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Skills shortage: it's mind over matter
The IT skills shortage is like global warming - you either believe it exists or you don't. Either way, one thing's for certain - the debate refuses to lay down and die. For those who believe there is a shortage, there is plenty of evidence to support their argument. And for those who believe the shortage is a myth that's …
slave shortage
What is in short supply is experienced, skilled developers willing to work third shift for minimum wage. These workers always will be in short supply. It's probably a waste of time pointing out that there are always enough workers if you allow wages to rise until supply meets demand.
That said, it makes me laugh (and cry) when employers cheap out and outsource to nominally low-wage countries, only to find their management and rework costs explode. When they figure out that outsourced labor won't work magic for them, and they try to rebuild their IT shop, they whine because college kids figured there's no point to a CS degree and switched to bioengineering. And surprise, the older workers remaining in the IT workforce don't want to work for entry level wages.
Oh well... As for the voracious hiring appetites of the body shops, they know some secrets that I will now share with you.
Aptitude is only a partial substitute for experience. This fact is completely lost on the young and apt, who won't realize for 15 years or so that they become more capable over time.
Experience is no substitute for aptitude either. There are a limited number of focused, analytical, abstract-thinking people in the world (thank goodness). Other folks can turn out awful code for a whole lifetime and never even realize how much they suck. We found out in 1999 that you can't retread poets and astronomers as software engineers. Even in Bangalore, there are only so many geeks. And the geeks in Bangalore know it too.
The dot com implosion was painful. I went from being the most employable person I knew to being chronically unemployed. That was scary. But the geeks are back.
The geek shall inherit the earth.
CLUE: No aptitude, no basic skills, employer doesn't care
Wanna know the future of Microsoft? It is in the dirt. Why? Because they are hiring employees who can't type, don't know Windows, and can't even hook up a KVM. And, NO, they don't have any aptitude for the work, either. [excised by Reg moderator].
Productive people not only know how to write software, they also have some basic office skills. Like typing! And how to use the f***ing computer! And what do the managers do? They hire these people. Such is how companies rot and die.
Partially this is the fault of colleges, and partially this is the fault of companies. A college graduate in IT should know how to type. They should receive at least one real typing class! You have no idea how frustrating it is to assign someone a job and watch them hunt-and-peck for hours what should take a half hour to do. The managers should be requiring the candidates to have these basic skills. If the most basic of skills aren't there, then the person goes right back out the door.
Some companies do have a clue, and specify in the ads for at least 40wpm skill. What an idea! Standards!
When I get someone in to work, I expect them to be able to use the computer at the command line. I have seen too many who can hardly copy and paste! And yet managers welcome them in after some stupid interview questions. What is the point of the interview questions when they don't screen out idiots?
The purpose of the interview is to select an excellent person. Why do idiots routinely pass the interview? I can only conclude that the interviews are actually screening FOR idiots, and that the real hiring decision is based on non-professional criteria. Criteria which would normally get a company in trouble.
But, of course, those criteria DO get the company in trouble.
"We hired him because we liked him." Actual quote from a hiring manager at Microsoft.
When teams are filled with idiots, how can the goal be accomplished? Obviously the goal is either accomplished in a very poor manner or not at all. At some point somebody either goes in with a very large firing axe and clears out the deadwood, or else everything collapses.
I don't think that anyone at Microsoft is going to clear out the deadwood.
I suppose that means a rosy future for Linux.
The Could Use Some Advertising Skills Too
We've all heard the funnies: 5 years experience in a language which didn't exist five years ago.
The whole jobs business seems to be full of people who forget the basics of advertising a job: where is it and what skills do you want. Maybe it's just that too much can be done by filling in a web-form, and there's no check by a human.
Yes, I know there's this thing called "Human Resources". Everyone makes mistakes.
Skills Gap
I have just spent 6 months unemployed, despite 7 years experience developing in multiple languages - vb5/6, C++ (ATL/COM), vb.net, c#, back to c++(STL). I also have a software Engineering degree and am highly design/best practices oriented. However in my region all the jobs are c#/ASP 2.0 which I haven't used for two years.
what many companies fail to realise is that the language really doesn't matter. It is the ability to see the problem & design a solution which counts, the language is simply the means of expressing that solution. I find employers who are willing to recognise my talents few & far between. Fortunately for me my previous employers have now signed me up for a contract, but I will likely be in the same boat in 6 months time when I am looking for new work.
The real skills gap appears to be in management.
Deja vu all over again
I am an experienced programmer. I have been in IT for 30 years. I have difficulties finding work now because I have taken the trouble to retrain myself and learn .NET.
Yes, I may bumble along a bit, but I cut code at 1,000 lines/week, Tested and working. I know how to design databases, stuff your integer keys, use proper ones. Using integers doesnt make it go any quicker you know !
I have been as flexible as possible, the answer is yes, whats the question, but they still say no.
The problem? They look at a CV and think that is all you can do. You cannot possible do anythig else. The CV determines the future, so if you havent done it, then there is no way you are going to do it. The thought (novel approach to recruitment, thinking) that soemone might learn, that they may know their subject matter inside out is irrelevant.
I think it is quite fun listening to these twats talk about virtualisation, they caught up with the 60s at last. They talk of XML & XHTML but, they dont know the base is sGML, which was a macro language developed in the 60s (MIT, I believe for CP67, later VM) to provide markup for text handling.
So, now you know your code and systems are as old as Beelzebub, stop whining about not finding the right people, they are all around you, you are just to dumb to notice.
If you want people to study CS, make the choice attractive. There is absolutely no point at all in studying something where your career will be exported to India. So, if you want people to go back to study computer science, start paying them, start offering careers tjhat last the 40 years to retirement again.
If you are not prepared to do this, stop whingeing, we cant be bothered to listen to people whining about how they continuously shoot themselves in the foot.
Personally, I would strongly advise anyone starting in university or college today to avoid IT at all costs. Unless they are going to use it as a fast route to management, but accountancy would be a better choice.
Developers need to understand the full environment.
My experience is that coders, sysadmins etc. fit into two categories. The hardcore geeks who will spend ages discussing the minutiae of some particular bit of syntax, and the more-widely-informed types who appreciate that their systems have to fit into a broader environment where regulatory compliance, authenticability and procedures are often more important than algorithmic elegance.
"What is your position on ensuring Sarbanes-Oxley compliance?" or "How would you respond to a RIPA/FOIA/DPA request?" are the sorts of quessies I ask of prospective employees. Alas too many respond with that open-mouthed stunned-circus-clown expression which guarantees they don't get the job.
Finding someone with the IT skills - but who also understands how IT is part of the greater business/operational environment - now that's the real problem. And the world will pay handsomely for those who know both the latest RFCs and the current case-law.
Skills shortage is a Myth.
The skills shortage is a myth because there is a tremendous amount of ageism in I.T. Try to find a job once passed 40 and you are struggling. When I was managed out by a large IT company after 30 years at the age of 52, at the out placement interview I was told I would never find another job in I.T. best to train as a driving instructor. I tried applying for loads of IT jobs but very rarely got an interview and never a job. What with open source and outsourcing to India I would advise anybody to seriously consider their options before embarking on a career in I.T. as its not a career for the long term. Fortunately my two kids
show no inclination on going into I.T. Part of the problem is the recruitment agencies. They don't employ very bright people and unless you have been doing the same job with the same skills as advertised they don't want to know. They ignore the fact that it 30 years you have repeatedly pickup up new skills with no problems.
oh whats the point...
As far as I can tell the only skills shortage in IT is in management. / leadership. Idiots the lot of them. They'll be first against the wall when the revolution comes....
Yes, blame the agencies !
Keith is right to mention the agencies. Like, I assume, many others, I keep an eye on the lists in case 'the right job' should come up.
But all I seem to see are jobs that require all sorts of qualifications and many years experience - and all for the pay of a junior position straight out of college ! I look at many of them and think that surely they don't seriously expect anyone with even half of what they ask for to consider slashing their pay down to that level, so why do they do it ?
My thoughts are that too many people are, how shall I put it, 'over enthusiastic' when describing their skills etc. Consequently, I suspect the agencies respond by bloating the required skills to suit. So where does that leave an honest person, whose moral code does not allow allow them to apply for jobs that they don't have the skills for ? If you don't 'tell porkies' then there's no way you'll get past the 'has this candidate ticked all the right boxes' filtering process - so it's a waste of time to apply.
So the end result - all they'll get applying are people who can't do the job but have questionable ethics. Hence a lack of suitable candidates, and lo and behold, a 'skills shortage' is declared because they can't find the right people !
If anyone has any suggestions, please don't keep them to yourself !
I REALLY dread the idea of having to find a job. I've not had to go through the selection process for over 2 1/2 decades - in that time I've had my own business, and had two jobs thanks to someone who knows me and employed me, and later (when no longer with that company) put me in a company he had an interest in. Unfortunately that isn't going to happen again since he's passed on.
SInce I'm now (according to anecdote) well over the hill for IT, and morally disinclined to lie to get a job - I don't feel confident of finding anything else.
I Agree -- There is a shortage of IT Mgmt
Instead of recognizing that there is a problem with the way many software projects are managed the "no-brainer" MBA solution is to offshore development. That way, it will cost less to keep doing things the same old broken way. Never mind that there never was a real design based on documented requirements.......
Another vote for (against?) useless recruitment agencies...
I've seen the emplyment agency thang from most sides - trying to get a job, trying not to get a job, and trying to find someone to do a job.
With very few exceptions, the agencies are the biggest part of the problem.
When I was an employer, I had two criteria. I wanted someone who knew C properly, and I wanted someone who was a shit-hot coder. That was all - I'd pay pretty much anything to anyone who could fulfill my needs.
What did I get fromn the agencies? "He knows Java". "You want a C-level programmer - what languages would that use?". "I've got a really good guy for you here. Java and .Net". I spent far more time on the phone talking to parasites than was warranted...
A bit later in my career, I was trying to find a job. Many companies require you to go through agencies, so that's what I had to do. So I'd ring up an agency that had my CV and ask them whether or not they'd put me forward for a certain position I had seen them advertising. "Oh we didn't think that was your sort of thing". "What, the job I've been doing for the last decade? No, I can see how you wouldn't have associated that with me..."
So now here I am settled into my current job. I still get the 15 or so mails per week trying to get me to work somewhere else; in *almost* all situations, the job is so different to what I do that I'd have to be *desperate* to even apply. And I'm not desperate :-) On a couple of occasions, something's caught my eye, so I ask a question about it. "Sure," comes the stock reply, "Send us an updated CV and we'll find out".
My conclusion is :-
- There is no skills shortage
- There is no job shortage.
- The reason each side of the divide believes the shortage exists is simply that the cretins who are supposed to be matching up engineers to jobs don't know their arse from their elbow.
IT skills shortage is a myth for the most part
I agree the blurbs in the press about IT shortage is a thinly guised argument that there should be a greater supply of workers to allow them to pay less. It's surprising however that MS has not outsourced litte if any programming overseas. There will probably come a time shortly when many more programmers are needed for new areas of computing such as robotics and AI.
In the long term countries such as India and or China won't pose a threat to US workers because workers over their are beginning to realize joys of consumerism and demanding higher wages. IBM has shifted programmers to India, but the overall number of employees in the US remains proportionally about the same. It's true that IBM laid off 1500 or 3000 workers in the US and a lot of people whined about this. But it's ridiculous not to expect some streamlining when IBM has added 30,000 workers over the past 3 years.
Kurt Guntheroth aced this one!
Some great comments in this thread, but for my money Kurt Guntheroth hit pretty well all the nails squarely on their heads. In contrast, I think Tanuki's comment illustrated the absurdity of many employers' attitudes. He wants someone who is not only conversant with modern IT - an insanely complex subject that is getting more complex with every passing month - but also understands the practical consequences of Sarbanes-Oxley? I often wonder what employers like that expect to do themselves, when they are seeking new hires whose job spec is basically to run the business single-handed. Maybe the PHB can then swan off to Hawaii while still pulling down his immense salary...
The key fact, which Kurt strongly hinted at, is that there is a great divide between those who understand computers and those who don't. Unfortunately, almost all of those writing the job specs and doing the hiring come from the ranks of those who don't. It's a case of the blind trying to select the sighted.
Been said before: Pay peanuts get monkeys
I have been working "in" the same company for roughly ten years. Notice the quotes around in? This is because during this time I have been employed by three different service providers. Each time the contract comes up for renewal it is put out to auction and lo and behold the lowest bidder wins. Naturally the company wants to retain the experience of the current workers so off they go to the new provider. This year the auction has just finished. Again the lowest bidder has won and the vacancies are being advertised. Why? The winning provider has put in such a low offer that the current workers won't move. They don't have sufficent staff to cover the posts. The result is that they are now looking for people to work at such low salaries so that they can still make a profit from the contract. No doubt they will find some but the quality and experience will be nil I would also gamble that the ability to pick up the skills required will be nil.
Skills shortage is artificially created by industry and education
The skills shortage is artificially created by a concerted joined effort of the industry and the US/UK educational establishment.
The industry keeps insisting on the educational establishment delivering "practical skills" and "experience" and the educational establishment in the US/UK (it is not so elsewhere in EU) is actively accepting the message through its naso-rectal interface.
As a result CS majors graduate with pseudo skills like "rational process", "agile methodology" which an be learned in a week on the job or on a course and do not require a semester wasted on them. At the same time the CS graduates lack basic fundamental understanding of the driving principles behind the systems which they work on. The current crop of CS runts does not study optimal control or mass service theory. As a matter of fact they do not even study trivial math like probability theory and functional analysis. Essentially the UK/US educational establishment is taking bright kids and screwing their brains sideways as per industry demands.
From there on it is no longer surprising that Indian, Chinese and Continental Europeans get the jobs. They actually study all of that stuff in university as a part of their degrees and their educational establishment does not give a flying f*** about idiotic industry demands (at least for now). It is also not surprising that the highest CS achievers I have seen produced by the UK and US education system did not graduate with CS. All of them graduated with Physics, Math, engineering (different from CS) .
The only way to fix the problem in the long term is to shoot on the spot any manager insisting on hiring on "experience" (especially in the UK sense) along with invalidating any CS diploma that is not backed up by the essential mathematical curriculum. After all, experience is totally irrelevant if it is not backed by fundamentals. Without the fundamentals an otherwise bright kid is limited to a short life on the "factory floor" after which he is replaced as his skills are no longer relevant.
