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Overview – Intro
By the Project for Excellence in Journalism
In December 2004, a mock documentary about the future of news began making make the rounds of the nation's journalists and Web professionals.
The video, produced by two aspiring newsmen fresh from college, envisioned a nightmare scenario – by the year 2014, technology would effectively destroy traditional journalism.
In 2008, Google, the search engine company, would merge with Amazon.com, the giant online retailer, and in 2010 the new "Googlezon" would create a system edited entirely by computers that would strip individual facts and sentences from all content sources to create stories tailored to the tastes of each person.
A year later, The New York Times would sue Googlezon for copyright infringement and lose before the Supreme Court.
In 2014 Googlezon would take its computer formula a step further. Anyone on the Web would contribute whatever they knew or believed into a universal grid – a bouillabaisse of citizen blog, political propaganda, corporate spin and journalism. People would be paid according to the popularity of their contributions. Each consumer would get a one-of-a-kind news product each day based on his or her personal data.
"At its best, edited for the savviest readers," the system is "a summary of the world – deeper, broader and more nuanced than anything ever available before. But at its worst, and for too many, [it] is merely a collection of trivia, much of it untrue, all of it narrow, shallow and sensational."
That same year, the New York Times would fold its tent and become "a print-only newsletter for the elite and the elderly."
"It didn't have to be this way," the video concludes.
And it probably won't be.
A year ago, in our inaugural edition of this report, we concluded that journalism was in the midst of an epochal transformation, as momentous as the invention of the telegraph or television. The former created the capacity for people divided by great distance to learn things at the same time; the latter added the ability for people to see the news for themselves.
Today, technology is transforming citizens from passive consumers of news produced by professionals into active participants who can assemble their own journalism from disparate elements. As people "Google" for information, graze across an infinite array of outlets, read blogs or write them, they are becoming their own editors, researchers, and even correspondents. What was called journalism is only one part of the mix, and its role as intermediary and verifier, like the roles of other civic institutions, is weakening. We are witnessing the rise of a new and more active kind of American citizenship – with new responsibilities that are only beginning to be considered.
In this new world, we continue to believe journalism is not becoming irrelevant. The need to know what is true is all the greater, but discerning and communicating it is more difficult.
In the last year, some trends have become clearer, and some popular notions seem to us exaggerated. The year saw the blossoming of citizen blogs, the emergence of a major new news source edited entirely by computers (Google News), and both triumph (exposing the Abu Ghraib prison scandal) and failure (Memogate) for one of the TV networks. Customization, and with it fragmentation, reached new levels; Reason magazine even sent each subscriber an issue so tailored it had a satellite photo of that person's own home on the cover.
Those are some of the conclusions in the second of our annual reports on the state of American journalism. The report, which we believe is unique in depth and scope, breaks the news industry into nine sectors – newspapers, magazines, network television, cable television, local television, the Internet, radio, ethnic and alternative media (which are distinct from each other). It builds off many of the findings from a year ago.
For each of the media sectors, we examine six different areas – content, audience trends, economics, ownership, newsroom investment and public attitudes. We aggregate as much publicly available data as is possible in one place, and for six of the sectors the report includes original content analysis. (For local television news, we rely on five years of content analysis the Project had previously conducted. For radio and alternative media, no special content analysis was conducted.) In addition to numerous new charts of data, most charts from the 2004 report are updated and still available.
People can approach the material in this report in several ways. Users can go directly to the medium about which they are most concerned – say local TV news – and drive vertically through it. Or they can focus on a particular issue – audience trends for example – and move horizontally across different media sectors to see where Americans are going for news. Or they can move across the introductory overviews of each sector. They can flip back and forth between our narrative and the interactive charts and tabular material. Or they can work through the statistics for themselves, making their own charts, answering their own questions, in effect creating their own reports.
Our desire in this study is to answer questions we imagine any reader would find important, to help clarify the strengths and weaknesses of the available data, and to identify what is not yet answerable.
The study is the work of the Project for Excellence in Journalism, an institute affiliated with the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. The study is funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts, whose leadership challenged us to take on this assignment. The chapters were written by the Project's staff, with the exception of the chapter on newspapers, which was written with the help of a co-author. All of the chapters also benefit from the input of a team of readers who are experts in each media sector.
Our aim is a research report, not an argument. Where the facts are clear, we hope we have not shied from explaining what they reveal, making clear what is proven and what is only suggested. We hope, however, we are not seen as simply taking sides. Our intention is to inform, not to persuade.
We have tried to be as transparent as possible about sources and methods, and to make it clear when we are laying out data and when we have moved into analysis of that data. We have attempted, to the best of our ability and the limits of time, to seek out multiple sources of information for comparison where they exist. Each year we hope to gather more sources, improve our understanding and refine our methodology.
We believe our approach of looking at a set of questions across various media differs from the conventional way in which American journalism is analyzed, one medium at a time. We have tried to identify cross-media trends and to gather in one place data that are usually scattered across different venues. We hope this will allow us and others to make comparisons and develop insights that otherwise would be difficult to see. Across the six questions we examined we found some distinct patterns.


