text: The poverty rate increased markedly over the past decade, in part a response to two economic recessions. A strong economy during most of the 1990s is generally credited with the declines in poverty that occurred over the latter half of that decade. The poverty rate increased each year from 2001 through 2004, a trend generally attributed to economic recession and failed to recede appreciably before the onset of the next recession. This book provides a progress report of poverty 50 years later as well as insight on the poverty levels of the United States in 2012. (Imprint: Nova)


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Yesterday morning on my way in to work National Pubic Radio, as is its wont, featured a lengthy, slobbering interview with a wingnut voter, specifically in this case a Roy Moore supporter. He said he was actually a convert to Christianity. He portrayed himself as a skeptic, and said that if somebody tried to tell him what the Bible said he'd confirm it for himself.
Then he said that he was voting for Roy Moore because the Bible says that life begins at conception and abortion is murder.
News flash: it doesn't. Read the Bible, young man, from cover to cover, as I have done, and you will find that it does not contain one single word about abortion, or when life begins. The only possible exception is a ceremony described in
Surveys consistently find that atheists tend to know more about the Bible than do believers. The reason for that is that you cannot possibly simultaneously know the contents of the Bible; be sane; and be a Christian. It is full of contradictions, moral depravity, and absurdities.
Accordingly, I will start a new series on Sundays in which I read the Bible. Perhaps it will be educational.
(I started a similar project before, on a blog I maintained called Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, but abandoned it due to lack of a suitable interlocutor. That was supposed to be a conversation with a believer. I'm just going to do this myself.)

subset: commoncrawl


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TSG Continues Longtime Tradition of Supporting Heart Health
November 13, 2018
On February 10, 2018, Donald and Lisa Shauger attended the 2018 Philadelphia Heart Ball in proud support of the American Heart Association (AHA). Each year, the Shaugers attend the Heart Ball and make donations to the AHA, committed to doing their part to help to fund lifesaving research into heart disease and strokes. Honored to support such a worthy cause, the Shaugers and The Shauger Group have remained steadfast supporters of the Heart Ball and AHA for many years, always eager to dedicate their time, money, and energy to the AHA's mission.
At the 2018 Heart Ball, The Shauger Group and Shauger family were recognized as part of the Mission Impact Circle, which acknowledges those supporters who have continuously dedicated their support to the Heart Ball for the last five to ten years.
In 2014, the Shaugers were also first inducted into Cor Vitae: The Heart of Life, the AHA's Philanthropic Giving Society, which recognizes as distinguished donors those who give $5,000 or more toward any area of the AHA.
At the 2018 Heart Ball, the Shaugers won tickets to attend a New York Yankees game in the general manager's box. On September 19, 2018, the Shauger family attended the Yankees game against the Boston Red Sox—the Shaugers enjoyed the evening with general manager and senior vice president of the Yankees, Brian Cashman, thanks in part to their dedication to the AHA!


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Batman: The Telltale Series coming to digital in August, disc in September
The retail release will cover all five episodes as a 'season pass disc'.
We knew that Batman: The Telltale Series would be coming later this summer, but Telltale has really pushed it to the last days of the season.
Warner Bros Interactive has announced that the interactive tale of the Caped Crusader will be coming to PC, consoles and mobile as a digital download in August, with a retail versions scheduled to hit shelves on September 13 (three days later if you are in Europe). The retail release will be a "Season Pass" package that will get you the next four episodes once they become available. Otherwise, you would need to pay for them individually.
In this new version, Telltale is putting just as much emphasis on Bruce Wayne as on Batman. Troy Baker will be lending his voice to Wayne, with Travis Willingham as Harvey Dent, Erin Yvette as Vicki Vale, Enn Reitel as Alfred, Murphy Guyer as Lt. James Gordon, Richard McGonagle as Carmine Falcone, and Laura Bailey as Selina Kyle (aka Catwoman). The episodic game will get more voice reveals as those chapters get closer to release.
John Keefer posted a new article, Batman: The Telltale Series coming to digital in August, disc in September


text: On the way back to New York from Denver where I conducted a seminar for a cable company, I was stuck for 5 hours at the airport. There was little rain in Denver and only a half an hour shower in New York. I wasn't stuck on the runway, though. In fact, it seems that airlines are taking no risk these days -- still remembering the Valentine's Day disaster. Not getting people on the plane, though, can mean even longer delays at the terminal and a bad customer experience, it seems.


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I started a old school vintage patterned Bi-Fold wallet. I had the parts cut so I just let it rip. This was after day one.
Tag Archives: tooled-belts
Skinny Tooled Leather Belt by AcrossLeather on Etsy
Skinny Tooled Leather Belt by AcrossLeather on Etsy.
Fabulous color and a definite fashion statement for those who dress to impress. Truly this skinny tooled leather belt is a sight to be seen. See more at.
Like skinny leather belts?
Here's a tooled skinny leather belt dyed in British Tan that's definitely a fashion statement. This scallop design is tooled onto a 9 oz strap then edges completely burnished to a glasslike appearance and seal coated in black. British Tan spirit dye then airbrushed to give you a richness like none other. It's then highlighted to make tooling stand out even more. Then finished with acrylic top coat. It shows wonderfully and I'll tell you how to make it forever lasting with my maintenance tips.
It measures in at 1/2″ wide by 35 1/2″ in length or less but if you like another color or longer length, drop me a convo. I'll make one just for you! Well if there's further questions please do not hesitate to ask. Thank you checking out my newly Tooled British Tan Skinny Leather Belt ,Larry
Pirate leather accessories you ask?
Hand tooled leather straps/belts
The leather's cased then carved and tooled with deep impressions with a selection of over 125 hand tools to make forever lasting designs. Crisp clean executed tooling is now available to the public after 20+ years of private sales. This particular piece will be done in a cherry finish with highlights throughout. Then highlighted and top coated finished. As well as all edges burnished and seal coated to prevent ragged edging. Thank you for viewing my hand tooled leather strap/belt, Larry.
Handmade, hand tooled leather firstname.lastname@example.com
Here's my latest creations. handmade,custom tooled leather belt with tapered billet ends. Herman Oak leather is utilized for this construction, glued and hand stitched together. Then it will be bevled,l burnished and the edges will be seal coated. Oiled and airbrushed or hand dyed to order. Possibly antiqued and top coated for years of continually beauty. Penny for your thoughts?


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When Should You Perform Maintenance on Your Vehicle?
Owning a vehicle is a big responsibility and requires more work than just filling it up with gas and checking the fluids. Other maintenance checks need to be done on a regular basis, in order to keep your vehicle in good condition.
But when is a good time to do all these tasks? Spring is always a great time, as it is right after winter, which can be hard on your vehicle, and is right before summer, when you may be putting in more miles on the road for leisure travel. The belts, hoses, fluids, tires, light bulbs, battery and other vehicle components are all things that should be checked during any maintenance performed on your vehicle.
When you are ready to have your vehicle services, bring it in to our service center here at Faulkner BMW in Lancaster, PA, and our trained technicians will thoroughly vet the vehicle for you.


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Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited (the Bank) is a Singapore-based financial services company. The Bank is engaged in the business of banking, life assurance, general insurance, asset management, wealth management, investment holding, futures and stockbroking. Its segments are Global Consumer/Private Banking, Global Corporate/Investment Banking, Global Treasury and Markets, Insurance and OCBC Wing Hang. Global Consumer/Private Banking provides products and services to individual customers. Global Corporate/Investment Banking serves institutional customers ranging from large corporates and the public sector to small and medium enterprises. Global Treasury and Markets engages in foreign exchange activities, money market operations, fixed income and derivatives trading, and offers structured treasury products and financial solutions. Insurance provides both life and general insurance products. OCBC Wing Hang offers a range of commercial banking and related financial services.
Overall, the bias in prices is: Upwards.
Short term: Prices are moving.
Intermediate term: Prices are ranging.
By the way, prices are vulnerable to a correction towards 11.44.
The projected upper bound is: 12.01.
The projected lower bound is: 11.46.
The projected closing price is: 11.74.
OVERSEA-CHINESE closed up 0.010 at 11.730. Volume was 8% above average (neutral) and Bollinger Bands were 60% wider than normal.
Technical Outlook
Short Term: Overbought
Intermediate Term: Bullish
Long Term: Bullish
|Moving Averages:
Short-term traders should pay closer attention to buy/sell arrows while intermediate/long-term traders should place greater emphasis on the Bullish or Bearish trend reflected in the lower ribbon.
OVERSEA-CHINESE is currently 4.1% above its 200-period moving average and is in an upward trend. Volatility is relatively normal as compared to the average volatility over the last 10 periods. Our volume indicators reflect moderate flows of volume into OCBC.SI (mildly bullish). Our trend forecasting oscillators are currently bullish on OCBC.SI and have had this outlook for the last 6 periods.
Momentum is a general term used to describe the speed at which prices move over a given time period. Generally, changes in momentum tend to lead to changes in prices. This expert shows the current values of four popular momentum indicators.
Stochastic Oscillator
One method of interpreting the Stochastic Oscillator is looking for overbought areas (above 80) and oversold areas (below 20). The Stochastic Oscillator is 84.1268. This is an overbought reading. However, a signal is not generated until the Oscillator crosses below 80 The last signal was a sell 15 period(s) ago.
Relative Strength Index (RSI)
The RSI shows overbought (above 70) and oversold (below 30) areas. The current value of the RSI is 69.02. This is not a topping or bottoming area. A buy or sell signal is generated when the RSI moves out of an overbought/oversold area. The last signal was a sell 1 period(s) ago.
Commodity Channel Index (CCI)
The CCI shows overbought (above 100) and oversold (below -100) areas. The current value of the CCI is 75. This is not a topping or bottoming area. The last signal was a sell 1 period(s) ago.
The Moving Average Convergence/Divergence indicator (MACD) gives signals when it crosses its 9 period signal line. The last signal was a buy 8 period(s) ago.
A white body occurred (because prices closed higher than they opened).
During the past 10 bars, there have been 9 white candles and 1 black candles for a net of 8 white candles. During the past 50 bars, there have been 25 white candles and 20 black candles for a net of 5 white candles.
A spinning top occurred (a spinning top is a candle with a small real body). Spinning tops identify a session in which there is little price action (as defined by the difference between the open and the close). During a rally or near new highs, a spinning top can be a sign that prices are losing momentum and the bulls may be in trouble.
Three white candles occurred in the last three days. Although these candles were not big enough to create three white soldiers, the steady upward pattern is bullish.
John Heffernan
Latest posts by John Heffernan (see all)
- Singapore Airlines Ltd. HEFFX Highlights - October 13, 2019
- Singapore Telecommunications HEFFX Highlights - October 13, 2019
- Keppel HEFFX Highlights - October 13, 2019


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Swing-tags / Hang Labels
Floralabels L1: The best print and handling quality proven in the market. Approved by OKI.
Floralabels L2: Excellent value for money. Good print quality at low cost.
Sizes available:
We have an extensive offering of products to effectively fix your swing-tags to your plants. Please click here or please contact us for further information.


