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FILED: April 19, 2000
Appeal from Circuit Court, Union County.
Phillip Mendiguren, Judge pro tempore.
Argued and submitted August 27, 1999.
Eric Johansen, Deputy Public Defender, argued the cause for appellant. With him on the brief was David E. Groom, Public Defender.
Jennifer S. Lloyd, Assistant Attorney General, argued the cause for respondent. With her on the brief were Hardy Myers, Attorney General, and Michael D. Reynolds, Solicitor General.
Before Landau, Presiding Judge, and Linder and Brewer, Judges.
In this criminal appeal, defendant challenges the sentencing court's authority to require him to pay $3,000 of a previously suspended $5,000 fine. We affirm.
Following defendant's conviction of criminally negligent homicide, (1) the trial court sentenced defendant to a presumptive term of 36 months of probation. The court also entered a money judgment ordering defendant to pay a compensatory fine of $5,500 and a noncompensatory fine of $5,000. The court, however, suspended the noncompensatory fine. The court further ordered that defendant "[p]ay fines, fees, costs, assessments, [and] restitution" as a condition of his probation.
After sentencing, defendant learned that his insurance company previously had entered into a settlement agreement with the victim's family, who had filed a wrongful death action against defendant. Defendant moved for "reconsideration" of the sentence, requesting that the sentencing court vacate the compensatory fine on the ground that the victim's family, due to the settlement agreement with the insurer, did not have a "remedy by civil action," as required by ORS 137.101(1). After a hearing on the motion, the sentencing court agreed to vacate the compensatory fine. The court further determined that, in light of that change, defendant should pay a portion of the previously suspended noncompensatory fine. Consequently, the court amended the judgment to vacate the compensatory fine of $5,500 and to suspend only $2,000, rather than all, of the previously suspended $5,000 fine.
On appeal, defendant argues that the sentencing court did not have authority to require him to pay a portion of the previously suspended fine because defendant's sentence had been executed, thus preventing any modification of the judgment. See generally State ex rel O'Leary v. Jacobs, 295 Or 632, 636, 669 P2d 1128 (1983) (sentencing court loses jurisdiction to modify sentence once it is executed); State v. Perry, 140 Or App 18, 22, 914 P2d 29 (1996) ("trial court lacks the authority to modify a sentence once the defendant has started serving the sentence"). The state responds by asserting that defendant's "sentence" was the imposition of the term of probation and that payment of the fines was merely a condition of that probation. Thus, according to the state, the sentencing court did not modify defendant's sentence. Instead, the court modified the conditions of defendant's probation, which it statutorily is authorized to do. See ORS 137.540(4) (sentencing court "may at any time modify the conditions of probation").
Although we agree that the sentencing court had authority to amend the judgment as it did, our analysis differs somewhat from that offered by the state. The state relies on State v. Evett, 102 Or App 37, 793 P2d 880 (1990), to argue that the fines imposed in this case should be considered conditions of probation only, not a part of defendant's sentence. Evett, however, involved a sentence that was imposed before the sentencing guidelines went into effect. At that time, probation was an alternative to a sentence and the rule, therefore, was that a sentencing court could not place a defendant on probation and also impose a sentence. In Evett, the court purported both to sentence the defendant to pay a fine and to place the defendant on probation, with payment of the fine a condition of that probation. We concluded that the obligation to pay the fine should be deemed only a condition of the probation, not a sentence. Id. at 40. See also State v. Vasby, 101 Or App 1, 4-5, 788 P2d 1024 (1990) (because court could not impose a sentence of restitution and also place the defendant on probation, appellate court would give effect only to order of probation).
Probation now is a sentence for a guidelines offense. Holcomb v. Sunderland, 321 Or 99, 104-05, 894 P2d 457 (1995); State v. Hamlin, 151 Or App 481, 487, 950 P2d 336 (1997), rev den 327 Or 173 (1998). The underpinning of our older cases therefore no longer exists. At least in theory, a fine now can be a sentence, a condition of a defendant's probation, or both. That is true in practice as well. The sentencing guidelines authorize sentencing courts to impose any fines or assessments "authorized or required by law," in addition to a presumptive or departure sentence. OAR 213-009-0003. Under ORS 161.675(2):
"When a defendant whose sentence requires the payment of a sum of
money for any purpose is also sentenced to probation or imposition or
execution of sentence is suspended, the court may make payment of the sum
of money a condition of probation or suspension of sentence."
Thus, contrary to the state's position, for a guidelines offense, a fine no longer must be imposed either as a sentence or as a condition of probation. A sentencing court may impose a fine as both.
In fact, the sentencing court did so in this case. The court sentenced defendant to a term of probation, entered a money judgment ordering defendant to pay a compensatory fine of $5,500, imposed and suspended a noncompensatory fine of $5,000, and made payment of the fines a condition of defendant's probation. Later, at defendant's request, the sentencing court vacated the compensatory fine of $5,500. (3) The sentencing court also modified the judgment by ordering that only $2,000 of the noncompensatory fine be suspended, thus requiring defendant to pay $3,000 of that fine. Those changes effectively altered both defendant's sentence and the conditions of his probation.
Insofar as the sentencing court modified the conditions of defendant's probation, that change was authorized. Trial courts traditionally have had ongoing supervisory authority over a defendant's probation, including the authority to modify the conditions of probation at any time. See generally State v. Stanford, 100 Or App 303, 306-07, 786 P2d 225 (1990). The enactment of the sentencing guidelines did not change that. See ORS 137.540(4). Here, defendant learned of the insurance settlement and brought it to the court's attention only after the court entered the original judgment in which it ordered defendant, without objection, to pay the compensatory fine as a condition of his probation. As the sentencing court observed at the hearing on defendant's motion for reconsideration, the court would not have suspended the noncompensatory fine if it had not imposed the compensatory fine. (4) By executing part of the suspended fine in response to vacating the compensatory fine, the sentencing court sought to have defendant continue to bear at least some financial responsibility for his criminal conduct. The court acted well within its authority to modify the conditions of defendant's probation in such a way as to ensure that the rehabilitative purposes of probation would continue to be served. See State v. Jones, 90 Or App 176, 178, 750 P2d 1211 (1988) (court entitled to modify conditions of probation based on information that became available only after defendant commenced serving probationary sentence); State v. Karussos, 82 Or App 248, 252, 728 P2d 559 (1986) (court entitled to modify probation to require the defendant to pay counseling costs incurred by the victim after original judgment was entered).
Insofar as the sentencing court amended defendant's previous sentence, defendant has no ground for objection. This is not a situation in which the sentencing court modified an executed sentence. As the Supreme Court observed in O'Leary: "The crucial term here is 'execution of sentence,'" which "means putting the sentence into effect." 295 Or at 636. Defendant's sentence of probation was put into effect at the time of sentencing because he was ordered to report immediately to the probation department. Hamlin, 151 Or App at 487; State v. Quackenbush, 116 Or App 453, 455, 841 P2d 671 (1992). But the court suspended the noncompensatory fine. Thus, by definition, the portion of the judgment sentencing defendant to pay the fine was not executed or put into effect. To be sure, having imposed and suspended the noncompensatory fine, the sentencing court may not have been free to increase the fine's amount or otherwise alter its substance. See generally State v. Stevens, 253 Or 563, 565, 456 P2d 494 (1969) (construing limitations of court's authority under prior version of ORS 137.550). But the court did not do so. The court merely required defendant to pay $3,000 of the previously imposed fine of $5,000, thus executing the fine in part. That is not a "modification" of defendant's sentence that falls within the principle upon which defendant relies. See, e.g., State v. DeCamp, 158 Or App 238, 973 P2d 922 (1999) (principle applicable where court increased period of incarceration from one to six months); Perry, 140 Or App at 22-23 (same where court amended sentences to provide that they would be served consecutively, rather than concurrently); State v. Mossman, 75 Or App 385, 706 P2d 203 (1985) (same where court executed previously suspended sentences but amended sentences to include minimum terms of incarceration).
Finally, we note that the sentencing court entered the amended judgment after defendant filed his notice of appeal. The appeal, however, did not divest the court of its jurisdiction to modify the conditions of probation or to execute the previously suspended fine. See generally State v. Peterson, 116 Or App 418, 841 P2d 666 (1992) (post-appeal modification of conditions of probation); State v. Link, 87 Or App 556, 743 P2d 737 (1987) (probation revoked and sentence imposed and executed after appeal was filed). We therefore agree with the state that it is unnecessary to examine the scope of the sentencing court's authority to modify the judgment under ORS 138.083.
1. Defendant also was convicted of driving while under the influence of intoxicants and sentenced on that count. The issues on appeal do not implicate that sentence.
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2. The legislature amended the statute in 1993 to refer to a defendant who is "also sentenced to" probation, instead of one who is "placed on" probation. Or Laws 1993, ch 14, § 19. The change appears to have been made specifically to conform to the changes in the sentencing guidelines provisions making probation a sentence.
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3. Below, the state did not dispute whether the compensatory fine should be vacated, and that is not an issue on appeal. For present purposes, therefore, we assume without deciding that the settlement with the victim's insurer justified vacating the compensatory fine.
Return to previous location.
4. Consistent with that observation, when the court originally sentenced defendant, the sentencing court stated that it would suspend the noncompensatory fine contingent on defendant's successful completion of probation, which at the time included payment of the compensatory fine to the victim's family.
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American Idol 8 has five finalists and four weeks left in its run after Lil Rounds and Anoop Desai went home last night.
Lil Rounds, who no longer has to suffer the indignity of having Simon call her "Little," didn't even get to sit in one of the loser chairs. Ryan just walked her across the stage and, in one of his oh-so-clever moves, seemed like he might be about to shock everyone and do something other than send her to the bottom three, but instead just said she was eliminated. Anoop ended up in the bottom two with Allison Iraheta, who's probably in trouble next week along with Matt Giraud, unless Danny really screws up.
Paula Abdul choreographed the finalists and taught them a dance, which they all performed quite well, at least if the goal was to seem as drunk as she has. Actually, the appalling part about it wasn't the dancing or the lip syncing, but the fact that someone decided to use Comic Sans for the font on the giant screen behind them, which said things like "DANCE!" Ironically, whoever chose that typeface did so on the very same week that The Wall Street Journal reported about how loathed Comic Sans is.
Speaking of bad ideas, let's just pretend the three disco stars who performed weren't on the show. And I think David Archuleta may have gotten worse since last year. His oh-so-humble act still irritates the crap out of me, probably because I have no soul.
Meanwhile, Simon Cowell totally smacked Ryan down while Ryan was killing time (though the show finished on time, again!) while whittling down the group. "You're being facetious. Go back to the contestants," Simon said, and that shut Ryan up. But the funniest moment of the night came when Seacrest introduced the disco legends, and he looked at Kris Allen and said, "before we were born, obviously."
Um, what's with the "we," dude? You were born more than a decade before Kris, and lived through disco's prime, while Kris was born well after both Madonna and Fraggle Rock made their debuts.

