text: Funding for postgraduate students video transcript In 'Transcripts' Causes of antibiotic resistanceTranscripts Back to 'Accessibility' Title: Funding for postgraduate students Duration: 26:44 Speakers: Paul Carpenter, Student Funding Officer Pete Mandeville, Research Council Studentship Officer Paul Carpenter: My name's Paul Carpenter and I have my colleague with me, Pete Mandeville, who's waiting in the wings on my left hand side and together we're basically going to be taking you on a bit of a whistle-stop tour really around some of the financial implications and the funding options available to postgraduate students. OK, so before I actually go into the main part of the presentation I'd just like to start by highlighting one of the key aspects of postgraduate finance that we like our prospective postgraduates to take away with them and that is that the funding situation for postgraduates is very different to the financial experience that you may have had at undergraduate level. So as many of you, if not all of you, are probably well aware, at undergraduate level you will receive statutory support from the Government in the form of tuition fee loans, maintenance loans and potentially some grants for living costs as well. Unfortunately when you do get to postgraduate level, that aspect of funding does fall away, which means that you will need to source your funding from a variety of different sources and it will be those sources that we'll be exploring in this presentation. So I'll be taking you through some alternative loans that are available from high street banks. I'll also cover part-time employment, potential support from external bodies like charities and trusts, sponsorship from employers, scholarships from the university, then I'll pas you over to Pete who will take you through funding from Research Councils and how that works, and then I'll come back to talk very briefly about the funding options that might be available to postgraduates that are experiencing financial hardship when they actually reach university. And then we'll leave you with some useful sources of information so you can go away and do some of your own research in your time. OK, so before I go into the funding options that are available, it bears mentioning that there are a couple of exceptions to the non-statutory support general rule that I just mentioned. Firstly we have initial teacher training, or ITT programmes, formerly known as the PGCE courses. Now for initial teacher training, whilst it is an advanced qualification obviously in advance of undergraduate level, the funding structure is very similar to undergraduate level. So there will be tuition fee loans available from the Government to cover your fees, there are also maintenance loans and maintenance grants available as well. And in addition to those there are also training bursaries that are offered by the National College for Teaching and Leadership. In terms of these training bursaries, your access to them will very much depend on your area of study in which you wish to pursue your initial teacher training and also the level of undergraduate degree that you've achieved – your classification. So to give you an example, if you wish to undertake an ITT course in Physics and you have achieved a first class undergraduate degree, you will receive a training bursary of £20,000. If, however, you choose general primary education at ITT level and you've achieved a 2:1 in your undergraduate degree, you will only receive £4,000. So there is quite a variety of training bursaries available which will very much depend on the subject area and also your level of undergraduate qualification. There is also statutory support available for postgraduates pursuing healthcare programmes and social work as well, in order to try and encourage students to move into that sector. For social work for example there is support available from the Government to cover your tuition fees in part, there is a contribution of, I believe, at this point it's £3,828 so it is a contribution and there are also bursaries available as well that are split into means tested and non-means tested portions and there are also some additional contributions that are made for placements, things like that as well which is all administered by the NHS. If you have undertaken your undergraduate degree and you wish to move into medicine, so you wish to go into the Accelerated Graduate Entry Programme, you will find that there is also plenty of support available there as well. These support elements will take the form of tuition fee loans, tuition fee grants, maintenance loans and also potentially grants for living costs as well, which is funded both by the Student Loans company and the NHS in various respects. It is worth mentioning, however, that with the graduate entry programme there is a certain element of self-funding. In your first year there will be a certain portion of your tuition fees that you will need to fund yourself. OK, so that's the exceptions out of the way. So just to take you through some of the various funding options that are available to the vast majority of postgraduate students. I mentioned before obviously that the undergraduate style statutory support in the form of tuition fee loans, maintenance loans, is not available but that does not mean that there aren't student-centric loans that are out there for postgraduates to take advantage of. To give you an example, two of the main high street banks – the Co-operative Bank and Barclays Bank – do offer these professional and career development loans and they're intended for students who wish to boost their job prospects by taking on more advanced study. Now they are different to a high street bank loan. Whilst they are offered by the high street banks they do carry certain advantages to postgraduate students. For example, you won't have to repay your loan until after you've graduated. There is a one-month grace period as well so it will be one month after you graduate that you will start to repay the loan and you won't pay any interest on these loans whilst you're studying. It will actually be the Government that will pay for that interest. Obviously it is worth bearing in mind that once you have graduated and have started repaying, the rate of interest will move up more to the standard level of high street bank loans. There are certain conditions that come attached to these career development loans. For example, you have to be a home student, which essentially means that you need to have been a resident in the UK for three consecutive years prior to you starting your course and you also need to intend to work in the UK, the EU or the EEA once you've graduated. These loans are available for up to a period of two years and you can borrow anything from £300 all the way up to £10,000 in order to cover your tuition fees or your living costs, they are fairly flexible. In terms of making an application, I've included the website on the bottom there which you can see on the slide – www.gov.uk/careerdevelopmentloans - that is on the Government website and it will provide the phone number that you'll need to phone in order to get an application pack and get the process started. But we do recommend that you try and begin this process around about three months prior to you actually starting your course, just to give the high street banks time to process your application. Part-time employment. It is a reality that many postgraduate students do have to supplement their income in order to complete their studies and a lot of them do it through part-time employment. The university does very much support students getting a part-time job and in order to do that we have got a range of services which you can take advantage of. We have the Job Zone which is located on campus within the Guild of Students. It's basically like a student run job centre really so they will advertise many vacancies over the course of the year and they are all from student friendly employers as well. So these employers are screens by Job Zone staff to make sure that they're aware of the fact you'll need to take on flexible working hours in order to meet the requirements of your course. Work Link is a relatively new research that we've introduced and this is basically like the internal recruitment agency for the university, so it does seek to put students in touch with casual job opportunities on campus, so it has been very successful. I think around about 12,000 students have signed up for this up to this point. There are also a smaller number of places available on the student mentor scheme. Now in this circumstance postgraduate students will be paid to on-call support for undergraduate students in university halls of residence. So obviously as I say, you'll be paid for your work and it also has the extra added bonus of you receiving guaranteed accommodation because obviously you will need to be within the halls of residence in order to provide the level of support that the undergraduate residents need. There are also a limited number of opportunities to take up paid teaching positions, also known as Teaching Assistantships, within some of the departments. This is where you'll be contracted to a certain number of hours providing teaching support to the undergraduate students within your department and there will also be other opportunities to take on some work as well. So here we're talking about things like potentially acting as a demonstrator or also engaging in marking work. So it's certainly worth getting in touch with your department to make sure that you're aware of all of these opportunities. And finally just one of the key messages really that we outline to our undergraduate students as well with regards to part-time employment and that is that it's very important to get the balance right. Obviously you need to strike that balance between taking on the working hours and undertaking your study because if that balance is out of synch then it will have a detrimental effect on your degree. OK, so if you are struggling to get to the level of finance that you'll need to fund your postgraduate programme, there are other opportunities available as well for non-repayable support. It's certainly worth bearing in mind that there are a large number of charities, trusts and foundations out there that provide non-repayable support to postgraduate students. Now, the variety of awards available, the eligibility criteria, is as varied as the charities are themselves, so it's certainly worth getting out there and having a look. It may depend on residency status, nationality, subject area, your previous experience. There are even some charities out there that provide awards based on what your parents did as a living. So they are very wide, very varied and they cater to a lot of different circumstances. One thing I would say is that the awards tend to be quite modest. It's quite rare that these awards from charities will cover the full cost of your course but they are certainly there to make a contribution and often these awards from charities do go unclaimed each year. So it's a bit of an untapped resource. If you do want to find out more you can either go on the website, various websites, or you can go to the library and do some reading. I've provided a list of the various publications. Between them they carry virtually all of the names of the registered charities in the UK that provide awards to postgraduates and detailed descriptions of what they're all about. So we have the Educational Grants Directory, the Charities Digest, Grants Register and the Directory of Grant Making Trusts. You'll find those in the reference section of all the good libraries, including the library on campus. Useful websites, I won't go through them all in the interests of time but you will find many of them have very powerful search engines and also quite extensive searchable databases as well that will help you to seek support from these external bodies. So as you can see there's a wide number there and it's certainly worth taking a look to get the ball rolling. Sponsorship. A little bit more of a niche element of postgraduate funding sources. This is sponsorship from employers. So if you are employed, it may not be a bad idea to approach your employer to ask them if they're willing to sponsor you through your postgraduate course. Now generally speaking this is more successful with the larger companies, the companies that have more advanced professional and personal development programmes in place, but if you make a good enough case to them, obviously making the case that there will be tangible benefits to them as employers as well as to yourself, then you never know, it's certainly maybe a possibility that they're willing to provide funding, whether that be for fees or for living costs or a combination of the two. It will obviously come with certain conditions as well. So many of these sponsorship contracts will require you to continue working at the company over the next couple of years after you graduate, obviously to get the best value out of the investment that they made in you in taking on that postgraduate programme. University scholarships are obviously a very popular option amongst our prospective postgraduate students, not least because they're non-repayable. Obviously you don't have to pay these back but there's also the prestige factor as well. It obviously looks very good on your academic CV if you can state that you've been funded via a scholarship. The range of scholarships that we offer, again like I say, it's very varied. There will be some scholarships that are centrally administered and centrally funded. These will be inter-disciplinary and they will be available across a wide range of subject areas and a wide range of colleges. There are also scholarships that are available specially and exclusively through the departments, so they will be attached to specific programmes perhaps, subject areas, disciplines, potentially areas of research as well. Some of them will be based on direct application, so there will be a form that you can download from the website perhaps and fill in. Many of them I would say are nomination based. So there won't be any forms that you'll need to fill in but you will need to register your interest with your department, whether that be through talking to your potential programme supervisor or indicating as such on your admissions application. Some will provide support for tuition fees, some will also provide support in terms of living costs via a maintenance stipend, some will be for UK students, some will be for international students. Like I say, there are a wide variety of scholarships out there. In terms of things they have in common, most of them will be based on academic excellence, so it will be the standard of undergraduate degree and potentially other qualifications that you may have had that will influence your ability to get selected. The other very common element amongst these scholarships is that competition is very intense for them. Obviously the demand for these scholarships far outweighs the supply, so the competition is very intense, which makes it all the more important that you need to get out there and have a look at what scholarships are available and be very much aware of the deadlines and the application process itself. In order to do that we've developed a postgraduate funding database quite recently. You'll see the website there – birmingham.ac.uk/pgfunding. It has a very comprehensive list of all of the various postgraduate scholarships that we offer within the university. I think there are around about 160 of them on that database at the moment and you can fill in various search criteria, so the level of postgraduate study that you're intending to undertake, potentially your course area and it will give you this list of all of the potential awards that are available to you and it will detail eligibility criteria, descriptions of the award, application process and it will talk about deadlines and timeframes as well. So it's certainly recommended that you have a look at the funding database to find out what might be available to you from the university. OK, that's enough from me for now. I'll pass you over to Pete who will take you through Research Councils. Pete Mandeville: Hello there. I have the pleasure of talking about Research Council funding. So unlike a lot of the postgraduate funding available, the Research Councils do provide a full package in terms of covering fees and maintenance stipends. So they are very competitive but they are also very good. Just to give you a bit of a brief overview, there are seven Research Councils in the UK – the list is up there, I won't go through them – and together they cover pretty much every single subject that the university can offer in terms of teaching or research and there is some overlap in them. So some lucky people will be able to apply for two or sometimes even three Research Councils. The Research Councils are funded from the UK Government via the Business Department. So it is funding from the Government to support research and a lot of the research funding is to support actual research and the Research Councils will put about a third of their funding aside to support postgraduate researchers; that's people doing research at PhD level. So Birmingham is in a very privileged position. It's one of a very few institutions in the country that can actually offer Research Council funding from all seven councils because they deem us good enough to be able to offer that and our teaching is good enough. The funding, as it says up here, is available for PhD study. There is less funding available for Masters level funding, although that's not the case at all, there is some funding available for some Masters programmes. This is often tied to a PhD programme which we call a 1 Plus 3 award where you will do a Masters followed straight away by a PhD rather than just a sort of standalone Masters funding. But there is some very small amounts of Masters funding available if that's what you're looking for. The funding is pretty much limited to UK and EU students because it's UK Government funding. They do like to limit that down. There is some international eligibility for this funding, particularly in sort of key areas of research where there's not enough students, things like Economics, certain bits of Engineering – they will open that up for international students as well. So what can you expect to get? Well a studentship offer is a maintenance stipend. This will be paid monthly. The current rate is nearly £14,000 and we'd expect the rate for next year to be around £14,000. The Research Councils also pay your research fees for the entire period that you're studying, they will cover professional fees or bench fees if that's applicable to you in your area of research and a lot of them will also pay what we call a Research Support Grant. So this is money in additional to your maintenance stipend that will pay for your research costs, conference trips, if you need to go abroad to do some research it will pay for that. We've got students at the moment who are going overseas for a year to do their research, fully funded on top of all of this. So these are very very generous things. You'll also have the opportunity that other students won't have to do things like internship programmes specifically put aside for Research Council funded students, you'll have links with industry that other students can't have. If you've got a Research Council studentship in Engineering, say, you'll have opportunities to work with industry as part of your research. And as well you'll be able to do research overseas, take time out to go and write a paper with someone in a specialist institution. A lot of that is also funded so if you're looking for a career in academia, Research Council studentships are definitely the way to go. You can also tap into advanced level research, training and development – so advanced training. THE university has programmes of advanced training, specifically for Research Council students, but also Research Councils will also offer their own bespoke training that will be available to you. So all in all it covers everything you need, they are very generous and I forgot to say, the maintenance stipend is also tax free so you don't pay tax on it either. How to apply? Well, being that there are seven Research Councils, naturally there are seven different ways of applying. I've put some of the key stuff up here. So if you're looking at economic and social research council funding, that competition is now open, have a look on the web page. You apply directly to the university for that funding, you fill out the application form The deadline for that is the middle of January. If you're looking for arts and humanities research council funding, that's through the new West Midlands Three Cities Consortium. So that's, as Paul mentioned, is a consortium based thing so we're in with Nottingham and Leicester in that. You apply to the consortium. The deadline for that is even tighter, 8th January. If you're looking at the natural environment research council, which is Geography predominantly, you can apply for the new centre consortium. Have a look at their website. They've only just got the funding for that but all the details of how to apply will be on their website. The remaining Research Councils there, the biotech, the science, engineering and medical, those awards are all managed within the colleges and the schools. So if you're looking for Research Council funding from those Research Councils, go and have a chat with the people in the college or the school in the Great Hall and they will be able to tell you how to apply for funding because it will vary slightly. But the funding is there and as Paul's mentioned, competition for this is incredibly fierce because this is a good offer, it's for three years and there is a lot of interest. If you have any general queries about Research Council funding they can be sent to the DR contacts or have a chat with the people in the Great Hall. There are specific funding talks today around arts and humanities if you're looking at arts funding. That will be at 1 o'clock today. If you're interested in economic social research council funding, that's at 4 o'clock today and if you want any more information, go and speak to the student funding team or I will be at the university graduate stall in the Great Hall for the rest of the day. That's it, thank you very much. Paul Carpenter: OK, so sometimes even with the most prudent financial planning, postgraduate students can experience financial hardship when they are actually studying at the university. They can experience unexpected circumstances, unforeseen circumstances, that might have an influence negatively on their financial situation. In that circumstance the university certainly won't just leave you out in the cold. We do have several funds that are available to act almost like financial safety nets to help get you back on track. So for UK students we have the Access to Learning funds, which I'll talk a little bit more about in the next slide and we also have an International Hardship Fund as well for our overseas students which is facilitated by the International Student Advisory Service. So if there are any overseas students in the audience, that's certainly the best place to go to if you are experiencing financial difficulties. One thing I would say is that these awards, these hardship funds, are only eligible to students who have made realistic and adequate financial provision for their postgraduate studies before they have embarked on their course. So if you haven't made realistic provision before you've actually entered university, unfortunately we won't be able to help you in terms of these schemes. But if you have experienced these unexpected difficulties that have given you a bit of a knock in terms of your finances, these schemes will certainly be available to help you get back on track with a non-repayable award. So as I mentioned, the Access to Learning Fund, this is available for UK students, a Government funded scheme that's administered by the university through the Student Funding Office and it is available online. There is a downloadable application from the website which you can see on the slide at the bottom there and like I say, it basically acts like a hardship fund, financial safety net, so if you are experiencing these unexpected financial issues, you can make an application and the Student Funding Office will then be able to assess that application and hopefully provide a non-repayable award to you which will help to close that deficit and allow you to get back to concentrating on your studies. OK, now I know that's a lot of information to take in in a very short space of time so we've provided some useful sources of information for you here. You may remember birmingham.ac.uk/pgfunding, that is the postgraduate funding database at the university, so if you want to find out more about the scholarships and the bursaries that we offer, that's the place to go. Prospects.ac.uk, that is one of the largest graduate employability and careers websites out there and it also has a very detailed section on funding options and financial advice for postgraduates as well, so certainly worth a look. The rest of the list, as you might remember from the charities and trusts slide, these are the websites you'll need to go onto if you wish to source funding from external bodies like the charities and the trusts and the foundations, some of which are very good. Studentfunder.com is a relatively new one that we've found out about which allows students to create an online profile and actually try and get donations in from other people. So it's almost like a crowd funding sort of scenario. So there are, like I say, some interesting and more creative ways to source your finance as well. And finally rcuk.ac.uk. As Pete was saying, that is the Research Council's website. So if you do want to find out more about the various Research Councils and how they operate, that's certainly the place to go. OK, well that's the end of the presentation. I certainly hope you found it useful. Have a good time today, guys, enjoy the rest of your day and take care. Cheers.


