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© Vivianna Purdom
Philip Langridge appears on a regular basis with many of the world's leading opera companies and music festivals, in a wide repertoire ranging from Monteverdi to contemporary works. He has become a regular guest at Salzburg. He also appears regularly at La Scala.
His interpretations of major Britten roles have been given particularly high praise. Another composer with whose music he is closely associated is Janacek.
In concert, Philip Langridge has sung with the major British orchestras and has performed frequently with the Berlin Philharmonic (Abbado, Levine, Ozawa), Vienna Philharmonic (Abbado, Previn, Neumann and Levine), Concertgebouw (Harnoncourt, Leitner), Orchestre de Paris (Barenboim, Bychkov, Mehta), Bavarian Radio Symphony (Colin Davis), Chicago Symphony (Barenboim, Solti, Abbado, Levine) and Boston Symphony (Previn and Ozawa). Philip Langridge was awarded the CBE In 1994. He is married to mezzo soprano Ann Murray.


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In a cozy one-story home in Miami, six twin beds dressed in bright prints stand empty. Yoga mats and art supplies are packed away in the living room, and a tire swing in the backyard hangs still.
Until early June, this was a refuge for six teenage girls who were victims of sex trafficking. Run by the nonprofit Kristi House, it was the states first short-term safe house for sexually exploited children, founded in the wake of new, highly touted legislation that allowed victims to be treated in specialized shelters rather than confined as if prostitutes. When it opened April 1, many hoped it would be a model for safe houses around the state.
Yet the shelter suspended operations just two months later, after girls housed there repeatedly ran away. One reported being raped while on the loose. The incidents, publicized in a June grand jury report, have prompted child welfare administrators and legislators to consider whether child sex trafficking victims should be locked up for their own good, at least temporarily. Advocates say this would be a step backward in helping children who fall prey to the sex trade.
The victim, a girl in her early teens under the care of the Department of Children & Families, reported being sexually assaulted after running away from the shelter 10 days after it opened, according to the child welfare agency. She was trying to return to the safe house, and an older man refused to drive her there unless she had sex with him, said Kristi House Executive Director Trudy Novicki. Shelter therapist Tabitha Gallerani reported the rape, which she said took place very far from the safe house.
She didnt know it was rape. She had no idea. I really sat with her and spent time to see what was going on, Gallerani said.
Its common for children in foster care to run away, and child welfare authorities cant legally detain them unless they face imminent harm because of mental illness. In addition, experts say young sex trafficking victims many of whom have suffered past abuse often develop a trauma bond that draws them back to their traffickers.
Kristi House decided to retool its residential program, and by early June the girls were moved to alternative placements. The group planned to reopen in August after hiring more staff, adding mental health techs, consulting experts and adding security features to discourage running, such as fencing.
But the incident prompted many to advocate a tougher alternative to the safe house model.
In mid-June, DCF said it was considering moving toward a secured short-term facility for victims and would stop referring all but a select few girls to the safe house, Novicki said.
Im not sure an intervention where we lock them down for a period of time is an answer, said DCF interim secretary Esther Jacobo, but a short-period evaluation time might be something we all want to look at.
Without further measures, safe houses may be a good option only for girls who are low flight risks, she said.
Our Kids, the agency that DCF contracts to oversee foster care in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties, is advocating legislative change that would allow involuntary confinement of child sex trafficking victims.
Maybe the law fell short. Maybe foster care is not a place you lock someone up, but these are such special circumstances that we have to change the law for this discrete segment of kids, said Our Kids CEO Fran Allegra. These kids are engaged in behavior that could easily kill them.

subset: commoncrawl


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A Gruesome Find
Of Blood And Nobility
A Gruesome Find have been hanging around the periphery of the black/death metal crossover scene for around ten years now. During this span of time, they've managed three accomplishments. First, they've invented and self-applied yet another new 'genre' tag—bleath metal. See what they did there? Creative, guys. Second, they've produced an impressive collection of rockin' promotional pictures; check their Metal Archives site for a shining example of these Ohioans in their corpsepainted standing-around-in-a-park-in-the-middle-of-the-fucking-day grandeur. Third, they've released three full-length albums, of which Of Blood and Nobility is the most recent. Now, as easy as A Gruesome Find are to make fun of (I mean, what a name), they're not a truly bad band, nor are they even subpar. It'd almost be better if they were—this kind of anonymous mediocrity is the bane of metal writers and fans alike. Competent without being impressive and listenable without being even slightly compelling, Of Blood and Nobility is about as stock as blackened death metal gets. Need proof that making up your own private genre name doesn't mean you're playing your own private genre? Here it is.
The formula here is old and well-traveled: A Gruesome Find endeavor to combine the percussive ferocity of death metal with the grandiose sweep of black metal. "But wait," you say. "That can't be all—there must be more to it than that, right?" Wrong. Sadly, this stuff is as straightforward and rudimentary in conception as is possible in this day and age. They execute decently, to be fair, as the musicianship is solid and there aren't any really flagrant missteps in the songwriting. Once in a while they'll even hit on an appropriately epic and headbangable main riff, as on "Among the Smouldering Remains" and "Kingdom Crusher." These moments are very few and far between, though, and most of the album blows by in a hail of predictable blastbeats, power chord progressions, and tremolo picking. A Gruesome Find has managed to snag a pretty solid production job too (aside from the piteously fake-sounding drums), but stand Of Blood and Nobility up next to anything by Zyklon or later Behemoth and it will become abundantly clear just how bland these guys really are.
So Of Blood and Nobility is by no means terrible—there are just way too many more appealing options to choose from. Not only are there plenty of bands who do pretty much this same schtick more effectively (the aforementioned Zyklon, Behemoth, Council of the Fallen, Hecate Enthroned, etc.), there exists also a broad spectrum of bands who combine death and black metal in far more interesting ways (Anaal Nathrakh, Akercocke, The Amenta, Goatwhore, Augury, and on and on). I guess if you come from Toledo, OH or have dedicated your life to purchasing every bleath metal album in existence, then Of Blood and Nobility might be a sound investment, but otherwise it's not really worth your time.


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Written in a fit of pique brought about by Edmund Burke's blistering attack of the French Revolution, Paine's The Rights of Man has come to be regarded as one of the most important works in the realm of Western...
This book presents writings Tolstoy was never, in his lifetime, allowed to publish in his native Russia. He was a successful author by middle age; world famous for his novels 'War and Peace' and 'Anna Karenina.'...
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Serving sushi on authentic wooden sushi getas (small wooden trays), like they do in Japan, adds a truly authentic touch to any sushi meal. These traditional wooden serving trays are handcrafted from Hinoki, the most treasured wood of Japan. Hinoki is a lovely white cedar with rich, straight grain and a captivating aroma. Perfect for entertaining guests! Each tray measures: 8" x 6" x 1" Sets of two and sets of four trays available.
Dec 6 - San Francisco
ebay classifieds admin ad - please do not reply
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Brand New, Sealed. Carbon Block Premium Filter Kit for any Premier 5 Stage Reverse Osmosis System (5SV or WP-5). Kit contents: 1 -- 5-Micron Sediment Filter 2 -- 5-Micron Carbon Block Filters
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3 boys and 1 girl left. Boys $150 and girl $200 Dogs need home ASAP. I cannot watch them due to finals at school. Please contact soon if interested! Serious buyers only! This ad was posted with the eBay Classifieds mobile app.
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Turbo air driven powerhead has been engineered for higher performance, quieter operation and superior cleaning ability Swivelling neck allows powerhead to move easily and quickly between furniture and around corners Long-lasting and efficient Roller brush is driven by the airflow of your central vacuum system Fits onto any standard wand 3 year warranty 12.5" wide Cyclo Vac Model TABATL4C Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price $179.95
Dec 2 - Danville


