for almost everything. If you want to be better with your "weak" hand, be it right or left, you have to develop fine and gross motor function with it. It will take awhile but isn't impossible. Think about how a left handed person starts their car every morning.
Start making a concerted effort to do everything from using the remote to opening the pickle jar to turning on light switches to carrying the 50 pound bag of dog food with your left hand and you will begin to pick it up. At the range don't worry so much about how many rounds you fire, just do tons and tons of loading and unloading, presenting the weapon, etc. In fact, use only one or two or three rounds per magazine for quite some time to develop the muscle memory. I think I saw a study that said it takes around 1000 repetitions for something to become natural.
I know this from a lot of personal experience. Back in my younger days, I went through months and months of hardcore handgun training with a lot of talented shooters. I always held my own and usually was in the top 4 or 5 out of 20 or so. When we did disabled drills, weak hand, etc., no one could touch me. Why, because I had 20 plus years of experience using my left hand.
|Thread Tools
|Search this Thread


text:
Secure your cooler with a heavy-duty chocking system. The Yeti Rubber Corner Chock fits the Tundra, Sherpa, and Roughneck series as well as most other sizes and makes of coolers. The Rubber provides excellent non-abrasive support and can withstand years of wear and tear. Does not include tie-down or mounting hardware. Set of 4 chocks.
|Item #:


text:
contact: web developer
Land, water and people come together to form the regional landscape found in the Highlands. Stretching from northwestern Connecticut across the Lower Hudson River Valley of New York, through northern New Jersey to southeastern Pennsylvania, this region contains nearly 3 ½ million acres of forests, farms, and communities. The careful protection, management, and use of the natural resources located in this nationally significant region are essential for the long-term sustainability of both the natural and built environments that nurture all life for both current and future generations.
The Highlands Regional Study: Connecticut and Pennsylvania 2010 Update is available here.
Contact us if you have a question, comment, or suggestion regarding the Highlands.


text:
It's been a lousy week for work but a pretty good week for running.
School is just about over here in Georgia, which means it's a whirlwind of paper grading, parent calling, meeting attending, and all manner of other fun stuff at work. Frustrating, but there are only four days left with the students, and there's no stopping now; the hard work is done.
Runs are good lately. Had a shorter long run last week and missed my running group, but I've been fitting in an extra day running each week for the last month or so. Weekly mileage is, as a result, edging toward 25 from 20, which is nice. The body hasn't resisted the change, either, which is doubly nice.
Until this morning.
I set out for an easy 3-4 miles before work, loving the cool temperatures. I am hoping to run my race next month in my new shoes, but my feet still need acclimating. (More on that later.) So I was determined to get this run in, wearing the new shoes, before a nice long run of 12 or so this weekend. But from the moment I took the first step onto the lawn, I knew something was up.
My left foot has been a little twitchy lately - just a little bit of soreness after runs, so I'm looking out for it - but this morning it was my right. Felt like a pressurized cord was wrapped around my right ankle and sole. Really strange sensation. I occasionally have little aches and pains and weird sensations in the first quarter mile that work themselves out over the first mile, so I tried to let it work. Nothing doing. It persisted and worsened over the second mile, I had to take a short walk break to let it breathe in the third, and then I just called it when I finished mile three. I didn't have to hobble home, but I wasn't that far off.
Kinda humbling. I've been running for over a year without any serious injury. I was starting to think I was made of steel, but this little tweak in my ankle has me nervous. I am hoping that I got off it before I did any significant damage, but I can still feel it as I'm walking around today. Hopefully I can sleep it off tonight.


text:
iHerb Customer Reviews
Works great
Verified Purchase
Works great
and has a very good smell. we use it on daily basis.
Was this review helpful to you?
Sparklehearts, Peace Out No Knots Hair Detangler, 8 fl oz (236.5 ml)
Posted by ReputableReviewer on May 31, 2013 | Verified Purchase
It is used by my long-haired Yorkie dog. It is impossible for me to find natural spray for pets, because each is chemic and unnatural at all, descriptions lie about their naturalness. Talking about this one: 1 star for too harsh and too much of smell and 4 stars for ingredients. We have 2 stars medium.
Posted by Vibes72 on Jan 18, 2013 | Verified Purchase
Ingen høydare denne.... Både jeg og ungene ble skuffa.... Håret ble stivt og ekkelt, og en skarp lukt (etter at den kom i håret) gjorde ikke inntrykket bedre.
Works great
Posted by iHerb Customer on Nov 18, 2013 | Verified Purchase
and has a very good smell. we use it on daily basis.
Only detangler my daughter will use
Posted by iHerb Customer on Feb 25, 2013 | Verified Purchase
My daughter loves this. So do I, gets the tangles out naturally and smells so sweet!
I liked!
Posted by iHerb Customer on Jan 25, 2013 | Verified Purchase
Smells great and detangles ok. Good ingredients!
1-5 of 5 total


text:
Low Vision
Baltimore, MD 21204
Telephone: 443-849-2658
Fax: 443-849-2631
Tuesday: 8:30am - 4:30pm
Wednesday: 8:30am - 4:30pm
Thursday: 8:30am - 4:30pm
Friday: 8:30am - 4:30pm
Sat & Sun: Closed
The Richard E. Hoover Rehabilitation Services for Low Vision and Blindness is a unique program dedicated to helping people with low vision and blindness resume active, satisfying more independent lives. Hoover Services staff members work directly with visually impaired individuals to determine which devices and techniques will m them meet their personal goals.
What is Low Vision?
Low Vision generally mans a visual condition that cannot be corrected by conventional eyeglasses, contact lenses or surgery. The World Health Organization recognizes low vision for those individuals who have vision loss at a level worse then 20/60 in their best correctable eye or severe loss of peripheral vision. All of use vision to interpret everything in our daily lives. Therefore, low vision impacts all aspects of a person's ability to perform activities of daily living.


