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Posts Tagged 'recommendations'
Staff Picks: Franzen's Pot Stash, Fire Season
April 22, 2011 | by The Paris Review
Elif Batuman describes life after writing a best-selling book and tells how she asked Jonathan Frazen if he had any weed. "There's some in my freezer," Franzen replies. "But it's all the way uptown." —Thessaly La Force
Having stretched Philip Connors's Fire Season out over two weeks of late nights, for the pleasure of coming home to it, I tore through Samuel R. Delany's The Motion of Light in Water in a day. I can't stop talking about it, because I can't stop thinking about it. It evokes bohemian New York in the fifties and sixties—gay, straight, and other—more vividly than anything I've read. —Lorin Stein
When I saw that Maurice Manning was a finalist for a Pulitzer this year, I went and reread much of his poetry—psalms and pastorals, a philosophical ode to Daniel Boone. If you don't know his work, you now have no excuse. —Nicole Rudick
What got me about Martin Amis's The Information were the quick, declarative sentences that suddenly appear in otherwise bleak and descriptive paragraphs. At the start of the novel, Amis skirts around our main character until tying everything together with "He was forty tomorrow, and reviewed books." The economy of language here is divine. —Rosalind Parry
Jennifer Egan, who was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for fiction this week, discusses her early hopes of becoming a doctor, life as a struggling writer in New York, and the importance of self-criticism and perseverance in a candid interview with The Days of Yore. —Elianna Kan
This letter from Sebastian Junger to Tim Hetherington, the photographer who was killed in Libya this week, is heartbreaking. —T. L.
Staff Picks: Cycling, Skiing, and an Island of Solitude
April 15, 2011 | by The Paris Review
Jeanne Mackenzie's anthology Cycling is a collection of lighthearted, cycle-related selections from various literary figures, including James Boswell, Mark Twain, H. G. Wells, and P. G. Wodehouse, to name but a few. The book is beautifully printed—who could resist its cover?—and the selections delightful, and it's endearing to see so many writers brought to rapture by so similar and elegant a sensation. As George Bernard Shaw fittingly concludes: "Yes, bicycling's a capital thing for a literary man." —Stephen Andrew Hiltner
John Swansburg, this week's culture diarist, pointed me in the direction of an interview that Slate's Michael Agger conducted with James Salter last year about Solo Faces and Downhill Racer. —Thessaly La Force
Ted Hughes's translation of Jean Racine's Phèdre absolutely crackles. It's a poem about envious royals and epic feuds, but to me it was at its best when Hughes captured the private dilemmas of these very public figures. When Phèdre denies her throne, insisting that she cannot rule a country if she cannot rule herself, it is an incredible moment that pits person against state and soul against country: "Me? Rule? Me take control/Of a state flying to pieces/When I cannot control myself?"—Rosalind Parry
I've been reading Adina Hoffman and Peter Cole's Sacred Trash, a book about the Cairo geniza—that small storehouse where, for centuries, local Jews deposited their shopping lists, letters, wills, and personal libraries. Cole and Hoffman's book tells the story of how the geniza was "discovered" by European scholars, transplanted to Cambridge, England (also St. Petersburg, New York City, and Budapest), and eventually changed the way we think about Jewish history. I can't think of another work that succeeds so well in making archival research into gripping adventure. —Robyn Creswell
Jonathan Franzen on David Foster Wallace in this week's New Yorker is an item you simply cannot ignore. Oh, and did you see his vacation pics? —T. L.
Staff Picks: Terry Castle, Jane Smiley, Ramona Ausubel
April 1, 2011 | by The Paris Review
Do not take Terry Castle to bed if you plan on getting any sleep. I keep trying to savor The Professor, her memoirs of love and friendship in the academy. It's like trying to savor cocaine. The title essay, about a formative affair Castle had as an undergraduate, is now up there on a short shelf in my mind alongside Adolphe and First Love. —Lorin Stein
In the Morgan Library's exhibition "The Diary: Three Centuries of Private Lives," Bob Dylan sketches a hotel-room table and then uses it to ink out a poem; JP Morgan has a first-rate time with the girls at dancing school; Charlotte Bronte struggles to write in between her studies; John Ruskin graphs out "pretty" chess moves; and Albert Einstein thinks "about the gravitation-electricity problem again" even though he knows he should be doing other things. The show comes complete with a brochure of carefully typed out diary entries, but I found it much more rewarding to squint my way through the diaries, wondering at the tiny scribbles and neat printings, and feeling just a bit closer to these beloved authors and figures. —Rosalind Parry
I have a girl crush on Ramona Ausubel, whose short story "Atria" was published in The New Yorker this week. I can't wait to read her forthcoming novel, No One Is Here Except All of Us. Of it, Ausubel admits, "I have been trying not to think too hard about what it will be like to release this story to the great big world." (P. S. Don't miss her story in The Daily last week.) —Thessaly La Force
Staff Picks: The Wrong Place, Modernist Cuisine
March 25, 2011 | by The Paris Review
Belgian artist Brecht Evens's The Wrong Place, a graphic novel done in watercolor, is a jewel box. The formal chaos of social interaction—at a dinner party and in a crowded Moroccan-themed night club—comes alive in the book's riotous melding of clothing and decor patterns and luminous, vivid color. I read it straight through; its gorgeous pages are burned into my brain. —Nicole Rudick
This Wednesday, I attended a demonstration for the Modernist Cuisine, which could have only been written by a crazy person. Or, in this case, several crazy people. Nathan Myhrvold, Chris Young, and Maxime Bilet have written five volumes covering everything from sous vide to shit. As The New Yorker's John Lancaster puts it: "In its packed state, it weighs forty-six pounds. The scale and ambition of the project—and maybe at least one of the egos behind it—are Pharaonic." At the demonstration, I was served a striped omelette, and like Amanda Hesser, I wish that I had booked it to Myhrvold's headquarters in Bellevue, Washington, five years ago and joined the effort. —Thessaly La Force
Earlier this year, Edmund White introduced British readers to his top ten books about New York. I enjoyed the list very much—it featured the expected classics alongside neglected curiosities—but couldn't help feeling that he'd missed a trick by omitting the complete writings of Whitney Balliett, who was the jazz critic at The New Yorker for fifty years. Balliett's tastes lean a little too much toward the conservative—goodness knows what he'd make of my predilection for this kind of nonsense—but the perfectly weighted cadences of his prose are as tight and agile as the rhythm section of the slickest combo around. Check out his profiles of Big Sid Catlett, Ben Webster, and Ornette Coleman in particular. This, for me, is the sound of New York. —Jonathan Gharraie
Staff Picks: Ibrahim Aslan, Tina Fey
February 11, 2011 | by The Paris Review
When I'm able to tear my eyes away from al-Jazeera, which isn't often, I've been reading Ibrahim Aslan's classic The Heron. Set on the eve of the 1977 bread riots, in a working class Cairene neighborhood, it's essential reading for anyone who's been riveted—as who has not?—by the uprising in Egypt. It's also a great read, expertly translated by Elliott Colla. And if you can get your hands on the film adaptation, al-Kitkat, you're in for a treat. —Robyn Creswell
I read every word of Tina Fey's essay in The New Yorker this week. "I know older men in comedy who can barely feed and clean themselves, and they still work. The women, though, they're all 'crazy.' I have a suspicion—and hear me out, because this is a rough one—that the definition of 'crazy' in show business is a woman who keeps talking even after no one wants to fuck her anymore." —Thessaly La Force
In preparation for our forthcoming Ann Beattie interview, I decided to check out her collection What Was Mine. Beattie is a master of the short story. I could imagine her as being much like a character in her story "Windy Day at the Reservoir," writing characters and stories that "declare their necessity, so she would not feel she was just some zookeeper, capturing them." —Janet Thielke
Anne Enright's graceful reminiscence of her former tutor, Angela Carter, isn't just a fitting tribute to the woman Salman Rushdie once described as "the benevolent witch-queen" of English letters. It's a vicarious travelogue, a wry investigation into the significance of mirrors and a tartly candid disquisition on the firm difference between wanting to write and needing to write. Clearly somebody was paying attention in class! —Jonathan Gharraie
Poetry editor Robyn Creswell's essay for The New York Times Book Review on the writer in Egyptian society. —Lorin Stein
I like to imagine I'm an ambitious reader, but for the true book nerd, try keeping up with the National Book Critics Circle's "31 Books in 31 Days." If anything, it makes one appreciate how good criticism can be an excellent excuse not to read the book! —T. L.
Staff Picks: R. F. Langley, Divorce, and Rereading
January 28, 2011 | by The Paris Review
This morning I've been reading our poetry editor, Robyn Creswell, on the protests in Egypt. —Lorin Stein
I've just learned that the poet R. F. Langley—like me, a Staffordshire lad—has just died. It's well worth reading Jeremy Harding's tribute to Langley's "fiber-optic attention" over at the LRB blog, and it's only a short trip from there to the faintly surreal pastoral world evoked by Langley's verse and journals. His playful approach to poetic form and intimate but elliptical voice tilt the reader's perspective ever so slightly askew. This isn't nature as seen beneath the microscope, but glimpsed through the looking glass. —Jonathan Gharraie
Earlier this week, I stumbled on Charles Baxter's short story "Poor Devil". Baxter documents a divorced couple's last moments and memories together as they clean the "house where [they] tried to stage [their] marriage," ending in the couple—eyes closed and arms out—intimately stumbling through the dark together to look for the ex-wife's purse, "divorced, but ... still married." Oof. —Sam Dolph
I used to hate it when grown-ups sang the praises of rereading. Then I got old. This week it's The Counterlife and No. 44, the Mysterious Stranger. I remember there was a waiting list at our school library when this restored edition of Mark Twain's fantasy novel came out, and that it blew my fourth-grade mind. No wonder. Telepathy, time travel, a clandestine printing press in a dilapidated castle—inhabited by a boy narrator who happens to sound like Mark Twain? I must have thought I'd found the Perfect Book. —L. S.


