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Amenities that inspire.
Studio, one, and two bedroom options.
Close to work, school, and play.
With incredible panoramic views of The Bay and Downtown St. Petersburg, our apartments at Urban Flats feature newly renovated, modern interiors and excellent amenities (with many new amenities coming late 2018). Select your new space from studio, one bedroom, or two bedroom apartments for rent located just a short walk from vibrant downtown St. Petersburg.
(727) 202-2005
300 10th St S
St. Petersburg,
Email Us
Walk from your new home to some of the most exciting places in our city, including downtown and the Bay. With a breathtaking view overlooking St. Petersburg's beautiful skyline, Urban Flats is within walking distance of the trendy EDGE District, featuring the best dining and shopping options in the city.
Find out more on our Neighborhood page.
Our community is undergoing a multimillion-dollar renovation, and that can be felt in every detail of your new apartment. At Urban Flats, you will find interior features that make our apartments beautiful, including:
Check out more on our Floor Plans page.
Here you'll have it all. Enjoy free high-speed WiFi at our fully-equipped clubhouse, work out in the state-of-the-art fitness center with a personal trainer, or lounge on the luxurious sundeck next to our sparkling swimming pool and enjoy the Florida sun. Our apartments will draw you in, but our amenities will make you stay.
For a full list of what our community has to offer, visit our Amenities page.


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Sowing Seeds
Sowing Seeds takes place in the Werribee Park Community Garden, a healthy food oasis in the middle of Melbourne's urban sprawl, run almost entirely by Burmese refugees.
The film features Evelyn, former a nurse in the Burmese Revolutionary Army who manages the garden day-to-day, Park Ranger James who supervises the program and Duchy, a young refugee with learning difficulties, who specialises in catching hungry rabbits.
Commissioned by NCDFREE the film highlights the lack of healthy food options in many modern cities and demonstrates a solution that addresses nutrition, builds community relationships and improves mental health.

subset: commoncrawl


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Tuesday, December 8, 1998 Published at 23:20 GMT
UK Politics
Hague unveils new Lords team
Relations between the Tory leader and peers have been strained
William Hague has made five new appointments to his frontbench team in the Lords days after it was ravaged by sackings and resignations.
Earl Attlee, the grandson of the post-war Labour prime minister Clement Attlee, takes up the post of frontbench spokesman for Northern Ireland.
Lord Dixon Smith has been appointed as local government spokesman and Lord Astor of Hever joins the whips office.
The appointments were made necessary after Mr Hague's sacking of the Tory leader in the Lords, Viscount Cranborne.
Lord Cranborne was sacked after he brokered a deal with the prime minister on Lords reform which would have enabled 91 hereditary peers to participate in Parliament temporarily despite Labour's pledge to abolish all heriditaries.
The deal was done without Mr Hague's authority.
The sacking provoked the resignation of the entire Tory frontbench in the Lords which Mr Hague refused to accept.
Two other Tory peers, the Baronesses Strange and Flather, left the party to sit as independent crossbenchers in protest at Mr Hague's treatment of their former leader.
The row put severe strains on the relationship between Tory peers and their counterparts in the Commons, with most Lords backing their former leader and MPs giving their public support to Mr Hague.
With the new appointments Mr Hague will hope to draw a line under the matter.
UK Politics Contents
A-Z of Parliament
Talking Politics
Vote 2001


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Liverpool have joined three other clubs in the race to sign Sampdoria striker Mauro Icardi this summer.
The 19-year-old impressed Liverpool when he scored the final goal in their game against Roma this weekend in a 3-1 win. But the Reds are not the only club that are keen to sign Icardi, he has also had attention from Spurs, Inter Milan and Man City.
Roberto Mancini was also in the stands watching the game and spoke to The Daily Mail:
'He scored a great goal and moved very well and I must say I liked him.'
Icardi has had an impressive start in football scoring over 500 goals goals in the youth stages of his career and is no stranger to having a few clubs fight it out for his signature. In 2008 he had interest from Barcelona, Real Madrid, Deportivo la Coruna, Espaynol, Valencia, Sevilla, Arsenal and Liverpool and he chose Barcelona. He played there for 3 years before transferring to Sampdoria in 2011.
Sampdoria who refused a high value bid from Napoli in the winter transfer window will be reluctant to sell their striker especially after he scored six goals in January alone, but they may be forced to listen to offers in the summer.
It seems that Inter Milan are the club mostly likely to sign the striker.
[opinion-widget opid="201624″]


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Monthly Archives: September 2011
Psalm 139:17
How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them!
James 1:9-10
Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. But the rich should take pride in their humiliation-since they will pass away like a wild flower.
Hebrews 2:18
Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
John 8:12
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
Psalm 122:6-7
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: "May those who love you be secure. May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels."
1 Corinthians 14:36
Or did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only people it has reached?
Proverbs 21:1
In the LORD's hand the king's heart is a stream of water that he channels toward all who please him.
Matthew 7:21 (NIV)
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
Lamentations 3:22-23
Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
Obadiah 1:11
On the day you stood aloof while strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were like one of them.


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Amerock Polished Nickel Markham Bath Hardware
Traditional design aesthetics punctuate the Markham collection which provides crisp, linear definition to the bath or powder room. Square footing at the base is inspired by the architectural details of columns, pilasters and stately slim bars. Complements a variety of Amerock cabinet hardware, suggested coordination to the Amerock Manor collections.
Shipping : All orders are shipped in 24 hours
Item #: A26130$5.09
Item #: A26131$3.65
Write Your Own Review


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Enquire about purchasing this artwork.
Drawing at Palais Sebban in Marrakech
The Palais Sebban was constructed around the magnificent residence of Caíd Sebban.
Located close to the Ban Lahksour gate into the Medina. This 19th century palace has been
intensively renovated to incorporate several original riads while maintaining the
authenticity of its three patios. The roofs are made of painted wood, festooned with
frescoes that are intricately carved from plaster. The Palais is adorned with stained glass
and mosaic tiles ("zellij"). Different pieces, of great historic value, have been fitted into
spacious rooms and suites that are furnished with oriental antiques.
My studio was within a pillared shrine that overlooks a central mosaic pool, a real oasis
away from the dust of the old city and the heat of the day.
©2019 ZACRON. All rights reserved.Site by Lantern Studios in association with Cube Connection


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Our new favorite hashtag is #VeryRealisticYA, which in addition to pointing out all that is ridiculous about the red-hot but not always relatable YA genre, happens to be gut-bustingly hilarious. (Even better: it was created by an actual teen writer!) Here are some of our favorites.
And from the hashtag's young creator, who wondered on Twitter if his success in creating a trending sensation could count as an extracurricular activity on his college apps:


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Showcasing local events from smaller nightclub & concert shows to large, non-music related events like the Tattoo Arts Convention & Philadelphia Auto Show.
This past weekend marked the 11th anniversary of the Chester County Hot Air Balloon Festival, which was held again at the New Garden Flying Field in Toughkenamon, PA. The Chester County Balloon Festival is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting local businesses and tourism, and a portions of the festival proceeds go to the Chester County Hero...Read More →
Booze, bacon, and Brotherly Love: The Bacon and Beer Classic had it all. Occupying the Piazza at Schmidt's Commons, the festival transformed the space into a bacon and beer lover's paradise with all manner of meaty and boozy options available to food and beverage connoisseurs on Saturday, June 10. With tickets priced at $45-55 each for...Read More →
24 hours from now, the 2017 NFL Draft will already be under way. Philly has been abuzz for quite some time about hosting the draft here on the famed Rocky steps of the Art Museum, but this past week things have really ramped up here in the City of Brotherly Love. With the stage built,...Read More →
The 2017 Philadelphia Auto Show returns to the Pennsylvania Convention Center for a 9 day run beginning tomorrow, Saturday, January 28th, 2017 through Sunday, February 5th, 2017. The Philadelphia Auto Show is always one of our favorite Philly events and each year look forward to getting a sneak peak at the cars and displays on Media...Read More →
Today, January 21, 2017 marked the first full day of the presidency of Donald J. Trump, but that's not how I will remember it. When I think back on this cold, dreary Saturday morning, I won't recall his divisive politics or his agenda of hate; instead I will remember the first day that Americans stood...Read More →


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Tagged elsewhere
- Apps: Don't visit your GP, use your mobile phone for a check-up instead... | Mail Online
- BBC News - GPs 'to prescribe health apps'
- Full of health and appyness
- Doctors told to prescribe smartphone apps to patients - Telegraph
- DH highlights health apps
- GPs are to "prescribe" smartphone apps to patients to help them manage their own health.
- NHS invites software developers to create healthcare apps - 8/22/2011 - Computer Weekly
- NHS to crowdsource the next wave of healthcare apps (Wired UK)
Tagged: julie meyer
Julie Meyer talks about Patients Know Best
Julie Meyer, Chief Executive of Ariadne Capital and online dragon for the BBC, talks about two of her favourite entries to Maps and Apps: Patients Know Best and Rally Round. Julie highlights the benefits for patients of being able to … Read more → – Julie Meyer talks about Patients Know Best
Published: 3 February, 2012
Video voxpops from the launch event
In these short video clips from the launch event last week you can hear from James Allen and Christopher Floyd who have been involved in the development of clinical apps, and from Julie Meyer, one of our independent judges for … Read more → – Video voxpops from the launch event
Published: 30 August, 2011 1 Comment
Photos from launch event at Evelina Children's Hospital
A selection of photos from the launch of the Maps and apps project at the Evelina Children's Hospital yesterday.
Published: 23 August, 2011 Leave a comment
Independent judges will choose favourite apps and ideas
A panel of judges will review the most popular apps, maps and ideas that are submitted on this site, and announce their favourites at the end of September. The judges have been chosen based on their knowledge of health and … Read more → – Independent judges will choose favourite apps and ideas
Published: 21 August, 2011 Leave a comment


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WATCH: A Closer Look At The New St George's Bay 'City Centre'
What do you make of the plans? Vote below
St George's Bay will soon get a major upgrade, with two massive projects eyemarked for the area: a six star resort by Corinthia and a luxury development by db Group. City Centre, as the db Group development is called, is estimated to cost €300 million.
A video uploaded to Facebook by Minister Konrad Mizzi outlines the main aspects of the project, including Malta's biggest spa facilities, large spaces for live music and events, and a 315-room Hard Rock Hotel. The investment was unveiled this week by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and the chairman of db Group Silvio Debono. Dr Muscat labelled this as the biggest investment in Malta by a Maltese citizen, and said the project would create 1,500 new jobs.
The land, which currently hosts the Institute of Tourism Studies (ITS) , was controversially given to the group on a 99-year emphyeutical grant for some €60 million, a price that has been disputed as lower than market rates. ITS is moving to Smart City.
City Centre is expected to be complete in the next three to five years.


