text:
(Aka Betting on everything)
No, I didn't go to Las Vegas this weekend, I just tried to find a song that could be the right blend of retro style and give the idea of today's topic: sport. You may say that Viva Las Vegas is nothing about sport, but wait to see where this is going before judging. Today I want to talk to my friends that play sports other than soccer, but still outside and in company. Although I recognize darts as a noble sport and I admire the perseverance of chess players, I will focus on real sport, not bar stuff.
In my long quest for the sport I was talented into when I was I kid I practiced almost every kind of activity involved movement and some kind of athletic preparation. As I writing on a blog about this, you can recognize how this didn't go in the predicted direction. I was talented in nothing. I could barely walk on a straight line and I was just too lazy. I hated my father for bringing me to soccer games, for throwing me in the water, for making me wear a ridiculous karate outfit. I share a wall of my house with a tennis field inItaly, and I basically grew up between red clay and bouncing yellow balls that every day invade my garden. Kids hit balls too hard and they fly into my garden, I think I would have something like one million balls if I didn't bring them back every day by now.
Anyway I couldn't play tennis either, and finally my father gave up, he allowed me to go down my way. I regretted so much this decision, sometimes I think how good I could have become if I had trained hard when I was a kid. Probably I would have been no better than how I am now, and I do suck, believe me. Maybe not very much at soccer, but still one of the lowest levels. During a discussion in a bar with a dear friend of mine, where I was showing all my misogyny and my unmotivated willingness to start an argument not really meaning it, I have been challenged by this girl to play tennis. I bragged about the fact that when I was eight I had thirteen classes of tennis and, since I am a man, I clearly had the victory in my hands.
Later that day I found out she was something like an NCAA champion and I had difficulties to even move my arms. Not a good sign for the challenge. The bet was not just about the glory that would have come after the victory, not about the infinite glory and respect that the winner would have earned by slapping the opponent, but something extremely tangible. If I lose the bet, I will have to dress up like Super Mario (stereotypes at go-go) and run acting like him (so jumping, breaking bricks, sliding into pipes where possible) from central park to 42nd street and Broadway,Times Square. That is actually full of weirdos, so I don't care so much, but the stain of the lost bet will remain forever. If I win, which everyday seems a less likely scenario, she would have to prepare lunch, clean, dinner, clean again the whole house for twenty-four hours. My house is hyper clean but I will figure out something.
InNew Yorkto play outdoor sports you basically need a permit. You can obtain permits in three ways: by visiting the website of NYC Parks and Recreation, and submit you request through their forms (fifteen bucks for an hour); in this way you can sit on your ass as most of New Yorkers like to do and wait around twenty days to receive it. I totally don't recommend you this solution, you will wait forever to get it and probably you won't be in the right mood after waiting more than three weeks. The second way is to go to their offices in Upper West and take the permit right away and the last one is order them by mail which in 2012 is the equivalent of sending the request through smoke signals or leave your message attached to a pigeon.
I give you a tip they don't give you in the site: inCentral Parkfield they have a stand that sells the permits, just go there with your stuff and ask for a permit, this will save you time and you will probably have the chance to play right away. And another tip, if you live next to Chelsea neighbourhood go next to Pier 40, the tennis fields next to that are free of charge and don't require a permit to play, they work on a first come first served basis. There are just three fields and they are unbelievably crowdie during the weekends, but it's worth a try, especially if you go after work.
The bet was on in April, and yesterday it was the day. The appointment was at noon at the fields, and she got there with a half an hour delay on the schedule, clearly trying to make me nervous, she got scared of me, I am sure. When she came there was a long line and doing our calculation we saw we would have needed to stay more than two hours there before the first field, and we decided, sadly as I was ready to smash some feminists, to move the bet another day, probably tomorrow after work.
Ah check out the article a friend of mine wrote about the (apparently) existing permits business. I have seen how this is happening, and i don't appreciate it not even a bit. (click)
Anyway if you want to play tennis go here and you will find all the fields and the permits informations, same thing if you want to play soccer go here. I will keep you posted on my future and on the bet, which is disturbing my nights: what will I ask her to prepare me?
(Permits management it's too complicated, I want to go back to the origins, the old fashioned and traditional grass field with no borders)
(Aka Cheap beer and free hot dogs)
Keep your notepads ready because you may need this information in a future. I am about to tell you one of those things that everybody knows here in New York but tourists may not know, and as I assume mostly tourists would be interested into this and are actually reading this blog, keep your ears open: Rudy's Bar and Grill, Ninth Avenue and forty-four street. Yes, now you can close this article and move over if you are a New Yorker. And I wonder why you are here; this is a guide you may already know.
Anyway if you are still reading this let me tell you something; are you an unpaid intern seeking for luck abroad? Are you a twenty one to thirty years old thirsty of glory? Did you come to New York to study art or theatre or movies or other hippy craps? Well then what you need are two things: beer and hot dogs. Trust me there is no better medicine to face a tough day at work, a bad grade at University or just a rainy day. And that's why we had to find a place that could be our shelter.
See until last Wednesday we were used to go to the Empire Rooftop to have fun after work, fun that in most of the times meant just cheap booze and tons of people. This Wednesday the Empire was reserved for a private party and we felt lost. We had nowhere to go, like ten souls looking for peace, a stool and some friends. So they asked me, as everybody knows I am the one inside of the group that proposes new places (everybody admitted my superiority in this field and I feel like the king of the lonely planet). I, with the collaboration of a dear friend of mine, theidealintern, chose Rudy's place as it was listed into the darkest spots of the New York Magazine rankings as a cheap and iconic place. Damn New York Mag, it just can't appreciate nice things.
Well everybody followed my choice, even if at first they were trying not to as I picked a place called Mars where the bar is built like a space station, and I swear I will visit it someday. Anyway we arrived into Rudy's and it didn't seem so full, a couple of guys with ebooks, one outside the little patio and the two grannies as bartenders. We took our sit outside and hesitating a bit we went to take our cheap beer and free hotdogs as reported on Yelp. The beer was three dollars a pint, seven dollars a pitcher and free hot dogs for real.
It was a highway to hell, we ate and drink like there was no tomorrow. Our number continued to grow until like fifteen or sixteen people, at the end of the evening (for me) we were like twenty. A success. Very nice place and very nice music, everyone appreciated and decided to elect this bar as our new place, our place, wher we could find relax any ay of the week eating a hot dog and drinking good beer. I recommend it. But now, let me tell you what happened after the cheap beer and hot dogs. I will just tell you that three friends of mine started to travel around the Tri State area because fell asleep in the subway.
One got to Coney Island, going out of the bar at twelve thirty and arriving home at the end at a quarter to four. A quarter an hour later the second one got home after visiting the cute station of Jamaica at the end of the E line. The third, the champion of the evening, got absolutely lost and no news of him have been found until lunchtime the day after, when we discovered he got home "late", as he said, and he lost his phone after staying at the bar until it closed. Luckily for him New York is a city were even cab drivers are more kind than what you think and his cab driver called another friend of our in order to bring the phone back. A very nice person that really deserves to be mentioned here, even if it's just a blog post.
In the end, we chose the place as our new super spot, our new house and our shelf for a devastating after work. I even came back there yesterday before going to another happy hour, in order not to leave my place alone for the evening. Who knows probably later we'll go again. Anyway follow my advice and get lost. Get lost with cheap beer and free hot dogs and enjoy the life after work, don't be oppressed by it and continue facing the challenge. Obviously, ask a friend to come with you, can give you the stimulus you need to relax, reset and restart. But I warn you, this is our spot now, find your own bar.
(Pic unrelated, just a beer a found in some friend's house)
(Aka MTA Realm)
New York is without any doubt a big city, but there will be part of it that you will never see. No matter how much time you spend, no matter how deep you can go and reach in your journey, I just doubt you could see it all. And even if abroad New York is associated with Manhattan, everybody here knows that there is more than that. Much more, like four more boroughs much bigger than Manhattan. I personally think that Manhattan could fit into Rome inside of the traffic ring and if you have enough time you could walk it all in a day.