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Ugh......now I'm not sure if I want Nami still or keep my IP for Vi
There's now a sale on my server, half price off on Miss Fortune, Kennen and Shyvana and one of their skins.
Any recommendations if I should get one of them?~
p.s. I just tried PvP as Riven... and I'm hopeless at it. I'd rather stick to ranged characters... so I doubt I will get Shyvana.
i'm sad, diana's q got nerfed. again. ;___;
Plus, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpx2zlMLmgs
Thank me later.
Currently Playing: Dawngate, LoL, FFXIV, Random Steam Games
What the hell is a Pwarp?
diana, tf, katarina and orianna are just the fotm op-as-balls heroes that everyone plays/bans every game. any ap works if you're good enough, which is all that matters. so play what you enjoy~
Same here.. she is so awesome reminds me of when i first played Jayce. I really really really hope they dont mess with her abilites. They can nerf damage ratios and stuff that i dont care about but pleaaaaae dont touch her Q range and slow and ult this is what makes her awesome.
I think all they may end up doing is reducing flat but increasing ratios, if they do anything. Course it'll be awhile til people find the optimal abuse route with her and know how to play against her enough to say yay or nay on her strength and capabilities.
Granted either way I'm sure there will be plenty of "riot plz" posts anyways haha.

subset: commoncrawl


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The Milk Processor Education Program (MilkPEP), Washington, D.C., is funded by the nation's milk processors, who are committed to increasing fluid milk consumption. The MilkPEP Board runs the national Milk Mustache "got milk?" Campaign, a multi-faceted campaign designed to educate consumers about the health benefits of milk. For more information, go to http://www.whymilk.com. The tagline "got milk?"(R) was created for the California Milk Processor Board by Goodby Silverstein & Partners and is licensed by the national milk processor and dairy producer groups.
|SOURCE Milk Processor Education Program
Copyright©2008 PR Newswire.
All rights reserved