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Serena Williams Stars In New Gatorade Ad Clubs Selling Bonds Directly To Fans British Cycling's Supplier Not Cooperating SLC Committee Meets For First Time Motorsport.tv To Showcase Le Mans Queen's Park Challenges SFA Cost Claims Executive Transactions Chinese Beer Harbin Targets Esports Five French Brands To Sponsor Ryder Cup Names In The News
SBD Global/June 29, 2012/Leagues and Governing BodiesPrint All
Ecclestone Makes London Lucrative Grand Prix Race Offer
F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone made London an offer that "it might not be able to refuse" when he offered to pay a £35M ($54M) staging price for a grand prix in the city, according to Kevin Eason of the LONDON TIMES. The proposed race "could be the biggest and richest motor race in the world." Marketing experts predict that a London race would generate a minimum of £100M ($155M) from spectators and tourists over a three-day weekend. Sports marketing agency BrandRapport Dir Nigel Currie said, "Maybe it would be two or three times that £100M. It could be a commercial bonanza for Formula One and London" (LONDON TIMES, 6/28). The BBC's Andrew Benson asked, "What's not to like? Who doesn't think it would make one of the most spectacular sporting events the world has ever seen?" That is "clearly what the PR agency, which represents one of McLaren's biggest sponsors, was thinking" when they invited the media to a lavish event at London's RAC Club Thursday. The event included "an expensively produced video" and a "virtual race was staged around the track." Within F1, the idea of a London race in such circumstances has been greeted with "intense scepticism." One senior figure said, "Of course it's not going to happen. You know that, and so do I. But it makes a great story, doesn't it" (BBC, 6/28). The DAILY MAIL's David Kent reported that Ecclestone believes the race would be "even more impressive than the Monaco Grand Prix." The event could become "the richest race in the world" with around 120,000 fans filling the grandstands around the capital's most famous landmarks along the 3.2-mile route with a potential global TV audience of a billion. Ecclestone said, "With the way things are, maybe we would front it and put the money up for it. If we got the O.K. and everything was fine, I think we could do that" (DAILY MAIL, 6/28).
PLENTY OF APPROVAL: In London, Eason reported that Mayor Boris Johnson has "given his qualified support" for the London Grand Prix plans. Johnson said he was "broadly positive" about the idea, provided that air and noise pollution are addressed. Johnson said it was critical to see if there was "a really good economic case" for the race. Johnson: "I am always interested in projects that attract jobs and bring growth" (LONDON TIMES, 6/28). The GUARDIAN's Paul Weaver reported that former British F1 driver Stirling Moss said that he has been "waiting for more than half a century" for a London Grand Prix. Moss said, "I think it would be tremendous for London and for our sport and it would bring an enormous amount of money in. When you get a whole lot coming in where expense doesn't really matter, it's an enormous filler." Modern British drivers think the idea could happen. Driver Lewis Hamilton said, "I was looking over the city and a grand prix here would be the best thing in the world, the biggest event." McLaren teammate Jenson Button said, "Personally, I do like the idea of having a London Grand Prix. Yes, the more grands prix in the U.K. the better" (GUARDIAN, 6/28).
SKEPTICS REMAIN: REUTERS' Alan Baldwin reported that the model of the track, designed by leading architects Populous, "made light of an obvious problem" as it threaded through the monumental Admiralty Arch off Trafalgar Square. That would be "very much an accident waiting to happen," given that ordinary traffic goes through its three narrow arches in single file on the way to the Mall and Buckingham Palace. There is "no way around it" (REUTERS, 6/28). The GUARDIAN's David Batty reported that Populous examined the feasibility of staging a race in London and determined the event "would not cause major disruption," taking five days to set up equipment and three to take down (GUARDIAN, 6/27). The London INDEPENDENT's Jonathan Brown reported that "motor sport insiders insisted it was little more than a pipe dream long-held by Mr. Ecclestone," and observers fear the race course through city streets "could cause a month of disruption, as it does in Monaco" (INDEPENDENT, 6/28).
Indian Business Houses Buy Seven Sri Lanka Premier League Franchises
Indian business enterprises "showed keen interest" in the inaugural edition of the Sri Lanka Premier League and bought all seven contesting franchises, even despite the Board of Cricket Control in India not allowing its players to participate in the Twenty20 league, according to the PTI. Wadhawan Holdings shelled out the highest bid of $5M for the Wayamba Wolves, while Number One Sports Consulting offered a bid of $5M for the Kandurata Kites. The Uva Unicorns and Ruhuna Rhinos went to Success Sports and Pearl Overseas respectively for $4.6M. The Basnahira Bears were bought by Indian Cricket Dundee at $4.3M, while the Uthura Oryxes at $3.4M went to Rudra Sports. Varun Beverages brought up the rear spending $3.2M for the Nagenahira Nagas. The debut edition of the SLPL is scheduled to begin Aug. 10, with the final to be held on Aug. 31 (PTI, 6/28).
Premier League Clubs Are Introducing New U-21 League
Premier League clubs are "devising a new league" designed to save the national team from the "technical wilderness" that cost them a place in the semifinals of Euro 2012, according to Matt Scott of the London TELEGRAPH. Managers from the 23 "category one" academies met to talk about the "format of a new league that will bring together" the country's top U-21 players in a competitive environment for the first time. The league will be the "highest-profile element" of the Elite Player Performance Plan. As a result of the plan, academies meeting certain criteria will receive Premier League grant funding. Category-one academies have to spend £1.5M ($2.3M) of their own team money on youth development but they will get £775,000 ($1.2M) of "top up grants." Category-two academies will need to spend £1M ($1.5) and they will receive £500,000 ($775,000) in grants. The previously termed "centres of excellence will now be category-three academies." Those will get £210,000 ($325,500) in grants and "only £105,000 ($162,800) from their clubs." The fourth category is for "clubs who concentrate only on the 16-plus age group" (TELEGRAPH, 6/27).
Economic And Political Reasons Behind Euro 2016 Expansion
Economic concerns and sports political issues were the reasons behind the Euro 2016 expansion, according to the DPA. UEFA's decision to expand Euro 2016 from 16 to 24 teams will "generate a considerably higher revenue." The tournament's advertising partners, which invest millions, are interested in a "high number of participants and extended live coverage." Critics said that the "quality of play will deteriorate" due to the increased number of teams that cannot compete with elite nations. UEFA President Michel Platini said, "I'm not overly concerned about the quality of play. We can easily have eight more teams, and they are just as good as the rest of the field" (DPA, 6/28).
Toyota Considers Returning To The World Rally Championship In '14
Japanese automaker Toyota is considering a return to the World Rally Championship series in '14, according to Gerald Dirnbeck of MOTORSPORT TOTAL. Toyota left the WRC in '99 after winning 43 races, four construction titles and four driver championships to focus on its F1 involvement. Toyota discontinued its F1 involvement in '09 and is repositioning itself in motorsports. Toyota Motorsports President Yoshiaki Kinoshita said, "We hope, we will be ready for a return in '14. Our goal is to put together a WRC program." Toyota's current focus is on its endurance program, which participaties in the World Endurance Championship series. There, the company can test "its hybrid technology." Whether Toyota returns to the WRC or not depends on several factors, including a "solution to the WRC's financial troubles." Kinoshita said, "Nobody knows, what the economic future will look like", but "if our economic situation is exceptional, we could do both [WEC and WRC]" (MOTORSPORT TOTAL, 6/28).
League Notes
Softball in Malaysia has received a major boost after financial services company ING Insurance Berhad became a sponsor of the national championship. It is the first time the national championship has "secured a major corporate backer," and the deal is said to be worth RM25,000 ($7,800) (ASIASPONSORSHIPNEWS.com, 6/28).
STICK AROUND: In London, Arindam Rej reported Super League bosses "will allow the Bradford Bulls to finish the season as a new company" even if the club goes into liquidation in the coming weeks. This would "avoid a scenario in which results from this year have to be expunged due to the club folding." The club's license would then be reviewed at the end of the season (BBC, 6/27).