Skills Shortage - Really?
Replace the words "skills shortage" with "hidden agenda" and I reckon the end result would be the same. And I certainly wouldn't mind betting that the government spin machine is going strong on this one.
We have to remember that under the current regime immigration has gone completely pear-shaped. Why? Because they have been desperate to bring down wage costs whilst inventing new jobs to reduce unemployment.
As someone else remarked to me recently, show me the bog cleaners job in Rampistan being advertised for £150K per annum and I'll sign up for it. I may not be any good at cleaning loos but that won't be evident on my CV when I make my application.
In any industry, if there is a skill shortage the onus is on the employers to train their staff. The trouble is they always want someone else to train folk for them in the hope that they can employ staff fully trained, and if they can't, they have no loyalty to the country they are building up their business in; they see no problem with employing cheap labour from abroad in the hope of chasing higher profits.
the productivity gap.
The problem is that the difference between a good programmer and an average programmer is an order of magnitude in terms of productivity and yet the pay gap is unlikely to be more than 50-100%.
Lo, our employers want the demonstrably good coders and there just aren't enough to go round. We set an aptitude test that anybody competent could ace after a weekend scanning old torrented java blackbelt questions. Two thirds of applicants fail miserably, all after having claimed they've 3+ years relevant industry experience. It's pathetic really.
So yes, there is a skills shortage. But it's also a global thing. Doubtless two thirds of Indian coders are also rubbish, the difference is it might still be economic in terms of productivity to employ them.
Perhaps if IT companies handled their own recruitment...
...instead of farming it out to a bunch of buzzword-searching children working for recruitment agencies.
A scenario I'm totally sick of : little Mr/Miss 20 year old calls me regarding some role or other but first "just wants to walk through my CV. I see you worked for XYZ company, who was your manager there?"
Paraphrased, this means "I've just started My First Little Career in recruitment and therefore I've been given the job of trawling through the database trying to get everyone to add to our contacts for us. I'll call them next as soon as I'm done with you".
I'm fortunate in that my last 3 roles have been direct through word-of-mouth, but the thought of having to deal with these cretins next time around brings me out in a cold sweat.
Besides, if a company wants to recruit IT'ers why ask people who don't work directly in IT to do the searching? All they end up doing is playing a glorified game of buzzword bingo through the CV's database. I've personally been sat next to recruiters at their PC who are unable to save my CV from my website or a memory stick...
"(panic stricken look on face) Could you please just email your CV to me?"
"No, I'd rather spend 5 seconds showing you how to do something this simple - or bat you around the head, of course. I expect more IT literacy from a so-called IT recruiter in this day and age".
(and don't even get me started on the subject of useless Human Remains depts who don't like to dirty their hands getting involved in the hiring loop......)
Too much process waste
When you look at what most IT staff spend their days actually doing, it becomes strikingly obvious that most of it is NOT what they are qualified for. While they might be a trained Java/C++/SQL programmer or a designer or tester or whatever, a significant proportion of people's time is spent sitting passively in meetings, writing progress reports, wading through emails CC'd to 100 irrelevant people and approving documents they neither care about nor understand.
This all happens because no-one today is prepared to make a decision, without the safety blanket of "shared responsibility" and indemnity.This comes from having everyone else (involuntarily) a party to that decision, since they were "copied in" or had to "sign off" on the decision because the process requires it. Likewise the talent can't afford to ignore all this bumf, because they will be held acountable if they fail to spot the one single sentence in an entire email that may, possibly, effect their area of responsibility.
What the industry needs is for people who are productive in an area to be allowed to GET ON WITH IT, while others who have no special skills (we call them "managers") get out of the way and do their job of facilitating the money-earners by making sure they do not get delayed with pointless interruptions and distractions. It should be the management goal to ensure that the talent has the information and resources they need, in a timely manner so they are not delayed in making the products that pay everyone's wages.
Kurt's Right
I agree, Kurt pretty much nailed it with the first post. Give that man a Reg column.
The trouble is, unlike most Reg topics, I agree with pretty much everything everyone else has said too. Obviously a lot of it is a result of painful personal experience.
Frankly, I think that's a terrifying indictment of the state of the IT industry in the UK.
@Brian Miller
""We hired him because we liked him." Actual quote from a hiring manager at Microsoft.
When teams are filled with idiots, how can the goal be accomplished?"
you hire people who can get on in the business and with the team. If you are an arsehole, then you will not get hired.
Instead of typing being taught, how about "social skills 101" for science graduates
Have their cake and eat it
All the comments here are in my view very close to the mark.
Employers want skilled IT staff with a business perspective, but don't want to train them or pay them their worth. Time, quality, cost - pick any two, as the saying goes.
Tanuki's perspective highlights that middle management want everything from their IT people in order to cover failings elsewhere in the business. If you expect the IT person to understand the complexities of SOX, do you also expect the legal/compliance people to be able to write SOX compliant code ? No, didn't think so.
You need a business that can state its requirements (with help from IT) that can then be interpreted and implemented by an IT dept that has architects, system designers and coders, rather than an IT dept that is the scapegoat when the business can't elucidate its requirements properly and so decides to send all the jobs offshore so they can then use a commercial contract to hang their new supplier out to dry when it doesn't deliver what they thought it would.
No skill shortage, just management that are making excuses for their own failings
I agree with all the above about recruiters. As a contractor, the number of times I've had an argument with agents who played buzzword bingo with my CV and sent me job specs that were completely irrelevant to my experience just beggars belief. Having said that, there are some out there who do their job properly and either know what they're doing or don't hesitate to ask you when they're not sure. When you meet one of them, make sure you keep their details!
Another problem, even before recruitment consultants get involved, is that IT managers don't know how to write requirements so the specs they send to recruiters for staff often have little to do with what they actually need. And then those same specs get passed on to education establishments who infere that what you really require is people who are wizards on the new language 'du jour'. Hence a lot of young people who have some sort of qualification meaning that they know Java but have no idea what object oriented design mean, let alone how you do it. We work in an industry where the skills you have today will probably be irrelevant in 5 years so it doesn't matter whether you know Java, C#, PHP or Ruby, as long as you have a good grounding in language theory, maths and generic computing.
But it's not just managers and recruiters who are guilty of that. We all are at some point or other. I've just been told that a piece of work I have been doing for the past few weeks would not get approved because I shouldn't have been asked to do it, on the grounds that I am part of the application delivery side of the business, not the infrastructure delivery side of it. The fact that I could do it, had some spare time and there was nobody available from infrastructure to do it is irrelevant: it just wasn't my job so I should not have been asked, let alone have agreed to it.
So it's not so much a skill shortage as a bad use of available skills.
And again
Yes, there is a skill shortage but it is in management. As the other replies state current management is in disarray, they should get educated. How you can require a person to have skills in SOX, SOA, ITIL, xxxML, UTMS, SaaS, security, agile, etc when you only know the buzzwords but not how and why?
My current experience is horrible, after 10+ years designing (government, NIST standards) level systems with AAA and security and talking to managers is frustrating. They (may) know about CC, FIPS, ISO, etc but their real knowledge is basically zero coming out from vendor brochures or "dog and pony" shows they have seen and written in job advertisements.
Now, I know many other developers in field who have problems to get work (or to accept work) because they know what, how and when much better than the people doing the hiring. And it is the same with AJAX, REST, SAML, SIP, etc, try and ask the hiring person to explain what those are! You would be amazed of the answers, I have been, they are so much way off that it isn't even funny. No wonder they can't find cheap workers and when they can, what are the results? A lot of bloated and "almost working" systems which will be fixed in next release 2010, maybe. My last experience was looking a contract job which was advertised as design and development.
First it did look good but when it came to questions as how would you do this they meant coding only, I did show a couple of problems in design and was told, no, it is perfect but how would you develop for that? I wouldn't because after a while the whole system would have problems going that way. OK, it didn't work and I was told that is the agile development, we just code a lot just now and think the systems / interoperability / maintainability / etc later, give me a break! Of course unit testing works, you can always make a small piece of system to work alone but try to match it later to your other products and systems, good luck! Haven't they seen the statistics how much an early correction in design saves compared to support and fixing basic design bugs when the system is in production? No, they haven't, so we are back in management eduction!
Same with shortage in mainframe developers, sorry, my 30+ years experience is that it has always been a management cry to hide their own problems. I have had and met development / software engineering managers who like to boast how they coded in Cobol, some even in in assembler, in mainframes in 80's and then "graduated" to PC's so they know everything of development! IMHO, they are the most dangerous types, they never learned whole systems, infrastructure, and they still think that threading, OO, metalanguages, etc are something new and difficult? Or, maybe it is, for them because they are still fighting to understand how PM tools work with SharePoint?
We sealed our own doom when...
...we developed point-and-drool Web/database systems that any MBA with a third-grade intellect could use to call themselves a "recruiter". What profession would tolerate dealing (on either end) with people who don't know how to use English ("but I am being from America my life all of it!"), don't know anything about the technology (just a bunch of keywords next to checkboxes on a form/Web page), don't know anything about the business side of IT (the guy talking about SOX and other regulatory stuff was spot on)... along with being some of the least intellectually curious people I've ever met - 90% of those who've started in their line of work in the last ten years seem to be in it for the money, full stop...and the older ones who are any good don't do find-a-coder anymore; they're either working in-house for the Fortune 50 or specializing in 'senior management opportunity matching').
Of course there's ageism in IT - between offshoring to countries that have 2- and 3-year "BS" degrees with an optional 1-year MBA on top of that ("are you wanting chapati with that?") - AND - the people "working" the "recruiting agencies" weren't even born yet when I got my first job after college, yet think "3 years experience" qualifies someone for a "senior/lead developer" position, we're going to continue to go down this death spiral. Commercial and in-house projects are failing more expensively and spectacularly than ever before, and most "IT disasters" seem to be caused by people who couldn't spell IT if you spotted them the first two letters. I think the current trend towards open source development is as much a realization that successful FOSS projects remain the last true meritocracy in our line of work, where you're less likely to run into people who don't know their orifice from a hole in the ground, but who remember Back Orifice.
The funny thing is -- if you go to Bangalore or Chennai or Shenzen or St Petersburg and look at the offshoring companies, they're having the devil of a time to find - and paying ever-higher wages to keep - people who are reasonably competent in English and the computer language flavor-of-the-moment. Too bad nobody ever offshored the recruiting agencies.
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Here you'll become acquainted with upcoming films – femme and otherwise – charted vaguely by month or season, as some distributors have a nasty habit of shifting release dates around at the whims of financial analysts.
Since moving pictures are cozily ensconced in their second century (let's call it "Cinema Year 115," given that Edison started developing his kinetograph and kinetoscope in 1888), this former novelty now prompts certain expectations. Answering the call, you're sure to get your superheroes (X-Men 2 in May, The Hulk in June, Ben Affleck as Daredevil way too soon for comfort) and super-nerds (see above), your freak fests (Richard Benjamin directing Damon Wayans as rapper Dr. Snatchcatcher in Marci X, August, maybe) and meaningful dramas (Kevin Spacey in Alan Parker's somber The Life of David Gale in February and Sean Penn in Clint Eastwood's somber Mystic River in October). But throughout the dude ranch of the movie business, the eternal feminine will wend its wondrous way.
Cases in point: director McG's Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (June); Jan De Bont's Lara Croft and the Cradle of Life: Tomb Raider 2 (July); and Charles Herman-Wurmfeld's Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde (Independence Day weekend, natch). In these three male-directed productions – featuring the magazine-sellin' likes of Cameron Diaz, Angelina Jolie and Reese Witherspoon – we will experience the still-apparently-revolutionary concept that young ladies rock. You also could count Jonathan Mostow's Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (July), except it's hard to say if cyborg queen Kristanna Loken's attempted destruction of all humankind could rightly be called "rockin'." (Sexy Scandinavian monster babe? Is this T-3 or Species 3?) Since these romps all are summertime sequels to proven money-spinners (chick-ching!), they require little theorizing here. However, it's quite probable that they'll be kinda fun.
On the slightly deeper end of the Hollywood spectrum, we'll get Jennifer Connelly – the Oscar-winner whom you'll find familiar from all those thrilling repeat viewings of A Beautiful Mind – appearing both in the geek-rage manifesto The Hulk from director Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) and House of Sand and Fog, the feature debut from Russian commercial director Vadim Perelman.
Essentially this year's Spider-Man, Hulk features antipodean actor Eric Bana (Chopper) as the dynamically afflicted Bruce Banner, Nick Nolte as his dad (apparently filling in for Bill Bixby, R.I.P.), Connelly as compassionate girlfriend Betty Ross (what's a monster without a pretty love interest?) and even TV Hulk Lou Ferrigno in a supporting role (a nice gesture after the Batman producers rudely barred Adam West from the very franchise he vigorously helped popularize and sustain). Given Lee's involvement, there'll be emotional sensitivity galore (maybe even the TV show's plangent closing theme, if we're lucky) to balance all the smashing (the bulky Hulk himself will appear courtesy of Lucasfilm's Industrial Light and Magic).
In sharp contrast, Sand and Fog (based on the popular novel by Andre Dubus III) will set Connelly down in a struggle with a bigger, meaner monster: the American Dream on the California coast, circa 1991. Playing a disturbed alcoholic, she loses her husband and then – due to tax fumblings – her house, which is snapped up by an exiled Iranian air force colonel (Ben Kingsley, that crazy Persian!), who wants to provide his family with comfortable American assimilation. The problem is, Connelly's character wants her house back. Featuring Ron Eldard (Ghost Ship) and Iranian star Shohreh Aghdashloo (Surviving Paradise), the film is certain to provoke issues of property and women's rights, which could be why Oprah – who lives part-time up the road in one of the biggest spreads in Santa Barbara – dug the book so much.
There will be plenty more movies by, for and about women in 2003. Director Linda Mendoza's comedy Chasing Papi (May), will feature Maria Conchita Alonso and mega-percussionist Sheila E. in the tale of a three-timing wanna-be pimp daddy who gets his comeuppance. More scholarly in scope will be Mona Lisa Smile (November), wherein Julia Roberts, Julia Stiles and Kirsten Dunst hang around a pretty East Coast college campus in the 1950s, forming a sort of Dead Poetess Society. In addition, be sure not to miss Lynne Ramsay's poignant portrait of lost girl Morvern Callar, as the gutsy Scottish film gradually opens across the country.
Also on the radar are Catalin Saizescu's Romanian import, Queen Cleopatra's Secret (Secretul reginei Cleopatra) and a weird little movie called May (January, in limited release), starring Angela Bettis as a lonely girl with a very nasty Frankenstein complex. The black comic-horror project from fledgling feature director Lucky McKee plays its icky adolescent card a bit thuddingly, but it's elegantly directed and could hold some appeal for fans of Peter Jackson's darkly wonderful Heavenly Creatures.
Find capsule reviews, showtimes & tickets for all films in town.
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subset: commoncrawl