text:
MORAGA, Calif. -- The Saint Mary's men's basketball team got something Wednesday against Pacific that teams rarely get -- a second chance.
The Gaels weren't going to let opportunity escape them, as they used an outstanding half of defense to establish control en route to a 74-46 victory over the Tigers at McKeon Pavilion.
Beau Levesque led the way for Saint Mary's (8-2), tying his career high with 18 points. Matthew Dellavedova added 17 points, eight assists and six rebounds. Mitchell Young scored 11 and Jorden Page added 10 as the Gaels finished with four players in double figures.
Khalil Kelley led Pacific (5-6) with 11 points. Lorenzo McCloud added 10 for the Tigers.
A 76-66 loss to West Coast Conference member-in-waiting Pacific at the DIRECTV Classic in November left Saint Mary's hungry for a little revenge as the Tigers came to Moraga looking to duplicate that effort.
"Last game, their (forwards) combined for a lot of buckets," Dellavedova said. "I think Mitch and Beau really relished the challenge to get after their 4 men and take it as their personal job to stop them. I think they both did a great job tonight, defending and rebounding and playing physical and tough like we needed them to play."
To make sure no repeat was in the cards, the Gaels took a 36-17 lead into halftime. The advantage came thanks to some impressive work at the defensive end, timely shooting, and the familiar all-around play of Dellavedova.
Trailing 4-0 early, Saint Mary's (8-2) buckled down defensively to take control. Pacific wouldn't score again from the field until the Gaels had run off the next 15 points.
The stretch spanned just over 10 minutes, and when Sama Taku's floater fell with 8:19 left in the half, Saint Mary's led 15-7.
"Defensively, guys were very disciplined and we sustained it for a long time," Saint Mary's coach Randy Bennett said. "I think they got one 3 for the night. That was big."
And, as the Gaels built a lead, Dellavedova wasn't the one that had to do the scoring. He didn't score a bucket until there was 7:59 left in the half, with his jumper making the score 17-7.
The first half also provided several opportunities for Saint Mary's to bring the crowd to a boil. One came early in the half, when Mitchell Young threw down a thunderous dunk to ignite the Gaels faithful.
"I thought we had a great effort on the boards all the way around," Bennett said. "Mitch Young was big on the boards. (Jordan) Giusti got us some big offensive boards. Brad (Waldow) was in there too."
Another came courtesy of freshman guard Jordan Giusti. The product of San Ramon Valley High overplayed a pass near half court, kept his composure as he fought for position, came away with the ball and found Jorden Page for an open baseline jumper that Page converted.
The final big moment of the first half came at the end, as Dellavedova controlled the action with time winding down. He came off a screen, found a wide open Beau Levesque in the corner, and Levesque nailed the open 3-pointer to give the Gaels a 19-point lead at the break.
"Then I thought we really did a nice job of taking care of the ball," Bennett said. "We
didn't shoot great from 3, we didn't shoot it great from 2. We shot it
decent. I thought we took decent shots, but we valued the ball and took
care of it."
Pacific certainly wasn't going to go away quietly. Two free throws by Ross Rivera capped a 7-0 run, making it 46-32 Saint Mary's with just over 13 minutes to play.
The Gaels wouldn't let that momentum simmer for long. Layups by Brad Waldow and Page, followed by back to back 3-pointers from Dellavedova forced Pacific to call time out with 10:17 remaining and the Gaels up 56-32.
The punctuation came with 5:37 left to play when Dellavedova, trapped in the corner with the shot clock winding down, spun away from his defender to hit an off balance 3-pointer. The unbelievable shot brought the score to 65-39 in favor of the Gaels.
Saint Mary's now hits the road, as the Gaels will travel to the state of Iowa for the second time this month to take on Northern Iowa on Saturday at noon (PST). The game will not be televised, but live audio will be available on SMCGaels.com.
The Gaels return to McKeon Pavilion on Dec. 27 to take
on Rhode Island at 7 p.m. Tickets for that game, as well as the Dec. 30
contest against Yale and Dec. 31 showdown with Harvard, are available
by clicking the Tickets link on SMCGaels.com or by calling the SMC
Ticket Office at (925) 631-GoTx (4689).


text: Judge extends Bayer MIC restraining order By Ken Ward Jr. February 23, 2011 Story Share CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A federal judge has extended a temporary restraining order, blocking Bayer CropScience from restarting production of methyl isocyanate at its Institute plant.Chief U.S. District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin extended the order and delayed an upcoming hearing in order to allow a new court-appointed expert to advise him on whether Bayer should be allowed to resume making MIC.The hearing, which will examine the possibility of a longer injunction, has been rescheduled for March 21, and the restraining order is now in effect through March 28.Goodwin appointed Sam Mannan, a well-known chemical engineer from Texas A&M University, to inspect the plant and advise him on issues in the case.Mannan was charged with inspecting the plant, reviewing Bayer documents and performing any other investigation needed to assess the safety of the Bayer MIC unit and "assess the probabilistic risk of a catastrophic incident involving MIC at the Bayer facility."Goodwin ordered Mannan to provide the court and the parties with "a full written report of the results of his investigation" by March 14. The judge's order did not indicate if that report would be made public, but Goodwin did specify that Mannan appear to testify in public at the March 21 hearing.The judge announced the move in a five-page order filed Wednesday afternoon, following a closed-door meeting late last week with lawyers for Bayer and for 16 Kanawha Valley residents who sued to try to stop the company from reopening its MIC unit."We welcome the order to the extent that it makes available to the court a degree of technical expertise on the issues that might not otherwise have been available," said Bill DePaulo, a lawyer for the residents. In a prepared statement, Bayer plant manager Steve Hedrick said the company was concerned about further delays in restarting the MIC unit, but "supported the decision to delay the hearing so that the court has the opportunity to obtain answers to all of its questions."On Feb. 10, Goodwin had granted a request from Maya Nye and 15 other Kanawha Valley residents that he temporarily block Bayer from resuming production of MIC until they could get a full hearing on a lawsuit to stop the company from reopening its MIC unit.The case over restarting the MIC unit, which has been down for a reconfiguration project since August 2010, is the latest chapter in a 25-year effort by some Kanawha Valley residents to rid the community of the Institute plant's huge stockpile of MIC. Community activists have focused their concerns on MIC since December 1984, when a leak of the chemical killed thousands of people near a Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India.Bayer was preparing to start making MIC again within a week, following a project to remake the unit and reduce its stockpile of the chemical by 80 percent. That project was nearly completed when Bayer announced last month that it was going to stop making, using and storing any MIC at the plant by mid-2012 as part of a corporate restructuring and an agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to cease sales of the pesticide Temik.At Institute, Bayer uses MIC to make aldicarb, the active ingredient in Temik. Aldicarb from Institute is shipped to another Bayer plant in Georgia, where it is used to formulate Temik. Bayer wants to restart the MIC unit so it can continue making aldicarb and Temik for another 18 months until the EPA deal takes effect. U.S. Magistrate Judge Mary Stanley, who is handling discovery matters for Goodwin in the case, had mentioned during several open hearings that Goodwin was interested in appointing a court expert to advise him about the MIC unit and Bayer's safety practices.Goodwin's order said that the parties "jointly submitted" nominations of expert witnesses and that he had accepted "the parties' jointly submitted nominee." The list of nominees was not included in the public case file, and neither side would comment on the list. Mannan is chairman of the Texas A&M chemical engineering department and director of the university's Mary Kay O'Connor Process Safety Center.The center was established in 1995 in memory of an operations superintendent who was among 23 employees killed in an October 1989 explosion at the Phillips Petroleum Complex in Pasadena, Texas.Mannan has written extensively about chemical plant safety and in recent years has also testified to Congress regarding the challenges of protecting such facilities from terrorism.Earlier this month, for example, Mannan cautioned lawmakers against taking the simple approach of requiring companies to adopt "inherently safer" manufacturing technologies to reduce hazardous materials that might be involved in any terrorism incident."When inherent safety options are considered, we must understand and account for the challenges and difficulties in implementing inherently safer technology and options," Mannan told a House homeland security subcommittee.Mannan has questioned a proposal by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board for new federal regulations aimed at reducing the number of accidents caused by uncontrolled reactions of combinations of dangerous chemicals. Some sort of rules might be needed, Mannan said, but so many different chemicals are used and are reactive in different ways that writing a clear regulation might be impossibly difficult.Mannan has studied and written on the Bhopal disaster and its impact on chemical plant safety matters, arguing in a 2005 paper that much progress has been made, but also that "there is a long road to go and a lot to be done and the need for all stakeholders to work together."Last year, Mannan submitted comments on plans for a National Academy of Sciences study of the Bayer MIC unit and broader issues of chemical plant safety, saying the study should examine "previous worldwide incidents involving MIC" to look for lessons learned.Reach Ken Ward Jr. at firstname.lastname@example.com or 304-348-1702. Story Share Story Share Trending Now 1 Huggins, WVU tap South Florida hoops talent 2 Innerviews: Dual-identity surgeon riding high in horse racing world 3 Former State Police captain now chief in Winfield 4 WVU seeking improvements during off week 5 Rod Run and Doo Wop brings classic cars, music to Boulevard for 12th year Ending family planning funds could affect 54,000 in W.Va. Previous Story Best Bets: Feb. 24-March 2, 2011 Next Story