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Dear friends in Christ,
I commend to you an article in CanadianChristianity.com about Rudy Wiebe, the award-winning, best-selling author and keynote speaker at Write! Canada:
Comment: Wiebe inspires at Write! Canada
By Ed Hird
RUDY WIEBE is a man of peace and a man of memory. This was evident from his presentation as keynote speaker at the Write! Canada conference. It was also evident from personal encounters with the man.
Speaking at the event, held June 14 - 16 at the Guelph Bible Conference Centre in Ontario, Wiebe commented that his writing career was radically altered when his professor, F.M. Salter, challenged him to write from his own experience(...)
To read more, click on http://www.canadianchristianity.com/nationalupdates/070621comment.html
Blessings, Ed Hird+
p.s. In order to obtain a copy of the book 'Battle for the Soul of Canada', please send a $18.50 cheque to 'Ed Hird', #1008-555 West 28th Street, North Vancouver, BC V7N 2J7. For mailing the book to the USA, please send $20.00 USD.


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5400 Karl Road Columbus, OH 43229 614-888-3444
Our blended worship service has as it goal the joining together of the people of God in all their diversity under one roof and in one service. It is exciting to be a church of people from different backgrounds, ages and walks of life that gather to worship God.
When you worship with us the music may be centuries old or written in the last ten years. We try to weave together varying instruments and musical styles so that there is something for everyone who comes together.
Communion is served every Sunday and the table is open to all who believe in Christ.
We have a children's message every week as well as a Biblically based sermon for adults who are interested in spiritual growth and development.
We also offer nursery care for the entire service and a children's worship program after the children's message.


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We love posting photos on Facebook. We love showing the world how we see things and what we want them to see. But how much do we know about what people and brands are posting? Superfish recently ran several millions of photos through their visual search platform and came up with some very interesting numbers that tell us a lot about us and the brands we love.
Tell me what you click, create or capture to post on Facebook. We all are unique but create a flock of similarities. Interesting to note what your views are and how upcoming photo search engines provide us.


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KIKUS digital Whiteboard
KIKUS teaches primary school children how to form compound words.
72 dpi, 263 KB
KIKUS teaches primary school children how to form compound words.
What part of the body is this? What is this called in German, Turkish or Spanish? With KIKUS, the children's first language is integrated.
Exercises which are available online provide educators with ideas for using KIKUS in the classroom.
Sentences to walk on: On KIKUS picture cards, children can walk through sentence structures.
A KIKUS class at a primary school in Hout Bay, South Africa: Language animation using finger puppets is an important element of the KIKUS method.
"Heute schon(en). An morgen denken! Ressourcen intelligent nutzen." – Film zum Finale des Schülerwettbewerbs 2011
The photosynthesis equation: Interactive whiteboards from the media portal explain topics of scientific and social relevance.
WE!Hub near Lake Victoria in Kenya: The solar-powered station improves the power and drinking water supply in the region.
The Community Impact Development Group (CIDG) brings together social entrepreneurs from all over the world who improve the living conditions of people in Africa and Latin America with innovative products or services.
A young farmer during harvest. A school for fruit growing and horticulture teaches about technical innovations in the agricultural sector and modern and environmentally friendly farming methods.


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Crazy Woman Hassles TV Reporter During His Live Report [VIDEO]
Being a TV reporter can be a hard sometimes, especially when it comes to reporting live on location. The reporter in this story, KREM's Mike Gonzalez, was on location reporting on the status of a little girl that had been attacked by a pit bull. What's crazy about this recorded video is the interaction Mike has with one of the homeowners while his pre- recorded report is airing on TV. When the studio cuts back to him for a live shot the homeowner tries to take over! He was very professional though and quickly tossed it back to the studio to get out of the situation and they lady has no idea she's not on the air.


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Hand made at JamFactory Metal Design Studio from laser cut blanks in the JamFactory Metal Design Studio, the AIRCRAFT Brooch employs miniaturized industrial techniques in its manufacture, such as a microscopic TIG welding process to attach the brooches findings. The AIRCRAFT brooch is fashioned from stainless steel before being industrially powder-coated.
Manufacturer | JamFactory Metal Design Studio
Dimensions | 40mm Long x 60mm Wide
Details | Powder Coated Stainless Steel
Colour Options | red; black; white; graphite
Available From | JamFactory


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May 30, 2016
Rihanna's Stunning Print Style In NYC
Rihanna was spotted on doing some shopping and dinner in NYC on Sunday in this stylish . The Bajan beauty wore a blue,yellow, red and green embellished kaftan dress against a white background in platform trainers.
She also caught up with Naomi Campbell for dinner who looked equally stylish in a print dress and gladiator sandals. Riri looks like a Geisha here,beautiful!


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Next Event
Please come along to The Victoria Halls Hartley Wintney Christmas Fayre this Saturday 10th November. There will be 50 stalls selling a fabulous selection of Christmas gifts for every age range. All admission proceeds and sales of tea, cakes and raffle prizes will go to Kids 'n' Cancer.
A huge thanks to everyone who has offered to do events to help raise money. These are show in the calendar below and described in more detail underneath. Please let us know if anything is missing.
June 2012
|Street collections at Aldershot Army Show
|Saturday June 23rd
|Dhanya & Thomas Birtwistle, Simon Srour, James Hunter-Japp
|Pyjama party at Pumpkin Patch nursery
|Friday June 29th
|Pumpkin Patch
|Collections at Waitrose, Frimley
|Saturday June 30th
|James Hunter-Japp and Laura Pain
July 2012
|Collections at Waitrose, Frimley
|Sunday July 1st
|James Hunter-Japp and Laura Pain
|Home made cake sale at Farnborough Car Boot sale – Farnborough Market, GU14 6YA
|Sunday 1st July
|Laura Srour and Katherine Green
|Gymkhana at Badshot Lea
|Sunday 1st July
|Caroline Peirce
|Emily-Jane Philips cutting her long hair
|Monday 2nd July
|Emily-Jane Philips
|Quiz night and raffle at The Hen & Chicken Theatre Pub
|Monday 2nd July
|Ash, Laura and Anita
|Coffee and Cake morning at 111 Holly Road, Aldershot
|Wednesday 4th July
|Melanie Edmonds
|Azzuri cake sale
|Wednesday 4th July
|Joanne Harsant
|Sophie's fundraiser at Capella hairdressers
|Thursday 5th July
|Cody West and Laura Bardini
|Sophie's fundraiser at Tappy Feet Dance Class, Surbiton Library Hall
|Thursday 5th July at 8pm
|Daisy Ross
|Collections at Sainsburys, Watchmoor Park
|Thursday 5th July to Saturday 7th July
|James Hunter-Japp
|Fundraiser at The Duke Of York pub in Weybourne
|Saturday 7th July at 18:00
|Andrea Denver
|The Great Male Wax at Friars Square Shopping Centre, Aylesbury
|Sunday 8th July at 10:30
|Michelle Bradford
|Kids 'n' Cancer Tower to Tower to Tower bike ride reaches London
|Wednesday July 11th at 15:30
|Mike Hyman and the cyclists
|Rickardo's Reading to Penzance cycle
|Thursday July 12th to Friday July 13th
|Rickardo Carrington
|Azzuri charity golf day
|Friday July 13th
|Joanne Harsant
|Collections at The Swan in Farnborough during Farnborough Air show
|Saturday 14th July to Sunday 15th July
|Dhanya Birtwistle
|Charity Car Wash at Camberley Fire Station
|Sunday July 15th 10am to 4pm
|Elizabeth Tweed
|Sponsored head shave for Sophie at Rushmore community football club
|Sunday July 15th 3pm
|Mark Richardson
|Mufty day fundraiser at Weydon school
|July 18th
|Dhanya Birtwistle
|Auction for Sophie and Cocktail Party at The Village
|July 21st at 19:00
|Joanne Harsant
|Fair Cake London classes for Sophie
|Saturday July 21st to Sunday July 22nd
|Shikita Singh
|Raffle and gig for Sophie at The Swan Inn
|29th July
|Rosie Warrington
August 2012
|10k run for Sophie in Yateley
|1st August at 19:30
|Melanie Welch and friends
September 2012
|Pete Niisato running Bordeaux Marathon
|8th September
|Pete Niisato
|Simon Crabb doing the London Duathlon – www.thelondonduathlon.co.uk
|9th September
|Simon Crabb
|Andrew Roberts doing the HSBC Sprint Triathlon at Dorney Lake – http://www.justgiving.com/HSBCTriathlonForSophie
|16th September
|Andrew Roberts
|Charity Ice Hockey match
|Joe Greener
|San-Francisco cycle by Fireflies
|Giles Cundell
|Farnham Marathon
|Chris Alden


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F-1 International Student Employment
Employment is a benefit granted to eligible F-1 international students. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security permits F-1 international students to engage in employment based upon pre-authorization by either the school's international student office or the USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services).
Please read the Employment Overview for details and limitations of the different employment options that may be available to F-1 students, including on- campus employment, Curricular Practical Training (CPT), and Optional Practical Training (OPT).
Students interested in employment are also encouraged to attend one of the employment workshops offered by ISP each quarter or meet with an immigration adviser at the ISP office.
How to find on-campus employment
While on-campus employment is available at De Anza, it is the student's responsibility to inquire directly with the various departments on campus to find an open position. There are no job boards or centralized postings. Some of the locations which frequently hire student workers include the bookstore, dining services, and the tutoring center. The ISP office periodically hires students assistants as well, so be sure to check your emails for any hiring announcements from us.