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The Old Holland New Masters Introductory Set is a beautiful gift for any serious painter. It contains six 60ml tubes, which is their standard size tube, which tends to be a lot more useful than a set comprising of a number of very small size tubes as they will not run out after just a single painting session. The palette in the set comprises of a yellow, two reds and a blue, as well as white and black. The particular yellow reds and blue have been selected for their colour mixing ability - with this palette one can easily achieve harmonious colour mixes, without muddiness. Here is a brief guide to the colours in the set:
Titanium White - Titanium White is the most popular white in acrylic and oil painting because it is neither overtly warm or cool, and is opaque, and therefore ideal for highlights and making strong, light colours when mixing with other pigments.
Azo Yellow Light - A bright, primary yellow, similar in appearance when squeezed out of the tube to Cadmium Yellow. The difference between the two yellows is that Azo Yellow Light is semi-transparent, so maintains colour strength without overpowering other pigments when colour mixing.
Napthol Vermilion - A synthetic Vermilion which is extremely lightfast unlike some other natural pigmented vermilions. Vermilion is a orange-bright red and is semi-transparent.
Quincridone Fuschia - Quinacridone Fuschia is a pinky-red, and is semi-opaque, which means it has a little more influence over other colours when mixing that then Napthol Vermilion.
Phthalo Blue - Phthalo Blue is a green shae blue, making it quite cool and primary. It is semi transparent.
Ivory Black Lake - Ivory Black Lake is an opaque black, but it is less black than carbon black. It has a slightly brown tinge to it then it is thinned out.
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CONDOLENCES (GuestBook)
11/07/2007 Wendy & George Troupe firstname.lastname@example.com
Newburyport, MA, USA
Dear Annie, Peter & Moore family, We are devastated to hear of the loss your father, husband and patriarch. We have only the fondest memories of his humor, warmth and wisdom. We have the upmost respect for the life he lived and genuine care he gave to everyone in his life. I can't imagine how difficult this time must be for you. Please let us know if there is anything we can do to help you through this difficult time. Best, George & Wendy
11/07/2007 Marilyn Mann firstname.lastname@example.com
Ewing, New Jersey, USA
my condolences goes out to the family of Mr. Moore. Death is difficult to endure, especially when its the death of a loved one. We all look forward to the time when death and sickness will be no more. Until then, may the God of all comfort bring a measure of comfort to the family. (2 Corinthians 1:3,4)
11/07/2007 Dot Herson firstname.lastname@example.com
Williamsburg, VA, USA
Fran and family, We've lost a wonderful and dear friend. We are praying for you for this terrible loss.
11/06/2007 Judy Herson-Hord email@example.com
Oregon City, Oregon, USA
Dearest Fran, family and friends, My heart and prayers go out to you during this tragic time. I hope your faith and memories lend you comfort. Bob Moore was one of the kindest men I have ever met. He was a good friend to my dad growing up in Ithaca in the parochial schools. They played basketball and were altar boys together. I loved hearing all of their stories. Bob shared great stories and wisdom at my parent's 50th anniversary. He was one of the last calls my dad took before he himself died. I will always remember Bob telling my dad to "keep the faith" and to look forward to seeing old friends who were waiting for him and that they would meet up again in heaven. Bob gave the eulogy at my dad's funeral. Bob continued to stay in our lives in the years that followed and walked my sister down the aisle in her wedding. The news of his untimely death will leave a great hole in our lives. I hope the many stories you hear from those who knew and loved him bring you some comfort. With a heavy heart, Judy
11/06/2007 Patti Herson & Chris Shelby firstname.lastname@example.com
Sandia Park , NM, USA
Fran and the entire Moore Family, Chris and my heart are broken. I asked your husband/ Dad to walk me down the isle at our wedding, in lieu of my father who had passed away. I remember telling him he was 'the closest I could come to my father.' Despite barely knowing me, he eloquently agreed. For years, I'd heard what an incredible man Bob was. He was my father's closest, dearest friend. I learned it myself at our wedding. Minutes before walking me down the isle, he pulled me aside and told me a totally bizarre story about nothing to do with anything! He later told me I was looking like a deer caught in the headlights and he was just trying to distract me! Every year on our anniversary, Bob has sent us the most wonderful email letters telling us to enjoy each other--with stories about him chasing around (current and past tense)his love, Fran. We look forward to them every year and enjoy reminiscing what a great addition he has been to the family! I can tell you, everyone in the Herson-Shelby Clan are heart-broken and our thoughts are deeply with you.
11/06/2007 Kate Helfrich-Clyons firstname.lastname@example.com
Trumbull, CT, USA
Dear Eileen and family, My prayers and the prayers of all of the Helfrich family are with you today. We remember your dad as a loving and gentle father who raised a beautiful family. Please know that our thoughts are with you at this very difficult time. God bless!
11/06/2007 Cara Robinson email@example.com
Newton, MA, USA
To the Moore Family, I am so sorry to hear what happened. Sincerely Cara Robinson (I work with Kathy)
11/06/2007 Dan Brennan firstname.lastname@example.com
Needham, MA,
Dear Fran & family: God reserves a special place for those who have loved as much as your Bob. Prayers for all of your extended family. Dan Brennan Needham Community Council
11/06/2007 Maggie Dalton Mallory email@example.com
Newton Highlands, Ma.,
Dear Mrs. Moore, Beth, and all of your family, I am so sorry for your painful loss. My thoughts and prayers are with you. I will always remember the warm welcome and kindness Mr.Moore extended to me when Beth brought me home to meet her family. With his big smile he said, always room for one more "moore". He will be missed. God bless you. Sincerely, Maggie Dalton Mallory
11/06/2007 Maureen Lupien firstname.lastname@example.com
Newton, MA, USA
Dear Fran and Family, What can I say. Bob was a wonderful man, I feel hornered to have known him.I am so lost for words, Fran I love you and you are a wonderful friend to me and I so enjoy seeing you and talking about your wonderful family. If there is anything I can do please let me know.
11/06/2007 Tracey (Donnelly) Geden email@example.com
Holliston, MA, USA
To Chris and the entire Moore Family, Our deepest condolences during this difficult time. All of your friends are praying for you. With Sumpathy, Tracey (Donnelly) Geden (Saint Joseph's 1984 and NHS 1988) and Family Linda (Halfrey) Corcoran (NHS 1988)and Family Nicole (Dawber) Maccini (NHS 1988) and Family
11/06/2007 Pam Makudera email@example.com
Whitinsville, MA, USA
Dear Fran and Family, There are no words to express my sorrow for you and yours.. my prayers and heartfelt sympathy are with you! Wishing you Peace .. Remember his light and warmth will always shine through all of you! Pam (BIDH-Needham)
11/06/2007 Laura Bartholomew Guzzi email@example.com
Westwwod, MA, USA
Our prayers are with the family during this very difficult time. It looks like Mr. Moore was a very special man! May your happy memories sustain you all. Laura Guzzi, Xaverian
11/06/2007 Jane East firstname.lastname@example.com
Mansfield - Needham, MA,
Dear Fran and Family: Words can't express how deeply saddened I am over the loss of your husband, dad and grandfather. Bob was a lovely gentleman who I was privelged to meet and see each Tuesday morning as he visited the Glover Cafe to have breakfast with his wife, Fran. May you find comfort in your many wonderful memories.
11/06/2007 Richard Sheffield
Ithaca, New York, USA
My codolence to family. I played baseball with Bob back in Ithaca, NY. He and I were classmates at Ithaca High School. I have a cousin in Needham who told me she resided about two blocks from you.
11/06/2007 Thomas Belluccio firstname.lastname@example.com
, ,
My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family
11/06/2007 Itzhak Pearl email@example.com
Closter, NJ, USA
Dear Eileen & the Moore Family, Our prayer and thoughts are with you hoping that it will help to ease your pains while your are trying to deals with your tragic lost. Sara & Itzik Pearl.
11/05/2007 Sage Brennan email@example.com
Shanghai, Shanghai, China
To all of Uncle Bob's loving family and dear friends, we offer heartfelt condolences and best wishes during this time of tragic loss. Peace. Sage and Renee
11/05/2007 Anne and John McCann firstname.lastname@example.com
Merrimack, NH, Hillsborough
Dear Fran and Tim - even though we've been out of Needham for almost 28 years we still remember Bob and your family with fondness and a lot of memories. It was always a joy to visit with you and have Tim visit with us whenever he could. Even though the miles separate us the memories do not. Our hugs and prayers to your whole family. Anne
11/05/2007 Mary Lynn & Cheryle Rattey, and Tammy & Kase firstname.lastname@example.com
Albuquerque (formerly of Needham, MA), New Mexico,
Dear Fran & Kathy: There are simply no words to convey our feelings. You and your entire family are in our thoughts and prayers. We are honored to have met and known Bob these past six years, and are deeply saddened by your tremendous loss. May God bless you and keep you cupped in the palms of His hands. Mary & Cheryle, Tammy & Kase
11/05/2007 John Grugan email@example.com
Needham, Ma, USA
Our deepest condolences to Fran, Kathy and all the members of Bob's family. We at Charles River Arc are saddened by your loss. We have been blesed by Bob's committment and support for our organization and admired his devotion to Kathy. We will miss him dearly. We will remember him in our prayers and thoughts. sincerely John Grugan President Charles River Arc
11/05/2007 Dan & Kathy Wendland firstname.lastname@example.com
Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
We are there with you in thought and spirit and are wishing we could put our arms around you. Our hearts go out to the whole beloved, extended Moore family.
11/05/2007 Joanne Waide firstname.lastname@example.com
Rochester, NY, USA
Eileen......I am very, very sorry to hear about your dad. Please know that everyone in Rochester is praying for you and your family during this terrible time. Stay strong and lean on your faith to see you through. Love, Joanne
11/05/2007 Boder Family firstname.lastname@example.com
Needham, Ma, USA
To the Moore family, Mr. Moore was a favorite of Robby's. He will be fondly remembered. You are all in our thoughts. There are no words to express what we feel. We hope Nancy will be able to recover fully and good memories take over. If there is anything we can do, please let us know. The Boders
11/05/2007 Mary Jo Halloran email@example.com
Gold River, CA ,
Dear Beba, I am so sorry to hear about your father in-law. My deepest sympathy to you and your family. -Mo(McDonald) Your Newton Corner roommate
11/05/2007 Mary Lou Roadman Hughes firstname.lastname@example.com
Needham, MA, USA
Dear Fran, Nancy and Family, I am so sorry for your loss. You are in my special thoughts and prayers at this very sad time. Your faith in God will help you through this, and I am here for you also. God Bless and keep you all. With sympathy and friendship, Mary Lou Roadman Hughes
11/05/2007 Mel Colman email@example.com
Parrish, FL, USA
Fran, Helen and I were shocked to hear of Bob's untimely passing. He was a true gentleman and will be missed by all that have come into contact with him. Our sympathy to you and your family, may you treasure the many happy memories he left behind. Mel Colman
11/05/2007 Kitty Friel firstname.lastname@example.com
Medfield-Needham, MA,
Fran: You have been a constant in my life here at the hospital for the past 9 years. Everyday I see you I am greeted by you smile and a "good morning Kitty". My heartfelt sympathies on the loss of your husband. My prayes are with you and your family. Kitty Friel
11/05/2007 Lisa (Keefe) Tremblay email@example.com
Portsmouth, RI,
Dear Bobby & Beb, My thoughts & prayers are with both your families. Love Always, Lisa-
11/04/2007 Kristy Milham firstname.lastname@example.com
Mechanicville, New York, USA
May you feel God's presence surround you during this difficult time, and may His strength bring you peace and fill you with faith. Annie, how sad I am for your loss. Know that you and your family are in our prayers. God Bless you and be with you always. Love Your Sister In Christ, Kristy Milham


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Ask Ananda's Experts
Questions and Answers About Meditation, Yoga, the Spiritual Life, and More
Family and Astrological Considerations About a Marriage Partner
I am looking forward to get married. I have a guy in my life who I believe can be a good life partner for me. However, there are many constraints that are stopping me to go ahead with the proposal. My family is completly against the guy due to following reasons: a) They find the guy clever enough. b) My parents believe a lot in astrology. And all astrologers predictions are going totally against the match. I am not able to decide and feel what is right for me. Should I go with astrological predictions?
Dear Prerna,
I believe that in all inharmonius situations one should wait, give the situation lots of time. Continue in the relationship but wait on marriage until you are sure within yourself. This is your life, and you need to feel that whatever you do, you calmly know deep within yourself you are going in the right direction.
In a book that we publish, Spiritual Relationships, the author Paramhansa Yogananda said that marriages should have a strong basis in spirituality. If the relationship is based on physical attraction alone, eventually this will change and may not be enough of a reason to continue. People should have a relationship that is based on truth, on friendship of the highest kind, and on mutal understanding.
You can purchase this book through our community in India (anandaindia.org/publications). This book will give you an understanding of what marriages should be. Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4
Marriage is a vast subject and should be taken very seriously as it is a life-time committment, or should be. Give it time.
Blessing to you, Seva
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text: You might expect to have to go downtown to find attorneys with the experience and expertise we have at Brown & Sterling; but with current technology, downtown's not a necessity—no need for high-rise offices, large libraries and expensive parking. We offer top notch legal services, within minutes of your home. Small time? Absolutely not. We regularly represent clients against Washington's largest law firms. We just prefer to work in a small town setting.


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text: As a non-profit orchestra, the BSO depends greatly on the generosity of individuals like you to help us continue to fill Brevard County with beautiful music. Producing quality, professional concerts are very costly. The tickets proceeds only cover approximately one-fourth of the orchestra's expenses. Thanks to the financial commitment of hundreds of BSO supporters we are able to provide you with six exciting subscription performances as well as many others each season.


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Operating systems is not the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about Google, yet the company is unveiling two of them on the same day. It just launched Android 2.3 Gingerbread, along with the new Nexus S, an evolutionary update with a refreshed interface and several new features, and later today, it is expected to debut Chrome OS, its web-based operating system for netbooks.
"Android's vision of openness has spurred the development of more than 100 different Android devices. Today, more than 200,000 Android devices are activated daily worldwide," Andy Rubin, Google's VP of Engineering, said.
"Today, we're pleased to introduce the latest version of the Android platform, Gingerbread, and unveil the next Android device from the Nexus line of mobile products—Nexus S," he announced.
If you're an Android users, there's no reason to celebrate yet. The first device to officially run the latest Android 2.3 Gingerbread is the newly launched Nexus S and even that isn't hitting stores until December 16.
Everyone else will have to wait longer and it's unlikely that any existing device will be update before the end of the year. In fact, the ones that should be most excited about the release are developers which can leverage the new Gingerbread SDK/NDK and start building apps for the upcoming upgrade.
Still, when Gingerbread will be available on devices, it will come with a new user interface, of course, on the devices that ship with the vanilla UI, a new virtual keyboard, better word selection and copy/paste and other new features. You can read more about what to expect from Gingerbread here.
There's plenty to like about Gingerbread, but there's no real standout feature. Of course, that's part of the plan, Google has been slowing down the pace of development for Android to provide a stable platform for manufacturers.


