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By Anthony Boadle
BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff's bid to defuse a sudden outburst of national discontent by proposing a referendum on political reforms ran into stiff opposition on Tuesday from politicians and lawyers who questioned its legality.
Tens of thousands of Brazilians have taken to the streets this month in the biggest protests in 20 years, fueled by an array of grievances ranging from poor public services to the high cost of World Cup soccer stadiums and corruption.
The demonstrations against Brazil's political establishment have jolted politicians of all stripes and clouded the outlook for Rousseff, who is expected to seek re-election next year.
The national capital, Brasilia, braced for more protests on Wednesday, with some schools cancelling classes. New demonstrations were also expected in Belo Horizonte during a game between Brazil and Uruguay for the Confederations Cup, a warm-up for the World Cup in 2014.
In an emergency meeting with Brazil's governors on Monday, Rousseff proposed a national plebiscite to ask voters whether they agree to holding a constituent assembly to reform Brazil's political system.
The bold move was seen as an attempt by a popular president to bypass the country's unpopular Congress with an appeal to the people. Legal experts said that was unconstitutional.
The head of the Brazilian Bar Association, Marcus Vinicius Furtado, proposed in a meeting with Rousseff that political reforms be adopted by Congress based on a popular petition.
Politicians - including the head of the lower chamber of Congress Henrique Alves, a member of the governing coalition of parties - said political reforms should be decided by Congress.
Former president Fernando Henrique Cardoso said that under Brazil's constitution Rousseff could not call an assembly to amend the charter. He said political reforms should be drawn up by Congress and then submitted to the country's approval in a plebiscite.
To hold a referendum to decide what to reform would "take up what is left of this presidential term and have repercussions for the economy that are hard to predict," Cardoso said in a post on the FHC Institute's Facebook page.
Political analysts saw Rousseff's referendum proposal as a ploy to gain time and spread the political risk of the crisis.
"Rousseff's intention is to address the public's huge disaffection with the political class by separating herself as an agent of change," Washington-based Eurasia consultancy said in a note to clients. "In practical terms, however, the proposal is unlikely to lead to any meaningful political reform."
Eurasia said it was not a lack of legal mechanisms that has hampered political reform in Brazil, but the absence of will across the political class.
The same point was made by the president of Brazil's Supreme Court, Joaquim Barbosa, who weighed into the debate with a news conference after meeting with Rousseff on the issue.
"Proposals have been sitting for years in Congress, which has shown no interest in reforming the political system. And that lack of interest, in part, has led to the crisis of legitimacy we have now," Barbosa told reporters.
It was unusual for a chief justice to be publicly giving his opinion on a matter he might have to rule on if it is brought before the Supreme Court. But Barbosa is highly respected in Brazil for leading the country's biggest political corruption trial, which led to the conviction last year of several leaders of the ruling Workers' Party.
Barbosa said the Brazilian people should be consulted directly because they were tired of political deals negotiated behind their backs by the political elites.
Brazil's democratic system was not endangered by the current wave of protests, he said. "Brazil's democracy is solid enough to weather this turbulence."
(Editing by Christopher Wilson)


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Concord Cocktail
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Author Notes: I wish I could think of a sexier title for this drink, because it's balanced and delicious, and I would like to encourage you to try it. I made a batch of grape-thyme syrup this weekend, and then had help from a friend (who is both a cocktail guru and a gin enthusiast) in fashioning this drink. Mix the leftover grape syrup with seltzer and citrus for a healthy, sophisticated soda. —Cristina Sciarra
Food52 Review: With a delightfully delicious and super easy-to-make grape and thyme syrup, this cocktail is grape, err great! The lemon adds a necessary counterpart to the sweetness of the grapes, while the vinegar adds a touch of zing. The best thing about this cocktail is how impressive it is without any real effort. And the ingredients lend well to experimentation, so you can always add a bit more syrup and less lemon if you want something a bit sweeter. —figgypudding
Makes: about 2 cups grape syrup; recipe for 1 cocktail
Grape-Thyme Syrup
bunch Concord grapes
cup sugar
pinch sea salt
sprigs thyme
cups water
- Rinse the grapes, and then add them to a medium-large pot, along with the thyme. Pour in the sugar, the pinch of salt, and the water. Turn the heat to medium low, and give everything a little stir to dissolve the sugar and salt.
- Let the fruit cook slowly for about 30 minutes, or until the syrup coats the back of a spoon. Strain the grapes and thyme through a sieve, so just the syrup remains. Move the syrup into a glass or bottle, and then into the fridge until chilled. (You can make the syrup the night before; it will store in the fridge for about 5 days.)
Concord Cocktail
teaspoons grape-thyme syrup, plus more for the glass
1 1/2
ounces gin
1 1/2
teaspoons white peach balsamic vinegar
tablespoon fresh lemon juice
sprig thyme
dash lemon bitters
- Spread about a teaspoon of the grape-thyme syrup around the bottom of your glass.
- Add all of the ingredients to an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake, shake, shake, until the drink is thoroughly chilled. Pour the drink through a strainer, into the the syrup-prepared glass. Enjoy!
- This recipe is a Community Pick!
- This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Grapes

subset: commoncrawl


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Once celebrated as the best policy instrument for curbing harmful greenhouse gas emissions, emissions trading seems to be attracting new critics every week. Europe's cap-and-trade scheme, the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), has come under particular scrutiny. With carbon prices falling from around EUR 30 in 2008 to lows of under EUR 3 in April 2013, voices from within and outside of Europe are challenging not only the region's choice of instrument, but also its willingness to take ambitious climate action.
Is all the criticism of Europe's flagship policy justified? And are cap-and-trade schemes still the go-to climate policy that we should be promoting globally?
Critics are wrong to pronounce the demise of the EU ETS, but policymakers should go beyond small adjustment measures, such as the decision to temporarily hold back the sale of allowances, to fix its carbon price. Internationally, the importance of emissions trading is growing as new schemes emerge. Discussions of the benefits of emissions trading should make way for efforts to ensure the optimal design of new systems that can ultimately be interlinked.
Source: Environmental Defense Fund
Critics should remember that the most important job of cap-and-trade schemes is to ensure the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The EU emissions target is enforced through a mandatory emissions cap, a tightly controlled monitoring system, and heavy fines for non-compliance. The cap is declining by 1.74 percent year by year for the sectors covered under the scheme. Other policy initiatives—such as feed-in tariffs, renewable quota obligation, and energy efficiency laws—also contribute to emission reductions, but only the EU ETS can guarantee that the actual environmental target is met. The scheme serves as the backbone policy instrument to ensure that the EU remains on a predefined path of decarbonization.When setting interim targets, emission reductions from additional measures should be factored into the cap.
It is also wrong to claim that the carbon market is broken. Market forces determine the costs of reaching the emissions goal. Prices result from the balancing of demand and supply for allowances. Low prices are not synonymous with a malfunctioning scheme, but are rather the result of low demand for emission allowances—a signal that achieving the agreed target does not require much work. Europe's economic recession and the resulting decline in production led to an unforeseen drop in emissions. Combined with an over-allocation of allowances to protect domestic industries from international competition, demand and thus prices collapsed.
The EU is still on the emission reduction path it envisioned in 2008, when it agreed on its 2020 targets. But this doesn't mean that policymakers shouldn't intervene. Fixing the carbon price today can prevent the "wrong" investments from taking place and a lock-in of carbon-intensive technologies and infrastructures that are incompatible with low-carbon development paths. Moreover, adjusting Europe's cap-and-trade scheme to address the current oversupply of emission allowances is an opportunity to secure more ambitious climate action at low costs.
On July 3, the European Parliament approved an initial measure to revive the carbon price. The measure, known as "backloading," paves the way for a delayed sale of 900 million permits to create greater short-term scarcity. After the proposal initially failed to pass the Parliament in April, the vote has achieved symbolic importance as proof of the EU's continued ambition to address climate change. Prices have recovered slightly—from below EUR 3 to over EUR 4.20—but they are still far from where they need to be to successfully manage a transformation of the region's energy system. More importantly, the vote raised hope that more fundamental reforms will follow.
The EU should be encouraged to tighten the current cap and to formally enforce its 2050 target to reduce emissions by 80 percent from 1990 levels. The current cap falls short of this ambition. Adopting a longer time horizon would have the additional benefit of forcing companies to question the long-term impacts of their investments.
Globally, we should continue to learn from Europe's experiences and ensure that the many cap-and-trade schemes emerging in places such as Australia, California, China, and South Korea are well designed. California, for example, is doing just that. It is capping more than 80 percent of greenhouse gases—and not simply carbon, as in the EU. It also implemented a minimum price as a safeguard from the price collapses we have seen in Europe. Ultimately, the goal should be to link all schemes in order to come as close to a global carbon price as possible. This would allow more ambitious carbon emission reductions to take place in the most effective and cost-efficient way.
Michael Weber is Research Coordinator with Worldwatch's Climate and Energy Program.