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Hudson WWII vet remembers fallen comrades from Iwo Jima
Joseph Colley shared his experience from the battle of Iwo Jima during World War II for the Carroll History Project. Colley was born Feb. 26, 1925 and graduated from Coughlin High School in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. in 1943. An online service is needed to view
The 87-year-old World War II veteran joined the Navy at age 17 and by 19, he was in the Battle of the Bulge in Iwo Jima as a member of the 133rd Naval Construction Battalion, the Seabees. To this day, he remembers his fallen comrades during the battle
<img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7091/7271052602_02af7d9cbe.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="iwo. 8 pm, AMC: Flags of
"Dishonest, diversionary and pompous…" and founding members of the Flat Earth Society.
Flags of Our Fathers: The story of the American flag raising on Iwo Jima is recalled by director Clint Eastwood in this 2006 drama (8 pm AMC), followed at 11 by Eastwood's "Letters From Iwo Jima," which tells the Japanese side of the story.


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It's Time: Year End Planning
You might be thinking to yourself that it's a bit early to be talking about year end planning. But, if you are like me, you tend to get busy and the end of the year sneaks up on you. That's why I decided to write this now. I'm just trying to help you out. There are…Read More
I Married Him and His Debt
As many of you know from my blog post "Sally Mae, There's the Door!" I became debt free just two weeks before my wedding day. I worked hard, lived within my means, and knocked out all $37,000+ of student loans just in time to say "I Do!". Once I officially became a Hermanson, I officially…Read More


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Buh bye!
Thanks to the over 1200 people who are following me here at tumblr, but with regret, I must delete my account here at tumblr effective today. As previously mentioned in an earlier post, I have lost faith and interest in tumblr and I got the kick in the butt that I needed to move on. At the end of the business day, around 4pm EST, I will pull the plug. If you are familiar with me and my blogging on things Fassbender, please continue to visit me at Fassinating Fassbender, at the FF Pinterest board, and at twitter.
For the most part, I have enjoyed my time here, but there were quite a few things about the network of tumblr that never really sat well with me. So my moving on is not painful at all, it comes with a sigh of relief.
Thanks for your support, and I'll see you around! xoxo
I have tried to contact tumblr in complete vain to file a complaint, but they have just shrugged and done absolutely nothing. I cannot in good conscience support a social media website that does not honor it's own community standards guidelines. So with that, I'm so out of there later today.
|Would you shop online at A Fassinating Store?


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More saw at least some improvement in their condition, the research, which reviewed more than 135,000 cases shows.
More than 2.5 million people in Britain suffer from Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease.
The condition can be triggered by obesity and the number of cases to expected rise dramatically in coming decades as the population becomes heavier.
The number of people having weight-loss operations on the NHS has risen by more than 50 per cent in the last year, to 4,324, and Anne Diamond and Fern Britton, the television presenters, are among those who have admitted undergoing the procedures.
Surgery, including to staple the stomach, helped 78.1 per cent of patients experience "complete resolution" of their diabetes for at least two years after the operation, the findings show.
In total, 86.6 per cent saw at least some improvement, according to the study, led by Dr Henry Buchwald, from the University of Minnesota.
The research, presented at a conference of the International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders (IFSO) in Paris, France, is one of the largest studies of its kind to show the benefits of the operations.
Prof Jean-Marc Chevallier, president of the IFSO Congress, said: "Faced with a rising tide of diabetes it is essential that we actively seek new strategies to manage the disease. Bariatric surgery holds significant promise in this area and, as an organisation, we are committed to exploring how we can use this rapidly evolving area of medicine to benefit patients."
However, diabetes charities warned that patients might turn to weight-loss operations, which can cost up to £12,000, rather than diet and exercise to manage their disease.
Zoë Harrison, from Diabetes UK, said: "Although the data presented shows good results from bariatric surgery, it must be remembered that any surgery carries serious risks.
"Bariatric surgery can lead to dramatic weight loss, which in turn may result in a reduction in people taking their type 2 diabetes medication and even in some people needing no medication at all.
"This does not mean, however, that type 2 diabetes has been cured. These people will still need to eat a healthy balanced diet and be physically active to manage their diabetes."
Bariatric surgery is an umbrella term for weight-loss procedures which can include range of methods, such as inflating a balloon inside the stomach, placing a band around the top or stapling a portion of the stomach shut.
Around one in four Britons are obese, official figures show.


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Best iTunes M4P to MP3 Converter should be not only simple, but also very powerful!
Apple Music tracks and some of purchased iTunes music are DRM-protected M4P tracks, which means they can't be played on "unauthorized" devices. This, let's face it, is pretty inconvenient for some music lovers who want to play downloaded m4p music from iTunes on Non-Apple devices. That is the main reason why a bulk of iTunes M4P to MP3 Music Converter have been created to handle such problem. Meanwhile, it is really tough to select the best one that suits all your needs. As for a mass of Apple Music DRM removal available online, here we are going to take a review about top 5 hand-picked iTunes M4P to MP3 Converters.
Support converting all playable iTunes music files
10X faster conversion speed; support batch conversion
Keep original audio quality and preserve ID3 tags
Support 26 languages currently, including English, Dutch, Danish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Indonesian, Japanese, Malay, Spanish, Polish, Portuguese, Turkish, Simplified Chinese, Chinese Traditional, etc.
Need iTunes installed
Sidify Apple Music Converter is a standalone application that works on both Mac and Windows platforms and is used to convert purchased M4P music, Apple Music tracks, and Audible Audiobooks. It has ability to convert all iTunes music files to DRM-free MP3, AAC, FLAC or WAV format at up to 10X faster speed on Windows. Even with such high speed, the output audio can be converted with lossless quality. And all the ID tags will be preserved in the output audio files, such as title, cover, artist, album, year, track number and genre. After converting iTunes music to plain formats, users can listen to all iTunes music anytime and anywhere, on whichever device they prefer.
Download Free Trial Version:
Intuitive User interface; support batch conversion
Convert DRMed & DRM-free iTunes music at over 10X conversion speed
Preserves original audio quality and ID3 tags after conversion
Support 26 languages currently, inlcluding English, Dutch, Danish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Indonesian, Japanese, Lithuanian, Malay, Spanish, Polish, Portuguese, Turkish, Simplified Chinese, Chinese Traditional, etc.
Need iTunes installed
Similar to Sidify Apple Music Converter, NoteBurner iTunes DRM Audio Converter is also one of the most popular iTunes DRM audio file converters currently. It is used to convert Apple Music, iTunes M4P songs, and audiobooks to MP3, AAC, FLAC, WAV formats with over 10x conversion speed, while retaining all ID3 tags. Not just any iTunes M4P songs and Apple Music tracks, the NoteBurner can also convert your iTunes audiobooks to other formats compatible with your devices. After removing DRM from these iTunes music, you can play your favorite music files offline or on any of your devices like MP3 player, PSP, Zune, iPod, iPhone SE, iPhone X/8/8 Plus, etc.
Download Free Trial Version:
30X fatser conversion speed
Support customizing ID3 tags
Can drag and drop iTunes music from local path
Doesn't support converting protected iTunes M4B/AA/AAX Audiobooks
Doesn't support converting DRM-free iTunes music to other formats
Only support 4 languages, including English, German, French, Japanese.
Only 1X conversion speed under macOS High Sierra
TunesKit Apple Music Converter is a very useful tool that helps Apple Music subscribers easily break DRM lock from M4P songs downloaded from Apple Music and iTunes while converting the DRM-ed M4P tracks to unprotected MP3, AAC, M4B, WAV, FLAC, M4A formats, which are compatible with any media playing device at 30x faster speed. Currently, you can directly drag and drop your downloaded iTunes music to the main interface or click "+" button to select the music that you want to add for converting.
Multiple output format to opt, including MP3, M4A, AC3, AU, AC3, FLAC, AIFF and MKA
Extract Audio from iTunes Video
Support editing Metadata
Dated interface: not enough user-friendly
Take very long time to load iTunes library
Only support 6 languages currently, including English, French, Japanese, Spanish, Simplified Chinese and Chinese Traditional
TuneFab Apple Music Converter, an iTunes DRM media converter, is also specifically designed for iTunes encrypted audio including iTunes songs, Apple Music, Audible audiobooks and iTunes audiobooks. Besides that, you can extract audio from iTunes movies, TV shows, music videos and so on. The app looks and feels very similar to iTunes. After loading iTunes library for a while, you can select the music that you want to convert, then check and edit the metadata, set the parameters -speed, output format, etc. After that, you can click "Convert" button to start conversion.
Rip DRM from Apple Music by recording the songs
Download music from more than 3000 sites
Backup the iTunes library
Slow conversion; record Apple Music songs one by one.
Only support 7 languages currently, including English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
With iMusic, you can download and record Apple Music to MP3. This Apple Music converter allows you to download music from more than 3000 music sites and record music from unlimited music sites and radio stations. For reording music, it will filter the ads and identify the music by itself, offering you complete songs. After downloading and recording music, you can use iMusic to transfer music to iPhone, iPod, iPad, and Android phones & tablets for sharing or enjoyment without any data erasing issues.
You've seen our top 5 best iTunes M4P to MP3 Converters for Windows, that are created to decrypt the iTunes protected M4P files for you. Which one is the best? Well, you've seen our opinion, yours might differ. Every program can find its user, and the user can choose the app which fits actually him. The top 5 iTunes M4P to MP3 converter list above is to help you take the right decision.