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Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Yeshiva University, Bronx, NY, USA
Columbia University/New York State, Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA
BACKGROUND: More than a decade may pass between the onset of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms and initiation of treatment. One explanation may be health care professionals' limited awareness of OCD symptom presentations. We assessed mental health care providers' ability to identify taboo thoughts as manifestations of OCD.
METHODS: A random sample of 2,550 American Psychological Association members were asked to give diagnostic impressions based on 1 of 5 OCD vignettes: 4 about taboo thoughts and 1 about contamination obsessions.
RESULTS: Three-hundred sixty (14.1%) providers completed the survey. The overall misidentification rate across all vignettes was 38.9%. Rates of incorrect (non-OCD) responses were significantly higher for the taboo thoughts vignettes (obsessions about homosexuality, 77.0%; sexual obsessions about children, 42.9%; aggressive obsessions, 31.5%; and religious obsessions, 28.8%) vs the contamination obsessions vignette (15.8%).
CONCLUSIONS: Mental health professionals commonly misidentify OCD symptom presentations, particularly sexual obsessions, highlighting a need for education and training.
KEYWORDS: obsessive-compulsive disorder, misidentification, taboo thoughts, symptom presentation
The delay between the onset of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms and the inception of treatment typically is ≥10 years.1-3 This gap is of significant concern because OCD can be a debilitating condition; for example, the World Health Organization reported that OCD is the 11th leading cause of nonfatal burden in the world.4 Because highly effective, empirically based treatments exist,5 decreasing the time from onset of symptoms to treatment engagement may reduce the symptom severity, distress, and impairment associated with OCD.
One explanation for the delay between OCD symptom onset and treatment may be health care professionals' lack of awareness regarding the broad range of OCD symptoms, which may result in misdiagnosis or nondiagnosis of OCD. As many as 26% of individuals who meet OCD criteria are initially not correctly identified as having OCD, with the most common impressions being generalized anxiety disorder, depression, family problems, and personality disorder.2 Misdiagnosis of OCD can result in improper treatment, higher treatment-related costs, and poorer outcomes, including clinical worsening and treatment dropout.2,6,7
OCD is a heterogeneous disorder with varying symptom presentations both across and within individuals over time.8 Besides hoarding (now a distinct disorder in the DSM-59), factor analytic studies have reported the following major OCD symptom dimensions: symmetry/ordering, doubt/checking, contamination/cleaning, and taboo thoughts.10,11 Because no study to date has assessed mental health professionals' knowledge of OCD symptom presentations, the impact of the heterogeneity of OCD symptomatology on misdiagnosis is not known. We hypothesize that the taboo thoughts dimension of OCD, including intrusive thoughts about harming others, morality, incest, pedophilia, sacrilege, sexuality, and violent images,12 is more likely to be misidentified because of limited awareness of these presentations among clinicians. Taboo thoughts are common, with reported prevalence rates ranging between 14% and 44% among individuals with OCD,13-15 but these obsessions are often overlooked in educational materials for psychiatric clinicians.16-18
We conducted a vignette-based survey study in a random sample of mental health providers who were members of the American Psychological Association (APA). Because the contamination-symptom presentation of OCD is commonly described in educational materials for psychiatric clinicians, we decided to compare participants' ability to correctly identify taboo thoughts vignettes (covering aggressive, religious, and sexual obsessions) vs a contamination vignette. We expected that vignettes about taboo thoughts would be more likely to be misidentified, compared with vignettes about contamination obsessions.
The APA online membership directory (http://memforms.apa.org/apa/cli/mbdirsearch/index.cfm) was used to locate potential participants for this e-mail survey. Fifty APA members were randomly selected from each state and the District of Columbia. When no e-mail address was provided for a selected individual, the next member who provided his/her contact information was selected instead. Results from a power analysis with a medium effect size (f = .25), α = .05, and 80% power supported a sample size of 200. Based on the response rate of a comparable online survey (14.8%), we predicted a response rate of 15%.19 Therefore, our assessment was that e-mailing 2,550 APA members should result in approximately 380 completed surveys, well above the sample size estimated by our power analysis.
Of the 2,550 APA members e-mailed, 360 (14.1%) completed the survey (57.5% female; mean age, 51.8 years [SD = 12.6]). Most participants held a degree in clinical psychology, had a PhD, worked in a clinical setting predominantly with adults, and reported cognitive-behavioral therapy as their main theoretical orientation. It should be noted that the participants' training and experience in treating OCD was not assessed. This was done in attempt to keep the participants blind to the study's aim. See FIGURE 1 for response rates by vignette type and TABLE 1 for sample demographics.
Description of total sample
FIGURE 1: Response rates by vignette typea50 US-based APA members per state and the District of Columbia.APA: American Psychological Association.
Five vignettes were created to assess the ability of mental health professionals to accurately identify specific symptom presentations of OCD. A vignette about contamination obsessions was selected as the study control because mental health professionals are more readily exposed to this presentation through educational materials and the media. The 4 experimental vignettes each focused on a common symptom presentation of taboo thoughts OCD: aggressive obsessions, religious obsessions, obsessions about homosexuality, and sexual obsessions about children. To reduce content bias, the demographic information of the patient described remained constant across all 5 vignettes. Furthermore, in accordance with a review article of clinical vignette–based studies that emphasized that "clarity and brevity [of the vignettes] are imperative,"20 the length of this study's vignettes ranged from 4 to 5 sentences (word count range, 64 to 80). According to the Coleman-Liau Index, the vignettes were written at an average grade level of 10.80 (range, 9.80 to 12.10).21 Also, similar to previous vignette-based studies in which the content of the vignettes was validated by specialists in the field,22-24 the content of the 5 vignettes was approved by 5 members of the Center for OCD and Related Disorders at the New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University. The OCD specialists who validated the vignettes consisted of a combination of researchers and clinicians, each of whom had at least 5 years of experience working with OCD. The 5 vignettes appear in FIGURE 2.
FIGURE 2: Study vignettesaaFor participants who work primarily with children/adolescents:1. "Jack" was presented as a "teenaged boy" in each vignette.2. In the vignette on sexual obsessions about children, "uncle" and "nieces and nephews" were changed to "cousin" and "cousins," respectively.
The study was approved by the institutional review board at Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Yeshiva University, and data collection took place from June 2011 through September 2011. The survey was piloted on 10 individuals and the average completion time was 5 minutes, 37 seconds (SD=59.7 seconds).
One of the 5 vignettes was randomly assigned to each participant. To ensure equal distribution of vignettes, 10 of each vignette were assigned per state. Participants were e-mailed a description of the study and a link to the survey site. At least 2 weeks after the first e-mail, a follow-up reminder e-mail was sent. The first page of the survey included consent information; participants who elected not to provide informed consent were not permitted to continue with the survey. Upon completion of the study, participants were invited to enter a raffle drawing for a $100 gift card.
Participants were asked whether they primarily work with children/adolescents or adults. Based on their response, they were presented with a vignette that described "Jack, a teenaged boy" or "Jack, a middle-aged man." After the vignette, participants were asked to give their diagnostic impressions of "Jack" by selecting from a list of 36 psychiatric and nonclinical diagnoses ("Other" was also an option) (FIGURE 3). If participants selected >1 condition, they were asked to rank the order of likelihood for each disorder chosen. Participants were considered to have provided a correct response as long as OCD was selected as one of the possible conditions, regardless of where OCD was listed on their ranking.
FIGURE 3: Survey participants' diagnostic impressions of patient in vignetteaaBased on a list of 36 psychiatric diagnoses and nonclinical symptom presentation and "Other."
SPSS (IBM) and SAS (SAS Institute) statistical software were used for descriptive and logistic regression analyses. All analyses were 2 tailed, and statistical significance was determined by α=.05. Rates of OCD misidentification were examined for each vignette. A Wald chi-square test within the context of a logistic regression analysis was conducted to compare rates of OCD misidentification for each vignette type vs the contamination obsessions vignette (control condition). Frequencies were also calculated for the most prevalent non-OCD response for each vignette.
Point biserial correlations between OCD identification and each demographic variable were examined. To test for collinearity between demographic variables, point biserial correlations were conducted between those demographic variables that had a significant correlation with OCD identification. It was decided a priori that if a pair of demographic variables was correlated at ≥0.6, guidelines for addressing multicollinearity would be followed.25
A multivariate regression was conducted to determine the best predictors of OCD identification among 1) each of the demographic variables significantly correlated with an OCD response, and 2) vignette type.
The response rate did not differ by vignette type (12.9% to 14.9%; Wald χ2 [4]=0.806; P=.938). Across all 5 vignettes, 38.9% of participants provided an incorrect (non-OCD) response. The contamination obsessions vignette resulted in the lowest misidentification rate, with 15.8% of participants providing a non-OCD response. In contrast, the 4 taboo thoughts vignettes were incorrectly identified by 44.7% of mental health professionals (Wald χ2 [1]=17.91; P < .001). APA members who reviewed one of the taboo thoughts vignettes were 99.7% less likely to identify OCD than those who reviewed the contamination obsessions vignette. See TABLE 2 for rates of OCD misidentification for each vignette type and the odds ratio of misidentification for each of the taboo thoughts vignettes vs the contamination obsessions vignette. When comparing specific taboo thoughts vignettes with the contamination vignette, OCD misidentification was significantly higher for both the obsessions about homosexuality and sexual obsessions about children vignettes.