text:
George R. R. Martin has thrilled a generation of listeners with his epic works of the imagination, most recently the critically acclaimed New York Times best-selling saga told in the novels A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, and A Storm of Swords. Lisa Tuttle has won acclaim from fans of science fiction, horror, and fantasy alike - most recently for her haunting novel The Pillow Friend. Now together they gift listeners with this classic tale of a brilliantly rendered world of ironbound tradition, where a rebellious soul seeks to prove the power of a dream.
The planet of Windhaven was not originally a home to humans, but it became one following the crash of a colony starship. It is a world of small islands, harsh weather, and monster-infested seas. Communication among the scattered settlements was virtually impossible until the discovery that, thanks to light gravity and a dense atmosphere, humans were able to fly with the aid of metal wings made of bits of the cannibalized spaceship.
Many generations later, among the scattered islands that make up the water world of Windhaven, no one holds more prestige than the silver-winged flyers, who bring news, gossip, songs, and stories. They are romantic figures crossing treacherous oceans, braving shifting winds and sudden storms that could easily dash them from the sky to instant death. They are also members of an increasingly elite caste, for the wings - always in limited quantity - are growing gradually rarer as their bearers perish.
With such elitism comes arrogance and a rigid adherence to hidebound tradition. And for the flyers, allowing just anyone to join their cadre is an idea that borders on heresy. Wings are meant only for the offspring of flyers - now the new nobility of Windhaven. Except that sometimes life is not quite so neat.
Maris of Amberly, a fisherman's daughter, was raised by a flyer and wants nothing more than to soar on the currents high above Windhaven. By tradition, however, the wings must go to her stepbrother, Coll, the flyer's legitimate son. But Coll wants only to be a singer, traveling the world by sea. So Maris challenges tradition, demanding that flyers be chosen on the basis of merit rather than inheritance. And when she wins that bitter battle, she discovers that her troubles are only beginning.
For not all flyers are willing to accept the world's new structure, and as Maris battles to teach those who yearn to fly, she finds herself likewise fighting to preserve the integrity of a society she so longed to join - not to mention the very fabric that holds her culture together.
©2012 Lisa Tuttle and George R. R. Martin (P)2012 Random House Audio
"A powerful flight of the imagination ... wrought by a pair of writers noted for excellence." (Roger Zelazny)
"Told with a true storyteller's voice: clear, singing, persuasive, and wonderfully moving. They have made a mythic land and peopled it with unforgettable characters. It is a book for adults and children who have dreamed of flying with their own wings, and for story listeners of all ages for whom dreams are as potent as realities. A truly wonderful book." (Jane Yolen)
"The pace never slackens, shifting easily from moments of almost unbearable tension to others of sheer poetry and exhilaration. Martin and Tuttle make wonderful professional music together." (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
Gen-Xer, software engineer, and lifelong avid reader. Soft spots for sci-fi, fantasy, and history, but I'll read anything good.
"A promising early Martin work"
An early 1980s collaboration between a now-famous author and a less famous one, Windhaven demonstrates that the young George R.R. Martin had talent for world-building and character-driven storytelling. While not as sprawling and a whole lot less violent than A Game of Thrones, it'll probably appeal to anyone who liked his more family-friendly Hedge Knight novella.
The story takes place on a distant, windswept ocean world, where humans lost advanced technology generations ago, but were able to cannibalize their wrecked starship and build muscle-and-wind-powered wings to carry messengers over the dangerous seas between far-flung islands. Over time, a caste system has evolved in which wings are passed down by inheritance, with most people excluded from the chance to fly and be a citizen of the world. However, that changes when a young woman named Maris challenges tradition and brings about an opening of the system. From there, the plot, which takes snapshots of Maris's life over the next few decades, shows how change often brings complications.
The writing isn't too sophisticated, but I thought Windhaven worked well on the level of a Young Adult fantasy novel, conveying the thrill of flying and a poignant sense of having a privilege that's hard to bear losing. What I really enjoyed though, was the nuance that the authors put into the story's evolution. At each stage of her life, Maris finds her idealism echoed by younger people, who push things a bit further and bring about new shakeups in the political order of the world, not always with desirable consequences. The characters aren't complex, but their varied perspectives are each given a fair hearing. Not surprisingly, there's a quiet play on the Icarus myth that runs through the story, touching on its different chords.
All in all, a well-constructed, bittersweet minor gem of a novel, and I'm glad someone saw fit to bring it out of the vault and produce an audio version. Its drama is simpler and more reflective than that of A Game of Thrones, but it's an early highlight in Martin's career, written along with a friend (I'm not so familiar with Lisa Tuttle's work). And, unlike the aforementioned series, you can actually finish reading it! The audiobook narrator does a fine job, representing different characters with distinct accents.
artist writer
"Seemed to be missing the middle of the story"
The book was written in three parts, each part reading like a short story with its own beginning and climax.
I liked the concept of the flyers and it was entertaining, though some of the characters were a bit flat.
My main problem was that the middle of the book seemed to be missing.
Part One: An introduction to Maris - becoming a flyer.
Part Two: An introduction to Val - he becomes a flyer.
Part Three: Maris is old and retires.
Wait a minute... shouldn't there be some story about Maris actually BEING a flyer? There was foreshadowing of other cultures as well as introductions to some interesting characters and situations that were completely dropped.
I wanted to know about the culture in the north where the flyers were kings, or the culture where they worshipped a winged god. I wanted to see the aftermath of Maris bucking the system to help Val get his wings. I wanted to know what happened to her brother.
The lack of these things left me sorely disappointed. I was given only Maris' regrets about all the places she had been and the people she had met (some of whom were mentioned ONLY in narration as Maris is lamenting the loss of her wings). I was hungry for so much more than I was given, and this is why I didn't give this book a better rating.
"A Nice, Soft Flight"
I suppose so, if they like Young Adult novels. This is a very straightforward story, with reasonably simple characters and plot, but I found it endearing nonetheless. I was a little sad when I got to the end, knowing that this was it for Maris, and her adventures.
I liked the competitions at the end of the second story. There were also some moments of character interaction that I liked, such as the scene between Maris and Val after Maris talks with Arak.
None of them stands far above the others, but if I had to choose one, it would be Val "One-Wing". He makes a nicely abrasive foil for the pleasant, naïve Maris. Walter's reading in all was pretty good.
I would have to say no. It was nice, but not a page turner.
I know nothing of Lisa Tuttle; I found this book by looking up George R. R. Martin, as I think most people do. To them: you will not likely enjoy this book if you go into it expecting something in the vein of "A Song Of Ice And Fire." It's much simpler, and much lighter.
"Well done once again"
George and Lisa did an amazing job. Plenty of moral conundrums and great story telling. The performance was top notch as well. Fantasy at it finest.
"Not Martin"
I've listened to worse science fiction than this. It's endurable. A little story about a woman who is too cool for school. Set on a world where part of humanity has been stranded, and have developed strap on wings to get around. The main character is obsessed with flying, and she's awesome at everything. It's a female power fantasy with flying. She changes everyone and everything with her amazing skills and everyone loves her, essentially. There's not much classic science fiction to the story, and the characters are flat. She does manage to convince me about the flying. The descriptions are good and you get a good feeling for how it would feel. It's too easy though. There's no sense of "anything could happen" as in Martins song of ice and fire. This book is no revolution. Just another little indifferent story with nothing much to say
"A really great story that stays with you."
Glad to have read it. Less chaotic a story than other R.R. Martin Books I have read but impressive all the same.
King, Heinlen, GRRM, Jordan, Pratchett, Brooks, Roth, Rice, Sanderson, Butcher, Love Sci Fi and Fantasy.
"Loved it!"
Now one of my favorite books! I really liked the intrigue and battle between what was right and wrong - when all sides were both right and wrong many times it's very hard to decide who the bad guys are!
The Narrator was a perfect fit for this book and she read all characters so well.
"Supremely Decent "
Lovely for driving. Not an extremely complex story, but fun to listen to. It paints a very pretty picture, although simplistic in some aspects.
"has its ups and downs"
The first part of the story was very interesting and had me captivated (aside from the vocals,) but I hated most of Part 2 and was annoyed by Maris's decisions and actions in Part 2 & 3. Although it is nice for characters to have flaws, because no one is perfect and a perfect protagonist makes for a dull story, but it was a little much for me in particular. I also found myself predicting parts 2&3 quite accurately.
What really disappointed me about this Audiobook, however, was the narrator. I know many like her, but her voice was very croaky and sounded like she was talking through her nose, although her voice was nice usually for Maris, her voice was not amazing for the other characters. I grew to imagine all the men in the series being bratty and boyish, and had to try to block out the voices.
These are just my opinions, and mine are just a drop in an ocean of opinions, but I am honest in my review and will end with telling you to give it a chance, because the overall story is quite entertaining and Part 1 is brilliant.
Report Inappropriate Content
If you find this review inappropriate and think it should be removed from our site, let us know. This report will be reviewed by Audible and we will take appropriate action.