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The Bismack Biyombo Project, good theater anyway, just got more interesting. Or more tenuous. Or more telling about new coach Steve Clifford.
It certainly just got better for Jeff Adrien, the relative unknown taking the minutes at backup center in another positive development for the Bobcats in a 7-8 start, except that it's also a hit for the Bobcats: Biyombo, once projected in Charlotte to be part of the foundation of the future, is now officially regressing, out of the rotation for the first time in the two-plus seasons since the risk pick at No. 7 in the 2011 draft.
In the five games before starter Al Jefferson returned from a bruised right ankle, as Rick Bonnell noted in the Charlotte Observer, Adrien was a plus-24, Biyombo was a minus-38, and Clifford was convinced. The rookie coach made his move once Jefferson was back in the lineup last Friday, supposed plans for tomorrow be damned.
In the three games since, Adrien has played 48 minutes, an average of 16 per outing. Biyombo has played five. Total. The dreaded Did Not Play – Coach's Decision against the Suns, five in Milwaukee the next night and another DNP-CD when the Celtics visited Time Warner Cable Arena.
Biyombo out of the rotation is a significant development after the rookie season of 23.1 minutes while playing in 63 of the 66 games and the 27.3 minutes with 80 appearances last season, but more after the bold move by the Michael Jordan front office to take Biyombo out of Spain in 2011 despite league-wide concerns. Biyombo clearly had a very high ceiling then as an athletic marvel at 6-feet-8 and 225 pounds and with what some teams saw as the potential to be a game-changer on defense and the boards. But he was very raw – maybe more than any lottery pick in years – had a limited body of work against the top competition in Europe and a nonexistent offensive game.
The Bobcats, while keeping their own spot at No. 9 to take Kemba Walker in a choice that went well in a lottery filled with pot holes, added the seventh selection as part of a three-team deal with the Bucks and Kings at the cost of Stephen Jackson, Shaun Livingston and No. 19. Biyombo arrived with the pre-draft promise to one day lead the league in rebounding, but as the ultimate project requiring patience and playing time.
He got both. He even got his 2014-15 option picked up before the season. But Charlotte also invested heavily in its big-man rotation in the summer, landing Jefferson as a free agent and Cody Zeller as the fourth pick in the draft. Clifford took over as coach.
And then it took a few weeks for Adrien to pass Biyombo.
"Jeff Adrien did so well – and I told Biz this – that I couldn't not give him a chance to play more," Clifford told the Observer.
"These are facts and numbers, not a feel. If you look at plus-minus in those games when (Adrien) played, we played so well as a group. His plus-minus was so good I would have felt guilty with the guys if I didn't give him a chance."
Adrien has responded with double-digit rebounds in two of the last four games, pushing him to 6.4 boards in 20.3 minutes the last five outings. Biyombo has responded by promising to stay focused.
"I've got to control what I can control," Biyombo said. "It's obvious I believe that I can be a better player. I've just got to keep positive, keep working and be there for my teammates. There's a long way to go. The season is just getting started, so you've got to learn from all this."


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What does home mean to you? With a wide range of housing possibilities, we can provide you with an environment best suited to fulfill your wishes and meet your wants and needs. If you choose to live in one of our homes, a nurse will become a part of your support team. Their role is to assure that all of your healthcare needs are coordinated between the proper medical professionals and your Arc of Ulster-Greene staff. They can also serve as the initial go-to person when a medical issue arises.
Traditional Family Homes
We can provide you with a home-like setting right in your community. In our traditional homes, you may have a roommate and will live with anywhere between two and ten people who will share meals, activities and friendship.
Supervised Apartments
In a supervised apartment, you will typically share an apartment, but have your own bedroom and access to 24-hour on-site staff within your building. We will meet your needs, providing you with necessary services and creating the right combination of assistance and independence.
Supported Apartments
Our supported apartments provide you with the opportunity to live most independently but still receive some help, such as assistance with finances and transportation/support for medical visits. These homes are designed to allow you self-sufficiency, with a few hours of staff assistance per week.


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17 year old Ooizumi Naoto finds himself on set as the "making of" cameraman for a big budget TV production named Cosmopolitan Prayers. He is in heaven these days since his crush, Magami Natsumi, has been chosen for the lead heroine. But as he tries to find ways to advance their relationship, the other girls seem to also have set their sights on him with not-so-coy looks, full-body knockdowns and skirt flipping. Is he in heaven or hell? With all the chaos surrounding him, the biggest problem isn't the incessant teasing, but whether or not the girls find out his big secret!
1 votes
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Despite its initial good premise, this series quickly debunks into a parade of pointless ecchi.
ART - SOUND SECTIONS: 5/10 [Hentai… Almost…]
Clearly a low-budget series, the optical and acoustic experience never goes beyond providing vulgar sexual situations and forced jokes that undermine an adult's intelligence.
-5 pretty girls with shiny skins (a sign of poor... read more
to start, this anime is good but lacks a little in some ways. but really gets me is how it ends, i just didnt like b/c to me it seemed like there was more to say but they cut it short for some reason. and i think after 10 years they would have made a seconond season already to continue the story, but sadly they didnt. b/c now i want to know what happens next but i'll never know. read more
Smash Hit Specials
Cosprayers The Movie
Cosprayers Specials
Smash Hit
Love Love? Specials
Character Design


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The Rose That Grew from Concrete is a collection of poems written by Tupac from 1989 to 1991, published posthumously. The most interesting feature of the collection is the side-by-side of copies of the poems in Tupac's own handwriting and the typewritten text (image below). The poems tackle issues ranging from romantic love to politics. An interesting read, especially for those who only ever saw Tupac as a gangster.
Evernote file for The Rose that Grew from Concrete http://bit.ly/ts-rose


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Venus and Jupiter July 2015
Venus and Jupiter have been in an intimate relationship in the skies lately. What a beautiful sight to behold at sundown. They are trailing the Sun in the Western sky. You will see the pair twinkling brightly, offering their benefic … Continue reading
Posted in Astrology Articles Leave a comment


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Arvind Pandit 7 Actors Who Performed a Memorable Lawyer on the Large Display screen
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Artisans from Cambodia
Kingdom Creations
Dire poverty has struck many families in Cambodia, leaving them hopeless. Many women even sell their young daughters for a certain amount of time until they can find a way to make more money. However, an artisan group called Kingdom Creations gives the women a chance to keep their daughters and earn cash by making beautiful hand-sewn products. Now, they joyfully work on their projects in their bamboo huts, knowing they can provide a future for their daughters.
Sak Saum
Rescue is only the first step on the path to restoration for victims of exploitation and trafficking. Even after extensive therapy and time to heal, former victims are extremely vulnerable to being exploited again if they have no ability to earn a viable income and provide for themselves and their families. Without skills and jobs, the likelihood of being in harm's way again is almost guaranteed.
Sak Saum recognizes this reality and is committed to ensuring that those in their care are equipped with skills, employment, and earn fair wages in a safe, loving environment. They also seek to pre-empt exploitation by equipping and hiring the most vulnerable in the local community before they fall prey to traffickers.
Every Sak Saum product is made by someone who now has skills and work with dignity. By purchasing a Sak Saum product, you are ensuring that the work of rescue, restoration, and transformation continues.
Treasures from the Heart
In Cambodia, AIDS is a growing crisis. The disease currently claims 4 percent of the population. Treasures from the Heart trains AIDS survivors to craft handmade items to they can support their families. This fair-trade organization restores self-worth to these artisans, who are rejected by their neighbors and sometimes their own families. The work gives them the hope to live with dignity. With counseling for victims, the organization invests personal time into every artisan it serves.


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Dark for over 20 years the National Theatre, at 704 E. Broad St., is in the process of changing hands. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports today that Historic Richmond Foundation, owner of the 1923 vintage theater since 1989, has agreed to sell the National to RIC Capital Ventures. It is slated to become a concert hall.
"'Aggressively, we'd like to open before the end of 2006,' said Brad Wells, a partner with the company. 'We've got a great theater shell. There's a lot we're going to preserve.' The sales price is nearly $1.6 million, Wells said.
"RIC Capital Ventures is affiliated with James River Entertainment, which produces the Innsbrook After Hours concert series and the Loudoun Summer Music Fest and other concerts. Wells said James River Entertainment plans to book events at the National in consultation with Rising Tide Productions, which owns and operates the NorVa, a restored 1,500-capacity theater in Norfolk. While details about the planned restoration are incomplete, the National is expected to accommodate 1,500 patrons with no fixed seating, much like NorVa, Wells said."
The National's volunteer caretaker Jim Whiting (mentioned in the RT-D's story) deserves to get a medal for his 15-year effort to watch over/preserve that wonderful old theater. Although the news piece didn't mention if the theater's ghost was thrown into the $1.6-million-deal, there is a nice nine-picture slideshow at the RT-D site.
Sarvay at Buttermilk & Molasses has more on the story and some links for background.