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May 9, 2012
WHAT: Third Annual MeckCARES System of Care (SOC) Awards
WHEN: Thursday, May 10, 2012
6 to 9 p.m.
WHERE: Charlotte Marriott SouthPark, 2200 Rexford Road, Charlotte
WHO: All community stakeholders, partners, supporters, nominees, award winners, professionals, and families who have ever worked with MeckCARES
WHY: The awards this year will recognize 15 people or organizations who
have consistently supported children, youth and families in making positive life changes. The System of Care involves mental health providers, the court system, law enforcement, social services, child-serving agencies, and the school system to ensure that all children and youth have the possibility to be successful in their lives. Emcees for this year's event are Chirl Girl from V101.9 and Fly Ty from 92.7.
MeckCARES is a Mecklenburg County initiative that works collaboratively with agencies, schools, organizations and businesses to improve the lives of youth with mental health issues and their families. For more information, call MeckCARES at 704-432-4592, or visit: meckcares.charmeck.org.
# # #
Media contact: Andy Fair at 704-995-6156 or firstname.lastname@example.com


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Weights determined over public scales by certified public weighers will be recorded on weight certificates. A weight certificate must state:
Split-weighing is not legal in Colorado. All weights (gross, net, tare) must be determined for vehicles that are either entirely on the scale or for combination vehicles that have been separated and weighed as independent units. Combination vehicles that fit entirely on the scale being used may be weighed in one draft.