When I came here for the first time I used to walk a lot. A lot, I swear. I live next to the Lincoln Center and I an afternoon I walked down to South Ferry, acting like a tourist and taking pictures everywhere. When I came back home from very far places instead I just took the cab, and most of the time it was less than ten bucks if you travel from East Village to Upper West. Let's say that to cross all Manhattan it's difficult that you pay more than twenty dollars. I was taking the cab mainly for one reason: subway is damn expensive.
If you think that one Euro that you pay in Italy is too much think again. Here a single travel ticket could cost you even two and a half dollars, two twenty five if you buy two. The instrument is called the Metrocard, available everywhere and easy to refill at the booths and the automatic distributors. You can even buy a normal Metrocard and then refill it with the amount you prefer, they will take you two dollars twenty five everytime you swipe it in a subway station. That yes, it may be easy and comfortable but it really sucks your soul away.
It's like ATM for me, with a debit card I go crazy and don't realize how much money I spend before I go online to check it. Or phone with contracts. Basically I am not a guy that can behave properly with a credit or contract offer. So that's why I always choose unlimited offers, in order to pay and not care anymore. There are also unlimited monthly and weekly Metrocards, but I only know that the price of the monthly is one hundred and four dollars. Not even if the card was made of gold it would be so pricy. But, but, but it still may be convenient for you.
See I take the subway or the bus if there is good weather twice a day for five days a week to go work. I also go out on the weekend, let's say twice a day on Saturday and Sunday. And let's add Friday unpredictable adventures (two trips). Usually we go out on Wednesday to Empire, so another trip. And I play soccer on Sunday, add two. This makes like twenty trips a week. Doing the math would be around fifty dollars a week; around two hundred a month. In this case, if you have a similar situation you should buy a Metrocard.
Let's come back for a second to Manhattan subway map: I think that if you spend at least a week in Manhattan you could easily get used to the system, and learn what is enough for you to come back home from almost every zone. Manhattan is pretty damn easy, trust me I am not Columbus or Magellan. Almost all the lines in New York run in vertical on the peninsula, the one, two three (Red) and the four, five, six (Green). Then we have the diagonal ones, which are the A, C, E, on the west, the N, Q, R in the center and the M, F, B, D on the east side (Blue, Yellow and Orange). They run across Broadway or Seventh Avenue, exiting Manhattan on the right side to Brooklyn and Queens. Then in the end we have the horizontal lines, which are the L, the S and the Seven line. If you want to go to Brooklyn you can also use the J and the Z, and the legend says that these two lines were made to please king Jay-Z, but I don't know much about this. And in the end the G to go around Brooklyn and Queens. Piece of cake.
Trust me, these are tons of words and letters, but you will learn them quickly, and use them even if you are drunk. Ah there is also a Trambus that flights in the sky above East River to Raccoon City and the ferries to the islands (I recommend to take the South Ferry to Staten Island just for the view, it's beautiful and it last half an hour.
And I forgot to say that most of the trains run 24/7, a dream for who like me lives in Rome and has two lines, which most of the time are so awful you prefer to take a Roman chariot and use horses to go around the city. And safe, I got surprised that nobody killed me even coming back home drunk from Queens at four in the morning. Wonderful.
(Travelling like a boss)
(Aka I actually survived)
Sorry if I took so long to write you about my weekend but I just woke up now from the long, long and exciting two days adventure that me and my friends had during Saint Patrick's Day holidays. It was greener than ever and I perfectly acted as an indigenous to uniform to the behaviour required in these situations: I got drunk.
I said two days of holiday for a reason: we didn't just take a devastating Saturday but also a Friday, that we spent in a pub in Midtown called Mc Faddens. We chose the spot as it is close to DC1 building and to all the missions to the United Nations, so that all the intern could have the chance to relax and discuss about resolutions and point of order while getting wasted of cheap beer. Cheap beer indeed, almost free for someone but not for me. Let me explain; in New York it's common for bars to held raffles, and who has been chosen can drink for free for a certain amount of time all what the bar has to offer (beer, mixed drinks, wine). It is practically an invite to die.
We went into Mc Faddens last week and we entered our names into the raffle and we won. Like four out of nine people. And, as all good unpaid interns, we shared our victory with our friends. See for the winners it was all free from nine to eleven and for their friends it would have been fifteen dollars for the same offer. Obviously as you can imagine nobody paid but we just shared our drinks with quickly and smart moves in order to hide from the bartenders.
So The night ended when we were drunk, Johntravolting around the pub screaming "Tangoooo!" to girls and flipping people around. A very interesting Friday, if you consider that we wanted just to chill in order to face Saturday with more power. We were drunk the night before; we were ready like Irish at midnight. The appointment was clear, noon at a girl's place that was close to forty-second street, right next to the parade and to midtown alcoholics, all dressed in green and all ready to party hard.
I was wearing a green shirt with the body of a leprechaun on it, a wonderful green hat and a red long beard. At the end of the evening, I just looked like a drunk ZZ Top. It was an awesome day, before getting to the party I saw everybody dressing in green, kids and old people together running around the city, even green trash bins with green bags. And a beautiful twenty Celsius degrees Saturday. While coming I could barely walk down the streets because there were literally tons of people walking and drinking and making noise around, I don't know where they were going but I can suppose they all were heading to bars in East Village and Greenwich. We left the house around three pm and we started running like idiots shouting on the streets, we even broke into the Cipriani restaurant to steal a flower that looked cool from outside.
We also went to East Village (I suppose) and we went into a big bar which I don't remember to drink some green beer (which we couldn't find apparently). Even that was cool, we even had pictures with a bunch of marines that were off duty and partying there. I actually wasn't expecting to find all this people getting crazy for this holiday, which is not a holiday, and I am really positively impressed by the guys. I will probably tell you more next time as now I have to come back to a even harder work but trust me in the meantime, if you have the opportunity to come here for Saint Patrick just do it, it's awesome. And don't forget to dress up in green, I spent more to buy Saint Patrick stuff than all my clothes since I got here.
(Awesome view from the building on 42nd)
In the meantime, pastrami, pastrami everywhere
(Aka Things I love)
I never told you how I survived the impact with the paper cups where they pour the dirty water the US people call coffee. I didn't. As most of the Italian I am pretty picky about the quality of my coffee, the mystical preparation you can see me doing in the morning is some kind of ritual, it helps me start in the right way the day. I brought my own moka machine with me in the US, with my own coffee and every morning I use it over and over again. I bought the moka machine when I started the college, in the far 2006, and because I was moving on my own in the big Rome to become somebody.
Every single day, every single exam I used the same coffee machine, one, two, five times a day, to prepare coffee for everyone came in my house. And that's not all; I brought my moka with me during holiday, every summer from 2007. And if you think I am crazy enough I can tell you I brought my moka with me during my Erasmus, in the Netherlands. And now I am here, with my (not anymore) shiny moka and my jar of precious coffee trying to survive to the mocaccino and frappuccino and latte venti. Actually the moka has tons of burned parts, the handle is melted and the inside is full of mold and dark spots where some kind of extraterrestrial form of life lives. According to Italian legends this is what makes your coffee great, the personal taste you give your own moka. And never change any broken part, it will lose the magic.
Anyway I am currently running out of my coffee so I had to take a tough decision: I saved some of my coffee for me in order to keep it for special occasions. I imagine myself using the moka as the winners of Formula 1 use champagne bottle to exult after the grand prix. It is hidden in a closet, away from the dangerous eyes of everyone. My treasure…
I got used to the coffee, like the one you drink in the streets, and I am finding every day a new place to try it around the city. There is a place next to my office that has a good coffee, and even funny employees I like. It's called Gregory's Coffee, it's pretty famous in New York and there are some of the around. Try the Macchiato, it's very good and not as long as the American typical coffee. And if I am telling you this you should trust me.
The second thing I am discussing today (I just stuck in this by the name of the song I chose today) is TV. I don't like very much Italian TV, and not because of all the girls we have that could never bore a man, but because of the average quality of the programs compared to what I like: Americans are most of all spectacular in whatever they do, from sports to talk shows, and comedy shows and sit-coms. I do love these four categories and I think that I am starting to appreciate the quality of the channels in American cable TV. It was inside of my apartment contract, so I am happy of this. Here they have also Netflix, a service that permits you to stream contents from the internet, and I mean movies, series and cartoons. My wifi sucks so I won't subscribe to any service like this, but I will tell you more later on about this. Other than this, next time I will tell you about what you can find on the internet here, and believe me, this is the land of opportunities for delivery food and stuff like that.