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Ferocious footage has emerged of a police officer being attacked by a goose outside a police station in Indiana.
The embarrassing attack on Clarksville Police Department Sergeant Detective Ray Hall was captured on CCTV as the officer was attempting to enter the force's headquarters on 13 April.
The video shows the goose hurtling towards Hall with his wings expanded. Hall then falls over attempting to swat the bird away with his bag as it flies towards him.
Hall can then be seen running down the street, with the goose still chasing him.
The detective managed to escape from the encounter seemingly injured, but perhaps his pride was damaged.
The footage emerged after his colleague Lieutenant Shane Bassett uploaded the film onto YouTube.
A caption on the video reads: "Detective Hall forgot his keys... he then attempts to enter the building and is challenged by our local geese...bad decision.
"Final Score: Geese 1, Detective 0."


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Netherlands: Farmers block roads in protest near The Hague October 1
Farmers protests through roads in The Hague heading to protest on October 1; transportation disruptions reported
Read all related news alert(s):
A convoy of farmers are causing disruption through the highways and roads surrounding The Hague as they make their way to a protest as of the early morning (local time) on Tuesday, October 1. The farmers have mobilized to demand improved agricultural policy. Media reports estimate that hundreds of farmers are participating in the protest, mobilized on hundreds of tractors despite a ban forbidding the vehicle on roadways. Disruptions on the A2, A12, A27, and A28 highways and other roadways have been reported, significantly affecting morning commuter traffic.
Farmers are causing such disruption on their way to a protest scheduled to take place on Tuesday at Malieveld Park in the city as of 13:00. This protest may also affect evening commuter traffic as farmers return.
Significant transportation disruptions are to be expected for a large part of the day in The Hague and its surrounding areas.
Individuals in The Hague and its surrounding areas are advised to monitor the situation, avoid all protests and public gatherings, anticipate transportation disruptions, and adhere to instructions issued by local authorities.
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Search Supreme Court Cases
U.S. Supreme Court
Wollensak v. Reiher, 115 U.S. 87 (1885)
Wollensak v. Reiher
Argued April 14-15, 1885
Decided May 4, 1885
In view of the state of the art existing at the date of the patent granted to John F. Wollensak for an improvement in transom lifters by original patent No. 136,801, dated March 11, 1873, and by reissued patent No. 9,307, dated July 20, 1880, and the claims of that patent, it must be limited to a combination, with a transom, its lifting arm and operating rod, of a guide for the upper end of the operating rod, prolonged beyond the junction with the lifting arm, so as to prevent the operating rod from being bent or displaced by the weight of the transom, and it is not infringed by the device secured to Frank A. Reiher by patent No. 226,33, dated April 6, 1880.
This was a bill in equity to restrain infringements of a patent. The facts are stated in the opinion of the Court.
Official Supreme Court caselaw is only found in the print version of the United States Reports. Justia caselaw is provided for general informational purposes only, and may not reflect current legal developments, verdicts or settlements. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or information linked to from this site. Please check official sources.


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At Earthy Andy, you'll meet Andrea, who helped heal herself by attempting and succeeding with a raw til 4 plant-based diet after her chronic health conditions continued to flare and perplex her doctors.
Andrea has lived on Oahu since the age of 16, is now married with two children, and has been happily high carb, low fat vegan for over four months.
Most ironically, Andrea's family owns a chain of burger restaurants, but she continues to thrive with her plant-based lifestyle.
She began documenting this journey on her Instagram @earthyandy and continues the momentum on this website, Earthy Andy dot com.
The landing page of the Clean Food Dirty Girl website provides links to Andrea's story in detail as well as her philosophy, recipes, recipe videos, details on plant-based living, information on travel to Hawaii, as well as her blog.
In Andrea's recipe section, she provides examples of what she eats in a day, as well as a sample shopping list.
Andy's recipes are limited, as the website is new, but her smoothie and smoothie bowl photographs are truly gorgeous, and the recipes sound delicious.
She also provides a rawnola (raw granola) recipe, as well as several meal and snack recipes.
In her section on Plant-Based living, Andrea explains what High Carb Low Fat Vegan (HCLFV) means, how to get started, and whether or not to go gluten free as well.
Andy's personal blog details her travels to places including Dubai, Tahiti, and Europe, as well as tips for healthy kids, beauty and sun care, with a few recipes and other tips thrown in for good measure.
The Hawaii travel section is quite extensive, as Andrea has been on Hawaii since the age of 16. Here you'll find information on where to stay, what to do, and what to eat.
Earthy Andy is a website and Instagram account that is just getting started but has quite a bit to offer and this will only continue to improve as the site ages and Andrea gains more and more experience with her HCLFV lifestyle and builds her recipe repertoire.


text: Petkin Jumbo Ear Wipes 80pcs £5.09 Quantity: at £5.09 each Add To Basket Keep your pet's ears clean the easy way with ear wipes. These extra soft cloths are moistened with a gentle cleanser that remmoves dirt, odour and wax. Also soothes itching and can help prevent ear infections with regular use. 80 pk each wipe is 7" x 5"


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Visual Arts Lecture Series
The Visual Arts Lecture Series brings contemporary artists and other experts in this field into the Dairy Arts Center to present and discuss their work in an effort to connect the visual arts to everyday life.
Visual Arts: Meet George LangeWendesday March 20 | 7 PM
Gordon Gamm Theater (GA)
$17 | $15 (Dairy Arts Center Members)
Join us for an unforgettable evening with local celebrity photographer George Lange. Check out scenes from actual photo shoots, hear from those who admire his work and get an inside look at his dynamic process.
For more information please contact Jessica Kooiman Parker, Curator of Visual Arts , email@example.com , 303-440-7826 x107


text: Digest of the Week — Are Non-Recurring Dividends "Income"? Brown v. Brown | (WestlawNext Canada) 2014 CarswellBC 1020 | (Westlaw Canada) British Columbia Court of Appeal Family law | Support | Child support under federal and provincial guidelines | Determination of spouse's annual income | Shareholding spouses Parties married, had three children and separated — Father was senior manager of company that created form of retirement package for senior management employees — Employees acquired shares in company, which they were required to pay for out of future dividends on shares themselves — Father elected to take part in plan and acquired shares in 2008 — In 2008 and 2009, substantial dividends were paid on shares, which went to pay down purchase price of shares and to pay taxes resulting from dividend income — Mother applied to vary child support — Judge ordered father to pay retroactive child support, but excluded dividends from father's income in determining amount — Mother appealed — Appeal dismissed — Judge rightly excluded dividends from father's income under s. 17(1) of Federal Child Support Guidelines — Exclusion was in keeping with objective of Guidelines — Dividend income was unusual in that it was not directly available to father — Father had not, in any real sense, received money, nor had he acquired asset that could be used to immediately obtain funds — Tax treatment of dividends had no effect on resources available to father because of nature of his share purchase arrangement — There was no basis to impute income in circumstances — Dividends did not represent resource that could have been available to father to pay child support — Father had no choice but to use dividends to purchase shares — Dividends were not ordinary income and were not analogous to return of capital — Dividends were more closely analogous to employer contributions to pension plan, which would not form part of guideline income.© Copyright WestlawNext Canada, Thomson Reuters Canada Limited. All rights reserved.


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Visual Simulations
Microsoft Office Plus edition also incorporates MS Writer and Infopath 2010 alongside Concept, Exceed, Perspective and power-point programs. IVisit 3D is definitely an innovative and straightforward method to current panoramas of your tasks online or on device or an iPad/ iPhone. IVisit 3D uses simply still photos and not an actual 3D product or cartoon, producing the calculations and navigation quickly. Created particularly for architects and manufacturers, iVisit 3D allows customers to look at and reveal a project by moving between viewpoints on the ground plan, in a scheme of thumbnail preview photographs, or directly within the 3D sights.
IVisit 3D for ArchiCAD can be a simple palette added to ArchiCAD, available from the ArchiCAD selection: Design > Layout Bonuses > iVisit 3D > Show Palette. These resources allow consumers link and to produce, remove the nodes, graphically, while in the ArchiCAD project and, eventually, to build an 3D Panorama. As when using the rendering device of ArchiCAD, setup the rendering engine that'll be used in combination with iVisit 3D. When it is accomplished, launch the panorama calculation with one click. Includes houses which store 3D type objects and allow functions to work on them (conserve, load etc.).
We investigated one of many technologies that allow ud to work with our video-card to give a 3D design, within this introduction to OpenGL 3D rendering. It is a great topic, and also this OpenGL guide can't declare that is all that's necessary to understand in order 3d to build modeling softwares or 3D activities. Nonetheless, the purpose of this informative article is to offer you a look into this sphere, and show how easily you can get started with OpenGL to create 3D programs.