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This is a circa 1900 14K yellow gold and enamel Masonic 32nd degree, combination Consistory band ring, the ring is a size 12 1/2, is 1/4 inch wide and weighs 7.1 grams. The outside of the ring features Enamel emblems and a raissed white gold double Eagle. The iside of the ring is stamped with the Latin writing: VIRTUS JUNXIT MORS NON SEPARABIT the inside of the ring is also hand engraved with the former owners name. The ring is in very good condition with a couple of enamel chips. Offered with No reserve!
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1 July 2017
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21 June 2017
It's 50 years since defensive lynchpin Maurice Norman was forced to retire – and in this second part of our exclusive interview with one of our all-time greats, we hear the 83-year-old's memories of White Hart Lane.
24 May 2017
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Do you have a stinging pain on the outside of your knee? Does it hurt walking up stairs? You might be suffering from IT Band Syndrome. In this latest installment of our running injuries series Dr. Nace describes what it is, what causes it and how you might treat it.
IT Band Syndrome (ITBS) is prevalent in runners because it is based on repetitive movements and it is a common overuse injury.
What is the IT Band?
IT stands for iliotibia and it translates as ilium, which means a bone in the pelvis, and tibia, which means shinbone. The IT band is a thick band of tissue (like a rubber band) that runs along the outside of the leg. It starts on the outside of the pelvis and spans down along the outer thigh and attaches on the outside edge of the tibia (shinbone) just below the knee joint. The IT band's function is to help provide strength and stability for the knee joint during movement
What is ITBS and what causes it?
ITBS is a common cause of hip and knee pain in runners. It is most frequently felt along the outside of the knee and upper thigh area as well as around the outside of the hip (Greater Trochanter).
Friction of the IT band against the outside of the knee or hip is generally the culprit and it is a symptom of repetitive activities like running. The constant pounding and repetitive motion of running can force the IT band to drag across the knee and/or hip and this friction causes discomfort.
ITBS may also be a consequence of compression of fat and connective tissue under the IT band or a chronic inflammation of the IT band bursa. A bursa is a normal fluid filled sac that sits between bone and tissues to alleviate potential friction. The IT band bursa can become irritated and flare up.
I see ITBS most often in patients who are running hills, have rapid changes in their training regimens and patients who engage in excessive striding.
How can I treat ITBS?
Since ITBS is an overuse injury, the best treatments consist of activity modification and rest.
- Changes in training regimen
- Cross-training
- R.I.C.E. protocol
- Anti-inflammatory OTCs as tolerated
- Stretch, stretch, stretch
- Faster paced running or shorter strides
ITBS is the result of repetitive motions, unbalanced muscle groups or bad biomechanics. Stretching and activity modification are the most effective methods to treat it. I recommend stretching, using moist heat before training and then using cold to reduce the inflammation after the training session. Also, studies have shown that faster paced running or shorter strides are less likely to aggravate the IT band then slow jogging so take this into consideration when training if you have symptoms of ITBS.
For more information on ITBS and treatment feel free to visit the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons at www.orthoinfo.aaos.org.
When to see a doctor?
If symptoms persist longer than 2-3 weeks then I would recommend making an appointment. ITBS is rarely treated surgically but there are some surgical options, including release of IT band. If individuals have tried the treatment options mentioned above and the symptoms have lasted over 12 months then a surgical consult may be warranted.
WalkJogRun Training Diaries and Training Plans can help you avoid overuse injuries. By following a plan that doesn't increase the mileage, the pace or the amount of hill work by more than 10 percent per week and carefully monitoring your weekly mileage you limit the chances of developing these overuse injuries.
Related posts:
Written by Dr. James Nace, M.D.: James Nace, MD is an orthopedic surgeon-joint replacement and doctor of general orthopedics specializing in hip, knee and shoulder joint preservation and reconstruction. He practices out of the Rubin Institute for Advanced Orthopedics at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, Maryland. Throughout his career as a physical therapist and orthopedic surgeon, Nace has gained the most satisfaction from treating runners and all types of athletes for their injuries and helping get them back to training and competing.