text:
Main Street
New York
Additional locations as the crow flies:
United Nations Headquarters (The Enemy of the World, World War Three): 0.96 miles.
East 43rd Street (The Angels Take Manhattan): 0.99 miles.
Fifth Avenue (The Angels Take Manhattan): 1.14 miles.
Chrysler Building (The Poison Sky): 1.20 miles.
Grand Central Terminal (The Angels Take Manhattan): 1.28 miles.
Times Square (The Angels Take Manhattan): 1.66 miles.
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The Angels Take Manhattan [12 Apr 2012]: Rory and River are driven to Grayle's
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User Ratings
Featured Reviews
Highest Rated
Googlesyncmod works good.
Lowest Rated
I'm afraid this just doesn't work as it's supposed to. There are dozens of posts reporting the same problem and they are all unanswered. I had the sync direction as Outlook-to-Gmail only. The tool made a great back-up of my Outlook contacts to my Gmail Contacts. But when I delete a contact in Outlook, it creates an error and does not delete it from Gmail. Then I changed the syncing to both ways and this time it knows there is an error but then says the sync direction is one-way only (which it isn't!) and tells you that it won't, after all, delete the contact from Gmail. It seems that the check-boxes have a mind of their own and don't actually set the preferences thay are supposed to set. What are you supposed to do to get support? None of the requests on the support page have been answered.
User Reviews
I have just bought a Nexus 5 phone to replace my old Motorola Z3, which had quite a messy contacts file with various types of duplication, despite running the fairly good sync program in Motorola Phone Tools ("MPT") in order to sync with Outlook. GO Contact Sync Mod ("GOCSM") has helped me clean up my contacts to a high degree, for which I am very grateful. I have however two issues. (1) GOCSM does not have a feature enabling sync of only selected categories/groups (MPT does have this feature). This has led to my Google Contacts "Import 2013/12/05" category being written to my Outlook Contacts file, which is annoying. Neither Gmail or Outlook appear to have a global facility to remove a category from a group of contacts. (2) Gmail Contacts appears to have system categories "System Group:Family" and "System Group:Friends", which clashed with my own Outlook categories "Family" and "Friends". At one point I had duplicate group names Family and Friends on my Gmail account, which apparently I could only eliminate by doing a reset on my Nexus 5. After syncing, I now have categories "System Group:Family" and "System Group:Friends" in my Outlook contacts - is this really necessary? Apart from the categories/group issue, I think GOCSM is an excellent program.
WOW! Was searching since years for this!!! Thank you so much!!! Works perfect!
Excellent software. I would appreciate an option to delete groups that have no (more) categories in Outlook.
Brilliant. Works a treat. Thanks
Works fast and without any errors.
Just works! :-D
A work of art works better than any other out there
Very good Software.
Excellent software, but I'm worried about my gmail ID & password how they are treating them, and how they are transferring my data to google servers are they using any encryption methods or nothing plane transfer ? These security issues matters a lot, Still doing some investigations about it. If all are ok & secure then, great work guys.
I was exited! It very helping me since I downloaded it))))
Googlesyncmod is wonderful! Thanks.
Great project, thanks a ton for posting
Googlesyncmod works good.
This is the first app I have tried that has worked almost flawlessly. It crashed inexplicably on the first try, but has functioned efficiently since. Now if only it could sync Outlook, Gmail, AND iPhone, then all of us unfortunates that have tangled ourselves into the Microsoft>Apple>Google wars might actually be able to maintain a uniform set of contacts.
Works good. Thanks. Two feature will drastically improve it though. 1) add a "Merge Last Modified Wins" to the merge rule list 2) Get Office to stop crying about the sync application trying to access it. Thanks so far
Worked great. Truncated a few notes but otherwise perfect
very good project, thanks!
Outlook 2013 x64 on Win 7 x64 is spotty. I use Outlook->Google Only and it chokes every once and a while. It reports Unknown Outlook version. This would be AWESOME if it came up to current versions (Win 8 and Outlook 2013 - especially x64)
deseo bajar googlesyncmod gratis
no trouble to install and run, works nicely.
Love googlesyncmod
nice open-source tool for sync. thanks a lot for this help.
Works just fine. Simple and efficient. ...and the full log is right on the screen. Just copy-paste-it and one knows exactly what needs to be corrected. Many thanks.


text:
ABC 6 - Search Results
THE FOOTBALL FEVER: #2 Oregon Survives
LEVEL 1 - Coshocton Co., Fairfield Co., Guernsey Co., Hocking Co., Perry Co., Scioto Co.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- In the first 35 years of the Kennedy Center Honors, only two Latinos got medals.
US unemployment falls to 7 pct. on 203K jobs added
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A fourth straight month of solid hiring cut the U.S. unemployment rate to a five-year low of 7 percent in November, an encouraging sign for the economy.
AP Photo NYBZ150
Eds: Updates with more details and background. With AP Photos.
By MARTIN CRUTSINGER
AP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. economy grew at a 3.6 percent annual rate from July through September, the fastest since early 2012. ...
VANCOUVER, Wash. (AP) -- A Washington state woman has had a hobby turn into a tragedy.
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WTTE Fox 28, provides local news, weather forecasts and alerts, traffic updates, consumer advocacy, and the latest information about sports, politics, law enforcement, community events, government waste, and much more, including Fox network news, sports and entertainment programming. WTTE serves Columbus and nearby towns and communities in central Ohio, including Dublin, Sunbury, Delaware, Worthington, Whitehall, Powell, Lewis Center, Gahanna, Johnstown, Granville, Pataskala, Groveport, Westerville, Clintonville, Upper Arlington, Grove City, Canal Winchester, Pickerington, Grandview Heights, Reynoldsburg, New Albany, Hillard, Heath, Newark, Baltimore, Lancaster, London, Marysville, Zanesville, Mt. Vernon, Mt Gilead, Marion, Kenton, Bellefontaine, Galena, Gallion, Bexley, Circleville, and Chillicothe.


text:
In today's Washington, the two parties have a hard time even agreeing to disagree.
WSJ Washington Bureau Chief Jerry Seib joins Lunch Break with insights into the back-room negotiations that led to a last-minute deal to avert the fiscal cliff.
The fiscal cliff deal leaves a host of issues unresolved, most glaring of which is the need for the U.S. to increase it's borrowing limit. WSJ Washington Bureau Chief Jerry Seib reports on Lunch Break. Photo: AP.
That was the grim picture on New Year's Day in a capital still tied in knots over how to find a deficit-reduction deal, despite a full year's advance warning that one was absolutely, positively essential by year's end.
The U.S. Capitol illuminates at dusk on Capitol Hill on Dec. 31. Getty Images
Even when the contours of a potential big deal were possible to see weeks ago, the path to compromise proved too hard for President Barack Obama and Republican House Speaker John Boehner.
When the two sides lowered their sights to seek a more modest deficit-reduction deal, there still was no solution in sight—until time ran out on the year 2012. Then Republicans and Democrats in the Senate decided to put aside the things they couldn't possibly agree on to pass a relatively narrow tax bill that included items each side could at least live with. But within hours, even that minimalist agreement was in peril in the House.
All of which must leave many Americans asking a simple question: Why is this so hard?
There are multiple reasons that even what seems easy is hard in Washington right now. The problems start, of course, with the basic polarization of not just Congress but the country. America is in an unusual political state, in which the two parties are quite evenly divided in power, but far apart ideologically.
That makes governing difficult for Mr. Obama, but also for Mr. Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat. Because of the close division of power, neither side thinks it is required by the political calculus to give in to the other. Because of the wide ideological divide, neither side finds it easy to split the difference with the other.
Divisions are present in the Senate, to be sure, though the 89-8 vote in the wee hours of New Year's Day showed that it's at least possible to move around them in that chamber.
In the House, there is almost no middle ground, and the vote there Monday night was far more divided along partisan lines. Most members come from such reliably Democratic or Republican districts that they simply feel no pressure back home to compromise with the other side. Indeed, in this fall's election, 125 House members won their districts with 70% or more of the vote. Such margins leave House members thinking they have their own personal mandates to stick to their guns.
That kind of polarization only creates the backdrop for other problems. Even when the differences between the two sides seem relatively small—whether, for example, to raise the top tax rate four percentage points for families earning more than $250,000, or whether to make that income level $450,000—compromise is difficult because both sides think important precedents would be set. Today's decisions will set the backdrop for broader debates on tax reform and spending later in the year.
When Republicans agreed to raise any tax rates at all, for example, they knew that they had opened the door for a new set of arguments about which rates and at what level. The question had shifted from whether to raise rates to how—and that's a significant shift.
Similarly, when Mr. Obama said he could accept the idea of reducing entitlement costs by embracing a formula for lowering cost-of-living increases for Social Security recipients, he was setting a precedent as well—a precedent saying that Democrats were willing to consider policies that reduced entitlement spending not just by holding down costs but also by reducing benefits to recipients.
Similarly, both sides have a sense that the current talks are establishing something broader on another front: The debate is going to help set the tone for the entire second Obama term.
Democrats fear that if the president gives too much ground now, he will establish a pattern in which both parties will enter future debates expecting him to give in to Republican intransigence.
By the same token, Republican partisans think the GOP needs to establish now that their party's control of the House, amid Democratic control of the Senate and the White House, is enough to give the party significant leverage for the next couple of years.
Lurking in the background is one other factor that makes compromise increasingly difficult in the capital. As both states and congressional districts become more clearly red or blue—dominated by Republican voters and Democratic voters, respectively—an increasing number of lawmakers worry less about a political challenge from the other party and more about a primary challenge from a ideologically driven conservative or liberal from within the lawmaker's own party.
As a result, the more politically perilous route is to move to the middle in a compromise, thereby inviting that kind of primary challenge, rather than to stand on firm ideological ground and be accused of being too uncompromising.


