text:
Home (Opening)
Reads: 152 | Likes: 0 | Shelves: 0 | Comments: 0
Book by: Antonio Rivera
Chapter 1 (v.1) - Home (Opening)
* September was just settling in as the mood of school filled newspapers and commercials. Kids prepared for their next year as others, like Evlan, prepared for their last. After the long 12 grades, it was finally her last at Overlea High, and what she continued to protest as her last year in Baltimore too. A small tingling in her stomach grew as the thought of school played its tune in her mind. The blankets fell to the floor as she slumped out of the bed.
Her legs lazily inched to the bathroom as her eyes attempted to open without the necessity to squint. She washed her face off in the bathroom and looked into the mirror. She remembered how she looked in the ninth grade, and how different she looks now. Auburn hair, with green eyes, with freckles on her cheeks; those cheeks high and red on her pale skin.
She walked back into her room and faced the window beside her beauty product filled dresser as it poured air into the room. She slid her hands up and down her arms as she went to close it. Her backyard was still dark, but from her window the grass was visible along with her dog's dog house. A white, house shaped wooden shelter with a red roof in which he slept in during the day. When she forced the window down to the sill, a subtle movement caught the corner of her eye. At first, she thought nothing of it. At second glance at the dog house, she saw her dog Rosco's pillow move.
She thought of waking her Dad up and telling him to go check it out since Rosco was in the house. But she remembered how red his eyes were last night after coming home from work. Evlan took off the tank top she had slept with and put on a new one over a sports bra. She grabbed a pink robe that rested on the floor and wrapped it around her body. Rosco, the previously sound asleep pug, lifted his head as he heard the door open. He stood on his hind legs and barked.
"Shh, you stay here," she ordered.
Rosco tilted his head and walked over to the edge of the bed.
"Rosco lay down I said," she loudly whispered, "go, lay down."
He saw her snapping fingers but jumped off from the bed and clung to Evlan's leg.
"Fine, fine, let's go."
She moved throughout the black house; some rooms only being lit by the various digital clocks throughout them. Rosco made it to the back door first. The back door was a thin screen rectangle that had a few dents at the bottom of it from his attempts to get into the house before it was his time to. Evlan stood before it; her toes curled from the cold that slipped beneath it, but her eyes stayed focused on the dog house. She slid her feet into a pair of thin slippers that rested beside her and opened the screen door. Within seconds, her her lips, nose, and ears went numb.
She scanned the area around her and picked up a dark brown stick that was almost the length of her arm. The damp branch poked the pillow several times. No movement. Her heart beat irregularly, but not in a harmful manner. Her lips poked out as her neck extended to get a better look. The stick fell to the pillow as Evlan lost her balance. Her ankles gave up, forcing her butt to fall to the wet grass. Did her eyes attempt to fool her? Did she see something move?
She angled her neck again, making it so that the inside of the dog house could be seen again. The back of it was barely visible, but she could still see movement. She aimed her ear at the dog house and waited. At first, she heard nothing; a few seconds passed, and still nothing. But after about a minute or so, she heard shivering, then a muffled cough.
No answer.
"Hey, is---is someone in there?"
No answer.
"Is someone in there?"
Still no answer.
"I'm gonna go get my parents to see if they want to call the police to get you some help."
"No, don't." She heard.
The voice was tiny and weak as it emptied from the wooden shelter. Evlan crouched back down and looked at the darkness.
"How old are you?" She asked as she leaned a little closer. "It's cold out here, let me help you."
The wind picked up, but she could still hear the child.
"You though."
"Me what?"
"You help me. No one else."
"I will, I promise," her words were sincere, but also rushed by the cold, "it's freezing out here. We can go in my house. Come on, you'll get sick."
The pillow moved forward, flipped over, then pulled into where it was no longer visible. The child's feet scraped against the floor as he hugged the pillow underneath his arm. Evlan's shadow stood up and uncovered the dog house as she waited. Out of the opening, a dirty brown face, with smudges of dirt and dried blood was introduced to the sun.
"Oh my God. Hurry, hurry. Oh my God," she kept repeating.
She unwrapped her robe, and placed it over the boy's body.
© Copyright 2017 Antonio Rivera. All rights reserved.
Add Your Comments:
More Young Adult Books
Book / Young Adult
Book / Young Adult
Book / Young Adult
Book / Young Adult
Book / Young Adult
Book / Young Adult
Book / Young Adult
Book / Young Adult
Book / Young Adult
Book / Young Adult
Book / Young Adult
Book / Young Adult
Book / Young Adult
Book / Young Adult
Book / Young Adult
Short Story / Gay and Lesbian
Book / Romance
Book / Humor
Book / Fantasy
Booksie Popular Content
Other Content by Antonio Rivera
Book / Romance
Book / Young Adult
Book / Memoir


text:
Jury Mutiny In Missoula
A trial in Missoula has hit a very large obstacle while trying to find an adequate jury. The man on trial is facing charges brought upon him after being found in possession of a 16th of an ounce of Marijuana. Before the trial even began, would-be jurors made it clear what their verdict would be. More inside.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
McCall Raglan T-shirts are an Idakoos specialtiy! Idakoos has many things to offer. Whether you want to get a McCall Raglan T-shirt for a special occasion, give a McCall T-Shirt as a present or need to represent with a funny McCall Raglan Tee during Holidays or Family and Friends get-togethers, Idakoos is sure to have the right McCall Raglan T-shirt for you! Even if it turns out you can't find the right McCall Raglan Shirt with the perfect design for your mother, father or children (or friends!); Idakoos offers all of its men's women's and children's McCall Raglan T-shirts as Custom McCall T-Shirts. Personalize any McCall Raglan T-shirt the way you want to ensure the perfect gift.
Showing 1 - 24 of 78 Raglan T-Shirt


text:
LaRoche goes deep twice as Fister foils Mets
Espinosa contributes three-run jack as Nationals extend division lead
WASHINGTON -- Doug Fister showed why he is arguably the best pitcher on the Nationals' pitching staff. He was solid for 7 1/3 innings, and the Nationals got two home runs from Adam LaRoche on their way to a 7-1 victory Wednesday night.
With the victory, the Nationals are now four games ahead of the Braves in the National League East race. The Mariners defeated the Braves, 7-3, at Safeco Field earlier in the day. The Braves have now lost eight consecutive games.
"I approach this game like this: We need to take care of ourselves," Fister said. "We have two months left of the regular season. If we take care of ourselves, things will play out the right way. We can't rely on anybody else. We have to go out there, play great baseball and take care of our business."
Fister won his team-leading 11th game of the season, allowed one unearned run and struck out seven batters. He started the game off by retiring nine of the first 10 hitters he faced. The Mets scored their only run after Fister left the game. Left-hander Matt Thornton was on the mound when Lucas Duda singled to drive in a run.
Even more important, Fister is 7-2 after the Nationals lose a game. How important is it to have Fister to stop losing skids?
"It's no coincidence that I feel that a lot of runs get scored when Doug pitches," LaRoche said. "I think it's a matter of quick innings. He is pitching to contact and there is a lot of action. We are back in the dugout quickly. I have to think that has something to do with it. It's seems when he is out there, we are on defense for 30 minutes and we spend two hours in the dugout. It's a good feeling."
As usual, Fister declined to give himself credit for the strong outing. Instead, he credited the defense behind him.
"I didn't get quite get what I wanted," Fister said. "But our guys played great defense. [Anthony] Rendon taking lines drives, [Jayson Werth] making sliding catches. Those are the unmentionables that make up a team."
The Nationals gave Fister plenty of run support starting in the first inning against left-hander Jon Niese. After Rendon doubled with one out, Werth singled to right field, which allowed Rendon to score and give Washington a 1-0 lead. LaRoche followed with a two-run homer over the right-center-field wall to extend the lead by three. It was his first home run since July 22nd.
In the sixth inning, Danny Espinosa added to the lead by hitting a three-run homer over the left-field wall.
"That was a changeup," Niese said about the Espinosa home run. "I thought it was in a good location. He put a pretty good swing on it. It hit his barrel and he was able to hit it out, but I thought it was a well-executed pitch."
The switching-hitting Espinosa is having a great year from the right side of the plate, hitting .309 with two home runs and seven RBIs. Asked if he would consider hitting strictly from the right side of the plate until he was able to get his swing back from the left side, Espinosa said, "If it was that easy, I would try it. I've never done it. I know Shane Victorino did it last year. … But I don't know how easy that would be. It would be nice to say, 'Just take it to the other side.' I've never done it."
In the bottom of the eighth inning, LaRoche hit his second home run of the night, a solo shot over the right-field wall. LaRoche now has 23 multi-homer games in his career.
It looks like LaRoche is out of his slump, as he's gone 4-for 6 in his last two games and has seen his average go up to .273. After the game, LaRoche said he was happy to get his power back.
"It's nice to see [the balls] go in the seats and not to the warning track or just foul," LaRoche said."I was kind of snake bit last month. Again, I never felt lost at the plate, which I have plenty of times in the past. I felt like I was right there. Any night, it was going to click. I would start spraying the ball. I figured it was a matter of time. Maybe this is the start of something."
Bill Ladson is a reporter for MLB.com and writes an MLBlog, All Nats All the time. He also could be found on Twitter @WashingNats. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


text:
A PENSNETT chip shop took a battering when a car careered off the road and smashed through the window.
The grey BMW narrowly missed the three members of staff working behind the counter at Mandy's Tasty Plaice, Commonside, when it crashed through at 7.30pm last night (Wednesday).
Shop owner Asa Singh said it was "a miracle" that nobody was injured and added: "The car dented the cooking range and if it had been closer, there's a chance the shop might have blown up or if someone was standing in the queue then there could have been a fatality.
"It all happened in within seconds and everyone is really shook up. It's a really dangerous corner and there's always a lot of accidents."
The fryer said the chippy would be closed for up to a fortnight and estimated the damage was in the region of £20,000 as the shop front, floor, tiles and shutter would all have to be replaced.
A West Midlands Police spokesman said the 17-year-old male driver was given a notice of intention to prosecute for dangerous driving and driving without due care and attention.