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Saturday, December 19, 2009
Birthday Wishes
I made this card for the Inspiration Challenge on SCS. The challenge site was called Fabulous Stationary. This was my inspiration piece. We have a lot of Birthday's in the next few weeks in our family, so now I really need to focus on making birthday cards! The paper and ribbon are from The Paper Source, I also used a Martha Stewart border punch and Quickutz Circle dies. The pretty birthday sentiment is from Verve.
Thanks for looking!
11 comments:
- Crystal said...
LOVE the circles Cathleen wow and the ribbon and the blue and white is sooooo pretty!!! What a wonderful card!
- December 19, 2009 at 9:23 PM
- Paige said...
This is such a beautiful card!
- December 19, 2009 at 10:44 PM
- Kristin said...
beautiful and love that blue!!
- December 20, 2009 at 1:25 PM
- Claire's cards said...
Another beautiful card, with your permission I might do one similar.
All your work is an inspiration to me.
- December 21, 2009 at 10:04 AM
- Christyne (aka Apple Blossom) said...
Oh my gosh girl! This is just fantastic!!! Great job!
- December 21, 2009 at 5:43 PM
- Dara said...
this is just gorgeous. I just love your work.
- December 23, 2009 at 7:53 PM
- whoistracy said...
Have a wonderful Christmas Cathleen and a very happy birthday, too!!!
- December 24, 2009 at 11:57 AM
- My lifes inky escape and more said...
This is gorgeous! What a beautiful blue! I hope you and your family have a Merry Christmas!
- December 24, 2009 at 3:04 PM
- shellpole said...
Merry Xmas Cathleen...Hope you are having a good one....we are over the day and on to Boxing Day now...still feeling very very full...Thinks I was a miss piggy yesterday!
Great card too!
- December 25, 2009 at 8:09 PM
- Deb said...
So very elegant!
I missed your birthday...but I hope it was a wonderful, happy day! Hope you got a great birthday present all separate from Christmas! ;) {{hugs}}
- December 27, 2009 at 7:03 AM
- Fahmi Setiawan said...
Kata-Kata Mutiara Terbaru
Kata Kata Romantis Terbaru 2012
BBandro.com - Berita Gadget Terbaru
SMS Ucapan Natal dan Tahun Baru
Blog Informasi Terbaru
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Blog Bakicau
- December 11, 2012 at 9:21 AM


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Tap the Masses & 91.7 WMSE Presents
Caroline Smith
The Right Now, The Sharrows
Club Garibaldi's
2501 S. Superior St.
Milwaukee, WI, 53207
Doors 8:00 PM / Show 9:00 PM (event ends at 2:00 AM)
This event is 21 and over
Watch & Listen
Merging '90s R&B and neo-soul with her indie-rock roots, Caroline Smith's new music has settled comfortably into a new backdrop as she takes a step from girl to woman. Half About Being a Woman is a record about self-acceptance and growing into yourself; it's about going back to the roots of 'feel-good' music. "I wanted to find my way back to the reason why I started playing music in the first place," says Smith. "Over the last year I began to embrace that being a strong, confident, opinionated woman is something to be proud of, not subdued. I have to embrace where my roots are and stay true to who I am: an unabashed fan of 90′s R&B, pop, and neo-soul."
While some might be surprised by the transition, the truth is that Caroline has never stopped evolving. From folky beginnings and an indie rock second album, she has been consistently pushing herself to new heights. With soaring vocals and catchy melodies at the heart of all three albums, Caroline is settling into a sound that feels more like home. "I feel I've finally created something that is a nod to some of my favorite records while being able to use my own voice to illustrate my personal transition into woman hood; That time in a woman's life when her 'fat butt' becomes her 'phat ass'. I wanted to make music to celebrate that and to encourage other women to do the same." This glimpse of an artist in flux was captured perfectly in the PBS documentary on Caroline, My Way Back Home.
The video for "Magazine", created by director/editor Dan Huiting (Bon Iver, The National, Local Natives, Andrew Bird) and DP Ryan Thompson, perfectly captures the the theme of a woman actively embracing her femininity and transcending societal expectations. The album, released by United Interests, was produced by Jake Hanson (guitarist- Mason Jennings, Solid Gold), recorded at Near North Studios by Brett Bullion (Dark Dark Dark, Chris Walla) and mixed by Paul Marino (Mint Condition). It includes contributions from long-time bandmates Jesse Schuster and Arlen Peiffer (Cloud Cult) along with several guest musicians including Mike Lewis (Bon Iver, Andrew Bird). The band will be touring through the fall to support the album – starting with an expected sold-out show at First Avenue in their home town of Minneapolis, MN.
There are only so many times you can take back that cheating lover or accept excuses from a lazy scrub. It's easier said than done, but one soul band is taking a stand. The Right Now isn't going to take it anymore. The Right Now is fed up. And on their second record, The Right Now Gets Over You.
The challenging title is a reality check, but delivered with a smile from singer Stefanie Berecz. "It's just a representation of the stories in the songs. Nearly every track has a cheating character, or someone who's had enough of their lover. It's a mixed bag of empowerment and regret." Gets Over You continues the "it's complicated" theme of 2010′s Carry Me Home, although this outing shows Berecz in a darker, seedier role.
Recorded in a cathartic, week-long session in Los Angeles with producer Sergio Rios (Orgone), Gets Over You takes the Chicago septet's soulful sound to the warm, crackling world of analog tape and vintage instruments. Berecz's voice, often compared to those of Chaka Kahn and Joss Stone, takes center stage. The band shines with raw, gritty performances and elegant arrangements that are the result of countless hours of performing, rehearsing, and traveling together.
Berecz's emotionally-charged vocal performance has been the band's calling card at over 200 shows in the past two years. The Right Now's electrifying live show — matching suits, choreographed horn section, and all — has earned them a reputation as "dynamic, complex, hip and just downright fun" (Gapers Block).
The past two years saw immense growth for The Right Now, including a sold-out release party at Chicago's Lincoln Hall; tour dates throughout the Midwest, East, and South; festival appearances at SXSW, North Coast Festival, and Summerfest; and opening stints for Fitz & The Tantrums, George Clinton & Parliament-Funkadelic, Bettye Lavette, Otis Clay, Orgone, Kings Go Forth, Jamie Lidell, and Tortured Soul. USA Today and mp3.com featured the band as a favorite, and live TV appearances (WGN) put the Chicago act on the national stage. Placements in a 2011 episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and promos for Gilly Hicks and other national retailers also broadened the band's appeal.
"It takes a man to admit that it's over," Berecz confidently croons on "Half As Much." "But if you can't, I can do it for sure." While Stefanie Berecz may have gotten over the man in this song, audiences won't be getting over her any time soon.
The Sharrows
Serving a fresh Americana fusion bowl bigger than anyone can devour in one serving, The Sharrows are an indie-groove-pop sextet out of Madison, Wisconsin. Their eclectic instrumentation and original material makes for an edgy live show that will keep the party rockin' into the wee hours. The band met in the winter of 2012 and have been busy outside of town at their farm studio laying the grounds for a cultivation of organic tunes that can't help but be savored.
$8.00 - $10.00
Upcoming Events
Club Garibaldi's
- Sorry, there are currently no upcoming events.