text:
If you want to make a personalised gift for your child or a gift for someone else, this new product from KODAK is limited only by your artistic imagination.
You can add patterns, names, text, artwork or photos to any pair of running shoes. Imagine how cute a child's first pair of trainers would look with thier name or date of birth as a pattern - a keepsake forever.
Or if you want to keep the kids occupied on a rainy day, here is a great craft project they will love, and all you need is a regular home inkjet printer.
You can get any images you want off the internet... and they have created a cool pair of running shoes that will never go missing, and will be a piece of art forever.
Click 'Visit Website' for more information.
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Excellent concept - You must be creative and patient!! My kids were super excited when we realised that we had been chosen for the review. My daughter is 10 and wanted to have a go at it herself. She chose to print out actual pictures, which were really hard to put onto the shoes. We 'persuaded' her to change her mind and just put on patterns. She chose rainbows and g (...) Read more
Service - Fantastic; Product - Fantastic; kids faces when the saw their "new" football boots - PRICELESS!!!! Now the whole soccer team wants their boots making, its a brilliant concept and the price is awesome and the boots, if I may say so myself, are just brilliant.
My kids were driving me crazy over the holidays and they "loved" making their own personalised trainers. Kept them busy all day...it was fantastic. I also had to buy a baby gift for a friend who just had a little girl and I was able to put her new baby's name on the cutest pair of little white trainers....the mother was over the moon. Also...they will never get two of (...) Read more


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(FILES)A bud of Maui Afghooey medical marijuana is displayed at the PureLife Alternative Wellness Center in this July 27, 2012 file photo in Los Angeles, California. Fewer American teenagers consider marijuana to be dangerous, an influential survey said December 18, 2013, a fresh sign of growing public acceptance of a substance that US federal law considers on a par with ecstasy. Some 39.5 percent of high-school seniors view marijuana as harmful -- down from 44.1 percent just a year ago -- the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) said in its Monitoring the Future survey for 2013. "That's 60 percent who think marijuana is not harmful!" exclaimed NIDA, a federal agency, on its blog for teenagers.AFP PHOTO/Frederic J. BROWNFREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images
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Welcome to CowboysZone! Join us! Come on! You know you want to!
You cannot post in the chat room because you have not posted enough in the forums!
Grade the Cowboys 2012 rookie Draft class
Discussion in 'Fan Zone' started by Ultimategamer5567, Jan 7, 2013.
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It's officially winter. All across the grid, people frolick through snow, snuggle around fires and prepare for this most wonderful time of year. We at the Destination Guide would be remiss if we didn't share a few of the awesome places we enjoy wandering through. It's a tradition, really.
Just like the song, few things are as joyous as dashing through snowy landscapes in a one-horse open sleigh. Speaking of classics, it just wouldn't be the same without a loving recreation of Dickens' A Christmas Carol, or last-minute shopping on a snowy boulevard. We also have a magically enchanting forest and a floating realm molded from crisp winter light. And for those of you who like a little excitement with your holidays, ever wonder what a battle between Halloween and Christmas would look like? Of course you do.
As magical as this time of year is, none of it would be possible without you. So join us and create something magical. Most of all, happy holidays!
The North Pole Sleigh Ride Adventure
Come experience a winter wonderland filled with magical scenes and classic Christmas memories. Enjoy a delightful scenic sleigh-ride, ice skating, a lodge and of course a visit with Santa and his elves!
Visit in Second Life
Frosty Night 2013
There's a new sky world being held during this snowy season. Dance and share wonderful times with your loved ones. Breathe frozen air and dazzling lights. Touch the freezing feather for a gift and have a wonderful time.
Visit in Second Life
2013 Christmas Town
2013's Christmas Town is a one-of-a-kind time travel ice skating ride through an all-encompassing flashback journey through the greatest Christmas memories of all time. Don't forget to join the Christmas marching band as Santa heads down Main Street. A landscape of wonder and visually rich magic awaits you at Christmas Town!
Visit in Second Life
Imaginaria is a winter-themed sim with a magical secret garden, snow, forests, a frozen pond, ice skating, a covered bridge and many other beautiful winter scenes. It's a great place to take pictures or just explore, relax and hang out.
Visit in Second Life
Holiday Havoc
Caught in a gulf between two ancient forces, the world finds itself caught between the might of Halloween and Christmas itself! This war threatens to ignite after a devious assassination. It'll require someone with the skill, courage, and wisdom to put a stop to the inevitable conflict and save both holidays. Are you up to the challenge?
Visit in Second Life
A Christmas Carol
With pride, Mint Entertainment brings you a recreation of the Charles Dicken's timeless novel "A Christmas Carol." Explore 1800's England and travel through Scrooge's Christmases past, present and future. Great fun for all!
Visit in Second Life
In the newest installment of The Drax Files: World Makers, Draxtor Despres interviews Rose Borchovski, known throughout Second Life for her amazing and immersive art installations. Listen in as Drax and Rose discuss inspiration, the creation of Susa Bubble, current projects and more. Be sure to watch this thought-provoking episode of The Drax Files: World Makers.
Find the video below or at Drax's website.
Interested in more Drax Files? Watch all the previous episodes at the links below!
The Drax Files: World Makers - Episode 1: Kriss Lehmann
The Drax Files: World Makers - Episode 2: Jo Yardley
The Drax Files: World Makers - Episode 3: Eshi Otawara
The Drax Files: World Makers - Episode 4: Fantasy Faire / RFL
The Drax Files: World Makers - Episode 5: Engrama
The Drax Files: World Makers - Episode 6: Abramelin Wolfe
The Drax Files: World Makers - Episode 7: Rod Humble
The Drax Files: World Makers - Episode 8: MadPea Games
The Drax Files: World Makers - Episode 9: Elie Spot
The Drax Files Episode 10: Robin Sojourner
The Drax Files Episode 11: Dwarfins
The Drax Files Episode 12: Ole Etzel
A recent security breach at Adobe gave hackers access to private information for users of Adobe sites and services. This included Adobe passwords, email addresses, and password hints. Second Life has not been compromised, but, this is a good reminder that it's important to never use the same password for Second Life that you use elsewhere.
If you have reused your Second Life password on other services, particularly if you used it for an Adobe service, you should change it immediately.
After every large breach, fraudsters search for users who reuse their passwords on other sites, so if you use the same password for Second Life and other services, your Second Life account could be at risk if one of those other services suffers a security breach.
You can easily change your Second Life password by following this link, and for more info, check out this Knowledge Base article on Passwords and Account Information.
For a limited time, you can get a 50% discount* on a new Premium Membership!
Premium Members enjoy a private home, weekly virtual currency payouts, special building rights, access to exclusive inworld experiences, expanded support, and more.
Upgrade today to take advantage of this great discount and get the latest free Premium gifts - some holiday-themed decor to help you celebrate the season in Second Life!
Current Premium subscribers can collect their free gifts here.
*This limited-time discount offer is available only for memberships on the Quarterly billing plan. Discount will be applied to the first quarterly billing cycle only, and all future charges will be at the regular Premium price. To qualify, Second Life members must have an active Basic account or create a new Second Life account. Discount offer begins on Thursday the 21st of November 2013 at 12:01 am Pacific Standard Time (PST) and expires on Wednesday the 1st of January 2014 at 12:01 am Pacific Standard Time (PST).
Today, we are launching an experimental Project Fitted Mesh Viewer with additional collision bones needed to support dynamically fitted mesh garments on all of the avatars. When these changes have been finalized, they will enable garment designers to use the superior capabilities of mesh content creation tools to make garments that adapt to a wide range of Second Life avatars.
Since the introduction of Mesh to Second Life, creators have faced challenges fitting Mesh garments to the Second Life avatar. Because mesh objects are not resizable in as many ways as the avatar itself is, it has been difficult for mesh garment creators to provide garments that adapt to the shape of the avatar in the way that the image-based clothing layers do. While many creators have made heroic efforts to provide products in a range of sizes, and some have collaborated to define a set of standard sizes that work reasonably well for much of the user population, many have found that mesh garments just don't work well enough for their avatars. Mesh garments also don't move with the body parts affected by avatar physics.
Users have developed two approaches to address these problems:
Rigging garments to the "collision bones" of the avatar skeleton (often marketed as "Liquid Mesh"). This works in current Viewers for some body parts, but there are some avatar shape parameters that do not have corresponding collision bones, so garments do not adapt to fit everywhere on the body.
The "Mesh Deformer" project added code to the Viewer to dynamically compute how to modify each garment shape by looking at how the vertices of the avatar were changed from that of the female and male base shapes.
The Linden Lab development team has studied both approaches, and compared their effectiveness, maintainability, and performance. Neither approach completely eliminates the occasional need for an alpha clothing layer to prevent small parts of the avatar skin from appearing through garments, but both work quite well at resizing garments so that they fit the avatar and move naturally with it. While the collision bones method requires the creator to do some additional rigging, we have decided that because it leverages more of the existing avatar shape system it is likely to be the more maintainable solution and to perform better for a wider range of users.
We have posted documentation on the wiki describing the full set of collision bones, including the newly added ones. We invite creators to begin experimenting with creating garments rigged to this new skeleton.
At this time, the new skeleton should be considered provisional and subject to change; we do not yet recommend selling or buying garments rigged to it. Since we may find reasons to improve it during this testing process, and any change to the collision bones will likely break garments rigged before the change, we want to make sure that we have a set of bones that we can all live with into the indefinite future before it is widely used.
Creators and other users who participate in testing can provide feedback by filing Jira issues in the Fitted Mesh project.
As with any online service, Second Life users are targeted by scammers from time to time. One type of scam we've seen recently are websites that promise huge discounts on L$ sales and even offer to buy L$.
Often, these sites use these "too good to be true" discounts to lure you into entering your credit card information, which they then steal. Sometimes, they will use trusted payment systems, but sell you fraudulently obtained L$. When these fraudulent L$ are recovered by Linden Lab, you may then struggle to recover your payment from the anonymous strangers that sold them to you.
Not only does using these sites put your credit card information at risk, but it also constitutes a violation of the Terms of Service. Remember, you can buy L$ only on the LindeX or from an authorized L$ reseller; you can sell L$ only on the LindeX.
The good news is, keeping your credit card and your Second Life account safe is easy:
Only purchase L$ on the LindeX or from an authorized L$ reseller
Remember that the only place to sell your L$ is the LindeX, the official exchange operated by Linden Lab
Be wary of any offer (which may be made via IM or direct message) that sounds too good to be true. If the site isn't an authorized L$ reseller, ignore it.
We've been working for some time on a set of improvements – code-named Project Shining - to give Second Life users a better inworld experience. The latest improvements from this work include an improved object-caching and streaming system called Project Interesting.
As we've previously blogged, this project will greatly reduce the load and time it takes to draw objects in regions. Put simply, this means scenes will appear more quickly and smoothly as you move throughout Second Life.
Project Interesting is a set of improvements to how the Viewer and server work together to know what scene objects to draw. We've already made the server smarter about sending the important, "interesting" stuff first, and today we're launching a release candidate for a new Viewer that does a much better job of storing and managing the scene data on your computer. This will not only improve the speed at which a location loads, it will also help with overall Viewer performance.
This all translates to a smoother, faster Second Life experience that gets you to the Interesting stuff that much faster. So check out the video below, then go try out the new viewer Second Life Interesting Viewer version 126.96.36.1993895.
We've seen many great machinima films created in Second Life over the years and are happy to see events like the Machinima Expo recognizing the talent and amazing work that goes into creating machinima.
The Machinima Expo celebrates its sixth year with screenings and panel discussions about the art of Machinima on November 17th, 2013.
Check out the Official Machinima Expo 6 Screening Films here, which include The Drax Files: World Makers Episode 2, featuring Jo Yardley - which we blogged about here.
Now that October has come and gone, why not take a moment to see what's new with the Destination Guide? We always have interesting destinations showing up and we love sharing them. So get some relaxation in before that winter rush, huh?
To help get over all that October excitement, we've got some soothing islands perfect for taking a break, a fashion fair for a little remedial shopping, and a lovingly rainy gallery in a brand new location. But if quiet contemplation isn't your cup of tea, why not lose yourself in the mysteries of a forgotten well, take in a few live shows or get ready for an ever-popular November hunt? If all else fails, you can always purge horror with creativity and create something awesome. See you inworld!
The Jerky Turkey Hunt 3
That turkey, he's so jerky! Leaving feathers all over the grid, causing chaos and mayhem wherever he goes... He's a jokester and loves to stir up trouble. Find the feathers to find the jerky turkey and end up with a gobbling gaggle of end sponsor prizes. Held Nov. 15th through the 30th, visit http://evilbunnyhunt.blogspot.com for more information.
Visit in Second Life
The Well: Sollicitus
The sequel to last year's experiment in fear returns in The Well: Sollicitus. A team of scientists investigate a strange well to uncover what happened to the young boy who vanished and the rescue team that went missing searching for him. Get the HUD and try to complete the labyrinth of tunnels, avoiding gruesome monsters and terrifying shadows.
Visit in Second Life
Otium is Latin for leisure and laziness. Otium also explains the philosophy of this archipelagic retreat. Get away from your necessities and obligations and slip into the intellectual leisure of the creative dimension. Otium is the ideal place to relax.
Visit in Second Life
Rockabilly Fashion Fair
The Rockabilly Fashion Fair has over 100 top designers with lots of exclusive items and retro hotness, just for you. Grab your friends, family, even random passers by and step back to the time of slicked hair, leather jackets and Bettie Page style. Rockabilly isn't just a look, it's a way of life, daddy-o!
Visit in Second Life
Grey November Gallery
The Grey November Gallery is exactly that: an art gallery set in a cheerfully gloomy cabin in a grey November rainstorm. The animated pictures are the product of Rodriguez Munro and were inspired by both the real and virtual worlds.
Visit in Second Life
Hesperia of Templemore
Hesperia of Templemore is a wonderful sim dedicated to live music performances. This stunning build excites all of the senses, with several music venues that host many live events. Come to Templemore City for the beautiful views, intricate design and awesome ambiance.
Visit in Second Life
UPDATE: the maintenance has been completed and all should be back to normal. Thank you again for your patience!
Tomorrow morning (Thursday, November 7), we'll be performing some important database maintenance for about an hour, beginning at 7am PT.
During this period, a number of Second Life services will be impacted. Some users may be logged off and may be temporarily unable to log in for a brief period. The maintenance may also disrupt transactions, logins, and account registration. The land store and land auctions may also become unavailable during this time.
We recommend that users refrain from rezzing or transferring valuable (no-copy) objects or making any L$ or Marketplace transactions during this maintenance window.
We will update this post when the maintenance has been completed, and you can follow along at Grid Status for more detailed updates as well.
We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you all for your patience as we work to improve Second Life for everyone.
Highlights from the Second Life Destinatio
n Guide ... - The Drax Files Episode 14: Rose Borchovski
- Keep Your Account Secure - Never Reuse Passwords
- Limited Time Offer: Save 50% on Premium Membership
- Making Mesh Garments Fit Better
- An Important Reminder About Buying and Selling L$
Speedy Delivery: Introducin
g the Project Interesti. .. - Machinima Expo 6 is Coming
Highlights from the Second Life Destinatio
n Guide ... - Expected Downtime Thursday, November 7