subset: commoncrawl


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You Are Beautiful.
Hope everyone is having a great week
It does not matter how slowly you go, so long as you do not stop. Confucius Be patient and tough, some day this pain will be useful to you. Ovid
You'll learn to let things go.
My Little Pony hair.
So I think that this week I might try alternating days on the treadmill with days outside and see how that goes. Last week I did 3 days in a row outside (2 cut short and one full run) and wasn't feeling too bad, and since usually my outside runs leave me sore more than the inside ones, I'll try a few days of in and out runs to see how I feel. Plus, later this month (after we pay my mother our rent and pay for my truck) I'm getting new tires for my bike and buying Eddie the bike that I promised him for his birthday, so I can add that to our weekend routine.
2011 Goals:
Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop. | my running blog | upcoming races
onomatopoeia - Why the big difference in treadmill vs outdoor running? I'm guessing it's the hills. If so, maybe you can bike or drive to a starting location where the trails are flatter?
I hope everyone has great runs this week!
onomatopoeia - Why the big difference in treadmill vs outdoor running? I'm guessing it's the hills. If so, maybe you can bike or drive to a starting location where the trails are flatter?
Oh, it's a really flat bike path, nicely paved and only a few years old, part of an old railroad track system and the only hill around is the 15ft worth of space between the parking lot and the path itself. I think the biggest problems I have are running too fast when I'm outside, and I don't think I exert myself as much on the treadmill because I'm not actually propelling myself forward - the belt moves my legs back and all I need to do is bring them forward and not fall off.
I think the biggest problems I have are running too fast when I'm outside....
I think the biggest problems I have are running too fast when I'm outside....
Based on your RA log and your blog (loved the graphics) I'd say you're right about running too fast. Hold a conversation or sing or hum to yourself. These techniques are easy to do and will automatically queue you to slow down. It's okay to go slow! The whole idea is that to go faster go farther; to go farther go slower. Once you bring your speed down you will find that you can go 2 miles or farther. You can do this!
Don't forget that there's also a huge difference in the impact. Running on pavement is TOUGH on your body, especially compared to a nice cushioned treadmill.
And I agree, your speeds outside are considerably faster than when you're on the treadmill.
Baby bean!
Goals:Finish C25K
I'm slower than a herd of turtles stampeding through peanut butter, but I run.
make my green bikini look great, etc
Ah bikiini's. I remember when this body could wear them.
Finished w8d1 yesterday. Felt great. I still don't have a good idea of how far I'm running. I recalibrated the Nano/Nike+. According to it I ran 1.60 on Saturday. This doesn't include my walking time/distance. This week one day I'm going to take my bike to the trail and ride the trail to see how far I'm going. Maybe today if it isn't raining later.
I hope everyone has awesome runs this week!
My wife recently completed a 10 week boot camp like program at Farrell's and she shared her before and after pictures with me. Wow, what a difference her hard work made! We both have a ways to go weight loss wise, but she has made tremendous progress and should be very proud of herself. Now if I could only get her interested in running.
Chup Chup...you are almost there!!! I love that you are doing it with your dog.
I just finished week 7. I have a SLOW pace, but I'm not stopping and that is a HUGE hurdle that I have gotten past. This weekend, moving on to week 8.


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The service does have some appeal for smoothing out erratic business traffic. For example, consumer Web traffic peaks at certain times of the day. Enlisting IBM to smooth out these peaks so that you don't have to buy more equipment than you need is an intriguing idea, but IBM will have to ease customers' anxiety about how much control they will have of these on-demand systems.
There's also the possibility that custom apps will crash a generic hardware configuration. What kind of support can I get from IBM if I'm on a shared virtual server? Probably not much, because there's not much it can do without putting other customers' apps at risk. This is the trade-off of sharing computing resources.
If you think your organization would benefit from IBM's services, find out a whole lot more before you tell your CIO that you can save the 30 percent IBM is claiming. Or you might just discover the answers the hard way.
We welcome your comments on this topic on our social media channels, or [contact us directly] with questions about the site.


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Viral photo of nurse's shoes spreads message of gratitude
Nurses may be some of the most under appreciated people in the emergency room. They're constantly on their feet, literally saving lives, and often times they don't get the thanks they deserve.
Hairstylist Ashley Bolling was reminded of how much they do when an exhausted nurse named Jodi Black came in for a haircut, but unintentionally fell asleep in the chair.
That's when Ashley took this now viral photo with the following caption
"I wondered how many miles those shoes have walked. I wondered what they'd walked through. Blood? Tears? In and out of the countless rooms of the patients she's cared for? I wondered how many hours they've carried her, and all those like her, while they literally save the lives of those we love and hold the hands of the ones who can no longer fight that fight."
Thank you, to all the nurses out there.


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Events Overview | CEO Luncheons| Centennial| Christmas Luncheon| Crayfish| Entrepreneurs Club| EWC| Galleries| Green Summit| Innovate46| Lucia Trade Award| Networking Reception| Tuesday Club
The Gala Dinner is a tradition originally instituted to commemorate the 350th anniversary of the landing of the first Swedish immigrants in America. During the dinner, the Lucia Trade Award is presented to the recipient, who has contributed to fostering free trade between the United States and Sweden. The memorable evening's program additionally includes world-class musical entertainment and the presentation of the Chamber's Scholarships.


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The Dallas-Fort Worth Theater Critics Forum met as usual the first Saturday after Labor Day to hash out our awards for the best of North Texas theater over the preceding 12 months, and the Dallas Theater Center ended up the big winner, with five of its shows receiving citations. Les Miserables, Fortress of Solitude, Oedipus el Rey and its in-repertory pair of Raisin in the Sun and Clybourne Park (Raisin's quasi-sequel) all took home major awards, including direction for the first four. Cast members from many were also recognized, including Liz Mikel and Tiffany Hobbs from Raisin, Allison Pistorious from Clybourne and Steven Walters from Les Miz. Uptown Players, coming off one of its best seasons, also won accolades for two of its shows: The gay comedy Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (for direction and its ensemble) and for The Boy from Oz for its three stars and for its wig and makeup by Coy Covington. My own Actor of the Year winner for 2013, Tina Parker, won note for her performance in Detroit — one of nods to Kitchen Dog Theater, which also produced best new play winner Barbecue Apocalypse by Matt Lyle. WaterTower also fared well, especially for its recent musical Dogfight. The winners — which are voted on by a panel of 12 local theater critics, including me — are hashed out over a luncheon. There are between four and nine winners in each category this year.
The complete list is below.
Direction: Daniel Aukin, Fortress of Solitude (Dallas Theater Center); B.J. Cleveland, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (Uptown Players); David Denson, Year of the Rooster (Upstart Productions); Tre Garrett, A Raisin in the Sun (Dallas Theater Center) and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (Jubilee Theatre); Tim Johnson, Detroit (Kitchen Dog Theater); Terry Martin, Dogfight (WaterTower Theatre); Kevin Moriarty, Oedipus el Rey (Dallas Theater Center); Susan Sargeant, The Diaries of Adam and Eve and Happy Days (WingSpan Theatre Co.); Liesl Tommy, Les Miserables (Dallas Theater Center).
Actor: Adam A. Anderson, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (Jubilee Theatre); Jaxon Beeson, Stiff (Fun House Theatre and Film); Joey Folsom, Year of the Rooster (Upstart Productions) and Hank Williams: Lost Highway (WaterTower Theatre); Alex Ross, The Boy from Oz (Uptown Players); Garret Storms, for his season of performances; Drew Wall, Nocturne (Second Thought Theatre); Steven Walters, Les Miserables (Dallas Theater Center).
Actress: Tiffany Hobbs, Raisin in the Sun (Dallas Theater Center) and Spunk (WaterTower Theatre); Janelle Lutz, The Boy from Oz (Uptown Players); Liz Mikel, Raisin in the Sun (Dallas Theater Center); Tina Parker, Detroit (Kitchen Dog Theater); Allison Pistorius, Venus in Fur (Circle Theatre) and Clybourne Park (Dallas Theater Center); Sarah Elizabeth Smith, The Boy from Oz (Uptown Players); Juliette Talley, Dogfight (WaterTower Theatre); Ashley Wilkerson, The Mountaintop (Jubilee Theatre).
Ensemble: Barbecue Apocalypse (Kitchen Dog Theater); Heroes (Stage West); The Echo Room Presents: Her Song (Echo Theatre); Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (Uptown Players).
Creative Contribution: Coy Covington for his wig and makeup design for The Boy from Oz (Uptown Players) and wig designs for Pageant (Uptown Players); Clare Floyd DeVries for her set design, Detroit (Kitchen Dog Theater); Jay Dias for his music direction, Nine and Titanic (Lyric Stage); Jeffrey Colangelo and Katy Tye for their movement design, Galatea (Prism Co.); the design team with Trinity Shakespeare Festival, for their season.
New Play or Musical: Barbecue Apocalypse by Matt Lyle (Kitchen Dog Theater); Booth by Steven Walters (Second Thought Theatre); Fortress of Solitude by Itamar Moses and Michael Friedman (Dallas Theater Center); mania/gift by Shelby-Allison Hibbs (Echo Theatre); Stiff by Jeff Swearingen (Fun House Theatre and Film).
Touring Production: Evita (Dallas Summer Musicals); The Gershwins' Porgy & Bess (ATTPAC); Peter and the Starcatcher (ATTPAC); Trick Boxing (Sossy Mechanics).
Special Citations: To Matt Tomlanovich, for reviving the Margo Jones as a busy performance space, opening it to fledgling companies at a reasonable price, and making it available to small festivals, poetry slams, readings and dance groups; and to Lawson Taitte, for his distinguished career in arts criticism.