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Mon, 13 September 2010
BDSM techniques, in today's new podcast: Monk and I talk about putting Altoids mints and Listerine Breath Strips in female pink parts. Naturally, I talk some about boy bits as well. Plus, why you'll want some milk on hand for this type of play. About nine minutes, not work safe!
Direct download: Segment_5.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:34am PDT
Wed, 18 August 2010
Monk and I have a brief discussion about our ability to fight off an attack by maniacal clowns. Then we answer a letter from a woman who wants to be a sex worker, and who made the mistake of asking strippers for advice about being an escort. So, thoughts about sex work hierarchies, and how sex work businesses are like Fight Club. Hope it's educational…
Direct download: Segment_4_1.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:47am PDT
Wed, 11 August 2010
In this episode, Monk and I briefly discuss how the Zombie Apocalypse would affect my diet Mountain Dew consumption. A letter from a dominant woman who feels nervous about her scenes. Key point: she's eighteen years old. How should a young kinky person build confidence?
And I also have to blow a kiss to Monk, because this is the Official Weeklong Celebration of His Birth! No mere birthDAY for Monk, no no! He has a week! (Perhaps longer, if the bourbon and cute girls hold out.) So Happy BirthWeek to you, sweetheart!
Direct download: Segment_2_1.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 2:02am PDT
Sun, 18 July 2010
In this podcast, Monk and I riff about phallic microphones and then read and discuss a letter from a reader pondering how to begin a polyamorous relationship. How do you treat the other significant others?
Direct download: Segment_1.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 11:22pm PDT
Sun, 30 May 2010
Monk and I have been so busy the last month, we have had no time to get down to the studio where we usually record our podcasts. So while it offends Monk's production-quality sensibilities, I persuaded him to record what I will call some "Quick and Dirty" audio files, on a little consumer-grade digital voice recorder I have.
I personally think the sound quality is perfectly fine for what it is, and it means that we can read some of the letters that are stacking up. In this podcast: a kinky college student asks about how to handle kink-negative parents. (About ten minutes.)
Direct download: VN520004.WMA
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 10:07pm PDT
Sun, 30 May 2010
TwistedMonk and I recorded what I am calling a "Quick and Dirty" podcast last week. We didn't have access to our usual sound-studio, so this is lower quality than we prefer, but it's better than nothing, right?
In this edition, we answer a reader's fashion question, and discuss using one's kinky attitude to get the attention of dismissive salespeople. About ten minutes.
Direct download: VN520005.WMA
Category: -- posted at: 8:22pm PDT
Wed, 24 March 2010
Time for another podcast! In this one, Monk reads an original poem – or at least, we hope it is original – sent to him by a reader. And he reads it in the voice of William Shatner, because the William Shatner-voice makes everything better.
Moving on, we read a letter from a kinky person asking basically, how to keep a pleasant sexual tension alive in a long-term relationship. This is a type of question that we get a lot, so we both have plenty to say about it. As a man who's been happily married for over twenty years, Monk waxes particularly eloquent. High point: he compares BDSM to Pokemon. I'm serious.
About fourteen minutes.
Direct download: 04_Track_04.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 3:21am PDT
Wed, 3 March 2010
Another podcast, and another riff from Monk about how I'm playing with my nipple. Even though I'm not.
Then letters: a letter from a listener asking about jealousy and a three-way. Threesomes are fraught with peril, in my opinion. The best threesome experiences I have had were in situations where no one was in a couple. Three single people, in other words. An established couple plus one? That's a very tricky situation. Monk and I step through some of the ways it could happen.
Next, a question from a BDSM person who's wondering about how to answer a friend's question, "Am I cut out to be a slave?"
The last letters asks, "Is it fair for a people in a polyamory group to veto the partners of other partners?" Monk and I both have some opinions about the term "veto" and making rules that create the illusion of control over other people.
About twenty minutes.
Direct download: 03_Track_03.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:54am PDT
Mon, 22 February 2010
A new podcast!
First of all, I was not playing with my nipple while we were recording, all right? Let the record show. The bomb shelter we're doing these things in is freezing cold, so I was actually wearing a leather jacket. A motorcycle-style jacket, so that's two layers of leather over my chest. You could not have found my nipple with a sonogram. That's just Monk being silly.
Our first question is a letter from someone who asks what to do when you're caught in a sexy, kinky situation and you want to do bondage, but you have no rope? Monk and I free associate about improvised bondage equipment. (We did not use the microphone cables for bondage though. The sound guys frown on that.)
Then a BDSM newcomer asks: explain to me why I should get involved with the BDSM community? The short answer is: they'll teach you things you might not otherwise know, and they'll be support for you when things are tough.
Lastly, a sex worker asks a question about emotional relationships with clients. It's a nuanced issue, and it underlines the fact one really cannot generalize about how sex workers feel about what they do. All the experiences are equally valid, but we're different. I get sort of uncharacteristically woo-woo about my feeeeeeeeelings in this one, but the take-away quote is: "If you hate your clients, you'll hate yourself."
Direct download: 02_Track_02.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:52am PDT
Mon, 15 February 2010
A new podcast! Monk and I answer your questions about primary/secondary partners in polyamory – can one person in a relationship in a "primary" and the other person be a "secondary"?
The seconds question is about dealing with unexpected interruptions during a scene.
The last question: how do you introduce yourself to a celebrity (like me, but definitely not limited to me), and general social tips for BDSM culture.
By popular request, we've gone to a slightly longer format for this one, it's about eighteen minutes. Not at all safe for work!
Direct download: 01_Track_01_1.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 2:01am PDT


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Morning Five: 01.31.11 EditionPosted by jstevrtc on January 31st, 2011
Anyone who watched St. John's take down Duke yesterday saw a strange and lethargic facsimile of the Blue Devil squad we've seen previously this year. That's by no means an excuse and isn't meant to take anything from the Johnnies' victory, but before you fall victim to the tendency to put too much stake in one game and start selling your Duke stock, we offer you the calming tone of Mike Miller's take at Beyond the Arc. By the way…whither the Red Storm? There are some bad losses there, but they have wins over Duke, Notre Dame, Georgetown, and at West Virginia. Their pressure-cooker January is over, and now we'll see if that tough stretch of their schedule seasoned them for the second half of their Big East slate. If so, the Tournament awaits as a reward.
Does anyone remember Central Florida? Donnie Jones' in-conference move from Marshall to UCF in the off-season (along with his reputation as a good up-and-coming coach) already had people aware of the Golden Knights, and then everybody got wise when they beat Florida and Miami (FL) on the way to winning their first 14 games this year. Since that start, UCF has dropped six straight and find themselves last in Conference USA. The Knights have eleven players who play at least 12 minutes a game, and Jones feels that one of the keys to UCF getting its mojo back is to shorten the rotation to seven or eight players for the last nine games. Unfortunately, that won't be difficult, now that junior guard A.J. Rompza is out indefinitely with a stress fracture in his foot.
Having trouble finding a good comparison for The Jimmer with which to enlighten your unhip friends? Bob Ryan contemplates the methodology and validity of comparing one player to a former player and, in doing so, offers an outstanding parallel to Fredette that we haven't seen mentioned anywhere, even considering the unhealthy amounts of time we spend on Twitter and reading the works of our favorite columnists. The article also further justifies why you should be reading Bob Ryan on a regular basis.
After the thrills that Butler provided all of us last season (and remembering how nice the people there were to us on our visit there last April), it's been tough to watch last year's finalist come back to earth as much as they have this year so far. Even with the early departure of Gordon Hayward, every Bulldog coach and player is aware of the difference between last season and this one: their effort on defense. In the article, Brad Stevens mentions how he's ready to give walk-ons more minutes if it means better team defense, and Shelvin Mack includes himself in his own assessment, noting, "We gave up 60 points in one half [to Valparaiso on Saturday]. Last year we gave up sixty points in a game."
Even without rooting interest, the best part of this weekend of basketball was the hint of a smile we saw on the face of Kansas' Thomas Robinson on a couple of occasions during the Jayhawks' game against Kansas State. As much as fate has asked he and his little sister Jayla to grow up in the last month, it's good to see that Robinson even still has the capacity to smile. It would be understandable if he had lost it for a while. One fellow who can relate to what Robinson is going through and recall that kind of loneliness is former Clemson defensive back Ray Ray McElrathbey, whose ordeal from five years ago bears some similarities to Robinson's. A must-read from the Kansas City Star's Sam Mellinger.


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Wednesday, November 25, 2009
It's mushroom season; we're in the thick of it, and beneath, say, a squab en crapaudine or a ballotine of wild duck will be a little heap of black chanterelles or mousserons or cèpes. A few days ago, I was wandering around with a camera and snapped these boletes raw. It was only later, looking back at the girolles and chanterelles and pieds bleus and sheep's foot mushrooms I had also taken in the "seasonal market" series that my eye was caught on the price. Well, 50€ a kilo! That's 75 of your American dollars, at this juncture. Sure, split it by 2.2 to get the equivalent in pounds, but in truth, that's not the price of leeks.
I stumbled upon an article in the Times (London) about organized crime visiting the forests of southern France. And whatever the validity behind the alarm (I have heard expert talk that the fear is slightly overblown and the situation a bit different than described) the truth remains that King Cèpe can only be had for a ransom.
So, in the spirit of populism, I will not write such siren song phrases as, "The murmur of voices filled the restaurant, and the cepes glistened in the dim light."
No, instead, I'll suggest a cheap quaffer that'd go well with that kind of thing. The bounty of good, unpretentious fermented grapes can be all of ours.
2007 Clape "Le Vin des Amis" - a little wine from a great Cornas producer; a little bit like a Cornas, with good tannins and a rustic back-end. There is fruit, there is bark. There is a certain spiciness, that of black pepper ground. It is a happy thing, and a friend of the forest. I had this recently, and I look forward to having it again.
Now for the cliffhanger: soon I will write about the best Champagne I have had in well over a year. A year, note ye, filled with... Champagne.
2 comments:
- Topher·Tino said...
Oh wow, your description of the wine left a gargantuan desire for a glass or it alongside some fantastic, earthy, mushroom-accented dish. Maybe I'll create something of pasta and mushrooms in a cream sauce, but that sounds too...vanilla. Perhaps I'll make use of them with roasted meat and some fumée de sel , that sounds a little more exciting!
I really must see if I can find it in the states! Wish me luck.
- November 29, 2009 at 10:19 PM
- Anthony said...
Just that picture made me agree with Topher-Tino, I am craving some hearty and earthy mushrooms and a nice bottle of Friendship School White wine.
Keep up the good work!
- December 11, 2009 at 9:19 PM
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U.S. Grapples With Rift Among Mideast Allies
Split Over Political Islam Divides Muslim Partners Into Feuding Camps, Complicating Washington's Efforts in Syria, Egypt
WASHINGTON—Divisions among the U.S.'s closest Arab and Muslim allies are imperiling the Obama administration's efforts to forge unified responses to crises in the Middle East, including Syria's civil war and Egypt's economic turmoil.
Administration officials have intensified efforts to bridge the differences as it gropes for answers on hot spots and tries to muster support for renewed Arab-Israeli peace talks. As part of that effort, Secretary of State John Kerry met with leaders of the Arab League on Monday, a week after...