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Medical Definition of Abse, Dannie
Abse, Dannie: British pulmonary physician and poet. Abse was born in 1923 in Cardiff, Wales to a Jewish family. He studied medicine first in Wales and then at King's College, London. He published his first collection of poetry in 1948 and qualified as a physician in 1950. Since then he has continued to combine his careers as a physician and writer, aspects of his life that, together with his Jewish and Welsh background, are integral themes in his poetry. Dr. Abse makes an emblem of the white coat for the scientist/doctor and the purple coat for the poet. This concept is so important for him that it is the title of his collected poems: "White Coat, Purple Coat: Collected Poems 1948-1989."
A sample of Abse's poetry follows:
Today, an x-ray on this oblong light
From "Tuberculosis"
Last Editorial Review: 9/14/2016
Medical Dictionary Definitions A - Z
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CAS (Clean and Simple) Favorites for the week ending Sunday, April 21, 2013
Thank you to everyone who posted great cards this week! I was laid up for most of the week with the flu so couldn't get any cards made, but curling up on the couch with my laptop and looking at everyone else's fabulous cards was a good distraction!
Here's what I put into my Favourites:
FS324 Garden Flowers by Twinshappy
ATCAS11 by 329shana
IC385, Three Poppies by jdmommy
IC385 Poppy by Biggan
MISSING YOU - WOOF by lisa lara
CC421 Just Because by nancy littrell
Watercolour Butterfly by bfinlay
Rainbow Birthday - WT423 by Loll Thompson
Rainbow birthday by blessingsX3
Rainbow birthday by blessingsX3
SC432, Looking Forward by cjzim
CAS216 Fluttering Friends by DandI93
CCC13 Apr - Snowflake Shimmer by ceedee
Tea Party for Queen Bonnie by jasonw1
QFTD160 Vase sm by smadson
I Love You! by shendrian
New stamps from Technique Tuesday! by Biggan
CAS216 Newborn by Holstein
CAS216 Embellished Events by stampercamper
FS323 Delightful Mornings by DandI93
Happy Birthday 2 You by TreasureOiler
Looking forward to seeing what everyone else liked in the CAS gallery!
Need help linking your Favorites?
For a quick and easy method for adding some of your favorite cards, follow these steps:
1. Load this week's Favorites thread in your first browser tab. Scroll down and click the Go Advanced button.
2. Open a second tab (or a separate window). Go to the Gallery and click on "My Favorites."
3. Click on a card you have saved. At the top, highlight the web address. Hit Ctrl+C to copy.
4. Switch back to the first tab and hit Ctrl+V to paste your link there. Hit Enter twice to add a blank line. Repeat as many times as needed for all your links.
5. Click the Preview Post button and check that your links work. Then click the Submit Reply button.
Here are my favorites for the week. Beautiful cards.
Holstein - Newborn
hobbydujour [/COLOR] - Ala Lin
stampercamper - Embellished Events
bfinlay - Button Heaven
frenziedstamper - Pine Trees
YoursTruly - Mother's Day
Mrs Noofy - Birthday Greetings
Lindastampz - Make & Take
stampit74 - Fancy Blossoms
Thanks susanbri for mentioning my Three Poppies. What a way to start the day!! Thanks also to Karen for the shout out!!
Many thanks Susan for including my snowflake shimmer card in your favourites this week -- really appreciated and a great way to start the week :)
Hope you are fully recovered now Susan ....
Thanks too Karen for the shout out ... you ladies really are the best :)
I hope you feel better soon Susan. Being laid up is a pain!! I can relate~~
Thank you so much scootsv for including my Birthday Greetings card among your favourites this week. Thanks also to Karen (kdunbrook) for letting me know. Here are a few of my favourites this week.
allee's FS324 by allee's - Cards and Paper Crafts at Splitcoaststampers
Color Block Friendship by BarbieP - Cards and Paper Crafts at Splitcoaststampers
Pinterest Inspired F4A165 by sweetnsassystamps - Cards and Paper Crafts at Splitcoaststampers
LL's F4A165 Pin It Quilt Card by muzbysmom - Cards and Paper Crafts at Splitcoaststampers
Have a creative week everyone.
Thanks so much, scootsv, for listing my card among your favorites. I truly appreciate it. You've added a happy note to my Sunday. Thanks, Karen, for letting me know. Hugs, Sallie
One of my CAS favorites for the week ending April 21
I haven't had a lot of time to look at all the CAS cards ... yet :D But for right now I wanted to mention a card created by gabalot. When I saw it this morning it just made me smile. Here it is.
1. CASOLOGY 40 SURPRISE! by gabalot - Cards and Paper Crafts at Splitcoaststampers
Thank you Susan and your team for all the notifications you've sent out. There were smiles of surprise breaking out all over today I'm sure.
Susie ~
I love butterflies so my favorite this week is:
Butterfly Rainbow (WT423) by ~CA~ - Cards and Paper Crafts at Splitcoaststampers
Thanks you Susan for mentioning my Rainbow Birthday card. Hope you are feeling better and can enjoy the sunny days ahead!!
Here's my favorites for this week:
CC421 Just Because by nancy littrell - Cards and Paper Crafts at Splitcoaststampers
LUCKY CHEVRONS by lisa lara - Cards and Paper Crafts at Splitcoaststampers
WT423 Celebrate by suen - Cards and Paper Crafts at Splitcoaststampers
Yippee! I got faved! Thank you Susan (susanbri) for faving my Woof card Mwah. And Thank you my sweet friend Loll (Loll Thompson) for faving my Chevrons card. Makes my day girlies. Thank you.
Thank you SO MUCH for including my card amongst your favorites!
Thank you, Sue (aka Mrs. Noofy), for faving one of my cards this week. You don't know how much I appreciate it :) Thanks to Karen as well for notifying me :)
Thank you, Kilroy, for making my "Butterfly Rainbow" card one of your favorites this week! What a wonderful surprise!! Thanks also to Karen for the alert!!
I have some to share that haven't been mentioned...
Tammie E
lisa lara
Lisa Lisa
Thanks for the lovely gallery everyone!
Thanks, Susan, for choosing me as one of the CAS favorites with my poppy card this week. :) :) :)
What an honor, Sue, to see you list my card as one of your favorite CAS designs for the week!! Thank you soooooooooooooooooooooooo much!!!
Thank you Susan for mentioning my Fluttering Friends and Delightful Morning cards this week in your favorites... I appreciate it very much
Thank you Karen for letting me know.... Hugs
Thank you Susan, for mentioning my Vase card as a CAS favorite. I feel special. :)
Here is a beautiful CAS from my faves.
ATCAS11 by 329shana
Whoops! It has already been mentioned! Well it was beautiful! :)
Thanks Susan and Loll for mentioning my Just Because card. I made before we left on our little vacation and uploaded when we got home.
Sorry Susan you have been sick. No time for that this time of year. We are still trying to catch up with all the spring growth. Thanks too for taking my week Susan. I really appreciate it.
Thank you to Diane (fionna51) for including my card in your favorites! And thank you to Karen for letting me know!
WOW...thanks, Diane, for picking my Happy Birthday, Big Sis! card as one of your favorites! Thanks to you too, Karen, for letting me know! You made my day!
Susan, hope you are feeling better:) Thanks along with scootsv and Susan for the shout out of my card. Always makes me feel good when I get a cas card right. Thanks Karen for the notification Glad to see you are feeling better.
Thanks for the mention, Fionna! I'm slow to catch up...darn work! ;-)
Oh yay......thank you Diane (fionna51) for faving my huge thank you card. Yippee. Big hug!
My Faves:
bnlnkids - THINKING OF YOU
TreasureOiler - LIFE HAPPENS OVER COFFEE
sabrad - MAY'S CHRISTMAS CLUB CARDS #4A
nancy littrell - CC421 JUST BECAUSE
stampinandrea - BIRTHDAY WISHES
DandI93 - F4A165 AT FULL SPEED
sherrird - A QUIET PRAYER..
akeptlife - RIBBON SUNSHINE
Loll Thompson - SITTING HERE THINKING OF YOU
Thank you Susan for mentioning my rainbow birthday card today. It brightened my day. I sure hope that you are feeling better soon- hugs!
Susan thank you SOOOO much for listing my Tea Party for Queen Bonnie in your favorites today! I send you a huge hug for this honor...AND I thank Karen for her notification and send a hug her way as well!
Thank you so much Diane for the shout out for my sympathy card. As always Karen you are a star for keeping me up to date :)
Thank you Lisa for the mention of my At Full Speed card.... You are just too sweet..
Hope you feel better Susan, sorry to hear you have been sick... The flu is nasty.
Thanks Karen for letting me know... Hugs to everyone
Diane (Quiltzi), thank you for mentioning my baby card, and to Karen for letting me know about it! Thanks for making me feel good at the start to my week. :)
Wow, Lisa, you pointed out waaaay too many that I missed! Thanks SO much!
So honored to be in your favorites list Scootsv!!! Thank you so much! Thank you Karen, for letting me know! I appreciate you both!
|All times are GMT -8. The time now is 08:47 PM.


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Reporter Kimberly A.C. Wilson and photographer Bruce Ely are in Haiti, covering the efforts of individuals and groups from the Pacific Northwest to help residents of the earthquake devastated nation.
The two Oregonian staffers left Portland last Thursday and arrived in the Dominican Republic on Saturday after a layover in Florida. They have spent time with the group trying to locate Walt Ratterman and with members of Mercy Corps, the Portland-based international relief organization.
» News stories
» Photos
» Videos
Here is a sampling. Some of the messages have been clarified for readability:
– It's all good right now. If dark falls before we hit the border (between the two nations), we will bunk safely there. Please don't worry.
– Think we'll stay on this side for the night." Asked whether their location was in the mountains, she said "Seems flat enough here. Town is, I think, called Jimani.
– Gonna break out the MREs (meals ready to eat). Then rest. Dictated (managing editor) Susan (Gage) a short story.
Monday, Jan. 18:
– Slept safe and snug wrapped in netting on bus with 13 souls outside inn in Jimani, D.R. Uncomfortable until, finally, it wasn't. Now heading to join military caravan for sunrise crossing at border. So many logistics to get into Haiti, which in ordinary times ain't all that complicated.
– Am staying in the parking lot of the Hotel Montana as only journos in compound. Kind - and cute - Brazilian firefighters are allowing phone to charge. Still not enough charge to call. Have two big pots of water on the barbecue grill to boil for rice.
– We are meeting up with Mercy Corps tomorrow. We are sole news team allowed in Hotel Montana compound today. These folks now in charge of morgue and decontamination. Big meeting at 4 on search.
– Cooked a poor jumbalaya for the bus folks (the group looking for Ratterman) in the dark as the Brazilian searchers are combing the hotel in the dark and silence to hear survivors. They heard moaning somewhere moments ago so maybe there is a survivor or more in what remains of the once-lovely hotel. From the city, I can hear a church choir and drums. I am gonna lay out on a lounge chair I dragged over from the empty pool and try to sleep under the starry skies. Will be in touch tomorrow."
Tuesday, Jan. 19:
– Many rifle-toting UN soldiers, a girl's tennis shoe among a pile of debris loaded into a primer-splashed pick up, anger on the face of a Haitian man climbing into the truck's cab, tall graceful trees brought down by nature and then axes, idle German shepherd "live" search dogs, the intimidating General Vasquez, a dapper friend of the hotel's family who alone looks as clean and neat as he might any day.
– Finally reached the UN compound, with wifi and power! Can't seem to call out -- maybe you could call me? No story today, I think, as it took all day to get here. But we may be heading out with Mercy Corps folks to fix a water project so there may be a story, maybe.– Sorry for the long silence. Got to Mercy Corp around 3 and set off on tour of some damaged wells in a shantytown hit hard by the quake, with Mercy Corp folks. Photos coming now but I'm not sure about how quickly I can turn the story. We just got to airport and will spend night on loud tarmac. No light but for a TV reporter's tent. Once we eat some MREs, I should be able to knock the story out but will that be too late? Will that work? Bwt2: We both smell very badly. Btw3: Well, Bruce does at least :)
– Reason No. 11 to teach your children French: they may one day find themselves stuck between sleeping on a grimy airport floor in a grim devastated country (or with the giant roaches on the tarmac outside) or they might ask the kindly cute French soldiers bunked on army cots if they wouldn't have a spare one. They had two...
Wednesday, Jan. 20:
– Not sure what it measured, but the earthquake woke sleeping French soldiers and journos. I'd just gone back to sleep and didn't wake until Bruce shook me and ran out after the others. We are packing up and heading to UN if we can find a ride.– I'm outside airport awaiting ride to UN compound. People started queuing up an hour ago trying to leave. Those without visas are turned away. The scenes are so heart wrenching: an elderly woman bent over a cane is told to leave by American soldiers; so is a man whose son has a valid U.S. passport when his is found to be expired.
– Haitian refugees attempting to get into the main airport in Port-au-Prince. Many are turned away because they lack valid papers. Most of the people are finely dressed: polished shoes, vests and ties on young boys.
– It's a mess. Teenage youths without luggage, passports or tickets attempt repeatedly to sneak in with larger groups.
– Just did a Flip video shot by Bruce. How does Christiane Amanpour do it??? And why can't I master her accent??
– Anderson Cooper appears to be only other news here (a hospital where Mercy Corps is distributing food). It is horrific. We are staying (instead of catching an afternoon flight back to the states).