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|You are in: Entertainment: Reviews
Tuesday, 24 April, 2001, 16:42 GMT 17:42 UK
A Mother's Gift: Your views
A British publisher has paid Ł500,000 for the rights to the manuscript of a novel written by US pop star Britney Spears and her mother Lynne.Disclaimer: The BBC will put up as many of your comments as possible but we cannot guarantee that all e-mails will be published. The BBC reserves the right to edit comments that are published.
The book, which has hit the shelves in the US, mirrors Britney's own life, a tale of a teenage girl who wants to be a singing star.
"It is simplistically written, with one-dimensional characters and flimsy turns of plot," thought our reviewer.
But what do you think? Should Britney start writing a sequel or stick to pop?
I find it hard to believe that an American musical celebrity is literate, let alone capable of writing a novel of any value. Nevertheless, I wish Miss Spears all the very best with her new brand of firelighter.
Absolutely dreadful. Completely devoid of redeeming features. Bound to sell well with Ms. Spears's fanbase.
It is doubtless pap - certainly from the closing paragraphs quoted in the papers.
If people are willing to buy literary pap, then she will write it. If they don't, she'll have to stick to musical pap instead.
She should keep writing... I think her singing sucks!
Nothing from that girl could be good! I work with children in the school system. Young girls here have enough problems dealing with issues without the help of "pop" culture!
Her music is bad enough, why not just stand on the stage and look pretty instead of boring us with your terrible writing?
It's a sad state of affairs when teen popstars are offered huge book deals while legitimate, dedicated writers hone their choosen craft in obscurity for years, and even lifetimes, composing masterpieces we'll never read.
Stick to pop!
Unfortunately, Britney is one of those superbly manufactured pop stars with limited talent. What she lacks in vocal chords she makes up for when flashing the flesh.
The book is extremely predictable and very "American" with over-the-top accounts of becoming a star-studded wannabe.
The book is definitely not for the more disconcerting reader but will make good reading for the 7 - 14 year old range, which I am sure will make it a hit. Because it's another Britney collectable!
It is interesting that if someone shows minor talent in one arena, people seem so eager to have them perform in all arenas. I am sure there are many people out there who dedicate their lives to singing, writing and acting who are horrified by the idea of paying so much money to someone who shows little ability in those fields.
Sell what you can while the mugs are still buying. In five years time it will be "Britney who?"
I was amazed simply to learn that Britney Spears writes anything more complex than a shopping list for boutique clothing.
The book, in the finest traditon of content-free drivel written by bubble-gum popstars, is destined to be a rousing success.
Given the simplicity of Ms. Spears's art, my guess is that a large number of the fans will forego reading the book, waiting instead forthe video version.
The bright side is that the book may be the first ever
read for many fans, who are likely never to have
read anything more complex than a People magazine.
It's garbage and not worth the paper it's printed on. What a waste of money. Who does she think she is?
I have great respect for writers, whoever they are, and if Britney is good, then good luck to her. If you or I had the chance of being as successful as that one girl, wouldn't we want the same for ourselves?
I'd say that Britney needs to quit writing.....her music isn't any good either. I'll bet she doesn't write her own songs even. She could become a model or something, something that needs very little talent.
It's all about image, not talent.
As one of your correspondent's points out, the book is actually aimed at 8 -12 year olds. What is disturbing, however, is the number of the posts from angry, presumably adult readers, who seem to care about the issue a lot more than it deserves to be cared about.
I think that before starting a writing career, Britney has to decide whether she is the pure and innocent child she claims to be, or the show-biz, show-off, and show-it-all Britney that she is.
Well...what can I say, I guess it would be interesting to know a little bit more about this pop mega star, but I guess she should keep up the music and not let the fame go to her head...not that she has in my eyes.
"It is simplistically written, with one-dimensional characters and flimsy turns of plot." This makes sense. Why should her book be any different from her simplistic, one-dimensional pop music?
Go Britney! You are great. Yet another talent to add to the list. Can't wait to read it. You rock!
Britney's novel is nothing short of genius. It is a work of supreme scholastic skill. She has a distinctly Joycian prose, yet she emotes like a young Turgenev. If she was English, this would have to be on the Booker Shortlist. I hope that it will become a National Curriculum staple. Five stars.
Perhaps a career in writing will be the only opportunity this woman ever has to display genuine artistic originality in her lifetime, even if this first book doesn't achieve that.
No offence, but Britney Spears exemplifies the US recording industry's desire to have complete control over their pop icons. They won't deal with artists who possess genuine talent any longer, because that forces them to negotiate.
I found, when in a difficult situation whilst travelling on the outskirts of the Amazon in Brazil last week, that it made brilliant toilet paper.
Britney Spears and her mom are very smart women: they both know Britney's fanbase is dwindling and efforts to increase their capital has to be their highest priority.
Everyone in the US knows that Britney's persona is the only thing she has to offer - a Madonna-type career, except that Madonna actually had talent.
I've read their book (only because the hospital I volunteer in has some blind children and are fans of her club) and I can tell you that maintaining some focus is difficult for me and for them.
Britney, in my opinion, should write a book only because the money fronted for this next project of hers will bring in some collateral...but as we all know, sometimes the untalented are the wisest business folk.
Why doesn't she just give up? She's a has-been.
Britney, worry about learning to sing first and then start writing novels!
Neither Britney's musical success nor her literary career are in any way related to her talent in these two fields. As far as I am concerned, there is only one reason she has met such popularity, one obvious enough that I don't need to state it here.
I look forward to the return of music as an art, rather than fabricated nonsense fronted by a model rather than an artist.
Come on, gave us a break!
Britney can hardly sing, now she wants to write as well? Do we, the general public, have to suffer twice? Or will she now realise she can't sing and turn to writing as an alternate employment.
As I listen to music more than I read novels, that'll be great!
My sympathy then goes to all novel readers.
Oh, please, no. For the love of humanity, do not let that girl write a sequel. She is yet another embarrassment to the USA (one of the many) and I apologise.
Well, it's bound to be better than her songs, but then again, she doesn't write those anyway.
This book sounds impossibly cutesy and more likely to induce vomiting than three boxes of alcopops.
It's good that she has a talent for writing as opposed to others who can only sing.
Not only should Britney quit attempting to write novels, but she should seriously rethink her pop career as well. Her book read like a sixth grade writing assignment, and she was so politically and culturally unaware in displaying an American flag during her performance in Rio.
Her career as a writer should be the least of her concerns.
I thought it was a beautiful and touching book. I laughed, I cried, I even felt like singing.
Britney Spears is surely Shakepeare's sister!
I wouldn't buy it if it was the last book on the shelves. It's hardly surprising that it has a flimsier plot than Hamlet, and characters so flat they belong on a advertising board.
Great manufactured pop she may be, but she will hardly win the Booker prize. I would rather read 'Winnie the Pooh'. He has depth of character!
Give us a break! She hasn't got her singing right yet. It's a sad state of affairs when physical attributes can take someone as far as Ms Spears.
She is already an embarrassment to the music industry, why does literature have to be her next victim?
Britney is an all-round entertainer, but writing novels just isn't her scene. Leave it alone Brit & Brit Mom. Do what you do best - looking gorgeous!
Not another pop star writing another book about themselves, it does not surprise me that early reviews reveal how chronic it is!
It seems unfair that a fictional rewriting of her career should gain a Ł500,000 payment for rights. Like so many stars of today, it wouldn't surprise me if in the next few years Britney turns her hand to fashion design, painting or poetry for revenue.
It is perhaps unfair to say this when I haven't read the manuscript but isn't it sad that a name is enough to sell a product? How many brilliant authors face rejection for years and never even achieve what Britney has managed in her first effort with her mother?
I thought that this book was one of the best books I have read in quite some time. I know some people knock her but I think she's the best.
Don't listen to the critics, Britney!
It's a thrilling first novel from probably the most talented of musical artists around today. The depth to which she probes such delicate and sensitive issues in her book proves that she is not just a pretty face.
Not since Shakespeare has the world had such a talented writer. Britney, we love you!
That an anagram of "Britney Spears" is "Best PR in Years" should give you a clue as to the reasons for this book's popularity.
There are a million good writers out there who can't get published, while this dire junk gets the star treatment. I can only presume that those who buy it are as vacuous as the person who wrote it.
If her writing is anything like her singing or 'song writing', then she should give up writing now, in fact, maybe she should give up singing (if it can be called that) as well.
She is useless at both!
My view is that Britney is a top pop singer and she should stick to pop.
Britney is the 'queen of pop', but this should not deter her from writing novels if she feels inspired to do so. Her first novel may be simplistic and one-dimensional but if it entertains only one person then it was worth writing.
I have read the book twice through already and believe it is proof that Britney is not only the greatest singing talent of our time but she also possesses a literary mind that rivals such greats as Virginia Woolf and Ernest Hemmingway.
People will of course put her down because she is an attractive young female, but such cliched cynicism should be rejected.
We have to understand that Britney is possibly the saviour of post-modern culture as she blends both literary and pop culture together in a form accessible to all.
Initially, it was more with sadness than disgust that I read of this latest attempt to foist brain-dead pseudo-literature on young children.
However, it could also be argued that any means by which the young can be introduced to reading is to be praised.
We should not be concerned about those who do not move on to better prose - if it were not for Ms Spears, they would not be reading anything anyway.
Shame that a pretty face is now selling books as well as music, which is bad enough.
Very heated comments, but I know where you are all coming from. Fortunately, here down under we don't get much Britney and the book will be bargain basement.
Good on you Britney, thing is, I don't like her music, I may not even like her book, but for all the people out there who hold a grudge and don't like her because they think she's just a talentless bimbo, take another look.
She makes kids happy, she gives younger girls/boys someone to look up to, she gives them something to listen to and read and I assume she wouldn't have anything negative or abusive to say like Eminem.
So leave her alone and stop being so jealous, she's doing something good and harmless. She may well have cashed in but if some silly fool is willing to pay her that money, I'd take it if it was offered, would you?
What I would like to know is, have any of you actually read the book before casting your judgements? From what I can see there are only a handful of people who have posted comments who have bothered to read it before criticising the book and her.
So, the cheeky little songstress wrote a book. If it's as bad as everyone says it'll fade and she'll move on. If it's good or she genuinely wants to work on this as a career, then good luck to her. Really now, we have more pressing problems than this to consider.
I think everyone should be objective regardless of whether you are Britney's fan or foe. We want honest criticism, not petty flames.
If you don't like it, don't read it. And stop moaning.
I say fair play to her. If she has got the talent to write as well as sing then she should use it.
Could it be that there are a lot of comments here from people who simply dislike her image and her music? I'm not a fan either, but give her a chance.
I thought that this book was surprisingly good.
Perfect night-time reading.
Empty, flat, shallow. What happened to the days when a writer got a contract based on their talent, and not on their current celebrity status and looks?
I think it's a good idea for her to write a book because that's the only way to get kids to read.
I myself am a David Beckham fan and I enjoy reading about Beckham no matter what it is!
What a pathetic band of losers most of you are. Particularly all those from Britain where the book has not even been released yet. Clearly much of the commentary is based on a great well of knowledge.
The book is aimed at 8 -12 year olds. It is probably better than some books published in that genre and worse than others. So what! I say hurrah to Britney and her mother for trying something new.
Who dares wins.
Writer, singer/dancer, and actress, what next? Athlete? I guess whatever the untalented Spears can get, before her "Where Are They Now" debut on VH1.
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A Nov. 17 e-mail that Benton Elementary School Principal Beth Bray sent to teachers sparked a controversy between the Jackson County school system and a national organization aimed at protecting religious freedom.
The Alliance Defense Fund this week sent a seven-page letter to the Jackson County School System opposing what the group believes to be a ban on all things Christmas. Schools officials counter they have no such policy in place.
In the e-mail, Bray tells teachers to beware wearing anything with a religious connotation.
"For example: No crosses, No pins that say Jesus is the reason for the season, no sweaters, etc that display any type of religious affiliation," Bray wrote.
An assistant superintendent Friday acknowledged Bray's e-mail did not accurately represent what teachers can and cannot wear. This week, Bray met with teachers to clarify the e-mail and inform them what is allowed and prohibited, said Keith Everson, assistant superintendent for human resources and support services in the school system.
"Because she was unsure, she wanted to err on the side of caution," Everson said of Bray's message.
Bray on Friday referred all calls to the school system's central office. Regina Hembree, the after-school teacher who contacted ADF, has not returned messages left since Wednesday. Hembree has referred all comment to ADF, group spokesman Greg Scott said.
The group's request of the school system is "to start calling Christmas Christmas again," said Gary McCaleb, senior counsel for ADF. The group's letter includes case law and legal precedent in support of using the word Christmas in the classroom.
"There is no demand there," McCaleb said of the letter. "It was an information letter saying, 'You guys are going over the top.' ... Part of the reason you write these letters is to resolve things informally and to open the dialog, not end it."
Bray sent her e-mail a day after Superintendent Andy Byers told administrators during a principals' meeting to be mindful of non-Christian students during the Christmas season and a day after she met with teachers at her school to relay to them the superintendent's message. The reminder, given annually, was not intended to be a policy against all Christmas references, Byers said this week.
Byers was not available for comment Friday afternoon, but said earlier this week that a teacher should not wear a sweatshirt with the slogan "Jesus is the reason for the season," but a cross on a necklace would not be inappropriate. And Bibles are not barred from a classroom, as long as they are used as reference books.
"There's a difference between using the Bible for an instructional tool and practicing your religion in the classroom," Everson said Friday.
At no charge, ADF will represent "people of faith" and school systems "to defend their freedom of speech regarding Christmas, even after Christmas is over," according to the organization's Web page. The group has gathered more than 800 attorneys nationwide to fight what it calls any "improper attempts to censor the celebration of Christmas in schools and on public property," according to a news release it sent out previously.
As it turns out, Jackson County is one of 8,494 school districts across the country that have received letters from ADF about the legality of using the word Christmas in the classroom.
"It's ridiculous we're even discussing whether or not we can say 'Merry Christmas,'" McCaleb said. "It's a sad day in America when you have to retain a lawyer to wish someone a Merry Christmas.
"Some folks have been trying to scour Americans of religions acknowledgment," McCaleb said. "When they do that, they start stepping on some Constitutional rights in a pretty serious way."
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TOKYO, July 2 (UPI) -- Sony Computer Entertainment says it has agreed to buy cloud-based U.S. gaming company Gakkai Inc. for approximately $380 million.
The acquisition will provide Sony with a foothold in streaming video games and other entertainment over the Internet, company officials said Monday.
"SCE will deliver a world-class cloud-streaming service that allows users to instantly enjoy a broad array of content ranging from immersive core games with rich graphics to casual content anytime, anywhere on a variety of Internet-connected devices," Andrew House, head of Sony Computer Entertainment, said in a statement.
Gaikai, established in 2008. has headquarters in Aliso Viejo, Calif.
The Wall Street Journal said the video game industry is preparing to shift from its old model of providing games on disks or cartridges in a dedicated console to a purely online model.