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SC Gov. Nikki Haley involved in Greensboro wreck in June
No injuries in crash near resort
SC Gov. Nikki Haley involved in Greensboro wreck in June
No injuries in crash near resort
State agents say South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley was a passenger in an SUV that crashed into a concrete pole during a fundraiser in North Carolina two months ago.
State Law Enforcement Division Chief Mark Keel said Haley, the SLED agent driving her and two passengers weren't injured in the June 27 wreck.
A North Carolina Highway Patrol report on the crash said the SLED agent didn't see a pole in the roadway at a resort in Greensboro. N.C. The agent was not charged, but the report blamed his inattention for the wreck.
Keel said Tuesday that SLED didn't think about telling the media about the wreck because it involved only the governor's vehicle and no one was hurt.
Keel says the wreck did $4,300 damage to the state-owned SUV.


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How I became a morning person (and why I decided to make the change)
It's early and dark. The alarm sounds, and you reach over to switch it off. After a short pause, you sit up. You swing your legs off the bed, touch the floor with your feet, and reach for your phone. You sit quietly while your phone's screen illuminates the dark bedroom.


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There is no true reason for celebration when 14 out of every 100 employable adults are unemployed. The numbers just don't add up.
There is no true reason for celebration when 14 out of every 100 employable adults are unemployed. The numbers just don't add up.
But with the way the local economy has been the past few years, you look for - and take - progress where you can get it.
Statistics released by the state Employment Development Department showed that unemployment in San Joaquin County for November was 14.1 percent.
The bad news: that's a tick up from the 13.6 percent rate in October, likely caused by the seasonal end to many farm jobs.
The good news: It's much stronger than a year ago, when county unemployment was 15.8 percent.
California as a whole dipped below 10 percent for the first time since January 2009. The state's rate was 9.7 percent.
Nationally, unemployment was at 7.7 percent, so that shows how much San Joaquin County has to make up.
"It's going to be hard to get (San Joaquin's number) back to single digits," said Jeff Michael, director of University of the Pacific's Business Forecasting Center.
Despite the 1.7 improvement over November 2011, Michael sees some troubling trends, noting that the labor force has not grown with the rest of the population.
There is work to be done in 2013.


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STOCKTON – The gunfire that claimed the life of a 21-year-old man on March 10 can be heard in the background of a cellphone video released by police on Thursday.
STOCKTON – The gunfire that claimed the life of a 21-year-old man on March 10 can be heard in the background of a cellphone video released by police on Thursday.
Officers responding to the scene around the intersection of East Eighth and Scribner streets around 7:30 p.m. that evening found 21-year-old Francisco Martinez suffering from a gunshot wound. He died later in a local hospital, according to the Stockton Police Department.
Investigators believe Martinez was not the intended target and was hit by a stray bullet and are asking for help from the public.
The video shows people in the distance at dusk, with the camera panning back and forth between some people on a sidewalk and others crossing a street when the gunfire begins.
The camera begins to shake as the first of eight or more steady "pops" can be heard in the background. Then the scene fades in the distance, as if the person shooting the video was in a car that was driving away.
Right before the shooting begins, a voice can be heard saying something that sounds like: "(Garbled) why are you running in the house?"
Investigators are asking for witnesses to come forward and are asking people with information to call the department at (209) 937-8377, the Investigations Unit at (209) 937-8323, or Crime Stoppers at (209) 946-0600. Callers can remain anonymous.
Tips can also be submitted through the Stockton Police's Facebook page or be texted to CRIMES (274637) by typing the keyword: "TIPSPD," and then the tip.
Crime Stoppers pays cash rewards up to $10,000 for information that leads to an arrest.


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Thank goodness for running injuries. Seriously, had I not been hobbled by tearing something in my calf late last summer, I wouldn't have, out of desperation, bought and fallen in love with a fat bike. And if not for a tender Achilles tendon this past July, I wouldn't have taken that fat bike with me to Marquette, Michigan.
It was there I got an impromptu and personal tour of some of the most impressive singletrack in the upper Midwest connected by many miles of family friendly paved paths, all built on city property.
Marquette earned a bronze-level "bike friendly community" designation from the League of American Bicyclists in 2010. But with more than a third of its 40 miles of singletrack built since then, the city deserves to be upgraded to gold or platinum status.
I probably wouldn't have that opinion had I only done in Marquette what I intended to do there on August 17, which was run the Marquette Trail 50K. But being unable to run forced me to shift gears – or, literally, add gears.
The Achilles issue cropped up less than two weeks before the trail race. Unable to run three miles let alone nearly 33 miles without great discomfort, I nevertheless drove to the U.P. on race weekend to at least check out the event and its environs.
With my parents agreeing to tag along and attend to the camping details, our two tents were staked in Marquette's Tourist Park, a popular campground among the RV set. The park includes 110 campsites and too few trees to muffle the revelry from neighbors' campfires, but as a location from which to explore Marquette by foot and by bike, Tourist Park is ideal.
Oddly, we seemed to be the only campers that weekend striking out on the adjacent Noquemanon Trail on the opposite side of the Tourist Park Reservoir. I previously knew the trail only as a participant in the ski marathon by the same name from Ishpeming to the Superior Dome in Marquette. The Noquemanon Trail, which doubles for a stretch as the North Country National Scenic Trail, is the gateway to an ever-expanding network of mountain bike singletrack.
As of late August, that network now includes singletrack that follows the edge of the reservoir practically to the doorstep of the campground.
North Trails
It was while exploring the Marquette North Trails that I had a most fortuitous encounter. I had stopped near the start of the Dead River Trail to take the obligatory photo of my Surly Pugsley leaning against a tree with the burbling stream in the background. It was then I heard a distinct "ding ding" warning me of an approaching cyclist with a bell.
A moment later, a white bearded man with wildflowers tucked whimsically into the front of his bike helmet stopped to admire my fat bike and ask how I like riding it on the trails. Turns out this was Pete Zenti, the chief trail builder for the Noquemanon Trail Network's North Trails. When I identified myself as the editor of Silent Sports, he smiled and noted, not for the last time, that our chance meeting was "meant to be."
Zenti, 67, then proceeded to take me on a 90-minute guided tour of his pride and joy – the trails, most of which were built within the last two years.
For example, the Collinsville Cut takes riders in short succession under a bridge, through a rock garden, swooping around berms and switchbacks to the top of the Forestville Dam. To get to the north side of the dam, we turned back and took the Blue Heron Trail up out of the valley, across a powerline corridor and to the bottom and then top of the dam where a release pipe creates an voluminous artificial waterfall.
These trails were cut, Zenti explained, through rocky and heavily wooded terrain with considerable reliance on mechanized excavators, tracked wheelbarrows and a dedicated mix of paid and volunteer trail builders.
Zenti said his operation is outfitted with the same equipment used to build the reknown mountain bike trails in Copper Harbor, Michigan. And he applies the same techniques he learned first-hand from working with Copper Harbor's Aaron Rodgers – who is about half Zenti's age but a trail-building "Einstien" and "genius" in Zenti's estimation – as well as members of the International Mountain Bicycling Association's roving trail care crews.
While Copper Harbor has become a distant destination for serious mountain biking, Zenti said, "Marquette is a destination for biking, sailing, fishing, cross-country and downhill skiing; More recreational options."
Marquette's population of 21,000 (compared to Copper Harbor's 100-some year-round residents) has different uses for the same trails.
"It's really fun to see all the elderly folks, kids, dog walkers, trail runners and mountain bikers out here," Zenti said. "The smiles on their faces and the thumbs up they give you – that's my paycheck."
He said snow biking – winter riding of fat bikes like mine – was catching on and welcome on all of Marquette's singletrack. South Trails are even groomed with a snowmobile specifically to enhance the snow biking experience. Zenti said "snowshoers are our friends" and encouraged to tamp down the trails for bikers to follow.
"Snow biking is my number one passion," said Zenti, a veteran of 20 American Birkebeiners. He said he and scores of other Marquette-area fat bike riders loves to ride on the snow covered beaches and out onto shelf ice that forms hundreds of yards out into Lake Superior.
For helping bring about top-notch North Trails open year round, Zenti credited the ingenuity of his crew, the cooperation of city officials and the generosity of the Board of Light and Power.
South Trails
The South Trails can be reached from Tourist Park by following the paved City Multi Use Path. On our last morning in town, I took the path and within 5.5 miles was in the heart of 30 more miles of sweet singletrack.
I first attempted the 4.2-mile Mount Marquette Loop, riding it unintentionally in the wrong direction, and had to dismount and push my heavy bike through the rockier sections. I then did the 5-mile Carp River Loop, with its many boardwalk stream crossings, and climbed out on the Gorge-ous trail balanced on the edge of a steepening ravine. I recovered on the brilliant one-mile Grom Loop designed for kids and newcomers to singletrack.
I then took Porky Pine Pass on the green loop, turned north to the Pioneer Overlook and on along the East Graywalls Trail with its impressive bridges and other built structures. I eventually made my way back to the campground via the paved path, feeling spent after this 18-mile ride.
Other less strenuous biking options from the campground include following city streets a mile to the 48-mile Iron Ore Heritage Trail along the shore of Lake Superior. On can also just cross County Road 550 to the BMX track and, while there, play 18 holes of disc golf.
Marquette Trail 50
On the morning of the trail race, however, my parents and I did none of the above. Instead the three of us drove a few miles northwest of town, parked at the trailhead then climbed an endless series of staircases to the peak of Sugarloaf Mountain. We got to the top in time to greet the leaders of the 50K and 50-mile races as they crossed the stunning rock outcropping, complete with a Boy Scout-built cairn, overlooking the vast vista of Lake Superior.
Fifteen miles in, this was the first of three substantial peaks on the course. And to get there the runners had to scale the same stairs we did.
The results hinted at just how tough the fifth annual Marquette Trail 50 proved to be. Fifty-three runners started the 50-mile option but only 16 reached the finish line. As temperatures reached into the 80s, it's not surprising that as many as 21 runners opted to end their 50-mile journey at the 50K mark. The 50K saw 84 individual finishers and a dozen relay teams compete.
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse runner Jake Hegge, 21, dominated the 50-mile race, winning it in just under 8 hours 43 minutes – an hour and 16 minutes ahead of second-place finisher Illinoisian Mike Dietz, 39, and more than two hours in front of Paul Hagan, 30, in third. The only woman to finish the race, Janine Mason, 34, of Wisconsin, finished 16th in 12:54:11.
The 50K was won by Matias Saari, 42, of Alaska, in 4:01:30, followed 45 minutes later by 28-year-old Minnesotan Jim Parejko. Coming in third was Californian Matthew Kiwell in 5:11:04. At the finish line, Saari, standing out shirtless and with a cleanly shaven head, eagerly accepted a race volunteer's congratulation as it came with a cold can of Labatt Blue.
The top women in the 50K race were Bridget Derocher, 7th overall in 5:59:40, Amanda Jurinen, 11th in 6:14:51 and Linda Walsh, 14th in 6:30:15.
My achy ankle lessened my disappointment in not being among the racers that day. But like any self respecting, i.e. crazy, ultrarunner, one glimpse at the rocks, roots and aforementioned stairs perversely convinced me to return for the event next August 16.
Lakeshore biking
From the race start/finish area at the trailhead for the Forestville cluster of the Noquemanon Trail Network, my father and I pedaled our mountain bikes on the roads back to town. The Superior Dome guided us to the lakeshore and the parallel Iron Ore Heritage Trail. We took this beautiful route south at a leisurely pace and meeting many runners and families on foot and bike along the way. The path weaves past the looming ore docks, bike and paddlesports shops, beaches and new redeveloped condominiums.
About 10 miles in we stopped and sat on a trailside bench facing the water and ate our granola bars. On the return trip, we stopped at Lakeshore Bike and bought the trail maps that facilitated our activities for the rest of the weekend.
In ways the singletrack trails tucked in the woods cannot do, the lakeshore path showcases an attractive city with a rich past in industrial shipping but also a commitment to building a present and future around recreation and tourism. You can do it all in Marquette, and that includes having so much fun you forget about the injuries that plagued you elsewhere.
Joel Patenaude is the editor of Silent Sports.
Munising plans for 50+ miles of singletrack
Fifty miles east of Marquette lies the small city of Munising, population 2,339, best known for its proximity to the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and Grand Island. There the Munising Bay Trail Network (MBTN) is also focused on building singletrack. To date group of volunteers, equipped with hand tools, have built approximately 2.5 miles of trail behind the Hillside Party Store.
MBTN is in the process of becoming a 501c3 organization so it can raise enough money to purchase a mini excavator. This will enable the group to build trail at a much faster pace. (As Pete Zenti said, "One excavator does the work of 40 people.") MBTN is well on its way having already hosted several fundraisers.
Future plans include building singletrack at the Valley Spur ski area southwest of town and linking it to Munising Bay Trail System. The trail would then be extended to Tourist Park on Lake Superior and on to Christmas, Michigan. The combined mileage of the proposed trail system is more than 50 miles.
For more information, visit MBTN at facebook.com/MunisingBayMountainBikeTrailNetwork.