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A blog following Sorcerer John Lifeglen and his Pi-radical Piratey counterpart Eccentric Austin Ornsley (Witchdoctor, 1st Class) through their adventures in the Spiral. Not KingsIsle exclusive postings.
Thank you Noah. Always good to hear news directly from one of us trustworthy Ice wizards. Now, rather than "spitout" you could say "eject"? Just sayin'. I'm not going to ban you over it or anything. :)


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Sat, Sep 2
California Live & Bluntworld productions presents
The bay areas bumber 1 underground hip hop festival summerfesto returns for year 4! The summer version of the epic califesto comes back to tracy ca starring Philthy Rich, Baeza, yid, remedy , salsalino and many more to be announced ! All day music Festivel ! All ages with bar for the 21+ ! Info 916-712-1995
Doors at 1:00 PM – ALL AGES
Mountain House Bar
16784 Grant Line Road Tracy CA 95391
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California Live & Bluntworld productions presents SUMMERFESTO 2017 | Viva La Hip Hop
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Key steps when you're mid-degree
You've completed your first year. A new year dawns, and with it comes plenty of possibilities, including these key activities:
1. The Leicester Award Gold
This offers you the chance to practice recruitment processes and prepare you for securing a significant professional experience, such as a summer internship, year in industry or year abroad.
If you're in your second year, the Leicester Award Gold may be offered as part of your degree programme. All other Leicester Award completers can come along to one of our workshops - find out how you can get involved here.
2. Explore your career options
Decide on your next steps after you graduate by following this simple four-step process. Once you've done this, you'll have a clearer idea of what your strengths are and what professional experience you need to make sure you're in the best position when you graduate.
3. Gain some professional experience
Work experience is always viewed favourably by employers, and as an added bonus it can help you decide about your future career. Explore different types of professional experience and find out how to secure an opportunity before entering your final year.
I did not complete the Leicester Award in the first year of my degree, is it too late to complete it?
No, it's never too late! Find out how to complete the Leicester Award here.
Where can I gain some experience?
It's a really good idea to build your experience during your time at university, which will develop your transferable skills. Find out what opportunities you can get involved with here.
How can I get support from the Career Development Service?
No matter where you are in your career journey, we can help you. We run a variety of 1-2-1 appointments and workshops, which you can find out about here.


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Location: Aula Congress Center – TU Delft
Transition Through People
SMO Promovendi believes a transition to a circular economy will be a transition through people. But for that transition to happen, people will need to connect. At the Circular Minds Conference, we bring together stakeholders from a wide variety of backgrounds (entrepreneurs, policy makers, investors, scientists and students, to name a few) to learn about the latest academic insights and best and worst practices from the field, work together in Idea Generator Sessions, and network with stakeholders from now and the future.
Let's do it together!
The Circular Minds Conference is a unique event organised for entrepreneurs, investors, policy makers, scientists and sustainability experts. Together with partners such as RebelGroup, New Marble, KIDV, Dopper, Tebodin, C2C Institute, Circle Economy, KPMG, Erasmus University and TU Delft, we inspire participants to learn, collaborate and connect.
The transition will happen through people. Meet them.
12:30 Welcome
13:00 Keynotes
14:00 Presentation SMO Promovendi research
14:30 Idea generation session
17:00 Research-based network event
Helen Toxopeus
Impact Centre Erasmus
Merijn Everaarts
Founder of Dopper
Hester Klein Lankhorst
Director Kennisinstituut Duurzaam Verpakken
Idea generation sessions
Session 1 : Kitchen-as-a-service
How can we regain materials from buildings? And how should we work together in the chain?In this session, industry professionals, academics and young professionals will work on possible solutions to come up with a business model to offer kitchen as a service and to make the materials used in the building of a kitchen circular. Participants will experience an innovative "walk in each others' shoes format", in which the question will be answered from different perspectives in the supply chain, creating mutual understanding and insight.
Session 2 : Triple Value Proposition
A Triple Value Proposition is central in getting a circular production chain financed. In this session, participants get insight and learn about a 360 degree business models, focusing on different perspectives. The case that is central is CoffeeBased of VerdraaidGoed. CoffeeBased creates makes coffee ground useful again by making new products. Participants will work on a pitch to persuade investors from an environmental, social and financial perspective, thereby learning to deal with possible tensions between the perspectives and creating optimal value.
Session 3 : Closing the loop
How do we stimulate consumer engagement in closing the material loop for used plastics? In this session participants are offered an opportunity to work on a specific case where the cooperation of consumers is essential in creating a circular production chain: the recycling and reusing of Dopper bottles. Participants of the workshop compete in mixed teams to formulate a strategy to enable consumer cooperation in plastic recycling. In this session we will adopt a three generation principle: we intend to mix students, professionals and senior persons. Each team will pitch their strategy to an expert panel and a live voting audience who will ultimately decide the winner!
Session 4 : Dragons' Den
This session actively engages investors and innovators to find shared solutions in the transition towards the circular economy. It seeks to facilitate the mutual understanding and communication between circular start-ups and mainstream investors and, ultimately, to unlock the financial value-creation potential of circular practices. The session is divided in two parts. In the first one, start-ups and investors are offered personalized sessions; in the second one, they come together to give birth to an exciting Dragons' Den Session. Public is welcome to the session and will have the opportunity to interact with the start-ups and vote for their favorite one.
Accessibility and Parking
If you are coming by public transport, take the train or bus to Delft Central Station.The following buses travel between Delft Central Station and the Aula on the TU Delft campus.
Bus 69: get off at bus stop "TU Aula"
Bus 40 : get off at bus stop "TU Aula"
Bus 55: get off at bus stop "TU Aula"
If you are coming by car the Aula is easily accessible via the A13, exit Delft/Pijnacker and exit Delft Zuid/TU-wijk. You can find a parking lot at the rear of the Aula/Library (van der Waalsweg). Click on this link to open it in Google Maps.
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Halton Gujarati Seniors Samaj's members and the guests enjoyed Valentine's Day-Vasantpanchmi celebrations -meeting on February 17th, 2019 in Milton, ON.
With the prayers, the Shradhanjlee-Tribute was given in memory of martyrs Jammu & Kashmir Pulwama's 40 Indian Soldiers killed in the cowardly #PulwanaTerroristAttack
Minaben Bhatt, the president of HGSS, thanked, Dineshbhai Pithia, the voice of Mukesh, Yogitaben Kedari and Chimanbhai Mistry for entertaining everyone with the Karaoke music singing Valentine's Day old & new Bollywood songs. Ranjuben Khanderia and the volunteers did a wonderful job decorating the Hall. Everyone appreciated the delicious food (which was contributed by one of the enormous contributors) and the good music which they enjoyed dancing…..
The best way to find you is to lose yourself in the service of others. … Mahatma Gandhi


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In what is a newly created position, she will report to Declan Moore, National Geographic Partners CEO, and oversee the development of digital products and experiences across owned and partner platforms.
Commenting on the appointment, Moore said: "Rachel has proven herself an adept executive in her Fox career, and we're thrilled to bring her energetic voice and unique experience across digital and traditional media to the National Geographic team. She has the business know-how, industry relationships and leadership instincts to help steer our digital efforts for a new generation of consumers.
"We are a 128-year old organisation with a rich history of visual storytelling. We're excited to lean into that heritage to create new experiences through video, virtual reality and interactive tools. Our goal is to engage our audiences everywhere they are, particularly on mobile platforms, and Rachel is the ideal executive to lead this charge."
Prior to joining National Geographic, Webber was the senior VP at Fox Television Group. She previously managed Fox Networks Group's digitally-focused corporate development initiatives and non-linear revenue growth strategy, helping steer the company's advertising technology and data solutions capabilities.
Earlier, Webber was the VP of Video and Head of North America Business Development at Rovio Entertainment and an executive at Tumblr.Separately, Jill Cress has joined National Geographic Partners as CMO. In her new role she will report to Courteney Monroe, National Geographic Channels CEO, and oversee brand strategy and marketing for the entire Natonal Geographic Partners portfolio.
Cress was most recently executive VP of global consumer marketing at MasterCard.
Monroe said: "Jill is a strategic and passionate marketer with boundless energy and ideas, and we couldn't be more thrilled to have her join our team as the CMO of National Geographic Partners.
"As we continue to take the National Geographic brand to new heights, Jill's expertise and penchant for innovation will be an invaluable asset to our leadership team."
Cress added: "National Geographic has built an impressive portfolio of recognized and admired content throughout the years.
"I look forward to working with Declan, Courteney and the rest of the senior team to continue to build brand momentum and audience share for National Geographic Partners."