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You are using webcams for a computer vision project. Your project may require good image quality if you are saving the live images, but also you may not care about the quality of the images as long as you get reliable motion detection. Here are the two most important things you can do to get reliable motion detection...
Most webcams, even good models, take a dramatic performance hit in low light. They spend more time exposing for each frame, which reduces the amount of frame per seconds sent to the computer. It will also increase the voltage in the video sensor to make it more sensitive, which has the side-effect of producing noisy images (the live video will be grainy). Still, this may not be enough to get clear images; if the scene if not sufficiently light, the camera will provide a noisy, dark gray/brown-ish image.
Low-contrast, noisy images make for a very poor start for motion detection. The processing can only be as good as the source images.
Good Light / Low Light
You don't need to light up the whole scene, just the area of interest. The keyword here is contrast. For the software to see motion, there must be a clearly visible change on the image.
Hot Spots
Don't run the motion detection on the whole image, especially if the image is noisy. Target a strategic zone on the image, the smaller the better. This way you can set the motion detection hot spot's sensitivity to be just right.
Pick a zone on the image that is sufficiently light, and that will yield a clear contrast when the motion occurs.
Put the Hot Spot over a strategic zone
The weird thing is that very few motion detection software use hot spots. Here is a tip: check out Webcam Zone Trigger, download the webcam software here.


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Perry vetoes roadside animal sales bill
I love this! and will be using it in my letters to legislators. And, if I have enough room, I might even reference the author, too!!
There is plenty of insanity to go around in the world of dog laws.
Here in Missouri there are still people whining about "the will of the people" and our legislators modifying Prop B- even though Prop B had NO FUNDING MECHANISM to enforce its provisions and contained requirements that would have killed dogs. Oh, and those "puppy mill dogs" that are unhealthy and unsocialized had the shelters lined up, ready and willing to take dogs that were in excess of the 50 dog limit in Prop B. They even sent letters to the auction houses, expressing an interest in "rescuing" the dogs. One shelter was on TV with hundreds of donated crates (illegal for breeders under Prop B), ready and willing to take the puppy mill dogs. One shelter actually admitted they might have to kill the medium to large mixes in their shelter to make way for the "puppy mill dogs" - "Dogs will die, but it will be for the greater good". Gee, I wonder how the dead dogs would have felt about that.
My personal favorite is cities that ban "pit bulls" but then allow recues to come in and take the dogs out of the shelter. Okay, you're banning them because they're allegedly "dangerous" - but it's okay for them to be dangerous in another city? Wow, what a concept. Let's start "Criminal rescues". Think of the money Missouri could save in court costs and jail/prison expenses. Just turn over the criminals to "Criminal rescue" and have them escorted to Kansas or Illinois! Illinois is already full of crooks - they won't notice a few more.
Congress jumped on the stupidity bandwagon when Mike Vick was busted for fighting dogs (he pleaded guilty to interstate transport) and everyone was outraged that he killed, what, six or eight dogs? But when cities pass BSL or MSN they kill hundreds of pets, and no one cares.


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We are checking our reservation system for the latest prices.
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Residence Belle Plagne le Quartz: 1-Bedroom Apartment
Ref: FPL145D
From 28 to 32 m² : Living area with 1 convertible sofa-bed for 2 persons, 1 bedroom with 2 single beds, bathroom with separate toilet
Note: some apartments are mezzanine (with 1 double bed on the mezzanine floor, 1 bedroom with 2 single beds and 1 single sofa-bed in the living area)
Fully equipped small kitchen: 4 ceramic hobs, refrigerator, microwave-grill oven, dishwasher and electric coffee-maker
Bathroom or shower room with toilet
Telephone (paying)
Television connection
Vacuum cleaner
All beds are fitted with duvets
Balcony or open terrace (on ground floor only) with 1 deckchair
* 5 French channels and 2 international channels
Note : Sleeping in the top bunk is not recommended for children under 6 years old.
Key Features
Additional Information
Located at the heart of the Grand Plagne ski area, the apartments Les Nereides at Belle Plagne have been recently refurbished and are spacious and comfortable. Located just 150m from the ski lifts they have ski-in, ski-out access.
Resort altitude: 2050m
Distance to the ski lifts: 150m
Distance to the ski schools: 50m
Distance to the ski shops: 100m
Transfer: Chambery Airport (2 hrs) Moutiers station (40 mins)
In all apartments: Fully equipped kitchen area: 4 ceramic hobs, refrigerator, microwave-grill oven, dishwasher, electric coffee-maker. Bathroom. Telephone. Internet (paying). Television. Vacuum cleaner. All beds are fitted with duvets (Bed linen and towels included in the price). Balcony or terrace
- Studio for 2 persons
- Studio for 2/3 persons
- Studio for 3/4 persons
- 1-bedroom apartment for 4 persons
- 2-bedroom apartment for 5/6 persons
- 2/3-bedroom apartment for 8 persons
- Ski room & ski lockers
- Children's Area
- Meal card Formulas*
- Well Being services*
- Bakery order service
- Hamper delivery service*
- Apartment preparation service*
* Extra charges applies
For total calm and relaxation: the beauty care and fitness centre with balneotherapy, massages, relaxation sessions, etc. Quad bikes and snow scooters. Bowling alley.
Official classification: 3 Star Tourist Residence
Languages spoken: French, English, German, Italian.
Tourist tax (Over 13 years): euros1.09 per person per day
Arrivals after 17:00, departures before 10:00
The main reception is open:
- The 'Andromede' reception is open every day, all day.
Grand Plagne ski area (1350m - 3260m): - 225km of pistes - 134 runs:- 91km of cross-country skiing runs and 30km of walking paths.
Paradiski ski area: - 425km of pistes - 242 runs:- 158km of cross-country skiing runs
- 5 snowparks, 3 boarder cross, 1 half pipe
Studio and 2 bedroom apartments also available. Please enquire for prices and availability.
- Check in: 5:00pm
- Check out: 10:00am
In Summary
- Dishwasher
- Microwave
- Linen
- Telephone
- End of stay cleaning
- Ski Storage
Availability and Price
Fill out how many days you wish to stay, as well as the number of people travelling.
We may be able to accommodate shorter breaks please call or email for details.
You can send details of this villa to your own email address or a friends, please fill in your details below.
* fields are required.


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Trip to India : Travel Advice
Climate in India ( Best Time To Visit India):
- Best time to visit : Nov-March [tho' Delhi can be chilly]
- Worst: June- 1st Week of September [heat, humidity, rains]
- For Himalaya trekking try April-November.
- For southern states, such as Kerala, go January-September.
- For North East travel, such as Sikkim, go March-August.
Visas: You'll generally need a visa from your local Indian embassy/consulate and to get that you'll require a return or onward travel ticket. The visa will probably be six month multiple entry, giving you serious exploration time. Get your visa well before you intend to go!
Know your destination before you travel : Its advised that, travelers should have some basic information of the places that they are planning to visit. This will help you to understand that particular segment of country which will provide you a memorable vacation. For details on destinations you are intending to visit, please mark us an email and our representative shall revert back to you with all the relevant and latest updates.
About Consulting Lonely Planet – India : Lonley Planet - India is an amazing book. We ourself have read the book in details and also recommend the travelers to have a glance at the same but wont advise you to follow the book. Lonely Planet – India only updates itself once in a 4 year and the rates mentioned over there in book is way too low which you could not find. I personally used Lonley planet while traveling to Pushkar, couple of weeks back in the month of August 2010 and visited all the places listed in Pushkar and have experienced the difference. There are much better options available in every part of country within the same budget mentioned inLonely Planet – India.
Being listed in Lonely Planet – India is prestigious among the hoteliers, Restaurant café owners and all other service providers, therefore they quote way too low rates for them when they come for survey.
We suggest travelers to log on other online travel blogs for updated information. Feel free to drop us an email for updates and we shall get back to you with the details and suggestion.
About Currency : In India, we only accept Indian Currency (Rupees), if you have to tender cash. You can find numerous money exchanger in every corner of tourist destination in India. But finding a better deal depends upon your luck.
In India, using Credit cards, Debit cards, ATM are also very much popular. We advise the travelers to carry the cards rather than the cash, other than for daily use.
Accommodation in India : India, has seen a massive changes in its tourism and hospitality industry in last one decade. Staying in India is not a problem, you can find the budget accommodation such as guest houses / bed and breakfast to luxury hotels as per your need and budget. Almost every accommodation options are available in Internet but inorder to find the best deal, write to your travel agents asking special offers.
Transportation in India : All major tourist destination in India is either connected by Air or by Road ways or by Indian Railway. So its not that tough to go from one destination to another destination. It's always recommended either to get these bookings done by travel agent or from the authorized booking counters of respective service providers.
Language in India : Each part of India has its own traditional language, but Hindi is the common and every one understands the same.
Note that people in Service Industry and people from all major tourist destinations as well as people from metro cities understand English, so communication should not be that difficult part for the travelers. But do not aspect the people from rural India to speak or understand English.
Health Advise : Bring adequate supplies of all medications in their original containers, clearly labeled. Carry a signed, dated letter from the primary physician describing all medical conditions and listing all medications, including generic names. If carrying syringes or needles, be sure to carry a physician's letter documenting their medical necessity. Pack all medications in hand luggage. Carry a duplicate supply in the checked luggage. If you wear glasses or contacts, bring an extra pair. If you have significant allergies or chronic medical problems, wear a medical alert bracelet. For further information on health advice Click here
Health precautions should be taken when traveling in India:
- Always drink bottled water.
- Bring chlorine tablets in case you travel to remote areas without access to clean drinking water.
- Bring a medical kit including bandages, disinfectants, diarrhea tablets (Immodium), antiseptic wipes and creams, ibuprofen, antihistamine pills, and rehydration salts.
- Bring condoms: India has one of the highest HIV/AIDS rates in the world and the quality of Indian condoms is not good.
- Bring mosquito repellent, sunscreen, sunglasses, etc.
- Women should bring their own tampons as these are difficult to find in non-urban areas.
Some important travel advice :
- Travel Advice from VISA HQ : Click Here
- Travel Advise from Lonely Planet India : Click Here
- Issued for British Traveler : Click Here
- Issued for American Traveler: Click Here


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/ Published in: Bash
Enter this command in Terminal to restart Apache. Especially useful after you've made changes to the hosts file.
Expand | Embed | Plain Text
- sudo apachectl -k graceful
CommentsSubscribe to comments
- Posted By: dmatranga on October 7, 2009
i'm getting the following error when trying to execute this command in SSH:
bash: apachectl: command not found
any ideas?
You need to login to post a comment.