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Cyclist killed after being struck by lorry
A cyclist has been killed after being struck by a lorry in Northern Ireland, police said last night.
The 43-year-old man died in hospital after the collision in Mallusk on outskirts of Belfast early this morning.
The incident happened yesterday shortly before 5.30am on Enterprise Way.
Police have appealed for witnesses to come forward.
The dead man was named by police as Patrick O'Hara from the Antrim Road in Glengormley.
His death brings to 91 the number of people who have been killed on Northern Ireland's roads this year.
Belfast Telegraph


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What are the details of the Mass Effect 3 pre-release demo?
The Mass Effect 3 pre-release demo will launch in January 2012 (exact date TBA).
The demo will include both single-player and multi-player sections.
The demo will be released in all regions where the game is
How can I get early access to the multi-player portion of the Mass Effect 3 demo coming in January 2012?
Owners of Battlefield 3, on any platform, who activate their Online Pass will automatically be granted early access to the multiplayer portion of the Mass Effect 3 demo. There is no need to enter any other codes, the early access will be applied to the EA Account associated with the Online Pass. Note: BF3 Origin Customers automatically have the BF3 Online Pass.
This applies to all regions where the demo is released (to be announced)
The exact date of the demo launch will be announced in late November
There will be another program whereby players and fans of the Mass Effect franchise can unlock this early access (with no purchase necessary) this will also be announced in late November or early December.
There will also be a tool posted on www.masseffect.com allowing players to check if their EA account has been granted the early access.
The length of the early access period is TBA.
The single-player section of the demo will be available to all players on day one of the demo launch


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I'm traveling to Bloomington for business on Wednesday, and our only stops are sadly the MOA and the airport. It looks like Napa Valley Grille is a good bet for dinner. What would you local hounds recommend we order? I've seen mixed reviews online - some dishes seem much better than others.
Also, if you think we should steer clear of NVG, do you have alternate suggestions?


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Westfield will appear at City of London Magistrates Court next Thursday over claims he deliberately bowled wides as part of an alleged spot-fixing scam during a Pro40 match against Durham last season.
Danish Kaneria, his Essex colleague and Pakistan leg-spinner, was last week released from police bail without charge as part of the same investigation.
The Crown Prosecution Service released a statement on Thursday in which it alleged Westfield bowled in a manner that would guarantee him conceding a certain amount of runs.
The match in question was screened live around the world by Sky and vast sums are bet on such matches in the subcontinent, with bets placed on the number of wides and no-balls bowled.
Westfield bowled seven overs and conceded 60 runs in the match with four wides and two no balls.
Anthony Swift, of the CPS, said: "I have advised that Mervyn Westfield should be charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud for intentionally playing other than to the best of his ability, contrary to his contractual obligations.
"I have made this decision after careful consideration of a file of evidence from Essex Police. There is sufficient evidence to prosecute Mr Westfield and it is in the public interest to do so."
Westfield has not played for Essex first XI since news of the police investigation was revealed by The Daily Telegraph in April, although he has continued to play for the 2nd XI and this week took four wickets in their one-day trophy final defeat of Lancashire.
He has also been playing club cricket for Wanstead and was recently named their player of the year.
"We are very saddened by the news that Mervyn has been charged by police," a statement from his county said.
"We have not been privy to any of the evidence collected by the authorities which is why no action was taken against the player while the inquiries were ongoing.
"Clearly the police now feel they have sufficient evidence to proceed. A decision was taken some weeks ago that Mervyn's playing contract was not to be renewed with the club for 2011.
"This decision was made purely on cricketing grounds and was not influenced in any way by the ongoing inquiry. He leaves the employment of the club on Sept 30, 2010. The club will not be making any further comment on this matter."
The offence of conspiracy to defraud, under the Criminal Justice Act 1987, carries a maximum jail sentence of 10 years and an unlimited fine.
The Westfield case has been overshadowed in recent weeks by the allegations of spot-fixing levelled at three Pakistan players.
Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir have all been interviewed by police and suspended by the International Cricket Council pending investigations by Scotland Yard as well as the governing body's own anti-corruption unit.
A fourth Pakistan player, the bowler Wahab Riaz, was interviewed by police earlier this week.
Sharad Pawar, the president of the ICC, held talks at his home in New Delhi on Thursday with the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, Ijaz Butt, and reiterated the game's zero tolerance approach to corruption.
"We will never tolerate any nonsense or corruption in the game of cricket," he said. "We want to maintain the sanctity of cricket."
The PCB said the three players would remain suspended until the police investigation was over, although ICC rules state they would be banned until a tribunal was set up to hear their case.
They face the maximum of a life ban if found guilty of match-fixing.