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What I've Been Playing
World of Warcraft. Lots of it. Heaps. Tons. Stacks.
I've been riding the wave of obsession / apathy towards the game since I started playing; I'll obsess over it for a few months, get bored and leave it for a few months, rinse and repeat. I was finally talked into going back due to a relatively new addition to the game, the dungeon finder.
My friends all have level 80 characters. They've done the instances they want to (or could get into), and they're bored of it. I had a level 72 character, couldn't find any of my mates to play with, had to do all the quests on my own, and couldn't get into an instance if I tried. Got bored of quest grinding very quickly.
When I started again, I opened up the dungeon finder. Clicked "random Lich King dungeon". Clicked "join queue". Got straight into an instance with four similar-levelled characters from different servers. No fuss, no messing. No hunting for quests. No grinding on my tod. Opens up the "massively" part of MMO to anyone and everyone over level 15. You also get an experience bonus and a goodie bag of items (or emblems past level 70) for each dungeon you complete.
They've also done the same with battlegrounds. No having to wait around in your home city for the queue to fill. You can do what you like while you wait.
What Blizzard have essentially done is taken the meat of the game, the parts that were a hassle for people to do but the most fun to do, and pulled it to the top of the stew, which has nicely pushed the greasy sticky mouldy quest and LFG dumplings to the bottom of the bowl. That was a horrible simile, I apologise. I'll try harder.
They've made instances and battlegrounds as immediate as questing is. In fact, they're even more immediate than quests, cos you don't ever have to get on a grif if you don't want to.
So there you go. I've been playing WoW again for two weeks now, gone from level 72 to 76, got mostly blues, got loads of cash (well, I would if I didn't spend it on making engineering stuff all the time), and I'm hooked once more. Yay!
(I've also been playing a bit of Team Fortress 2 here and there in order to practice for the practice matches for the Highlander tournament coming up, but I've worked out now that half an hour's practice before the practice for the practice makes all the difference I need)


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EU Commission's Circular Economy Proposal
EuropaBio calls for a reality check.
Brussels, 2 December 2015 – EuropaBio welcomes the adoption of the Commission's Circular Economy Package and Action Plan but calls for a realistic appraisal of the EU's economy and highlights the need for long-term, supportive policy with tangible measures and standards.
'We have high hopes for the Commission's strategy, but also some serious, ongoing concerns' commented EuropaBio's Industrial Biotech Council chair, Stephan Tanda, of Royal DSM. 'Sustainable jobs and growth and resource efficient, renewable products and processes are exactly what the EU needs right now. Industrial biotech can help deliver on these goals, contributing towards a circular economy; however this cannot be achieved without the right long-term framework conditions in place to attract the business investment needed'.
Industrial biotech is one of Europe's strengths helping to produce more than 50% of the world's enzymes and microorganisms. These are developed to make products and processes in a more resource efficient and sustainable way in world leading sectors as diverse as chemicals, materials, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, plastics, food and feed ingredients, detergents, pulp and paper, textiles and fuels. The enzymes produced through industrial biotech transform 'renewable raw materials' such as biomass, agricultural & forestry residues, municipal waste and CO2 in biorefineries* into everyday products. This creates a renewable carbon cycle, taking CO2 from the air and converting it via plants into sustainable products, as an alternative to using finite fossil carbon, like crude oil, natural gas or coal as the basic feedstock.
EuropaBio welcomes the Commission's focus on public procurement schemes, communication and awareness campaigns and incentives for the use of more resource efficient, renewable products and processes. Its members also call for the prioritisation of biotech solutions for a circular economy in Horizon 2020 and for the promotion of agricultural productivity and efficiency. This includes the 'locally grown and sourced concept' and the need to fund European schemes for the collection, harvesting, storage and transport of renewable raw materials. In addition, EuropaBio encourages the Commission to take its 2012 Bioeconomy strategy into consideration in the development of the circular economy action plan and to consider reviewing and revising this. Furthermore, in order to adopt a holistic approach, it will be necessary to coordinate the production of biobased products with waste management, adopting appropriate political measures to ensure a sustainable transition from a linear towards a circular economic model.
Secretary General, Nathalie Moll concluded 'Industrial biotech is a cutting edge technology in the EU and is a big driver of the circular economy across many other sectors. But we are trying to emerge into a marketplace where the fossil carbon industry still receives an estimated $200 billion in subsidies per year globally, often with no need to demonstrate or foot the bill for ensuring product sustainability. An EU circular economy strategy only makes sense in the context of a serious reality check of this situation and of the need to put in place long-term support and measures to enable the EU's better performers to flourish'.


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Rohit Thakral, CEO, Target Integration.
- Rohit Thakral, CEO, Target Integration.'s presentations
Rohit Thakral has 17 years of experience working in environments from Manufacturing to Services, from Retail to Distribution and from Event Management to Software Development. He has been running a businesses since 2008 and has been successful in converting a small business to a mid size software development company spread in 4 countries with development centre in 3 of them.He has experience of managing large CRM and ERP implementation projects, software development projects, cloud migration projects and software sales management.
Presentation Title: How Blockchain based Smart Contracts can Reduce Queues of Trucks
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Omkar Jogeshwari a Luxurious Residential Project in Mumbai
Omkar Jogeshwari is a newly launched residential project presented by the renowned real estate giant "Omkar Realty Group". This is a luxurious residential project which included world-class infrastructure and modern features. The project has included 2 BHK, 2.5 BHK & 3 BHK brilliantly crafted homes in the affordable price range. Every home is meticulously crafted where you will get all facilities of comfortable and blissful living. The project is strategically positioned in the prominent location of Kanjurmarg in Mumbai which is bounded by the all kinds of social amenities and residential conveniences. Omkar Jogeshwari Mumbai project is sprawling over colossal acres of the land having lush beautiful greeneries. Every construction of the project reflects a perfect combination of advanced engineering and urban architecture.
The developer has a great team of architects, engineers, and co-workers who have skillfully prepared the entire architects of the project. Omkar Jogeshwari project has included Vastu compliant homes which are spacious and properly ventilated. Homes are well-crafted and including a big hall, living room, modern bedroom, modular kitchen, and sanitary fitted washroom. Homes are adorned with the stylish flooring tiles, modern home decor and sophisticated furnishings. Every basic and leisure amenities are available in Omkar Jogeshwari Properties such as a large swimming pool, clubhouse, party lawn, power backup, best security system with CCTV surveillance, children's play park, garden, waste management system, sports complex, indoor game room, and lots more residential facilities are available.
Excellent Locality and Neighborhoods
The project is positioned in the lush green region of Kanjurmarg, Mumbai location where you will find cool and healthy surroundings. Omkar Jogeshwari Location is full of all kinds of social amenities such as famous hospitals, reputed schools, banks, commercial offices etc. The project is well-connected to the several residential regions, regionals places, corporate offices, and companies. You will find many shopping centers, malls, shops, markets, multiplexes, and entertainment hubs nearby the project. This stunning location offers excellent connectivity to all the significant points via the best highways, expressways and major roads.


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We started to groom our product backlog which help up reaching our sprint goals. Today we are reaching 64% of our sprint goals. The hole team must take part in grooming but it is the product owner who is responsible for it is done. I suggest using at least 10% for grooming in each sprint for all team members at least until you can say that your backlog is DEEP.
I must admit that working agile have been focusing on human interaction, trust and making the development processes work as intended. Here we are talking let's have the specification when we need them (just-in-time principle) and than we can break the specification down, estimate and plan what the next sprint should include.
We got caught with our pants down
This way of working lead us to the situation that every sprint we were caught by surprise of unknown issues or extra work needed and sometimes we felt that we didn't have time for making the right design decisions. We simply got introduced to late to the specification to work with it in a professional way and ended up making less qualified decisions. One of the consequences was that we didn't make our sprint goal / sprint scope. Over a period of 6 month I investigated the amount of work that were included into the sprint after planning by the term of "this we didn't know but this is critical for this low level story to do" and I was surprised that we included 57% to the scope on this account. It is very important to understand that this extra scope in each sprint wasn't due to changes of the business scope but simply do to missing understanding of the business needs worked into a useful break down and a good design.
Parallel design track
Once we acknowledge this issue we came up with the idea that we could make a parallel design track to the development sprint tracks which should begin working on the user stories and non-functional requirements one sprint before the development sprint. This would give us better understanding and estimates of the user stories and tasks need to be done in the next sprint. Soon we saw that one or two persons responsible felt responsible for doing this parallel design track (the person who were most qualified to do the design and of cause also was interested in doing this work). Yes it helped a lot doing the desing work before the development sprint. We got the unexpected work in an print to go from 57% to 39% in just 3 months but still 39% was unknown or extra work NOT PLANNED!
Heavy impact
Since the consequence of having 39% extra work in a sprint was huge because we experienced that the developers couldn't and of cause wouldn't really COMMIT to the scope they planned to do in the sprint because they felt that no matter what constrains they set up around the scope they were not able to stay with in those limits (most of the times) which lead to no Commitment and hereby missing one of the core thing in agile development that we are able to TRUST each other. I as a agile leader can trust each team to make their commitments each sprint getting that positive spiral of success and the company management can TRUST the agile leader present, show and perform predictability for securing business need and goals.
What to do?
Let's Groom
We started by saying that the team must use 5-10% of their time in this sprint to groom the items for next sprint. To groom means that we re-define, break down the items that is high prioritized, we estimates and the product owner re-prioritize the always prioritized backlog. Roman uses the definition "Groom" DEEP which means Designed appropriately, Emergent, Estimated and Prioritized (http://www.romanpichler.com/blog/product-backlog/making-the-product-backlog-deep/) and keeping your back up to date DEEP'ly is to groom. In another blog I like to describe how we groom but for now lets leave this subject.
The team is responsible for grooming the user story or items to the "Detailed appropriately" level of technical design and implementation details which means that the team also must break down user stories into task with a maximum size of 1 idle developer working day (our normal break down level). The team is also responsible for estimating item (see my blog on who we estimate for more information). Any item that has been groomed reaches a level of "grooming maturity" and once the items has reached the level of Clear we set the status fo the item to "Ready for development". Now it is only items that is ready for development that we can bring into the planning leaving the planning session to take no more than 30 minutes and most important insure that the developers is COMMITTED to reaching the planned scope (read the blog on how to plan an iteration).
Our success
We have 4 teams grooming and have done it for 7 iterations. The success rate in terms of reaching the planned scope has been over 64% for these teams (18/28). For 35% of the sprints (10/28) we must improve while 7% (2/28) of the sprints was late do to unregulated reasons (sickness).
Now I'm looking forward to what numbers 2011 will bring. We will plan with using at least 10% of our sprint to groom the backlog for the upcoming sprints, because it is the single most important event to prevent us from getting "shit in".