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The Union County Prosecutor's Office
Contact: John Holl
Former Plainfield Salvation Army Faces New Charges in Fraud Case
A Union County Grand Jury recently handed up a second indictment against a former Salvation Army pastor, said Prosecutor Theodore J. Romankow. The man's wife and a man who claimed to be an immigration attorney and that man's secretary were also indicted.
Former Pastor Enoc "Tito" Sotelo DOB: 10/08/1959 faces 18 new counts of 3rd theft by deception, said Romankow. This stems from an earlier investigation where he was charged with 14 counts of theft by deception.
Sotelo was first arrested in January 2010 following an investigation by the Union County Prosecutor's Office Special Prosecution Unit and the Plainfield Police Department. He later posted $20,000 bail.
Sotelo worked for the Salvation Army in Plainfield, NJ.
Following that first arrest, additional victims came forward leading to the second indictment, said Romakow.
Sotelo and his wife, Vereli Sotelo DOB: 8/27/1973,who live in North Carolina surrendered to Union County authorities on Friday afternoon. Vereli Sotelo is charged with eight counts of 3rd degree theft by deception.
Bail was set at $50,000 for Sotelo and $20,000 for his wife.
According to the investigation, Sotelo is accused of promising immigrants that he would help them obtain green cards through a "Florida attorney" and collecting thousands of dollars from them purportedly to pay for travel to and from Florida and obtain the documents, said Romankow.
None of the victims, however, received their green cards, because none of them were actually qualified for National Interest Waivers, said Romankow.
Sotelo, who told each of the victims that he was working with an attorney named Oscar Ruiz collected roughly $4,000 from each. An investigation revealed that Sotelo told the victims that $500 from each payment would go to the Salvation Army, something disputed by the organization, said Romankow.
The investigation also revealed that Ruiz was never an attorney and had been under a cease and desist order from the Florida Bar Association since 1999 barring him from performing any immigration related work for anyone.
Ruiz is currently incarcerated in Florida on an unrelated charge. He was indicted by the Union County Grand Jury on five counts of 3rd Degree theft by deception. His secretary, Dennice Gallo, is believed to have fled the country to her native Colombia. She is charged with nine counts of 3rd degree theft by deception.
The alleged fraud was first uncovered when a number of victims complained to local Hispanic community activists, who reported the fraud to police. Sotelo collected the money between December 2004 and February 2006. The Plainfield Police Department and the Union County Prosecutor's Office launched an investigation in April 2006, said Romankow.
The fraud detection unit of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, a division of the Department of Homeland Security assisted in the investigation. The Salvation Army also cooperated in the investigation, said Romankow.
These criminal charges are mere accusations.