text:
Get an overview of this hotelUpscale city hotel in a grand Edwardian building
Collecting Nectar Points
Special Offer: Book by 2 August 2017 and collect double Nectar points!
Simply enter your Nectar card number when you check out. Your points will be credited 35 days after you return from your trip.
*Terms and conditions apply.
Popular property highlights
On St. Peter's Square
Built in 1903 to serve the central railway, the hotel stands in St. Peter's Square, near the train station of the same name. The impressive monuments of Albert Square are a 3-minute walk away, and it's only a little farther to the cultural attractions of the Opera House and Palace Theatre.
Award-winning restaurant and Spa
The Midland - Manchester is home to the Adam Reach at The French, a highly regarded restaurant. There is also a garden restaurant and casual lounge, as well as a traditional afternoon tea service. A full-service Spa is also available.
WiFi is free
Every room in this iconic Edwardian building is designed for contemporary style and comfort, with high-tech touches such as free WiFi and flat-screen TVs. After a busy day about town, guests can settle in with a movie and a meal from room service. Some suites command superb city views.Information missing or incorrect? Tell us!Opens in a new window
The Midland - Manchester
Hotel Amenities
Hotel Amenities
In addition to an indoor pool, The Midland - Manchester provides a Full-service Spa offering a wide range of treatments, a sauna, indoor pool, and a fitness center. The hotel offers a coffee shop/café. A bar/lounge is on site where guests can unwind with a drink. Public areas are equipped with complimentary high-speed wireless Internet access.
Business amenities at this 4-star property consist of a business center, limo/town car service, concierge services and 11 meeting rooms. This Victorian hotel also offers laundry facilities. Onsite parking is available (surcharge).
The Midland - Manchester is a smoke-free property.
- 24-hour front desk
- ATM/banking
- Bar/lounge
- Breakfast available (surcharge)
- Business center
- Newspapers in lobby (surcharge)
- Concierge services
- Coffee shop or café
- Conference space
- Fitness facilities
- Dry cleaning/laundry service
- Elevator/lift
- Full-service spa
- Express check-out
- Total number of rooms - 312
- Laundry facilities
- Limo or Town Car service available
- Number of floors - 6
- Spa treatment room(s)
- Meeting rooms 11
- Valet parking (surcharge)
- Porter/bellhop
- Luggage storage
- Safe-deposit box at front desk
- Number of restaurants - 3
- Number of meeting rooms - 14
- Self parking (surcharge)
- Sauna
- Smoke-free property
- Spa services on site
- Indoor pool
- Wedding services
- Free WiFi
- Year Built 1903
- Number of buildings/towers - 1
Family Friendly Amenities
- Family Hotel
- Indoor pool
- Free Wi-Fi
- Laundry facilities
Available in all rooms: Free WiFi
Available in some public areas: Free WiFi
Self parking (surcharge), Valet parking (surcharge)
Room Amenities
- Premium TV channels
- Premium bedding
- Hypo-allergenic bedding available
- Air conditioning
- Phone
- Minibar
- Free bottled water
- Daily housekeeping
- Private bathroom
- Free toiletries
- Hair dryer
- Shower/tub combination
- Satellite TV service
- Iron/ironing board
- In-room safe
- Desk
- Electric kettle
- Flat-panel TV
- Free WiFi
- Room service (24 hours)
- Connecting/adjoining rooms available
- Rollaway/extra beds (free)
- In-room climate control (heating)
Where to Eat
Continental breakfasts are available for a surcharge.
Adam Reach at The French - This fine-dining restaurant specializes in British cuisine.
Mr Coopers House & Garden - This restaurant serves lunch and dinner.
Octagon Bar - This brasserie serves lunch and dinner.
24-hour room service is available.
The Tea Room - Restaurant serving British cuisine
Nearby Things to Do
The recreational activities listed below are available either on site or nearby; fees may apply.
The Spa at The Midland opened early June 2015 and offers an outstanding Spa and Gym facility including eight treatment rooms, extensive relaxation space, relaxation pool and a state of the art gym.
- Golfing nearby
- Bicycle rentals nearby
- Hiking/biking trails nearby
Spa Services
- Hot stone massage
- Deep tissue massage
- Swedish massage
- Steam room in spa
- Sports massage
- Number of treatment rooms 8
- Couples treatment rooms
- Body wraps
- Body scrubs
- Aromatherapy treatments
- Sauna in spa
- Spa tub in spa
- Massages
- Minimum age to access spa is 18
- Body treatments
- Facial treatments
If you have requests for specific accessibility needs, please note them at check-out when you book your room.
- Accessible bathroom
- In-room accessibility
- Roll-in shower
Hotel Policies
Minimum check-in age is 18
Check-in time starts at 3 PM
Check-out time is noon
Payment types
Children and extra beds
- Children are welcome.
- Free rollaway/extra beds!
- Cribs (infant beds) are not available.
- Pets not allowed (service animals welcome)
You need to know
Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy.
Optional extras
- Fee for English breakfast: GBP 20 per person (approximately)
- Self parking fee: GBP 20.00 per day
- Valet parking fee: GBP 30.00 per day
Hotel Name
- Manchester Midland
- Midland Hotel Manchester
- Midland Manchester
- Midland Manchester Hotel
- Midland Hotel
We should mention
Reservations are required for massage services and spa treatments. Reservations can be made by contacting the hotel prior to arrival, using the contact information on the booking confirmation. The property has connecting/adjoining rooms, which are subject to availability and can be requested by contacting the property using the number on the booking confirmation.
Awards & Affiliations
- The Midland - Manchester is listed in the 2015 Condé Nast Traveler Gold List of the world's best places to stay.
National Rating
This establishment has received its official star rating from VisitEngland, the National Tourist Board for England.


text:
Hey Guys,
Got a couple videos of a handful of my drives. Sorry I didn't compile them into one video (I'll do that next time), but I'd love to hear any feedback you have. I can consistently hit 375'-400' throwing about 10-12' off the ground. I know one of the things I need to work on is aiming higher. None of these drives are for pure distance, but if one of them was, the first is typically the style of how I throw for distance.
Drive with Pro Destroyer, not sure of specific distance, but the drive was exactly where it needed to be (10' from basket).
Drive 1 Normal Speed - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhhBUqVjoys
Drive 1 Slow Speed - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmfQvLrZiE0
Drive with Roc, not a long hole, but I did park it again. Specifically an accuracy drive.
Drive 2 Normal Speed - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Msq1maauTfc
Drive 2 Slow Speed - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXIY2u7mUuc
Driving with Teebird in the Garage
Drive 3 Normal Speed - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEefLr3F1L0
Drive 3 Slow Speed - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3YkLwwQrZY
Drive 4 Normal Speed - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bi3SY214ie8
Drive 4 Slow Speed - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vmro4ehN8d4


text:
Hannah Storm was back on the air Tuesday, hosting the Rose Parade telecast three weeks after a propane gas grill accident left the ESPN anchor with first- and second-degree burns to her face, hands, chest and neck.
Storm lost roughly half her hair in the accident Dec. 11 outside her home in Connecticut. She wore extensions for the ABC telecast and her left hand was bandaged.
Storm's eyebrows and eyelashes were burned off. A makeup artist drew on eyebrows for the telecast.
This was the fifth time Storm has hosted the Rose Parade in Pasadena, Calif. She says it was a familiar and comforting setting to make her return.
Storm says she hopes to turn her ordeal into an opportunity to talk about how to safely operate propane gas grills.


text:
Enter the folowing information to determine what GPA you must earn in an upcoming semester in order to reach a target cumulative GPA.
1) Your current GPA.
2) Your total Grade Points (from your transcript).
3) The hours you plan to take to try to reach your target GPA.
4) The target GPA that you are trying to reach.
Once you've entered all the relevant information press "Calculate" to find out what GPA you must earn on the Hours Attempted in order to achieve the desired GPA.
For example:
My current GPA is 2.216 and my current Grade Points (from my transcript on MuskieLink) are 115.2. I plan to take 13 hours next semester, and I am trying to reach a 2.35 GPA. Enter that into the spaces provided and press calculate. It will tell you that you must earn a 2.886 in the upcoming semester to reach my target cumulative GPA of 2.35.
Maps & Directions
Academic Affairs
Undergraduate Admission
Financial Aid
Graduate & Continuing Studies
Business Office
Academic Catalogs


text:
So I gots an HDMI problem. When I plug my laptop into the TV the sound and picture and all are fine, but I lose a lot of real estate along the edges of the screen. The picture's too big for the TV, half the Windows toolbar is below the screen, a good portion of the first row of desktop icons are off the edge, I can't see the open/close/restore buttons when I have a window maximized.
I've tried changing the resolution and it's the same thing, just at a different resolution. Anyone know what's up?


text:
Note: This item is more than three years old. Please take the publication date into consideration for any date references.
Print – Plain Text – Permalink
News Release
Media Contact: TPWD News, email@example.com, 512-389-8030
May 22, 2014
Game Wardens Stress Water Safety
AUSTIN—Since May 9, at least twelve people have lost their lives on Texas waters in boating or swimming accidents worked by Texas Game Wardens, an unusually high number of fatalities before the Memorial Day weekend. With the big weekend approaching, Texans are heading to lakes, rivers and coastlines to enjoy the water. Game wardens and boater education experts are doing everything they can to make it a safe boating season, but could use a little help.
Last year in Texas, 146 accidents were reported by the U.S. Coast Guard, 31 of which ended with deaths. Statistics show many of these tragedies could have been prevented. Nearly 85 percent of boating accident victims were not wearing life jackets.
"The numbers speak for themselves," said Cody Jones, TPWD Assistant Commander for Marine Enforcement. "Wearing a life jacket increases your chances of surviving on the water and can prevent your trip from turning into a tragedy."
State law requires that a personal floatation device is available for each occupant of the boat, but only children under 13 years of age are mandated by the law to wear one while the boat or paddle craft is underway or drifting.
Despite this law, last year in Texas, more than 700 citations were issued for children not wearing a life jacket.
It is mandatory for anyone born on or after Sept. 1, 1993 to obtain a boater's education certificate before they can legally operate a vessel with a rating of more than 15 horsepower. Anyone supervising the operation of a vessel by another must be 18 years of age or older and exempt from the boater education requirement (born before 1993) or have a boater education certificate.
In 2013, 208 citations were issued in Texas to boaters who were intoxicated. And five of the state's boating deaths in 2013 were alcohol-related, highlighting the importance of not drinking while operating a boat.
"If you want to drink before heading out on the water, remember to be responsible and assign a designated driver," said Jones. "Wardens will be patrolling the waters and anyone found operating a boat while intoxicated will face possible arrest and time in jail."
For information about boater education courses, visit: http://www.tpwd.texas.gov/learning/boater_education/internet_courses.phtml
Boaters with the online course certificate may receive a discounted rate from their boating insurance provider.
Publication — Permission is granted to publish, in whole or in part, any news releases on this page.
Print — A print-friendly version of the news release shows only the release with font sizes set to the browser default.
Plain Text — Plain text versions of TPWD news releases are provided for copying and pasting into editing software.
To copy text into an editing software:
- Click a Plain Text link to display the plain text page in your browser.
- Select all.
- Copy.
- Paste in a document in your editing program.
Permalink — This is a direct link to the news release, omitting the navigation context from the URI.
English/Spanish — News releases posted in both English and Spanish have one of these links.
If you have any suggestions for improving these pages, send an e-mail to firstname.lastname@example.com and mention Plain Text Pages.
(5.4.16 i)