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In a recent case, the parties were stalled at the point of the house financing which was to include a sizeable buyout to husband. It seemed that husband's attorney was insisting that his client be paid (for his agreed interest in the marital residence) on date of final divorce.
The attorney wrote [emphasis mine]:
"We can set this up for the refinance and the divorce to be done almost simultaneously and avoid all the complicated paperwork – your client processes the refinance and gets approved and they set a closing date, we finalize the divorce that day before she closes, she closes the refinance immediately thereafter and hands my client his check – the prove-up is done with the court with that caveat – it avoids detailed language needed in the decree, owelty and release documents, and there is no need for a mortgage company to be reviewing and approving the decree which adds additional time and expenses – all become unnecessary, and it greatly simplifies finalizing this."
The client's comment was especially humorous – "[my attorney] has a way to get this done."
I say "humorous" because, of course, I was doing the financing; I was the one who would "get this done."
I do not believe the attorney was acting in bad faith. He was merely acting with limited experience. And, from his experience, he had seen this scenario before and knew first-hand that he could "get it done."
He was right and wrong at the same time.
Here's where he was right. The wife's refinance loan indeed could have closed the day before final divorce (although there is a legally required 3-day right of rescission period between closing and funding – but, let's not get bogged down in that detail right now). And, assuming the day after loan funds were disbursed the divorce was finalized, wife would have indeed had the money to pay husband at time of final divorce.
Here where he was wrong. That is precisely the wrong way to finance a buyout to an ex-spouse. The loan closing described above is a Texas Home Equity Cash Out loan which severely and (quasi) permanently limits the homeowner's financing of their property. Unless the existing mortgage was financed previously as a Texas Home Equity (a legal category of liens), there is no need to "cash out" in order to pay and ex-spouse – there is EVERY reason NOT to "cash out" with that onerous TX Home Equity mortgage loan.
This is very critical and there are negative repercussions to homeowners when TX Home Equity (Cash Out) financing is used. One of the negative consequences when homeowners "cash out" is that future financing of the property is restricted to (among other factors) an 80% LTV ratio (Loan To Value) limit and conventional financing only – no FHA or VA financing allowed. This may not appear to be important until one realizes that not all borrowers fit into the conventional financing box. And, when they do not, there will be NO buyout (with mortgage financing) in the future until the customer fits in that box.
[I have a case now wherein the divorcing borrower's existing mortgage is a TX Home Equity Cash Out. She needs to refinance and perform a buyout. She could do it with FHA financing (because her scores and credit profile are allowable under FHA). But, since cash out financing is CONVENTIONAL ONLY and all refinancing of an existing TX Home Equity loan must be done as another TX Home Equity, she (and her husband) will have to wait for several months while she gets back in the box of conventional financing guidelines. Again, otherwise, I could have closed the loan in <30 days and husband would be paid and no longer liable on the mortgage…if only the homeowners had not "cash out" previously.]
Now, why was the finance scenario described above the wrong way (or at least inferior way) to finance a buyout?
Short answer – that's not how an Owelty lien works or gets financed.
Explanation – the Owelty lien (and its financing) is the proper way to produce money for a divorce buyout; and, Owelty liens can be payable only to a party who is "off title" or is legally divesting himself/herself of interest in the property. The recipient of Owelty funds CANNOT be married to the one who is financing and paying those funds, else it is not an Owelty (*technically, it is not an insurable Owelty). That is, the two parties must be finally divorced before the loan can close and fund.
I have a friend – a fine and highly intelligent attorney – who will write me upon reading this to remind me that Owelties could, in fact, be (legally) created, financed and paid before the dissolution of the marriage. I agree with him – but only because he understands the law and the finer arguments thereof and has convinced me of his thesis. But, the fact is, lenders and title insurers do not see it that way. They universally hold that an Owelty cannot be paid to any person who is married to the homeowner/borrower; the argument being that a married person cannot truly give up community interest in a marital residence while still married…and if he/she did, it would only be by their spouse's confirmation of the residence as separate property which would then nullify any future claim to an Owelty interest.
I shall leave it at that as any further comment by me will only illustrate the sad fact that I am not an attorney and haven't the ability to stand in that circle of esteemed legal thinkers.
I can only comment on issues touching the financing of a buyout in a divorce.
So, how does the financing of an Owelty buyout work – what does the time line look like.
Well, I do it the opposite way from the way virtually all other lenders do it. Most importantly, I start as early in the divorce process as possible. Most lenders say "get your divorce final, bring me the decree and let's see what we can do."
Obviously, I have to be connected with the proposed grantee/borrower early in the process. That's where you come in. But, the idea is that by the time the divorce is final, we are ready to close the loan. So, I am addressing what happens at the point of final divorce and loan closing…assuming that we've all done our paper work.
Since the Owelty cannot be paid until the divorce is final, the loan cannot close until the divorce is final. Here's the time line:
- Divorce is finalized
- We already have the loan ready with the only remaining significant condition being the underwriter's review of the decree
- *About 4-5 days after we receive a copy of conformed decree, homeowner closes the refinance
- 3-day right of rescission period passes
- loan funds and monies are disbursed
*If we could crunch several clerical and governmental regulatory tasks into a few seconds, we could close the loan the afternoon of final divorce. But, it's not possible at this time. The point being that the loan can close – AND THE OWELTY CAN BE IN FORCE – any time after final divorce. That's the earliest point in time that an Owelty will be effective.
To summarize:
- The proper way to finance a buyout is with a carefully constructed Owelty Agreement and Lien in the Final Decree of Divorce (see your friendly neighborhood Divorce-Lending Specialist)
- The Owelty is not in force until the divorce is final
- Any payment of cash before final divorce is considered "cash to borrower" and triggers the restrictive, limiting and onerous features of Texas Home Equity "Cash Out" mortgage lending.
Sometimes, there is just no other way to satisfy the other side other than to pay them on the day of final divorce. If that's the case and if there is temporary access to funds to do this, we can work it out for those funds to be replaced. It involves directing the buyout monies (by agreement and simple mechanics) to another destination. But, if one is trying to avoid complicated paperwork, that's probably not what you want. Remember though, it's not really that complicated to me – I do it in my sleep sometimes…it's part of what I've learned over the past 15 years about making deals work for people.
Noel Cookman


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This spacious and well presented two bedroom apartment located in a popular location in Earley benefits from modern re-fitted bathroom, modern fitted kitchen with appliances and two double bedrooms. The property has easy access to the University Of Reading, located close to bus links into Reading town centre and mainline train links to Reading and London Waterloo from Earley station. Local shops and amenities are within a short walk. Available on a furnished basisThis 2 bedroom property comprises of twospacoius rooms . It also comprises of a fully equipped kitchen including all appliances. this home has a separate Shower W.C and a separate bathroom This property further benefits from double gazed windows, Gas Central heating.NoticeAll photographs are provided for guidance only.
Property ID: 2645