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CQ Watch: Next's autumn 2008 TV commercial starring Dannii Minogue
You may have caught the latest Next autumn ad over the weekend, starring a couple of familiar faces. Aussie songbird, and X Factor judge Dannii Minogue pops up in the new commercial, as does Brit model Paul Sculfor, otherwise known as Jennifer Aniston's ex / Cameron Diaz's current flame. Brazilian supermodel, Emanuela de Paula, also makes a return, she starred in the retailer's spring 2008 ad. Click play on the video above to watch.


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Neil Best leaves no stone unturned in the world of sports media.
ArchivesMore »
New York, Boston media invade Arizona in record waves
This is kind of cool, actually.
I keep sending stuff in, and they keep posting it on our Web site. The last time I was here for a Super Bowl, 12 years ago, we just goofed off most of the day and then wrote our newspaper articles when we got around to it.
Here is something I wrote about the unprecedented media credentialing going on here, thanks in part to the invasion from New York and Boston, two cities just happy to have something to kill time with until pitchers and catchers.
(UPDATE: The official record-breaking credentials total is 4,786, up from last year's record 4.516. The Arizona Republic leads the way with 57, followed by the Boston Globe's 35. Fox has way more than either of those newspapers, but I'm not counting them.)
Tags: giants


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Facebook Reluctant to Discuss Its Role in Middle East Protests
According to the New York Times, Facebook's silence has more to do with business than sheer modesty. Although many have praised the social network as a critical mechanism of mobilization in Egypt and Tunisia, the company is apparently hesitant to celebrate its role out of fear that doing so may alienate users in other markets. If governments in neighboring Middle East countries thought that Facebook was "picking sides," they could retaliate by imposing restrictions or limiting access to the site within their borders.
At the same time, the company is sticking to its policy of requiring users to sign up using their real names. Last week, Illinois Senator Richard Durbin sent a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, asking him to allow user pseudonyms as a way to protect political dissidents who use the site. Company spokeswoman Debbie Frost, however, says that the existing policy guarantees a safer online environment. "The trust people place in us is the most important part of what makes Facebook work," Frost said in a statement. "As demonstrated by our response to threats in Tunisia, we take this trust seriously and work aggressively every single day to protect people."
While Facebook did take proactive steps to help protesters in Tunisia after the government began hacking into user accounts, it still hasn't embraced activism with the same vigor that its competitors have. In Egypt, for example, Twitter and Google created speak2tweet, a service that allowed dissidents to circumvent the government's nationwide Internet shutdown. Twitter co-founder Biz Stone heralded the collaboration as a testament to his company's "mandate to protect our users' right to speak freely." Facebook, by comparison, has been reluctant to make similar declarations.
"This is an incredible challenge and an incredible opportunity for Facebook, Twitter and Google," said Ethan Zuckerman, a senior researcher at Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet and Society. "It might be tougher for Facebook than anyone else. Facebook has been ambivalent about the use of their platform by activists." Elliot Schrage, Facebook's vice president for global communications, public policy and marketing, acknowledged the global significance of recent events in the Middle East, but downplayed the role that his company had in facilitating them. "We've witnessed brave people of all ages coming together to effect a profound change in their country," Schrage said in a statement. "Certainly, technology was a vital tool in their efforts but we believe their bravery and determination mattered most."


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How to delete a facebook account Permanently
One of my students asks me How to delete a facebook account Permanently? Dear visitors, you may have the same question, if so; there is the solution. We know that we can temporary delete (de-active) our facebook account where our profile (timeline) information, friend list, photo album etc will remains their (facebook) server, In case we want to come back to Facebook at some point, we will get back your profile (timeline) information (friends, photos, interests, etc.).
How to Delete Facebook Account Permanently
To delete facebook account permanently, first of all you have to delete all things related your account such as- Pictures, friends, Messages, Wall-Posts, news Feeds, mini-feeds, posted items, interests, groups, fan pages, applications, etc. To delete facebook account permanently visit- http://www.facebook.com/help/contact.php?show_form=delete_account, & Click to Submit button.
- You'll be asked for confirming. Provide your password and CAPTCHA then click Okay to continue.
- After few days (14) you have no option to reactivate your account and your account will be deleted permanently.
- To know more, visit facebook help center- How do I permanently delete my account?
Note:- Download all things before deleting.
Related Posts :
Facebook is the most favorite social networking site for everyone now a days. We pass a lot of t ...
Every Netizens have a facebook account & facebook is the most viewed social networking websi ...
Now a days facebook become parts of our life! Am I exciting? No, I am not. Wishes, emotions, fee ...
Tags: delete facebook, delete permanently, how to delete a facebook


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Scalping of concert tickets in New Zealand is becoming big money. For those lucky (or cunning) enough to get extra tickets to big sporting or music events that subsequently sell out there is plenty of money to be made by selling the them on TradeMe.
We have extra tickets to the Justin Timberlake concert(s). We actually have extra tickets to two of the concerts. Four of these tickets are now on TradeMe, but at the price Holly paid for them.
I've passed over many times the opportunity to make a big pile of cash to take advantage of those too slow or unlucky to get tickets at the sale price. It's a pretty mean thing to do really.
Don't support the scalpers, support those of us who just happen to have extra tickets, and believe strongly enough to on-sell them at the original price.


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Adam Tuss, wtop.com
DALE CITY, Va. - Drivers may soon have to ask themselves if they are willing to pay a toll or join a carpool to get to work faster.
As the new Express Lane projects come online in Northern Virginia, many will simply decide to pay a toll to keep moving through rush hour traffic at 45 or 55 miles per hour. But could the option to simply pay a toll discourage carpooling altogether?
"No, in fact I think it is going to end up encouraging people," Virginia Transportation Secretary Sean Connaughton tells WTOP. "People [are carpooling] to save time. Now they are going to save time and money."
For the first time, drivers will be able to put an economic value on carpooling, Connaughton says.
"You can look and say, those two people saved me $5 or $10," he says.
For drivers who aren't carpooling, there's no limit on how high tolls can reach. The more the lanes are used, the higher the tolls. The idea being, some will choose not to pay and traffic will continue moving.
The Beltway project, between Springfield and the Dulles Toll Road, will be the first to open later this year.
"Very few people [will] go the entire 14 miles," says Tim Steinhilber, general manager of the Beltway project.
"In our traffic models, we show people go about 3 1/2 miles on the Beltway. That 3 1/2 miles, we are using an average of $5 or $6 [for the toll]. That's what we're expecting to see."
Work is just beginning on the I-95 Express Lanes project. It is expected to open in 2014.
Follow Adam and WTOP on Twitter.
(Copyright 2012 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)


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HARVARD — Lawrence-Nelson nabbed its first holiday tournament title in five seasons Saturday night in Harvard — but it was far from pretty.
The Raiders (4-4) were just 9-of-33 from the field against Kenessaw in the 23-19 win. The Blue Devils (4-4) weren't any better, hitting only 5-of-50 shots for a 10 percent scoring average.
"It just boils down to we get in a hurry. We're not confident a lot of times with the basketball in pressure situations, and that's been a learning experience with these guys," Raiders' head coach Tom Jensen said. "They've come a long ways. It's been a long time since we've played for a championship in anything and this is a big deal. Sometimes you have to fight through these games and learn how to win them. Hopefully it takes us to a higher level."
To read more, see Monday's Hastings Tribune or the Tribune e-edition.>>>


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Reignite your love with our offer for two
If the butterflies in your tummy are becoming tired, it is time to gently reawaken them with the Hotel Post pamper programme.
Enjoy a pampering together with your partner at Hotel Post, the castle-like hotel with tradition in Lermoos in Tyrol. In the POST ALPINE SPA couples are very welcome. The aromatic baths, accompanied by soft music and fresh fruit, are invigorating and relaxing.
Relax together in one of the two SPA Suites and experience enchanting moments. Enjoy Gourmet cuisine with regional and international specialities accompanied by a matching wine from a comprehensive wine list that lists 400 wines. Exhilarating for the body and the senses!
You can book our Romance Packages for engagements or wedding anniversaries, as a birthday treat or as a Valentine's Day gift.