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A SUN-DRENCHED evening greeted the best and brightest Borlasians this week as the school celebrated its end of year speech day and prize giving.
Head Peter Holding and his staff at Sir William Borlase's Grammar School in Marlow put on their glad rags to welcome some of the highest achieving students of the academic year during a champagne reception on its Cloisters Lawn.
Tuesday evening culminated in a keynote speech from very special guest and celebrated TV historian Professor David Starkey.
And students donned their most glamorous outfits for the school prom following the ceremony.

subset: commoncrawl


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KIRKBY Stephen Scout Group has just returned from a Norwegian exchange.
Nine Explorer Scouts and adult volunteers from three units across Kentdale and Eden, including the 1st Kirkby Stephen Scout Group, joined together for the adventure to southern Norway.
The Cumbrians met with local Norwegian Scouts on two days during the week, together cooking, skiing, snow-hole digging, mini ski-jumping and swimming.
Tessa Higgs, 17, from Kirkby Stephen, said: "It was one of my best weeks ever, cross country skiing with the best Scouts ever!"
The Scouts participated in cross country skiing in the fells above Rjukan, Telemark, the area known for wartime resistance and sabotage operations against the Nazi war effort.
The expedition was one of many adventurous activities run by Cumbria Scouts for boys and girls from aged six upwards, encouraging them to look for challenges, enjoy the outdoors and bring their experiences back to Cumbria for the benefit of others.
To find out how you can be part of the adventure visit www.CumbriaScouts.org.uk


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Gerry Harvey's NZ horse breeding business narrows FY loss
Jan. 6 (BusinessDesk) – NZ Thoroughbred Holdings, the horse breeding business owned by Australian retailing billionaire Gerry Harvey, narrowed its full-year loss after recognising a gain on the value of its animals.
The net loss was $3.97 million in the 12 months ended June 30, 2013, from a loss of $5.28 million a year earlier, according to the company's annual report. Revenue fell to $3.8 million from $3.99 million, while other income jumped to $3.3 million from $1.56 million, mainly reflecting a gain on biological assets.
The company, whose assets include the upscale Westbury Stud established by Eric Watson, has chalked up losses every year since Harvey bought out property developer Michael Tololi in 2009. While Harvey made much of his A$1.4 billion fortune via the Harvey Norman chain, he is also one of Australia's largest race horse breeders and owns thoroughbred auction house Magic Millions. He ranked 24th in the 2013 BRW Rich List.
NZ Thoroughbred's other income includes horse prize money of $51,386, from a deficit of $1,438 a year earlier. Operating expenses include $2.4 million on wages and salaries, up from $2.3 million a year earlier, and agistment, which is the cost of feeding and pasture, jumped to $1.65 million from $258,177.
The company's auditor included an emphasis of matter in its report, noting that its ability to be a going concern depended on the continued financial support of its shareholder.
Net liabilities rose to $19 million in the latest year from $15.7 million in 2012 though the Harvey, who is also the company's director, says he is confident about "the pledge of continued financial support from the shareholder (also Harvey)."