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Love may be hard to find, but trust is even harder. The regional premiere of Trust, a new play by expatriated Denverite Steven Dietz (he now lives in Seattle), dives into the shallows of contemporary lust and longing to prove just how tough trust is to come by. Funny, twisted and reflective of the manners and mores of this period and this society, Trust spins one-liners, complicated jokes and complex characterizations of superficial people into a veritable whirlpool of comic antics.
Director Tom Rowan's crisp inventions, his darkly funny take on the passions of the play and his choice of cast help to atone for the script's rather weak dramatic structure and somewhat foggy vision. The actors create their characters so successfully that by the end of the evening you feel well acquainted with each and every one--not that you'd really want to know any of them. It's a relief to encounter them solely on a stage.
The play opens on a freeze-frame: The characters are all assembled and sit unmoving in their places. Gretchen begins to speak about beautiful Becca, telling us what she sees Becca going through as she sits pretending to be interested in some boring date: "Does he really think I look like I need another story?" and "He's the kind of man who can take everything from a woman but a hint."
Over the course of the play, we gradually discover the connections between these characters. It's a jungle out there: Women eat up each other's men, and men--or at least one man, Cody--are buffetted about by their passions for the women, not so much seeking new sexual encounters as falling into them. Becca loves Cody who wants Leah who rejected Gretchen who now loves Becca. Holly just wants a rock star (who happens to be Cody), and Roy wants Holly--or anybody else he can get. Poor Roy: Shy, sweet and wimpy, he may never have a genuine relationship with a woman, but he gives the most dazzlingly hilarious monologue of the evening as he recounts his social failures and his kleptomaniacal compensations.
As Roy, the public-radio announcer, Brad Allen Brown steals the show whenever he is on; he's the one you remember best when you leave the theater. But each of the actors contributes something peculiar and amusing. Penny Alfrey's porcelain beauty serves Becca well--she's all sweet, genuine womanhood until she discovers her fiance's betrayal, and then the porcelain cracks, showing sharp edges and dripping acid. Kurt Muenstermann's Cody is sometimes boyish, sometimes calculating, sometimes nasty--adding up to a fine portrayal of a scumbag. Heidi Olson's Leah mingles scary self-absorption with a thin streak of common decency; it's a worldly, knowing performance. Trudi Carin Voth invests her mean-spirited bohemian groupie with a tinge of innocence that makes nearly everything she says funnier: She's an innocent monster. And Glenna Kelly's cynical, hard manner as Gretchen barely masks the character's extreme loneliness and tenderness.
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While the production is outstanding, the play itself is ultimately unsatisfying. Dietz is terrific with dialogue, but he doesn't seem to have enough to say: While Trust reflects the society, it doesn't reflect on it. A director as well as a playwright, Dietz also directs Home and Away, a terrific one-man show guaranteed to raise laughs--and your pulse. While not as serious or profound as Don Becker's Back on a Limb (now alternating with Trust on the Avenue Theatre stage), Kevin Kling's autobiographical playlet is fantastic, insightful fun.
Kling leaps energetically through the incidents of his life, recalling the anguish and terror of long stays in the hospital as a child because of his foreshortened arm, the bliss of fishing with his father, the loss of childhood as a result of his parents' divorce. As a grown-up, he moves imperceptibly toward the sorrows of consciousness. The last moment of the evening brings an exquisite poignancy, and the viewer leaves with a grasp of an interesting life, of a culture in permanent flux and of the confusions of mortality.
Trust, by Steven Dietz, Fridays and Saturdays in an open-ended run at the Avenue Theatre, 2119 East 17th Avenue, 321-5925.
Home and Away, through April 16 at the Frank Ricketson Theatre, Denver Center Theatre Company, 13th and Curtis, 893-4100.


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Got Vista?
Subject: General Tech | January 30, 2007 - 12:16 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Today is the day that Vista hits retail stores everywhere, though it does not seem to have had the same effect on people as, say, Burning Crusade. With the FUD surrounding this new OS from Microsoft, many are double thinking the switch from XP to Vista. In that crowd is [H]ard|OCP, and Kyle, an admitted Microsoft fan, is sharing his thoughts on his satisfaction with XP versus his desire to have the new shiny.
You can also get a comparison of ATI's and nVidia's performance on Vista from Ryan's new article.
"Will I or won't I do the Windows Vista shuffle? How about you? What do you need to know? How about a whole bunch of stuff that
you don't need to know instead? Next week maybe we get Ozzy to chime in on Office 2007."
Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
- Bloke cracks Vista DRM @ The Inquirer
- Windows Vista Arrives with
a Thud @ [H]ard|OCP
- Blue Ribbon Debut for
Office 2007 @ Wired News
- Vista Fatigue @ ExtremeTech
- Vista ready @ VIA Arena
- Vista's pretty but we may as well stick
with XP, thanks @ The Inquirer
- Vista spin unspun @ The Inquirer
- Buying OEM versions of Windows Vista:
the facts @ Ars Technica
- Windows
Vista Ultimate Edition @ Elite Bastards
- Windows Vista's new spin on
licensing @ The Tech Report
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Artist description:
Plagued by ants at the mo...and really wish they'd go back where they came from!
Flash Draw Created Oct 05, 2011 640 x 460px Unless noted Copyright 2011 Catarsetrophy.
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Ant that sad, hope it can swim - but not back your way! Lovely picture. Unique style. Vibrant and positive.
Great draw!!
What a creative way of dealing with your ant problem!! I LOVE this drawing! It is sooo CUTE! 5h + Collection!!
Wonderful drawing, I love your style. Try Windex. 5/5
Really cool drawing!!!! 5/5!
love your bril sense of humour fantastic drawing 5h
I know the feeling... "Ant Rid " is the answer.. love your drawing :) Coll ;


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Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn is the second computer role-playing game in the Baldur's Gate series and takes place just a few months after the events of Baldur's Gate. It is based on the outdated Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2nd Edition system.
Character raceEdit
The player character can be a dwarf, elf, gnome, half-elf, halfling or human as before, with half-orc added as a new option.
Character classesEdit
Besides of the standard 2nd edition classes seen in Baldur's Gate I (fighter, ranger, paladin, thief, bard, mage and specialist wizards, cleric and druid) and their combinations, Shadows of Amn offers the option for the player character to be a barbarian, sorcerer or monk. All the old classes, except wizards that already have the school specialization possibility, also have the option to select a kit that will change their class abilities. Clerics have to gain these during the game, others choose them at the beginning. Many NPCs also use a kit. A list is available at List of kits in Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn.
Player characters of each class in the game can gain a "stronghold" in the game after completing a specific quest. This usually takes the form of some kind of building that the character takes control of or gets to use. Further quests related to the stronghold appear after it has been gained. A multi- or dual-class character can only gain one stronghold.
Below is a list of the different strongholds by class.
- Bards - A theater underneath the Five Flagons Inn.
- Clerics - Membership in the Temples of Talos, Lathander, or Helm depending on alignment.
- Druids - The druid grove near Trademeet.
- Fighters, barbarians, monks - The de'Arnise castle.
- Mages, specialist wizards, sorcerers - The Planar Sphere.
- Paladins - A room and membership in the Order of the Radiant Heart.
- Rangers - Become the Ranger Protector of the Umar Hills.
- Thieves - The thieves' guild in the docks in Athkatla (under the Shadow Thieves).
Baldur's Gate II and its expansion pack, Throne of Bhaal, enjoy a thriving modding community which have completed numerous modifications that alter the rules of the game, add new quests, expand on previously existing content, restore cut content, add new NPCs, etc.
Enhanced EditionEdit
There will be a Enhanced Edition made of Baldur's Gate II with the expansion and another module called "The Black Pits 2: Gladiators of Thay". It is currently being made by the same people whom made the Enhanced Edition of the first Baldur's Gate: [ Overhaul Games]. The Game will include several new features like improved multilayer, four new party members, wide screen view and more.
Notable charactersEdit
Abdel Adrian/Gorion's Ward • Bruenor Battlehammer • Catti-brie • Drizzt Do'Urden • Ellesime • Jarlaxle • Jon Irenicus • Regis • Sarevok Anchev
Notable locationsEdit
Regions: Amn • Tethyr • Underdark • Hell
Settlements: Athkatla • Brynnlaw • Suldanessellar • Trademeet • Ust Natha
Landmarks: Spellhold
Geography: Forest of Tethir • Small Teeth Pass • Umar Hills • Windspear Hills
Notable organizationsEdit
Bregan D'aerthe • Cowled Wizards • Cult of the Unseeing Eye • Harpers • Order of the Radiant Heart • Red Wizards of Thay • Shadow Thieves
Notable creaturesEdit
balor • beholder • dragon (red, black, silver) • drow • duergar • elf • ghoul • golem • kobold • kuo-toa • lich • mind flayer • ogre • rakshasa • sahuagin • shadow • skeleton • troll • vampire • werewolf
See AlsoEdit
External LinksEdit
- Official Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn site
- TeamBG - Baldur's Gate Modding site
- Spellhold Studios - Baldur's Gate Modding site
- The Gibberlings3 - Baldur's Gate Modding site
- - Wiki for the games of Baldur's Gate
- http://www.baldursgateii.com
|Baldur's Gate series
|Baldur's Gate
|Tales of the Sword Coast • Enhanced Edition • Siege of Dragonspear
|Baldur's Gate II
|Throne of Bhaal • Enhanced Edition
|Baldur's Gate • Shadows of Amn • Throne of Bhaal
|Dark Alliance
|Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance • Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II