text:
High Quality Men's Ring Black Agate Retro Carving High Polished Stainless Steel Men's Jewelry Silver,Gold Charmimg Ring For Men
of buyers enjoyed this product!
Discount Price: US $4.53 / piece
|45 days Money back Returns accepted if product not as described, buyer pays return shipping; or keep the product & agree refund with seller.
On-time Delivery
Guarantees: On-time Delivery 60 days
Product Features
Material:316L Stainless Steel
Size:Please check the picture below
Wearing Occasion:Dating / Daily / Wedding / Anniversary / Party
Gift for: Friend / Dad / Brother / Mum / Wife
Ring Size and Measurement
|1. Tie a rope to your finger
|2. Make a mark on the rope
|3. Measure the length
Photo Gallery
|1. Velvet Pouch
|(Free service)
We will send your orders in 1-7 days (according to your order's quantity) after the payment.
When you receive the items you ordered, in 24 hours, please check it carefully. Please contact us directly if you have any problems.
(1) Please check the tracking information at tracking website.
(2) Please feel free to contact us.
(3) Please check the package carefully.
1.Please contact with us before leaving any negative or neutral feedback. We will work with you to solve any problem.
2.Do not hesitate to contact with us anytime before and after your purchase, we are committed to your 100% customer satisfaction.
Technological Process
Occasion and Gifts
Buyers Bask in Picture
Jewelry Maintenance
|Avoid chemicals
|Avoid bath
|Avoid sweat
|Avoid crash
|Take off when sleeping
|Clean with soft cloth
|Sealed storage
Separate storage
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
|Shipping Company
|Shipping Cost
|Estimated Delivery Time
|3 - 7 days
|3 - 7 days
|5 - 14 days
|Post Air Mail
|Free Shipping
|15 - 45 days
|Return Policy
If the product you receive is not as described or low quality, the seller promises that you may return it before order completion (when you click "Confirm Order Received" or exceed confirmation timeframe) and receive a full refund. The return shipping fee will be paid by you. Or, you can choose to keep the product and agree the refund amount directly with the seller.
N.B.: If the seller provides the "Longer Protection" service on this product, you may ask for refund up to 15 days after order completion.
|Seller Service
|On-time Delivery If you do not receive your purchase within 60 days, you can ask for a full refund before order completion (when you click "Confirm Order Received" or exceed confirmation timeframe).
Jakcom R3 Smart Ring waterproof/dust-proof/fall-proof for NFC Electronics Mobile Phone Android Smartphone wearable magic ring
US $19.99 / piece
Smart Ring Wear Jakcom R3 R3F MJ02 NFC Magic New Technology For iphone Samsung HTC Sony LG IOS Android Windows NFC Mobile Phone
US $17.99 / piece
BLEUM CADE Number and Month Letter Rotatable rings for men Titanium Stainless Steel Punk Party Ring Jewelry
US $7.99 / piece
BLEUM CADE Titanium Steel Stainless Steel Jewelry Crystal Wedding Rings for Women
US $7.89 / piece
New Design Titanium Stainless Steel Retro Luxury Vintage Jewelry Fashion Finger Gem Ring For Men Party Wedding Wholesale Ring
US $6.90 / piece
Man Punk Cool Cross Rings For Men Stainless Steel 3D Cross Style Rings Men Fashion Jewellery Unique Gift G103 US size
US $7.69 / piece


text:
Lest we forget – Just a little more than a year ago, there was a massacre of children in Newtown, Connecticut.
– – – – –
I was shocked to realize that Monday is Christmas Eve. I admit that it's pretty weird at this time of year to not know what day is Christmas, but I am a disaster in every possible way. Trying to do everything is not merely difficult, it's impossible. I'm stretched thin enough to be transparent. I'm sure the massacre in Connecticut contributed hugely to my fugue state.
For about a week, we couldn't even think about holidays. I'm not sure we were thinking about anything. Psychic overload. Plus, there are other issues, stuff I had to deal with that falls under my purview because the end of the year is not only a time for holidays, but the period when we wrap up the business of the old year and get everything in place for the next.
Unless the world ends later today, in which case all I can say is "oops."
I am changing health care insurance carriers as of January because I can't afford the program I've been using, much as I like it. Changing medical insurance is always hard, but when you are older and have a variety of physical conditions and work with a lot of specialists, it gets wildly complicated and a bit scary. Moreover, I have a project to which I committed last summer that has a hard deadline just after the New Year.
And at the beginning of last week, I realized my husband needs a new cell phone. It never crossed my mind that upgrading a mobile phone could entail endless hours of calls to AT&T and turn into a Cecil B. DeMille production with thousands of extras and a full orchestra. Getting the phone ate most of a week … and I fear it's not over yet. We don't actually have a phone yet. Anything could happen.
When I have a little time and am over the hump of holidays, I'll tell you all about it. You can't make this stuff up.
My deadline isn't flexible. I've never missed a deadline and I won't this time either. I will meet it or die trying. But it leaves Garry to take care of everything I haven't already done. It's nothing outside his capabilities … it's just that he too had lost track of time.
When I told him Christmas Eve is Monday, he didn't believe me. We had to stand in front of the calendar, proving beyond doubt that somewhere along the way, we lost a week.
What happened to December? In all the years I can remember, I have never been so completely unready for the holidays as I am this year and what's weird is that so many other people I know seems to be caught short.
My theory is that the Newtown Connecticut mass shooting affected many of us the same way. Vietnam vets started having flashbacks again. It made my husband remember too many similar things he had to cover during his years as a reporter … and had the same effect on his colleagues, both those still working and those now retired. For a while, it seemed somehow wrong … inappropriate … to be worrying about gifts and wrapping paper.
We didn't feel festive. We didn't even feel like we should feel festive. Between events outside our control and a lot of things that just came together to eat our time, Christmas seems to have appeared, popping up like a jack-in-the-box. Friends who normally go all out for the holidays haven't even bought a tree, much less put it up or decorated their home and property. A strange Christmas, this one. Somehow, it has happened, though with less ceremony than usual.
While I spent the afternoon at the oncologist, my daughter-in-law and granddaughter put up and decorated the tree. They acquired wrapping paper and the appropriate stuff to go with it … ribbon and bows and tape and labels and all. Meals are planned, though groceries remain to be purchased.
In the middle of all of this, my two Christmas cacti are blooming. They, at least, are in tune with the season. The tree is lit. There won't be wreathes this year because I forgot to buy them and now, it seems too late.
Next year I'll try to make up for it. I did take pictures this morning to prove, despite obstacles, we shall have Christmas. We may not deck the halls, but it's still Christmas.


text: Disabled former sheriff's deputy wins big at athletic competition By Lori Kersey June 7, 2013 Story Share Kenny Kemp Dan Clarkson, shown here with Sheriff Johnny Rutherford, lifts weights in the gym at the Kanawha County Sheriff's Department. Kenny Kemp Dan Clarkson, a former sheriff's deputy who retired after a spinal cord injury in a motorcycle accident in 2006, still works a few hours each week at the sheriff's office. CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- It took Dan Clarkson about a year and a half to walk after a 2006 motorcycle wreck, even though doctors said his chances of that were slim.Now the former Kanawha County sheriff's deputy is defying the odds again -- this time at a national disabled athletes competition.Clarkson took top honors in all of his events -- discus, shot put and club (a throwing device for disabled athletes) -- and might have set records in all three throwing events at the Thunder in the Valley Games in Saginaw, Mich., last week."It was great," Clarkson said. "I thoroughly enjoyed it."He was part of a team of seven West Virginia athletes who competed in the event, held May 30-June 2.In all, the West Virginia team members set 12 national records and were champions of the small-team competition."We knew [Clarkson] and the other athletes had tremendous potential," said Jeremiah Gagnon, recreational therapist at Charleston Area Medical Center's medical rehabilitation center and chairman of the Challenged Sports Committee. "How much? Well, I guess it's up to them. We'll give them the opportunity." Besides Clarkson, the local team members were James Cowie III, Wesley Dorcas, Mike Fielder, Fawn Washington, George Jackson and Charles Keiffer.Gagnon said that since 1992, 11 West Virginians have held 19 national records for challenged athletes."In my theory, it's just the character of the people here," Gagnon said. "When you look at the people of West Virginia, the people who came to settle here, they were fiercely independent people."There is one more official national event this year before the records are published for the year in January. The athletes will officially know then if their records for the year held or if they were beaten. Before his motorcycle accident in 2006, Clarkson had been a Kanawha sheriff's deputy for 20 years. He was riding his motorcycle in Lincoln County when he hit some loose gravel, causing him to wreck. His spine was bruised in the accident, and doctors, in retrospect, say they didn't expect him to walk again."[After the accident,] I said, 'Doc, you're going to be able to get me back, aren't you?' And he said, 'Yeah, Mr. Clarkson, I know you and I think I can.' But now when I go into his office, he tells me, 'Mr. Clarkson, I never thought I'd see you walk.'"He's retired as a deputy, but still works a few hours each week at the sheriff's office."Dan is our inspiration around here," Sheriff John Rutherford said. "He never misses work. He comes in with a great attitude. "He has challenges some of us don't, but he just smiles and is a real inspiration to the whole department, from the top to the bottom."Clarkson had been training for the games since April but regularly works out each week at a gym in the sheriff's office."Three days a week he does a workout that a lot of other very healthy deputies don't perform," Rutherford said.Gagnon, who has worked with Clarkson since his accident, said he got chill bumps thinking about seeing him succeed at the competition."You know the potential is there, especially with someone like Dan who's also the eternal optimist and always sees the bright side of things," Gagnon said.Of all the athletes from West Virginia who competed, Clarkson's performance was the most outstanding because it was the best he had done, he said. "Dan's by far was the best performance he's ever had in practice or in competition," he said.Reach Lori Kersey at email@example.com or 304-348-1240. Story Share Story Share Trending Now 1 Morgantown coal operator Laurita indicted in alleged campaign finance scheme 2 Books and Brews expanding to Charleston's West Side 3 City of Milton tries to revive Morris Memorial property 4 Former Boone school board members indicted 5 Capito quiet on newest ACA repeal proposal; Manchin opposes Alpha to close Boone mine Previous Story Three state fire departments getting federal funding Next Story