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You are here
Billiard Phoenix Smooth Briar Espresso Tamper
This product has options:
While the original Billiard Phoenix has been sold, we are more than happy to indulge requests for this style of tamper. Please note that every tamper's grain will have its own unique characteristics, and thus each will be one of a kind. Still in love with this style? Contact us today!
With symmetrical, wing-like flame grain on either side of the neck and birds-eye grain in between, I couldn't help being reminded of the mythical phoenix. For reference, the main image shows the left wing pointed downward. There is even beak-like flame grain on the top edge of the head to finish off the look. Ancient mythical creatures aside, the shape is a classic. The head is somewhat flat on top with smooth, round edges, creating a comfortable grip. The neck flares up into the head at the top and tapers down slowly to a slightly asymmetrical bottom which creates a fine separation at the base. Out of all our Cavendish Series tampers, this one's shape is most similar to that of our standard aluminum handle tampers, which makes it perfect for those who want the beauty of briar and the same familiar feel of a common tamper. Because of its common shape, we named it after the most popular tobacco pipe shape, the "billiard".
Handle and 58mm Flat Base:Height: 3 5/8"
Width: 2 5/16"
Weight: ~13 oz
Handle Only:Height: 2 7/8"
Width: 1 15/16"
Weight: ~2.5 oz
58mm Flat Base Only:Height: 3/4"
Width: 2 5/16"
Weight: ~10.5 oz


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On 'View' Goldberg Holds up Cronkite as Paragon of Unbiased Reporting
So Whoopi Goldberg is a fan of the "We Report, You Decide" school of TV journalism. Who knew? Unfortunately, her choice of "fair and balanced" news icons leaves much to be desired.
On ABC's "The View" Oct. 19, Goldberg said, "I don't get my news often times from any of the networks because, ya know, I'm from the Walter Cronkite generation, where they told you what was going on and you were left to make your decision. You were left to figure it out."
But was Cronkite really the gold standard for impartial reporting?
Back in 2006, the Media Research Center compiled quotes from Cronkite dating from the years after his 1981 retirement. These words clearly exposed not only his liberal views but also his belief that being a good journalist means being liberal.
In 2003 during an interview with Time magazine, Cronkite said that reporters, who see the "meaner side of life" and therefore have "sentimental feeling toward their fellow man," are often misinterpreted "by some less-sensitive people as being liberal."
Cronkite advocated for gun control. He played with the idea of finding "some marvelous middle ground between capitalism and communism." He wanted to return to a "Rooseveltian" social welfare pattern. He was "inclined to think" that Bush political advisor Karl Rove arranged for a videotaped message of Osama bin Laden to appear right before the 2004 election. He disagreed with Reagan's "endorsement of laissez-faire trickle-down economics." He called Bill Clinton "very courageous" and declared that Kenneth Starr's investigation was "more divisive" to the country than Vietnam. He thought that Americans "overreacted to the Soviets," saying that a Soviet bomb was simply a "part of their pursuit of nuclear equality." He argued that to avoid World War III, a "system of world government" that would require America to lose its "precious sovereignty" would be "mandatory." He believed that terrorism was fueled by the "great division between the rich and the poor in the world."
Cronkite himself summed up his views in his book A Reporter's Life, saying, "I don't believe the public has rejected liberalism; it simply has not heard a candidate persuasively advocate its humane and deeply democratic principles."
But Cronkite's liberalism didn't just emerge once he vacated the anchor chair. The most notorious instance of his on-the-job bias was his declaration after the decisive American military victory in the Tet Offensive in Vietnam: "To say that we are mired in stalemate seems the only realistic, yet unsatisfactory, conclusion." America's only "rational way out" was to "negotiate" with the Vietcong.
Cronkite's pronouncement did much to galvanize the anti-war movement and convince the country that Vietnam was not worth the cost.
That was the wonderfully unbiased "Walter Cronkite generation."