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Goodwill of the Coastal Empire and Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia are teaming up to donate clothing and household items to the annual Good Turn Day Drive on Oct. 26.
Collected goods will be sold at Goodwill's retail stores to fund Goodwill's job-training programs for people with disabilities or barriers to employment.
Registered Girl Scouts who participate will earn a special patch to commemorate their participation. Girl Scouts and community members are invited to collect and donate gently used clothing, books, housewares and other items.
Girl Scouts must register individually or by troop at www.gshg.org to qualify for patch.
Donation locations include Richmond Hill, Brunswick, Pooler, Rincon, Savannah, Statesboro, Vidalia, Waycross and Wilmington Island Goodwill stores. For more information, email Jan Bass at Goodwill of the Coastal Empire at email@example.com or call 912-354-6611, ext. 107.


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Malate Adriatico Grand Residences is an 18-storey commercial and residential bi-level condominium featuring one bedroom, two bedroom and three bedroom units, where tenants are greeted by a grand entrance leading to a beautiful grand hotel lobby.
World class recreational facilities and amenities are available for residents to enjoy such as a jogging path, sauna room and gym, while a bar and lounge can be enjoyed as well as swimming pools, a viewdeck and a landscape sky garden.
A loft-style home with a spectacular bay view.
Malate Adriatico Grand Residences is located in Ermita, Manila, just across the road from Robinsons Place Manila for the best shopping experience, and near esteemed colleges and universities such as the University of the Philippines, St. Pauls college and many others.
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The Good -
Apart from being located right across Robinson's Place Manila and many other commercial, business, educational, and retail centers, the building has its own commercial area right at the front of the building. Condominium security is available 24/7 and the measures taken for guests, viewings, and deliveries are strict. The condominium also has amenities, which include the swimming pool, fitness gym, and function room.
The Bad -
Although the location is convenient, there are some drawbacks to living in the area. The streets surrounding the building are quite narrow, making it harder for cars to pass through and maneuver around the area. The sidewalks and pedestrian lanes are unmaintained and cramped. During rush hours, traffic becomes heavy. Even the streets are packed with mall-goers, students, office workers, condominium tenants, and many more. The hallways in the condominium are quite narrow. The kitchen countertop and cabinets could be fixed and better maintained for possible future tenants.
The Verdict -
Overall, Malate Adriatico Grand Residences is a worthwhile investment for the urban dweller. The units are spacious and properly built. Residents can also enjoy amenities and the convenient commercial area at the ground floor of the building. In terms of location, there are some minor drawbacks including the cramped streets and heavy traffic, but the residents can easily access the mall, the grocery, schools, offices, restaurants, entertainment centers, and many more. First Golden Properties has built a well-made structure and a beautiful home for people looking to live in the busy streets of Manila.
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Visit our Student How-To Page for video tutorials on Purple Briefcase.
Job Details
Computer Technician
|Marchese Computer Products, Inc.
|Batavia, NY
|9:00 am - 5:30 pm; flexible hours (especially if still in college)
|Rate / Salary
|Dependent on experience
|Full time or Part time
QualificationsAAS Degree in Computer Repair, or working towards degree
Should have networking experience as well as systems integration and server deployment, in addition to: installing, configuring and upgrading operating systems and software, using primarily standard financial, business and administrative application practices; installing, configuring, assembling and repairing computers, network infrastructure and peripherals such as printers and related hardware; monitoring LAN's and WAN's; troubleshooting and solving hardware and software problems.
SkillsAbility to handle confidential material. Ability to work in a fast paced environment. Able to work independently. Computer skills. Customer service skills. Detail oriented. Excellent communication skills. Excellent people skills. PC experience. Strong math aptitude. Strong organizational skills.
DescriptionIMMEDIATE OPENING IN BATAVIA: Computer Technician
How to ApplyContact Shari at 585-343-2713, or e-mail your resume to firstname.lastname@example.com or fax it to 585-344-0690.
Return to Job Listings »


text: Can anyone tell me how to reset the service indicator on a 2000 A3 (facelift model) AVS service but not longlife, tried re-setting it as they suggest in the handbook (hold in trip button while you switch ignition etc.) but it still says 300miles till next service, I've got Vag-com any help much appreciated ???


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Haybaby / Butchers & Bakers / Mega-Yes
Thursday, Aug 15, 2013 8:00 PM EDT
(7:30 PM Doors)
Union Hall, Brooklyn, NY
21 years and over
Purchase Tickets
Additional Information
WOJCIK is the project of singer/guitarist Hailey Wojcik, bassist Danielle DePalma and drummer Annie Meagher (often accompanied by other musicians on strings, & field recordings). My Old Kentucky Blog says it "sounds mighty fine at volumes that may disturb others who may be in the room with you." The debut LP, Wise Blood, was released in fall 2012. Look out for a summer tour in 2013!
Captains of your dreamboat/planet, the key to your destruction, children of the mind, whatever. We're edible. We'll pick your nose for you in your sleep- braid your hair, rub your feet. Thanks! Say hi!
"Haybaby is New York's new band of sweethearts." - The Examiner
"Weird and magnetic stuff." - Time Out New York
"I don't live here I'm not one of you," sing Rebecca Keith and Eli Jacobowitz in "Brunch," over an underwater staccato keyboard line. Butchers & Bakers' first release with guitarist Jacobowitz showcases the band's new lineup with Jacobowitz joining Keith, Hank Baker on bass, and Mike Morini on drums. Elements of indie, psych, grunge, and a touch of pop blend to form lush and dynamic songs about the displaced and the displacers, landscapes urban and otherworldly, sound itself, and the process of making. "I forgot my part/ I forgot my art / I forgo my art," sings Keith. You won't.
Mega Yes is an audio / visual experience from Brooklyn, New York.
Mega Yes is comprised of members Mark Kleback, Ezer Lichtenstein & Ryan Viglizzo.
All members are current (or past) students of the NYU – Interactive Telecommunications Program. A sampling of their self-engineered instruments and other creations can be found at Kleebtronics.


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To put it in football terms, the effort to bring the San Francisco 49ers to Santa Clara completed two long passes which converted to a first down overnight.
The Santa Clara city council voted to put the matter to the voters next June and officially ratified the environmental impact report. The EIR is a big hurdle because it removes the danger of someone finding an endangered frog or slug that might get killed in the construction project.
But, the owners of Cedar Fair threw a penalty flag of sorts just as the play was completed.
Lawyers for the Great America theme park filed a lawsuit. They said they want to negotiate a deal that addresses the inevitable disruptions that will happen during construction and on days that games and events are held at the new stadium.
"We continue to be disappointed that Cedar Fair doesn't see the tremendous advantages of having an NFL stadium right next to their theme park and the ability to bring in all these fans from all over the place that could benefit their business as well. The other businesses in the area are very gung ho wanting to make this happen, so we're hoping Cedar Fair will eventually see the light and agree with us," said Lisa Lang, spokesperson for the 49ers.
Santa Clara city leaders said they are working closely with Cedar Fair to alleviate their concerns, adding the suit was unnecessary.
The Mercury News saw a Dec. 3 letter from the park's attorney that showed exactly what they want. The letter suggested the city lower or cancel the park's $5.3 million yearly rent and replace it with a fee based on the park's revenue.
The team and the city want to build a 68,500-seat stadium off Tasman near its current training facility.
Lori Preuitt lives in Santa Clara and can feel the weight of the fliers already that are sure to fill her mailbox.


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Jennifer Aniston was on friendly territory Wednesday when she put in an appearance on "Chelsea Lately," the late-night home of her close friend and bridesmaid Chelsea Handler.
Handler gave the 44-year-old "We're the Millers" star the chance to clear up several rumors plaguing the actress and her fiance Justin Theroux, including a Star magazine report that he has taken up nudism.
"What are you reading? Star magazine? Oh, OK. Yes, they're reliable," Aniston said sarcastically. "We don't walk around nude, darling. I mean, we do when it's appropriate."
The two friends went on to gossip about Katie Couric, the perpetually perky host of daytime's "Katie."
"Katie Couric was asking me on her show about your wedding and I had to act like I didn't even know you were engaged because I didn't know that was out," Handler said. "Then she was like, 'Well, everyone knows about it!' So, I felt really stupid."
"What's Katie Couric?" Aniston replied. "Is she a legitimate journalist? Is she getting tabloidy? Wasn't she on the 'Today' show?"
"She was on the 'Today' show. She got a demotion to her own show," Handler fired back.