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Sort of. There is one chance: The documentary "Re:Generation," playing only today and Feb. 23 at area theaters, prominently features Skrillex as well as Mark Ronson, the Crystal Method Pretty Lights and other producers. And it was commissioned by the Grammys.
The full-length documentary should capture a quirky experiment; the five electronic music producers and DJs teamed up with musicians of more traditional musical forms (such as the surviving members of the Doors, Leann Rimes and Trombone Shorty) to make five collaborations. All of which points to the inevitable conclusion that the blip and bleep set will make brilliant dance music that's just as serious as the old-schoolers'. Ignore for a moment that the doc might not offer any surprises; it was directed by Amir Bar-Lev, of "My Kid Could Paint That," and should feature some pretty bangin' music.
Want to see it tonight? A handful of theaters in our area are screening "Re:Generation," including Alexandria's AMC Hoffman 22 and Reston's Bow Tie Cinemas.
For now, check out Skrillex's collaboration with the Doors, "Breakn' A Sweat," from the film.


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Entry #05 - Update's on IndieDB
Date: 26.04.2015
Well... long time ago we started development of Drake and I promised to do regular updates in direction of regular news around game. I am screw up. I'm not a social man, and for me, unfortunately, hard entertain observers with news on the regular base. Maybe in future I can find man or woman, who take responsibility for publication of new content, and frequency of this publications, but this not happen now. Not yet. Probably when I get a budget.
We passed through the black year full of bad things. It's a bad news. Good news that we continue our development. Now we planned be a little bit careful with announces and promises. It's enough for me, but I assume doesn't enough for you. So we prepare first released animations (because we start finalize the part of content which was developed earlier), new concept-art & etc. You can know about this on our IndieDB page. Check the news blocks - News Block #19, News Block #20 and News Block #21. Lot of art and information (you can see examples bellow).
To receive the really fresh news (right from workbench) follow me on Twitter. Here I post a hot news about Drake and other projects in which I participate.
I hope that we see you soon.
Entry #04 - Regular update on IndieDB
Date: 19.09.2013
Regular update on IndieDB, concept-art, info, announces and new stuff full of stories from life of developers. All you want to know about Art Style of Drake: The Golden Hind Story, fresh animation and lot of thoughts about game. In plus i want ask you vote for type of Art Style which you like based on two sample-images.
If you want you can fly to the voting page by pressing on Mayor concept-art icon, or else you can visit our DevBlog section. Thank You!
Entry #03 - Unlock all achievements!
Date: 11.09.2013
As soon we collect 30 "likes" on Facebook - i spread for all big Drake poster dedicated to Battle for Hindale. I do not want make spoilers for you, but can say that Drake participated in one of the many battles for the city. And I think be funny make a list of achievements for my development process. Like... m-m-m... tree of skills, or like achievements which developers do on the Kickstarter. Stretch goals. But of course without any money. Just for fun. Until i have no demo or early game, your "paid" for me "likes" on Facebook or your positive emotions. I want make my hard dev days more funny. You are help me with that?
Entry #02 - Another crash site found
Date: 08.09.2013
Launched Facebook page. Add social buttons to spreading word! I really don't know what type of word from here can be spreaded, but also i know and know this really good that without community we have no chances to rise up. So... if you like Drake, or something else by our little hands - please help us to spreading. If you want ask something write me as write this earlier - I always and with the real happyness answer you. Check us on IndieDB, Facebook with our new... spreading... buttons.
O... wait a moment. I need to say something personal. My friend and partner on this project - go to the marriage. This is a great news. And for me too. Why? Because he come back at 12 October, and until this not happen I have a chance (and time i hope) to draw few pieces of new concept-art, and polishing this site for good work and long life.
When this guy return i ask him never show me this One Ring, and we immediately continue our work under second iteration of Drake controller, and I hope that in the end of Frebruary 2014 you can see and test this second build.
Entry #01 - Launch the crash site
We glad noticed that we made little page for Drake. This is not giant net-source, just a little page where we collected all information about Drake in one place. All of here made in easy design solutions, because main thing - is game. And hot news about game development process, of course. Sketches, stuff from workbench, unfinished and finished stuff to illustrate process of creation of game.
Today i want publish for you few new game concepts. How you know we small team. Most important deliver for you game. That is why we so silent with a news and working so deep. That is why art so rare in past time. We have a hard work with second build of closed controller prototype.


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Round it Out with Loans
Loans are part of the equation for most families. Federal student loans such as the Stafford and Perkins loans have interest rates around 6.8% (unsubsidized) and 5% (at press time), respectively, and repayment can be deferred while the student is in school. The Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students program (PLUS) has a higher rate (7.9% at press time) and can't be deferred while the child is in school. Private student loans can also be taken out, with interest rates based on the credit score of the child or co-signing parent.
According to the Project on Student Debt's study, Student Debt and the Class of 2010, the average student loan debt for a 2010 graduate was $25,250. That, coupled with the fact that 50% of graduates under the age of 25 are either unemployed or underemployed, forces people to think more strategically about debt if they don't want it to compromise their financial future. A good rule of thumb is to avoid borrowing more than your expected annual starting salary, Kantrowitz says. Also consider the job prospects for your desired field before taking on a lot of student loan debt.
For instance, if you are considering a public sector stint or government job, it pays to know that the Federal Student Loans Repayment Program is used by federal agencies such as the Justice Department to recruit and retain high-value employees by helping to repay their student loans. Similarly, some or all of your college debt will be forgiven if you work in public service. For example, the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 created a public service loan forgiveness program that eliminates certain unpaid college debts after 10 years of working full time in the public sector, including such positions as nurses and early childhood teachers. Visit www.studentaid.ed.gov and www.finaid.org to learn more.
Once you've explored savings, scholarships, and loans, you can apply personal strategies to lower college costs even more. For instance, have your child stay in state. The average cost of in-state tuition and fees at a public four-year institution is $8,244 compared to $20,770 out-of-state. Or having your child attend a community college for two years and then transferring to a four-year university can cut your expenses in half, says Johnson. The average cost for one year at public two-year-colleges is $2,963.
The earlier families sit down to assemble the college savings puzzle, the more options they have to ensure that students receive a quality and affordable education, say financial experts. The power is in the planning.


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NXNE Art (Performance)
Admission - $5
This performance takes place inside the Elastic Planets multichannel sound field and deals with similar source materials and processes. The difference is that in the performance decisions about event types and timings are made by us, in the installation these decisions are made by the generating machine. Instant Places is Ian Birse & Laura Kavanaugh Through the 1990's Ian Birse made performances for altered guitars, spoken words, and analog video. He has been making tools for virtual visual sonics since the turn of the century. Laura Kavanaugh is an improvisor who works between music, noise, light, and the shapes of things. She was active in interdisciplinary circles in Edmonton and Calgary, making performance works for samplers, overhead projectors, piano and voice, before taking Instant Places on the road with Ian for five years.


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Hoodia Desert Lodge invites you to experience the beauty and tranquility surrounded by majestic mountains on the banks of the Tsauchab River. Only a 20 minute drive will bring you to the Sesriem Gate, entrance of the world famous red sand-dunes of Sossusvlei. You will meet enthusiastic people, keen to share your adventures and the friendliness and personal attention of staff will make your stay memorable. They love to share their knowledge about the region with its secrets and their guided tours are an ideal entrance to the magical world of the desert.
11 luxury thatched, partly tented chalets with en-suite bathrooms, air conditioning, open air shower with a generous bathtub, coffee station, fridge, mosquito net, and a private shaded deck.
Theofeline and Armas, the skilled and enthusiastic chefs deliver in co-operation with Henreza delicious creations of international and local cuisine. With Kaarina and Selma you meet two charming and hearty attentive waitresses that will cater to your needs.
Escape the heat of the desert sun and take a dip in the crystal clear outdoor pool.


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Two small fires set at Discovery Elementary
The Snohomish County Fire Marshal's Office is investigating on two small fires that were intentionally set at Discovery Elementary on May 31.
Firefighters were dispatched to an automatic fire alarm at the school in the 11700 block of Meridian Avenue S. in unincorporated Snohomish County around 3 a.m. Discovery is in the Mukilteo School District.
"They extinguished a small fire burning at a door on the southwest corner of the building," said Leslie Hynes, spokesperson for Snohomish County Fire District 1. "The firefighters put the fire out before flames got inside the building."
Mukilteo School District spokesperson Andy Muntz said the fire was at the door of the school's music room.
They also discovered that someone had attempted to ignite another fire at the school, near one of the school's portables. The second fire had failed to ignite.
Damage to the door, adjacent wall and ceiling is estimated at $3,000, Hynes said.
Firefighters also discovered someone had attempted to set another fire outside a nearby portable classroom.
"While the door was heavily singed and fans had to be used to air out the room before school started this morning, everything else was back to normal at the school," Muntz said.
There are no suspects at this time. The arson investigation is being conducted by the Snohomish County Fire Marshal's Office.
Anyone with information about the fires can contact investigators at 425-388-3557.


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William T G.wrote a review of Never Summer Summit Snowboard on December 20, 2012
Not worth the price
Familiarity: I've used it several times
Ordered the 172 but it rides like a 163 (not in a good way). The base is much softer than Never Summer Bases have been known for in the past. The edges are very rusted after two weeks of purchase. For this price how about some stainless steel? I would not recommend this board.