(That's a cappuccino, the most imitated roman coffee all around the world)
(Aka the Americans)
Aaah, tell me you were waiting for this post; the post where I would have described the wonderful people of the United States. I really don't like the "American" term they use to describe themselves, I think it's too much abused and refers to a much bigger population than just US; anyway as we all know American usually refer to themselves also as the best country of the world, the most proud population and etc etc… so the term I think reflects their ego.
You can immediately tell the different about people for New York and people from all over the world, but not from the habits or the colour of the skin, from the way they approach to the town. You see some of the people you meet let's say they "ride" the town, living it in all its scope of moods and feelings, and appreciating it or not; New Yorkers are part of the rope, let's say they are a string inside of the big common spirit that is the soul of the town. They behave differently, they don't refer to the city as something mystical or a separate entity, they just don't use the city as a comparison, they are the city.
You won't hear them say that they hate or love the place because they are the place. Once I asked my landlord if he likes to live in New York and he told me that he was born and raised here, that sometimes this city is too big for him, that it's loud, noisy and he didn't like the rush that was everywhere in the town. I asked him why he didn't leave and he told me, showing me a big happy smile with a dip of sadness: "I couldn't leave; I will miss New York too much. I can't imagine myself living somewhere else. This town is a patchwork of cultures and feeling, every cross is a town. Once you have been here for as long as I have been you don't need to see anything else".
He wasn't under the effect of mushrooms, I can assure you. But maybe he is right. I have always been fascinated by the American culture, although most of the Italians have some kind of resentment to the US, hating the people and the capitalistic way of life, probably because of the anachronistic political parties that still influence our culture. I worked for the Americans too, now I moved here seeking a new life here. I don't know what to expect, and I will always keep an eye on my emergency exit; even if I like the country, love the people and people (apparently) love me I just can't take a look sometimes to my country, to my city and to my family, my friends, and my dog Valentino.
I mean all my life is there, and I will never lose the contact with my roots. I am not planning to stay here forever, I just want to take a shower into American life and come back, bringing some of their culture in Italy. I do believe in patriotism, and maybe this is one of the things I envy most of the US. I think everyone should be proud of what he is and of what he believes in. Any way this is getting to philosophical, let's just come back to the stupid blog arguments, they are more suitable of this site and this writer.
Friday I got drunk and woke up in Queens sleeping with other 7 people, had a chicken with onions on rice for dinner and a double cheeseburger for breakfast. Interesting.
(Rockefeller Center guys)
(Aka every day is funday)
In my personal opinion New York City is the mecca of any kind of activity that can please the life of a student or of an intern from alla round the world. Every city has its own peculiarities, but I do think that New York most of all is some kind of melting pot of after work leisure times and offers a wide range of things you can do, see, drink or appreciate in almost all of its borough. I live in Manhattan and I do prefer in my opinion to stay in my borough as I do love not to need 40 stops of metro to come back home.
Not only in Manhattan you could find the fun you are looking for; Brooklyn is without any doubt one of the most vital places you could experience hipster life and post-midnight fun, and Queens is my favorite place if we talk about house parties (not parties with house music but party into the house). Anyway Manhattan still holds the top spot in my preferences as you could find literally anything you are looking for and you prefer. Anyone has different ways to have fun, but I will just describe my experiences in this sense, so I will not talk about sordid habits of the underground population as, as I have said before, I consider myself as an average guy with average passions. No drugs and hoes then.
I am not really fond of discos and clubbing, I mean I spent most of my life going to discos in Italy and going out on Saturday night just to close myself again into stinky and sticky dark rooms with repetitive music and strobe lights, which is pretty much like being into Pacman, but I never found a passion in it, and I sincerely admit that If I have to choose among going to discos and spend the evening getting drunk and telling awesome stories and funny facts (yesterday it was my funny facts day) in a pub with my friends I will prefer the latter one without thinking twice.
But I am just a guy my personal preference and I will tell you the other things I like. For example, I like parties held in houses, whatever there is or not alcohol. I'm joking, we always bring beer. Most of them are held in Queens as most of the intern I know live there, and I have to say that even if it's hard to reach it still can give you some satisfactions because houses are bigger, you can make more noise and the more people the merrier. Here in Manhattan one thing I hate is that I have to remove my shoes every time I get into someone's house (both because it's a tradition in some places in Europe, not in Italy thou, and in order to make less noise for the people who lives downstairs).
This time I don't have specific places to recommend, most of all because when I go there I am usually inebriated by the god's nectar so I don't remember the names. Most of the places in Greenwich are nice, and try the Mc Fadden next to UN headquarter for Tuesday and Friday happy hours, very convenient. Also if you go to Brooklyn, Union Pool is famous and full of people. Avoid the Fat Cat, it's full of hipsters and strange people, booze is expensive (5 dollars and up for a PBR) and too crowdy on Saturday. And in the end trust me, organize a party on a rooftop, yesterday I was at some friends house with some friends and I also had the occasion to meet some nice girls, but I will tell more in another story. Stay tuned guys, there are some voices in the air that want me to be recording a video to describe the Microwave Accident. Gorgeous.
(what the hell is this beer?)
(Aka RSVP lovers)
As I told you in other occasions I am been before to New York and every time I came here I never had the chance to see a New York Knicks match at the Madison Square Garden, either because there were no events or the tickets were too expensive for the pockets of a poor unpaid intern. Well this year finally Knicks started to suck and I had the chance to buy tickets for 16 dollars, thing that I did and went to see the game against Pistons.
The first impression I had was that everything was so showtime: I guess this word describes, even if it's not an adjective, the evening of an NBA match. At every stop or timeout there was music, people dancing, singing, running with little cars (funny) and shirts threw at the public. A funny evening, I also saw the first match of Lin, that decided after that game to remember how to play basketball and dragged the ticket prices to levels I can't afford. There was even a guy in front of me that knew him before he became famous and told me to pay attention to Lin in a future because he was going to be a champion. A wise man.
The fact is that actually in New York there is a business around tickets, that involve also internet sites like Stubhub, the most recommended one, you can find good deals, Craiglist, not totally guaranteed but still reasonable price, and Ticketmaster, the official and biggest one, but too expensive (for me, not for you maybe).
I used Ticketmaster to buy Jovanotti (an Italian singer and poem and showman and everything) tickets and Stubhub to buy basketball tickets. I would love to go to Broadway, buy the reason why I didn't buy tickets yet is that it's cold. Not inside of the theatres I mean, but outside Times Square. You see, right in the middle of one of the most famous square in world (just after Piazza di Spagna) you can find a ticket stall called with the original and picturesque name "Tickets", where you can find millions of people in queue for a simple reason: the stall sells the tickets for the Broadway shows that aren't full yet, and has available tickets at half of the normal price. You will recognize the line just by walking next to the M&M shop, which by the way I don't know how it can still be open selling only candies (public image I guess, like the shops in Via Condotti in Rome that spends 30 to 40 thousand Euros of rent of the place and earn less, they are just there for the public image of the company, they have to be there).
I love the way tickets are managed here in the US, except for the average price of the events: I just can't stand to se The Lion King for 80 bucks, my family will come to New York in April and I will surely have to take them somewhere, probably at some Broadway show, and they are seven, they will have to spend lots of money. I mean, I would spend money for Spiderman; it seems funny, but 80 bucks? Nope. I will try the assault to the Times Square ticket box will all my family, it would be funny!
The problem I have now is: pushed by the enthusiasm of the low price of Jovanotti's ticket I bought two tickets, because obviously I can't go to the concert alone, but I still am alone right now. I'll see what I'll do by the half of March, and if I couldn't find anybody I would give the tickets to Miss. F. and her boyfriend, they told they wanted to go, I don't know if they bought tickets. If you are a girl and you have listened to Jovanotti's music before or you just want to experience the deep emotion of coming to a concert with me tell me, I will be happy to be an idiot with you.