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Whoever invented the paint roller did painters a really big favor. With a roller, you can apply paint up to four times faster than you can with a brush.
What generally makes one roller different from the next is the length of the nap, which can be as short as 3/16ths of an inch or as long as an inch and a quarter. On smooth interior walls, a short nap is ideal, while an outside surface like stucco or concrete blocks requires a longer nap to carry the paint into those deep recesses.
Probably the most common nap of all is 3/8ths of an inch, and that will get you through most interior painting jobs. For painting flat interior doors, Ron prefers a foam roller, which leaves practically no texture.
Some rollers are designed to actually create texture and many can even be used to create special effects.


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|Even old people are busy these days.
—Old Bird
Old Bird is a Chozo from Zebes. He had found Samus on K-2L after the attack, and brought her to Zebes (though Grey Voice was not pleased at this). He thereafter acted as a foster father to her: it was he who decided to infuse her with Chozo blood, train her, and give Samus the Power Suit to defend the universe. When she returns to a ruined Zebes as a Federation Police Force officer, Samus hears his final communication before fleeing with (most of) the rest of the Chozo.
A far older version of Old Bird also appears in the Super Metroid comic, living on the Nest. Armstrong Houston and Samus arrive from Zebes after her Power Suit is damaged. As Samus recovers, he explains the story of Samus and the Chozo to Armstrong. Samus then insists to Old Bird to use a Power Bomb to heal all her wounds. Despite his fear of Samus's greater injury if the tactic fails, Old Bird goes ahead with Samus's plan, and it succeeds.
Old Bird's first in-game appearance was the Japanese version of Metroid Fusion's Hard Mode endings, and more recently in Metroid: Zero Mission.
- Super Metroid comic
- Metroid Fusion (Japan-only Hard Mode endings.)
- Metroid: Volume 1
- Metroid: Volume 2
- Metroid: Zero Mission (Sketch, flashbacks, and Fusion endings)
- Samus & Joey: Volume 2 (Flashback)


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OTTAWA, Ontario — David Krejci scored the shootout winner and had an assist in regulation as the Boston Bruins defeated the Ottawa Senators 3-2 on Monday night.
Tuuka Rask made 30 saves in regulation and stopped three of four Senators in the shootout, including a bizarre attempt from Kaspars Daugavins. The Ottawa forward carried the puck by pressing down with the tip of his stick before attempting a failed 360-
degree move in front of Rask.
Shawn Thornton and Daniel Paille scored for Boston, which rallied from a 2-0 deficit to win its 10th in a row in Ottawa.
Guillaume Latendresse – in his first game back from injury since Jan. 30 – and Kyle Turris scored in regulation for the Senators. Robin Lehner made 33 saves through three periods and overtime.
Paille tied the game 2-2 at 8:53 of the second period, beating Lehner on the stick side after Krejci made a 50-foot pass up the middle to send Paille in all alone.
The Senators built a 2-0 lead before the midway point of the first period, with both scorers snapping goalless droughts.
After missing the past 18 games suffering from the effects of whiplash, Latendresse scored his first of the year just 55 seconds into the game after being sprung on a breakaway by defenseman Sergei Gonchar.
Turris scored after going 21 games without a goal. He picked up the puck inside the Boston blue-line, curled in and fired a wrist shot over the shoulder of Rask for his fifth goal of the season.
The Bruins pulled to within a goal as Thornton's wobble-shot got tangled in Lehner's equipment and found a way over the goal line with less than a minute to play in the opening period.
BLACKHAWKS: A person familiar with the situation says defenseman Steve Montador has been placed on waivers. Teams have until noon today to claim him or Chicago will retain his rights. Montador has appeared in only one game since he suffered a concussion in February 2012, and that was in late March. He has not played this season.


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Rua Marechal Deodoro s/n
Property Directions
From the bus station: walk until the main street (Av. Roberto Silveira). Turn on the first street on the right and then take the first street on the left (on the corner of the bycicle store). After that, take the second street on the right, It's Benina Toledo do Prado Street, go ahead until Marechal Deodoro Street. Che Lagarto is after the corner.
Hostelworld Mobile Apps
Book on the go with the new Hostelworld mobile apps.