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Top electric carpet sweepers in 2019
Should you be looking for a fast, simple way to find out what is the best electric carpet sweeper, without having to read all the tips and advice put together by our researchers, all the crucial information is available in this short paragraph. We have done an extensive inquiry on buyer's feedback, expert reviews, and elements concerning costs and value for money. Based on our research, the best electric carpet sweeper is the Shark Ninja V2950, as it is a quiet, performant sweeper that can cover a 13" swipe with two variable speeds. If the our top pick is unavailable, the OnTel Products SWSMAX is our second best choice.
A short buying guide
As much as we love our pets, the truth is we all wish we could get them to clean their own mess. Nothing gets on our nerves more than the hair that sticks to everything, from clothes and chairs, to carpets and rugs. Luckily, there is a solution, and its in the form of an electric carpet sweeper. So what are the features that a good carpet sweeper should have?
Sweepers are meant for use in between vacuum cleaning sessions, for they are less powerful. This means you're in no need of a heavy, bulky machine. Look for a lightweight sweeper with a slick design that you can carry and store easily. A telescopic or collapsible handle could also serve that purpose. If you don't have power outlets on every wall in your house, consider a cordless sweeper, to avoid bending every time you enter or leave a room.
Although not a match for the vacuum cleaner, sweepers have different motors that can provide more or less power. That means they will brush at different speeds and will not share the same suction capacity. The more power, the less chances to leave pet hair hair behind, especially with its known persistence.
While not a concern for the corded models, the amount of time cordless electric carpet sweepers are able to run on a single charge might might be a decisive factor for those of you who are interested in speed and efficiency. It can be a nerve-inducing drag to have to stop in the middle of the cleaning process to recharge his sweeper.
Accessories and special features
While a wide pad is more than welcome, as it reduces the number of swipes and the energy consumed, tight spaces and corners won't be very accessible with just that. An interchangeable small-sized head will do the trick, allowing you to cover every inch of your carpet and floor. Another thing to consider is that once you've left the carpet and placed the sweeper on the floor, the revolving brushes may cause more harm than good, so a floor-sweeping mode should be available, at least for the pricier models.
Speaking of price, you may find a colossal variety of prices for apparently similar models. Don't urge yourself to buy the first bargain that jumps your way. Take some time to read some of the best electric carpet sweeper reviews to find out which brands are reliable. Secondly, while the motor is permanent, in time, you might want to replace the head, a single brush, or other parts. If buying spare parts will cost you more than you've initially paid on your machine, maybe you should think again before investing.
Best rated models
Shark Ninja V2950
This model from Shark Ninja is a battery-powered machine, that runs on 7.2V. It has a 13-inch long brush that can revolve at two speeds: a slower speed that's perfect for bare floors and a fast one for carpeted surfaces.
This lightweight sweeper is as quiet as is easy to use and clean. After you've picked up the dust and debris, all you have to do is empty the no-touch dust cup.
Most electric sweepers tend to leave a small trail of unpicked debris along the walls, but with the Shark Ninja 13" edge-cleaning squeegee, you will leave nothing behind. And to make sure you've got every angle covered, the manufacturer armed this sweeper with a swivel steering system.
When it comes to letting it rest, this Shark Ninja model makes things easy for you, as it has a foldable handle, and occupies little space.Click to see the price on Amazon!
OnTel Products SWSMAX
Another swivel-type sweeper comes from OnTel Products and is ready to impress with its 4000 revolutions per minute.
This model has a built-in dust holder and won't have you spend extra money on dust bags. The sweeper's parts can be removed and cleaned separately, and its brush is reusable.
This machine works with a 7.2V rechargeable battery and it also comes with its own recharger. The low profile design and flat shape of the pad make it perfect for reaching under the furniture. What's more, the sweeper only weighs 2 pounds, making it one of the most lightweight machines in this category.
Considering it costs almost half of its counterpart's price, and that it has very good customer ratings on Amazon, the OnTel seems to be more than a reasonable investment, and we believe it is worth every penny.Buy from Amazon.com for ($29.99)
Monster Rechargeable Dual Cordless
This electric sweeper brings an innovative trait: its two brushes are counter rotating, for high efficiency and dust-free surfaces.
A swiveling base and a fingertip controlled on/off button turn its operation into a simple, effortless task. The Monster Dual Sweeper is a battery-powered machine that works with two speeds and has a runtime of 30 minutes. This sweeper has a cleaning path of 11 inches and is almost twice heavier than the previously presented models. However, it is a tad narrower and its base folds to 90 degrees for easy storage.
After you're done sweeping, simply remove the brushes, clean them and you will be all set for the next house cleaning session. The Monster Dual has received numerous praises from consumers, and while some are still considering it to be expensive, most of its buyers were beyond satisfied with it features and quality.Click to see the price on Amazon!


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The organisers of Milngavie Week have received a welcome financial boost for this year's festivities.
Development firm McCarthy and Stone, which has just opened a new information centre in the village, handed over a cheque for £2,000 to help run this year's events.
Wilson Blakey from Milngavie Week, said: "We're absolutely thrilled to receive this donation from McCarthy and Stone – it will provide a most welcome boost to our funds to go some way to staging the variety of events that make up Milngavie Week.
"As ever, we have a packed week of events running from June 9-16 with something to appeal to the whole community including our popular duck race and the impressive classic car show."
Regional Sales and Marketing Director at McCarthy and Stone in Scotland, Lorraine Paterson, said: "We're excited to launch our first off-site information centre in the centre of Milngavie to provide prospective buyers the opportunity to drop in to find out more about our Riverwood Retirement Living development and enjoy a light refreshment with us whilst they do so.
"As part of our launch we're delighted to confirm our sponsorship of Milngavie Week, and we're really excited to be getting involved in what sounds like a packed week of community activities that includes the popular duck race. In fact, rubber ducks can even be sponsored at our local Riverwood Information Centre so it's a perfect excuse to pop in and see our sales staff."
Currently under construction, Riverwood is a development of 49 one and two-bedroom retirement living apartments.
The development features a homeowners' lounge, landscaped gardens and a guest suite should homeowners have friends or relatives to stay. Selected apartments have a private patio or balcony.
Riverwood has its own house manager to ensure the smooth running of the development, car parking via a permit scheme, a security entrance system, plus 24-hour emergency call points.


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Solid frame with a bland aesthetic
Class-leading image quality
Fantastic picture quality
Tremendous amount of detail
Sharpness is outstanding
Comprehensive manual controls
Clever Wi-Fi features
More solid feel less plastic-y build than cheaper camcorder rivals
Excellent motion with 1080/60p record mode
Excellent video quality
Great image quality
Great image stabilisation
Lots of manual controls for a budget camcorder.
Sophisticated optical image stabilisation
Full HD camcorder has a decent battery life and integrated memory
Capable optical image stabilisation
Easy operation
Good color results
Capable of recording in full 1080p, 720p, VGA or iFrame
Decent video performance
Shoots two whole Full HD frames in 3D mode
Excellent set of features
Stunning 2D and 3D image quality
ReviewGist helps you find the best products to buy by making sense of online reviews.
We are currently aggregating 376,500 reviews
covering over 29,477 products.
© 2019 ReviewGist.com. All Rights Reserved.