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3 Laps in Short track or 2 Laps in Long track 239 €
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Hit the gas down and enjoy driving a Ferrari 458 Italia with 578 HP with a motor V8 of 4497 cm3.
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Although I love being in the kitchen the whole year round, kicking off holiday baking season with Halloween treats makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I love holiday baking recipes! This year was especially fun because Kraft Foods sent me a huge box of Halloween goodies to inspire me (as if the Kraft Recipes site wasn't enough…)!
I happily dove into the box and made a delightful treat for all ages: Pumpkin Crispies.
Pumpkin Crispies
Prep Time: 15 minutes • Cook Time: 0 minutes • Serves: 12-15
2 Tbsp butter
1 box (3 oz.) JELL-O Orange Flavor Gelatin
5 cups crispy rice cereal
MELT butter over low heat on stovetop. Add marshmallows and stir frequently until melted and smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in JELL-O powder; mix well. Add crispy rice cereal and mix until ingredients are evenly dispersed.
WITH buttered hands, take small amounts of the cereal mix and form into balls. Place on waxed paper to cool.
TO turn pumpkin treats into Jack-O-Lanterns, use little candy pieces or decorating gel, melted chocolate, licorice strings, gumdrops, etc.
Visit KraftRecipes.com where you'll find lots of fun Halloween-inspired recipes!
For more recipes and ideas, visit my blog at www.anutinanutshell.com.
Crispy treats like to dress up for Halloween, too! Here they are in their pumpkin costume—complete with little green stems.
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Policy on Sponsored Projects Reports
The following policy was approved by the Chancellor and Vice Chancellors on January 6, 2004:
All grant related reports that will be sent to the sponsor must be reviewed by the appropriate Division Chair, Dean/VC and/or the Chancellor before they leave campus.
For reports (and/or actual requests) that are required for receiving continuing funding, the principal investigator must work with the pre-award grants coordinator to prepare and route the work plan, budget and Proposal Routing Form for signatures as appropriate.
Reports containing financial information must also be reviewed by the Grants Office (and potentially Sponsored Projects Administration, Twin Cities) prior to the Dean/VC/Chancellor review.
It is the responsibility of the Project Director/Principal Investigator to make arrangements with the grants office and reviewer(s) at least one month prior to the agency report due date to assure adequate time will be available for the review. [The minimum internal due date will be one working week per reviewing office prior to the agency due date unless other arrangements are made.]
The PI/Project Director will immediately notify the Grants Office of any requests for information or requests for reports received from the sponsor.
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by MedPB | Sep 14, 2017
Do you want more patients?
We're determined to make a medical practice grow. The only question is, will it be yours?
Making a Difference We help medical practices prosper, thrive and improve lives.
Having Fun We create inspiration, camaraderie, fun and fulfilling work for our team.
Curiosity Curiosity about new ideas is built into our work week so we can continue to improve everything we do.
Collaboration Our success is built on teamwork and collaboration within MedPB, with our clients and our partners.
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What you've always wanted - a gay boyfriend that fits in your pocket.
The perfect iPhone app if you're gay, straight, bi or just mini-curious.
Choose your man from 18 mini gays and start flirting your way into his heart. Make sure to keep your winks cheeky, your hugs hot and your kisses well timed!
Start dating and you can take your mini gay for coffee, to the cinema or out for dinner. But be careful not to spill the milk or drop the popcorn - he won't like it if you can't handle a hotdog.
And if you think romance is dead, you haven't tried breakfast in bed. Or keep it burning with well packed picnics and candlelit bubble baths.
You can even make the ultimate commitment and buy a pet. But don't forget to feed it – nothing says it's over more than a dead pug.
Your mini gay boyfriend will make you wonder why you ever bothered with real life relationships. And don't worry, he won't mind if you have a real life partner. We just can't promise the reverse will be true. Happy romancing x x x


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NEW YORK (AP) — Payments processor MasterCard Inc. says its profit and revenue rose in the first quarter as its customers spent more. Profit beat the forecasts of Wall Street analysts, though revenue missed slightly and the company's stock fell in pre-market trading.
MasterCard earned $766 million in the first three months of the year, up 12 percent from the same period a year ago, the company reported Wednesday. That worked out to $6.23 per share, beating the $6.18 per share expected by analysts polled by FactSet.
Revenue rose 8 percent to $1.9 billion, slightly less than the $1.93 billion forecast by financial analysts who follow the company.
CEO Ajay Banga said he was pleased that results met the company's expectations, "despite the mixed global economic environment."
The Purchase, N.Y., company does business all over the world, and its results are a window into how people are spending — and how they're feeling about the economy — on all different income levels.
MasterCard's results were helped by an increase in cross-border volumes, which measures how much customers spend in countries other than the one they live in. That can be a gauge for how affluent customers are faring. Those transactions also benefit the company, because it is able to charge more in fees for currency conversion and related services.
MasterCard is trying to elbow rival Visa out of the way for market share in the debit card business. Spending on MasterCard-branded debit cards rose more than spending on credit and charge cards.
MasterCard reported stronger growth outside the U.S. than at home. Purchases in Asia, the Middle East and Africa grew 20 percent over the year measured in U.S. dollars, 13 percent in Europe and almost 11 percent in Latin America. In the U.S., growth was just 4 percent.
MasterCard is focusing on developing countries, where most transactions are still done in cash. The company has been expanding in the region that includes Asia, the Middle East and Africa, and signed an agreement to "explore opportunities" in China. It's also spending on new technology to encourage customers to pay for purchases via phone.
In pre-market trading, MasterCard's stock fell $11.05 to $541.88, a decline of 2 percent.