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Mai Khoi and Paul Tran: A Conversation
National Sawdust
On September 11, ARC in collaboration with Elena Park, the curator of the NS+ series, presented Mai Khoi and The Dissidents + Paul Tran live at National Sawdust. Mai Khoi made her New York debut with this program. In Vietnam, she has been persecuted for her open criticism of the state, particularly as she evolved from her pop star roots into an experimental folk artist chanting lyrics infused with themes of resistance and protest. Together with fellow activist musicians Quyền Thiện Đắc and Nygugen Duc Minh, Mai Khoi and The Dissidents are a luminary voice captivating audiences internationally. They were joined on the bill by the dazzling spoken word poet Paul Tran, winner of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe Grand Slam.
In conversation with Elena Park, Paul Tran and Mai Khoi shared their experiences about Vietnamese politics and heritage, touched upon gender identity, and highlighted the strength of artistic expression in personal and political struggles.
The event was presented in partnership with NationalSawdust+ and PEN America and supported by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and Artistic Freedom Initiative (AFI).
ELENA PARK: From watching you, Mai, I feel that you perform with such courage. Paul, I read that in your poetry, one of the things that you explore is the will to persist, so I'm just wondering if I can ask both of you where you get the courage to do what you do.
PAUL TRAN: I've grown up in a family that really believed in trying to leave things behind. My mom left an entire country behind and never wanted me to know about it. She doesn't want me to know about the circumstances surrounding my birth—who my father was after he disappeared from our life—and I understand that that's her way of persisting and enduring difficult things. She's the kind of woman who sees elegance, appearance, performance, and respectability as her tools against circumstance, and that means that whatever has inflicted harm upon her, she erases and pretends isn't there. As her child I think it was expected that I live and grow up in the same way, but as most rebellious teenagers, I chose a different path. At first, the path of truth-telling felt exciting to me because it brought justice on people who I felt had hurt me or oppressed me, and I think it was also my way of rebelling against my mom, and her authority. However, now I think that courage comes from the fact that it's not lost on me that people would rather I keep my mouth shut. It's not lost on me that people's comforts would remain intact if I go in silence, and, sometimes I feel like I have very little to lose, though I know there's still so much I could be risking, like my own personal safety. But I enjoy the notion that my version of the truth can be terrifying to those who think they have power over me.
ELENA PARK: Mai Khoi, you are also a truth-teller to people with power—can you talk about this question of courage and what drives you to do what you do?
MAI KHOI: I just do what I feel. I do not know from where, or from what I sing these songs, apart from emotional experience, because I'm an artist. I just feel like artists have a mission in life to express the truth.
ELENA PARK: Paul mentioned family, and Mai Khoi I know that because of the things that you do and speaking out against oppression, your family does come under some pressure as well, and I'm wondering how you balance that responsibility to speak the truth with your personal safety and that of the ones that you love.
MAI KHOI: My parents are normal people in Vietnam. We've lived in fear for a long time, and I know my parents are very scared about what I'm doing now. However, people in society hide their emotions very well. They don't tell the truth. I don't believe that is the right way to live. I just encourage my parents by telling them that what I'm doing now is not illegal because I know many people are following me. I'm well-known in my country, and I want to change something for my country. I encourage people to step out of the fear and feel free to speak and to do what they want, like me.
ELENA PARK: I think that your work does that for people as well, Paul. You were talking about the people who would prefer that you stay quiet, but there must be many people who come to you and say, "Thank you for empowering me" or "Thank you for making us see a different, beautiful perspective in your work." Is that what you're finding as well, in addition to the opposition you sometimes encounter?
PAUL TRAN: I think so. One counts one's Instagram followers sometimes. It's true. You should do it. That's a gift that comes as part of the work, but it's not something that even in my most vain moments I ask for. Maya Angelou has this quote, "There's no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you," and I've known the years of my life spent in that kind of agony and the kind of person that I was expected to be, and so I do the work simply as a resistance to that agony. It is my own small form of resistance to what is expected of me inside of my family, what is expected of me by the kind of stereotypes heaped on bodies like mine. I think what it does is give permission, and I know that I've been given permission by folks who had to do it before me, who had to do it first for their communities, and I don't know if there's anything else that I'm trying to do but keep that door open just a little longer. It was always my impression that we're not sure there's a door in our cage, in our cell, until we see the light fall in, or until we feel the breeze come in, and if my work can just keep that door ajar, then we can evacuate all the folks in that room.
ELENA PARK: And was there a moment where something changed or you were able to confront this struggle and start performing or giving your voice wings to share?
PAUL TRAN: A little bit. I was the seventh grader who thought I was going to be an MD/PhD. And then I was a history major in college and thought I would be an academic. But when I was assaulted at school my junior year, I didn't know that the scholarship program I was a part of was being audited for its effectiveness in pushing minority students into academic pathways, and because the school hadn't been able to perform, my situation was a liability to them—a liability to their numbers and a liability to their funding. In short of providing the kind of assistance or resources that we thought would be available to students of color at a place like that, I was asked to leave the scholarship program, and my journey to graduation was made almost impossible. I felt really alone in that moment and in trying to figure out why people have investments in their own image, and it had nothing to do with my safety. People prioritize their comfort and their success over my safety, and I think that was a catalyst for me to say "If I don't mean anything to you, or if that's the message I'm internalizing, then you probably wouldn't mind if I open my mouth and say this. You probably didn't expect this." That served to push me.
ELENA PARK: Mai, you had a kind of transformative moment. In 2010, you won the Television's Album of the Year and song of the Year, which is a huge, huge thing. It would be like the Grammys here. This was like the peak of stardom in Vietnam. And then, you shaved half your head, and you went on a different path. Can you tell us about that moment?
MAI KHOI: I was so happy when I won the Song of the Year award, and I shaved "VN", the name of the song, into my hair. I was just expressing myself freely in a different way. At that time, I was already resisting ideas about what it means to be a Vietnamese woman, and I went against the social norm about what Vietnamese women had to be like. After I won the award, I changed my hair, and it shocked people a little bit.
ELENA PARK: And then you continued on that path. You became very outspoken about free speech. You had the occasion to meet President Obama in Hanoi when he went there in 2016, and then you were happily covered in the global press for testing the limits of free speech. I know that you had encountered some censorship in your music with your lyrics. Can you talk about what the relationship to the government was when you were just trying to sing songs and create work?
MAI KHOI: I released many albums before—about seven or eight albums. Everytime I released a new album, I had to submit all of my lyrics to the censorship system. If they didn't like something in my lyrics, they forced me to remove the song from the album, and it hurt me. Why do they have that right? I was very angry because I'd been censored, but I didn't know what to do.
But then, I got bored with the censorship system. I got bored with artists who censor themselves. In 2016 a friend had an idea, and said "Mai Khoi, you can nominate yourself for the National Assembly election." I didn't know that I was allowed to do that. I took a few days to think about this, and that nomination really changed my life. After my nomination, three weeks later, my show was shut down. The police came and raided my shows and they posted an article about it to let people know that I was effectively banned from singing in public. I was evicted from my house two times. I was under surveillance twenty-four/seven. So many problems happened to me since my nomination. At the same time, my country had a big environmental disaster, and people come out onto the streets and protest every week, and I'm an artist. I can't be silent. I just cannot be silent in front of that.
ELENA PARK: And things really got worse for you after you protested President Trump's visit.
MAI KHOI: People were very angry when I did the protest. In Vietnam people say, "You cannot say things impolitely like that. You cannot use the word 'piss'. I was just practicing my basic right: freedom to protest peacefully, freedom of expression. It sparked a huge debate about these things, and people talked about this for a month in Vietnam. Internationally, it has raised awareness about how basic the rights in Vietnam are.
ELENA PARK: I know that you just did a European tour with your band, and I just wonder how your fans can keep up with you since you can't perform in public. How do you keep in touch with them? How do you provide them with hope and tell them what you think they should be doing in terms of protesting and agitating for change?
MAI KHOI: It's really hard for me to promote myself and the band when I cannot do the advertising, even on my Facebook. Facebook used to be the only space where we could speak freely in Vietnam, but now, it's not free anymore. The cyber-security law in practice now silences people. People don't dare to talk about what they want to talk about. Even me. I used to sing on Facebook. I would livestream when I could not sing in public. I used livestream on Facebook to do my own concerts. And people could still listen to my new songs through that. But now, I cannot even do that, because they can come and arrest me right away, very easily.
ELENA PARK: One of the things we can be grateful for is that you win these international human rights awards and people know about you around the world. They can be looking to see how the government is treating you, and I hope that gives you some measure of relative safety.
MAI KHOI: I know international organizations and the international press and media are helping me a lot. They have saved me from problems. Every time I got detained, it has been for just one minute. The news about my detainment goes on the international press and puts pressure on my government to release me.
ELENA PARK: This is the eight hours you were held in questioning when you came back from a tour last year. Is that right?
MAI KHOI: Yes, and also the winning VÁCLAV prize, and this prize's existence in general, has inspired many people to do the same thing: to speak without fear, to create art without a censorship system, and to stand up for human rights.
ELENA PARK: Paul, in your work, you stand up for freedom, and it's such a bold voice that you share. How do you write and perform personal, passionate, and difficult work, because some of the stories that you tell, like "Dry Clean," are you personal stories, and you deliver them with such emotion. How are you able to write that and do that and remain whole?
PAUL TRAN: I answer this the way I teach it to the high school students I coach through poetry slam. I tell them, "That difficult event—we have survived it. And the writing should not recreate that. The writing, even though it appears incredibly intense or emotional, is in no way designed to trigger our own selves to go back to that place. Otherwise, that would be irresponsible to ourselves and to our own safety". In poetry slam, I talk to them about power, control, creating an experience for the room, because essentially, no one really wakes up needing my story or telling themselves they need that. Not in my imagination, anyway. And most folks who I tell these stories to, will respond back saying "That's unbelievable." And I want to say, "Your inability to believe it is part of why the violence occurs, why the assailants get away with it, and why there's little rehabilitation or justice for survivors."
And so, when I do my work, it would be misleading or inaccurate to say that it's about that trauma or that experience. I have a question that I'm trying to answer. I have an investigation that I'm trying to conduct through that story, and what I'm trying to do is something that I think white, cisgender, male writers have been canonized for doing, which is, presenting a speaker that is capable of the acquisition of knowledge, that is capable for standing in for humanity. Instead of having that speaker or character be those things, or a neutral subject, I want people to know that my speaker is myself, or is someone like me, and that I'm capable of the same kind of humanity, of the same kind of critical thinking, of the same kind of emotional depth, that all of your favorite characters are. And I have to do that from my particular experience. Otherwise, someone's just going to look at that and say, "Oh that's just a rape poem. That's just an immigration poem. That's just a blank, blank poem," which devalues the integrity of the work. INo, it's actually about ownership. It's actually about agency. And they elide that. So part of the work is making that undeniable.
ELENA PARK: Mai how do you find singing these really intense, difficult songs? Does it bring you back to when you wrote them and what you were feeling, or are you able to distance yourself? We feel it very powerfully in the audience.
MAI KHOI: Yes, instead of writing articles or poems, I write songs. In this moment, what I feel, what I see, what I understand—I will write it down and sing it loud. And I'm very lucky to meet this dissident guy Paul. Music is very different from writing. We need a community. We need to work with other artists and musicians to make art stronger, and expressed as powerfully as possible. I'm very lucky to have met this guy and my group in Vietnam, so we can create the songs that I want. Everytime I play my songs, I feel that all of my energy is put into my songs and the songs will transfer to the audience. I feel tired, but at the same time I feel like I am receiving something meaningful.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: My question is to Mai Khoi, because I believe there have been strong women in Vietnamese history, in poetry over the years. And I'm wondering if in some ways you are a part of that tradition of strong women, rather than, the traditional women you were talking about earlier. There are also strong women in Vietnamese history and I just wondered, particularly in poetry and literature, if you could say something about that.
MAI KHOI: In my country's history, the first two kings were women. They make for a strong image of women for the country, but I don't think it is particularly good or bad, because I do not know if that is a true story or a fake story. But, in my generation, women still lack their rights to express themselves as they want, because our society of Vietnam has too many social norms and it is very difficult for women to do what they want, even if it's just dressing like they want. Maybe I am telling a different story, but that's what I've seen. What do you think, Elena?
ELENA PARK: I was going to say, earlier in your career when you were pushing norms about sexuality, championing LGBT rights, and protesting violence against women—before you started really being so much of an activist—you had a really hard time, right?
MAI KHOI: Yes, I participated in some activities to promote LGBT rights and women's rights. I wrote a song about how beautiful it is when women feel free to show their bodies.
PAUL TRAN: It is really an honor to be in this space and to witness you because so much of Vietnamese poetry comes from songs. We come from people who have been historically illiterate at times, and how one passes down culture and traditions were through the songs, whether in Đại La or otherwise. It's sang in the fields. It's sang in lullabies. You see, with the lyrics and translations projected on the screen, all of those literary devices evident in your lyrics and your songs, and so I think it does sit in that same tradition. As a trans femme person, it's amazing to see you and that power and brilliant grace be added to that long tradition of women writers from our country.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Can you talk a little bit about the choices you made and why you wore what you wore?
PAUL TRAN: I love how when you asked that question, you took your shades off, real good and slow.
ELENA PARK: I must say that she works in fashion and design if you didn't know.
PAUL TRAN: When I left home and came to New York City and was away from my family, I was like "Holy shit, this is the time." My little sister came out as trans years before I did, and I think her transition was incredibly inspiring to me because she grew up with Tumblr, whereas I was the Myspace generation, so we got really good at this. But she had access to all these radical ideas and languages that were so easily reblogged, and it gave her that freedom and permission first. I learned makeup from her—still not good at it. But for today, this is ASOS. I had a sheer situation planned, and I forgot to plan a situation for under the situation, which I realized this morning. So we are repeating something from Friday night. Forgive me.
MAI KHOI: I really admire your style.
PAUL TRAN: Cảm ơn nhiều! [Thanks a lot!]
MAI KHOI: I'm very emotional when I read your poems and see the way you act; it triggers something deep inside me. I nearly cried. I know your style is telling something. Just like the way I dress is telling something too. But we let the audience feel it themselves.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: I just want to thank you. I know exactly how you feel. I'm from China. The way I look now—I cannot dress like this in China. But here we are, in the United States. I'm very grateful, and grateful for your performance, your expression, and being who you are. That's the core of being an artist. That's your heart that you have given to the audience, and I want to give you my energy and my support for what you do. Keep it up. It's great.
ELENA PARK: Paul, I know you are working on a collection of poetry, and that you came to writing poems after you were doing spoken word and won a New York and Poets Cafe and all the other things you have won. We look forward to more of your words, live or written—however you choose to share them. Mai Khoi, it's such a pleasure to have you in this space. It's funny because you get compared to Pussy Riot a lot (and Lady Gaga), and Pussy Riot was actually on this stage a year ago with Pussy Riot Theatre. So it's a pleasure and an honor to witness what Paola Prestini and the space believes you both embody. I want to thank you for being on this stage today. And PEN America!
Transcript of the discussion by Nadia Ahmed.