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<< "Life, friends, is boring": A little on John Berryman | Front Page | Don't Write in Books >>
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Literature in Public
With the recent discussion here and elsewhere on the decline of literature departments, we might add some information about literature and books in public life.
From 1982 to 2002, the percentage of 18-24-year-olds reading literature fell 17 percentage points, from 60 percent to 43 percent. From 1992 to 2002, the percentage reading books of any kind fell from 59 percent to 51 percent. (National Endowment for the Arts)
On an average day, a 15-24-year-old devotes only 8 minutes of leisure time to reading. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
On an average day, 0-6-year-olds spend about 40 minutes with a book. They spend close to 2 hours in front of a screen. (Kaiser Foundation)
On an average day, an 8-18-year-old logs eight-and-one-half hours with media. This takes place in only six-and-one-half hours of time. (Kaiser Foundation)
From 2000 to 2002, consumer expenditures on reading fell nearly 5 percent. At the same time, income rose around 10 percent, and spending on "Entertainment" rose around 11 percent. (U.S. Department of Labor)
In 2002-03, unit sales of books fell by 23 million. In 2003-04, they fell by nearly 44 million. (Book Industry Study Group)
One could add to these numbers the loss of book review pages in newspapers, The Atlantic's decision to drop fiction in its monthly magazine, the fact that Amazon last November sold more electronics than books, the fact that literature provides less than 20 percent of revenue for Barnes & Noble, and the decline in pages read in high school English classes.
That literary culture is deteriorating at a time of proliferating screen and digital diversion is hardly surprising. What is surprising is how little humanities professors have noticed and responded.
That one book by the guy claims that it's making everyone smarter, you know.
I share your concern about the rise of digital diversions, but I thought I would raise some objections in the vein of devil's advocacy.
--To begin with, the number of kids reading books may have declined sharply, but one might want to think about some of the books kids used to read. If kids are reading fewer books like "The Hardy Boys," that's not such a great loss, is it? Those books were primarily diversions themselves.
The number of kids doing serious reading was always small. I would hazard a guess that those kids are still out there, and will feed the next generation of readers and writers.
We might respond to the decline by pushing any kids who are still reading to read more 'serious' stuff, but would it work?
Compare the U.S. to India on the question of digital diversions. The U.S. has way more of this than India (where only 2-3 percent of households have home computers, and video game consoles have a tiny market), but there is such pressure in the middle class to read for utility and self-bettering that a 'reading for pleasure' culture is still very small, and very marginal. Middle class parents don't encourage their kids to read for the sake of reading—they encourage them to study, to pass exams.
--It's true that teenagers especially spend an amazing amount of time on the internet. And while much of that is downloading illegal music and playing online computer games, at least some of that time is spent doing relatively textually-intensive reading and writing activities such as blogging.
--The Amazon statistic might be misleading. Electronics are generally higher-ticket items than books. $300 for a digital camera…
--The fall in unit sales of books has followed a sharp rise in prices. A lot of people can't afford drop $30 on a book every couple of weeks. (I would be curious to see how public library circulation has changed over the same period...)
--Book sales are declining across the board, but the number of titles has never been greater. And just as there is more selection than ever before, there are also more authors than ever before. Not a definitive point considering everything else that's been happening, but it's something to consider.
Has anyone revisited Hoggart's The Uses of Literacy?
Yes, Jonathan, Steven Johnson's book claims that pop culture is making us smarter. Too bad there isn't a shred of evidence for it. Surveys of young people's knowledge of civics, history, culture, art, current events, geography, and science consistently show dismal results. The same for reading comprehension and math. But then, Johnson wants to talk about cogntive aptitudes, so he goes to IQ scores, which have, indeed risen. But the 3-points per decade rise started in the 1940s, well before video games (his favored medium) appeared. Furthermore, the only aptitude that shows significant increases is spatial reasoning, which may indeed indicate a more visual environment. But verbal and math aptitudes have increased only slightly, and at the lower ends, where better nutrition and education are likely causes.
Amardeep's points assume that the call is for more serious reading. But just about any kind of book reading is better than the preferred screen options for young adults. Compare a children's book and a primetime tv show and you'll find that the language is more varied, with more rare words, in the former. The same problem affects digital activities that appear to be verbally intensive. In terms of development, a good verbal exercise in one in which the language and content are slightly higher than the competence of the reader. Check the teen blogs and you'll find language and meanings that merely reinforce the standard social habits (along with the spelling and grammar errors, the solecisms, the cheap slang). If this kind of communication is an occasional alternative to books, magazines, and newspapers, fine, but if it becomes normative, well, we see the results in our classrooms and the workplace. About 53 percent of college students today must undergo remedial coursework, and corporate America spends around $3 billion a year on writing training for employees.
Library circulation is indicative. Overall item circulation is up, but break it down and DVD, video, and media are way, way up, while books are mixed. In some places it's down, others up.
Yes, the number of titles has grown, from 122,000 a few years ago to 175,000 last year. That's because publishers want to improve the odds of finding a blockbuster. It also explains why bookstore returns to publishers are up 25 percent in the last 10 years.
A received finding of composition history is that each generation thinks the next can't write. This phenomenon is usually attributed to the ever-changing standards of literacy and the natural evolution of language.
The Flynn effect is sociologically interesting for what it tells us about the psychometric industry's worldview, but I can't see why anyone would take it seriously.
These are complicated issues, and I don't mean to be glib about them. But I couldn't take Hirsch seriously after the "wind listeth" anecdote, and corporate America's rage against the dying of the serial comma and apostrophe is symptomatic of other anxieties. In any case, they're simply throwing sand against the wind.
I, for one, believe Mark's data. But what exactly should humanities professors do about it? I'd like to hear Mark and others speak to this, because it's the part that always seems to get left out of editorials about the decline of reading.
The problem corporate America has with the entering workforce's writing skills isn't a matter of the niceties of punctuation. It's a matter of faulty communication, and it's posing serious blocks to productivity and innovation.
It is also posing serious costs to universities. The labor of planning and staffing remedial comp courses is huge, and growing by the year. Universities are now doing the work traditionally done by middle and high schools. One can't attribute these trends to generational grudges.
Blah asks a good question about what profs can do. One thing they might look to is K-12 education, where a host of reforms are on the table--No Child Left Behind, vouchers, charter schools, standards-based curricula, standardized tests. These came out of "A Nation at Risk" and a group of governors (led by Clinton) in the Eighties. Are they worthy reforms? Maybe, maybe not. But I don't know of any case of the humanities professors (with the exception of historians) weighing in on them.
I'll also jump in on the devil's advocate side, trying also not to be glib. Two points: (1) couldn't the statistic that says 53% of college students need remedial training be at least partially explained by the upsurge in kids going to college? A larger percentage of the population going to college may mean that a larger swath of the performance curve enters college, i.e. college students are not just drawn from, say, the academic top 50% of h.s. students but from the top 75%. (2) When mark says that teen blogging uses language that reinforces "standard social practices" & is otherwise non-developmentally helpful, what is the implied comparison? Not critical social analysis, right? When I was a teenager, just before the Internet went large, no one was reading newspapers or magazines, & I think the fact of increased composition that blogging testifies to must be a developmental good. Naturally the language there won't be SEE, but, again, few were practicing essay writing in their spare time beforehand, & it does seem codgery to demand SEE in teenage informal discourse.
Both points of Dr. Palpitate are well-taken. We do have a higher percentage of kids going to college. In fact, this year's entering cohort will be the largest in history. On the teen blogging issue, yes, the major developmental improvement wouldn't lie in more social analysis, but simply in richer vocabulary. The question is whether intensifying existing speech and writing habits among adolescents prepares them for the demands they will face in college and the workplace.
Mark has hit the nail in the head in something he said above. He named several possibilities for curricular reform, and then said that he doesn't know whether they would improve this situation. I admire his honesty, and I certainly take his point that they are worth considering. However, if _he_ doesn't know whether the reforms would be effective (and he, I suspect, has invested much more time in this topic than most humanities professors), then how am I supposed to? How is a tenure-track faculty member who specializes in, say, Whitman and pragmatism and needs to publish two books for tenure and serve as director of undergraduate studies supposed to learn enough to be expert in these matters? Besides, I thought one of the problems with the professoriate was that we overstep our bounds too often.
Part 2 of comment:
A real solution to this—very long term, of course—would be to incorporate some relationship between college and K-12 education into the graduate student curriculum, as well as into the teaching of the professoriate. So that a Ph.D. in English would know how English is taught in high schools (I don't, except anecdotally) and so that structures would be in place to foster communication between middle, high school, and collegiate teachers. But current humanities professors, from at least where I sit, already have a full workload, and so the change would require alterations at the istitutional level. I am not optimistic.
Would it not be better if we separate the demise of print culture from that of literary culture?
Writing seems to be alive and, err, kicking, as a previous comment has already pointed out (not only blogging, but also reading newspapers and poetry online etc). Moreover, written texts will probably not disappear soon. There has always been and will continue to be the need to print certain things, if not for literary, then for legal and historical needs.
It might also be interesting to consider the gradual compartmentalization of literature. Nowadays, Literature is often separated from didactic, religious, historical writings and plays as well as from genres such as journalism, travel writing, biographies and what have you. This might distort our assessment of current literary culture.
Are we lamenting the demise of reading, by the way, or the loss of proper writing skills? Pointing out that English departments are falling short of their duty to deliver ´good writers´ for corporate America might lead to more proficiency rather than to more literature classes. Surely there are more cost-effective ways to make journalists and PR-people write correctly.
I have noticed that even well-educated, ambitious college and post-college kids ("kids" = under 30) reading seems to be a chore—the kind of thing they did to make the prof happy—and the stuff they like to read seems to be pop culturish stuff which is about in a sense about them.
A agree that the bureaucratization and methodologization of academia has something to do with it. Even people who make their living somewhere in the academic humanities sometimes seem to be using their tenure to finance other activities which are more fun. "The Arts" are all poppy and fluffed-up too. (This point, however, is an obsessive grumble of mine not motivated by this post.)
I think it also has to do with the fact that everything else has more corporate and bureaucratic too, and success depends on "networking" and "usable skills", and the humanities help only a little at best in those two key areas, and in many cases are harmful. An economist who's sharp in statistics will do well even if his conversation is all taken from TV and his personal philosophy comes entirely from The Federalist Society. ("My secretary has a master's degree and she does my spelling for me".)
A century ago in various parts of the world an educated adult had to have a nodding acquaintance with Vergil, neo-Kantianism, Goethe, Aquinas, Confucius, the Bible, Aristotle, and various other canonical figures (depending on where they were) in order to get ahead. No one needs any of that any more. And the personal-identity things that used to be done with novels are now done with films.
"Wind listeth" + Hirsch is not in Google BTW.
That literary culture is deteriorating at a time of proliferating screen and digital diversion is hardly surprising. What is surprising is how little humanities professors have noticed and responded.