Comparison of rates of incorrect OCD identification between the contamination obsessions vignette and each of the taboo thoughts vignettes (n=360)
The most common clinical impressions assigned to "Jack" by participants who did not select OCD were as follows (listed by vignette type): sexual identity confusion (65%; obsessions about homosexuality), pedophilia (37%; sexual obsessions about children), impulse control disorder (38%; aggressive obsessions), strong religious values (30%; religious obsessions), and specific phobia (63%; contamination obsessions).
Bivariate correlations and chi-square analyses identified the following variables as significantly associated with an OCD response: cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) theoretical orientation (r[348]=.121; P = .024), licensure (r[343]=.129; P=.017), location of practice, ie, urban or suburban vs rural (χ2 [2]=7.531; P=.023), clinical psychology degree (r[342]=.109; P = .044), and mood disorder specialist (r[339]=.112; P=.039). Significant correlations were found between the following demographic variables: licensed and clinical psychology (r[344]=.298; P < .001), licensed and mood disorder specialist (r[341]=.249; P < .001), clinical psychology degree and mood disorder specialist (r[341]=.154; P < .004), clinical psychology degree and CBT orientation (r[344]=.125; P=.020), and licensed and CBT orientation (r[345]=.125; P=.020). Based on these correlations, there was no evidence of significant multicollinearity among the demographic variables.
When the 5 variables correlated with OCD identification were entered in a multivariate logistic regression along with vignette type, only vignette type (Wald χ2 [4]=57.17; P < .001) and CBT orientation (Wald χ2 [1]=3.92; P = .048) remained significant. However, even though CBT-oriented practitioners were significantly more likely to provide an OCD response, their rate of OCD misidentification was still 31.5%.
The significant delay typically seen between onset of OCD symptoms and treatment initiation may be impacted by limited awareness among mental health professionals about the variety of OCD symptom presentations. Our findings provide preliminary evidence to support this argument: the rate of OCD misidentification in this study was surprisingly high for a sample of mental health professionals, with more than one-third failing to identify OCD based on a vignette, consistent with prior research on rates of misdiagnosis (26%) in OCD.2 As a group, the taboo thoughts vignettes were misidentified at a significantly higher rate (44.7%) than the contamination vignette (15.8%). In fact, participants were 99.7% less likely to provide a correct OCD response when randomized to one of the taboo thoughts vignettes compared with the contamination vignette. Vignettes about sexuality were most commonly misidentified, with more than 75% of participants randomized to the obsessions about homosexuality vignette and more than 40% of participants randomized to the obsessions about children vignette providing an incorrect response. Approximately one-third of participants randomized to the aggressive and religious obsessions vignettes provided a non-OCD diagnosis.
Approximately two-thirds of participants who did not provide an OCD response selected sexual identity confusion (based on the obsessions about homosexuality vignette) and specific phobia (based on the contamination obsessions vignette) as the primary diagnosis. More than one-third of participants who gave a non-OCD response reported impulse control disorder (based on the aggressive obsessions vignette), pedophilia (based on the sexual obsessions about children vignette), and strong religious values (based on the religious obsessions vignette) as the primary condition. Our data suggest confusion among providers between the OCD symptom presentations and these commonly endorsed alternative diagnoses, providing areas to target in continuing education and training programs.
Vignette type was by far the strongest predictor of correct OCD identification. The only demographic variable that remained significant in the regression model was whether or not the participant identified CBT as his/her main theoretical orientation. However, even among those with a CBT orientation, one-third misidentified OCD.
Misdiagnosis of OCD may occur for various reasons. Individuals with OCD may be hesitant to reveal certain symptoms to their providers due to the "embarrassing" or "disturbing" content of their obsessions and/or compulsions. However, as found in this study, even with disclosure of one's symptoms, misidentification by mental health professionals is still common. The elevated misidentification rates suggest that lack of awareness regarding the range of OCD symptom presentations, particularly those that center on taboo thoughts, may be key.
A misdiagnosis of OCD may have severe implications. Individuals given an incorrect diagnosis may receive treatment that does not target the actual obsessions and compulsions; this delays symptom reduction, wastes health care resources, and may result in clinical worsening or treatment dropout.2,6,7 For example, individuals who seek treatment for obsessions about homosexuality but are considered to be struggling with sexual identity confusion (which occurred 65% of the time in this study when clinicians were presented with an obsessions about homosexuality vignette) may receive treatment that targets sexual orientation ambivalence instead of exposures that target the obsessive thoughts. Attempting to resolve sexual orientation confusion among individuals with obsessions about homosexuality has been shown to have deleterious effects, whereas exposures have been shown to have beneficial outcomes.26
Furthermore, an incorrect diagnosis may have significant societal consequences for individuals. For example, the most commonly selected diagnosis by professionals who received the sexual obsessions about children vignette was pedophilia (identified as primary diagnosis by 37%). An incorrect "pedophile" label brings on intense adverse societal reactions toward the individual as well as detrimental psychological consequences. Individuals with OCD who have intrusive sexual thoughts about children experience significant distress from the thoughts; to have their worst fears of being a pedophile incorrectly confirmed by a mental health professional may induce greater impairment in functioning and depression. A further complication is that in some states clinicians are mandated to report individuals who they believe may harm an identifiable victim.27 Clinicians who are not aware of intrusive aggressive and sexual thoughts as symptoms of OCD may incorrectly report individuals with these types of obsessions to the authorities.
To increase participation, the study was designed to take place over the Internet and to have an average completion time of approximately 5 minutes. Although all the vignettes were validated as illustrating OCD, having to decide on an individual's condition based on 4 to 5 sentences has significant limitations. We attempted to mitigate the impact of this limitation by allowing participants to select as many conditions as they deemed appropriate and giving credit for OCD identification whether or not it was named as the primary disorder. Another study limitation was that the study only included members of the APA, resulting in an oversampling of clinicians with a PhD or PsyD. Furthermore, the low response rate (14.1%) suggests possible limitations to the representativeness of the findings to the sample population. In addition, the lower than expected response rate may be due to receiving the e-mail solicitation from a graduate student, mental health professionals' busy schedules, and the low financial incentive.
Future studies could assess mental health providers' ability to correctly identify OCD across a broader range of OCD symptom presentations, for example, including vignettes on ordering/arranging, checking, and hoarding, in addition to the vignettes on contamination and taboo thoughts. Furthermore, future research could include non-OCD vignettes to provide a stronger control group. In addition, assessing the ability of primary care physicians (PCPs) to correctly identify common OCD presentations is recommended. Research shows that from 20% to 62% of individuals first present their psychiatric symptoms to PCPs.28,29 A focus group study found the vast majority of patients reported feeling more comfortable speaking with their PCP regarding psychiatric issues as opposed to a mental health professional.30 However, 38% of OCD patients who reported being misdiagnosed were given an incorrect diagnosis by their general practitioner.2 Proper OCD detection at the primary care stage facilitates appropriate mental health referrals.
Intervention studies that focus on increasing awareness of the various OCD symptom presentations may help improve identification of the disorder and reduce health care costs. Targeting graduate and medical school training programs may serve as an appropriate entry point; increasing OCD education among individuals in training may have broad implications for increasing awareness of OCD in clinical practice.
DISCLOSURES: The authors report no financial relationship with any company whose products are mentioned in this article or with manufacturers of competing products.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: This study is supported by National Institute of Mental Health grant K23 MH080221 (Pinto). We would like to thank Gary Winkel, PhD, for his help with the statistical analyses and members of the Center for OCD and Related Disorders at Columbia/New York State Psychiatric Institute for approving the OCD content of the vignettes. We would also like to thank Shafou Chen, MD, PhD, Jerome Wakefield, PhD, DSW, and Sonia Suchday, PhD, for their input and guidance.
CORRESPONDENCE: Kimberly Glazier, MA Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology Yeshiva University 1165 Morris Park Avenue Bronx, NY 10461 USA E-MAIL: email@example.com
Annals of Clinical Psychiatry ©2013 Frontline Medical Communications Inc.
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Signature Acoustics O16 Live
" Signature Acoustics O-16 Live Review : Setting the Stage INDEX (Click to jump directly to sections): Introduction Packaging, Accessories and Comfort Sound Common sound impressions Let's do something about it/Mods Comparisons Value and Conclusion Introduction: ..." --getclikinagas
Signature Acoustics Elements Series C-12
" The C-12s are the first IEM from Indian company, Signature Acoustics. The C-12s use a hand-made wooden housing and a great looking wooden Y-split and slider. At around $60 (AUD) they are a budget IEM which is impressive given their hand-made and all wood design, but the sound is just a little way off from being something to get excited about. Overall, the sound is smooth, laid-back..." --Loquah
Earbud Headphone with Hardcase
Comfortable fitting silicon rubber ear padsPowerful sound for MP3 players1.2m cord