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Sensor-Controlled Tower 'Breathes' to Save Energy, Eliminate Office Tornadoes
The KfW tower, designed by architecture firm Sauerbruch Hutton, is expected to consume only a third of the energy consumed by a typical U.S. office building. A "pressure ring" composed of 180 vertical ventilators outside the inner façade responds to changes in air temperature, wind direction and speed throughout the day. A radius of carefully controlled air pressure, which prevents higher-altitude winds from entering, surrounds the building before being "exhausted into the building's core," according to FastCoDesign. An LED panel will suggest optimal times for workers to open the windows, although it's ultimately their own decision. But let's just hope that the computerized tower doesn't go haywire like the one that tried to kill Paul Reiser.


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Chris Martin and Chris Phillips as IAmDynamite is one of the great modern duo-bands that manages to make two guys sound like an army, easily putting them up there with acts like Chromeo and our own Morgue City. Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of Supermegafantastic f or the infectious rock an ... More >>
Burger King is starting the new year off right with a huge selection of new menu items, from appetizers to sandwiches to desserts. They have brought back the Italian Chicken sandwich, and added a new Philly Chicken sandwich as well; in sides/appetizer category we have "Cheesy Tots" that promise a cr ... More >>
Photos by Christina UticoneWhen is the last time you had a Shamrock Shake? Until now, for me, it was at least 18 years -- not since high school. I wonder -- did Shamrock Shakes always taste like this, or have they gotten worse? The color was alarming. When I saw the "mint green" shake pourin ... More >>
Tuesday's news that a homeless woman had been arrested for "offering BJs" in exchange for Chicken McNuggets at an L.A.-area McDonald's sunk the whole fast food-crime genre to a new low. For years, there have been an increasing number of weird and silly fast food-related crimes, but this latest one w ... More >>
Thirty-one is officially too old to try to learn how to use Photoshop.Tomorrow, on 11-11-11, I will turn 31 years old. Last year, for my 30th birthday, my uncle sent me a Facebook message that contained only the following Pink Floyd quote and a "Happy Birthday" at the end: So you run and you ... More >>
Graphic artist Mike Mills starts something new with Beginners.
Most Chinese dishes already have a balance of flavors, so it's a challenge to match them with adult beverages. I see diners drinking Tsingtao beer with spicy food, and as far as wine, one might match chicken and broccoli in ginger brown sauce with a Sauvignon Blanc, or--I don't know--help me ... More >>
Most Chinese dishes already have a balance of flavors, so it's a challenge to match them with adult beverages. I see diners drinking Tsingtao beer with spicy food, and as far as wine, one might match chicken and broccoli in ginger brown sauce with a Sauvignon Blanc, or--I don't know--help me ... More >>
Only three of the four new sauces were available. They threw in two of the old sauces as a consolation prize, I guess.Normally I wouldn't pay much attention to an ad touting new dipping sauces at McDonald's. On the rare occasion that I darken a Mickey D's doorstep--or drive-thru--I opt for a ... More >>
You can't beat the Whatachicken.When I indulge in fast food, you can generally count on me ordering something chicken. Here are my top five. 5. Hartz's Fried Chicken First off, I hate fast food fried chicken (think KFC buckets), but given the title of the piece, felt obligated to include at ... More >>
By now, you've probably heard the news about the gem of a lady in Florida (there's a reason Florida has its own tag on FARK, you know...) who called 911 not once, not twice, but three times to report that her local McDonald's had run out of Chicken McNuggets. Latreasa Goodman -- who, at 27 year ... More >>
Would You Like Fries with Those Lyrics?
Great hamburgers and Austin Powers-era Chinese food are both on the menu at Alice's
There's a thrilling new Vietnamese restaurant on Bellaire with a menu that reads like a mystery


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Lego Cuusoo Concept Sets
Make Your Wishes Come True by Designing a Lego Set
Photo 1 of 37 View on One Page
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Make Your Wishes Come True by Designing a Lego Set
Ever wanted to see an X-Men Lego set? Or, say, a Golden Girls kitchen set? Well, that might just happen. If you're not familiar with it, the Lego Cuusoo project allows users to submit ideas that can turn into commercial Lego products. (Cuusoo means "wish" in Japanese.)
Once proposals reach 10,000 supporters through voting, the Cuusoo team reviews the options and decides which one to make. The winning Fall 2013 submission was the Ghostbusters 30th anniversary set.
Don't expect a decision on this round to come until late Spring, but in the meantime, you can check out the top ideas right here. Which is your favorite?
Latest Tech


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Chronology for construction of Stonehenge challenged
The large inner horseshoe of sandstone megaliths at Stonehenge was raised over 4,600 years ago, the stones brought to the site from local quarries. After the sandstone megaliths were in place, the smaller bluestones were imported, probably from Wales, to be arranged later as Stonehenge's inner oval and outer circle. These findings from a new study were published in Antiquity's December issue.
Earlier researches started from the idea that Stonehenge was at first a small monument, where the smaller bluestones were raised before the sandstone megaliths. Excavations done in 2008 have brought to light new artifacts, such as an antler-bone pick from the site, which had contradictional dating to these theories. The new timeline interpretation was created in combination with known dates of earlier finds.
In addition, the study overturns the notion that building each part of Stonehenge took hundreds of years, claiming that instead only a few generations built each of the larger elements.
"The sequence proposed for the site is really the wrong way around," said Timothy Darvill, co-author and archaeologist at Bournemouth University. "The original idea that it starts small and gets bigger is wrong. It starts big and stays big. The new scheme puts the big stones at the center at the site as the first stage."
The builders of the larger sandstone structures were part of a pig farmer culture only found in the British Isles, while the bluestone builders must have been part of the Beaker-culture, states Darvill. The Beaker-culture people were sheep and cow farmers who lived throughout Europe and are associated with distinctively decorated pottery in the shape of a bell.
The new chronology "connects everything together, it gives us a good sequence of events outside, and it gives us a set of cultural associations with the different stages of construction," explains Darvill.
ReferencesLive Science - Building Stonehenge: A New Timeline Revealed Darvill et al. 2012. Stonehenge Remodelled. In: Antiquity, volume... Bournemouth University website
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text: Hello---- Sorry to be late replying. Everything will begin to get going between 11:00 and noon and then will go to whenever. If you need directions just call at 281-351-8368 or my cell # 832-661-7026. You can also get Gisele at 281-635-8196. Bring your chair and food. Ohh--and of course yourself and swimsuit. Hope the weather holds for us and looking forward to seeing everyone ! Gwenhavre -----Original Message----- From: gatesedge-bounces+camelothorse=earthlink.net at ansteorra.org [mailto:gatesedge-bounces+camelothorse=earthlink.net at ansteorra.org] On Behalf Of Young, Carolyn Sent: Friday, August 20, 2004 4:34 PM To: Gate's Edge List (E-mail) Subject: [Gatesedge] Luau I've managed to misplace (read Delete) all of the missives I thought I'd saved concerning tomorrow. What time are the festivities starting? What do we need to bring? Cheers, Caitlin (the too efficient at cleaning up her inbox) Carolyn B. Young Goodman Mfg. IT - Branch Support 713/861.2500 ext 425 **************************** (added by Goodman Mfg.)************************** Goodman Manufacturing Co., L.P. protects against viruses and spam. Do not include Goodman Mfg. mail accounts in any spam distribution or your e-mail domain will be blocked. _______________________________________________ Gatesedge mailing list Gatesedge at ansteorra.org http://www.ansteorra.org/mailman/listinfo/gatesedge


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Extreme Makeover
By Didi Gluck
Photo Credit: Greg Delves
Johnny Depp's kohl-rimmed eyes in Pirates of the Caribbean continue to haunt dreams and spark trends. "If you're not used to strong eye looks, choose pearl and shimmer shadows over mattes," says Machhausen. (Make that "black pearl...")
TRY: L'Oreal HIP High Intensity Pigments Shocking Shadow Pigments in Tenacious and Kevyn Aucoin Eyeshadow Brush or DuWop Smoke Shadow Liner in Olive Branch.