text:
The four-day Hong Kong Toys & Games Fair just concluded on Jan.14, which attracted more than 33,000 buyers with an encouraging rise of 35.5 per cent from the previous year. It seems to have indicated a promising year ahead for toy sellers. Let's have a look at what are hot on this fair.
RC planes, toy guns and pistols, ride-on cars, dolls & accessories remained to be the popular ones. However, some new chic toys on this exhibition attracted a lot more visitors. Self-construction toys, chic robots and new educational toys are big stars.
Here on the show is a featured toy car building set named "MOOV", which is designed for children to experience the fun of building their own toy cars with their own hands. MOOV is a unique and creative wooden toy set. By using the rings, wheels, axles and other parts, kids can build many kinds of toys, like toy bikes, cranes, choppers, scooters, racers and more. Kids can ride or drive on it indoors or through the neighborhood with pals. No other tools are needed in the process of constructing it, taking it apart or remodeling it.


text:
- Home
- News
- Sports
- Opinion
- Obituaries
- Features
- Special Sections
- Classifieds
- Public Notices
Back in mid-winter, when the FFA Aquaculture team was beginning to practice for the state contest, the team asked me, "If we win the state, will you take us charter fishing?"
If you currently subscribe or have subscribed in the past to the Cedar Key Beacon, then simply find your account number on your mailing label and enter it below.
Click the question mark below to see where your account ID appears on your mailing label.
If you are new to the award winning Cedar Key Beacon and wish to get a subscription or simply gain access to our online content then please enter your ZIP code below and continue to setup your account.
|ZIP Code:


text:
Melvin, Lowrie support stricter drug penalties
SAN FRANCISCO -- Hours before the A's and Giants took the field Friday for the second game of the exhibition Bay Bridge Series, MLB and the MLB Players Association announced sweeping reforms to the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.
Stricter testing and harsher penalties marked the new agreement between the league and MLBPA. Most notably, a first offense will now cost a PED user 80 games, a second offense will cost a full season, and a third strike will result in a lifetime ban from baseball.
"I think they need to be stricter, and I think they're doing the right thing," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "Now, the union and MLB got together and came up with this, and I'm all for it."
Another major change calls for 3,200 random drug tests throughout the season, more than double the 1,400 that were administered in years past. A's veteran Jed Lowrie said he's in favor of a more proactive approach by the league, adding that a lifetime ban on the first offense probably wouldn't be necessary.
"The death penalty doesn't stop murder," Lowrie said. "If you have a greater chance of being caught doing it, I think that's more of a preventative measure."
Alex Espinoza is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