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Kendall-Whittier Library will be closed Sep. 24 - Oct. 7 for library improvements
The purpose of the African-American Resource Center is to collect, preserve and provide access to resources honoring and documenting the experiences of people of African descent.
The Center is devoted to providing the community with current and comprehensive resource materials and professional reference materials on the culture and history of African-Americans.
View the African-American Resource Center Subject Guide
As the only center of its kind in Oklahoma, our services have attracted visitors throughout the nation. Individual and group tours of the center's collection and special features are available by appointment. To arrange a tour, call the coordinator at 918.549.7645.
Reference Materials
Listening Station
An homage to the musical artistry of African-Americans
Viewing Stations
Videotapes of oral histories of North Tulsans and on African-American intellectuals, history and black thought
Displays are used to promote and interpret the collection and are made possible by local citizens. Past exhibits include:
Materials for Teachers and Community Organizations
Electronic Databases
Adult and Children's Programs


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Morning Briefing: CEZ Nuclear Generation, Czech Budget Draft Vote in Focus
- Local/GMT
- 1000/0900 Czech CEZ on nuclear power generation
- 1130/1030 Hungary 3-month T-bill auction
- 1400/1300 Czech parliament December session, 2013 budget draft on agenda
Czech nuclear energy and the final reading of the Czech government's 2013 budget draft will take center stage Tuesday.
CEZ AS, a Czech electricity company 70% owned by the government, will unveil record output data at its two Czech-based nuclear power generators in 2012.
The event may also provide some update on the ongoing tender for a roughly $10 billion project to expand CEZ's youngest nuclear power plant in the southern Czech town of Temelin. The plant currently operates two nuclear reactors and the company wants to add two more in the 2020s.
Westinghouse Electric Co., the U.S.-based unit of Japan's Toshiba, and Russia's state-owned Rosatom are currently bidding for the project.
The Czech right-of-center government, which has been forced to rely on independent lawmakers after a series of defections in the 200-seat lower house of parliament, will face another test of its support in the legislature during the final reading of its 2013 budget draft.
The budget plan calls for further spending cuts to lower the deficit to 2.9% of gross domestic product from 5% on the one-off accounting effect of a recently approved church property restitution law.
The law stipulates direct restitution and cash compensations for assets stolen by the former Czech communist regime between 1948 and 1989 from local religious organization, including the Catholic church, several Protestant denominations and Jewish religious groups.
The church compensation law will increase the headline budget deficit figure by 1.5 percentage points in 2012, the Czech Finance Ministry said, adding that it has no impact on the government overall debt figure, which is about 40% of GDP.
Write to Leos Rousek at firstname.lastname@example.com


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|Main > Movies > Hernando DeSoto In America Movie > DeSoto Crosses the Appalachians
|Site Map
This segment details DeSoto's march through the Southeast, and his encounters with the Cofachiqui and chief Toscalusa.
Movie credit: Segment from the movie "Hernando DeSoto in America." Original video provided courtesy of the DeSoto National Memorial.
|Main > Movies > De Soto in America > DeSoto Crosses the Appalachians
|Site Map
Florida: A Social Studies Resource for Students and Teachers
Produced by the Florida Center for Instructional Technology,
College of Education, University of South Florida © 2004.


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Angel-A (UK - BD RB)
Reviewer Marcu-S takes a looks at Luc Besson's film Angel-A on Blu-ray Disc...
Andre (Jamel Debbouze) is in a bit of trouble. He owes everyone money that he can't possibly pay back and his now life is being threatened. With the pressures of his life getting on top of him, Andre makes the snap decision that the only way out of all this is to jump into the river. Climbing out on the ledge and looking down at the Parisian water Andre says his goodbyes and questions why God has never helped him with his troubles.
As Andre is about to make his leap, he notices a woman further down the ledge seemingly in the same turmoil as him. The six foot blonde makes the leap and Andre jumps in to rescue her from drowning. After the save, the mysterious woman introduces herself as Angela (Jamel Debbouze) and pledges her life to Andre. Andre reluctantly accepts and so begins the journey of sorting out Andre's problems and indeed his life.
Angel-A is a movie that delves into a story that's been told a million times before one way or another. The 'guardian angel sent to help you out' set up that offers the main character the means to turn their failing life around and make good and Angel-A, remaining true to form has its very own guardian angel who's a bit quirky. Angela is basically a six foot blonde model, with a tiny dress, long legs, smoking like a chimney and loaded with the 'fuck it' attitude. She shows Andre the confidence he too can have and gives him insight into how he should be more truthful. It's all pretty generic stuff that comes with this sort of storytelling, but I can't say that I didn't enjoy it as it unravelled.
Told in black and white and with some beautiful shots of Paris, Luc Besson leads his characters around nightclubs and Paris streets with quite a carefree style. His two main characters butt heads on their outlooks and together go about haphazardly sorting out many of Andre's problems. Just as I was getting little tired of this age old set up, I was hit with some great examples of why these stories have worked so well for so long. For starters when Angela reveals her true origins (which wasn't too hard to guess anyway) the story suddenly gains more weight and when she begins to make Andre feel better about himself—in a simple yet very effective scene where she asks him simply to say that he loves himself while staring at his reflection in a mirror—I suddenly realized that I was invested in this character and that I really do have an affection for these sorts of things.
Anyway, coming to its big finale, Angel-A steps out of being a very nice black and white artsy affair and throws in some special effects all of which look great and add a climatic feel to the closing of events. I won't spoil it, but Luc Besson really shows off his flair for nifty visuals.
Despite looking pretty with its black and white stylings, I have to say that Angel-A wasn't all that impressive to look at from a high definition perspective. Yes, the black levels are strong and it has a glow to it that only HD can provide, but looking closer there just wasn't enough going on in the detail department to say that this was a striking transfer.
Skin textures are hinted at, but in scenes where we're growing ever more used to the tiny details being shown off things seemed a bit underwhelming. Beads of water tricking down Angela's neck after she's pulled out of the river are there, but hardly visible, and the bristles of Andres beard never really captured the HD possibilities and generally nothing really screamed HD to me. All that said, the transfer is a pleasant one to look at and is almost totally devoid of grain, giving a clean look to everything but compared to a handful of other black and white HD movies I've seen, Angel-A felt a little lacking.
With the fast paced French dialogue living in the front speakers, the rears are left solely for the odd subtle atmospheric, though there is a wonderfully well represented thunder clap about two thirds of the way through the movie.
The soundtrack is quite effective and fills the 5.1 systems nicely but overall this is a fairly laid back affair that does its job and not much beyond it.
The making of (26:50 SD) is a kinetic enjoyable look at the stars and the project itself without going into too much detail. This sits snugly with 'The Making of the Music' (13:53 SD), which takes a brief look at Anja Garbarek's fine work on the enjoyable soundtrack to the movie.
Lastly we get a music video from Garbarek (03:28 SD) and the Theatrical Trailer (01:47 SD), so all in all not too much in the way of features.
Angel-A does a thoroughly good job at being quite typical. The characters are okay but not really that exceptional, the story has been told many times before and even the slight twist in the tale doesn't feel that fresh. However, I still found it be entertaining enough and enjoyed many of its fair share of quirks.
* Note: The above images are taken from the Blu-ray release and resized for the page.
Review by Marcus Doidge
Suitable only for persons of 15 years and over
Disc Details
Release Date: 14th September 2009
Discs: 1
Disc Type: Blu-ray Disc
RCE: No
Video: 1080p
Aspect: 2.35:1
Anamorphic: No
Colour: No
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 French, LPCM 2.0 Stereo French
Subtitles: English
Extras: Making of Featurette, Making of the Music, Music Video, Theatrical Trailer
Easter Egg: No
Feature Details
Director: Luc Besson
Cast: Jamel Debbouze, Rie Rasmussen
Genre: Drama, Fantasy and Romance
Length: 90 minutes
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Next Play
SETTING: An ice cream shop.
(Girl is standing at an ice cream counter. Mr. Ice is standing behind the counter.)
Girl:Hmmmm... what do I want... there's SO much to choose from.
Mr. Ice:Over 50 flavors!
Girl:Wow! I don't know how I'll ever pick! What do you have?
Mr. Ice:Strawberry, Chocolate, Mint Chocolate Chip...
Girl:(Girl puts hand on her hip.)
Wait! Don't tell me all the boring regular flavors! I want to hear the cool ones!
Mr. Ice:Sure, no problem! We have Pistachio, Marshmallow Mash, Moose...
Mr. Ice:(Looking confused.)
Girl:I was wondering...do you have samples?
Mr. Ice:Nooooo.
Girl:Not just the teensiest, eensiest taste?
Mr. Ice:Sorry.
Girl:Well, go on.
Mr. Ice:We have orange sherbet, lemon sherbet, raspberry...
Mr. Ice:What?!
Girl:Don't list the sherbets... I don't like those.
Mr. Ice:O.K. We have Tin Roof Sundae, Caramel Fudge Butter Cream Twist, Bavarian Whip, Chocolate Crunch...
Girl:Hold it!
Mr. Ice:What now?!
Girl:Does the Chocolate Crunch have nuts in it? Because if it has nuts in it, I don't want it. I don't like nuts, so don't list any of the ones with nuts in them, okey dokey?
Mr. Ice:(Looking annoyed.)
Okey dokey, we have Lemon Munch, Watermelon Blast...
Girl:Hold on...
Mr. Ice:(Rolls his eyes.)
What NOW?
Girl:(With a thoughtful frown.)
I'm not in a fruity mood, so leave out all the ones with fruit in them ok?
Mr. Ice:(Losing patience.)
Fine, we have Bubble Gum, Monster Mash, Rocky Road, Hog Heaven, Chocolate Peanut Marshmallow Swirl...
Mr. Ice:(Sounding very agitated.)
What is it!?!
Girl:Well I was just wondering if you could tell me what all the flavors tasted like.
Mr. Ice:I don't KNOW!
Girl:(In disbelief.)
You work here and you don't know?
Mr. Ice:Hey over 50 flavors takes a while to eat!
Girl:(Still doubtful.)
I guess so. So what else do you have?
Mr. Ice:That's it.
Girl:That was NOT over 50 flavors.
Mr. Ice:If you leave out all the sherbets, the ones that are ordinary and have nuts or fruit it is.
Girl:As usual, I'll just go with my favorite.
Mr. Ice:Which is?
Girl:Vanilla, of course!
(Mr. Ice looks at the audience in disbelief. He falls over backward with an utterance of extreme disbelief.)
Girl:(Looks over the counter and then back at the audience.)
I wonder what his problem is?
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Mike Tyson's Wife, Lakiha, Gives Birth To A Baby Boy! They Named Him Morocco!
Mike Tyson is a father again! Will Morocco follow in daddy's footsteps and get into the boxing ring when he grows up?
What a great way to start off the new year! Mike Tyson, 4, and his wife Lakiha Spicer Tyson, 33, are celebrating the arrival of their brand new baby. The couple welcomed a son they named Morocco Elijah Tyson yesterday (Jan. 25) in Henderson, Nev.!
Doutzen Kroes gives birth to a baby boy!
Their little guy weighed 8 lbs. and 13 oz. and measured 19 inches long, Mike's rep tell People magazine. He's got a long way to go before he can be the heavyweight champion.
Mike and Lakiha married in June, 2009, just two weeks after the boxer's 4-year-old daughter, Exodus, tragically passed away in a treadmill accident.
Emily Procter is a first-time mom to baby girl, Pippa!
This is the second child the couple has together. They also have a daughter named Milan and Mike has three other kids — Mikey, 20, Miguel, 8, and D'Amato, 20 — from previous relationships.
We can't wait to catch a glimpse of the newest Tyson!
Lindsey DiMattina
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Share your thoughts about this exhibition. Have you ever experienced a life-saving situation? Who is your hero? How do you feel about images of disaster and rescue? About Homer's work?
i liked this exhibit!
Posted from the Gallery
wyatt - 9.23.2012 - 12:51 PM
I deeply enjoyed this exhibition. As an active sailing merchant mariner, it is wonderful to see a collection of work that illustrates a rich maritime history that has mostly faded from from the memory of those alive today.
Posted from the Gallery
Andrew - 9.22.2012 - 4:42 PM
I liked the paintings with the doggies saving the girls life! :-)
Posted from the Gallery
Hana - 9.22.2012 - 3:53 PM
I enjoyed all the prints from Harper's Weekly, especially Homer's depiction of fashion and leisure!
Posted from the Gallery
Megan - 9.22.2012 - 1:16 PM
Sad, poignant depictions of man's struggle: all's not well in Homer's view of the struggle for life.
Posted from the Gallery
tom largey - 9.22.2012 - 1:05 PM
The exhibit is stunning! Backdrop wall colors enhance the paintings and draw out colors perfectly. The frame on the Thomas Hovenden is extraordinary and could have used a note on the wall card to draw attention to it as it appears to be the only frame with nautical theme. WONDERFUL!
Posted from the Gallery
Marget - 9.21.2012 - 4:33 PM
Transported on this clear sunny day into a storm tossed sea. Very impressive and glad I came.
Posted from the Gallery
Debbie - 9.21.2012 - 1:26 PM
Thank you for creating an informative exhibition. I was particularly interested in seeing in the conservation photographs how Homer changed his mind and altered the composition.
Posted from the Gallery
Joan - 9.21.2012 - 12:56 PM