text:
- Home
- News
- Sports
- Opinion
- Obituaries
- Features
- Special Sections
- Classifieds
- Public Notices
SHEPHERDSVILLE - Professional jockey Jesus Castanon recently rode in his first Kentucky Derby, with a fourth-place finish aboard the colt Shackleford. Later that night Castanon and his family headed to their ol' Kentucky home, not so far away, in Bullitt County.
If you currently subscribe or have subscribed in the past to the The Pioneer News, 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 The Pioneer News 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:
…be long until dinner, I kept my pizza portion small, so I would still be hungry later.
And I was glad I did, because tonight was our second formal night (check out the pic of Joe and me, above) and we had lobster for dinner — yum!
But first, I started with an eggplant salad with some toast, and then the Caribbean lobster, which was also served with shrimp and steamed veggies.
Finally, I finished the night off with a delicious dessert of ice cream topped with sliced almonds and a cherry sauce. Divine! We have had a great week, I am so sad tomorrow is our last day. It has been a blast!
Comments? Requests? Tweet me @sarahjaneRD or @SELFmagazine or find me on SELF'S Facebook Page!
Related Links:
30 Slimming Superfoods to Drop Pounds
The Easiest Way to Choose Healthy Foods
Lose 10 Pounds This Summer!
The Easiest Way to Choose Healthy Foods
Lose 10 Pounds This Summer!
For daily nutrition tips follow SELF on Facebook and Twitter.
Get SELF on your iPad and Kindle Fire!


text:
Critics say a proposal to tighten Escondido's cab regulations would destroy small companies, increase rates and make cabs less available.
Supporters say, however, that stricter regulations aim to boost the city's image by upgrading the quality and reliability of taxi service.
The City Council will weigh those different points of view Wednesday when members consider a variety of possible new rules, including a requirement that each company own at least 10 cabs to continue operating.
Council members deadlocked on the issue in November.
Oceanside adopted a similar set of new regulations last fall, and one of the large cab companies that survived the changes recently announced rate increases.
Escondido Councilman Ed Gallo, who sponsored the new legislation, said such rate hikes won't happen in Escondido because he wants to grandfather in the city's smaller cab companies.
"The intent was that it would only affect new operators," Gallo said this week.
That's welcome news to Paolo Iannizzotto, who has owned and operated a one-cab company in Escondido since 1997.
"If they started to require 10 cabs immediately, I would have to look for another job," he said.
And 12 of the city's 14 licensed taxi operators would face a similar fate, because only two companies operating in Escondido have 10 or more cabs — A-1 Escondido and Yellow Cab of North County.
Grandfathering in the smaller companies would allow them to stay in business. But Iannizzotto said it would just delay an inevitable monopoly the new rules would create when those companies stop operating someday.
"If there's only one or two companies, they can do whatever they want to the rates," he said.
Mike Casey, spokesman for Yellow Cab of North County, said, though, that rates have tended to remain stable across San Diego County because so many cab companies are operating in the region.
Casey also said Escondido should adopt tighter regulations because smaller cab companies provide inferior service.
"They work eight hours a day, and they only serve the transit center and busy areas," he said. "If you're going to be a taxi company, you should serve the entire city."
Casey said a good analogy would be trash collection, which cities typically hire one company to handle.
"A city's not going to say everyone with a pickup truck can collect trash," he said.
But Iannizzotto objected to complaints that small companies "cherry-pick" lucrative fares and stay away from less-appealing assignments.
He said drivers are so desperate for income that they'll take any fare. In addition, he said drivers for larger cab companies don't operate any differently than he does.
"They are self-employed and pay a daily lease, so the owner of the company can't tell them what to do," he said. "They don't sit in residential areas waiting for fares, because no one would do that."
Iannizzotto said smaller companies also typically offer better service because the drivers get many of their fares from repeat customers who call them directly.
But Councilman Gallo said companies with large fleets of cabs are better for the city's image than one-cab companies with names people don't recognize.
He said having only "high-quality" cabs in the city would dovetail with other recent upgrades, such as last summer's opening of $1 billion Palomar Medical Center West and an ongoing $55 million renovation of Westfield North County mall.
"If we're upgrading the city, taxicabs are a vital part of that," he said. "It says something about how the city regards itself."
Councilman Mike Morasco said he can't support the new regulations because they would strangle competition.
"It's very troubling," he said.
Morasco said he would prefer each company offer 24-hour service, and he endorsed a suggestion from the City Attorney's Office that could make that happen.
The proposal calls for Escondido's smaller companies to agree to forward customer calls to other drivers when they're not operating their cabs.
"I'm not sure these individuals have any interest, but that would be enticing," Morasco said.
Wednesday's meeting is scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. in City Hall, 201 N. Broadway.