text: It's the most wonderful time of the year for symphony soloist By Bill Lynch December 5, 2012 Story Share Courtesy photo West Virginia symphony Orchestra principal flutist and self-proclaimed Christmas freak Lindsey Goodman is the featured soloist for the group's "Home for the Holidays" concerts at the Clay Center this weekend. The performances also feature the Appalachian Children's Chorus, Symphony Chorus of Parkersburg, West Virginia Symphony Chorus and West Virginia State University Chorus. WANT TO GO?"Home for the Holidays"West Virginia Symphony OrchestraWHERE: Clay CenterWHEN: 8 p.m. Friday and SaturdayTICKETS: Adults $12 to $64, students $10 to $52INFO: 304-561-3570 or www.theclaycenter.orgCHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Some people like to ease into the Christmas season, taking their time and savoring it in small morsels. Lindsey Goodman is not one of those people.Giggling over the phone from her home in Ohio, the principal flutist for the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra announced, "I am officially a Christmas freak!"That makes her the perfect fit as the featured soloists for the symphony's "Home for the Holidays" concerts at the Clay Center this weekend. The two shows are part of a select number the Virginia native will play in December. "I shut everything down in December," she said. "I shut everything down pretty much that isn't Christmas related."Through the holidays, Goodman said she sticks to teaching and a few holiday concerts here and there. It leaves her more time to enjoy the Christmas season.By now, of course, Goodman and her husband have decorated their home inside and out, and their house is awash in garlands, red velvet bows and white lights."Nearly every surface of my house is decorated," she said. "But I'm a traditionalist -- except for the bathroom, which has been taken over by snowmen." Everything is tasteful, she said. Well, mostly."We're parents to a very lovable Bichon dog," she said. "We have a lot of Bichon dog ornaments, which might be tacky, but that's our child." Meanwhile, Goodman is very much ahead of the curve for the holidays. She finished her Christmas shopping before Thanksgiving and already had her Christmas cards ready to go. The only major chore she had left was some holiday backing."I make about 40 dozen Christmas cookies," she said.She also knows what she wants for Christmas. In the event Santa or her husband would read this article, Goodman said she's hoping for a new iPod for Christmas. The old one is about full."I have approximately seven days worth of music on my computer," she said. "I need a 160 gigabyte iPod Classic, something with a lot of memory. Some of the songs I have are an hour long. They're Mahler symphonies."Goodman said she and her husband's love of Christmas goes way back to when they were growing up. Both of their families, she explained, made a big deal about the holiday. However, Goodman thought she might be taking it a little further than her parents did, partly because she's not home much."I've very, very busy most of the year," Goodman explained. "I'm on the road as a professional musician. That doesn't afford me a lot of 'nesting time' as I like, so I throw all of my nesting into one month." The flutist loves Christmas concerts and Christmas music, though she acknowledged that her own tastes run toward the darker holiday material. She likes carols like the ominous sounding "Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent" and the solemn "O Come, O Come, Emanuel.""I like songs that have a little bit of darkness in them, which help us to appreciate light more," she said. "But of course, I should say that my favorite Christmas song is the one I'm going to perform."Among the songs, she'll be performing at this weekend's concert is a special arrangement of the African-American spiritual, "Go Tell It on the Mountain."She also promised some surprises in store but didn't elaborate."I don't think Grant [Cooper] would like it if I gave them away."Reach Bill Lynch at firstname.lastname@example.com or 304-348-5195. Story Share Story Share Trending Now 1 Police seek car driven by woman found dead in Kanawha River 2 Teen pleads guilty to involuntary manslaughter in Oakes Field shooting 3 Facebook founder visits Cabin Creek Health Systems 4 Man allegedly cuts father in Rand over argument about sandwich 5 Esa Ahmad ineligible for first half of WVU men's basketball season In Short: Dec. 6-12, 2012 Previous Story 'Holidaze' will 'mesmerize, fascinate' Next Story


text:
Items where Author is "Crosby, William L"
|Up a level
Group by: Item Type | No Grouping
Number of items: 1.
Houde, Mario and Belcaid, Mahdi and Ouellet, François and Danyluk, Jean and Monroy, Antonio F and Dryanova, Ani and Gulick, Patrick and Bergeron, Anne and Laroche, André and Links, Matthew G and MacCarthy, Luke and Crosby, William L and Sarhan, Fathey (2006) Wheat EST resources for functional genomics of abiotic stress. BMC Genomics, 7 (1). p. 149. ISSN 14712164


text: This news item expired on 6/4/2013, so the information below could be outdated or incorrect. Installation of Memorial Marker for Fallen Officers Sheriff Van Duncan authorized the installation of a new Memorial Marker for officers that gave their lives in the line of duty at the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office located at 202 Haywood Street in Asheville. The Memorial Marker honors all officers from all departments within the county. There are 16 officers named on the memorial dating back to 1906. The Memorial Marker is displayed in the flower garden located by the front entrance of the Sheriff's Office, which is maintained by Front-desk Receptionist, Henrietta Shook. The new marker was installed by McMahan Memorials, Inc. in Fletcher, NC. For more information regarding the memorial, please call Natalie Bailey at (828) 250-4469.


text:
You have great taste. We have great taste. Maybe we should hang out more often. Join the Julius League and receive our
monthly Juligrams, featuring great things to taste and how people with taste can own their taste in a tasteful way.
Receive a BOGO drink coupon just for signing up
Get the 411 on new flavor(s) of the month(s)
Get the 911 on fresh deals (yes, they're that urgent)
The most advanced top secret handshakes
Unexpected surprises and magical delights
Watch your social status climb to new heights


text:
Granite Construction Gets Crushed
Granite Construction (GVA) is getting hit hard today. The heavy construction outfit is off by more than 11% in heavy trade following this morning's fourth-quarter earnings report. The aggressive selling began shortly after the bell and quickly pushed shares to fresh 2013 lows. Solid gap support left behind after the powerful Jan. 2 session was easily taken out as well. What was developing as a rather ominous-looking top earlier this month is now confirmed. GVA peaked on the Feb. 20 with a key downside reversal day and is now off more than 18% in less than seven days.
Granite Contruction (GVA) Source: TradeStation View Chart » View in New Window » ...186 more words left in this article. To read them, just click below and try Real Money FREE for 14 days.
There's no substitute for a trading floor to get great ideas, so Jim Cramer created a better one at Real Money and blogs there exclusively. We then added legendary hedge fund manager, Doug Kass, with his exclusive Daily Diary and best investing ideas. Staffed with more than 4 dozen investing pros, money managers, journalists and analysts, Real Money Pro gives you a flood of opinions, analysis and actionable trading advice found nowhere else, and allows you to interact directly with each expert.
Already a Subscriber? Please login.


text:
New Star Trek Select Debuts with "Devil in the Dark" Spock...
To insure your action figure collection, get in touch with Collectibles Insurance, the official insurance company of the Figures.com network. Say "Figures.com" to get 5% off your first term premiums.
To buy action figures, take a look at BigBadToyStore.com, RedfordFilms.com, Toynk.com, PastGenerationToys.com, BriansToys.com, ToyWiz.com, and MonkeyDepot.com.
For action figures, statues and sculptures, go to CSMooreStudio.com.
After a couple year hiatus, Diamond Select Toys is returning to producing 7-inch Star Trek action figures. This winter, DST plans to release the first in a line of Star Trek Select figures, depicting iconic characters from across the Star Trek universe. Each figure will come in DST's famous Select packaging, and will include a diorama-style display base as well as interchangeable parts to recreate scenes using that diorama.
The first release depicts Mr. Spock as he appears in the classic episode "Devil in the Dark". This figure includes a cave diorama with a Horta alien - the first Horta toy ever made! Spock himself will have interchangeable legs for standing or crouching poses, and interchangeable hands to hold a phaser or establish a mental link with the Horta. He even comes with an alternate screaming head. The figure will be available in early 2013, and will be followed by James T. Kirk, as well as numerous other important and fan-requested characters from the Star Trek diaspora.