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Library Displays and Bulletin Boards
Brown, Susan. Twenty Rules for Better Book Displays From the NoveList website, great guidelines for setting up book displays.
Displays in the Library The Department of Education of Western Australia assembled a great set of guidelines and ideas for school library displays and includes links to some excellent examples for librarians to emulate.
Awesome Ideas for Library Displays This blog post includes links to resources for display ideas.
Elementary Library Routines Wiki This wiki contains a wealth of information on many aspects of the elementary school library program, including display and bulletin board ideas.
Library Display Ideas This blog entry includes some catchy phrases to use as themes for your displays, as well as ideas for different seasonal or genre displays.
Library Displays Blog Collection of submitted library display ideas.
School Library Display Ideas Another resource from Pinterest! Clever librarians share their display ideas.
Creative Library Displays This blog has some incredibly creative, artistic displays for those librarians who really want to make a big statement.


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How a 'distressed baby' publicly shamed a tech CEO
Tech executives from Silicon Valley have been opening their mouths and getting in a lot of trouble lately.
First there was AOL CEO Tim Armstrong who swiftly fired an employee in front of hundreds of people during a live conference call. Last December, AngelHack CEO Greg Gopman got on Facebook and complained about all of the homeless "degenerates" that were populating San Francisco. Then venture capitalist Tom Perkins wrote that the rich were being persecuted in this country like the Nazis persecuted the Jews in the 1930s.
Talk about swell guys.
Finally, as firing someone in front of hundreds wasn't enough, Armstrong last week made an even bigger blunder. During a town hall meeting with AOL employees, Armstrong announced he was scaling down their 401(k) plan despite having a profitable quarter. Then he explained WHY he was scaling the plan back:
"Two things that happened in 2012," Armstrong said. "We had two AOL-ers that had distressed babies that were born that we paid a million dollars each to make sure those babies were OK in general. And those are the things that add up into our benefits cost. So when we had the final decision about what benefits to cut because of the increased healthcare costs, we made the decision, and I made the decision, to basically change the 401(k) plan."
In other words, we had to cut back on your retirement plan and it was the fault of two families and their "distressed babies."
Well, that went over really well on the Internet.
Of course there was a lot of backlash on social media and elsewhere. But the real inhumanity of what he said comes across in what came out next: The mother of one of those "distressed babies" decided to speak out in a column she wrote for Slate.com.
In it, she talks about the heartache and pain that came with the medical complications of her delivery and subsequent care of her baby. It's a wonderful story and certainly brings home the heartlessness of what Armstrong said earlier.
To read the column, "My Baby and AOL's Bottom Line," go to Slate.com (hyperinking to the column does not work for some reason).
 Vince Horiuchi
Twitter: @ohmytech
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Mount Mary University, formerly known as Mount Mary College, is in the midst of expanding workforce development programming for the region's community of businesswomen through its reimagined Women's Leadership Institute.
As the Milwaukee-based school, which officially became a university in July, rounds the corner of its centennial anniversary, it will amplify its community outreach efforts from holding events throughout the year to hosting professional development workshops and programs for women in the workplace looking to strengthen their creative leadership skills.
"For 100 years, Mount Mary has been living out the mission it was founded on – to educate women to transform the world," said Dr. Eileen Schwalbach, president of the Catholic university for women. "Instilling leadership skills is a vital part of that educational experience for our students, but we also see a need for women already out in the community to develop and use their leadership skills for transformation."
To steer the new direction of the Women's Leadership Institute and begin sketching out the structure of the programming, Mount Mary appointed Beth Wnuk executive director in July 2012.
With experience serving as regional president of PNC in southeastern Wisconsin, participation on the board of directors of Ixonia Bank, and community involvement with organizations like the Wisconsin Women's Business Initiative Corporation and the Greater Milwaukee Committee, Wnuk is using her business expertise and connections to rethink the institute's delivery of creative leadership.
She has also collaborated with faculty members and other university leaders to seek out feedback from the business community and Mount Mary board members in terms of skills they desire in employees. The conversations have resulted in five leadership competencies that form the leadership philosophy behind the institute. Competencies include agility, experimentation and exploration, imagination, open-mindedness, and management of complexity.
"The competencies are what we believe it takes to be a creative leader," Wnuk said.
While the mission and new program structure within the Women's Leadership Institute is still in the early design stage, Wnuk said the university plans to develop workshops and programs that support the professional development of women, no matter what stage of their career they're traversing or what generation they belong to.
Mount Mary's view of leadership is less positional and more about initiatives women are taking and impact they're making, according to Wnuk.
"Wisconsin women continue to make a significant impact in the workplace," Wnuk said. "At the entrepreneurial level, the state has seen a 36 percent increase in women-owned businesses over the last 16 years, and these businesses contribute $23 billion annually to the economy. Business leaders have told us there's a need for this same kind of 'intrapreneurial' energy within their organizations. We believe women leaders can deliver on this. Wherever women serve in leadership positions, they have opportunities to develop and use creative leadership."
As the leadership institute has been evolving internally and continued to branch out into the community for the past 15 years, its focus areas have centered on inspiration, education and support.
To inspire, the institute launched a "Voices of Leadership" Speakers Series and Forum earlier this year. The series brings nationally-recognized female leaders to Milwaukee to share their stories with women leaders in the area. Through this program, Mount Mary has welcomed Jessica Jackley, co-founder of KIVA.org along with Nina Vaca, founder and chief executive officer of Pinnacle Technical Resources Inc. and Cheryl Perkins, founder and chief executive officer of Innovationedge.
Support and sponsorship for "Voices of Leadership" has come from business entities like Ixonia Bank and business leaders like Dan Westrope, president and chief executive officer of the bank.
Westrope characterizes the leadership institute and its new direction as "unique."
"I don't think there is any program like this around, and it all goes back to trying to tap an underused resource that's just vast," Westrope said. "Just think of all of the leadership and ideas that we're missing out on in southeastern Wisconsin because there's not an effective use of women in leadership positions – in the business world anyway."
To expand on its focus area of education, the leadership institute has built up the "New Leadership Wisconsin" program, an annual summer seminar that gathers up to 25 college students from a variety of disciplines and colleges for discussions about leadership with professionals.
Additional internal education efforts have brought Milwaukee-area leaders from companies such as Brady Corp. and agencies such as the FBI to classrooms on campus to familiarize students with subjects such as business analysis, nonprofits and law.
In terms of support, the leadership institute collects articles, research and thought leadership resources from Mount Mary's faculty on women's issues. These resources are made available to the community so that women can better understand the ways women leaders are contributing to the state, region and world.
Moving forward, the institute's five leadership competencies will be woven into these three focus areas – inspiration, education and support – through speaker series, workshops and faculty resources that place creativity at the focal point.
Mount Mary will also make a conscious effort to fit the Women's Leadership Institute into its implementation of the "Creative Campus," a larger-scale movement to infuse creativity throughout the entire university. The "Creative Campus" mindset, which has been in development for the past year and a half, exists with the same five leadership competencies as the Women's Leadership Institute to better prepare students for the demands of employers.
The Women's Leadership Institute will act as a bridge and become the gateway to engage the community in the conversation behind the Creative Campus, Wnuk said.
"We're giving women the tools and the education to go with confidence to make (an) impact so that they own their voice, they can own their own power and take initiative to create change," Wnuk said.