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2008 SGA New Orleans Report
On January 2-4, 2008, the Student Government Association embarked on its fourth community service trip to New Orleans, LA. The largest group of nine students and advisors had an amazing experience. Group members included: Augusta Farver, Summer Brown, Stacy Kellar, Tyrone Sanders, William Clay, Jennifer Crumpton, Alicia Stolzer, Matthew Rougley, and Kris Parr. While in New Orleans, the group volunteered through the Louisiana United Methodist Disaster Recovery Ministry. The group worked for two days to help Ms. Louise Joseph, a retiree, paint the interior of her home, doors, trim, and crown molding. Ms. Joseph is still in battle with the insurance company and has invested all of her retirement into the rebuilding of her home. She has been dislocated from her home for 2 and ˝ years and is understandably eager to finish her project and move home. She indicated to us that when her bedroom and bathroom are complete, she will move in and complete the rest of the house as she can.
The Louisiana United Methodist Disaster Recovery Ministry reported that for the past two years, the state of Louisiana receives $18.04 per volunteer hour. So far, the volunteers have given $33 million dollars back to the state of Louisiana. During the two days the Pulaski Tech group was there, they worked to give back close to $1300.00. The Disaster Recovery Ministry expects they will need volunteers well through the year 2010.
It was an honor to volunteer and meet Ms. Louise Joseph. We hope to return to her home in May and find her in a completely restored home. The entire group was changed from this experience and feels blessed to share in the rebuilding of lives.
>Back to SGA helps New Orleans