text:
42 — By Capt. Stuart Reininger
— February 2000
K.I.S.S. Me, Kate
|Broadway puns aside, Silverton is serious about sticking to the basics.
I've long been an advocate of the K.I.S.S. theory of boatbuilding–keep it simple and they will come. And after testing Silverton's new 42 convertible, I no longer feel like a lone voice howling into the wind.
With an eye toward the bottom line, Silverton took a tried and true design–the 42's hull is basically the same as the company's successful 41-foot convertible of the early 90s–and built a brand new superstructure for it. Not only that, but it's built the way Silverton knows how to build. If you're looking for high-tech materials and construction techniques, look elsewhere. Do you want to save a few pounds in exchange for the added cost of expensive knitted fabrics and exotic coring materials below the waterline? Sorry, not here.
The 42 is built the way Silverton knows best, with a solid glass bottom that's laid up with proven 24-ounce woven roving. Instead of the all-glass stringers and molded liner that are all the rage, Silverton uses resin-impregnated marine plywood for the cabin sole and wood wrapped in 32-ounce cloth for the stringers. In response to the common argument against this technique–the possibility of rot–my answer is, not in this millennium, folks. Silverton has a lot of experience building boats this way. The way it wraps those stringers, it would take an eon for stagnant bilge water to work its way through. As for that sole, today's treated plywood is all but impervious to rot. Plus you never see it. It's covered by a wood-grained vinyl overlay that I swore was real pine planking.
So what are you giving up by avoiding high-tech construction? Well, not light weight. The 42 is listed at about 25,000 pounds dry, which is hardly overweight for a boat of her size. By way of comparison, the Mainship 430 Trawler carries a displacement of 36,000 pounds. Such relatively modest heft means, among other things, a fine turn of speed. With optional twin 450-hp Cummins 450C diesels, our test boat topped 32 mph. And should you be content to cruise at about 2000 rpm (a shade less than 20 mph), the 42 will burn less than 13 gph and manage nearly 1.6 mpg. With a 524-gallon fuel capacity and 10-percent reserve, that works out to a nearly 750-mile range.
But the biggest payoff of this K.I.S. boat (you'll see why I'm leaving out the s for stupid) is just that, the payoff. You can buy a 42 for less than $300,000. Way less. Like $249,000 if you stick with the base twin 405-hp 8.2-liter gasoline EFI Crusaders. But I think this is one case where the gasoline option is false economy. The 42 lists for just $288,520 with twin 350-hp Caterpillar 3116 diesels, and even for our test boat's Cummins you'll pay only $304,275. You won't get eaten out of berth and brew with the options, either. Our well-loaded test boat–including air conditioning, genset, electronics, windlass, and autopilot–totaled up to a reasonable $385,790.
So is this 42 for you? Well, if you're a social type who wants to take a party of 10 out for a comfortable day on the water, then keep six of them aboard for an overnight, it could be. And if you enjoy but are not obsessive about fishing, she is definitely for you. For instance, $10,425 of our test boat's price went for what Silverton calls its Fish Pak. This includes the fiberglass hardtop along with fishing-oriented goodies such as washdowns, an electronics box, floodlights, a set of rocket launchers, a tackle locker, a livewell, and a fighting chair backing plate. If you're not a fisherman, you can skip that and opt instead for the $2,280 bolt-on swim platform.
All well and good, except if you take a look at the photo of the 42, imagining her without a hardtop is like trying to picture Bill Clinton as a skinhead. The hardtop shouldn't be an option on this boat, and Silverton agrees. Based on the fact that no one has ordered one without it, it will soon be standard. (Of course, the base price will go up.)
Next page > Silverton 42 continued > Page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
This article originally appeared in the January 2003 issue of Power & Motoryacht magazine.


text:
- Latest
- Popular
- Blogs
- Authors
- Topics
- Our Blog
When it comes to bad closed captioning, Marlee Matlin has a lot to say. A tipping point came five years ago when Matlin, who's been deaf since the age of 18 months, sat down with her daughter to watch the "Wizard of Oz" on Netflix. There were no subtitles. Her Tweet started a caption revolution. "Noise is good, because the purpose was good," Matlin says.


text:
Hamilton honored with Lou Gehrig Award
ANAHEIM -- Angels outfielder Josh Hamilton was named the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award winner on Wednesday, becoming the first Angels player to win the honor.
The award, given annually by the Phi Delta Theta fraternity, "was created to acknowledge an individual player's outstanding commitment to both his community and philanthropy," according to the organization's website.
The Gehrig Award plaque remains in Cooperstown and has every winner's name etched into it. Albert Pujols won the award in 2009 with St. Louis.
Hamilton will be honored with a ceremony before Thursday's game against Oakland.
Matthew DeFranks is an associate reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @MDeFranks. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


text:
TROY Batchelor has dedicated Swindon Robins first win of the Elite League season to injured teammate Darryl Ritchings.
The Abbey Stadium side claimed a 57-36 success over Belle Vue Aces on Thursday night, and the Robins' Aussie skipper was quick to devote the result to their injured friend. Ritchings remains in Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital with head injuries following his crash in last week's match against Coventry, which also left him with a broken ankle.
"It was a performance for him (Darryl)," Batchelor said. "I'm sure that he will want us to go out there and to doing our thing. We got the win and we will dedicate it to him.
"We all know the risk of speedway and we know what can happen, it is sad to see things like that happen and you don't wish it to happen on any rider or person."
Batchelor, who only arrived back in the UK at the start of the week following his appearance at the Grand Prix in New Zealand, was pleased to see the side hit back following their defeat to Coventry Bees.
Simon Gustafsson and Nick Morris, both scored 11+2, leading the way for Alun Rossiter's team over the Manchester-based outfit. Nicolai Klindt also put in his best display of the fledgling campaign with an 8+1.
"It was nice (to win) after last week," said Batchelor, who weighed-in with an 8+2 against the Aces.
"The boys lost at home and things weren't so good, but we have bounced back with a big win.
"Simon and Nicolai, some of the second string and reserves were going really well, so things are looking good for the future."
Batchelor admitted that he feeling the affects of last week's travelling ahead of the meet against Belle Vue.
"I felt like it was about 8 o'clock in the morning," he said. "I didn't know what is going on.
"I was feeling really tired, I'm glad to get this out of the way and finish with a win."
Batchelor is now set to return to Poland for more testing and racing ahead of Good Friday's double-header with Poole Pirates - starting on the south coast at 11am with the return leg at Blunsdon at 8pm.