(The first victory that got Knicks out of the dump, Lin first match and I even had a chili hot dog. What else?)
(Aka When cash was the best way)
I really love some aspects of my every day life here in New York and at the same time I realize that some things I used to believe in are totally inconsistent here. Among these is the legend that cash is the best form of payment. In the middle of the streets, when you buy a burrito from a random guy in that little kiosks you are not supposed to pay in any other way than cash, but it's not always like this. And I can extend this concept to whole US.
In my place my landlord provided me a series of assets to be used in my home such as appliances, stoves, dishes, cleaning every two weeks and cable tv. I didn't know what cable tv was before coming to the US as the best we have in Italy is satellite TV and we call "cable" the normal tv we have been forced to install to replace the old broadcasting system. I hate Italian tv, I will never sit there and watch Italian shows. I just love satellite tv sit-coms.
While I was looking for the latest episode of my favourite sit-com on the Internet I found out Netflix represented a good alternative to cable TV. Basically with eight bucks a month you can watch a series of sit-coms and movies through your internet connections, paying easily with your credit card. I decided to subscribe to Netflix but I realized that my credit card (that ironically claims to be fast and American) charged me two or three Euros (not dollars) every transactions, even if it was just a cent. I have the power to be involved in every kind of scams but the one I recognize.
I'd rather pay with my blood than gift the company extra money they don't deserve, so I chose to open a checking account to a local American bank. I was "chasing" the opportunity to save some money in all the transaction I normally do. I had this plan in mind: if I have to buy something small, a coffee or pay a cab I just use my cash as usual. When I have to buy much more stuff I just use Italian my credit card to make my father pay for me. I realized that the fee of the transaction is standard for all the operations, so I decided to ask my father to transfer the money to my checking account (paying once the fee) and let me pay everything here with my American card. Smart as a fix and three times taller.
Among all the offers I found out that the bank I told you before is the best one if you plan to deposit at least five hundreds dollars a month on the account, and they will waive the fees. Repeat this operation every month to save every month. I also noticed that much more places accept credit cards, even for smaller amounts: have you ever tried to buy a coffee in Italy with the credit card? Did you survive the bartender fury?
Here I pay tv, Sunday soccer, groceries I buy online (and I will tell you about this later) and I withdraw money with credit card. A revolution, if you think that Amazon opened last year in Italy and Paypal has never been used in my city, as far as I know. We are basically afraid of credit cards, we see them as evil monsters that eat our money to give us statements and debit and scams in exchange. Even I the first time that I came here had a suitcase full of 10 dollars bills instead of a simple credit cards, I looked like a narcotrafficant.
By the way, subscribe a debit, not credit card if you move here, it would definitely change your life. Even make it worse if you have my same sensation of having infinite money in it (and every time I open my internet account page I realized they are not infinite at all).
(They love my (few) money)
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Money Talks: A 'moronic' housing policy, and unclaimed premium bonds
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Help to Buy has been in the news, with home builders reporting a "flying start" for the government's efforts to boost the housing market – but critics are still lining up to knock the scheme. On Monday, the plan, which will eventually offer a mortgage guarantee for lenders alongside the existing equity loan scheme, was described as "a moronic policy" which will artificially inflate house prices. The Treasury is so far standing its ground, but some are suggesting the second part of the scheme may need tweaking before it goes live in 2014.
Dust off those files and dig out your paperwork – you could be sitting on a premium bond worth £100,000. Two six-figure prizes are among 900,000 sitting unclaimed, worth a combined total of £44m. Even if you didn't buy a winning bond you may have inherited one, so get searching.
You've undoubtedly seen the Wonga puppets – but did you know the company also held virtual cat shows? And have you met Speedy Roo, another payday lender's lovable, Facebook-using fluffy mascot? Pete Cashmore is among many who are alarmed at the cute images presented by high-cost loan providers. You can join the debate here.
Also on the site this week
• Parents: don't buy a mobile phone for your child without reading Miles Brignall's guide.
• What will £250,000 buy you in the UK property market?
• Research shows retirement incomes are almost 40% less than the working wage for new pensioners.
Daft deal
You know how it is: you want to buy a gadget but can't quite justify the price tag. But what if it was in the sale? John Lewis in Brent Cross is advertising a massive 5p off this laptop (spotted by Iain_D). Get there quickly to avoid the crush.
We would love to hear from you if you have seen similar silly signs. Send your pictures to [email protected] or via GuardianWitness. The best will be in Saturday's Guardian Money section.
Real deals
• If you're going on holiday this summer, don't forget to book your travel insurance. Our partner, Insure and Go, has a range of policies covering both annual multi-trip holidays and single trips.
• If you're staying at home (or even if you're not), make sure you're not paying over the odds for your home insurance. Always shop around rather than accept the renewal quote from your existing provider, as often you can make big savings. Compare policies here.
That's all this week, thanks for reading.
Hilary Osborne, editor guardian.co.uk/money
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
- Neighborhood: Old City
- Front & Market Streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Phone: 215-922-7600 / 1-800-331-7634
- Website
- Cuisine: Italian
"Italy on Your Plate and the World in Your Glass" Panorama features the largest Wine dispensing system in the world certified by Guinness World Records, offering over 150 wines by the glass. Travel the World, One Glass at a Time- Try a "Panorama Flight"- a personal wine tasting of 5 different wines grouped by style or region. Panorama's menu includes fresh homemade pastas, exquisite antipasti, and authentic Italian entrées in a trattoria-style setting.


text:
Little entries - Some pictures - Even some comedy
My biggest fear is that as time passes you'll hate me more and more for pushing you away. Nothing could tear me apart more than knowing that you hate me. Maybe you should, I don't know but I don't want that to be the case… What I'm doing I feel like it's so god damn selfish but at the same time I feel like I need to do it because if we continue down this path of dysfunction we might just end up hating eachother. But now if we stop now, then later on we'll remember the tender love we shared in years past and maybe we can just forget the scars of the break and make a new life for ourselves. I know that's far away but for decades of happiness a few years just seems worth it to me.
Damn that dream I had was just really cruel to me.
As a guy it's your duty to make her feel safe. The safest damn place in the world should be in your damn arms. That right there is just a simple fact of manliness that's too often forget these days.
Sometimes you drop the most obvious hints and clues and that person does not pick up on them. Or consider the worse alternative where they picked up on it but just didn't do anything. Either way it's fuckin annoying.
How dated is my tumblr picture?
Very. Verrrrry.
Play Nice
My resolution (in truth): To be nice in the truest way possible to someone without thought of reward. In the few times I've done something like that, the feeling I get is the best reward possible.
If this isn't the best analogy for the government shutdown, I just don't know what is.
Click here to watch the entire segment.
Here's another one of our most popular posts of 2013.
"Her life was beastly and devoid of pity,
And being dead, let birds on her take pity."
— William Shakespeare, from Titus Andronicus (via the-final-sentence)


text:
Scandal Analysis: Edison & Olivia
These two had two of the most shocking scenes in Scandal episode 211. They went from Edison basically referring to Olivia as "A Criminal, A Whore, An Idiot and Liar" to a surprise proposal. Shut. The. Front. Door.
I literally mean it. Edison in spite of that hurtful accusation still loved Olivia to the point of wanting to put a ring on it. Olivia, shut and lock the front door already! Problem solved!
While Olivia and Gladiators are trying to understand why Edison is STILL hanging around, Fitz gave Mellie his wish – a divorce. You already read that spoiler from Bellamy Young that Mellie is going to down fighting and "divorce is not an option." You already know from that episode 212 promo trailer, Mellie went into labor.
And I quote
Bellamy: To see him transformed by his true love for Olivia (Kerry Washington) is like a knife in the gut, and it's bringing out the absolute worst in Mellie," the actress said, and later emphasized that the first lady isn't about to give up on her marriage. "Mellie will go down fighting!"
So this is why Shonda and the writers had Edison sticking around and why Fitz is still married, they wanted to make our heads spin faster than before?? Is it not enough that we are going to experience Mellie's rage, Mellie going into labor, a divorce, a proposal from the wrong guy? Then we want us to wait two weeks to get answers? Shut. The. Front Door. (Gladiators I trust where they are taking us. Just be prepare for the wild ride.)