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Application and Admission
Undergraduate & Graduate Studies
Undergraduate Studies
There are several different types of students admitted into UTC's undergraduate programs. They include freshman applicants, transfer students, readmissions students, transient admission (visiting), non-degree seeking, audit students, and post-bacc students.
Find which applicant you fit and apply with UTC Admissions.
Graduate Studies
For each graduate business program - MAcc, MBA, Professional MBA, EMBA, and Certificate in Business Analytics - there are different admission and application requirements.
- MAcc and MBA Application and Admissions Requirements
- Online Professional MBA Admission Requirements
- EMBA Application and Admissions Requirements
- Certificate in Business Analytics Application and Admissions Requirements


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HOUSTON - A two-alarm fire burned at a retirement home in The Heights on Wednesday.
Houston firefighters were called out to a 10-story building on Heights Boulevard near 20th about 3:40 p.m.
The fire broke out on the fourth floor, officials said. One of the windows on the floor was broken out.
A few of the floors were evacuated and many of those residents went to the lobby of the building.
One resident was taken to a hospital for treatment for a minor medical concern, officials said.
Investigators said the fire started in a kitchen.
Copyright 2013 by Click2Houston.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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The 89-year-old British actor died at his home in North Yorkshire, England on February 5 after being sick since Christmas 2009.
British actor Ian Carmichael died on Friday, February 5 at the age of 89. Carmichael passed away at his home in the Esk Valley in North Yorkshire, England after falling ill over Christmas and New Year, according to his wife, novelist Kate Fenton.
The star trained at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art before making a name for himself in film, landing parts in 1954's "Betrayed" with Clark Gable and "The Colditz Story" in 1955. He also performed on TV, including a stint as Bertie Wooster in the U.K. drama "The World of Wooster". Carmichael is survived by Fenton, two daughters, five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Ian Carmichael began his acting career at the age of 19, when he hit stage as a robot at the People's Palace in Mile End, East London. His latest appearance was in spin-off "The Royal" where he played T.J. Middleditch, the Hospital secretary.


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Aveda Personal Blends Hydrating Formula Reviews
Very HydratingThis cream puts a lot of moisture into your skin. And your skin with drink it all up! If you want super soft skin you have to give it a try. — 9 years, 4 months agoTBjunkie | 692 reviews
This review is: Helpful | Not helpful | Inappropriate | 1 of 1 people said helpful
ehhI was somewhat disappointed with this lotion. I combined it with ylang ylang, so I love the scent, but it sort of just stayed on top of the skin and didn't really blend in. I wouldn't get it again. — 7 years, 9 months agoiggymama | 296 reviews
This review is: Helpful | Not helpful | Inappropriate | 0 of 1 people said helpful
Love That You Can Choose The Scent!As an Aveda Pure Privilege member, I have received mailers at my birthday that allow me to get this lotion for free. I've gotten it a couple times and I love that you get to choose whatever scent you want to fragrance the lotion. I tend to get a lavender type fragrance which is calming and clean. The lotion moisturizes well, but the thing I don't like about it is that it is on the runny side. ...read moreI really wish it were a bit thicker of a formula. I wouldn't spend money on buying this, but since I can get it for free, why not! — 3 years, 9 months agoposhinprogress | 181 reviews
Good MoisturizerI like that I can pick out the scent that I like. The moisturizer is thin, not thick. It does a good moisturizing my skin though. It is too expensive however - there are cheaper and better moisturizers out there. Overall, I liked it because I was able to choose the scent I liked. — 4 years, 4 months agocon_sumer | 42 reviews
My skin loves it so much...that is soaks it all up. I love the fact I get to choose what it is going to smell like. This lotion doesnt leave you looking greasy but it does add some shine. I do not like that on dryer spots I have to reapply during the day. — 8 years, 1 month agoStacieD | 122 reviews
Excellent !!I use this lotion every day, had it infused with pure-fume oils at the store. (you get to choose your favorite). Very good moisturizer, not oily at all. Leaves a very subtle moisture sheen on skin, people think I am wearing pantyhose !! Interestingly enough, blends deliciously with Jo Malone's White Jazmin and Mint cologne. — 8 years, 10 months agoJoyMalone | 6 reviews
add #12 personal blendI love this with #12 added to it. It's a very light lotion, not creamy. — 9 years, 3 months agojcarlson | 22 reviews
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My Reasons for Reporting This