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Date: 2012-11-9 21:58:00 by aganippe Tags: Featured in Kippis! v3 n1
Harbin Introduction
The beaten Jetta's driver crosses the median, dodges head-on 3am traffic; the college greeter, says it's faster when I ask why. While we show IDs and my passport at a gate, beggars advance. Cabbie hustles clunker through, slows past barred windows of cloned concrete buildings
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Jennifer van der Kleut
Virginia State Police (VSP) reported this week that officers have cited more than 300 drivers for texting while driving since the act became a primary offense in the commonwealth on July 1.
In Vienna, only one driver has been cited since July 1, according to the Town of Vienna Police Department.
Previously texting while driving was only a secondary offense, meaning police could not pull a driver over solely for texting while driving, and that another offense had to be noted at the time.
Since the law changed, state police officers have issued 328 citations across Virginia, according to the department's statement.
"Since the law went into effect, Virginia state troopers have been enforcing it just like any other primary offense," VSP representatives said. "The trooper must observe the illegal conduct of the vehicle's operator, thus providing the trooper with reasonable suspicion to initiate a traffic stop on that vehicle."
The department said troopers have the discretion to warn, summons or
arrest a violator if they observe him or her texting while driving and pull the driver over.
Texting while driving in Virginia earns one a $125 fine for the first offense, and doubles to $250 on a second or subsequent offense.
Further information in the department's statement suggested state police think the problem is more widespread than even these numbers can indicate.
"Keep in mind that this data does not provide an exact account of the problem that exists concerning texting while driving on Virginia's highways," said Colonel W. Steven Flaherty, Virginia State Police Superintendent, who explained that drivers that have been cited since July 1 for texting while driving as a secondary offense are not included in the 328 number.
"Regardless, texting while driving puts at risk the driver, passengers and every other motorist, motorcyclist, pedestrian and bicyclist sharing the roadway with that inattentive driver," Col. Flaherty added.
Drivers of commercial vehicles or vehicles carrying between 9 and 15 passengers are also prohibited from texting while driving under another part of the state law.
The law does permit "texting when necessary to communicate with law enforcement or other emergency services."
TELL US - Do you think texting while driving is a problem in the Annandale area? Do you witness it a lot in this area? Tell us in the comments below.
By .
State Police Cite More Than 300 for Texting While Driving
Texting while driving became a primary offense police can pull you over for on July 1 in Virginia.
+ Leave a Comment
- Vienna Patch Editor
- Mary Ann Barton
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Copyright ©2013 Patch. All rights reserved.


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(44 arvostelua)
Matkustajien TripAdvisor-arviot
The Inn was lovely! Our room was very comfortable, as was the common areas. I loved the french country warmth it exuded. The 'happy hour' and breakfast... were good, nothing exceptional. We were disappointed that the other guests were not as outgoing as we have experienced at other Inns. Other B & B's we've stayed at had an Inn representative at breakfast or 'tea', encouraging conversations amongst the guests and sharing activities and news about the area Nancy kohteesta Baltimore 30.07.2013


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arrg iam logged in with wrong account
Last edited by dieArschkuh; 02-15-2011 at 10:13 AM.
would it have any effect if the host banlisted you while you were dcd?
If it's MM is it possible to "host" as in the sense of public game hosting?
I dont think it is.. I only have the option to randomly get a game. And if they set it up the "other" way, where a person clicks on MM and it creates a game with them as the "host" and others get connected to the game based upon mmr, then this REALLY needs be fixed. That's a deal breaker.
Match ID: 30093682
I seem to have gotten the win, and no leave. Still, would have been nice to finish the game.
Just happened to me, seems to be the same as a lot of other problems I've had, where you get a leave on your account and s2 really don't care enough to take it off for you...
Probably the worst technical support/customer service department I've ever dealt with to be honest, reported 20+ bugs, asked even more questions, never once had a reply or a fix...
Happened to me twice today
#30394275 and another game that got remade
First game, after 2 DCs I got the "Host has banned you from this game", second game "Someone else is attempting to join a game on this account (Which 99.9% surely was not happening)blahblah".
So yeah. Funeh.
match ID: 30485493
Name: Neae
TMM MATCH #650847 Happened last night. Element directed me here. Can this leave be removed (my friends DID win the match btw..)
Match 30696880
SaltaS left and kept getting the "Host has banned you" bug.
Player: LittleDipper
Match: TMM Match 30872657
LittleDipper playing the yellow slither disconnected a little over an hour into the game. His teammates said he got the "the host has banned you from this match" message. The game ended before he was terminated, so he didn't get any leaves.
S2 Games: Dedicated employees serving dedicated gamers. Continuous development. Never-ending improvement.


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You're watching...
Upscale pawn shops cater to wealthy clientele
Shopper's Market: Get quick cash for luxury items online and offline
Jan 25, 2013
You're watching...
Shopper's Market: Get quick cash for luxury items online and offline
Jan 25, 2013
Also in this playlist...
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Auto-advanceThis transcript is automatically generated
The need for fast cash hitting the wealthy.
As more rich people flocked to upon shops most people don't realize up -- the 1950s.
Pot -- from the number one former consumer credit the United States.
A new breed of -- -- shops is willing to trade cash for pricey personal items like jewelry antique cars and fine wine.
The industry seeing a boom during the economic downturn as bank lending tightens.
So waiting -- quick cash -- little if you need a few thousand dollars it's really difficult go to a bank.
And apply for this stuff.
You can swap your goods for cash online to.
Altar upon dot com let's owners trade in their luxury items for cash from the comfort of their own homes transactions on the side or not just a couple of hundred dollars.
But tens of thousands of dollars.
We felt that there was definitely need for the 2% -- luxury customer where if they had valuable items needed liquidity from time to time.
Give them an upscale customer service experience where they could do that.
-- -- appraisal of collateral such as jams precious metals and art works.
Starts online through photos.
Give us a brief description of the item.
We assign you to a specific customer service representative and we give you an estimate of the item you wanna proceed with the deal.
You simply fed ex us the item we pay for the shipping we fully insure the item.
And we typically why are -- money up to a million dollars within 24 hours.
The number upon businesses has increase by half in the last five years to around 101000 shops over that time the average -- loan.
And almost doubled to a 150.
Dollars in New York -- about her Fox News.
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Archibald McFarland
Richard Ballantyne Company (1855)Approximate age at departure: 22
- McFarland, Archibald, Reminiscences [ca. 1874-1912], 9-10.
- Trail Excerpt
- Source Location
- Church History Library, Salt Lake City
New FamilySearch/Family Tree
- Perpetual Emigrating Fund, General Files (except for 1847-49 which are in Camp of Israel schedules and reports, 1845-1849).
- Source Location
- Church History Library, Salt Lake City
Ship Passenger and Manifest Lists
- Source Location
- Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah
- Utah State Death Certificate, Utah State Archives
- Source Location
- Internet Web Site


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Instructions to change your password should arrive in your inbox in a few moments.
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Max (Kat Dennings, right) is surprised to see Johnny (Nick Zano, left) at a gala at the Met. Photo: Darren Michaels/ Warner Bros. ©2012 Warner Bros. Television. All Rights Reserved.


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Tickets may be picked up 90 minutes prior to showtime or door time. Tickets must be picked-up by the cardholder with the credit card used to place the order and valid photo I.D.
Parking is only charged if the price is NOT included in the ticket.
From East or West take I30 to the Barry/Munger exit which turns into Fitzhugh. Follow the Gexa Energy Pavilion signs. From North or South take I45 to Martin Luther King exit to Robert Cullum Blvd. Turn right and continue to Fitzhugh. Turn left and follow Gexa Energy Pavilion signs.
The EAST box office opens an hour and a half before the show. The WEST box office is open from 11am-9pm on SHOW DAYS ONLY. ** THERE IS A $6.00 FACILITY MAINTENANCE FEE CHARGE PER TICKET AT THE BOX OFFICE **
Cash, Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express
No food, drinks, coolers, lawn chairs, umbrellas allowed. The amphitheatre institutes a "No re-entry policy" for all events. Gates into the pavilion open ninety minutes prior to the scheduled performance time. Certain shows may restrict all beer and wine sales at that performers request. Note the clock in the concession stand indicates the time that the sale of alcoholic beverages is scheduled to be discontinued. Certain events may also ban blankets for lawn seating. Events go on as scheduled, rain or shine. If it rains on the day of an event, lawn seat patrons are encouraged to bring a blanket or plastic tarp to sit on. Camera Policy: Personal cameras are allowed in the venue. Flash photography, video and removable lens cameras are not permitted without venue approval.
If a child has celebrated their 2nd birthday they must have a ticket. Prices are the same for children as adults.