text:
Anna Paquin
Anna Paquin has enjoyed fame in two distinct phases. As a child actress who never intended to act in the first place, we first spotted her as Holly Hunter's daughter in The Piano, a role that won her an Oscar and instant acting credibility as a result. While she kept busy during her teen years, we've really come to know Anna Paquin all over again in adulthood -- first in her recurring film role as Rogue in the X-Men series and now as the lead character, Sookie Stackhouse, of the HBO series True Blood. Just as naturally gifted a performer as she was when she was little, Anna Paquin is now wiser, very beautiful, and choosy when it comes to her film and television projects. Confident, sexy and charismatic, she's exactly the kind of star that we could all... well, sink our teeth into.
AppealAnna Paquin's star quality started to gain a higher quotient of sexiness about the time that she played a groupie in Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous and put her boyfriend into a coma with her mutant powers in X-Men. Having now added sexy outfits to her wardrobe, a tan to her very fair complexion and traded in her brown locks for blond hair for her True Blood duties, Anna Paquin has morphed into a genuine television sex symbol. Her recent nude Rolling Stone cover only confirms it. We'll admit that her on-screen telepathic powers and all the vampire sex on her show are pretty awesome too.
Luckily, Anna Paquin's mutant and telepathic powers have never crossed over from the screen into reality, so men who date her wouldn't have to be worried about her reading their minds on the first date or rendering them unconscious at the end of the evening. In fact, their biggest concern would have to be humor, as it's the ability to appreciate life's laughter that Anna Paquin values in a relationship -- whether it's men or women, since she's on the record as being bisexual. Having previously dated Kieran Culkin (younger brother of Macaulay Culkin) and Logan Marshall-Green, Anna Paquin has found her long-term lifemate in her True Blood costar Stephen Moyer, with whom she tied the knot in 2010. Sorry, guys. She's off the market.
SuccessAs the second youngest person in history to ever win an Oscar, there were a lot of expectations on Anna Paquin after such an incredible show business beginning. Instead of cracking under the pressure and entering into a life of sin and regret (like many other child actors), Paquin has restricted the sin and regret to her roles rather than herself and emerged as a stoic, gifted and Golden Globe-winning actress in her adult years. Having followed up her child success in The Piano with mainstream comic book fun (the X-Men films), gritty drama (The 25th Hour), horror (Trick 'r Treat and the upcoming Scream 4), and now the pop culture vampire staple otherwise known as HBO's True Blood, Anna Paquin has amassed an impressive and consistently entertaining collection of credits.
A performer who truly relishes the opportunity to play someone else -- and enjoy acting out the consequences of a colorful life without actually having to live through it -- Anna Paquin is usually careful enough to choose roles that challenge her creatively and also reward her audience for watching them. Not restricted to film and television, she's also an accomplished and award-winning theater actress who has appeared in American productions like The Glory of Living, as well as This is Our Youth, which was performed in London's prestigious West End.
Anna Paquin BiographyAnna Paquin was born in Canada, but moved to New Zealand with her family at the age of 4. Once there, she went to school at the Raphael House Rudolf Steiner School and partook in a variety of extracurricular activities like learning to play the piano and viola, along with athletic pursuits in swimming and gymnastics. One might assume that a future Oscar-winning actress like Anna Paquin would have been active in acting early on in her life, but the truth is that the extent of her acting until 1991 was a lone stage role as a skunk in one of her school's productions.
In 1991, Anna Paquin's older sister, Katya, saw a local newspaper ad requesting actors to audition for a new film called The Piano. Not wanting to audition on her own, Katya asked Anna to attend as well. The two of them met with director Jane Campion, but very quickly it became clear that Anna Paquin was made for the role in question. Despite her lack of acting experience, she was hired by Campion ahead of 5,000 competing actresses -- all marking the beginning of Paquin's professional acting journey.
anna paquin stars in the piano and x-menAs Flora, the daughter of Holly Hunter's mute pianist in The Piano, Anna Paquin represented the story's central means of communication between characters. With a performance well beyond her years, Paquin earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress and a surprise victory at the 1994 Academy Awards, which made her the second youngest winner in history behind Tatum O'Neal. Her acceptance speech was memorable for its prolonged silence as she was so stunned by her victory and the awe of the moment.
After her stunning overnight success, Anna Paquin continued her education while being flooded with film offers. Her next film appearance didn't come until three years after The Piano, when she signed on to play the younger version of the title heroine in 1996's Jane Eyre. She followed it up with the American family film, Fly Away Home, and a small role in Steven Spielberg's Amistad, before showing a racier and more mature side by playing a runaway in 1998's Hurlyburly, which also featured Sean Penn, Kevin Spacey and Meg Ryan.
After offering romantic insights to Freddie Prinze Jr. in the surprise hit She's All That, Anna Paquin signed on to play the gifted mutant Rogue in the Hugh Jackman-led screen version of X-Men in 2000. The film's success gave Paquin a character with mass appeal and allowed her to expand the character further in the sequels, X2 (2003) and X-Men: The Last Stand (2006). She also turned up in other mainstream efforts like 2000's Almost Famous (as a groupie) and Finding Forrester with Sean Connery, as well as Spike Lee's The 25th Hour in 2002 with Edward Norton.
anna paquin stars in true blood and scream 4As a result of X-Men, Anna Paquin was unable to complete her studies at Columbia University -- the same place that fellow actress Julia Stiles was also attending -- so she gave up her school after just one year and continued on with acting. Following the completion of her role in the X-Men films, she turned to producing for the 2007 political comedy Blue State, which was filmed on location in her birth city of Winnipeg and followed a Democrat campaign worker (Breckin Meyer) who moves to Canada after George W. Bush's second presidential victory.
After taking a role in the 2008 horror film Trick 'r Treat, Anna Paquin remained in the genre but jumped from the big screen down to the small screen for the lead role of Sookie Stackhouse in the HBO series True Blood. As a small-town telepathic waitress caught up in a romance with a 173-year-old vampire, Anna Paquin turned over a new leaf as a sexually-charged, blond-maned cable TV star, and carried the show to ratings gold and a Golden Globe Award in 2008 for Best Actress in a Television Series Drama.
The show became a much-discussed and much-loved pop culture favorite, giving Anna Paquin a signature character and allowing her to fully explore her in subsequent seasons of the show. After marrying her True Blood costar Stephen Moyer in 2010, Anna Paquin appeared in several films including The Romantics with Katie Holmes and Elijah Wood, and the drama Margaret with Matt Damon. She also signed on for a cameo in Wes Craven's horror franchise re-boot, Scream 4.
Show comments


text:
How important is right understanding right thougt right u know so on
I mean.. Have you read about S N Goenkas teacher U bakhin he wouldnt teach the vipassana to a person becourse he was testing other teqniques before that?
That isnt fairplay if you ask me?
and sn goenka said.. that ubakhin did reach the goal nibbanic peace.
And a teacher i had on a course said. IF you dont finish this 10 days course I wont let you go to another 10 day course in the future".
And I ask him and he said, "i feel like ecstacy".
So he have done progress but without right understandning from my wiew of point


text:
As some of you already know, I graduated a few months ago with a Bachelor's in Media Arts and Science. With my primary focus being in video, I want to purchase a camcorder in order to start assembling a quality resume.
However, as some of you also already know, I'm not exactly Mr. Moneybags, so I need a cheap "starter" camcorder, if you will, that isn't complete crap. By cheap, I mean preferably no more than $300.
I was looking around and this caught my attention, though it almost seems too good to be true for the price, unless I'm missing something.
Btw, anyone who suggests a Toshiba product is banned. And then I will come to your house, and I will CUT you.