text:
An Action Plan for the G-20
Testimony before the hearing "The G-20 and Global Economic and Financial Risks," Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on Security and International Trade and Finance, United States Senate
The world economy obviously faces major risks. There are three separate though related problems: the possibility of renewed recession in the three large high-income areas (United States, European Union, Japan), the continued fragility of the global financial system, and most immediately, the threat of renewed crisis in Europe.
At the same time, the global economy does exhibit several significant strengths. The emerging markets and developing countries, which now account for half of all global output, continue to grow rapidly. Many of the design shortcomings and implementation failures of the previous financial regulatory regime have been reduced by the Basel III agreement and by regulatory reform at the national level, including importantly the Dodd-Frank law in the United States. World trade has continued to expand and the feared outbreak of protectionism has failed to materialize.
In this mixed setting, what should the G-20 do at its upcoming summit in Cannes on November 4–5? I recommend a three-part initiative.
Promoting Global Growth
The most critical task is restoring economic growth throughout the world and the G-20 should act to do so at Cannes as it did at London in April 2009. The group should postpone its 2010 pledge "to cut budget deficits in half by 2013." There is no problem in the emerging markets: They continue to expand at an average rate of 6 percent and some, including China and India, are doing much better. Such growth is pervasive across all groups of these countries, including Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa, as well as East Asia.
All three of the traditional global economic leaders, however, are struggling to reach even 2 percent growth. All are experiencing high and persistent unemployment. Compounding their policy problems, all simultaneously face large budget deficits and rapidly growing debt burdens that require fiscal corrections rather than the expansions that would normally be adopted in such circumstances.1 Nor can monetary policy do very much since all three central banks are at or not far from the "zero bound" of interest rates.
The world will thus have to continue to rely—increasingly so—on the emerging and developing economies led by China, which alone accounts for one quarter of all global growth.2 These countries should adopt new stimulus programs to strengthen the global prospect. Some, notably Brazil and Indonesia, have already begun to do so. Fortunately, almost all of them have fiscal and/or monetary policy space to deploy expansionary policies. Moreover, they are already planning to spend trillions of dollars on new infrastructure projects over the coming decade and acceleration of these efforts should be feasible as well as desirable. Their recent concerns over inflation, which justifiably have deterred some of them from shifting their policy gears heretofore, should be mitigated by the weakened prospects in the high-income countries and the leveling off of most commodity process.
In short, it is time for the emerging economies to assert the leadership of the global economic system for which their dramatic progress of the last decade or so has prepared them. China already did so to an important extent in 2008 when it acted most quickly and most decisively of any major economy to promote recovery from the Great Recession. This time the emerging markets as a group need to move with equal vigor to prevent another Great Recession.
It is also essential that the emerging markets promote global growth through the shape of their expansion strategies. China and the other countries with large reserves must provide stimulus through domestic demand and reductions, rather than renewed increases as forecast by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in their external surpluses. This is the only way they can help the world as a whole, including a number of poorer countries as well as the high-income trio, attain renewed growth—which is of course critical to them as well.
China continues to buy $1billion to 2 billion every day to keep the exchange rate of its renminbi 20 to30 percent below equilibrium levels. It and other emerging and developing countries spent $1.5 trillion in 2011 alone to hold their currencies down, substantially increasing the trade and current account deficits of the United States (and Europe and a few others). These countries achieved much of their rapid development by exploiting demand in the rich countries and it is time for them to promote domestic consumption and social infrastructure spending and to let their exchange rates appreciate much more rapidly (which will also help counter any inflationary pressures from their new stimulus initiatives).
The European Crisis
The most immediate problem is of course the European crisis and the G-20 should be in a position by Cannes to endorse a comprehensive action plan.
Here too, however, renewed growth is essential. Austerity alone cannot restore economic viability in Greece, Italy, or the euro area as a whole. Two steps are required on this aspect of the European problem:
- Germany, the Netherlands, and the other strong countries of the European "core" should, at a minimum, postpone the further tightening of their fiscal policies that is now planned and let their automatic stabilizers play through, and preferably adopt temporary stimulus measures for the next couple of years;
- the European Central Bank, which alone in the high-income world has tightened monetary policy this year and is some distance from the "zero bound," should reduce its interest rates by at least 100 basis points.
In addition, the euro area must deal decisively with its financial perils. The only way to do so is by leveraging the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), through the European Central Bank (which will remain the ultimate source of euro area bailouts) or whatever techniques prove to be most feasible politically, to create a total reserve of 2 trillion to4 trillion euros. Such a war chest would assure markets that the euro area itself could handle any conceivable contingencies, including defaults by Italy and Spain, as well as provide the financing necessary to provide the essential recapitalization of European banks and enable Greece to buy back large portions of its existing debt and thus restore national solvency.
For the longer run, the Europeans must continue with the steps toward completing their Economic and Monetary Union that has already been galvanized by the crisis. These will include a fiscal union, a European Monetary Fund to systematize their rescue capabilities (and the accompanying conditionalities), and a comprehensive mechanism for regional economic governance. Such evolution will almost certainly require changes in the EU treaty and national constitutions. It will obviously take time, perhaps five to ten years, but is an essential complement to the current crisis management to prevent replication of the present difficulties and restore assured stability to the European Union as the single largest component of the global economy.
If the Europeans fail to get their act together sufficiently to deal with their crisis themselves, which we should know by Cannes, it will be necessary to move to Plan B: mobilization of global resources to do so through the IMF. The Fund is the only alternative through which such financing, along with the requisite adjustment programs, could be obtained.
The G-20 would have to play a crucial role in any such process, as it did in raising $750 billion for the Fund in 2009, because the IMF would have to raise several trillion dollars to enable it to deal effectively with the European difficulties. Such funds could only be borrowed from the emerging market economies that have built huge reserves of foreign exchange: China, Russia, Brazil, Korea, India, Mexico, Singapore, Hong Kong, and several others including a number of large oil exporters.
Such investments would be attractive for these countries because almost all of them would like to diversify their reserves out of dollars. A claim on the IMF would provide them with an asset that was both diversified in terms of currency risk and paid a higher interest rate. They might also, quite legitimately, link their provision of such funds to the IMF to further substantial increases in their quotas, and thus voting rights, at that institution.
I believe that the IMF should seek to avail itself of such additional resources, with or without an immediate need in Europe, due to the ongoing fragility of the global economy and its uncertain prospects for at least the next several years. But Europe's requirements could provide a compelling case for urgent action and this issue could in fact leap to the top of the G-20 agenda in Cannes.
Global Financial Regulation
It would clearly be desirable to implement a common financial regulatory regime that encompassed all major parts of the world and all classes of financial institutions. We are still far from being able to achieve such a regime, however, as indicated by the fierce battles over key components such as capital requirements and resolution mechanisms.
The G-20 should thus agree to implement on schedule—and sooner where feasible—the minimum bank capital and liquidity requirements under Basel III including the capital surcharge for global systemically-important banks. In view of the market funding strains and contagion risks facing banking systems in some important economies, this is decidedly not the time to be heeding pleas to weaken and/or postpone these key reforms. This is of course especially the case in the euro area, where large holdings of beleaguered sovereign bonds by banks and credibility problems with previous bank "stress" tests have increased the risk of significant spillovers from the smaller periphery countries to larger ones at the center (particularly Spain and Italy).
In this connection, it is instructive to note that, in the latest (September 2011) IMF Global Financial Stability Report, bank leverage (defined as the ratio of tangible assets to tangible common equity) in the euro area is over twice as high as in the United States (26 versus 12) with particularly high leverage for German, Belgian, and French banks (32, 30, and 26, respectively). Concerns that efforts to increase bank capital ratios will result in a fire sale of bank assets (by lowering the denominator of the bank capital ratio) can be countered either by requiring banks to meet the higher capital requirements in absolute terms (that is, by raising a specific amount of capital without regard to risk-weighted assets) or by picking a benchmark for the capital ratio that uses a level of (risk-weighted) bank assets prior to the required increase.
The G-20 should also redouble its efforts in two other reform areas. First, it should underline further the importance of the Financial Stability Board (FSB) and national authorities monitoring carefully the build up of risks in the "shadow banking system" so that tougher capital and liquidity standards in the banking system do not merely result in a shifting of risk to less regulated but increasingly systemically important non-bank entities. Second, it should press the FSB to make further and faster progress in securing G-20-wide agreement on a cross-border resolution regime—especially for the 28 globally active banks that have been identified as global systemically-important institutions. This should be a priority since such global institutions typically have hundreds or even thousands of majority-owned subsidiaries in other countries and resolution cannot take place effectively without such a cross-border agreement.
What Role for the United States?
The United States must obviously play a central role in galvanizing such a G-20 program at Cannes if it is to eventuate. It can make five major contributions:
- agreement between the President and Congress to adopt a new stimulus program to enhance US economic growth for 2012; we can hardly expect China and Germany to take responsibility for maintaining global expansion if we continue to be paralyzed in moving similarly;
- tangible progress toward credibly reining in the US budget deficit over the remainder of this decade, going far beyond the procedural legislation passed on August 2, to stabilize our debt buildup and thus restore global confidence in our economy and the dollar;
- a commitment to eliminate our current account deficit, which would create 3 million to 4 million new US jobs and carry out previous G-20 pledges to correct the large global imbalances in order to achieve sustainable world growth;3
- House passage and Presidential signature of the China currency bill recently passed by the Senate, to emphasize our seriousness concerning the rebalancing issue and thus increase the incentives for China to both stimulate world growth via domestic demand and let its exchange rate strengthen more rapidly; alternatively, or in addition, the numerous G-20 countries concerned by China's currency manipulation could file a joint case against it in the World Trade Organization; and
- support for augmenting the reserves of the IMF as suggested above, including a commitment by the Senate and House leadership to enact the pending IMF reform legislation once it is sent to the Congress by the Administration and an expression of US willingness to increase the weight of the emerging markets at the Fund (primarily at the expense of the Europeans, who would be gaining directly—indeed rescued—from the new funds provided by those countries).
The United States has a massive national interest in successful revival of the world economy, especially as a large part of our own recovery will depend on our success in expanding sales to external markets. We must exercise a new style of leadership to catalyze action by the still-new and diverse G-20, but a good start has been made over the past three years and the stakes are so high that we must place the highest priority on utilizing the institution effectively over the coming months and years.
1. See Joseph E. Gagnon, The Global Outlook for Government Debt over the Next 25 Years: Implications for the Economy and Public Policy, Policy Analyses in International Economics 94, Peterson Institute for International Economics, Washington, June 2011.
2. China accounts for about 10 percent of global output (at purchasing power parity exchange rates) and has been growing at about 10 percent per year for over three decades. Hence it contributes 1 percent to global growth, about 25 percent of the current total and 20 percent even in the boom years of 2003–07.
3. C. Fred Bergsten, "An Overlooked Way to Create Jobs," New York Times, September 29, 2011.


text:
Disney did not have to work too hard to ensure its latest feature "Wreck-It Ralph" will attract the wee players of the Wii generation, as the pitch for an animated film set in an arcade is a no-brainer.
But the creators of what should prevail as the best animated feature of the year have exceeded expectations in producing an imaginative, laugh out loud romp for all ages with a sledgehammer of a (Pixar-esque) story. I'd even go as far as to say that "Wreck-It Ralph" is worthy to play in the same sandbox with Woody and Buzz.
Ralph's vulnerable voiceover (kudos to the ever-awesome John C. Reilly) will pull you into his corner in the first three sentences of the film as he presents his plight. As the plugged-in villain of 8-bit game "Niceland," Ralph's been engineered to wreck everything in his path so his game's hero Fix-it Felix ("30 Rock's" hilarious rube Jack McBrayer) can fix it all. But when the arcade powers down at night and its various game stars congregate in the power surge hub, we see that the gruffly designed Ralph (who sleeps alone in a pile of bricks) inwardly grapples with his desire to break out of his typecast box in order to win friends and respect.
On a quest to earn a medal that will presumably prove his worth, Ralph befriends Vanellope von Schweetz (a scratchy-voiced, acerbic Sarah Silverman). Dubbed "The Glitch," Vanellope is another pre-programmed underdog who lives in the underbelly of the game Sugar Rush and seeks a medal of her own. But when darker forces emerge and threaten to power down the arcade permanently, they must step outside of their own storylines to save Game Central Station. They recruit the expert combat skills of Hero's Duty vigilante Sergeant Calhoun (Jayne Lynch), who in one of the best lines from the film, was programmed "with the most tragic backstory ever." And of course Fix-it Felix comes along, eager to wield his golden hammer and woo Sergeant Calhoun with his golden heart.
Beyond its sweet tale of gumption, self-preservation, and friendship, director Rich Moore's "Wreck-It Ralph" is a road comedy that's just plain fun. Well-penned (by Phil Johnston & Jennifer Lee), nostalgic references will keep children-of-the-'80s chuckling at retro gaming friends Bowser, Clyde, and Q*bert, and kids will love playing along in the film's various pixilated worlds. Particularly funny scenes include a Bad-Anon gathering of video game villains, trying to make peace with their game roles, and the meet-cute banter between initial frenemies Ralph and Vanellope (a refreshingly uncrowned female heroine).
The film is appropriate for all audiences, though young children may bristle at some of the surprisingly intense (though still blood and guts-free) action scenes when the heroes go to battle — be warned, insectophobes. And parents, arrive on time to catch the delightful black-and-white animated short "Paperman," with a sweet and magical love story that kids will tune in to, too.
On the way home, families can discuss the nature vs. nurture theme Ralph and Vanellope face as they strive to break free from their programmed characters. Other talking points include the nature of good vs. evil and what traits constitute heroes and villains. Parents should also capitalize on this opportunity to break down the qualities of true friends.
"Wreck-It Ralph" is a definite recommend. And I suspect Disney is ready to drop in a few more quarters in for this new franchise, because this one was built to last.
Rating: PG (for mild battle scenes) Appropriate for audiences of all ages who can handle animated violence including the gunning down of insects.
Runtime: 1 hour, 32 minutes
Grade: A-
* * *
Autumn McAlpin is a freelance writer and mother of four whose column, Cracking Up, runs weekly in OC Moms, the Orange County Register's parenting section. She also writes regularly about family entertainment, and is the author of the book Real World 101: A Survival Guide to Life After High School.