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Stone shoots scenes for a new film in N.Y.C. Plus: Ryan Reynolds, Kelly Ripa, David Beckham and more
Credit: Dave Spencer/Splash News Online
Published: Thursday Apr 11, 2013 | 05:00 PM EDT
More from PEOPLE
See More News
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Bethenny Frankel and 2½-year-old daughter Bryn get into the spring of things with some sunny accessorizes on a Wednesday stroll through N.Y.C.
Copyright © 2014 Time Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.


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Muckenthaler Cultural Center
Everything revolves around family for Joe Vieyra. His favorite memories include them, and he's building his own as an active parent with his sons in Boy Scouts. His extended family includes the community, where Pee-Wee's participates in local events on a regular basis. Read our interview with Joe ... More >>
[Moxley Confidential] Surprise, surprise! Old, white Republicans battle abortion, gays, Boy Scouts and Barack Obama's 'evil'
The Green Love Collective in Santa Ana has an unusual strain on offer for customers: Girl Scout Cookies. According to the collective's page on Legalmarijuanadispensary.com, the top-shelf indica strain contains 30.5 percent THC, and it sells for $20 per gram, $50 per eighth-of-an-ounce, or $360 per o ... More >>
This week's Hey, You!--which surely you read before landing on this drivel--brings up an interesting take on buying goodies from the Girl Scouts as opposed to the Boy Scouts.The hits keep coming: there's now a campaign to end tax-exempt status in California for youth groups that discriminated based ... More >>
Longtime Weekly readers recall "Homegirl Arrissia" Owen from her multiple appearances in Commie Girl, serving as the Robin to the Batman of that former column, Rebecca Schoenkopf (now fighting crime as Wonkette). Owen continues to contribute to the Weekly from her home in Big Bear--the closest home ... More >>
Anaheim and Huntington Beach police officers raided an apartment near La Palma Avenue and Euclid Street last week and arrested the 40-year-old "madame" there on suspicion of being a pimp. The Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force warns brothels are turning up (and turning tricks) ever more fre ... More >>
A Cal State Long Beach graduate suspected of embezzling more than $100,000 from the Girl Scouts of Orange County was arrested at a Wisconsin airport earlier this month and is awaiting extradition back to California, according to U.S. Marshals and Irvine Police.Marshals were reportedly acting on a t ... More >>
Being gay doesn't mean you're happy, especially if you can't be a Boy Scout. And an Orange County advocacy group isn't happy with the Boy Scouts of America's decision Tuesday to cement its ban against gay members.The Orange County Gay and Lesbian Center is calling for a boycott of the youth organiza ... More >>
Girl Scout cookie season is long gone here in OC, but if you're like me and "accidentally" finished the stash that was supposed to last you through the year, you can get your fix another way. Remember when we wrote about the elusive Nestlé Crunch Girl Scout Cookie Can ... More >>
UPDATE, FEB. 29, 11:45: Because I dare not leave you with broken dreams, I have an update. The cookie candy is real! The Girl Scouts mothership told Huffington Post that the photo is of a retail sales sample and fans should "look forward to some very exciting news in June." Yesssss.ORIGINAL POST, ... More >>
Flickr user Marit_&_ToomasAnyone remember Tracy Flick (aka Reese Witherspoon) in Election? We're thinking the movement going on right now in conservative circles to boycott Girl Scout cookies because the Scouts are all tolerant and shit hired her as speechwriter. It might as well be a controv ... More >>
Earlier this morning, Anne Marie posted about the Girl Scout Cookie ban proposed by a Girl Scout named Taylor from Ventura, California. It set my blood boiling, especially this quote:"But most disturbing to me and my family, is that they've also admitted to already have placed transgender boys th ... More >>
The (23rd) most wonderful time of the year, Girl Scout cookie season, starts this month, and there's a new girl on the block. Meet Savannah Smiles, a lemon-wedge cookie dusted in powdered sugar. She sounds sweet. But do you think she'll fit in with the others? I heard Samoa is kind of a brat.&nbs ... More >>
Today, the Boy Scouts is one of the most multicultural organizations in Orange County--indeed, if you asked me to describe the prototypical OC Boy Scout, I'd say he was a Vietnamese kid from Little Saigon. But the Boy Scouts wasn't always so egalitarian--although the national organization maintai ... More >>
[Locals Only] Despite the unlikely pairing, this folksy duo make their music work
Flickr user Marit & Toomas HinnosaarIf Dulce de Leche, Thank U Berry Much or All Abouts are some of your favorite cookie flavors, better accept the reality now: The Girl Scouts are no longer offering these in their lineup. But wait, there's more!
Jeez, no one is safe from the sticky-fingered these days, not even Garden Grove Boy Scout Troop 75.The troop's 2005, dark-blue, enclosed 15-foot trailer, which was secured in the First Presbyterian Church parking lot with a cable through the tandem wheels and axle, has been stolen, as has the $5, ... More >>
The decorated Girl Scout and her "Alternate Universe." A few weeks ago five Fullerton girls were awarded the Girl Scouts of America's highest honor, the prestigious Gold Award, for creating community service oriented projects -- food drives, photography workshops, mural paintings, you know the ... More >>
The 12 Plays of Christmas
Charity Golf Tournament
Pine Design: Cub Scout Pinewood Derby Cars
The Jungle Book
Star Wars Meets Girl Scouts
It's that time of the year again—the official Girl Scout cookie sale season started on the 19th of January. And it pains me: Boxes and boxes of Samoas, Thin Mints, Trefoils and Tagalongs are waiting for me out there and I have no idea where to find them. But now you can visit girlscoutcookies ... More >>
Barnes and Noble Holiday Book Drive
The city of Santa Ana's EPIC Commission, a group of local politicians and activists formed to prevent gang violence, offered a guided tour through what one official called "one of the worst neighborhoods" for crime in Santa Ana June 27. At a natural break point during its three-hour meeting, politi ... More >>
Short on berries, short on fun


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Campus NewsSUNY Oswego boosts diversity, geographic draw with incoming class
Nearly 2,200 new students—more than 1 in 4 from traditionally underrepresented groups and the most in history from outside Central New York—started classes this fall at SUNY Oswego.SUNY Oswego's Start-Up NY plan wins state approval
Empire State Development has approved SUNY Oswego's Start-Up NY campus plan. The college can now begin reviewing applications from businesses interested in partnering with the college in the Start-Up NY initiative.SUNY elevates Oswego's Tracy Lewis to distinguished teaching professor
Dr. Tracy K. Lewis, widely praised for his 30 years inspiring students of Spanish and Portuguese at SUNY Oswego, has earned the rank of distinguished teaching professor, one of the State University of New York system's highest honors.
Happenings @ OswegoSUNY Oswego's 'It's A Wonderful Life' to evoke golden age of radio
SUNY Oswego's theater department will celebrate the holidays with a live "radio play" of the classic "It's A Wonderful Life" on Dec. 5 at Pulaski's Kallet Theater and Dec. 6 in Hewitt Union ballroom.
AlumniMedia summit founder to receive SUNY Oswego's Presidential Medal
Media industry leader, cable television pioneer and SUNY Oswego alumnus Louis A. Borrelli Jr. will receive the college's Presidential Medal on Thursday, Oct. 16, the day of the media summit he founded a decade ago.