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All quotes by Jim Cullinan
(30 quotes found)
"Our position is that we will address the violations that the court found, that's what we'll do tomorrow. There's several things that are being filed tomorrow, not just a proposed remedy. This isn't just about the proposed remedy, it's about the process of moving ahead, it's about our objections to the government's proposal."
"We believe this is a fair and reasonable schedule, and we look forward to presenting our arguments to the court. We are confident of our case on appeal and believe that the district court's judgment will be reversed due to the wide array of legal, factual and procedural errors."
"Microsoft doesn't sell products directly to consumers. Consumers go through equipment makers and re-sellers, so it all depends on how they got it."
"We don't think we have overcharged, given that our operating system sells for less than those of our competitors, which have fewer features and are less popular. While our prices have remained static, we have continued to add features and functionality."
"We are very interested in reaching some kind of conclusion. We want to put this behind us, and we are looking for a fair and reasonable settlement."
"The government asked for the conference call in order to get more time. The government wants more time because they realize how vague, ambiguous, and poorly written their proposal is after reading our filing yesterday."
"This does not change the fact that this remedy is harmful and damaging to consumers, the industry and our economy."
"It's unfortunate that the government is playing these kinds of procedural games which are only designed to inject complexity and delay into the process of resolving this case."
"It clearly reveals one important thing that the government is trying to do, which is avoid the Court of Appeals in every possible way."
"It's unfortunate but not surprising that the government has filed a document filled with rhetoric in its attempt to defend a very extreme remedy proposal. Beyond the rhetoric, we do not believe there is any basis for these kinds of excessive actions which would significantly harm consumers, the high-tech industry, and the economy."


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Olivia sails ahead
A dad with
some carry-on
With a new resort vacation for gay-led families planned for Halloween and a new partnership with the all-American AAA, the travel company Olivia is no longer just about cruises for women—although it's got some of those too. Cruising with the Indigo Girls, anyone?
Travel and entertainment company Olivia, which proudly dubs itself the worlds largest and best-known provider of travel services for lesbians and their families and friends, is continuing to break new ground for gay travelers. Olivia is offering the first resort holiday targeted to gay- and lesbian-led families this fall, and also recently announced an unprecedented partnership with AAA to assist lesbians and gay men in planning their travel. These are two fitting milestones for a company that this year celebrates 30 years as (to quote its own press materials), a catalyst for social change that connects, transforms, and celebrates the lives of women through music and travel.
The first Olivia Kids and Family trip is scheduled for October 25 through November 1, 2003, at the popular Club Med at Port Saint Lucie, north of West Palm Beach, Fla. The resort can accommodate more than 750 guests.
For 30 years, Olivia has created one-of-kind experiences ranging from music concerts to international cruises, said Olivia founder and president Judy Dlugacz in a statement. The new Kids and Family program is part of the natural transformation of Olivia services developed to meet the growing needs of lesbian and gay families.
More than 20% of households headed by lesbian couples have a child under the age of 18, according to the Population Reference Bureau, a Washington, D.C.based nonprofit organization that analyzes federal census data. About 6% of households headed by gay men also reported having children under the age of 18 years. With those figures in mind, This is a natural evolution for Olivia, said Olivia CEO Amy Errett. We are proud to be the first in the travel industry to offer this family vacation option.
The Olivia Kids and Family vacation will include the usual ample range of Club Med activities, from flying trapeze classes to water skiing, with some added Olivia touches and a few Halloween-themed surprises.
Meanwhile, AAA of Northern California is partnering with Olivia to direct gay and lesbian travelers to the companys vacations. Olivia will train AAA travel consultants to answer questions and direct AAA members seeking lesbian- and gay-friendly holidays to Olivias many travel options.
This alliance with AAA plays a significant role in Olivias larger business strategy and supports our vision to reach a broader, more diverse audience in the travel arena, said Errett. Both AAA and Olivia are well-trusted brands within the travel industry, and it makes sense that we would partner to offer lesbian and gay travelers throughout California specialized cruise, resort, and active travel vacations.
The deal developed when AAA approached Olivia. Partnering with the auto and travel club, the company noted in a press release, will allow Olivia to tap into a new market that may not be well educated on Olivias offerings, all the while ensuring that AAA customers are offered a broad selection of vacations from which to choose.
Olivia is a business trailblazer as the first company to successfully reach the lesbian consumer market, said Jenny McMutrie, vice president of product management for AAA of Northern California. Knowing we wanted to reach lesbian and gay consumers, we turned to Olivia as the best known name in lesbian travel.
Olivia is also known for the quality of the entertainment on their cruises, particularly musical talent. Dar Williams will be featured during the companys Mexican Riviera Cruise, January 1623, 2004, while the Indigo Girls will appear for a Caribbean cruise, April 310, 2004. Other upcoming trips include a TahitiSouth Pacific cruise in August; a Nice, France, to Rome cruise in October; a Barbados sailing adventure in November; and a Boston-to-Montreal cruise next July. Plan your Canadian same-sex wedding now!
The company also offers land-based holidays, typically centered around biking or a multisport variety of activities. For more information on Olivia vacations, visit their Web site at www.olivia.com.
All photos provided by Olivia.com
src="http://www.advocate.com/html/travel/070703_olivia/kids_hang.gif" title="http://www.advocate.com/html/travel/070703_olivia/kids_hang.gif"/>


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Markets in Brief
Zelekha blasts Bezeq directors' loan-funded dividend policy
The decision by Bezeq's board to allow the company to take giant loans to pay dividends has substantially damaged the company, writes Prof. Yaron Zelekha in an opinion paper. His opinion was commissioned for a lawsuit in which a shareholder is suing the directors on behalf of the company itself.
The shareholder, Assaf Zaken, is suing the board members and owner Shaul Elovitch for NIS 900 million on the company's behalf. Zelekha claims that the directors are agents of the controlling shareholder. Under Elovitch, Bezeq has paid NIS 6.9 billion in dividends and borrowed NIS 6.9 billion to finance them, Zelekha points out.
"If not for the dividend distribution since Elovitch came on board, the company wouldn't have had to take out giant loans that cost it about NIS 3 billion," Zelekha writes. "And it is possible that the Tax Authority will refuse to recognize the loans as an interest-rate cost because they weren't taken to finance revenue-generating income but for the sake of dividends."
Elovitch borrowed NIS 5.6 billion to buy Bezeq and wants to repay the money as quickly as possible, hence his thirst for dividends, but the payouts aren't in the best interests of the minority shareholders or the company itself, Zelekha concludes. (Shelly Appelberg )
Former Maalot CEO joins Procognia board
Biomed company Procognia has recruited two new people to its board of directors: Dorit Salingar, former chief executive of credit rating agency S&P Maalot, and Yoav Keidar, scientific medical adviser to Clal Finance. Procognia is a micro-cap, with a market value of NIS 14 million. It develops products for the biological drugs industry. Salingar has no background in biomed but will help shape strategy. (Vadim Sviderski )
Given Imaging CEO to receive $650,000 bonus
Given Imaging is giving its chief executive Homi Shamir a bonus of $649,000 for 2011. The audit committee and board of directors approved the bonus, which must still be approved by a shareholder meeting on May 12. The company also intends to give Shamir 35,000 shares in three tranches. The shares will be locked up - he may not sell them for a certain period of time. That too depends on shareholder approval. Given Imaging reported a net profit of $12 million on turnover of $118 million in 2011, after netting $8.5 million on turnover of $158 million in 2010. Shamir's bonus would be equivalent therefore to 5.6% of the company's profit. (Yoram Gabison )
Perrigo launches generic tablet for chest congestion
Perrigo last week announced the launch of its generic version of Mucinex extended release tablets, an expectorant indicated to relieve chest congestion ("to make coughs more productive," the company helpfully explains ). Annual U.S. sales of the drug are about $135 million in the last 12 months, Perrigo says. At this stage, Perrigo is selling the tablets in bottles to select customers; the full launch of the over-the-counter drug, in blister packaging, should begin by mid-year. Perrigo has a pipeline of OTC drugs worth some $18.7 billion in terms of potential sales of the brand originals. (Yoram Gabison )
ABB invests in Israeli water startup TaKaDu
Electricity infrastructure provider ABB boosted its water business last week by leading a $6 million investment in startup TaKaDu, a water infrastructure monitoring company. A study last year by Lux Research estimated the size of the global drinking and wastewater infrastructure repair market at $17 billion annually.
Cities lose water through leaks and inefficiencies; water companies call this "non-revenue water" because they treat the water but cannot charge for it since it does not reach customers. "A city such as London loses 30% of its water; over 600 million cubic meters," said TaKaDu VP Marketing Guy Horowitz.
TaKaDu offers water infrastructure monitoring: Its software links to sensors in the water network like flow meters, quality sensors and pressure meters. Geographical information system data, maintenance records, access control records and seasonal fluctuation data are also used. All this data is crunched to detect problems like leaks, inefficiencies and faults in the water network.
Thames Water, which runs London's water system, detects leaks up to nine days earlier with TaKaDu than with its previous system. (Reuters )
Leader: Big deficit will hurt government bonds
The larger-than-expected deficit that the government is likely to run this year will depress prices of Israeli government bonds, predicts Leader Capital Markets. It forecasts that the Finance Ministry will step up issuance in the second half of 2012 to feed the big deficit.
Meanwhile, Psagot predicts that the consumer price index will rise 0.3% in April, thanks in part to seasonal increases in food prices - but the brokerage notes that some of the increases usual in April happened in March this year.
Leader Capital Markets thinks the CPI will increase 0.2% in April, partly because of increases in fuel and housing prices. Bank Leumi, for its part, says that if there are surprises in the April CPI, they will be on the upside because of the increase in electricity prices. (TheMarker )
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text: I have watched with interest all the sites listed for sales. I have not seen any for my favorite shop Rented Mule Quilts. Right now they are having a 40% off sale on all the fabrics listed under Specials. Just buy an 10yd of fabric in 1 yd cuts. Use coupon code clearout to save 40% off the sale price. Here is the link for their catalog