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Morton Street Dance Center trains students from age 3 to adult in a barre-lined studio whose sprung floors absorb the shock of leap landings. The center's creative movement classes develop motor skills in preschool-aged kids, then branch into diverse styles such as tap, jazz and Afro-fusion as dancers mature. To keep young minds fresh during the summer months, dance intensives take an in-depth approach to a single style, honing trained steps and graceful moves more effectively than an ostrich-riding lesson. As they improve, dancers aged 8–18 can audition for the studio's ensembles, which showcase their unison moves at venues such as the citywide Artscape Festival and the Hippodrome Theater. Adult classes impart Afro-fusion and modern-dance techniques to movers of every level, allowing dancers to follow their passion through every stage of their lives.
JAMZ Dance Center, located in Pasadena, MD within Longpoint Mall, opened its doors in August 2008. Our mission is to provide superior instruction to all students in a fun and rewarding environment. We have gone above and beyond what today's usual dance studio has to offer.
Xpose Fitness transforms its students into fit, confident divas with sultry exercise classes that have been featured on TLC and CNN. Certified instructors lead 50-minute workouts for all fitness levels, pairing muscle-lengthening stretches with isometric exercises to build strong, svelte muscles throughout the body. Floor and chair sessions blend yoga and Pilates poses into a dance routine that makes sexy props out of everyday objects such as desk chairs, loveseats, and throw pillows shaped like Grover Cleveland's moustache. In pole-dancing classes, the teacher imparts basic spins with step-by-step instructions and a steady stream of encouragement. Exercise modifications are available at each workout, helping new exercisers and injured participants move safely and comfortably. Consult the class schedule for times, and visit the FAQ page for a list of items to bring along.
Though the schedule changes frequently, belly dancing, pole dancing, and exotic dancing always play a major role in fitness at My Body Shop. Its instructors help women get fit and work on seductive moves all at once. They also host traditional Zumba and aerobics classes.
Since 1971, Maryland Youth Ballet's team of trained instructors has helped both amateur dancers and aspiring Baryshnikovs hone their skills with a range of comprehensive classes. True beginners can begin their swan transformations during the introductory series, which covers fundamental barre exercises and promotes proper alignment, molting, and musicality. More experienced students can drop into one of the studio's ongoing sessions that range from jazz- and Broadway-style routines to Horton-based modern movement. Adult classes are open to ages 13 and older, and all participants must bring their own ballet flats or oversize bunny slippers.
Contradiction Dance is an oasis where the conventions of humdrum vocal speak are replaced by the language of movement. Dancers who have neither the space nor privacy to conduct their own metrical marauding at home can indulge in a series of drop-in classes for adults held in sessions. All five classes must be used within the span of a single session, and the present session runs until June 12 with scheduled classes Mondays through Saturdays. Join in on the heart-pumping workout of a Wednesday Jazz Basics class from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., or try out '80s Hip-Hop Aerobics from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. Diverse courses extend to contemporary dance, ballroom waltzing, poi spinning, tai chi, kung fu, and the vigorous calm of Thursday night's Yoga Groove class beginning April 8.
The dance floor at Roda Movements sizzles with the dance and martial-arts forms of Brazil and Latin America. In capoeira classes, students gather in a circle playing drums, the single-stringed berimbau, and the tambourine, taking turns moving to the center to perform acrobatic movements that blend sparring techniques with graceful sweeping motions of the native dance style. Brazilian jiujitsu teaches grappling techniques for fighting on the ground, and Zumba sets a calorie-blasting aerobic-dance routine to Latin rhythms. The ballroom styles of salsa teach quick-paced steps to guests dancing solo, in pairs, or with a musically inclined mop. In addition to Latin dance and martial-arts classes, patrons can build muscles while whittling their waistlines in yoga and African-dance classes. Also catering to the wee ones, kids-only versions of specific classes helped Roda Movements earn a Best of the Best award from the Takoma Voice.


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Briar Rose Creamery
Valentine's Day Poetry Contest Winners 2012!
February 24, 2012 - 2:35pm | by wfertmanTough choices as usual!
We didn't give you all a lot of time to dream up fresh rhymes for this year's contest (just a week or so), but we still saw an outpouring of casienated love.
Poems tended strongly towards the sweet (who win Briar Rose Creamery's goat cheese and chocolate truffles) with fewer works addressing the spicy (who win a selection of Virginia Chutney Co.'s tasty cheese lubricants). The field also tilted heavily towards submitter Lisa, who crushed the competition with sheer volume.
The Winners
♥ A top pick from our lovelorn staff was Jaclyn Stevenson's travelog in free verse, with our expatriot "foreign girl" falling for the charms of an open-air market. Sweet is the word.


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Why dosent 2k make a movie like halo did for bioshock 1&2 it'd be way better than the halo movie cause its got a great story plot to it and everything.
P.S. if you guys make a movie you mind sending me a movie possibly for free cause you'll make so much off the movie.
By the way my name is Roy Allen LaPoint Jr.