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Hartford has a great restaurant culture — Middle Eastern, Cuban, Cajun, Ethiopian, Thai, Indian, Italian — most within walking or short driving distance of the campus. When planning your visit, browse our full list of Hartford restaurants and make reservations at any of these comfortable Hartford hotels.
Local Restaurants
Hartford Tourism Information
On-Campus Lodging
The Smith House23 Vernon StreetHartfordRoom reservations are managed by the Trinity College Calendar and Special Events Office and may be made via email@example.com
(Please note: The Smith House closes for the summer break and re-opens in early September.)
Hilton Hotel315 Trumbull Street, Hartford860-728-5151
Residence Inn Hartford942 Main Street, Hartford860-524-5550
Holiday Inn Express185 Brainard Rd, Hartford860-525-1000
Hartford Marriott Downtown200 Columbus Blvd860-249-8000
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Holiday Inn Hartford Downtown Area 100 East River Drive, East Hartford1-888-530-9703
The Comfort Inn and Suites333 Roberts Street, East Hartford860-289-4950
The Mansion Inn139 Hartford Road, Manchester860-646-0453
The Farmington Inn827 Farmington Avenue, Farmington860-677-2821
The West Hartford Inn900 Farmington Avenue, West Hartford860-236-3221
Marriott HotelI-84, Exit 3715 Farm Springs RoadFarmington, CT 06032860-678-1000
Avon Old Farms Hotel279 Avon Mountain RoadAvon, CT 06001860-677-1651
Hilton Garden Inn85 Glastonbury Blvd, Glastonbury860-659-1025
Sheraton Four Points Inn Meriden275 Research Parkway, Meriden203-238-2380
Hampton Inn20 Waterchase Drive, Rocky Hill860-563-7877
Chester Bulkley House184 Main Street, Wethersfield860-563-4236
Silas W. Robbins House185 Broad Street, Wethersfield860-571-8733
The Connecticut River Valley Inn2195 Main Street, Glastonbury860-633-7374
Best Western New England Inn & Suites2253 Berlin Turnpike, Berlin860-828-3000 x6305
Hartford/Windsor Marriott Airport28 Day Hill Road, Windsor860-688-7500 or 888-236-2427
Hilton Garden Inn Hartford North/Bradley International Airport555 Corporate Drive Windsor, CT 06095(860) 688-6400
DoubleTree Hotel16 Ella Grasso Tpke, Windsor860-627-5171


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Select () or exclude () categories to narrow your recipe search.
As you select categories, the number of matching recipes will update.
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1/6 Photos of Croatian Leek Stew ( Poriluk Cuspajz")
Prep Time:
Cook Time:
15 mins
20 mins
This recipe is at least 200 years old. My grand-grandmother was preparing leek that way, my, grandmother was preparing that way, my mother was preparing that way, so I am preparing it that way. This is very healthy meal, although it is prepared on pork fat.
Serves: 4
Units: US | Metric
Serving Size: 1 (268 g)
Servings Per Recipe: 4
Every recipe, menu, tip and how-to is right here, at your service.


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Sweet 'n' Salty Party Mix Recipe
These crunchy munchies are sure to rank high with your family and friends. The combination of sweet and salty flavors is just right. —Candice Lumley, Charles City, Iowa
- 1 package (12 ounces) Corn Chex
- 1 package (10 ounces) Cheerios
- 1 package (10 ounces) Honeycomb cereal
- 1 package (10 ounces) pretzel sticks
- 1-3/4 cups sugar
- 1-1/2 cups canola oil
- 1-1/4 cups butter, melted
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons garlic salt
- Preheat oven to 275°. In a very large bowl, combine cereals and pretzels. In another bowl, mix the remaining ingredients until sugar is dissolved. Pour over cereal mixture; toss to coat.
- Transfer to a large roasting pan. Bake, uncovered, 1-1/4 hours or until cereal is crisp, stirring every 15 minutes. Cool completely. Store in an airtight container. Yield: about 10 quarts.
Originally published as Sweet 'N' Salty Party Mix in Country Woman January/February 2003, p40
Reviews for Sweet 'n' Salty Party Mix
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Reviewed Dec. 18, 2013
"Tastes great and yes it is addicting!"
Reviewed Dec. 17, 2012
"I just didn't care for this. Too sweet I think for me. I took it on a summer vacation hoping everyone would love it, but I ended up being stuck with most of it when I got home."
Reviewed Oct. 3, 2012
"Absolutely addicting!! One of our all-time favorites!!!"
Reviewed Nov. 4, 2010
"I made this, we loved it, would like to find this copy of country woman"
Reviewed Jan. 17, 2010
"This is such a beautiful treat for a party, it gets made often in our house. We tend to triple the recipe, as it has a habit of vanishing way too fast. It's a keeper, for sure."


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Holiday De Lites
Due to economic challenges and city funding cuts, the Arts &
Cultural Foundation of Antioch does not have the resources to support the
Holiday De Lites Street and Lighted Boat Parade.
2008 Photos by Bob Driskell Album III
2007 Photos - Photographer Vickie
2007 Photos - Photographer Diane
2007 Photos -
Photographer Jack Monroe
Photo Album - Photographer Diane Gibson-Gray
Click here to see other community photo albums
Holiday De Lites
Due to economic challenges, there will not be a street
parade for 2010.
Boat parade will be at 6:00 PM.
Bridge Marina
Lighted Boat Parade, sponsored by three local yacht clubs,
Bridge Marina, Driftwood and Sportsman. The parade begins at
5:30 PM and the best locations to view are the Antioch
Municipal Pier and all along 2nd Street in
downtown Antioch. The boat parade is free and will have
approximately 20 entries. The event is also an opportunity
to collect toys for the Grannies Anonymous annual toy
giveaway. Drop off new toys at the Lynn House Gallery, 809
West First Street before, during or after the parade. For
more information, visit
or call Diane Gibson-Gray at (925) 325-9897.


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1/1 Photo of Apple Pie Latte
Prep Time:
Cook Time:
5 mins
0 mins
A latte that tastes like apple pie. From Cappuccino Espresso the Book of Beverages by Christie and Thomas Katona.
Units: US | Metric
Serving Size: 1 (30 g)
Servings Per Recipe: 1
The following items or measurements are not included:
apple syrup
cinnamon syrup
Make this season merry, bright and manageable with our easy ideas.


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Vivid Studio Salon
Organic color system100% certified organic ingredients * no ammonia, resorcinol, or parabens
- Categories: hair care
- Address: 7335 West Sand Lake Rd, Ste 120 Studio 22 Map
- City, State: Orlando, Florida Country: United States Postal Code: 32819
- Phone: 321-662-9313 Fax: Not Available
- WebSite: http://www.vagaro.com/vividstudiosalon
- Email: Vivid Studio Salon Contact: Felisa T Guadalupe
- Description:
A fresh, healthy & relaxing environment for your iStudio Salon experience. Utilizing the latest organic methods. I also make sure that each and every client looks their best and feels great when leaving my studio. At Vivid Studio Salon, you can rest assured that your health and well-being are my absolute top priority. We'll work together to achieve a workable, wearable hairstyle that is right for your lifestyle. Certified Organic Haircolorist (COH) at VIVID STUDIO SALON use's "Organic Color, Curl, Care and Control, Moroccan Organics, KeraGreen Keratin Protein Systems & O'right Eco Hair.
Organic Color Systems is certified Vegan & Cruelty Free by PETA. Organic Color System ammonia-free, professional-only, permanent, salon exclusive hair color with 100% certified organic ingredients, natural plant extracts, amino acids, natural anti-oxidants and nutrients that produce the healthiest, richest, colors imaginable. No Ammonia, or Ammonia Derivatives, No Formaldehyde or Formaldehyde Derivatives, No Diamine Toluenes or any other PTD's,No Plastics(Plastics Free Styling), No Sodium Laurel Sulphates(SLS), No Thioglycolates or Parabens, Full spectrum of bio-balanced vitamins & plant extracts, Rich in anti-oxidants,and nutrients.
You are much more eager to visit Vivid Studio Salon because scalp irritation, toxic fumes, and other un-pleasantries are avoided. Call or Make Appointment Online at the 24/7 Booking website for a free consultation.
- Online Ordering: No
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