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On Sunday, I harvested the chilli that we have growing in the conservatory. There were sufficient Ghost chilli ready to be harvested. This is particularly important as the last batch we had blended (with some of the less hot chilli) had run out. Finally there was enough Ghost chilli to blend with the garlic, lemon juice and salt, without needing the less hot chilli to bulk it up – mainly to maximise the heat.
The Ghost chilli was blended with my Magic Bullet blender until it was even and smooth. Just opening the blender released a strong whiff of the heat in the blend; it was enough to start me coughing and sneeze.
But as the saying goes, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. No point saying the chilli is >1,000,000 Scovilles hot, if it does not have that impact. And I have to say my wife is definitely convinced that this chilli is HOT!!! So much so that she was very quick to bring out the milk from the fridge to quench the heat.
BTW, a little information about the Scoville scale for rating how hot chilli is. It is the degree of dilution of the pepper extract with water which is required until there is 'no heat' observed. But nowadays, the rating is done using chromatography to look at how much of the capsaicin is present in each chilli.
As capsaicin is not soluble in water, but much better in fat, the recommendation is to drink milk to quench the fire from the chilli (and using milk to wash your hands after handling chilli). Apparently an alcoholic drink will also help to extinguish the 'fire' better as well.
The 'fire' from the chilli results in the body releasing endorphins, which are chemicals the body releases for pain relief and makes you feel good; apparently this is also released when you exercise, which is probably why exercising also makes you feel good.
BTW, we were having the chilli with the food during dinner. The heat was very intense, so I needed something to quench it. I resorted to eating some ice cream to quench the heat. Then my wife had a brilliant idea – why not eat the ice cream with our Ghost chilli blend.
The sensation was very interesting – combining both heat of the chilli and the cold of the ice cream. Very interesting and actually rather pleasant. The ice cream did not dampen the heat of the chilli, as this could be felt the instant it went into the mouth. There was a gush of heat rushing up into my nose (similar to what happens when ingesting wasabi with Japanese sushi). Definitely worth trying again (my wife did have quite a few scoops).
Now it has been reported over the years that eating chilli can have numerous health benefits (substantiated by studies):
1) Increased energy expenditure
2) Curb appetite for certain foods
3) Is rich in certain vitamins e.g. vitamin C
4) It contains capsaicin which can aid in killing cancer cells (research done on prostatic, lung and pancreatic cancer)
5) Supposedly reduces 'bad' LDL-cholesterol
BTW, if you are having difficulties making the big business transaction in the toilet, try some of this Ghost chilli as a remedy; just make sure you can get to the toilet in time. Also do be aware that it was hot when you ate it, and it will be hot when it comes out.


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For pets, summer is a great time for your pets to get out and about and enjoy the warm weather. However, as is the case during every season, summer has its own set of hazards. One of the things that could be dangerous for your furry friend is blue-green algae. At The Insurance Emporium, we want to keep your pets safe from seasonal risks. That's why we spoke to our pet health expert about the dangers of blue-green algae.
What is blue-green algae?
Despite the way that blue-green algae looks, it's actually a type of bacteria, called cyanobacteria. It gathers together to create green and brown floating clumps on water and can make the water look like pea soup. When washed up on the water's edge it can also look like foam.
Where is it found?
The places you're most likely to find blue-green algae are lakes, streams, ponds and other places where there is standing water. It can be found at different times of year but more of it is around during the warmer summer months. So, be careful when walking your dog at this time of year.
How will it harm my pet?
Blue-green algae produces various toxins that can cause moderate to severe toxicity in both animals and people. While not all algal blooms are toxic, just small mouthfuls of water that are contaminated with the toxins can be fatal. For this reason, it's important to keep your pets away from any water where there is blue-green algae.
Symptoms to look out for
The kinds of symptoms your pet might experience from blue-green algae will vary, depending on the toxin that is present. These toxins could cause liver damage or affect the nervous system. Potential effects from them could include salivation, vomiting, diarrhoea, seizures, disorientation, coma, various other neurological signs, difficulty breathing and death.
It's important to keep your pets safe when there's blue-green algae in bloom. If you spot blue-green algae in any water in your local area, don't let your dog drink from it or swim in it. Should you suspect that your pet has been exposed to these toxins, make sure you contact your vet immediately.
We all want our pets to live long and happy lives, so the effects of blue-green algae might sound frightening. Yet, with this knowledge, you could be better equipped to deal with it. If you have any concerns that your pet might be in danger of blue-green algae poisoning, be sure to contact your vet.
All content provided on this blog is for informational purposes only. We make no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following any link on this site. We will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information nor for the availability of this information. We will not be liable for any loss, injury or damage arising from the display or use of this information. This policy is subject to change at any time.


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Flirtelle Emma Padded Balconette Bra Latte
- Description
The Flirtelle Emma bra is cleverly designed with a lightweight foam lining to shape, support and lift fuller busts without adding extra volume. The warm latte tone makes a great foundation, with beautiful lace trims to the cradle to make it a far from boring basic! Constructed in a 3-part cut-and-sew balconette shape to give a rounded look under your outfits.
- Balconette cups offer moderate coverage, perfect for everyday wear
- Foam lined cups
- Underwired cups
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- Fastens with three hooks, three columns
- 54% Polyester, 30% Polyamide, 16% Elastane
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Standard UK Tracked Delivery Free on orders over £50 £3.95 2-3 working days Standard UK Tracked Delivery FREE with your Unlimited Delivery subscription FREE 2-3 working days Click & Collect £3.95 2-3 working days Express UK Tracked Delivery £4.95 1-2 working days Next Day Delivery £7.95 Next available working day UK Saturday Delivery £9.95 Next available Saturday Europe Standard Shipping Free on orders over £100 £6 Estimated 3-10 working days Europe Tracked Shipping Free on orders over £125 £10 Estimated 3-10 working days Canada Standard Shipping Free on orders over £125 £8 Estimated 5-10 working days Worldwide Shipping Free on orders over £125 £12 Estimated 8-14 working days US Standard Shipping Free on orders over $90 $7 Estimated 5-10 working days US Tracked Shipping Free on orders over $160 $12 Estimated 5-10 working days
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There is nothing worse, than looking a hungry child in the eye and not being able to feed them. It kills a part of the soul and no-one should ever have to experience that. However, in October 2010, we did. As a part of our operations, we run a Daily Feeding Program in Rooigrond- which at the time catered for 483 children.
The village has two engine enabled water pumps, which serve the entire village. In October 2010, the engines broke down, with fruitless attempts in fixing it. The village was distraught, as this meant there was no water to drink, wash and even to cook for their families. Over and above that, we had no water with which to cook for the beneficiaries of our Daily Feeding Program, we were devastated.
However, means were made to communicate our problem with an associate, Nadia Petersen, who responded to this by sending out a public SOS. Within a short time, Marius Du Toit, the owner of a property in the vicinity responded with a generous offer of water. Such kindness and generosity was very welcome and that same day, 110 litres of water were collected from his property. The children could eat once more.
It is unthinkable that out here in the world, we still have people going hungry due to a lack of what is a 'natural resource'. A very sad reality that we have come face to face with on more than one occasion. As sad as this is, it has to be said that the kindness through which this can be overcome, is beautiful to witness. We've been shown this kindness on more than one occasion by the very same Marius Du Toit and the generous folk of Westgate. It goes beyond what words could ever express and imprints itself deeply to the soul.
This kindness, shows the truth in our motto, indeed "together, we can overcome…"