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Faced with a big brief from a small brand seeking to penetrate the flooded sports drink market, creative director Jules Hall's team considered their options. Traditional media, they calculated, would quickly consume Mizone's $200,000 marketing budget. A different approach was needed.
The answer, they discovered, lay in the same concept behind a 56-second video of an infant biting his brother's finger being viewed nearly half a billion times, and a campaign to promote a job vacancy at Hamilton Island revolutionising Queensland tourism. It was the same concept that led to a movement to catch Joseph Kony resulting in the suspected Ugandan war criminal being officially condemned in the US Senate. The answer lay in Mizone's advertising campaign going viral.
Hall's team at creative agency The Hallway considered the relationship between sport and music. They sought a psychologist's advice on the topic and then linked four music producers with four sporty people. The producers were asked to record a track they believed would inspire sporting performance, later to be judged by the sportspeople. Videos of the recordings and tests were uploaded to the drink company's website and on YouTube. The songs were offered as a freebie when people bought the drink, to be downloaded from the website, and conversations about music and sport were prompted on Mizone's Facebook page.
It was a hit. More than 35,000 people redeemed the free music, Facebook followers rose from a few hundred to more than 10,000 and annual sales rose 35 per cent despite a 71 per cent reduction in the company's marketing budget. The idea was picked up by some members of the mainstream media as a story about music's link to sporting proficiency, vastly escalating the campaign's visibility.
''It was a rip-roaring success,'' Hall says, ''a really clever way to use the media available to us to amplify the impact of a small budget and a small brand. It got huge uptake.''
The principle Hall's company used was the basis of ''viral marketing'' or ''viral campaigning'', a term that has spread, well, like a virus since experts at Harvard Business School coined the term in the mid-1990s to hint at how technology would change communication. The concept is old: that ideas, if humorous, informative or compelling, will get people talking. The difference is, where once the reach was confined to traditional media and word-of-mouth, viral marketing uses new media and cross-platform strategies to get perhaps millions of people talking in a short space of time about a product, initiative, movement or idea.
The growth and rapid evolution of viral marketing has made novices of advertising experts. It has opened the door to mainstream exposure for companies on small budgets and kept bigger companies on their toes, especially at a time when people are tuning out of formulaic tried-and-tested forms of product promotion. As technology enables consumers to avoid advertising, it also provides new tools for businesses, big and small, to draw in consumers.
Not that the viral phenomenon is all about selling things. It can apply to a mother blogging her thoughts from a lounge room in Mumbai, a student shooting an amateur film in Buenos Aires, a child uploading funny photos in Montreal or a lobby group advocating human rights from Johannesburg. And its impact can range from making people laugh to influencing government policy.
A University of Melbourne marketing lecturer who specialises in online psychology, strategy and social media, Brent Coker, says a communication is commonly considered viral if it has a million or more internet hits. ''But 100,000 can qualify as viral if you take into account a short time period,'' he says. ''That volume can still make a big impact.''
The numbers may be straightforward, but the sense of what qualifies as viral is harder to define. Hall says it's about ''ideas or experiences that people find so intriguing, informing or entertaining, they can't help but tell other people about it''.
In that sense it's nothing new, he says. ''Years ago, there were television campaigns that you couldn't help but discuss in the school playground with your mates. That's viral. But we didn't have the internet to share it as quickly with as many people as we do now.''
The chief executive of communications agency Universal McCann, Mat Baxter, suggests that, in advertising, viral is defined by the removal of the product from the promotion process.
''It's any communication that occurs between consumers where the brand is not an active participant,'' Baxter says. ''A consumer sees a movie they think is great and they tell another consumer or stick it on their Facebook. People pass the message on without the brand itself promoting the message.''
Social media expert John Chalmers, of Brandtology, defines viral marketing as using ''a mix of mediums like video clips, text or imagery, with the hope of imparting a message to people with high social networking potential in a short amount of time''.