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Bentley understands abandonment
Morecambe manager Jim Bentley understood the decision to call off his side's game at Accrington.
Last Updated: 01/02/14 9:08pm
Morecambe manager Jim Bentley understood the decision to call off his side's game at Accrington.
Stanley counterpart James Beattie felt referee James Adcock made a 'bad decision' in abandoning the clash.
The Shrimps were down to 10-men after Alex Kenyon was sent off on the stroke of half-time for a late challenge on Peter Murphy.
There had been incessant rain throughout the game and the referee talked to both managers at the break.
However, he did re-start the match but then abandoned it after 56 minutes as the deluge continued.
Bentley said: "Some refs would stop it, some wouldn't and you just have to get one with it. It's one of those things.
"You turn up and you want a game of football and both sets of fans will be disappointed but the pitch was getting worse and you could see puddles and it was hard to get the ball down to pass.
"It was becoming silly and obviously we weren't pushing to stay on being down to 10 men."
Bentley has had a good week with the acquisition of right-back Sean Beeley and loan addition Jamie Devitt, while star winger Jack Redshaw signed a two-year deal.
"It has been good, we have been after a right-back for a while - it's a specialist position - so we are pleased to have Sean with us," said Bentley.
"Jamie did well for the 56 minutes against Accrington and obviously to have Jack Redshaw on a two-year deal is good news for us. We have had to wheel and deal but we are happy."
Bentley said he would look at the red card incident, adding: "We will watch the DVD and if we can appeal, we will. Alex is a good honest player and I would back him."
The rain made for a scrappy derby clash. In the first half Morecambe forward Kevin Ellison hit the crossbar with a header while Accrington's best chance to fell to George Bowerman who scuffed an effort in front of goal.
There was little to choose between the sides but then, on the stroke of half time, midfielder Kenyon made a late challenge on Murphy and referee Adcock had no hesitation to show him a straight red card.


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Stem cell therapy can regenerate heart muscle in primates, according to a UW-led study. The scientists on this and related projects are seeking way to repair hearts weakened by myocardial infarctions. This all-too-common type of heart attack blocks a major artery and deprives heart muscle of oxygen.
People who survive a severe episode often continue their lives in poor health because their hearts no longer work properly. The researchers hope eventually to restore such failing hearts to normal function. Their approach uses heart cells created from human embryonic stem cells.
The researchers tested the possibility of producing enough of these cardiac muscle cells to remuscularize damaged hearts in a large animal whose heart size and physiology are human-like.
Their results are reported in the advanced online edition of Nature.
Dr. Charles Murray, professor of pathology and bioengineering, and Dr. Michael LaFlamme, assistant professor of pathology, are the senior authors of the paper.
Source: University of Washington
Related Reads


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A composer with an edge, Aaron has been the guitarist/ and or composed for such television shows and films as Steven Seagal's "Half Past Dead 2," "MAD TV" (FOX), "The Next Best Thing" (ABC), "The Starlet" (w/Faye Dunaway) (UPN), "10-8" (ABC), "The Jamie Kennedy Experiment" (WB), "Gary and Mike" (UPN),"The Ben Stiller Show" (FOX), "Sunday Night Comics" (FOX), and has recorded and/or performed with such artists as Steve Reid's Bamboo Forest, Eric Marienthal, Bobby Womack and Carlos Santana (Womack-Save the Children), Kuh LaDesma, Gloria Trevi, and The Gap Band.
Blake's debut Innervision release, With Every Touch (2001), included special guest appearances by Eric Marienthal and David Benoit. Three singles from this CD would remain in the Top 50 on the Gavin/SmoothJazz.com charts for at least 8 weeks each.
The single "She's So Fine" from his second album, Bringin' It Back (2004), propelled Blake into the forefront of contemporary jazz by remaining in the Top 30 on the Radio and Records charts for 8 straight weeks. Two singles would reach the top 100 of the year on the R&R charts.
Blake took a brief sabbatical from solo recording to focus on his studio career. Additionally, with the assistance of All Star Music Lessons, Blake would produce three instructional videos for the guitar. Meanwhile, he continued his studio work with several television shows, which included regular recording sessions and an appearance on Mad TV.
In June 2007, Blake released the hot new CD, DESIRE. Packed with 15 songs of sexy grooves and beautiful, unforgettable melodies, produced by the legendary Paul Brown and Hussain Jiffry, and mastered by the renowned Bernie Grundman (Michael Jackson, Norah Jones, Kenny G and more), DESIRE has been on the tip of the tongue of reviewers for some time and is sure to catapult Blake to the next level of contemporary jazz stardom.


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Emergency Medical Technician
The School of Health Sciences and the Department of Emergency Medical Services offer a certificate program preparing students to challenge the National Registry (NREMT) examination for Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) registration. The program is closely integrated with area Emergency Medical Services and Trauma Centers. Classroom instruction is supplemented by clinical and field experience. Clinical training is arranged through area trauma/medical centers and advanced life support ambulance services. Required are a minimum of (24) hours in the hospital Emergency Department and (48) hours onboard an ALS ambulance. The program meets through one semester beginning each fall and spring semester. Classes meet for two (2) 4-hour sessions each week with occasional, pre-scheduled Saturday sessions.
Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) course of study emphasizes instruction in emergency skills, such as managing respiratory, trauma, and cardiac emergencies, and patient assessment. Classroom instruction will be combined with clinical time in a hospital emergency department and an ambulance service. Students will learn and practice dealing with bleeding, fractures, airway obstruction, cardiac arrest, and emergency childbirth. Use and maintenance of common emergency equipment, such as backboards, suction devices, splints, oxygen delivery systems, and stretchers are also covered. With successful completion of the course, graduates are eligible to challenge state and national exams for certification and licensure eligibility. Those interested in continuing education should prepare for application to the Paramedic program.
The program meets all requirements of the National Standard Curriculum maintained by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The MSSU Department of Emergency Medical Services is an accredited training entity for the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services and the Missouri Unit of Emergency Medical Services.
Students seeking additional information about the EMT program should contact the MSSU Director of EMS programs.Application Information-EMT


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HOUSE prices in Scotland are continuing to rise as demand for properties outweighs the numbers coming on to the market, a report has shown.
The number of home hunters was higher than the number of properties up for sale north of the Border for the ninth consecutive month in January, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
At the same time an increasing number of the body's members reported rising property prices, with many now predicting a "spring bounce" as the traditional time for buying and selling draws near.
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During last month, 27% more surveyors reported increases rather than decreases in new instructions, with a balance of 37% more reporting a growth in demand.
The monthly RICS residential market survey found the imbalance in the market has continued to force up the cost of a home, with 38% more surveyors noticing an increase in prices.
Sarah Speirs, director of RICS Scotland, said respondents to the survey expected supply to increase over the next few months.
She said: "Prices are on the up in Scotland and this is driven largely by a lack of properties coming on to the market.
"With a growing number of people now in a position to buy a home, there are simply not enough properties to satisfy demand. The upshot of this is that prices are increasing in many areas.
"However, RICS members do expect an increase in supply in the coming months as the traditional spring bounce begins to take effect."
RICS Scotland is working with the Scottish Housing Commission to address the issue of housing supply and demand in Scotland, she said. The commission is due to publish its findings in April.
The study also highlighted the value of Home Reports to the housing market in Scotland, with more three quarters of chartered surveyors saying it has reduced the need for multiple surveys.
Expectations for the year are positive, with a balance of 49% more surveyors predicting transaction numbers in Scotland to increase over the next three months.
Responding to the survey, Kevin MacDonald, of chartered surveyors Graham and Sibbald in Inverness, said: "Momentum has been maintained during January which is indicative of rising confidence with competitive bids, closing dates and more encouraging prices."
Estate agents said that the report mirrors their own findings, and the green shoots of recovery are now firmly taking root in the property market following years of turmoil brought about by the crash of 2007.
The growing activity in the Scottish market is being fulled by more readily available mortgages, more people looking to nove on and a growth in first time buyers.
Michael Luck, director of Slater Hogg & Howison, said: "A number of house types are in strong demand but there is a challenge in getting quality stock. People either want a property that is in walk-in condition or one which will require upgrading which is reflected in the price.
"What they do not want is somewhere that's selling at the top end of the scale which hasn't been touched in 12 years or so and looks tired and in need of work.
"But now is the time for those looking to move to get into the property market as prices are going to rise and there is strong demand for good quality homes."
Bill Cullen, Chairman of Clyde property, added: "The last five years have given many first time buyers the chance to save up a deposit and we are seeing that people are now coming into the market looking for mid-sized properties rather than one bedroom flats. Activity in the market has come back with a 'thud' and that's good news."