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Living Room Lamps
Living room lamps create a warm and inviting mood in your living space. Kindle a soft glow in your living room by adding a lamp that flows with your unique design. Our collection of living room lamps is sure to offer the ideal lamp to complement your color pallet.
Pablo Designs - Gloss Acrylic Table Lamp$355.00
Quoizel - MC1797TIB - Mica Imperial Bronze 23 Inch Table Lamp$197.99
Minka-Lavery - 10352-357 - Lineage Accent Lamp$259.00
Trend Lighting - BT1200 - Soleil Accent Lamp$118.00


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At a Glance
Program units
Average completion time
19 months
Cost per unit
Base cost
*Base Cost (cost per unit x program units) is provided to aid in program comparison only.
All stated financial information is subject to change. For a detailed cost estimate or more information, contact APU's Graduate Student Financial Services.
We have rolling admissions, but you should allow at least one month for your application to be processed from the time that all materials are received, including three recommendations. All materials should be received by the end of July for fall admission and by the end of December for spring admission. International applicants should contact ISS for current deadlines.
Note: This information is current for the 2015-16 academic year; however, all stated academic information is subject to change. Please refer to the current Academic Catalog for more information.


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British Dance Edition 2010
British Dance Edition 2010 is a four day biennial showcasing the best UK dance artists and companies. It's a curated programme of performances, events, presentations and debates, brought together to showcase the British dance scene, and we've been asked to design and build the fantastic website for it, which has just launched this week.
It's taking place across a variety of Birmingham venues in the New Year, with a number of public events too, so be sure to get your dancing shoes on and get involved!


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On the Finer Points of Feeling Worthless. ~ Sarah Nabulsi
I have been skinned.
So here it is, and I am terrified.
Exposed are my sinews and bones, insecurities and failings. Look closer still and you will see each vein, each subtle thud of my heart, every what-if and not-good-enough that has ever kept me awake late into the night.
There is no partner-in-crime, no warm body to chase away my unease. There is no longer one to plan for or around, nowhere to store my aching need.
It is too early in this painful transition to look at myself in the mirror and love that girl. Besides, I am so frustrated with her.
Must we continue on this unending path? Do you not realize that it leads only back to where we began? Aren't you sick of this place?
I berate myself and every exposed nerve-ending shudders. The benefit of repeating past mistakes however, is knowing how to put yourself back together.
While I wept into my sheets and thought of how unfair it is that I have to do this all over again, and oh, woe is me for trusting my heart and the foreseeable future to a relationship that has always been tenuous at best, a deeper truth clawed at me from behind the rushing blood and twisting organs.
Relief—the truth is I am, while hurting and afraid—flooded with relief. Though the emotion is multi-faceted, of course. I think perhaps I am relieved to have escaped any deeper commitment with an (ultimately) ill-matched partner.
Had it gone on any longer we may have been, for better or for worse, stuck with each other—too afraid to admit to ourselves that all the time and energy we've invested in this was a lost cause.
Maybe we would have stampeded onward into our shared future. Onward into a quagmire that would eventually demand domestic conventions: marriage, a child, a house, a dog.
In the middle of all of these societal requisites there we would be, willfully ignorant of our own unhappiness, our own disquiet. All the while screamingly aware of it in the small, false nuances that would punctuate the long stretches of illusory fulfillment.
Haven't we seen that scenario before, in nearly a million Oscar-nominated films? A failed life, a failed love, acted out deliciously.
Haven't I seen it in the dissolution of my parent's marriage, in the depression of my mother, the emotional dam that is my father?
I am relieved because my inner-demons are satisfied. "See," they hiss into my ear, "you really aren't good enough. You aren't suited for a long-term commitment. You are unlovable, unkind, and you are false."
I can finally put them to bed, bloated and content, where they rest at ease until the next time I try for loving normalcy.
And yet, beneath the self-loathing I harbor desperate desires. I long for honesty and authenticity, for the courage to stop lying.
So badly I want to accept the fear, the open wound, the loneliness and the uncertainty—to embrace it, and to love the broken pieces of myself back into something whole.
The bright center of this relief stems not from an escape, nor the terrible self-doubt that leaves me immobilized—heavy with grief. It shines out from the door it has opened onto the knowledge of my own worthiness.
I have not—I cannot—cross its threshold yet, but I can see it's frame built independent of the expectations from family and friends, from old and new acquaintances, from the tyranny of the should.
There it is, wide open, not despite but because of the profound vulnerability present in being alone.
I do not yet know why this door closes in the time it takes for the relationships I cultivate to reach their peak, and then slowly wither. I suppose, as I'm sure my therapist might, it has plenty to do both with the people I choose to love, and my own deeply entrenched inability to believe that I am worth it requited.
As I watch helplessly my fear snakes between the entwined limbs, between the loving words, while stifling the laughter, the pleasure, and the joy of intimacy.
Habits are so difficult to break. We are bred into them, somehow, from an early age. I can only be grateful that along the way I picked up the ability to recognize the destructive forces of mine.
What comes to me with brilliant clarity in the midst of this complicated internal monologue is the realization that this, and any other relationship I have invested myself in, that has at least partly ended due to my own subconscious attempts at sabotage, was entered into in order to escape something else.
I have never committed myself to someone wholly without an almost rabid desire to forget a part of my life or a part of myself that terrifies me. I know I am young, but the stark truth of this admission is laid out in my personal history, glaringly apparent.
I can only hope that some day, after I put in the work it takes to shed these layers of self-deceit, I will look back on my early twenties as a turning point toward a life lived as richly and as truthfully and as full of love as I know I must deserve.
Editor: Jennifer Cusano
Sarah Nabulsi is a recent college graduate of UMass Amherst. She originally hails from the shores of Nantucket, MA, and is currently living in New York City, taking acting classes and attempting to live intentionally and avoid limbo. She is a dedicated runner, daughter, lover and bibliophile. She hopes to use her degree in English to further an understanding of and passion for theatre and film, and perhaps eventually define what it is about acting that touches so intimately.
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{Waylon H. Lewis C Enterprises 2015: Use Rights in perpetuity. Ownership remains with author.}
6 Responses to "On the Finer Points of Feeling Worthless. ~ Sarah Nabulsi"
I completely relate to the feeling you express. You mention sabotage, then conclude wth 'the love you deserve' what about the love your partner deserves? maybe that will help you feel whole again? did you go into it to love yourself or give yourself?
Well, you can't love someone else until you love yourself.
[…] I know that a strong reaction to behavior in others is often really just a rejection of that same behavior in yourself. Is it possible that my little girl, feisty and strong-willed, has behaviors that I am not comfortable with in myself? Is it possible that when she exhibits her moodiness I shut down because I see that as unloveable in myself? […]
This is so fantastic.
I have been there, but unable to put it so succinctly … thank you for being so honest in your rawness, so lovely.
Thank you so much! Comments like that mean a lot to me.
[…] The spiritual path is often one of unlearning our adult defenses—through the hard work of self-confrontation and forgiveness—in order to regain a state of grace. We all deserve grace because we have it within us. […]