Then we see this photo of Olivia holding up Edison's engagement ring. It just got real. Yeah I know I say that a lot but get used to it. It just got real. That's the beauty of being apart of the Scandal world.
I see Edison doing this engagement move because Olivia has the tendency to make heads spin (ask Fitz for reasons). We all had that one person in our life who does not understand nor cannot catch a clue.
Why does Edison still feels he needs to be with Olivia? How many times must Olivia dismiss this man seriously? Edison should be running. Edison should be gone by now. What is the writers of Scandal setting him for? He's already a pesky thorn in Olivia's world. Is he sticking around to add another complexity layer to the Olivia and Fitz relationship that Shonda has already stated is the central focus of the show?
No one wants to talk about how Edison's apology to Olivia mirrors Mellie's apology to Olivia in that elevator scene? Edison apologized to Olivia because he thought he was wrong about Olivia having a relationship with Fitz and for being sexist. (Edison, you're still in the dark. You were right the first time.)
212 seems that Olivia is going to have to decide between "Can't Catch a Clue" Edison or the "love of her life" Fitz. Talk about being between a hard place and a rock. Chinese walls, be damned, ya'll!
A Criminal, A Whore, An Idiot & A Liar Read down from Olivia to Edison
Five - That is sexist and insulting. You'd never suggest Scooter Libby was screwing Dick Cheney.
Four - The lengths you're going to try to twist this into a conspiracy are cause for concern.
You should speak to someone about that.
Three - The President is awake and talking and the suggestion that he isn't - is political crap that I thought you had enough integrity to rise above.
Two - In the past three minutes you've called me a criminal, a whore, and idiot, and a liar so this is pretty much the last time we'll be speaking!
So one - who I am or am not screwing, what I am or am not doing is no longer any of your damn business!
Edison's proposal
I love you. I'm in love with you. I don't care who you've done. What you've done. I don't care. And if you will have me, I would very much like to marry you.
Why Edison, why? Is Edison proposing to Olivia out of love or out of guilt for that damning accusation and or for picking his career above all?
Gladiators I must remind you that the LONG road to Olivia and Fitz being together is going to a bumpy ride. Can Fitz become a divorced president and still be with Olivia? Will Scandal take it to that level?
Sound off Gladiators!


text: This is truly one of the best places to eat in this area. I have only eaten here for lunch but if their dinner choices are anything like what they serve for lunch then count me in. I had their hambuger savoyarde which is possibly one of the best burgers I have ever had (and that is saying a lot).... More


text:
This my 2nd ever post is a picture of a card catalogue. I don't know why I need to explain this as most people I teach are old enough to remember these. I thought it would go nicely with the ol' fashioned look of my tumblr theme. I got the picture from Wikimedia Commons by searching the term "card catalog" using American spelling. When in Rome… (and that includes virtually) Normally I would include a link, but I'm going at a slow pedagogical pace and saving that for the post-a-link feature
Tumblr theme by Theme Anorak
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By Nupur Acharya
MUMBAI--The India unit of HSBC Holdings PLC (HBC) Monday named Sanjiv Sud as the country head of its retail banking and wealth management division.
Before this, Mr. Sud was based in Hong Kong running HSBC's Asia-Pacific consumer assets business, the bank said in a release.
His appointment comes two months after Gannesh Bharadhwaj, who was heading the division since 2010, quit the bank for personal reasons.
HSBC India's retail and wealth management division reported a pretax profit of $41 million in 2012 after making losses for the previous two years. The division posted a loss of $14 million in 2011 and $83 million in 2010, according to the bank.
Write to Nupur Acharya at firstname.lastname@example.com
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Subscriber Content Read Preview
Subscriber Content Read Preview


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Omnibus StopThe omnibus budget bill presented by Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flahertyon Thursday clocks in at a whopping 457 pages. With so many things thrown into in, Steve Murray wonders what may have been left out.
omnibus bills, prorogation, secret laws and "executive privilege" - the basic tenets of Canadian democracy
I kind of want to know why was the "Fish shall not be prosecuted…" rejected though….


text:
What a wonderful day it was. The chocolate factory reminded me of Ethel Ems in Las Vegas. They have a tour and store as well. Yum. The smell is heavenly and the chocolates were wonderful. Dark chocolate is my favorite. Theirs was wonderful.
I have to say our second stop surprised me. I found out that I actually do like Nougat. I'd never tried it before. It was so smooth and sweet. The flavors were wonderful as well. Yum. I have to say I love this vacation so far. I'm sure glad I hired that scooter though.
I'm not much of a wine drinker but being in the Vineyard has inspired me to go back to my garden and keep working on my grape vine. The vines there were so well kept and lovely. The soil was warm and the whole place smelled so alive and vibrant. I love working in the soil. I'm happiest with my hands in dirt. lol The wine samples were good and different. I believe it is the different soil that makes the different flavor from other areas.
Then in the Chittering Valley the flowers were some I've never seen. I was so excited and took lots of pictures. The views are stunning and the river very melodic. Such peace to be found and a great end to a beautiful day.
I was happy to get back to the hotel I have to say and rest. I was very tired. Even with having the scooter I still walked 2,412 steps. I guess I walk more than I thought I did. Of course with such lovely places to walk it is easy.
Well that's it for tonight. I hope everyone has a great sleep. I can't wait for tomorrow.
I have a community garden plot. It is 15x15 feet. On last Saturday I did 2 hours of weeding and working in it prepping it so on Sunday my Husband and daughter could come and help me finish the weeding and set up where I was going to do my Tomatoes. That way they could do the heavy lifting and I could spare my back. lol
It went very well. I was exhausted after the work on Saturday and a bit sore and stiff. But after Sunday. Wow! I was silly and forgot my sunscreen lotion. So my shoulders are burnt to a crisp. I put Witch Hazel on it so the majority is already to a tan. The rest will follow suite. I was amazed because growing up I never burned at all! This aging is a real pain and gets in the way all the time. lol But it doesn't stop me. I just keep on going. My body doesn't appreciate it as well as my Neurosurgeon but I won't stop living just because my back is messed up. I love gardening to much for that.
I always plant a salad and a salsa. I also plant Zucchini, Summer Squash, and other new and fun veggies. This year I planted Bulls Blood beets. I'm also going to plant other types as well. I love the heirloom veggies and always plant those. They have much more flavor and are more fun to have. I also trimmed the grape vine a bit. I have it down to 5 major canes and will feed the heck out of it with organic plant food. It used to have 15 canes so it was putting all its energy into making leaves. So the first year I got 3 bunches of grapes and last year I had 6. I'm hoping this year I'll get even more! The only reason I'm keeping it is because the grapes are just amazing in flavor! I have no idea what type of grape it is since it came with the plot but I love the taste. I know it's supposed to have only 4 canes but I didn't want to shock it by pruning it to fast. So I've been doing it over a couple years.
This year I'm also getting into container gardening more in my patio at the apartment. I have a dwarf Pomegranate that is supposed to be one of the sweetest ones out there. I thought I killed it because I forgot to water it and it dried out. I watered the heck out of it and finally transplanted it. I now have leaves! It didn't die! I'm also going to grow Swiss Chard, carrots, french radishes, and a bunch of other things that do well in pots and see how it goes.
So stay tuned and see how it comes out. I might add some pictures as well.
Well after a wonderful sleep I awoke very refreshed so I decided to join everyone on the tour. I also decided to hire a scooter so I wouldn't have to walk to much. It was a very smart decision on my part.
The cruise was fantastic. I so loved the wind in my hair and looking at all the sights. The seabirds were great to watch and the houses were beautiful. I couldn't believe all the private boats that were docked as well as the huge super tankers and cargo ships. I also remembered a special I watched on TV a while ago that said there are more sharks in these bays than thought before and they were catching and releasing them after putting on tracking devices. It was very interesting to watch. Also there is a couple pods of Killer Whales that would come into the deeper parts of the bay to eat the squids and stuff so I was looking for both of them incase I was able to see them. Unfortunately I didn't see them.