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Our collection of Free Online Drawing Games available on the Internet - games that teach, build or strengthen some skills and concepts while having fun. We categorise and review the games listed here to help you find the games you are looking for.
Draw a line that isn't to steep to keep the Astro Surfer moving. Grab power for your surf.
Y3.com - 9500+ Free Games
Y3.com - 9500+ Free Games


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PO Box 9, Lower Post, BC V0C 1W0 | Phone: 250.779.3181 | Fax: 250.779.3020
Lower Post, BC, Canada
Page 1 of 4
All fields with an * are required. Please complete all required fields.
Community Meeting
Home Visit
Family Dinner
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Lower Post
Did You Know? Kwadacha now has a joint venture with North Cariboo Air and together have formed an air charter company. KNCA Flying Services operates charter flights three days a week between Fort Ware and Prince George in a King Air 200. To book flights to or from Fort Ware, call the Kwadacha Band Office in Prince George at: 250‑563‑4161.
Read More


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Voice over IP Overview
This text is an attempt to provide a concise overview of the VoIP technology and the protocols behind it. The most popular sections cover SIP: Introduction to SIP, SIP Messages, SIP Call Flow, and SIP — Session Description Protocol. The other pieces deal with digitization of voice (start with this one if you are new to VoIP), audio codecs, codec latency vs. bandwidth optimization, audio jitter (a bit of math here), the Real Time Protocol, introduction to H.323, description of H.323 call flow, and H.323 call signalling optimizations.VoIP Overview Sections


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Alison Marie Taroli and Eric Gelsleichter were united in marriage Oct.13, 2012 at Newberry Estates, Dallas. The Honorable William H. Amesbury, Luzerne County, officiated the outdoor ceremony.
The bride was given in marriage by her parents, Attorney and Mrs. Garry and Kathleen Taroli, Dallas. She is the granddaughter of Marilyn Taroli and the late Henry J. Taroli of Kingston and the late John and Rita Bustin of Forty Fort.
The groom is the son of William and Nadine Gelsleichter, Tunkhannock. He is the grandson of the late William and Ginger Gelsleichter and the late Murray and Doris Hoyt, all of Wilkes-Barre.
The bride chose Lauren Haynes as her matron of honor. Her bridesmaids were Kristin Gelsleichter, sister of the groom; Julie Jones, Maria Winters and Kylene Phillips.
Richard Gabriel Castro, cousin of the bride, served as ring bearer.
The groom chose Matthew McCormick as his best man. Groomsmen were Daniel Taroli, brother of the bride; Michael Zarychta, Tim Balasavage and Jonathan Walston.
Readings were given by Stephanie McCole and Andrew Stanko, cousins of the bride and groom. Musical selections were performed by David Baloga, Jessica Jones Campanile and Cindy Thomas, friends of the bride.
An evening reception was held at The Highlands, Dallas. The couple was surprised with a unique book-themed wedding cake given by Elaine Stanko, godmother of the bride.
The couple was honored by their parents at an engagement celebration at Twigs Restaurant. A bridal shower hosted by the mothers of bride and groom and bridesmaids was held at the Appletree Terrace. The rehearsal dinner was given by the parents of the groom at Irem Clubhouse.
The bride is a 2003 graduate of Bishop Hoban High School. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from King's College in 2007. She earned a Master of Science degree in natural resources policy from the State University of New York and a Juris Doctorate from Syracuse University in 2010. She is employed as a patent and trademark attorney by Steptoe & Johnson in Washington, D.C.
The groom is a 2003 graduate of Tunkhannock Area High School. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from King's College in 2007. He is completing his Doctorate in veterinary medicine at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va.
The couple honeymooned in New Zealand. They reside in Falls Church, Va.


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Norfolk County Council chooses new leader
A new leader of Norfolk County Council has been formally elected at a full council meeting.
Bill Borrett received 40 votes with five against and two abstentions after no other name was put forward at the 83-member council.
Mr Borrett's election comes after he was named chairman of the council's majority Conservative group.
He represents the Elmham and Mattishall division and said he did not intend to make any cabinet changes.
He was deputy leader and cabinet member for environment and waste and transformation under former leader Derrick Murphy.
Mr Borrett had acted as leader until formally elected by the Conservative Group last week and then the full council on Monday.
Mr Murphy stepped down after a standards committee found he had brought his office into disrepute and needed to receive ethics training.
Mr Borrett said: "I am honoured and delighted to have my colleagues' trust, confidence and support to lead the group into the May elections.
"This is very much a case of 'business as usual' and the cabinet and I will continue to implement the vision we set out for the authority. "


text: Hi I just purchased masterbuilt electric smoker & am looking for info on making venison summer sausage..and other venison tasties.. how do you hang things in the smoker or do you just lay them in on racks temps... times.. chips info ??? recipes ideas just,, knowledge from anyone willing to share.. I have mastered chicken thighs & legs... Salmon turned out way to dry...have alot of venison to experiment on. & a somebody who'll try anything..


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A few of you might know or even care that I tend to view the Mass Effect series as Bioware's only saving grace in the last couple of years. When I play duds like Dragon Age 2, I have to hope that somewhere, somehow, they have a bright team writing great stories that flow well into game play. So far, that team has been on Mass Effect. While some might argue that the games are a bit rigid to play, they still have great story. I tend to forgive a fair amount if the game takes me out of reality a bit and gets me into the characters.
I will admit I was looking forward to the new DLC content for Mass Effect 2. I've played through the game so many times that even I was having problems finding new things to do in it. So, I set aside a few hours yesterday to download and play through the DLC.
Admiral Hackett sends a message to Shepard to go to a Batarian colony and rescue a deep cover operative from a prison. The catch? Shepard has to do it alone, without his team of hardy heroes. After the prison escape he heads to an asteroid base where things are not as they seem. Badness ensues… death, destruction, madness, and a big boom. Story over, almost!
Ok, that's a new one. It was an interesting experience to do alone, as it demonstrates how much fire the team members actually draw. It was also ridiculously easy for my adept to complete. Time spent on the DLC content… One hour and seven minutes to complete the mission. I almost threw up in my mouth after paying for this. The one saving grace out of this experience? The possible lead in to Mass Effect 3. If you'll allow me a bit of speculation here. The rumors have been flowing on the net that Mass Effect 3 happens on earth. If that is the case, the setup for that situation has been put out by Bioware in this download. Without giving too much away from the story, Shepard is in big trouble after this mission. If sacrificing the Earth Alliance fleet wasn't bad enough in Mass Effect 1, this will surely get the attention of the Alliance Government. That court martial is looking more and more likely Commander Shepard. Time for you to clean up your act!
Score: 7.5


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My Nonprofit Reviews
Review for Foundation for Photo Art in Hospitals Inc, St. Louis, MO, USA
I first learned of Elaine Poggi's work several years ago when I was in her hometown of Sparta, Illinois taping a story about a local artist (I'm a Public Television producer. I contacted Elaine in Italy and on her next trip to the states, I produced a profile of her and her foundation. I've been following the organization's growth ever since. I've been very impressed by the increasing numbers of high-caliber photographers volunteering their time to improve the quality of life for patients. From its beginnings, the Foundation for Photo Art in Hospitals has been enthusiastically received by hospital staffs and the people for whom they care. It is most worthy of recognition.
More Feedback
Will you volunteer or donate to this organization?
How much of an impact do you think this organization has?
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
Thanks so much, Ruth, for writing this wonderful review. I really appreciate it. And, of course, I am grateful for the great TV segment that you produced for "Living St. Louis" about the Foundation. Thank you!! Best, Elaine


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Update: ASUS officially launches Zenfone 4, 5 and 6 in PH.
ASUS Philippines will be launching the Zenfone Series and Padfone Mini on July 17, 2014.
Consumers can start ordering their Zenfone 4, 5 and 6 from Lazada starting July 17, 7 pm. The Padfone Mini will be available at ASUS resellers the week after. Powered by Intel Atom processors, Zenfone series smartphones feature PixelMaster camera technology perfect for taking photos and videos in low lighting conditions. Additionally, the Zenfone series smartphones uses an improved ASUS ZenUI with over 1000 enhancements for a more exciting mobile experience.
Check out our hands on with the Zenfone 4 and Zenfone 5 here and here.


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|Group for Research in Organisational Evolution
Welcome to the GROE website
What is GROE?
The Group for Research in Organizational Evolution (GROE) is one of the established research units within the University of Hertfordshire Business School, in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, UK.
It is an interdisciplinary research unit, building on cutting-edge research in institutional economics, evolutionary economics, sociology, management, complexity studies, law, philosophy, psychology, evolutionary biology and other disciplines.
Our core research is into the nature of business organisations, how they evolve, and how they depend on supporting institutions.
Our core research is into the nature of business organisations, how they evolve, and how they depend on supporting institutions.
Key current research questions include
· the relative importance in business evolution of organisational adaptation versus competition and elimination,
· the transmission of information between organisations,
· institutional preconditions of trust in organisations,
· sources of internal cohesion in organisations,
· the nature and boundaries of the firm,
·the evolution of organisational complexity,
· business evolution and the costs of change,
· the effects of different institutional environments and complementarities,
· the evolution of capitalist institutions,
· institutions and economic development.
GROE hosts the Journal of Institutional Economics, published by Cambridge University Press. In 2012 the Journal of Institutional Economics was first listed on the Social Science Citations Index of Thomson-Reuters. With a citation impact score of 0.457, it ranked higher than several other well-established and comparable journals. Click HERE for details.
GROE replaced the Centre for Research in Institutional Economics (CRIE) in 2009. CRIE was formed in 1999 and continued until 2009. Four research-active staff were linked with CRIE in RAE 2008, and it has been associated with a number of past and current PhD students. CRIE ran ten annual International Workshops on Institutional Economics and several other events.
This website was last updated on 19 December 2012.


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Matushri Virbaima Mahila Arts College is one of the oldest colleges of Rajkot run by Shree Jalaram Uchcha Kelavani Mandal. The trust has a social vision and commitment to provide higher education in Arts, Science, Homescience, Commerce, Management and IT Streams. MVM Arts college offers under graduate programme in Arts with wide options of eight subjects (English, Sanskrit, Gujarati, Sociology, Economics, History, Psychology, Indian Culture) as major.
The trust is foresigted and the institution works devotedly towards the fulfilment of its ideals.


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The Freshman Reading Program aims to provide a common academic experience, to introduce students to intellectual life at the university, to create a greater sense of community among students, faculty, and staff, emphasize the value of reading, and establish the connection between reading, intellectual development, and other cultural events on campus.
No, your participation in the Freshman Reading Program does not count for course credit at Utah Valley University. However, the book is a required text for SLSS 1000 and ENGH 0890. Most of those course instructors include book-based assignments within their class. Those students not enrolled in SLSS 1000 or ENGH 0890 are still strongly encouraged to participate in this unique opportunity to exchange your ideas about the book with President Holland, faculty members, and your peers. The Freshman Reading Program serves as your introduction to academic life at Utah Valley University. It's not just about grades — It's about getting the most you possibly can out of YOUR university experience.
A faculty committee recommends five books to the University President. He then makes the final selection(s).
All events within the Freshman Reading Program are optional, however, we strongly encourage you to take advantage of the opportunities provided. This is college and you'll get out of it what you choose to put into it.
The program begins with a book discussion with President Holland. Throughout the year, there will be many other events and activities on campus related to the themes of the book. Check the "Events" tab for updates.
Please send an email to email@example.com for answers to any other questions not listed above.