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The Hannah Horvath Reading List
With all the forgiveness and compliments she gets from her editor, Hannah Horvath must be a damn good essayist. In episode 1 of season 3 of GIRLS, which premiered last Sunday, David announces he's thrilled by Hannah's work and is going to publish the first chapter of her e-book on nerve.com.
It's not totally surprising: Hannah has a great voice. She is shrewd, witty, and sometimes chooses to do things "for the story" — as Jessa suggested when encouraging her to sleep with her boss. And as her mother observed, Hannah "does what she wants when she wants to do it, and she has fun. And then she thinks about that fun and she learns from that fun." Hannah's a life writer.
But we don't know how she actually writes. We've had a taste of her talent and subject matter in a few instances. In episode 9 of season 1, she refers to an essay she wrote about "Phil the Hoarder," a guy she once dated. She then hurriedly writes a new essay about death to read aloud. We know what Hannah wrote about Marnie's relationship with Charlie. We know that she wanted to "write the fuck out of" her assignment about a night of cocaine snortage. And when Hannah was mid-breakdown at the end of season 2, we saw the first sentence of an essay: "A friendship between college girls is grander and more dramatic than any romance…"
Tantalizing as these tales may be, we're never going to get to read Hannah Horvath's essays (though someone made a nice stab at an imitation on nerve.com). But you should check out these self-aware, wry female essayists and their work; their observations of modern life are funny, humble, and bold:
Meghan Daum, My Misspent Youth
Daum's use of irony and self-degradation is right in line with Hannah's style. Daum tackles many aspects of the contemporary experience, including living in close proximity to New York hipsters, struggling for intimacy with others, and the quest for authenticity — very consistent.with Hannah's crises.
Sarah Vowell, The Partly Cloudy Patriot
Vowell and Horvath are alike in their anxious, caring voices and their tendencies to go a little bit overboard: Vowell says, "Going too far and caring too much about a subject is the best way to make friends that I know."
Sloane Crosley, How Did You Get This Number
Like Horvath, Crosley recounts her wild and wacky experiences with precision and confidence in their absurdity. This essay collection is brilliantly funny, and Crosley's voice is unique and unmatched.
Hilary Winston, My Boyfriend Wrote A Book About Me: And Other Stories I Shouldn't Share with Acquaintances, Coworkers, Taxi Drivers, Assistants, Job Interviewers, Bikini Waxers, and Ex/Current/Future Boyfriends But Have
The title pretty much speaks for itself — Winston is honest and hilarious, and she's willing to bare all the details of her dating history. She's got a peer in Hannah.
And in the way of novels, these authors and works address some of the same themes that Hannah grapples with:
Curtis Sittenfield, Prep
Siitenfield's insightful coming-of-age novel about the painful learning process that is adolescence has all the sexual candor and loathability that we've come to associate with Hannah.
Meg Wolitzer, The Interestings
The intricacies of female friendships are a huge deal to Hannah — I quoth: "I'm not interested in anything they [her friends] have to say! That's not the point of friendship." In The Interestings, Wolitzer taps into the jealousy, competition, but simultaneous total devotion that is intrinsic to our closest gal-pal relationships.
Adelle Waldman, The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P.
A self-absorbed New York writer is the subject of Waldman's novel — and TWIST: it's a guy! His love interest is actually also a writer, whose name is Hannah, who can be unconfident, so the parallels are uncanny.
Just remember: Though the two may seem similar, Lena Dunham is not Hannah Horvath. So never mistake Dunham's book, which is due to be published this year, with Horvath's e-book. Just don't. But you can check out the reading list that Dunham and Judy Blume recommended.
Image: HBO


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Maternity clothes? Maternity pants, maternity dresses, maternity shirts, maternity everything. Honestly at this point, I hate wearing clothes and shoes. Except dresses, those are comfortable.
Stretch marks? Yes, on my bum. :(
Sleep: It really depends... I have to pee at least three times a night now. Sometimes the baby decides she wants to do spastic things at night if I've had a long day. This week, it has been touch and go for sleep. Some nights I sleep great, others I had contractions for 6 hours or so off and on only to progress into nothing.
Best moment this week: The baby has dropped. Of course I have had more pressure and have to pee all of the time now. I think I might have lost my mucus plug.
Have you told family and friends: Yes
Miss Anything? I miss not having to stop when talking because the baby is pushing on my lungs so I gasp for air, not sweating through everything, and being able to walk without gasping for air.
Movement: Tons! And it's more exaggerated now. Also she keeps kicking me in some nerve in my legs that makes me go limp. I love her regular movements though, they are so large!
Food cravings: Pickles, bacon, mayo, lemonade, chocolate, cold cut sandwiches, fries, meat (burgers, steak), pizza, NEW cravings: root beer, carbonated drinks, popcorn, pie.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Sometimes.
Have you started to show yet: Yes, all of the time people come up to me and ask me when I'm due. Also many are saying I look like I'm going to pop, ha.
Gender prediction: Girl
Labor Signs: She has dropped, and I definitely feel she is coming soon!
Belly Button in or out? In, but barely!
Wedding rings on or off? Had to buy cheap rings to wear, because my wedding rings were so uncomfortable and tight, but even those aren't really fitting any more (comfortable any way).
Happy or Moody most of the time: Still very happy, but I am getting tired of some of the annoying symptoms. I.e. Heartburn, joint pain, and swollen feet. I went through a weird hormonal depressed/anxious thing a few days ago though... where I wanted her to come but didn't want her to come. Freaked out for several hours and then talked to hubby and he calmed me down. :)
Looking forward to: Watching baby girl grow even more, meeting baby girl, and getting closer to the due date! Only 2 more weeks to go, unless she comes early! (Incidentally she did come early, but I'll post about that later)


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Manly Inflatable Boat Race
26 February 2017
10:30 am – 12:00 pm
Manly Beach, NSW 2095
Official Website
It's time to get pumped up (Yep, inflatable reference.) because the Manly Inflatable Boat Race charity event is making it's 13th annual voyage.
Don your swimming costume. And we very literally mean costume. Then proceed to race your cactus/caterpillar/pineapple/anything inflatable from a course starting at Manly Surf Life Saving Club.
We'd recommend dressing like a mermaid, a crab, a speed boat… Something of the seafaring sort. It certainly can't hurt your chances of victory right? Maybe even an octopus, so you have eight arms to row with. Whatever floats your boat.
Subscribe to the Tribe


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San Antonio man explains viral Comal River video showing officers pouring alcohol into tuber's mouth
The first weekend of summer 2019 is in the books and as one viral video starring two San Antonians shows, the Texas tubing tomfoolery is already underway.
Steve Perez, 24, and his friend, Frankie Bustillos, 31, are overnight Twitter stars after their capers floated onto timelines of more than 100,000 users on Twitter. The now-viral video shows the friends catching alcohol in their cup and mouth as a police officer pours out a bottle into the Comal River.
"Welp my alcohol got taken away at the river but the New Braunfels police gave it back," he tweeted.
RELATED: Ultimate guide to tubing rivers in Central Texas: Tips and tricks to keep you floating
Perez said he and his friends were stopped by NBPD when they spotted the group with prohibited glass containers. After issuing the tubers tickets, the cops started pouring out the bottles. After some pleading by Perez, he said the authorities told him they were going to pour out the drinks and it was up to them if and how they wanted to catch it.
"They said, 'If you catch it, I guess you can have it,'" Perez summed up what the officers told him, adding that they had a good sense of humor during the stop.
Perez extended his compliant container into the stream, but Bustillos opted for just letting the alcohol flow into his mouth.
"You made that cop your bartender," one person replied to the video that has racked up more than 80,000 likes and 21,000 retweets in less than 24 hours.
RELATED: Fiesta-goer explains viral Oyster Bake chugging photo with SAPD officers
"Best thing I've seen all day," another said, followed by another online onlooker who said "every drop counts in this situation."
Others were upset that the alcohol was poured into the water.
David Ferguson, communications coordinator for the department, said the officers in the video were following protocol for the immediate disposal of the contents of the illegal glass container. He also said fines for having glass can be up to $500, per New Braunfels city code. Perez said he doesn't remember how much the ticket was since it was soaked to shreds by the end of their float.
"We're out there to make sure they're following the rules and having a great time while doing it," Ferguson added.
Perez said his crew will be back on the river this upcoming weekend.
Madalyn Mendoza is a breaking news reporter and general assignment writer. Read her on our breaking news site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com | firstname.lastname@example.com | @MaddySkye