Freemont was amazing. I so love looking around places with history! One of my favorite things to do. The prison was interesting and all of the other historical buildings. Such a quaint town.
The ride back was just as beautiful and I was glad for my jacket as it was a bit cool on the boat. Even with the scooter I still walked 1,847 steps. My back is much happier tonight and I can't wait to see what happens tomorrow! I love adventure and this is great being with others as well!
Until the marrow.
Oh My! I've always wanted to visit Australia! Now I get to go on a virtual trek there. I'm so excited to learn more. I've never had a friend from there before. I have one in England that comes over once in a while. I've already learned about Black Opals and Pink Diamonds. I never knew that they existed. I can't wait to learn and see more!
I am so thrilled that they came out with a Vegan specific cook book that links to Sparkpeople! I just bought it for myself! I'm still doing the Thrive as well but you can never have to many recipes as far as I'm concerned.
I'm very happy and surprised that any and all of my cravings have gone. Now when I crave something it is for Bell Peppers or some other veggies. Not for sugar or wheat products. I use sprouted grain breads and ancient grain pastas. My whole family is loving it as well. They love the flavors and taste and the textures in the food. They don't have a lot of choice in this as I do the grocery shopping and cooking. lol
My Hubby has Gout and cannot eat Milk, Peppers or spices that are from Peppers. So it is better that he eat vegan anyways so I'm switching him over little by little. I do have some chicken for him on occasion and I can't control what he eats when we go out but when we are at home I make sure it's vegan for him.
As for me I have High Blood Pressure, High Cholesterol, IGA Nephropathy and a degenerating spine. So eating Vegan has been wonderful for all of it. I'm losing the weight and being able to eat my fill. There are some days I have a hard time eating enough calories! I get so full and satisfied eating like this. The only veggie I won't eat is Okra. I still can't deal with that one. I love all the others though.
The best thing about this is that my daughter is learning this as a 17 yr old and loving it as well. Like my husband she once in a while eats meat and eggs etc but she loves the veggies as well so I'm very happy for her! She will be ahead of the game when it comes to weight and eating.
Well that's all for now from this corner of the world. Until next time.


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***** Protect Your Windows Network: From Perimeter to Data. By Jesper Johansson and Steve Riley; published by Addison-Wesley Professional, www.awprofessional.com (Web); 550 pages; $49.99.
The problem with some computer security books is that they are nothing more than pages of checklists with myriad dos and don'ts. But after all the checklists have been dutifully completed, readers still don't understand the underlying concept of how to secure a computer. Within a short time, their computers and networks are insecure, and they are back where they began, as fodder for hackers.
The distinctive nature of Protect Your Windows Network : From Perimeter to Data is that it suggest ways to secure your Windows workstation and network, but it also takes a much broader approach to security and shows you how to address the issue of securing systems as a whole. This panoptic approach to securing systems is quite refreshing, and it makes the book a fascinating read.
The theme of the book is that there are three elements of a successful security program: people, processes, and technology. In 17 chapters covering the gamut of security from server hardening to password protection, the book details how to use these people, processes, and technology to ensure that Windows networks stay secure.
Early chapters deal with the basics of how attacks work and show the reader how they progress from low-level social engineering to the code manipulation that leads to the exploitation of software and vulnerabilities.
The book is filled with easy-to-understand practical and tactical solutions that can be implemented by everyone from nontechnical end users to system administrators, helping them to ensure that their Windows-based network is as secure as possible. Even at 550 densely packed pages, the book is quite readable.
Reviewer: Ben Rothke, CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional), is a New York City-based information security director with a multinational financial services firm. He is a member of ASIS International.
See all the latest links and resources that supplement the current issue of Security Management magazine.


text:
San Diego Hat Company Kids Flower Headband (Little Kids)SKU: #7828532
Product Information
- Keep her head warm and toasty in style with this adorable headband!
- 100% acrylic material with floral decal.
- Spot clean only.
- Measurements:
- Circumference: 15 in
- Product measurements were taken using size 5-7 Years. Please note that measurements may vary by size.


text:
The Loss of Trust
Amid all the heated cross-currents of debate about the National Security Agency's massive surveillance program, there is a growing distrust of the Obama administration that makes weighing the costs and benefits of the NSA program itself hard to assess.
The belated recognition of this administration's contempt for the truth, for the American people and for the Constitution of the United States, has been long overdue.
But what if the NSA program has in fact thwarted terrorists and saved many American lives in ways that cannot be revealed publicly?
Nothing is easier than saying that you still don't want your telephone records collected by the government. But the first time you have to collect the remains of your loved ones, after they have been killed by terrorists, telephone records can suddenly seem like a small price to pay to prevent such things.
The millions of records of phone calls collected every day virtually guarantee that nobody has the time to listen to them all, even if NSA could get a judge to authorize listening to what is said in all these calls, instead of just keeping a record of who called whom.
Moreover, Congressional oversight by members of both political parties limits what Barack Obama or any other president can get away with.
Are these safeguards foolproof? No. Nothing is ever foolproof.
As Edmund Burke said, more than two centuries ago: "Constitute government how you please, infinitely the greater part of it must depend upon the exercise of the powers which are left at large to the prudence and uprightness of ministers of state."
In other words, we do not have a choice whether to trust or not to trust government officials. Unless we are willing to risk anarchy or terrorism, the most we can do is set up checks and balances within government — and be a lot more careful in the future than we have been in the past when deciding whom to elect.
Anyone old enough to remember the Cuban missile crisis of 1962, when President John F. Kennedy took this country to the brink of nuclear war with the Soviet Union, may remember that there was nothing like the distrust and backlash against later presidents, whose controversial decisions risked nothing approaching the cataclysm that President Kennedy's decision could have led to.
Even those of us who were not John F. Kennedy supporters, and who were not dazzled by the glitter and glamour of the Kennedy aura, nevertheless felt that the President of the United States was someone who knew much more than we did about the realities on which all our lives depended.
Whatever happened to that feeling? Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon happened — and both were shameless liars. They destroyed not only their own credibility, but the credibility of the office.
Even when Lyndon Johnson told us the truth at a crucial juncture during the Vietnam war — that the Communist offensive of 1968 was a defeat for them, even as the media depicted it as a defeat for us — we didn't believe him.
In later years, Communist leaders themselves admitted that they had been devastated on the battlefield. But, by then it was too late. What the Communists lost militarily on the ground in Vietnam they won politically in the American media and in American public opinion.
More than 50,000 Americans lost their lives winning battles on the ground in Vietnam, only to have the war lost politically back home. We seem to be having a similar scenario unfolding today in Iraq, where soldiers won the war, only to have politicians lose the peace, as Iraq now increasingly aligns itself with Iran.
When Barack Obama squanders his own credibility with his glib lies, he is not just injuring himself during his time in office. He is inflicting a lasting wound on the country as a whole.
But we the voters are not blameless. Having chosen an untested man to be president, on the basis of rhetoric, style and symbolism, we have ourselves to blame if we now have only a choice between two potentially tragic fates — the loss of American lives to terrorism or a further dismantling of our freedoms that has already led many people to ask: "Is this still America?"
Thomas Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305. His website is: www.tsowell.com.
Also see,
Also see...
1) Our own government chides those of us who pay taxes for being greedy because we don't want to give the politicians even more of our money to do things...Read More
Thomas Sowell
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text: |IMtranslator Russian to English: IMtranslator lets you translate text between Russian an English. Good translations. This translator is worth a try. We recommend that you also try other Russian to English translators. Compare the translations and pick up the best parts from each of them. Please note: This frame from Translator.net contains a review of IMtranslator Russian to English Translator (below). Click here to close this frame.


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Simply connect with Facebook and kiss those password blues away,
or go here to reset your password.
Teaching PR. Doing PR. | Univ of Oregon PR instructor and principal/managing director at Verve Northwest Communications


text:
On May 1, AARP Iowa launched a 100-day, 99-county effort to get Iowans talking about the future of Medicare and Social Security. Throughout the summer, we've engaged thousands of Iowans in "You've Earned a Say" events and conversations.