text:
When Michael accepts a company assignment overseas, he doesn't count on being dumped by his boyfriend on the way to the airport. The breakup is a bad omen--Michael's time in Europe would be one long misery of loneliness and corporate backbiting if it weren't for his friendship with his coworker, Stephan.
When he finds out Stephan wants more than friendship, Michael is torn. Even if he chooses to risk his one bright relationship in Europe for a chance at love, when this project is over, isn't his only choice to say goodbye?
Chapter One
THE sound of the ringing phone startled Michael out of his usual early-morning haze as he drove to work. He almost ignored it, but figured a call this early might be important so Michael pulled his old car off to the side of the road. "Hello."
"Morning, Mikey!"
"Devon." Michael couldn't help smiling. "How can you be so chipper at this God-awful hour of the morning?" Devon always seemed to have buckets of energy, day or night, and especially in bed.
"Are you on your way to work?" Devon asked, ignoring Michael's question.
"I'm in the car and should be there in ten minutes or so. Why?"
"No reason. I just wanted to catch you before you got there because I didn't want to disturb you at your office." Devon paused for a second, probably expecting Michael to say something, but he hadn't had his first cup of coffee yet and was only functioning on autopilot. "Are we still going out tonight? I've been looking forward to it all week. I even got a new shirt so I'll look good when we go out. I was thinking we could go to Boyztown tonight. They have the greatest music, and I can dance." Now, that was always a sight. Michael could never take his eyes off his lover when he danced. The only problem was that neither could anyone else.
"Yes, we're still on. I told you I'd take you out for your birthday, and I meant it." Something kicked in and Michael felt alert. "I'll pick you up at your place, and we can go to dinner first. Have a good day at work, and I'll see you tonight."
"Okay, you too," Devon replied excitedly before disconnecting. Michael's smile lasted all the way through the rest of his drive and until he was settled in his office, getting ready for his first meeting of the day. Thankfully, it was a Friday, and he only had to get through today and he would have two whole days of peace, fun, and Devon.
He and Devon had been seeing each other for the past six months, and it had been good, really good. Devon really didn't seem to mind that Michael was older. They were good together, and Devon had recently began using the L word quite a bit, which made Michael's heart jump every time.
"Are you going to stare at that screen all day or get some work done?" Kyle said from his door with a huge grin. Like Michael, Kyle was also an information systems project manager for Shoe Box, a worldwide retailer of athletic shoes, and they shared the same boss. But their similarities ended there. Where Michael was driven as far as his projects were concerned, Kyle had a laid-back attitude that Michael couldn't understand. Somehow, Kyle's projects seemed to come together out of thin air, while Michael worked very hard to make sure everything was the way it should be. It was infuriating, but Kyle was one of those guys no one could be mad at, and that included Michael.
"Sorry," Michael answered, "I haven't had my coffee yet."
"I think you'll want to get that coffee now. Curtis called a management meeting for eight thirty, and you know how he is," Kyle said after making sure the hallway was empty. Michael knew exactly how he was, even after having worked for the man only a few months. Curtis's changing moods were well-ingrained upon everyone who worked for him. Michael had often thought the man needed a good dose of mood stabilizers, but couldn't say that to anyone.
"Thanks for the warning." Michael opened his e-mail and saw the messages from Curtis sitting in his inbox like terrorist pipe bombs just waiting to ruin a perfectly good Friday. Ignoring them for now, Michael got up and accompanied Kyle down to the cafeteria, returning a few minutes later, coffee in hand, to go through his e-mails and prepare for his day and the infamous meeting.
At the appointed time, Michael got up from his desk and hurried to the conference room, finding the other managers already there and Curtis sitting at the head of the table, looking toward the door. Michael glanced at the clock just to make sure he wasn't late before closing the door and taking one of the empty chairs. Curtis had a real thing about being on time for meetings and appointments, even though the one person on the team most likely to be late for anything was Curtis himself. Every week, Curtis had a set time to meet with each of his managers, and more likely than not, Michael would be kept waiting for his appointment. But heaven forbid the world would end if he were a minute late for anything Curtis scheduled.
"We've been tasked with taking on an extra project because of the shuffles with the logistics team. They lost one of their project managers, and since our team still has two," Curtis said, as he turned to Kyle and Michael with one of his self-righteous "I fought for you, so you owe me" looks on his face. "I'll be reassigning the projects this morning, and things will need to change. Right now the workload isn't balanced, and this additional project is going to make things even more complicated. Brian, I'm going to need you to take on one of the projects. It'll be one of the simpler ones that fits with your team. Kyle and Michael, I haven't figured out how I'm going to divide things up yet, but I'll talk to both of you later this morning."
Michael felt his stomach lurch, but he was careful to keep any reaction off his face. He currently had three projects, and all three of them were well under control, fully planned, and carefully timelined. He'd spent months doing all the requirements-gathering, documentation, planning, and team building, working nights and even weekends to make sure they were right, and now who the hell knew what Curtis was going to come up with. After Curtis's little announcement, the man launched into stories that ate up almost the next half hour. Michael kept looking at the clock, wondering when he could get back to his desk. There was plenty to get done regardless of Curtis's project shakeup, and he had calls that needed to be made. Zoning out, Michael tried to organize everything in his head so that when he could get out of here, he could get right to work.
"So I woke up in the middle of the night, wet, and when I lifted the covers, my crotch was green. The bag of peas had leaked all over everything. Never refreeze the bag of peas. Once they thaw, throw them out." Everyone laughed, and Michael did as well because it was expected, even if he'd already heard the story of Curtis's vasectomy and the infamous bag of peas at least twice. Kyle had confessed after the last telling that he'd heard it at least six times. The only comforting thought about that story was that the world would be spared from any more "little Curtises"—there was a God after all.
Finally, the waste of time Curtis called a meeting was over, and Michael hurried back to his desk. Checking his e-mail once again, he found it blessedly empty and began making calls, ticking other tasks off his list as he verified that all critical tasks were on plan. The last call he made was to the software rep, Marty, to make sure they would deliver the customized store register code as promised. Their timeline for delivery was already tight and any slippage would delay the entire project. Michael did not want to have to explain that to Curtis, or for that matter to Mark, the vice president of the technology development. After being assured that everything was on track and that no problems had been found, they talked for a few minutes about Marty's new baby before disconnecting. Michael had known Marty for years and had worked hard under his previous director to build a good relationship.
Checking his list again, he set up meetings for the following week before starting to work on the next steps in his project documentation. Fridays were usually good days with limited meetings, which allowed him to get caught up, and if he were lucky, slightly ahead on the next week's work. "Michael." He looked up and saw Kyle peering into his office. "Curtis asked me to send you to his office."
Kyle definitely looked a little worse for wear, and Michael wondered just what had happened, but Kyle walked away without saying anything more. Michael picked up his day planner, and after locking his PC, walked down the hallway toward the front corner offices where the directors and vice presidents had their offices. Curtis's door was open, but he wasn't at his desk. Taking a seat in one of the chairs, Michael opened his planner, updating his to-do list with tasks he needed to do next week, until Curtis walked in and shut the door. Glancing at his watch, Michael realized he'd been waiting for almost fifteen minutes.
"As I said in the meeting this morning, we need to reassign some of the projects, but something else has come up since then." Curtis sat down in his leather office chair, fishing through the piles of crap on his desk. "The Shoe Finder project for Europe is in trouble. Europe doesn't have the resources to work with Kyle to complete the project. They have people to do the work, but not manage it from their end. They asked if we could send the project manager over there to work with their people until the project is completed at the end of October."
"So Kyle will be going to Europe for, what, five months?" Michael asked, trying to figure out which of Kyle's projects he could take over to help out. "What can I do to help?"
"That's the issue. Kyle isn't willing to be away from his family for that period of time, and Mark wanted me to ask if you'd take over the project. I want to stress that this is Kyle's project, and you don't have to do this." The last sentiments were added in a rush that rendered them completely meaningless. In other words, Michael read into it silently, you don't have to do this, but Mark will remember that you weren't a team player and weren't willing to do what the company needed. Since Kyle had a wife and kids, those things didn't seem to apply to him. Michael was speechless. He hadn't seen this coming at all, and now everything had been turned on its end. Curtis continued talking without waiting for Michael's response. "We'll move the Canada and Asia projects to Kyle, and transition the Europe project to you. You'll keep the automated-scheduling project since that's already being implemented."
"When do you need an answer?" Michael asked, bringing Curtis to a screeching halt, and Michael realized Curtis hadn't made any plans for what would happen if Michael said no. Curtis had simply assumed Michael would do it, and he probably would have for Dennis, his previous supervisor and one of the best people Michael had ever worked with.
"We need an answer as soon as possible, but you know if you pull this off, this could be a career-making move for you," Curtis said as he leaned forward, the part about the promotion that he knew Michael had been hoping for going unvocalized, but definitely implied.
Michael's throat felt dry. "Let me think about it."
"You did the US version of this project, so this shouldn't really be all that hard," Curtis told him, leaning back in his chair, and Michael could almost see him pull his salesman's hat out of the drawer. "And you'll get to spend some time in Europe. Have you ever been?" Curtis inquired, his voice taking on an edge of excitement.
"No, I haven't," Michael answered, feeling a twinge of excitement himself. "I need some time to think about this," he said, checking his watch, "and I have a meeting in a few minutes."
"Get back to me this afternoon, and we can hammer out any details." Curtis turned his attention to his computer, and Michael realized he'd been dismissed. Opening the office door, Michael stepped out and saw Mark walking down the hallway toward him.
"Did Curtis talk to you?" Mark asked as he approached. "You'd be doing us all a big favor if you'd do this," Mark told him, tilting his head back toward his office, and Michael followed him, taking a seat inside the plush, well-decorated office. "We shouldn't have to ask you to do this. This is Kyle's project, and I'm none too happy that he isn't willing to go. I also understand that we're asking a lot of you to go, but you've always stepped up for us in the past. Even when your plate was full, you never complained when anyone needed anything. You just somehow got a bigger plate, and I'm afraid we need that now." Mark sat in his chair, hands on his desk, full attention on Michael. "If you do this, we'll get you an apartment outside Amsterdam so you won't be living in a hotel the entire time, although you probably will for a few weeks until we can make the arrangements, and we'll fly you back to the States every four or five weeks. The European division will provide you with one of their leased cars, and of course you'll be on expenses the entire time."
"This is a lot to take in," Michael said.
"Yes, but you're single, and things like this are easier for you than some of the other guys," Mark explained.
"That doesn't mean I don't have a life," Michael countered, and he saw the surprise in Mark's expression. "Curtis said the same thing you did, not in so many words, and I take exception with that argument. I may not be married or have children, but I have a life and people I love, who, if I accept this, I'll be leaving behind for weeks at a time."
"I know," Mark explained, backpedaling a little. "I didn't mean to belittle the effect on anyone's life. This assignment will require some sacrifice on your part, but I wanted you to know that we'll take care of you and we'll owe you one."
"Okay," Michael said steadily, "I'll think about it and let you know this afternoon."
"I can't ask for any more than that," Mark told him as he nodded his head, and Michael got up from the chair, leaving the office, passing Curtis on the way. He smiled at him, but neither of them stopped to talk, and Michael went straight back to his office, shutting the door. Picking up the phone, he dialed the number for the call he was very nearly late for.