text:
ALAMEDA — Taiwan Jones has gotten nowhere fast.
Marcel Reece has excelled out of the backfield doing just about everything but running the ball.
Together, Jones and Reece form an unlikely tandem for the Raiders at running back when they visit the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium.
Running backs Darren McFadden and Mike Goodson each spent the day in protective boots, nursing high right ankle sprains. Coach Dennis Allen hasn't ruled them out, but the Raiders are making plans to play without them.
"We'll play to the strengths of the backs we're going to use," offensive coordinator Greg Knapp said.
Rather than bring in a running back for a tryout Tuesday, Allen said they liked their in-house candidates — which could also include practice squad player Jeremy Stewart.
For Jones, the second-year player from Antioch's Deer Valley High and Eastern Washington, it represents an opportunity to get out of the starting blocks.
"I'm definitely excited. There's an opportunity for me to extend my role on the team," Jones said. "I'm getting the opportunity so I want to make the most of it."
At 6-foot, 197 pounds, Jones may be the fastest player on the Raiders, who used a fourth-round draft pick on him in 2011 in large part because he ran a 4.3 40-yard dash at his pro day at Los Medanos College in Pittsburg.
Knapp said Jones is one of the fastest players he's ever coached, and cornerback Michael Huff says he has more speed than either Darrius Heyward-Bey or Jacoby Ford, two wide receivers known for their world-class speed.
"You can't tell how fast he's running until you're up on him," Huff said. "By then he's out-run your angle and it's really too late."
Jones has been slowed by hamstring, rib and knee injuries that have cropped up periodically, plus ball-security issues that were cited by both Allen and Knapp.
There have also been some missed assignments, which Knapp attributes to missed practice time because of the injuries.
Quarterback Carson Palmer sounds as if he expects to see a lot of Jones, and to say he's looking forward to it is an understatement.
"He does amazing things in practice, he's by far the fastest person on the field and he will be fastest person on the field on Sunday," Palmer said. "Not that you want to see guys get banged up, but I'm excited about the opportunity he's getting.
"He'll get his touches and I can't wait. He's so electrifying. He puts his foot in the ground and goes. He wiggles out of hits, he wiggles out of tackles. I can't wait to throw him the ball, get him in the open field."
Originally a defensive back in college, Jones moved to running back and gained 2,955 yards on 383 carries and scored 29 touchdowns.
His work as a special teams gunner intrigued Allen enough that he admitted he's toyed with the idea of making him a defensive back, a notion Jones could put to rest with some breakaway runs in McFadden's absence.
Reece, although he played as the lone back in a single back set for more than a quarter against Tampa Bay, carried just once for two yards but has made a name for himself as a receiver out of the backfield.
Against the Bucs, Reece had a career-high eight catches for 95 yards.
"I feel comfortable doing anything in this offense," Reece said. "They've prepared me a long time ago to do anything in this offense and I'm prepared to do it. Whatever happens on Sunday, whatever they ask me to do I'm going to go do it."
Raiders at Ravens ·Sunday: 10 a.m. ·TV/Radio: CBS/KIDD (630)
Raiders at Ravens
10 a.m.
·TV/Radio: CBS/KIDD (630)


text:
I have had this club in my bag for about 6 years now and Love it! I consistantly hit it straight up to about 220 yds. It hit great out of the long stuff and you can even use it to chip around the green if you choke up using a putting stroke. I would reccommend it to any golfer.
Nice club. Very reliable hybrid.


text:
David X Prutting/BFAnyc/Sipa
She may be known for crater-deep dimples and alabaster skin, but Kirsten Dunst says she's all grown up.
"I'm currently cleaning out my closet of childish dresses," the Melancholia actress explains in the winter issue of
T Magazine
. "I want to start dressing like I'm 30. Some of the things I have are like, 'I can't wear this anymore, it's not cute.'"
Items on the star's shopping list include basics from A.P.C. and Balenciaga, which she stocked up on after a self-imposed shopping hiatus. "I didn't shop for a long time," she confesses, "People bother you." Not on the agenda? Trendy items and New York-sourced vintage, which she dubs "too expensive."
However, like most women, Dunst is a sucker for sartorial romance. "I like it when I do a photo shoot and it's a fantasy of something," she says. "You can dress me up."
For the full interview and a portfolio of retro-style Terry Richardson images of the star, visit nytimes.com.
–Justine Harman


text:
Click here to downloadour 2014 Catalogue
Prices on this website include gift wrapping and packaging but exclude delivery and VAT.
The Aquascutum clock collection offers a distinctive range of desk time pieces effortlessly combining form and function. The Chronos Collection is perennially one of our best sellers, these include modern swivel lid clocks which now come in a rainbow of colours and Art Deco inspired round and arched silver plated alarm clocks.� Our Ship�s Clocks Collection feature single and three face clocks in a variety of gold and silver plate finishes.� All our clocks can be customised with an etched or engraved company logo or a commemorative message making them the perfect business gift.
All Silver products featured have a high gloss polish silver finish unless stated otherwise.


text:
3 April 2008 12:20:57
A few bugs after server moveposted by Dark0ne Site NewsThe server move went down yesterday without a hitch, and only a couple of hours downtime. There are a couple of "bugs" that have arisen as a result but both should be easily fixable.
Image uploading is currently broken pending the install of a missing Apache module that handles the automatic generation of thumbnails. That should be back and working within a few hours.
A few people have reported problems with file names not being accepted for their file uploads despite following the character guidelines. I cannot replicate the issue but have asked a few people to help out to try and iron out this problem. More than likely it is a legacy issue with the different versions of Apache and PHP being used.
Those are the two bugs that I know of. If you've found more please get in contact.


text:
SANTA ROSA, Calif.—A judge has postponed the murder trial of two Sonoma County men charged with killing another man at a marijuana garden because of the murders this week of three people in what authorities think was a pot deal gone bad.
The Press Democrat of Santa Rosa reports (http://bit.ly/V3P9Dw) that lawyers for 36-year-old Sidonio Cruz-Santos and 24-year-old Augustin Zepeda-Onofre sought the delay Thursday on the grounds that publicity over the triple-slaying might prejudice a jury.
Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Gary Medvigy agreed to reschedule their trial for late March after asking about 100 prospective jurors assembled in his courtroom how many had seen newspaper headlines about the latest killings near Forestville.
Three men whom authorities say had gone to a house to buy marijuana were found shot to death Tuesday.
Information from: The Santa Rosa Press Democrat, http://www.pressdemocrat.com