… Back to Article
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text:
Anchorage, Alaska
|Anchorage, Alaska
|General information
|Dan Sullivan
|Mayor party:
|Last mayoral election:
|Next mayoral election:
|April 7, 2015
|Last city council election:
|April 1, 2014
|Next city council election:
|City council seats:
|2014 FY Budget:
|$471 million
|City website
|Composition data
|Population in 2013:
|48.6% Female
|White 66.6%
Hispanic or Latino 8.6%
African American 6.3%
Asian 8.9%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone 8.1%
Two or More 7.8%
|Median household income:
|High school graduation rate:
|College graduation rate:
|Related Anchorage offices
|Alaska Congressional Delegation
Alaska State Legislature
Alaska state executive offices
City government
The city government of Anchorage combines a council-manager system with a "strong mayor" system. In this form of municipal government, the city council serves as the city's primary legislative body and the mayor serves as the city's chief executive. The mayor, however, appoints a city manger to oversee the city's day-to-day operations and execute city policies.[3]
The mayor serves as the city's chief executive and is responsible for proposing a budget, signing legislation into law, appointing departmental directors and overseeing the city's day-to-day operations. The mayor also represents the city on the state, national and international levels.[3] Dan Sullivan is the current mayor of Anchorage.[4]
City council
The Anchorage City Council - more commonly known as the Anchorage Assembly - is the city's primary legislative body. It is responsible for approving and adopting the city budget, levying taxes and making or amending city laws, policies and ordinances.[5]
The city council consists of eleven members. Each member is elected by sections from within the city's six districts, which are shown on the map below. Districts 2-5 elect two members each, while District - the metropolitan center of Anchorage - elects one member.[5] A full list of city council members can be found here
Boards and commissions
A series of advisory boards and commissions that are made up of non-elected citizens, whom city council members have appointed and approved, advises the Anchorage City Council. The roles of these boards and commissions are to review, debate and comment upon city policies and legislation and to make recommendations to the city council.[6] For a full list of Anchorage city boards and commissions, see here.
The municipality of Anchorage, Alaska will hold elections for mayor on April 7, 2015. The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election is February 13, 2015.[7]
- See also: Anchorage, Alaska municipal elections, 2014.
The Municipality of Anchorage, Alaska held elections for municipal assembly on April 1, 2014. A total of six of the 11 seats were up for election.[8]
Incumbents Patrick Flynn, Bill Starr, Tim Steele and Elvi Gray-Jackson won re-election, while Pete Petersen and Bill Evans also won election to the Anchorage Municipal Assembly.
Anchorage's adopted operating budget for fiscal year 2014 was $471 million, approximately $4 million lower than the 2013 revised budget, which was $475.4 million.[9]
Contact information
Municipal Clerk's Office
632 W. 6th Ave. Suite 250
Anchorage, AK 99501
Phone: (907) 343-4311
Municipal Clerk: email@example.com
A contact form for the mayor is available here.
Contact information for individual council members can be found here.
Ballot measures
- See also: Ballot measures in Anchorage, Alaska.
Anchorage is a consolidated city-borough (or city-county). A list of ballot measures in Anchorage is available here.
Initiative process
Population as of the July 2011 census update: 295,570.[1] Anchorage is a consolidated city-borough government with charter.
Anchorage grants initiative for ordinances and charter amendment. The signature requirement is 10% of the voters who cast ballots at the last regular mayoral election. Petitioners must first file an application for a petition on a form prescribed and provided by the municipal clerk. Anchorage Code, Sec. 2.50 contains the required content. After review of the application, the clerk issues blank petitions. Signatures on the petition must be secured within 90 days from the date when circulation began. The council shall submit the measure to the voters at the next regular election held at least 45 days after certification of the petition. Except for ordinances, an initiative petition is void if the assembly enacts substantially the same measure prior to the election. The assembly may not repeal or substantially alter an ordinance enacted by initiative within two years after certification of the election.
Restrictions: Initiative is not available for ordinances establishing budgets, fixing mill levies, authorizing the issuance of bonds, or appropriating funds. (Anchorage Charter, Sec. 3.02)
Anchorage Charter, Sec. 3.02, Art. XVIII; Anchorage Code Chap. 250
- See also: Alaska government sector lobbying
Anchorage spent $340,000 on federal lobbying in 2013. The issues for which the city filed, as well as the numbers of reports, can be seen on chart below.[10]
|Fed Budget & Appropriations
|Urban Development
|Government Issues
|Natural Resources
|Marine, Boats & Fisheries
Website evaluation
|Elected Officials
|Administrative Officials
|Permits, zoning
|Public Records
|Local Taxes
|Transparency grading process
The good
- Elected officials
- Names of elected officials, individual email address, individual phone numbers, and a physical address is available.[11]
- Meetings
- The calendar of meetings, meeting agendas and minutes are available.[12]
- Meeting information is archived to 2008
- Administration
- Names of administrative officials, individual email address, individual phone numbers, and a physical address is available.[13]
- Budget
- The current budget is published.[14]
- Budgets are archived to 2002.
- Audits
- The current audit is published.[15]
- Audits are archived to 1995.
- Taxes
- Tax revenues are available and tax rates are published.[16]
- Contracts
- Bids are posted, including approved contracts over $10,000.[17]
- Permits and zoning
- Lobbying
- A list of employed lobbyists is available and memberships to lobbying organizations and associated fees are available.[20]
- Public records
- A public records contact is available and public records policies are available in a central location.[21]
The bad
- Membership dues for government sector lobbying associations are not disclosed.
See also
External links
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 U.S. Census, "State and County Quick Facts," accessed on September 9, 2014
- ↑ Municipality of Anchorage, "About Anchorage," accessed on September 9, 2014
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 City Charter of Anchorage, AL, Secs. 5.01-03, accessed on August 26, 2014
- ↑ Municipality of Anchorage, "Office of the Mayor," accessed on September 9, 2014
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Municipality of Anchorage, "Assembly," accessed on August 26, 2014
- ↑ Municipality of Anchorage, "Boards and Commissions," accessed on August 18, 2014
- ↑ Municipality of Anchorage, "Elections," accessed September 19, 2014
- ↑ City of Anchorage, "2014 Candidates," accessed February 14, 2014
- ↑ Anchorage, AL 2014 Budget in Brief, accessed on September 9, 2014
- ↑ Open Secrets, "City of Anchorage,AK," accessed on September 8, 2014
- ↑ Municipality of Anchorage, "Assembly Member Profiles," accessed March 5, 2013
- ↑ Municipality of Anchorage, "Meetings, agendas, and minutes," accessed March 5, 2013
- ↑ Municipality of Anchorage, "Municipal Departments, Divisions, and Offices," accessed March 5, 2013
- ↑ Municipality of Anchorage, "Current and archived budgets," accessed March 5, 2013
- ↑ Municipality of Anchorage, "Current and archived audits," accessed March 5, 2013
- ↑ Municipality of Anchorage, "Treasury, Property Taxes," accessed March 5, 2013
- ↑ Muni.org, "Purchasing Department, Current Bidding Opportunities," accessed March 5, 2013
- ↑ Municipality of Anchorage, "Land Use and Licensing Self Help," accessed March 5, 2013
- ↑ Municipality of Anchorage, "Zoning," accessed March 5, 2013
- ↑ Municipality of Anchorage, "Lobbying information," accessed March 5, 2013
- ↑ Municipality of Anchorage, "Municipal Clerk," accessed March 5, 2013


text: movies By Emerald Catron November 30, 2012 3:31 PM | TheFW Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Source: movies Category: Share on Facebook Share on Twitter More Leave a comment Send to a friend! Print this page Pin it! Reddit This! Share on Tumblr! More From 99.9 K-Bat Frontman Shimon Moore Leaves Sick Puppies Five Finger Death Punch's Ivan Moody Reveals Players for Upcoming Solo Album Scorned Woman Trapped in Ex Online Beau's Chimney Because Cuckoo, Cuckoo James Cameron Explains Why Arnold Schwarzenegger is Old in 'Terminator 5′ Best of the Web


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Commission rejects grant for IUDs
By TIM HORAN Salina Journal | Wednesday, June 11, 2014 12:21 AM
In two meetings Tuesday, Saline County commissioners, medical professionals and the public again took up the issue of whether IUDs cause abortion.