text:
Green Bay, Wis., is the site of the 5th national AgSTAR conference. For those of you unfamiliar with AgSTAR, it is a joint program between the EPA, USDA, and the U.S. Department of Energy aimed at encouraging the use of methane recovery systems on America's farms. Their website has plenty of information on methane digestion, so we'd encourage you to look at it if you have the chance. The event started yesterday and will continue into tomorrow. It is being attended by over 200 people mostly from the methane digestion industry. While Green Bay, Wis., may not seem like a central location to host a national conference, it is conveniently located in the state with the most on-farm digesters - Wisconsin. Yesterday, conference participants participated in an optional tour of two farms currently involved in methane digestion: Green Valley Dairy in Krakow, Wis., and Pagel's Ponderosa Dairy, LLC, in Kewaunee, Wis.
In an afternoon session titled "Lessons learned," representatives from those two toured dairies along with others from Chaseburg Organic Dairy which is in the building phase of digester implementation and Vir-Clar Farms which has been operating a digester for several years. Farmers shared their first-hand accounts of what it is like entering the methane digestion business.
John Pagel of Pagel's Pondersa Dairy realized the crowd consisted of people in industries not traditionally tied to dairy (most are in the energy business) and took a moment to educate the crowd about the dairy industry's extreme challenges in the last 18 months. Unfortunately, many in the crowd were not aware.
Each farm representative took 10 minutes to share their experiences. Each one of them were pleased that they had added methane digestion to their dairy. Gary Boyke of Vir-Clar Farms in Fond du Lac, Wis., even said that in 2009, one of the hardest years ever for the dairy industry, "my digester was the only part of my business that made money." He then added, "Am I getting rich on it? No. But I am also not losing money." And while many of the conference's attendees had their eyes focused on energy production, none of the farms said that was why they built and continue to operate a methane digester. "We did it for public acceptance (of our large farm) primarily, and odor reduction," said John Pagel. Gary Boyke shared many of the same sentiments. "It was all worth it when someone came up to me and said 'Oh, you operate that eco-friendly dairy over by the lake, don't you?' Those are things that you can't put a price on," Boyke said.
We'd be lying though if we said these digester farms didn't come without challenges (and some headaches along the way.) Melissa Van Ornum of GHD, Inc., is a methane digestion system developer and reminded attendees to keep realistic expectations of these systems and understand that each digester will be very different and have its own set of challenges.


text:
Enchanted Treasures and the Brick-mobile – to the Park's entertainment line up.
The all-new medieval adventure, Enchanted Treasure, runs daily at the Courtyard Theatre. In this 20-minute interactive live show, guests can experience action, comedy and a chance to help save the day! The castle has been invaded and two greedy knights are racing to find the crown of King Leo and unlock the magical secrets of the castle's enchanted treasure! Will the princess be able to stop them? Enchanted Treasure is sure to be entertaining for all members of the family. The show runs through Aug. 27.
And while strolling through LEGOLAND, guests of all ages will want to be on the lookout for the Park's Brick-mobile! This one-of-a-kind car features roaming entertainment that changes daily. From magicians to mad scientists, to LEGOLAND California's very own trio –The Brickettes – you never know who you might run into!
"This is an amazing summer for entertainment." states Shawn Greiner, entertainment supervisor at LEGOLAND California Resort. "Our guests will have plenty of options of how to spend their time in our Park. Many of these shows are street performances, so the guests will be entertained as they travel from attraction to attraction."
The Brickettes, a trio of girls age 11 to 12, are all about dancing and having fun, and they want LEGOLAND guests to do the same. This highly energetic performance group will encourage kids (and even parents) to learn choreography or make up their own so they can dance along with the trio to fun songs such as Party in the USA, Get this Party Started, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, Happy Birthday (rock version), Let's Twist Again, Twist and Shout, Shout, We Got the Beat, Dynamite and You Can't Stop the Beat. The Brickettes perform Fridays and Saturdays.
LEGOLAND California's wacky scientist, Mad Marty, and his sidekick Sally, run into a bit of trouble when they take over the Brick-mobile and it breaks down. In an effort to make it work again, Mad Marty and Sally take LEGOLAND guests through a series of science experiments, all while having fun. This interactive show takes place Wednesdays and Thursdays.
More Brick-mobile entertainment includes Street Magic, a father and son duo who will dazzle the crowds with hands on magic, mental magic and comedy magic every Tuesday. And little tykes will want to meet Bob the Builder, who can be found cruising LEGOLAND in the
Brick-mobile on Sundays and Mondays.
The Brick-mobile performances with The Brickettes, Mad Marty, Street Magic and Bob the Builder meet-and-greets run daily June 25 through Sept. 4 with show times at Water Works at 11:45 a.m.; Fun Town at 1 p.m.; Skipper School at 2:45 p.m. and LEGO Showplace at 4:15 p.m.
The Enchanted Treasures show and Brick-mobile performances are in addition to the Park's current show line up of favorites including Journey to the Lost Temple at Playtown Theatre; Big Test at Fun Town Stage; Clutch Powers and LEGO Racers at the LEGO Showplace. These shows run daily and show schedules may be found at www.LEGOLAND.com
All of the new summertime entertainment is included in the cost of admission to LEGOLAND California Resort. For ticket prices, operating schedule and additional information, visit www.LEGOLAND.com or call (760) 918-LEGO.


text:
Granny on Wencam 9:23
Fat Black Granny 21:06
Granny At Play 4:35
Anal Granny 6:51
Granny cleans up 17:38
Ebony Granny 22:48
Oh grannies 22:18
Oh grannies 19:13
Granny BBW Cecilia Anal 17:28
Granny Anal Gangbang 22:15
Oh so hot Grannies 16:56
Granny Amy Dildo fun 21:19
Granny Fucked Hard 22:40
German Big Titten Granny 12:35
Mom and Boy Granny Anal 24:33
Granny Charwomen Anal 17:35
Granny garden fuck 21:38
Granny Hidden Sex 23:38
Granny fuck on pooltable 24:09
Granny and Boy sex 15:29
Black Brazilian Granny 19:15
Granny in glasses 14:33
Hot granny 5 16:25
Anal Granny 14:24
Greek granny webcam 4 10:23
Blonde granny fucked 21:00
Horny Granny 23:13
Granny Gets Nailed 24:15
Granny masturbating 1:06
Granny loves to play 28:51
Granny in action (retro) 18:48
Lesbian granny hot... 18:54
Best Porn Collections
Granny porn collection Granny porn scenes typically feature women over the age of 60. They are characterized by sagging breasts and skin, wrinkles, sexual maturity, and often looser looking pussy lips. Some are gray haired ladies, but that is not overwhelmingly common. Granny, Grandma, Old farts, Old woman 27 videos | Popularity: 44429 | pornmagnat
80 year old granny pussy Only 80 year old granny pussy porn with real life mature that passed the 80's. Still horny and in the mood to try serious inches of dick into their hairy vaginas, a harsh thing as they are tight and very fragile but willing for action and for nudity, craving for sex like in the good days! 80 year old, Granny, Pussy 6 videos | Popularity: 35859 | pornmagnat
Open pussy porn xxx video Some of the finest babes online stretching their pussies in fantastic fuck videos and posing like real goddesses of porn throughout the whole scenes. Impressive number of such videos in a glorious collection which is set to provide the best XXX moments. Pussy stretching fuck scenes, girls fingering in mind blowing scenes and more crazy XXX Open pussy, Spreading pussy lips, Pussy, Closeup 11 videos | Popularity: 5305 | squirtreynold
Stomach punching xxx bdsm fetish movies hd Exclusive collection which is set to delight all the harsh fetish lovers with scenes of stomach punching and domination in a wide variety of porn shows. Babes enduring hard stomach punching moments while being forced to fuck and suck cock, all available in a top notch collection that's hard to find on other sites. Belly punching, Stomach punching, Stomach punch, Rough, BDSM 7 videos | Popularity: 1170 | hornybdsmer


text:
PRINCETON, N.J. — With milk protein and butterfat prices on the rise, dairy producers can take advantage of favorable market pricing to realize greater on-farm profits in 2011.
Milk component prices have skyrocketed early in 2011, with milk fat levels hitting $2.21/lb. and milk protein reaching $2.50/lb1. These prices have far surpassed those seen in 2009 and 2010, as shown in the charts below.
With increasing component prices, additional profits can be realized from each hundredweight of milk sold. The sample calculation below further details the potential financial benefits that can be realized when component levels are boosted.
The ration is one of the best tools to quickly influence component improvements—in some cases, in only days or weeks—when appropriate changes are made. Amino acid balancing is one practice proven to increase milk component production.
"As the building blocks of protein, amino acids are essential for increasing production of milk with high component levels," explains Senior Manager, Technology, with Arm & Hammer Animal Nutrition, Dr. Elliot Block. "Lysine and methionine are the two most limiting essential amino acids, meaning they have the greatest impact on milk and component production. Because cows cannot produce lysine or methionine on their own or from other amino acids, they must be added to the diet."
Delivering optimal levels of lysine to the small intestine means the cow is able to produce additional protein, translating to improved feed efficiency, nutrient utilization and, ultimately, greater milk check profits. Feeding a high-quality bypass lysine source like MEGAMINE-L® Rumen Bypass Lysine provides a consistent level of protected lysine to the small intestine, where it can be used for protein synthesis.
"Research shows us that feeding MEGAMINE-L noticeably improves milk production, feed efficiency and component levels," says Dr. Block. "In pricing situations like we're seeing in 2011, where milk components will significantly impact milk check profits, dairy producers have the potential to boost on-farm profitability by increasing protein and butterfat production."
To learn more about capturing the greatest component production in 2011 through proper amino acid nutrition, visit www.AHDairy.com or www.PeakReportOnline.com.
Arm & Hammer Animal Nutrition, with headquarters in Princeton, N.J., is a North American leader in offering a complete family of innovative, research-proven dairy feed ingredients to improve producer profitability. To learn more about Arm & Hammer Animal Nutrition, visit www.AHDairy.com.