text:
Angelo Lynn's invective of Oct. 24 ("Middlebury's Tea Party? Rarely has this town seen an issue hijacked by a small minority") ignores a number of important facts:
1. Not everyone who signed the conflict-of-interest complaint opposes the town hall/gym land swap deal. They are concerned about the legitimacy of the process.
2. Not all of the most vocal critics of the project signed the complaint.


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Inflatable Theater
4.3 miles from Palos Heights, IL
Everything you need for massive projection at home! Includes screen, blower, 800-watt line array sound system, (6) 50lb sandbags, 550 paracord, 3200 lumen projector w/ table, blu ray dvd player, (2) 100ft extensions, (2) 25ft extensions, (2) power strips, 50ft HDMI cord, and full setup and take down
High Stakes Casino Rental
18 miles from Palos Heights, IL
We are a casino rental company that specializes in bringing high quality Las Vegas style tables and casino dealers to a location of your choice. Whether your looking just for a fun night with prizes, friends or family, corporate event, charity or fundraiser, we can help you out. In other words, w
Royal Table Settings
20 miles from Palos Heights, IL
Royal Table Settings provides vintage china rentals making your shower, rehearsal dinner, wedding, dessert table, anniversary, birthday party, corporate celebration or any special occasion one to remember. Our unique collection has been curated from high quality dinnerware, crystal and silverware fr
AAA DIAL A DJ Chicagoland PHOTO BOOTHS & expert Karaoke Service
24 miles from Palos Heights, IL
NEW fit-anywhere picture-taking PHOTO TOWER accommodates 9 guests (see YELP reviews for AAA DIAL A DJ) Chicagoland (within 100 miles) DJ's, big screen Karaoke - Red carpet, red velvet rope, polished chrome stanchions & a helpful Attendant who can magically… * turn smiles into laughter * turn laugh
Elegant Chair Covers & Linens
3.8 miles from Palos Heights, IL
Serving Chicagoland area and Suburbs. High Quality in Chair Covers & Linens, Wide variety of colors, and textures, and patterns. Elegant Chair Covers are important items of furnishing indispensable for social and corporate events such as Weddings, Communions, Christenings, Anniversarys, Bridal and B
4.4 miles from Palos Heights, IL
Personalized bean bags for your rehearsal and wedding day. Our bags have been tossed across the USA since 2008. We offer 8 resin or 10 corn filled bags for only $40.00. That includes your personal design on the bags. You can have 1 picture or up to 10 different pictures. If 2 sided it is $10. more.
Awesome Stork Rental & Face Painting, Balloons
5.4 miles from Palos Heights, IL
Stork Rental baby announcement Lawn Signs same day delivery is available we have 7 feet signs for all occasions. Graduation retirement birthday etc. Children entertainment face painting balloon animals
AAA Rental System
6.7 miles from Palos Heights, IL
Since 1927 the AAA family has been in the customer service business. We rent equipment that is used for both large and small parties, events and festivals throughout the Chicago area and on occasion, nationally. Our inventory is rented by the pro's! Major concert events, film production crews, pr
Hippity Hop
7.2 miles from Palos Heights, IL
Hippity Hop is a family owned and operated inflatable rental business. We are fully licensed and insured to provide bounce houses to such events as: · Birthday Parties · Family Celebrations · Reunions · School Events · Church Functions · Company Events · Picnics · and any Special Occ
SnapShotz Photobooth Rentals Chicago
9.3 miles from Palos Heights, IL
Rent a Photo Booth in the Chicago area Digital Photo Booths have become the must have item for weddings, parties, and corporate events! DJs, photographers, videographers, event coordinators and even hotels and venues themselves, are all scrambling to find ways to incorporate this exciting and uniqu
Ultimate Rental Services
9.3 miles from Palos Heights, IL
Ultimate Rental Services, Inc. is a full service, one stop event rental company. Almost everything for any event can be rented. Delivery and set up is offered on all rentals. Service areas include the entire midwest. Tents, Canopies, Pipe and Drape, Backdrops, Tables, Chairs, Games, Inflatables,
Jump N' Jam Inflatables
11 miles from Palos Heights, IL
Inflatable Bouncers and Waterslides for All Occasions.
Party Saver Rentals & Entertainment - Darien
12 miles from Palos Heights, IL
We are an event planning company feturing all of your rental, entertaiment and decorating needs. Find information at our web page with picture and pricing. We specialize in theme event packages. We have rentals, concessions, inflatables, face painting and balloons, decorating, tents, tables, chair
Magic Moment Photo Booth
12 miles from Palos Heights, IL
Magic Moment Photo Booth creates a magical experience for our clients, entertains all of their guests, and sends everyone home with memories that last a lifetime. Our mission is making sure that everyone can enjoy the excitement of having a photo booth at their event. We truly customize our s
Ashley's Custom Stationery
12 miles from Palos Heights, IL
She renamed the business to Ashley's Custom Stationery & More and has created a charming boutique full of darling gifts, accessories for the home, and extensive lines of invitations, stationery and personalized items that are sure to be enjoyed. Ashley's retail boutique has now been open for 13 year
US Casino Rentals
17 miles from Palos Heights, IL
Looking for a unique and exciting way to host your next big event? US Casino Rentals is your solution. US Casino Rentals will provide everything you need for an authentic Las Vegas-style casino event. From impressive casino-grade equipment to professional staff and dealers, we're your best bet fo
Chicago Chair Coverings By Violet
18 miles from Palos Heights, IL
Chicago Chair Covers is a company specialized in chair covers and linen rental for weddings, baptisms, private parties or any special occasion.We provide: chair covers, sashes, tableclothes, table runners, overlays.
Chicagoland Cinema
18 miles from Palos Heights, IL
Chicago Outdoor Movie Screen Rental Chicagoland Cinema is the premier outdoor movie screen rental company serving Chicago and Northwest Indiana. We provide the ultimate outdoor movie theater experience along with our superior customer service. Let Chicagoland Cinema, the outdoor inflatable movie ex
LinenTablecloth - Chicago
18 miles from Palos Heights, IL
WHY RENT WHEN YOU CAN BUY FOR THE SAME PRICE!!! On the most important days of your life why should you have to deal with all the hassles of renting linens for your event. With, LinenTablecloth we can make all your dreams come true for the same price of renting if not less. With our high quality,
Photo Booth ShutterBooth - Chicago
18 miles from Palos Heights, IL
Not Your Typical Photo Booth - Exclusively Designed for Your Exceptional Event ShutterBooths are designed to blend in and compliment your event while adding another level of entertainment for your guests. Proudly creating long lasting and fun experiences for more than 2000 clients nationwide! We
Fast Response
Feathers By Angel-Ostrich Feather Centerpieces - Chicago
18 miles from Palos Heights, IL
We rent ostrich feather centerpieces for weddings and all events. We travel to all states. We deliver, setup, and take down. We specialize in ostrich feather centerpieces. Contact us for your next event!
Makin Memories
18 miles from Palos Heights, IL
makinmemories 4u. com 6 3 0 8 3 4 5 4 5 3 Balloon decorations, Floral arrangements,bounce house rentals,custom imprinted balloons,napkins,invitations,party supplies,inflatables,
Imperial Photo Booths
18 miles from Palos Heights, IL
With over 16 years of experience in the industry our goal is to make your event planning process a amazing experience. Our team of specialized coordinators will build packages that will fit your exact needs and your budget. We understand the finances and time commitment that goes into planning any t
Lighting with Elegance
18 miles from Palos Heights, IL
The #1 source for affordable trendsetting event lighting for Weddings, Sweet 15's & 16's, Corporate Events, Mitzvahs, Private Parties, and all other special occasions!
Memories In Minutes Photo Booths
18 miles from Palos Heights, IL
Memories In Minutes Photo Booth Rentals available for weddings, reunions, corporate events, birthday parties, and all other special occasions. We offer great prices and packages. Please visit us at http://www.memories-in-minutes.com
Jumpin Wheelies Party Rentals
18 miles from Palos Heights, IL
Jumpin Wheelies is a premier party rental company complete with unique inflatables and games as well as tents, tables, and chairs. We take sanitation and safety very seriously! As a SIOTO certified company as well as an insured legal entity, we want to be sure we are constantly on top of policies an
The Party Connection
19 miles from Palos Heights, IL
The Party Connection is a family business that started in 1979 We rent : Rock Walls, trackless train and rides, Fun Food Carts like Hot Dog Carts, Popcorn Carts, Cotton Candy, Sno-cones, Nacho Carts, We also rent pool tables, Video Games, Dart Games, Sand art, Build -A-Bear, Pucker Powder and mor
Crown Exposition
20 miles from Palos Heights, IL
Crown Exposition is located in Naperville, IL. Mike Kronemann and his family have been in the trade show business for 46 years. In June of 1995, I started Crown Exposition after having worked over 14 years in the industry. My goal when I opened Crown's doors was to provide a high quality service w
BB Chair Covers Co.
20 miles from Palos Heights, IL
The B&B Chair Covers and Linen Rental Company specializes in Chicago land area-Illinois chair cover rentals, wedding chair covers rental and linen rentals for wedding receptions, banquets or any special event. Our chair covers for weddings(banquet chair covers & folding chair covers) and linens
Chicago Photo Booth Company
20 miles from Palos Heights, IL
Let a Chicago Photo Booth rental make your celebration one that everyone will long remember! Our classic booths are attractively designed, meticulously crafted, and very easy to use. Just get in, smile, and press the button. Let us help you entertain your guests and send them home with a mement
Santa Hustle 5k
22 miles from Palos Heights, IL
Adrenaline Sports Management presents the 2nd Annual Santa Hustle 5K Run/Walk on December 4, 2010 at Montrose Harbor, Chicago, IL. This great, winter-themed event will again provide every participant with a FREE SANTA HAT, BEARD & CUSTOMIZED SHIRT to wear while running 3.1 miles. Everyone will love
Shutterbox Entertainment - Photo Booth
22 miles from Palos Heights, IL
Shutterbox Entertainment is the leading provider for modern photo booth rentals in Chicago and surrounding suburbs. Weddings, Parties, Corporate Events, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs and more! Unlimited Photos, Unlimited Fun! www.shutterboxphotobooth.com Locations in Los Angeles, Phoenix, Milwaukee, Chicag
Best Booth Plus
22 miles from Palos Heights, IL
Photo Booth Rental for the Chicago land Area. All of our fantastic prices include many things other companies charge extra for. What's Included? All sessions include Setup and take down! Full-time specialist! UNLIMITED amount of photos! FREE Scrapbook with decorating suppli
Casino Party Planners
22 miles from Palos Heights, IL
Casino Party Planners is located at Addison, IL. Casino Party Planners is the premier casino party and casino event planning company in Illinois. With over 15 years of event planning experience in the casino theme party business, the highly professional team specializes in bringing the thrill and ex
Corky's Catering
22 miles from Palos Heights, IL
Welcome to Chicago's very own Corky's Catering. Since 1978 we've offered quality catering services at affordable prices. Throughout our history we have turned corporate gatherings, home parties, picnics and weddings into priceless memories. We take pride in delighting your guests with top quality fo
23 miles from Palos Heights, IL
We are an on-site social media printing service. We print real-time posts that have been shared to Instagram or Twitter that use the event #hashtag. A lot of events these days are utilizing hashtags, especially weddings, to generate unique photo perspectives and opportunities utilizing their gues
Crown Linen and Supply
24 miles from Palos Heights, IL
We are a party linen rental supplier with over 60 different colors, styles and sizes. We carry a large spandex line and some wedding equipment.
Flash Magnets LLC
25 miles from Palos Heights, IL
Flash Magnets launched to help you showcase memories seamlessly. A professional photographer is provided to mingle among your guests to snap amazing photos at your special event. Once photos are collected, they are passed to an on-site production team, who transfer the images onto high-quality magne
All In One Party Rentals
25 miles from Palos Heights, IL
rent wedding and party items for all special events including tents, tables chairs, fountains, arches, china, glasses, linen. Games and moonwalks along with popcorn, cotton candy and snokone machines with supplies are also available.
GameTruck Chicago
26 miles from Palos Heights, IL
GameTruck is the ultimate video game party brought to your doorstep. Accommodating up to 20 players, we manage the party so you can relax. All we need is a place to park and people to play. We can have a video game party at your child's birthday celebration, have a great team building event for yo
Crown Party Rentals
28 miles from Palos Heights, IL
Crown Party Rentals stock many different rental items for almost any event! From tables and chairs to party canopies and ice cream machines. We can handle just about any small and medium size event. From small get-together to company parties that have hundreds of attendees. Delivery/pick up servi
Chair Covers By Sylwia
6.4 miles from Palos Heights, IL
Chicago MoonWalks - Berwyn
12 miles from Palos Heights, IL
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Party Equipment Rentals in and around Palos Heights at Eventective.com. Use the filter options to find your Perfect Palos Heights Party Equipment Rental.