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Looking back on this year, whatever minute footprint I have made in the world of talking about independent media has an incredibly negative one. I ended 2011 by posting one of the shittiest, misanthropic year-in-review articles ever, where I literally said I was glad some bands broke up. I wrote a review where I essentially said the world doesn't really need another Hot Water Music record, I wrote an article about gay rights that was more about hating ignorant people, and I got kicked out of a band because I became "a total downer" thus making me "real hard to be in a band with."
The most widely read thing I have published on this website was an article where I slammed some band I've never heard of that approach playing music different than me. But the more I think about it, they are going to carry on doing whatever makes them happy, so fuck me for ever getting so worked up about it. I've caught myself live-tweeting about how miserable I am watching a band that I think is horrible, and I once told a co-worker that I like to "make sure I have to talk to as few people as possible" throughout my work day. My friend and former band mate Jeff Claxton (who now drums for a fantastic band from Atlanta called The Bad Mammals) used to call me a "dismal piece of shit" regularly. Looking back on the last 365 days, I don't think I can argue with that anymore.
So, for this year's wrap up column, I am going to do something totally different. No negativity and no resounding apathy. For this Year in Review I am going to do something I never actually do: talk about stuff that I was stoked on.
Some Great Bands released some Great records
One of the biggest challenges for independent bands is living up to the hype created by their first "breakthrough" full length. While The Menzingers had released A Lesson In the Abuse of Information Technology before Chamberlain Waits, it'd be hard to argue that the latter wasn't the record that put them on the map. After making the jump to Epitaph, the Philly-based quartet had a pretty tall hill to climb with their followup full length. I don't know why it came as a surprise, but On The Impossible Past continued the band's trend of just knocking every record out of the park. The same with Make Do and Mend and Hostage Calm, both bands who recently released head-turning full lengths, End Measured Mile and Hostage Calm's self-titled record respectively (I know Hostage Calm had released full lengths prior, but the Menzingers rule applies here as well). Everything You Ever Loved and Please Remain Calm were both stunning examples of how a band can grow as musicians, while still maintaining the hunger and ferocity that set them apart from everyone else.
I thought Craig Finn's debut solo record was incredible, but as much as I love Clear Heart Full Eyes, after seeing The Hold Steady live this past fall, I am ecstatic to hear something new from them in 2013. I thought Torche put out a total banger with Harmonicraft, and I may be one of the few people out their that think Yellow/Green is by far the best Baroness record to date. The Bronx released two new songs that set a great pace for their fourth proper full length, and Restoration's 7" on Tiny Engines kept with the bands affinity to bend and mold their genre to something totally unique. Speaking of Restorations, I had the opportunity to ride down with them to the Fest this year, during which I heard them play more than a handful of new songs live…let me just be the first to say that their Side One Dummy Debut will be mind-altering amazing.
I didn't get into too many new bands this year, but Dikembe and Red Collar were two bands that really resonated with me, both of which were released via Tiny Engines. I know there is a lot of Tiny Engines ultra-love going on around the internet, but I feel like every accolade and positive word spoken about them is totally deserved. Tiny Engines is becoming one of those labels that I "trust," in the sense that I know every record they release is going to be something worth checking out. I might not always love every band they work with, but they have reached the point where I will always check out every new release. That isn't something I can say for many labels.
Also, go see Old Flings in 2013. That band is going to turn some heads and make a big dent in this scene next year.
I really enjoyed The WWE this year
For as long as I have known about the "Internet Wrestling Community," the prominent mantra of the people who inhabit wrestling message boards is that the WWE is just atrocious. Honestly, I couldn't disagree more. Sure, from what I have watched of Chikara and Ring of Honor and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, the pure in-ring wrestling product of the indies may be better than WWE, but nothing can compare to the "moments" that WWE create. When Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and (to a lesser extent) Roman Reigns debuted a couple weeks ago, I lost my fucking mind. When Sheamus beat Daniel Bryan in 18 seconds at WrestleMania and then 4 hours later the Rock beat John Cena, all I could think was this is fucking awesome. I'm enjoying the shit out of myself right now.
I love the WWE because, despite what all the nerds on messages boards have to say, there is no one better at creating themes and telling stories. Sure they get lost in these weird moments where they say that a leprechaun essentially ran the show for over a year via a laptop, but then they do things where they give CM Punk the longest WWE Title Reign in 25 years. CM Punks record breaking WWE Title Reign is without question one of the most exciting things to happen to the WWE because it is an allegory for the notion of the "American Dream." You work hard, be willing to start at the bottom, and barrel through everything ahead of you, not stopping until you are where you want to be. When you look at CM Punk's career in totality, that is exactly what he has done, which is why his "Best Int The World" slogan is more than just something printed on the back of a T-Shirt.
Plus, I got to see Antonio Ceasaro dead-lift Brodus Clay several times this year and that was just fucking awesome.
But also, you should be watching TNA
Nobody is perfect. The Bronx are my all time favorite band, but even they have some songs I skip on a couple albums. When TNA rolled in to 2011, I only kept their weekly show on my DVR because that's what wrestling fans do. Around the time Impact went live, though, TNA began shifting their tide. The buildup to Bound For Glory was incredible, as much as I despise Jeff Hardy, I'll let it slide if it means I get to see feuds that have meaning and some good matches peppered in as well. Bobby Roode's title run was great, and although I didn't get the "Roode vs James Storm for the World Title" payoff I was hoping for, I still think their feud was great, and the 14 month slow-build TNA has been running with James Storm has been fantastic if it means he ends up with the title in 2013. So what I am getting at here is that for every 2 or 3 steps forward TNA makes, they only take about a step back. You have to deal with some goofiness (currently, that is Bully Rays love affair with Brooke Hogan), and yeah the great Aces and Eights angle kind of turned into TNAs version of the Black Scorpion, but it's still a great program to watch. If you aren't doing anything this Thursday, tune in and enjoy yourself.
I only saw two movies in the theaters this year…
One was The Dark Knight Rises, because you don't have a Batman/Gotham City chest piece/half sleeve combo tattoo and not go see that shit as soon as it comes out. So yeah, that's my favorite movie of the year.
So to sum all of this up
Without going into too many details, I think I can safely say that 2011 was one of the worst years of my life. There were some great things sprinkled throughout, but in general, I'm trying to distance myself as far away from 2011 as possible. Looking back on 2012, all I can say is that I've never been happier. I know this is a shock coming from the guy who sometimes runs a blog called STAY NEGATIVE, but everything around me right now is right where it needs to be. My wife is amazing and I've got a great extended family of great people. All of the people who I call friends are genuine, solid people and maintaining friendships has never been easier than it is right now. I'm in two of the best bands I think I've ever been a part of, and all my friends are creating great music. I used to get real jealous and bitter when bands that once stayed with me at my parents' house and slept on our floor would go on to do great things in the music world, but now, I'm just happy for them all. It's cool to feel inspired by the people you know, and seeing my friends and family doing cool shit that makes them happy just makes me want to do more cool shit that makes me happy and spend less time sitting on the Internet talking shit about the people that drive me crazy.
So that's where I've been in 2012. Here's looking forward to 2013. Be good to yourself and those around you, and everything else will just sort of fall into place.


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Great Heavens put up an impressive and timely display in the bet365 Lancashire Oaks at Haydock Park.
Fifty minutes before her full-brother Nathaniel was due to line up in the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown, the lightly raced filly added a Group Two contest to the family haul in convincing fashion.
Rab Havlin set out to make it a stamina test on the John Gosden-trained 11-4 favourite and she duly obliged to make it three wins from as many starts this season.
Shimmering Sea tried hard to keep tabs on Great Heavens, but made no impression in the final furlong and was beaten five lengths at the line. The Queen's filly Set To Music was third, a further length and a quarter away.
"She keeps improving. She was getting 13lb from the older horses so I thought I would make it a good gallop and make them pay for it," said Havlin.
"The family improve with age so I'm sure there's more to come. She galloped all the way to the line and I eased her up."


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LightSquared Broadband Plan Gains Momentum
By Jeff Carlisle, Executive Vice President for Regulatory Affairs and Public Policy
August 25, 2011
More and more Americans are getting excited about LightSquared's nationwide broadband wireless network. In recent weeks, hundreds of elected officials, public safety officers and community leaders have written to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to support the effort to find a technical solution that will allow LightSquared to move forward with our 4G-LTE network. As one recent article reported, more people are understanding what's at stake for America – and that LightSquared presents a real solution, not just a concept, for providing affordable, world-class wireless broadband.
The growing support for LightSquared comes amid increased reporting that the GPS interference issue stems from GPS receivers improperly using the LightSquared spectrum – although the industry has had years to adjust its receivers to meet government standards and to stop squatting in spectrum that it is not assigned, as we described in a letter to the FCC.
Policy experts are questioning the wisdom of allowing GPS companies to stop the launch of our network – in effect granting veto power to the user of an adjoining spectrum. As this article points out, such a veto would set a dangerous precedent and reduce the future value of spectrum that the U.S. government is preparing to auction. It also would discourage other broadband wireless providers from investing the time and capital necessary to launch a nationwide network.
LightSquared's mission is to fulfill an essential need of the American people: expanded and improved broadband wireless capacity. That's why we've spent 10 years working with the FCC and other companies to prepare the L-band – the section of the airwaves in which LightSquared is licensed to operate – to support a world-class nationwide wireless broadband network able to reach the entire country.
We're prepared to invest $14 billion to build this network using 4G-LTE technology integrated with satellite coverage, bringing best-in-class wireless broadband to more than 260 million Americans while generating thousands of jobs over the next five years. As a wholesale provider, we'll enable a slew of wireless service providers to offer lightning-fast speeds to more customers, or in some cases, to enter the market as new competitors – a paradigm shift in the U.S. wireless industry that promises lower prices, more competition and expanded capacity at a time when it is sorely needed.
The only remaining hurdle is the continued refusal of some GPS companies to help solve interference issues for the tiny fraction of GPS devices that would experience interference under our proposal to operate only in the part of our spectrum farthest from the GPS airwaves.
The American people own the airwaves – not the GPS companies or, for that matter, LightSquared; we're merely granted a license to use a certain portion of the airwaves for specific uses. Those uses should provide maximum benefit to the American people. America needs both GPS and greatly expanded and improved broadband wireless. LightSquared has taken steps to prepare our spectrum for a new nationwide network that more and more Americans vocally support. We only ask our neighbors in the GPS spectrum to operate their devices in accordance with the needs of the American people who own the airwaves they use.
We're confident that the FCC and Congress will work toward a solution that is in the best interest of the American people.
Jeff Carlisle serves as LightSquared's executive vice president for regulatory affairs and public policy. Carlisle, who previously served as vice president of regulatory affairs for SkyTerra, is responsible for all domestic and international regulatory and policy matters including those at the FCC, Congress, the Executive Branch, the ITU and in foreign markets.