text:
Topic: EFT Session 6
EFT Sessions were discontinued per my request. Basically I have to much on my plate at this point and time. My family comes first and I appreciate Stacie and Randy being so understanding about the matter. I will say each session of EFT was extremely beneficial to me; Especially with guidance from Randy the EFT Practioner. I also want to thank Stacie for the offer to restart the study at a future date, when I feel things have slowed down. Again Thank You Randy for your superb guidance and Stace for your sharing and coordination. I will continue to practice EFT at home, as I have beyond doubt recieved emotional and physical benefit from this procedure. Get rid of those negative emotions and get all the energy flowing to help in a positive way. I recommend anyone giving it try. Just go to www.emofree.com and download the basic recipe, learn the tapping points, and you will be surprized. The download is free and the instruction very easy to follow. Any one interested in one on one sessions, I would be more than happy to pass on Randy's business number and e-mail, if he accepts out of state calls and okays it. I believe he has his own web site now as well. I know a few members, whom I have conversed with privately, would benefit immensely with a couple sessions with Randy. His method is so unique. Later alligator, After a while crocodile!
God BlessYou all,
Jeff G.


text:
The Manning brothers won Super Bowls one year apart. The gap between them becoming fathers wasn't nearly as long.
On March 21, Giants quarterback Eli Manning and his wife, Abby, became the proud parents of Ava Frances Manning.
Just 10 days later, Colts quarterback Peyton Manning and his wife, Ashley, welcomed the arrivals of of twins Marshall Williams Manning and Mosley Thompson Manning, according to the Neshoba Democrat, a newspaper in Philadelphia, Miss. (the hometown of Olivia Manning, Peyton's and Eli's mother).
The twins' birth likely is the reason Peyton Manning did not attend Wednesday's court hearing in St. Paul, Minn., where a federal judge heard motion from both sides in the Tom Brady et al v. NFL lawsuit. Peyton Manning is one of 10 players whose name is on the suit.
Peyton and Eli may not be keeping their passing arms as sharp as they'd like during the lockout, but now they can practice their skills at audibling off from diaper changing to bottle feeding.


text:
[This post was written as part of Blog Action Day 2009 with the theme being Climate Change.]
While most genealogy bloggers are putting up posts about how climate change has affected their ancestors, as part of Blog Action Day 2009, here are some ways in which you pursue your genealogy research and activities can affect climate change.
Ways Genealogists Can Go Green
- Print Less Paper. Go paperless if you can but for many genealogists this is a challenge. One option is to try and print two-sided documents (check your printer settings). Another option is to reuse draft copies you would normally discard – print more drafts on the other side.
- Print To PDF. Rather than print to paper, consider printing to PDF. Check out Adobe PDF Guide: How To Do Everything With PDF Files (via Digital Inspiration) for a list of free PDF producing tools. One favorite of ours which is free is PDFCreator.
- Do More Online Research. Before automatically heading down to your local genealogy archive, library or society, consider if that same research can be done online either with free resources or your paid genealogy database subscriptions. We're not discouraging folks from visiting their favorite genealogy hang outs, but save the visits for research which can't be performed online. Consolidating the research into one trip rather than many small trips will save gas as well as wear and tear on the car.
- Seek Out Online Educational Opportunities. If you are looking for classes or ways to expand your genealogy knowledge, don't forget online options. Check out the ProGen Study Group, GenClass and others who provide similar services to the genealogy community.
- Use Social Networking Tools To Connect. Take advantage of blogs, Facebook and Twitter to connect with other genealogists. Easily locate others who research similar geographic or ethnic lines.
- Volunteer for Indexing Projects. Genealogical societies and even genealogy vendors have plenty of opportunities available for those who want to lend a hand in indexing data. Such efforts mean that online databases are made available to other genealogists and can help reduce research trips.
- Ask Genealogical Societies and Genealogy Vendors To Go Green. These organizations won't have an incentive to change the way in which they offer their services if they don't hear from their members and consumers. Send an e-mail and offer suggestions on ways in which they can go green and still provide great services to the genealogy community.
Ways Genealogical Societies Can Go Green
- Provide E-Newsletter and E-Periodicals. Produce your monthly or quarterly newsletter electronically and eliminating a paper version. If this isn't feasible, provide an "electronic only" option when members sign up for communications from the society. This will help reduce paper and postage costs. See CGS Is Going Green (via California Genealogical Society and Library blog) for their recent experiences.
- Produce the Conference Syllabus on CD. While more and more genealogy conferences are providing their syllabi on CD to participants, more can be done in this area. Point out to attendees that they can easily search for information in the CD. Another great incentive is to offer the CD version for free and charge for a print version.
- Hold More Virtual Meetings. Instead of or in addition to monthly meetings, consider holding on-line chats or webinars to keep members connected and still provide essential services.
- Take Advantage of Social Networking. Expand your society's marketing capability by understanding and leveraging tools such as blogs, Facebook and Twitter to connect with members.
- Offer a Green Membership. A membership which does not involve paper communication and perhaps does not even allow someone to attend meetings could be offered at a lower cost and appear more attractive to potential new members. Many genealogists belong to on-line only genealogical societies in order to access research databases and periodicals.
How Genealogy Vendors Can Go Green
- Produce Genealogy Magazines and Periodicals in E-book Formats. Many genealogists would be willing to receive these items via email or a link via email even at the same cost as the print version (although a discount for goin' green is a great incentive).
- Reduce Product Packaging. Offer a download-only version of software or other items instead of incurring packaging and shipping costs.
- Take Advantage of Social Networking. Expand your company's marketing capability by understanding and leveraging tools such as blogs, Facebook and Twitter to connect with your customer base and potential customers.
© 2009, copyright Thomas MacEntee


text:
We appreciate you taking the time to help us.
The Small Luxury Hotels of the World™ (SLH) brand is an unrivalled portfolio of some of the world's finest small independent hotels. Comprising over 520 hotels in more than 70 countries, the diversity of the individual hotels, and the experiences that they offer, is exceptional. From cutting-edge design hotels to palatial 17th century mansions, city centre sanctuaries to remote private islands, historic country houses to idyllic resorts, Small Luxury Hotels of the World offers only the very best.
You must also be a member of The Club of SLH to be able to collect Avios with this hotel group.
|Small Luxury Hotels of the World
|Whether you are seeking the quiet elegance of a country house, the pure indulgence of a spa retreat, the tranquillity of a private island or the vibrancy of a city sanctuary - with Small Luxury Hotels of the World, you will encounter only the highest standards of excellence.
* An eligible stay at an SLH property is subject to booking the Best Available Rate, Club Rate or SLH Pre-paid rate.Make a reservation with Small Luxury Hotels of the World
Join The Club of SLH (it is free to join) and add your British Airways Executive Club Membership number along with your contact details.
Already an SLH Club Member? Add your British Airways Executive Club Membership number to your Club profile in My Preferences (you will be required to log in first).
The Club of Small Luxury Hotels of the World offers benefits from your very first stay including a complimentary room upgrade (subject to availability). The more you stay with us, the more great benefits you will receive – you can even enjoy free reward nights on us.
Visit Small Luxury Hotels of the World™ for more details and Terms and Conditions


text:
"Heath costs and benefits of DDT use in malaria control and prevention" S. Dasgupta, B. Blankespoor, A. Lagnaoui and S. Roy World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 6203, September 2012
Malaria poses a risk to approximately 3.3 billion people or approximately half of the world's population. Most malaria cases occur in Sub-Saharan Africa. Asia, Latin America, and to a lesser extent the Middle East and parts of Europe are also affected. According to the Global Malaria Report published by the World Health Organization (WHO), malaria was present in 106 countries and territories in 2010; and there were 216 million estimated cases of malaria and nearly 0.7 million deaths - mostly among children living in Africa.
In this research, we have estimated current population exposed to malaria - by country. In our computation, we have made the geographical distinction of areas with high, medium, low prevalence ("endemicity") of malaria in each country based on the Global malaria atlas compiled by the Malaria Atlas Project (MAP) of the Oxford University. The data are based on 24,492 parasite rate surveys (Plasmodiumfalciparum. 24,178; Plasmodium vivax. 8,866) from an aggregated sample of 4,373,066 slides prepared from blood samples taken in 85 countries. The MAP study employs a new cartographic technique for deriving global clinical burden estimates of Plasmodium falciparum malaria for 2007. These estimates are then compared with those derived under existing surveillance-based approaches to arrive at the final data used in the malaria mapping (Hay et al., 2009). (http://www.map.ox.ac.uk/media/maps/pdf/mean/World_mean.pdf, accessed 2012) Malaria maps generally separate the malaria endemicity into three broad categories by Plasmodium falciparum parasite rate (PfPR), a commonly reported index of malaria transmission intensity: PfPR < 5% as low endemicity, PfPR 5%-40% as medium/intermediate endemicity, and PfPR > 40% as high endemicity.
In our research, global mapping techniques were used to estimate population exposed to malaria. The malaria endemicity maps were overlaid on global population maps from Landscan 20051 (Dobson, 2000) and country-level population exposure in the three endemicity areas were computed. Due to the spatial reference of the data and the number of observations in the combined data, the use of Geographic Information Systems functions from ESRI ArcGIS (v 9.3.1) were used and automated in the python (v 2.5) language.
Original data sources for assessment of vulnerable population:
1This product was made utilizing the LandScan (2005)TM High Resolution global Population Data Set copyrighted by UT-Battelle, LLC, operator of Oak Ridge National Laboratory under Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the United States Department of Energy.


text:
Key Strengths
Key Tradeoffs
*Guarantees are subject to the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company.
Note: Annuities are long-term tax-deferred investment vehicles intended to be used for retirement purposes. Any gains in tax-deferred investment vehicles, including annuities, are taxable as ordinary income upon withdrawal. For variable annuities, investment returns and the principal value of the available sub-account portfolios will fluctuate based on the performance of the underlying investments so that the value of the investor's units, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original value.