The deterioration of literary culture probably has little to do with proliferating screen and digital diversions. Reading has never occupied much of the average person's discretionary time. Time spent watching television has grown with increases in discretionary time, not with decreases in time spent reading. Data I've collected suggests that on average a U.S. adult in 1925 spent 6 hours per week of discretionary time reading. By 1965 this figure had fallen to 4 hours per week. Time spent watching television grown from 0 hours in 1925 to 10 hours per week in 1965, while discretionary (e.g. non-work) time grew 9 hours over that same period. See Section III, "Time with Media in Everyday Life" in my work Communications Policy, Media Development, and Convergence (pdf file).
Artful use of black print on a white page can create amazing, highly attractive experiences. But on average for most persons throughout history, not for many hours per week. More sensuously rich artifacts, such as the medieval picture bible of Louis IX, more efficiently provide a key good that persons seek.
I take one of Mark's points to be that google doesn't index everything worth knowing.
The ancedote is in Cultural Literacy, near the beginning. He may use "wind lists"; I can't remember.
Well, I'm not going to buy a book he says is no good just to get an anecdote.
Here's something I would like to know the answer to: do public libraries participate in the ILL system? I'd guess they do.
"A century ago in various parts of the world an educated adult had to have a nodding acquaintance with Vergil, neo-Kantianism, Goethe, Aquinas, Confucius, the Bible, Aristotle, and various other canonical figures (depending on where they were) in order to get ahead. No one needs any of that any more. And the personal-identity things that used to be done with novels are now done with films."
I am not entirely convinced that the situation is that different nowadays.
First of all, many of these texts were available to but a small part of society, probably comparable to the learned elite that nowadays makes up academe. The only difference is that current scholars focus on literature (which might explain the perceived lack of interaction between literature and other fields of society).
Secondly, it is perhaps plausible (but I am not that knowledgeable in terms of ´history of the book´-type research, sadly) that certain parts of this learned readership only knew these works via commentaries and summaries rather than via a detailed reading of their own. Of course, many medieval scholars supposedly had very powerful memories, so maybe there is indeed a difference in this respect.
Thirdly, detailed knowledge of certain texts (the titles themselves have altered in part) is still required in some professions, for instance literature departments, EU culture commissions and other cultural organizations. The point is perhaps, again, that the idea of a shared tradition has been replaced by the idea of a shared disciplinary tradition, to the extent that certain parts of the literature department are completely unaware of other types of literary research (not all classicists know de Man intimately, for instance, nor do all postcolonial critics know the intricacies of editorial scholarship). This might be down to the rise of print culture and reading rather than its demise, however (how can anyone keep up with recent publications in his or her own (sub)field, let alone that of others?)
Finally, I think that books still play a role in identity formation, not only by being read (lest we forget, there are still incredibly avid readers), but also by being referred to in movies, games, songs, newspapers etc. To give but a small -and admittedly rather ridiculous- example, I read several games magazines and their pre- and reviews frequently refer to and play on famous literary quotes. Although this does not in itself imply that either writer or reader is intimately aware of these texts, I am not entirely sure as to how detailed a knowledge previous generations had of Shakespeare, for instance, apart from such quotes and passages. Again, it seems to me that it is very hard to adequately compare previous times with current literary culture.
Seriously, Jonathan, I'd like to hear the anecdote but you've already said that the book itself is no good. I make extensive use of libraries, bookstores, and ILL when possible, but I won't do it for Hirsch.
And Google does bring up a lot of obscure stuff much more valuable than Hirsh: enormous bodies of of translations of medieval and patristic literature, for example. The complete works of a number of XIXc French poets. The complete Cosmas Indicopleustes. The complete Jordanes. (This is just examples I've used recently.)
Trickster, my point was (or should have been, I didn't say so, quite) that the elite may have been small then, but they were the people who ran the world. I read a fair amount of XIXc scholarship by retired British military officers or minor clergy, for example.
There may be a quantitatively equal number of literate people now, but they aren't movers and shakers any more, and ambitious young people figure out that literacy isn't a path to success, whereas science, tech, econ, and pop culture networking are.
One of my other stock bitches about the contemporary world is that there's no real concept of a general educated culture, and that those who try to contribute to the making of such a culture are often for that reason less respected by their professional peers. Academics who are proud of their professional expertise often are scornful of the idea that they should care whether their ideas ever reach anyone outside their specialty.
I just said that I personally found the book to be hard to take seriously because of what seemed to me to be the exceptionally anachronistic character of Hirsch's perception of the corporate mentality. The book has a long appendix filled with factoids you should know in order to be culturally literate. There's precious little about Prester John, as I recall.
´my point was [...] that the elite may have been small then, but they were the people who ran the world. [...] There may be a quantitatively equal number of literate people now, but they aren't movers and shakers any more´
Well, in part I agree. Self-professed ignorami such as GWB spring to mind (´We have a lot in common. Bill [Buckley] wrote a book at Yale. I read one´). Yet compare with the following account of the contrast between GBW and de Villepin: <http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,1068-1640334,00.html>.
This is of course but a single example and therefore perhaps unrepresentative. Yet it does not seem implausible that certain people at the top of the food chain still care about literature. If I interpret it correctly, however, your point is not simply that politicians, for instance, do not read books (which might easily be refuted), but that politicians do not care about literary culture. That might be a harder claim to disprove. To continue my role as devil´s advocate, however, I would point out that many politicians still resort to literature in their attempts to come up with something like a national identity.
Moreover, literary scholars and people from the cultural sphere at large are still part of the elite, are they not? Granted, they might receive less funding nowadays, but I think that this might be indicative of a larger turn away from fundamental/theoretical towards applied research rather than of a specific turn away from literature. It seems to me, by the way, -my library has no copy yet, I´m afraid- that publications such as ´Theory´s Empire´ and the whole ´Against Theory´-movement form part of that shift. As regards the prestige-aspect, I think that literary scholars´ low self-esteem is part of their habitus, to use Bourdieu´s term, and is therefore as much caused by themselves as by others (not least by writers, who have always been fond of critics and theorists). But I need to read up on these issues.
´ambitious young people figure out that literacy isn't a path to success, whereas science, tech, econ, and pop culture networking are´
Are you drawing a distinction between literature and politics/economics/... or between academic literary studies and a non-academic career in politics/economy etc? Perhaps academe´s appeal and prestige has suffered an overall blow, what with Sokal and counter-Sokal-affairs (I always forget the name of those guys who exposed a physics journal). I might add, however, that there are plenty of young people out there -among whom yours truly- who do not think badly of a career in academe. On the contrary.
"One of my other stock bitches about the contemporary world is that there's no real concept of a general educated culture, and that those who try to contribute to the making of such a culture are often for that reason less respected by their professional peers. Academics who are proud of their professional expertise often are scornful of the idea that they should care whether their ideas ever reach anyone outside their specialty."
Again, this might be down to the academe versus rest of the world-type mentality that is not unique to literary studies. You might have a point with regards to the lack of -or perhaps fragmentation (cf. the remark on compartmentalization)- of a general educated culture, however.
Trickster, I once did a mental experiment, asking myself who the hundred most powerful men in the world were in terms of making the big decisions. (Little need for nonsexist language here). It would be mostly Americans, Europeans, and Japanese, plus a few Saudis or and a few top leaders of the other nations of the world.
Then I asked myself what their intellectual culture and institutional affiliations were. My guess was that they were almost all either in government or large corporations or both, with training and experience in finance, law, military planning / international relations, engineering, politics in general, and marketing / media.
My guess was that there were few, perhaps no, humanists or even people with literary interests in the group, and probably not many hard scientists either. There would probably be a few serious believers in one religion or another, and probably a few who had studied history with some seriousness.
I don't think that it gets a lot better as you go down the ladder, either, and maybe it gets worse.
(I was thinking narrowly about power: not influence over public opinion, or the kind of long-term changes made by scientific discovery).
In short, the alienation of humanists is almost structural by now. I don't actually think that grad schools can be blamed much.
Of course, you have a point. Most of the world leaders are not writers or English professors. As regards their intellectual background, I am not familiar enough with their biographies to verify their literary interests, even though I concede that they will probably be slight or even non-existent.
But, as you already suggest, this might be down to the relative lack of power of all sorts of academics. So I am not entirely convinced that humanists are alienated from power or society in a way that, say, philosophers or physicists are not. If politicians, for instance, were more concerned with literature in previous times (that is no rhetorical ´if´; I am not entirely sure of this), that might, again, be down to the differentiation of social functions and the pressures of disciplinary specialization. On top of that, it is difficult to look at this from a contemporary perspective. Are people such as Cicero/Jesus/Newton/Darwin writers?
Moreover, I do not necessarily think that this specialization is a bad thing. There are some theorists who think of literature as a sort of instrument to unsettle accepted systems of thought such as law/politics/economy etc. It might, therefore, be partly the point -which might be a way to reassure ourselves, of course- that literature is different from the systems and powers that be. It might therefore make sense that the study of literature is different from these systems as well.
These comments raise a question. There is a big cultural debate going on right now in areas of primary and secondary education, among local government officials, among business leaders, and among interested journalists. It bears upon how to create "livable communities," and everyone agrees that livable communities must have a vibrant artistic and literary culture. That means good bookstores and libraries, strong schools with good arts and lit programs, and local media support from newspapers, radio, and TV. But in all the discussions and symposia I've heard about, a humanities professor is never--repeat, never--at the table. Why?
In the old days, literature could be a path to power. In the West, many of the famous poets were part of the aristocracy, often from the military aristocracy. In China, the elite was selected by litarary examination. In the British XIXc, classics study was required from everybody. Oxford or Harvard, as entrances into the elite, required a degree of classical study. This was an old aristocratically and culturally-defined elite, different than the technocratic-meritocratic elite we have now. The common culture Hirsh regrets the loss of was a marker of a kind of elite that no longer eists, but which has been replaced by a different, non-humanist elite.
In aristocratic and even high bourgeois culture literature and philosophy had a practical functionality it doesn't have nowadays. Some of its functions havebeen taken over by pop music and film, and another part by various sorts of social science and applied policy studies.
Mark: on your comment way above, you're right about the unhelpfulness of something like blogging to formal (school, work) writing. Developmental good as it may be, I was even thinking that the increasingly written character (blogging, IMing) of informal language might be really bad for the mastery of SEE, inasmuch as written informal language becomes a competitor for formal written language. Something like: if at some point all writing was formal writing (informality mainly relegated to speech), now informal language is written too & gets greedy (e.g. things like "tho" showing up in essays, or structural devices being left out, etc.).
As a solution I wouldn't advocate discouraging blogging, etc. Pedagogically, maybe there could be an emphasis placed on "codes" or dialects like in speech. Is this something you've thought about?
My feeling about blogs in the classroom is that they can be a wonderful tool, and a provocative one. If, that is, they can be controlled. The same goes with other digital advents in the classroom. The Internet is like society, offering every kind of virtue and vice available, and one can't trust the adolescent temper to keep things focussed. Yes, they can illuminate language and speech codes and patterns, but getting the kids to frame them in a wider context, that's the hard part.