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With the start of the qualifying rounds for the 2014 Isle of Man TT just two months away, Norton Motorcycles has confirmed that Cameron Donald will be riding for the British company in is this year's TT. As such, Donald will be straddling a Norton SG3 for the Dainese Superbike and Pokerstars Senior TT events, starting in 19th position.
Both manufacturer and rider are looking to make a comeback as Norton has not seen a TT victory since 1992 and Donald saw his last victory in 2008. That is not to say that the Australian does not have an impressive track record with 10 career podium finishes, including second place in last year's Superbike race, just behind Michael Dunlop.


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Elements' international "Make It Count" contest series hits the UK later this year, as the competition rolls into Mt Hawke Skatepark on April 9th!
In addition to prizes from Element and Dakine, winners of each category - listed below - will be flown out to the European finals in Antwerp, Belgium at the end of May, where they will be up against the rest of Europe for a chance to enter the overall contest finals at the YMCA Element Skate Camp, Sequoia Lake, in June!
See the poster below for all the details, and head on over to the Element Europe site for more!


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Tomorrow,i'll be serious...
Love the colors in that bottom one!
all your stuff is so fun to look at..and inspiring.
fit well to my day today :)
The green one for me too ! - is there a story with this guy??
no storie , yet simon...but let's make one up !!
Post a Comment