text:
SAN JOSE — After nearly four years of waiting for Major League Baseball to decide whether the Oakland A's can move to downtown San Jose over the San Francisco Giants' territorial objections, city leaders and baseball boosters have little more than cryptic rumors to give them hope that the long-sought ballpark project is inching toward a resolution.
The latest glimmer of hope came Thursday when Los Angeles Times sportswriter Bill Shaikin, citing three unnamed sources, reported that MLB has given the A's guidelines for satisfying concerns about allowing the San Jose move. But the report didn't say what those guidelines might be, fueling speculation as to whether the road map is a mere cruise down Interstate 880 or an infeasible journey through the wilderness.
A's owner Lew Wolff, who was traveling in North Dakota, said he hadn't seen the Times' report and had no comment. The Giants also declined to comment. And Major League Baseball spokesman Pat Courtney said only that the committee convened four years ago next month to study the A's options for a new ballpark to replace the aging O.co Coliseum in Oakland "continues to work hard on this very complex, complicated situation."
"I'm hoping it's a sign that Major League Baseball is going to make a decision," Mayor Chuck Reed said. "But it hasn't been confirmed so it's just speculation. It's all inside baseball. Until Lew Wolff says something's happening, I'm not going to spend a lot of time trying to figure it out."
There's plenty of reason for skepticism.
Andy Dolich, a former A's executive with extensive knowledge of the situation, said it's "at least the 10th time'' in the past four years that someone has said the proposed A's move to San Jose is ready to start happening.
"And yet it never does," said Dolich whose effort to buy the A's from previous owners Steve Schott and Ken Hofmann in 2000 was effectively thwarted by another "blue ribbon" committee appointed by MLB Commissioner Bud Selig. "The blue-ribbon committee has had tons of meetings that I know of. But this is not quantum astronomy in trying to figure out what the options are. The core of what they've been asked to do could have been done in a lot less time than four-plus years."
Many city leaders are beyond exasperated.
"We're all eager and increasingly impatient to see the white smoke emanate from the tower of MLB," said Councilman Sam Liccardo, whose district includes downtown. "I believe we're going to get the green light. The question is when and under what conditions and will I still be alive?"
Still, Larry Stone, the county assessor and a longtime A's fan involved in efforts to bring the team to San Jose, said the report of guidelines, if true, would mark a significant milestone.
"It's the first real serious indication from Major League Baseball that they're willing to consider allowing the A's to move to a new ballpark in downtown San Jose," Stone said. "I think that's very positive."
The Athletics, who moved to Oakland from Kansas City in 1968, have been seeking a new home off and on since the late 1970s under various owners, citing perennially poor attendance that renders the club dependent upon revenue-sharing subsidies from other teams. After failed attempts at new ballpark projects in Oakland and Fremont, the A's sought permission in 2009 to move to San Jose.
But MLB in the early 1990s assigned Santa Clara County as exclusive territory of the San Francisco Giants. At that time the Giants were considering new ballpark proposals in Silicon Valley before building AT&T Park on the San Francisco waterfront. The Giants' minor league affiliate plays in San Jose and has joined a still-pending environmental lawsuit over the proposed A's ballpark.
Speculation over what has given MLB pause to greenlight the A's move has included litigation, San Jose's requirement for a vote on stadium projects involving public money and whether the city or team can acquire remaining parcels in the ballpark site along Autumn Street south of the HP Pavilion, something Gov. Jerry Brown has hindered with his move to eliminate redevelopment agencies statewide. Oakland officials are still vying to keep the team with various proposals, though Wolff has dismissed them as infeasible.
But Roger Noll, Stanford University professor emeritus of economics, said that if the A's have received guidelines, that's good for them.
"From Lew Wolff's point of view, this is extremely important because it resolves the limbo he's in," Noll said. "This constant state of limbo is not good for anybody."


text:
WINCHESTER'S Charlie Steggall is to sing his socks off this weekend at the Reading heat of the national TeenStar contest, currently sweeping the country in its search for a future recording star.
The Westgate School pupil wowed judges at his audition and will now take part in the regional final, where a strong live vocal performance is vital to success.
The 12-year-old, who likes listening to Ed Sheeran and Passenger, hopes to follow in the footsteps of X Factor finalist Luke Friend, a previous winner of the competition.
"I can't wait to perform," he said, posing for pictures clutching a microphone.
"It will be nerve-wracking but really exciting.
"I really hope as many people as possible will come along to support me and help me get through to the next stage."
All power to your vocal chords Charlie.


text:
Compare Drugs
Find the safest and most cost-effective drugs for this condition.
Find the safest and most cost-effective drugs for this condition.
Bipolar disorder is a condition in which a person has periods of depression and periods of being extremely happy or being cross or irritable.
Recent findings and perspectives on medical research.
The mystery of bipolar disorder, in a patient whose euphoric moods and vivacious character masked his illness.
Manic depression; Bipolar affective disorder
Bipolar disorder affects men and women equally. It usually starts between ages 15 and 25. The exact cause is not known. But it occurs more often in relatives of people with bipolar disorder.
In most people with bipolar disorder, there is no clear cause for the periods (episodes) of extreme happiness (mania) or depression. The following may trigger a manic episode:
The manic phase may last from days to months. It can include these symptoms:
The depressive episode may include these symptoms:
Persons with bipolar disorder are at high risk of suicide. They may abuse alcohol or other substances. This can make the symptoms and suicide risk worse.
Episodes of depression are more common than episodes of mania. The pattern is not the same in all persons with bipolar disorder:
To diagnose bipolar disorder, the health care provider may do some or all of the following:
The main goal of treatment is to:
Medicines are a key part of treating bipolar disorder. Most often, the first medicines used are called mood stabilizers They help you avoid mood swings.
With medicines, you may begin to feel better. For some, symptoms of mania may feel good. Or side effects from the medicines may occur. As a result, you may be tempted to stop taking your medicine or change the way you are taking them. But stopping your medicines or taking them in the wrong way can cause symptoms to come back or become much worse.
Family members or friends can help you take medicines the correct way. They can also help to make sure that episodes of mania and depression are treated as early as possible.
Other medicines, such as antipsychotics or antidepressants, may be tried.
Regular visits with a psychiatrist to talk about your medicines and side effects are needed. Blood tests are often needed also.
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) may be used to treat the manic or depressive phase if it does not respond to medication.
Patients who are in the middle of a severe manic or depressive episode may need to stay in a hospital until their mood is stable and their behavior is under control.
SUPPORT PROGRAMS AND TALK THERAPYMany people with bipolar disorder do not recognize when they are becoming more depressed or more manic. Joining a support group may help you and your loved ones. Involving family members and caregivers in your treatment programs may help reduce the chance of symptoms returning in the patient.
Important skills that may be learned at such programs include:
Talk therapy with a mental health provider may be helpful for people with bipolar disorder.In-Depth Treatment »
Periods of depression or mania return in most patients, even with treatment. Patients may also have issues with alcohol or drug abuse. They may also have problems with relationships, school, work, and finances.
Suicide is a very real risk during both mania and depression. People with bipolar disorder who think or talk about suicide need emergency attention right away.
Seek help right way for:
Call the treating health care provider if:
Beynon S, Soares-Weiser K, Woolacott N, Duffy S, Geddes JR. Pharmacological interventions for the prevention of relapse in bipolar disorder: a systematic review of controlled trials. J Psychopharmacol . 2009; 23(5):574-591.
Lyness JM. Psychiatric disorders in medical practice. In: Goldman L, Schafer AI, eds. Goldman's Cecil Medicine . 24th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders; 2011:chap 404.
Perlis RH. Bipolar disorder. In: Stern TA, Rosenbaum JF, Fava M, et al., eds. Massachusetts General Hospital Comprehensive Clinical Psychiatry. 1st ed. Elsevier Mosby; 2008:chap 30.


text:
You are not permitted to download, save or email this image. Visit image gallery to purchase the image.
All Black resources will be split for the first two tests on tour, but the intrigue will be how they come to those decisions.
It will not be a case of coach Steve Hansen casting the choices or Hansen and selector Ian Foster taking turns in a version of the schoolyard pickup teams as the fascinated squad watches on.
Odds and evens does not quite work out either, as one group would end up with both the test props, lock, Richie McCaw, the halfback, left wing, centre and fullback.
Research on the opening two rivals, Scotland and Italy, will have been under way for some time.
Neither were too flash in the Six Nations, yet both will present sets of problems which the All Blacks have to counter.
Scotland were unbeaten on their mid-year trip Down Under, and coach Andy Robinson is trying to blend more of that dogged, unforgiving spirit to his squad's particular talents.
Italy also have their methods, which will stress the All Blacks in certain parts of the field.
Knowing those patterns and receiving more details from the All Blacks video staff, Hansen and Foster will work out how best to divvie up their 32-man squad.
As much as their rivals, they will look to stress some players in the All Black group.
All year they have worked through ways of picking their best and dovetailing in talent or inexperience, bringing them all through, as they defeated Ireland in the three test series, claimed the Rugby Championship and retained the Bledisloe Cup before the galling draw in Brisbane.
No doubt the All Blacks' planning will start with McCaw.
They will gauge whether it's best he start against Scotland on Monday so he is primed for a final two test run against Wales and Ireland before his sabbatical.
When that is done they will sort out whether to play vice-captain Daniel Carter in the same test or ask him and leader in waiting, Kieran Read, to begin the alternate international.
Theories will grow until the initial selection is made later this week.
Some rumble has it that Carter might be used as a starting second five-eighths outside Beauden Barrett, in another version of the twin-pivot theory used by the All Blacks in their ragged 2008 win against the Wallabies in Hong Kong.
Perhaps Hansen will give us a real talking point by using Barrett at fullback where his pace, long kicking game and game coverage suggests success.
Picking the backup centre for Conrad Smith brings his namesake Ben and Tamati Ellison into focus. Is Ben Smith the man to be groomed as the comer for the 2015 World Cup, or do the selectors figure injury-free Richard Kahui is the business?
Having nailed their names to the revival of Ali Williams, the selectors have to find the best mix for his experience but lack of recent match play. They also need to figure whether Luke Romano, Brodie Retallick or Sam Whitelock is his best sidekick.
Much has already been written about the prospects of the All Blacks leaving Europe with four wins.
That chance is high, given their season, the depth of talent and their less-than-settled opponents.
As much as Hansen wants that run to continue, his view will be multi-faceted. He knows he has to evolve his talent base, while looking at immediate and future strategies.


text:
|Inside the Bubble ~ Days of our Lives Taps Shirley Jones as Colleen Brady
|The Bradys head to Ireland and encounter long, lost Colleen. Shirley Jones fills Soapdom in on her first daytime stint, bringing the character of Colleen Brady back to the screen. Read with caution. Contains Scoopage
Soap Tweets
Follow Your Faves