Half an hour later, he hung up, but left his door closed. He needed to think, and a steady stream of people asking him questions was not going to help him do that. Just when he'd gotten both his work and home life in order, something had to come and throw everything all out of whack. The thought of the chance to spend some time in Europe was enticing. He'd never been out of the country before, except to across the borders to Canada and Mexico, so at least he had a passport. Six months ago, he'd have jumped at this chance, but six months ago he hadn't met Devon and started a relationship. At least he hadn't bought a house yet, although he'd been looking for a few months. Picking up the phone, he dialed the one person he knew he could rely on for sound advice.
"Dennis, it's Michael," he said when his former boss answered the phone.
"Hey, how's it going? You miss me yet?" Dennis asked with a smile in his voice.
"Every day," Michael answered. "Are you and Carol getting settled?"
"She found a house she loves and then said she was pregnant again, so I've got plenty to keep me busy getting everything ready for the baby." Dennis laughed and Michael joined in. He knew getting the new house ready for another child meant writing the checks for anything Carol decided she wanted to have done. Dennis was not a hands-on kind of guy. "How are things there?"
"Exactly as you expected."
"I'm sorry about that. I was hoping I was wrong, and let me guess, they're now asking you to pick up the slack."
"They want me to go to Europe for five months or so to run the Shoe Finder project for them."
"Why isn't Kyle going? It's his project. After you did the US, he begged me to give him Europe, said he wanted to try something new." Michael could hear the frustration in Dennis's voice. "I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. Have you decided what you want to do?"
"I really don't want to go. Things are good here right now." Michael knew Dennis understood what he meant. Dennis was the coolest boss he'd ever had. Dennis had understood when he and Devon had started dating. He'd even encouraged him to get out of the office and find someone. It had been Dennis who had plucked Michael out of near obscurity from the small office in Dayton, promoting, encouraging, and helping him build the skills to be a good project manager. They'd worked well together for the past three years. Dennis deserved his promotion; there was no doubt about that. Michael just wished he'd been promoted within the same facility instead of half the country away.
"I know they are, but this could be a once-in-a-career opportunity. A lot of people are going to be looking at this project, and not just in the US, but in Europe as well, and right now that's where the growth is." Dennis started to chuckle. "Think about it, you'll be six time zones and three thousand miles away from Curtis."
Michael could barely hold back his laugh. "They want an answer this afternoon."
"No one can make your decision for you, but decide what you want and stick to it. If you decide to do this, they owe you—make sure they know and understand that. You know I won't let them forget it, either. Mark and I are now colleagues, so I report to the same people he does."
"I wish I could talk more, but I have an appointment. Let me know what you decide." Dennis hung up, and Michael stood, walking over and opening his door before going back to work. At lunchtime, he ate alone. Usually Michael ate with some of the guys or other managers, but today he wasn't up for it. He had too much to think about. What bothered him most was that he knew he was going to do it. He knew he'd put his life on hold and do this project because they'd asked, but he absolutely didn't want to go. It wasn't in his psyche to turn them down. Michael had always done what the company needed and asked of him, and it really wasn't in him to say no. He knew it, and he thought Curtis and Mark knew it too.
His cell phone vibrated in his pocket, and Michael fished it out. Devon—that was another complication. They'd been going out for six months, and Michael was developing feelings for the man with deep blue eyes and blond curls that always flopped in his face. He certainly didn't want to spend almost the entire summer away from him. Michael had definitely been looking forward to spending time with Devon at one of the local lakes, swimming and lying in the sun next to him, pretending to read while he secretly watched every move and breath Devon made.
"Hi, Devon," Michael said with more energy than he was feeling.
"Is everything okay? I thought I'd call and see how your day was going." Devon sounded so happy and totally sweet.
"Could be better," Michael answered without further explanation.
"Are we still on for tonight?" Some of the excitement slipped from his voice. "We really don't have to if you're not up to it, I guess."
"No. I promised to take you dancing, and I meant it. I'll pick you up at your place at six, and we'll go to dinner, dancing for a while, and then back to my apartment. And I don't plan on letting you leave the rest of the weekend. So please pack a bag. I'll even make pancakes tomorrow morning."
"That's a deal," Devon nearly squealed into the phone. "I get out of work at five, so I'll definitely be home at six." Devon hung up, and Michael shoved his phone back into his pocket before leaving to go to Curtis's office. He figured he might as well get this over with.
MICHAEL pulled in front of Devon's apartment building a few minutes before six. The car had barely stopped when he saw Devon hurrying down the steps carrying a small suitcase, and rushing to the car. The man looked as sweet as Michael had ever seen anyone, curls bouncing with each step, tight black T-shirt and leather pants, in other words, sex on wheels. Michael got out of the car to open the trunk and practically got tackled instead. "I missed you too," Michael said as Devon squeezed him before angling for a kiss, which he got, standing in the parking lot or not. Michael had learned very early that Devon was out and proud. "Let's put your bag in the trunk, and we'll go to dinner."
"Can we get Chinese? I'm hungry for sweet and sour," Devon asked as he put his suitcase in the trunk, closing the lid.
"Sure. We can go anywhere you want."
Devon stopped and looked at him. "Okay. What's wrong that you don't want to tell me?"
"Who said anything was wrong?" Michael tried to look surprised but gave it up. He should have known Devon would see right through him.
"You hate Chinese. So I know the only time you ever agree to go there is when you're trying to make something up to me. You may as well spill it because you know I'll just dig and dig until you tell me." Devon was like a dog with a bone when it came to secrets or any kind of news.
"I was going to wait until tomorrow, but I'll tell you over dinner if you promise not to let it ruin our weekend." Michael climbed into the driver's seat and started the engine, waiting for Devon to buckle up. It only took five minutes before they arrived at Devon's favorite Chinese place. Devon was right, Michael really didn't like Chinese food, but Devon did and this was for him. The hostess sat them at an out-of-the-way table, and after bringing a pot of tea, left them alone.
"So what's this news?"
"I have a new project and part of it is that I need to go to Europe."
"Can I go too? I have vacation time built up." The hopeful look on Devon's face twisted Michael's stomach.
"Devon, I have to do a project for the European division. I'll be away in Europe for five or six months." Michael watched as Devon's face fell, his smile changing to confusion and then a scowl. "I'll be back about once a month for a week, but the rest of the time I'll need to be working out of the Europe office."
"Oh," Devon said as he set his tea back on the table, staring at Michael like it was Christmas morning and Michael had just broken the toy he'd waited all year for. "So you're leaving me."
"No, I hope not." Michael reached across the table to touch Devon's hand. "I have to do this project. I was sort of thinking that this summer you could come over to visit me. I could take vacation time, and we could see things." He had no idea what they would see, but he could figure it out.
"Yeah, I could, but you'll still be gone for most of the summer, and I'll hardly ever see you." Devon was clearly disappointed, and part of Michael was happy that Devon was going to miss him, but he hated disappointing him. "I know you'll be back, but only a few times." Devon played with his now-empty teacup. "I know you didn't have a choice and that this wasn't your idea, but…." Devon looked down at the table, twisting the cup in his fingers nervously.
"Devon, I'd take you with me if I could. But you have to work, and much of the time that I'm there, I'll be working too. This isn't by my own choice, but I have to go."
The server interrupted them to take their orders. She had to ask Devon three times what he wanted because he just didn't seem to be listening, and eventually Michael ordered for him and she left. Reaching across the table, Michael untwisted Devon's hands from the cup, touching his fingers. "You know I would if I could."
"I know," Devon said softly. "When do you have to leave?"
"Not until after Memorial Day. I'll be gone most of June, but I'll be back for Fourth of July weekend, and I thought that you could come for a visit if you wanted, probably the last weekend in July." Michael was trying, but Devon just wasn't giving him much to work with.
Finally Devon raised his eyes. "Could we visit Paris?"
Michael smiled, some of the worry in his stomach edging away. "We can go wherever you want." Michael squeezed Devon's fingers lightly. "I'll have an apartment and a car, so we'll be able to go all over and see everything," Michael clarified, not really knowing what he was talking about, but some of the light came back into Devon's eyes, and that was always good. "I know this is a lot to take in, but do you think we can put this aside at least for the weekend and just enjoy ourselves?"
"Yes, I'll try," Devon answered just before the server brought their plates, and Devon began to eat. The smaller man usually packed away the food, and tonight was no exception. Michael ate his kung pao chicken as Devon wolfed down his sweet and sour pork, two eggrolls, and the plate of fortune cookies the server brought when they had cleaned their plates.
"My news doesn't seem to have affected your appetite," Michael commented with a smile, and Devon peered back at him, curls flopping partially into his eyes. Damn, the man looked adorably beautiful, and Michael wanted to ask if they could skip the dancing and just go right back to his place, but he knew Devon was looking forward to going out, and he wouldn't disappoint him, not twice in the same evening.
"You're right, Michael. We have this weekend and the next few weeks, and I can either mope because you're going away or I can make the most of it." Devon's eyes danced with a mixture of excitement and smoldering passion that nearly had Michael moaning out loud right there in the restaurant. "So let's pay the check and go downtown." Devon stood up, straightening his shirt. "I'm ready to make you forget all about everything but me." Good God, if Devon didn't give him a look that dripped pure sex, and the temptation to carry him home like a caveman asserted itself again.
Instead, Michael stood up as well, picking up the check and taking it to the cashier with Devon right behind him, so close he could hear his clothes rustle and smell the scent of his cologne—not overpowering, simply Devon. After Michael paid the bill, they walked out to the car, and Michael waited for Devon to settle in his seat before leaning over to kiss him. Then he started the car and drove out of town to the freeway.
It took half an hour, and an additional fifteen minutes to find a parking space, but then he and Devon walked down the bustling sidewalk to the club that Devon had chosen. Michael hadn't been to clubs much, they weren't really his style, but Devon loved them and Michael loved being with Devon, so they went occasionally. At the door, Michael could hear the loud techno dance music pouring out of the club. He paid their admission and followed Devon into the club, where men stood around drinking, watching each other, and a few of them were actually dancing. "Let's get something to drink," Michael said, leading Devon to the bar, where Michael found his companion created quite a stir, with most of the other guys turning to look at Devon. He paid no attention, much to Michael's relief, and after getting their drinks, Michael followed Devon to an empty table. Sitting down, Michael watched people for a while as they sipped their drinks, Devon's hand in his.
"I'm gonna dance," Devon announced as he stood up and downed the last of his Manhattan. "Come with me."
"You know I look like an idiot whenever I dance."
Devon laughed out loud. "I know, but I still want to dance with you." There was no way Michael could say no to that, so he followed Devon onto the dance floor, swaying a little to the music while Devon moved and gyrated around him. The man was sexy as hell with the way his entire body seemed to flow, and those hips, flexing and gyrating in his direction.
A tall, dark-skinned man in a shiny white shirt moved between them, matching Devon's movements, and Michael simply stood and watched for a few seconds until the other man put his hands on Devon's hips, pulling the two of them together. Devon stepped away, moving closer to Michael, who scowled at the other man, and he moved away, dancing with the next guy on the floor. Devon pulled him closer and continued dancing, his lithe body slinking and twirling around the dance floor.
"Mikey," Devon said over the music, still dancing, "can we go home now?" Michael smiled and began doing a dance of his very own that ended when he and Devon walked through the door to his apartment and fell together on his bed, beginning a very different kind of dance.
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