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|December 22, 2009, 07:33 PM
Junior member
Join Date: December 12, 2009
Posts: 17
Questions about Shotguns
First up, I'm not that knowledgeable about shotguns. ****, after being into shooting for 4 years, I never even fired one. I'm trying to research on my own.
1.) The first shotgun I would get would be an over-and-under shotgun(12 gauge preferably) for skeet shooting(sounds like fun). I'm not looking for one that is top of the line, just any decent one that sells at a reasonable price.
2.) Is there any type of buckshot that is ok to fire through a rifled shotgun barrel?
3.) What are the ballistics of slug rounds? Muzzle velocity/energy, effective range, and accuracy through rifled and smooth barrels.
|December 22, 2009, 08:02 PM
Junior member
Join Date: April 18, 2008
Location: N. Central Florida
Posts: 8,518
Depending on your interest level in skeet, target-grade guns that won't break and will be reliable tend to not be inexpensive by most folks' standards that post/read here. Used guns in the decent category - Browning, Beretta, SKB, will tend to run 1500 and up.
You MIGHT want to consider a nicely used semi from Beretta or Remington for skeet. They can be had for 500 and up, and will last you a long time performing very reliably
Your other inquiries I will leave to others as I do not use slugs or buckshot
|December 22, 2009, 08:11 PM
Senior Member
Join Date: June 20, 2007
Location: Starkville, MS
Posts: 6,732
Your #1 requirement is also unobtainable (unless you are willing to take an older used gun). Good, Over/Under, and reasonably priced don't go together in the same sentence. You get two out of the three - you pick which two.
|December 22, 2009, 08:16 PM
Member in memoriam
Join Date: April 9, 2009
Location: Blue River Wisconsin, in
Posts: 3,144
Unless you are going deer hunting and want to use sabot slugs you do not need a rifled barrel. Slugs will be as accurate out of your smoothbore as the rifled barrel in my experience and you do not want to shoot any shot out of a rifled barrel unless you purposely want to shoot donut shaped groups where your target is in the safe zone of the shot spread.
Get yourself to a skeet club and ask what the shooters there are using and why. You will get a better idea of what is available and discover a whole new world of shooters who will be happy to have a new guy to hear their stories. Along the way you might get a nice lead on a good but used shotgun from somebody who has upgraded and doesn't particularly want a gun he doesn't shoot around the house.
Good intentions will always be pleaded for any assumption of power. The Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions. There are men in all ages who mean to govern will, but they mean to govern. They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters.
--Daniel Webster--
|December 22, 2009, 08:34 PM
Senior Member
Join Date: March 16, 2007
Location: Southern Arizona
Posts: 3,829
Agree with oneounceloads suggestion to take a good look at a good used Beretta or Remington semi auto. For example you can find a nice Remington 1100 for a reaonable price and with choke tubes it gives you lots of flexibility.
|December 23, 2009, 01:01 AM
Senior Member
Join Date: August 23, 2008
Location: SoCal
Posts: 6,442
If a skeet grade O/U is beyond you intro gun budget, may I suggest a Beretta Model 303 Special Skeet, the gun that put the skeet model R-1100 out of business. Since its introduction, the Beretta 303 SS was an almost overnight success with stick gun skeet shooters. The model 303 is no longer in production, being replaced by models 390 and 391. But, the 303 is still preferred by many comp shooters. If you can find one, a used Beretta 303 Special Skeet is in the neighborhood of $500-$600.
|December 23, 2009, 01:09 PM
Senior Member
Join Date: February 23, 2005
Posts: 13,198
I'm seeing more and more / very good used shotguns around these days - guys looking to get a few bucks for guns they don't shoot anymore, etc ...
A good semi-auto is a better 1st gun choice than an inexpensive O/U that you'll probably regret buying ...and replace pretty quickly.
The other thing is fit / shotguns don't come in one size fits all. Your eye is the rear sight / and how that gun fits you ( drop at comb, and drop at heel ) affects where the point of impact is on that gun for you. You may look at a spot / but gun hits 6" low at 25 yards because the drop at comb and heel are not what you need ...
While you are figuring all this out / make a trip out to a gun club ...see what's going on / see if there are any guns there you can try / sign up for a lesson ...and determine what dimensions on a gun "fit" you. As an example - Beretta's don't fit me at all / but Brownings with parallel combs do / but Brownings like the 625 series don't fit me because they have too much drop. It doesn't mean Beretta or the Browning 625 are bad guns / they're both $ 3,000 guns for the most part - well made, etc .....but I can't shoot them. So I go to a gun like a Browning Citori XS Skeet or XS Special, or an XT model .....but that's me.... you have to figure out what stock dimensions fit you ...
Last edited by BigJimP; December 23, 2009 at 01:23 PM.
|December 24, 2009, 02:49 AM
Senior Member
Join Date: August 23, 2008
Location: SoCal
Posts: 6,442
|December 24, 2009, 02:49 PM
Senior Member
Join Date: February 23, 2005
Posts: 13,198
I think some of the used guns I see - are older shooters - deciding to sell some guns, put them on consignment because the expense of shooting is going up all the time ( cost of shells, targets, ammo on handguns, etc ) that some of them, especially on fixed incomes or in bad health, are giving up on the shooting sports - which is kind of sad.
I also think shooters with kids, grandkids - aren't really passing on their guns to members of the family - because the kids don't have much interest in the shooting sports. Young guys in my family are really busy with jobs, family etc - and don't have the spare time ( a lot of young families are struggling financially ) both adults working, etc ........and families aren't raised in the woods or fields - hunting and fishing these days ..so kids aren't exposed to hunting like we were in the 50's...
The saddest thing I see - is young guys coming into sell their dads or grandpa's gun - because they need the money ...and they don't appreciate what they have .... Or they don't want the old model 12 pumps, or evening a Browning BPS pump with nice wooden stocks ....they want an 870 Tacti-Cool ... or cammo something ....or a Glock or Springfield XD ....
Gun clubs in some areas are disappearing / so less places to shoot Trap, Skeet, Sporting Clays - let alone to hunt --- and driving 30 min, or maybe up to an hour each way, with gas prices what they are - are discouraging shooting as well....
But I also see more higher end guns on consignment too - Perazzi, Krieghoff, higher end Beretta's and Brownings too / where guys are just shooting one gun now / and giving up their extra guns .... mostly because they see the prices on new guns going up all the time/so they know they can make a few bucks and offset the cost of their own shooting.
So I guess its a little bit of everything in my area at least / which is really a big city environment these days ....but my hunch is, its different in rural areas.
When we travel - gun shops, antique stores, etc are on our browsing list - and I do see more big game rifles in states like Montana and Wyoming, and more "working man's or utilitarian models" in hunting communities / where in the cities, I see a broader mix of higher end guns ....
I don't know what the future of the shooting sports are / the last big registered Skeet up here ....only had 18 registered shooters .../sporting clays shoots still bring out about 75 - 90 shooters up here - but we live in a greater population of over a Million .....Trap isn't much better but a little higher prize money brings out the "money shooters". Handgun tournaments are about the same ........
The good side of this / lots of stuff around for shooters and collectors to pick from: the pawn shop I frequent has about 200 handguns, about 100 rifles. and about 100 shotguns ......on the shotgun side, he has a new Browning 625 12ga for $3,000 - an older Diana grade for about $4K, a Perazzi MX?? for about $5K, a Krieghoff K-80 but 26"barrels and full set of tubes for about $ 8K .... some Purdy's, etc / probably 20 semi-autos Benelli, Rem, etc / maybe 30 tactical shotguns ...and he'll order whatever you want for 10 - 20% over wholesale, depends on how good a customer you are .... and he's been telling me for 6 months he has an estate sale coming in, with about 50 S&W and colt revolvers alledgedly in it ( I've already spoken for any model 27's and 29's S&W's that show up ) ...
But that's what I think and see up here ....
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Exchange-traded funds that buy bonds in the U.S. are losing out to equity ETFs as investors move toward riskier assets, signaling confidence in the strength of the economy.
Investors deposited $251 million into fixed income ETFs yesterday, below the 20-day average of $960 million, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That compares with $3.9 billion that flowed into stock funds.
Buyers are regaining their appetite for risk after a rout in emerging markets from Argentina to Turkey and a slowdown in U.S. jobs growth in January led to the shift of record amounts out of U.S. stock funds and into fixed income. Last week, bond mutual funds attracted the biggest inflow since May, according to the Investment Company Institute. Demand for safer securities is weakening now as investor confidence revives.
"This year started with a major reversal toward risk aversion," David Mazza, head of ETF research for the Americas at State Street Global Advisors in Boston, said in a telephone interview. As investors "have assessed the news in emerging markets and have been able to absorb some of the more recent data points coming out of the United States, it has given investors a little bit more confidence in the outlook for equity markets."
Total assets in the 10-biggest junk-bond ETFs rose to $34.7 billion yesterday, the highest since Jan. 22, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
"We have actually seen more money move into high-yield-based ETFs, which portrays some of the confidence that is coming back into the broader economic outlook," Mazza said. "Investors are again willing to increase the risk they are willing to take in their portfolios."
ETFs, which are listed on exchanges and are bought and sold like stocks, typically allow individual investors to speculate on securities without directly owning them.
The Markit CDX North American Investment Grade Index, a credit-default swaps benchmark used to hedge against losses or to speculate on creditworthiness, increased 0.1 basis point to 64.6 basis points as of 5:20 p.m. in New York, according to prices compiled by Bloomberg. The measure rose from 63.9 basis points on Feb. 24, the lowest level in a week.
The swaps gauge typically rises as investor confidence deteriorates and falls as it improves. The contracts pay the buyer face value if a borrower fails to meet its obligations, less the value of the defaulted debt. A basis point equals $1,000 annually on a contract protecting $10 million of debt.
Colgate-Palmolive Co. issued $500 million of 1.75 percent, five-year notes that yield 30 basis points more than similar-maturity Treasuries and $500 million of 3.25 percent, 10-year debt at 65 basis points more than benchmarks, Bloomberg data show.
Proceeds may be used for paying down debt and for general corporate purposes, Bloomberg data show. The consumer-products maker last issued bonds in October, the data show.
The risk premium on the Markit CDX North American High Yield Index, tied to the debt of 100 speculative-grade companies, was little changed at 318, Bloomberg prices show. Speculative-grade bonds are rated below Baa3 by Moody's Investors Service and less than BBB- at Standard & Poor's. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.
The extra yield investors demand to hold investment-grade corporate bonds rather than government debt held at 99.7, Bloomberg data show.


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The information being provided is for consumers' personal, non-commercial use and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties consumers may be interested in purchasing.
Provided for INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. This is not a commitment to lend, not all borrowers will qualify. All loans are subject to credit approval and eligibility. Terms are subject to change. Insurance rates may vary. The Tenura Home Center is a facility operated by Tenura Holdings, Inc. Real estate services are provided through Tenura Holdings, Inc.'s respective affiliates: Reliant Title Agency, LLC; AmeriFirst Insurance Agency, LLC; AmeriPro Funding, Inc. (NMLS#131699); and Privatus, LLC. Tenura is a federally registered (#4237051) service mark of Tenura Holdings, Inc., 8300 N. Mopac Expressway, Suite 220, Austin, Texas 78759. Equal Housing Lender.
Based on information from the Austin Board of REALTORS® (alternatively, from ACTRIS) from January 25th, 2016 at 12:15pm CST. Neither the Board nor ACTRIS guarantees or is in any way responsible for its accuracy. The Austin Board of REALTORS®, ACTRIS and their affiliates provide the MLS and all content therein "AS IS" and without any warranty, express or implied. Data maintained by the Board or ACTRIS may not reflect all real estate activity in the market.
All information provided is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed and should be independently verified.
Privatus, LLC. d/b./a Private Label Realty, is a licensed real estate brokerage in Texas, and Colorado.
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Spare Wheel Covers
Please browse through the Spare Wheel Covers below. If you are interested in a Spare Wheel Cover click the 'Request Quotation' link next to each Spare Wheel Cover product. A customer service consultant will contact you with a quote. Price estimate excludes branding, VAT and volume discounts apply.