In two meetings Tuesday, Saline County commissioners, medical professionals and the public again took up the issue of whether IUDs cause abortion.
But in the end, nothing changed as commissioners did not act to reconsider applying for a grant for the contraceptives.
Dr. David Dupy, physician for the Saline County Health Department, said IUDs are "not abortive." An IUD prevents the sperm from reaching the egg and does not abort it.
Dupy was joined in his support for the grant by health department Director Bronson Farmer, and the department's nurse practioner, Jeanette Peroli.
However, Dr. Amy Hogan, who spoke at a morning session, said the IUD does not stop ovulation and the IUD does prevent the uterus from accepting a fertilized egg, supporting Commissioner John Price, who previously said that IUDs cause abortions.
"We've made our vote," said commission Chairman Randy Duncan. "We have talked to people. We've listened. I think we are pretty final on the position."
Farmer said he was disappointed.
"It seems like science tells us that these are not abortive," he said. "The federal government says they are not abortive. Our guidelines state they are not abortive."
Glad for the support
The $6,064 federal grant through the Kansas Department of Health and Environment was rejected weeks ago after Price called such contraceptives abortion and murder. He said he talked to doctors and that it was his understanding that the hormonal IUD prevents the implantation of a fertilized egg, and there is a possibility that a woman could be pregnant when the IUD is inserted, which would cause the fetus to abort.
Price said he was glad to see people at the meetings backing him. Among those was Mark Roberti.
"What we are doing is putting in foreign agents, dangerous chemicals to trick it (a woman's body) into doing something the body naturally does, that is to have babies," Roberti said. "The woman's body is a masterpiece, God's masterpiece, designed to create babies."
Chastity, abstinence
Hogan said that "We come together thinking that every human individual has value and has merit. The IUD itself, it's not if it prevents pregnancy, it's how. The IUD does not stop ovulation. This means that we can become pregnant.
"When a person becomes pregnant, they would not know it. The way the IUD works, it's violent to the female body. It irritates the uterus."
That makes the uterus inhospitable to a newly fertilized egg, preventing a pregnancy, she said.
"As a medical professional, I can tell you it is not a great way to help plan your family," she said. "There are other great ways: abstinence, chastity. That's how we teach a lot of our women in the area of maternity care.
"We want them to understand the body, treat it with respect instead of violence as depo provera can."
Depo provera is a shot injecting a hormone similar to progesterone.
Gile and his grandkids
Commissioner Jim Gile said it is not an easy decision to reject the grant.
"Yesterday was a bad day," Gile said. "I had to spend a lot of time away from my grandkids.
"They came. They are pretty important," he said as he choked up. "I know that has nothing to do with you guys. But I'll tell ya without my grandkids I know ... I still have to believe it (the female body) was made to bear children."
Listen to professionals
Dupy said the county needs "a health board made up of medical professionals."
Gwen Philbrook asked the commissioners to listen to the professionals.
"I would ask the county commission to look at the people that are making the recommendations," she said. "These are your health department members of the medical community. None of the three of you have a medical background. They are saying this a good idea."
"We are the health board," Price said. "We are the three decision-makers."
"I guess that's what I disagree with," Dupy said, adding the decision should be made by medical professionals.
By law, not guidelines
In the afternoon session, Farmer told commissioners that the four forms of long-acting reversible contraceptives -- hormone IUDs, copper IUD and hormone shot -- are not considered abortive. The Title X funds through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services does not consider the devices as abortive.
"By law, not even by guidelines, by law, Title X funds cannot be used for programs where abortion is a method of family planning," he said. "Your question, Mr. Price, is this abortive? According to the federal government, this is not an abortive device."
Unwanted and teen pregnancies are a big problem in Saline County, Dupy said.
"This would be great way to help women have choices," he said.
Help for those families
Farmer said the grant would fund about 20 birth control devices.
"That would change those families' lives for generations. For those 20 people, this is very important," he said. "This isn't just $6,000 to them. This is their life and potentially generations down the line. I think it is disappointing we are not taking this more seriously."
"What about the other 2,000 that would like to have them free? It is not fair to them?" Price said.
A Christian, yes
Joyce Nelson, who spoke Tuesday morning, said that years ago she had an IUD.
"I miscarried a baby," Nelson said "I didn't realize it at the time. And then the doctor at the time didn't have enough in him to tell me directly to my face. He told my mother. I was an adult. I was not underage. It was because he fitted it wrong.
"I am a born again Christian, yes. And it is not my choice to destroy human life."
It's not about you
Emery Diercks told Price: "This is not about your conscience sir, this is about women who could die if faced with another pregnancy, this is about women who cannot afford to feed another child.
"Here in the heartland, our food banks and shelters are overwhelmed and full."
-- Reporter Tim Horan can be reached at 822-1422 or email@example.com.


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For some reason, people think it's acceptable to argue for Tim Tebow over Peyton Manning
3/13/12 in NFL | Pat | 5234 respect
In and of itself, that's really not a big deal. People disagree on player evaluation all the time, and sometimes it takes a while to convince people one way or another.
However, when it comes to comparing Tebow to Peyton Manning, one of the greatest quarterbacks ever to step foot on the gridiron, it starts to get downright offensive.
In a poll asking Broncos fans who should be their starting QB next year, Tebow or Manning, the former Gator with the long delivery received 59% of the votes, soundly beating Manning, a Hall of Fame lock.
Fortunately for Broncos fans, John Elway is a bit smarter than they are, and he's making a strong push for Manning anyway. Apparently he recognizes that if they can make the playoffs with the worst passer in the league, they can probably do even more damage with one of the best passers of all time.
Even if Peyton Manning isn't 100% healthy, which is still a reasonable concern until proven otherwise, he's a better option than Tebow. Peyton Manning in a wheelchair would probably be a better QB than Tebow.
Some people who actually get paid to write about the NFL, in this case Mike Silver of Yahoo Sports, actually feel bad for Tebow, and say that he's getting shafted by the Broncos.
Really? A guy who realistically should never have been under center in the NFL is getting shafted because the Broncos want to improve their team by replacing arguably their biggest weakness with one of the greatest players of all time? THAT is called "getting shafted"?
This is just one more example of people fabricated adversity for Tebow. He grew up in a very financially comfortable 2-parent home, was a highly touted recruit out of high school, won a boatload of awards in college, including a Heisman Trophy, and then he was selected in the first round of the NFL Draft, despite many experts (correctly) saying that he simply was not fit to be an NFL quarterback.
So far, I see no adversity at all.
He played his way to the bottom of the Broncos' depth chart, and somehow still managed to find the field for the second half of the season. Despite playing about as poorly as any QB in the league, he was dragged to a few wins and miraculously gained the support of rabid Broncos fans who were so blinded by the win-loss record that they were incapable of properly evaluating individual performance.
Still, I see no adversity.
Now, the rumors are swirling that the Broncos desperately want Manning, and that they'll trade Tebow if they get him. One of the popular ideas is that he could get sent to Jacksonville, which would result in him being closer to home, near the Florida Gators fans who love him so much, and would give him a legitimate chance to compete for the starting job, since Blaine Gabbert was pretty terrible last year.
If that's adversity, then I welcome such hard times into MY life.
The only hardship that Tim Tebow has had to endure is self-inflicted. For whatever reason, he has been entirely disinterested in developing proper throwing mechanics, and simply hasn't shown that he can play QB at an NFL level.
If the Broncos have a chance to get Peyton Manning, they'd be insane to pass it up, especially if they can get any value whatsoever in exchange for Tebow in a trade. Think their defense was inspired by Tebow? Wait until you see how they react when they know they have someone who can actually throw the ball.
To the 59% who voted for Tebow: You've either never watched a game, or you're some real clever Internet trolls.
To Mike Silver: The only one who is shafting Tebow are people like you, who keep giving him this false impression that he actually deserves to be an NFL QB. Get a clue.
Tebow has nearly 60% of votes over Manning in billboard poll [USA Today]
Tim Tebow getting shafted with Broncos' pursuit of Peyton Manning [Yahoo!]