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"A delicious sounding variation on the Red Velvet Cake. I had never heard of Red Velvet Cake until I visited my husband's relatives in Chicago. (They even have Duncan Hienz Red Velvet Cake Mix there). It a traditional holiday cake in their family and since I tried it I have been on a quest for the best recipe. This is my latest contender gleaned from the pages of Cooking Light."
Red Velvet Cake With Raspberry Filling
0 recipe photos
READY IN:48mins
YIELD:1 9inch 2layer cake
Ingredients Nutrition
- 3 cups sifted cake flour
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
- 1 2⁄3 cups granulated sugar
- 1⁄2 cup butter, softened
- 4 large egg whites
- 2 cups fat-free buttermilk
- 1 (1 ounce) bottle red food coloring
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For Frosting
- 7 ounces low-fat cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 3⁄4 cups powdered sugar
For Filling
- 1⁄2 cup seedless raspberry jam
- Preheat oven to 350°F Coat 2 (9-inch) round cake pans with cooking spray and line bottoms of pans with wax paper or parchment paper.
- Measure out 3 cups cake flour by spooning into measuring cup and leveling with a knife.
- Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- Set aside.
- In another bowl, beat granulated sugar and butter with a mixer at medium speed for 4 minutes or until well blended.
- Add egg whites to sugar mixture, beat at medium speed for 5 minutes or until fluffy.
- Combine buttermilk, food coloring, and 1 teaspoon vanilla in a small bowl, stirring well with a whisk.
- Add flour mixture to sugar mixture alternately with buttermilk mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix just until moistened.
- Pour batter into prepared pans.
- Tap pans sharply on counter to remove any large air bubbles.
- Bake at 350°F for 28 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean (do not overbake).
- Cool in pans 10 minutes; remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks.
- For frosting: Combine cream cheese and 1 teaspoon vanilla in a medium bowl.
- Beat with a mixer at high speed for 3 minutes or until fluffy.
- Add powdered sugar and beat at low speed just until blended.
- To assemble cake: Place 1 cake layer on plate; spread with jam; top with second cake layer.
- Spread frosting over top and sides of cake.
- Store cake loosely covered in refrigerator.
get the genius kitchen app.
Watch on your iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Roku, or Fire TV.Learn More


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Posts Tagged railsconf
RailsConf 2009
RailsConf 2009 has now finished. This time last year, no one would have ever guessed that the Merb and Rails teams would join forces and focus on what will hopefully be known as one of the best Web Frameworks.
It was encouraging to see so many people excited about what's being ported over from Merb and the new options available to people who are currently limited by the existing stack. For those interested in pushing Rails further and doing stuff out of the norm, here are my slides. Arthur Zapparoli from Brazilian Rails squad recorded most of the talk and told me he will upload the video ASAP. You can also read Yehuda Katz' blog which covers what he talked about.
It was really great to meet a lot of new people as well as people I only knew via IRC/IM/twitter.
It was a great honor to finally meet Dan Kubb (DataMapper), Ninh Hernandez-Búi & Hongli McLovin Lai (Phusion), Peter Cooper (RubyInside), Raimonds Simanovskis (Oracle adapter for AR), Arun Gupta (Sun/Glassfish), Jeremy Hinegardner (crate), Michael Maxilien (IBM), Dana Jones (railsbridge), Zach Zolton & Geoff Buesing (CouchRest) and of course the Brazilian crew (lots of awesome .br guys came this year, I'm looking forward to RailsSummit) and last but not least, the French speaking crew (I'm glad to see Ruby is picking up back home). (I know I'm forgetting people… sorry about that)
It was also really nice to talk with some experts like Dave Astels, Aslak Hellesøy, Rich Kilmer, David Chelimsky, Ryan Brown, Derek Neighbors etc.. to get their feedback on various projects I'm working on.
Leaving Vegas, I feel like the Rails community is expanding quickly (it was the first RailsConf for 1/4 to 1/5 of the attendees) and that the community is organizing itself to welcome a new audience (better documentation, great initiatives like railsbridge.org, willingness to help), as well as trying to be more available to the 'Enterprise' world.
These feelings were enforced during our Rails Activism BOF and after talking with 3rd party developers and sponsors really trying to solve problems that newcomers to Rails are now facing. This is an exciting time.
Merb news nov-16-2008
I'll try to keep the community posted on the latest merb news. Feel free to email me if you want me to feature your app, plugin, tool or blog post.
- Quality time with Yukihiro Matsumoto (ã¾ã¤ã''ã¨ã'†ãã²ã') aka Matz, Ruby author
- Hack time with Aaron Paterson (Nokogiri) and Bryan Helmkamp (Webrat)
- Merb presentation at ORUG
- RailsCamp Australia
- Rails podcast
- Rails vs Merb drama
- Documentation
- Merb 1.0.1
- Qcon


text: Video News: Canada Baghdad blasts deepen sectarian woes Baghdad residents clean up glass smashed in the explosions of twin bombs that killed one civilian and wounded nine others late Wednesday. The blasts targeted the capital's southern Dora neighbourhood and damaged nearby shops. Residents like this man say the government is to blame for not protecting citizens and sowing further sectarian strife between Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims. The attack is the latest in a series of deadly assaults across the country. Violence has surged in Iraq since April after military forces raided a Sunni protest camp, angering many and triggering clashes. Nearly 2,000 people have been killed in the last three months, which has fuelled worries the country will witness a relapse into outright sectarian warfare seen in 2006-2007. © DailyMotion - Thursday, June 27, 2013


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Robert J. Hill Photography
Meet wedding photographer, Robert J. Hill: fearless adventurer, photographer extraordinaire, and all around great guy. He's a wedding photographer with talent and ambition, and there's been a lot of buzz generated about the recent announcement of his world tour. Originally hailing from Panama City Beach, FL, Robert was inspired to begin a career as a wedding photographer by his father, who is a photographer as well, and started his own business shooting weddings at the tender age of 16. After shooting weddings for a few years, Robert shut down his business and decided to take a full time job, selling his camera gear. During this time, he took his first international trip, and soon after he picked up his camera to document adventures abroad. Robert fell in love with photography all over again during his travels, and after marrying his wife, Emily, in 2012, Robert decided to get back into weddings. In our interview via email, Robert said, "I decided to focus on nothing but photography and only weddings at that. My goal was to book about 5 weddings in 2013 and second shoot 5 more. I ended up booking 31 and second shot about 10." Brides and grooms from all over the country–now from all over the world–want Robert to shoot their weddings. It's no surprise that Robert J. Hill is in such high demand with 24,000+ followers on Instagram and a knockout photo gallery on his website, featuring his incredibly artistic wedding photography.
Creative and daring, Robert loves to try new things with his wedding photography, and it really shows. Robert shared that his style is a combination of modern and traditional shooting techniques with a focus on "dull and faded images with deep mood colors." He's a bold adventurer at heart who applies that same adventurous spirit to his photography. In the effort to capture beautiful and imaginative wedding photos, Robert stated, "I've practically lit rings on fire before and once put a dress 30ft in a tree." But don't worry, Robert reported that neither the dress nor ring was damaged in any way.
World Tour
I bet you're curious about his world tour, right? I mean, why would a wedding photographer leave the states to shoot weddings when the pay is almost definitely higher in modernized, Western nations? The answer: Robert has a sincere passion for doing what he loves. Robert loves to travel, so he's balancing wedding, engagement, and portrait sessions with backpacking and volunteer work as part of his world tour. This spring, he'll be covering weddings spanning from Hawaii to North Carolina, and then Robert will leave the states for Kenya, where he and his wife will shoot, visit friends, and volunteer. Afterwards, the globetrotting couple will explore Southeast Asia, traveling throughout Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Laos, Vietnam and Indonesia. In late August, they'll be shooting a wedding in the southern UK and then traveling around Europe for 5 weeks before shooting a wedding in the Pyrenees mountains at the Spanish-French border. Finally, the couple will head back for to America for a road trip down both the east and west coasts. Robert is actively booking wedding and engagement sessions in all of the areas mentioned above, so feel free to contact him if you're interested in his professional services! Robert and Emily are taking life by the reigns and proving that, with passion and determination, life is what you make it.
Robert J. Hill loves shooting fun, easygoing, and adventurous couples. Want to contact Robert for your wedding, engagement or portrait session? The best way to contact him is via email at firstname.lastname@example.com or through his Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.


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Christopher Nolan, you are an evil, evil man. With shooting on his "The Dark Knight Rises" set to move to New York soon (it's currently shooting in Los Angeles), Nolan is said to be planning to make use of the current Occupy Wall Street hullabaloo — in particular, the crowd — as part of his movie.
Of course, the irony here is delicious. The basis of the Occupy Wall Street protest is blaming everything including the rain in Spain and the rising price of rice in China on the 1%, aka the wealthy 1% in the United States. Bruce Wayne, aka Batman, would easily fit into that particular niche. Not to mention, of course, Nolan and every actor in the cast, but shhhh!!! don't tell them that! Then you have this big, gigantic Hollywood studio movie that probably gets a ton of tax breaks just for shooting in various cities, and well, you can sort of conclude that making life easier and cheaper for Nolan and company's film is probably not the purpose of the folks sleeping in bags and not showering regularly.
In any case, the LATimes thinks Nolan will simply be "using the protests as a backdrop or a stand-in for something that already exists in the film."
Essentially, he'll be exploiting the protestors as cheap labor, aka free extras for the movie's crowd scene. They could then digitize out all the real protest signs and swap in ones against, say, Batman or Gotham City, etc. Orchestrating fake crowd scenes cost money and time, you know. Why not just go ahead and use the ones already there? Brilliant!
I would love to see how many of these protestors "get" that they're being exploited by a big corporation, and how many run around bragging that they were in "The Dark Knight Rises". As you can see from the video below, we're not exactly talking about a bunch of geniuses here, you know…