It sounds easy: create a smart short film, put it in front of people, companies or organisations with lots of ''followers'' and wait for the virus to spread. However, in this new realm, not everything is as it seems and viral campaigns do not always work as hoped. For every success, there may be hundreds of sometimes very costly failures.
Perhaps the biggest danger is that once a campaign goes viral, the creator relinquishes control of the information. In television campaigns, the agent decides where and when the ad goes and what it says. Its strategy is to influence the user. But with viral marketing, the consumer delivers the message to someone else, a strategy of influencing the influencer, severely diminishing the initiator's input. When it goes wrong, serious brand damage can occur.
''The consumer might warp the facts or add their own commentary,'' Baxter says. ''When someone turns against you in viral, they're hearing negative commentary from people they trust much more than they trust the actual advertiser.''
Even when less control is relinquished, dangers exist. Kraft's interactive campaign to solicit name suggestions for their new Vegemite variety went awry when the winning name, iSnack 2.0, was received negatively. Within days, the company abandoned it.
Nevertheless, success stories ensure the lure of viral marketing remains strong. So strong, Hall says, that creative agencies sometimes forget that the principles for success are the same as in a traditional media campaign - the brand must be presented most appropriately for the target audience.
A great example was the Old Spice commercial, which started as a popular television ad. People began posting it on YouTube and making comments, creating an opportunity to create viral content. It was done in real time, with people asking questions of the actor in the ad. The agency then published the footage to YouTube. ''It was a very clever way to get people engaged with the brand and using the technology they had available,'' Hall says. The series of Old Spice ads have had nearly 100 million hits on YouTube.
Then there is the massive viral hit associated with the song Gangnam Style by South Korean pop star Psy. It was claimed last week that the song's video had been viewed more than 530 million times since its launch in July. Certainly it has made a worldwide phenomenon of its idiosyncratic star.
Likewise, much non-advertising viral content was never intended to spread like wildfire but did so because it contained the basic elements of successful marketing. The video ''Charlie Bit My Finger'', viewed more than 490 million times, made celebrities of British infants Harry and Charlie Davies-Carr and serious money through merchandise for their parents.
''It was because mums could relate to it,'' Hall says. ''Perhaps it gives reassurance that their kid is like everyone else's. And it's a bit funny, short and sharp. It can be as simple as that.''
Another non-brand-related viral hit was ''Jesus Christ in Richmond Park'', in which the owner of Fenton the labrador screams after the dog, which is chasing a herd of deer in a London park. It's had more than 7.2 million views. It went viral after a TV channel picked up on the 47-second amateur video and produced a news segment, which included starting a search for the dog's owner.
''It's an incredible example of a simple piece of content that has entertainment value and then the mainstream media picks up on it and amplifies it,'' Hall says. ''That news segment would have reached millions of people.''
Other examples of mainstream media catapulting online campaigns were the Catch Kony movement and the award-winning ''The Best Job in the World'' advertisement, which gained worldwide exposure for Tourism Queensland. They show that viral marketing and campaigning come in various guises, keeping creative agencies, organisations and individuals thinking of new ways to engage big audiences in a short time. In marketing, a rough template of how to use new technology to promote products is emerging after a decade or more of seeing which non-brand-related content has gone viral.
''[Creative agencies] can look at a cute or funny video that's spread across Facebook or been viewed a million times on YouTube and work out how to attach a brand to it,'' Coker says. ''But still, they're pretty much working off intuition and guesswork.''
Baxter and Hall concede this is true. They say the basic drivers of people's interest remain constant - love, power, money, sex and popular culture - but the packages in which those ingredients are delivered in advertising will continue to change.
''It used to be set and forget,'' Baxter says. ''Agencies would come up with an idea, shoot it, book media space and wait for the sales to come in. But the viral phenomenon has changed all that. And everyone's playing catch-up.
''No one's an expert in this space. These are living and breathing ideas, which warp and change as they go. It's a great time in media and communications, the most exciting period this industry might ever go through. It's a complete reinvention, powered by technology. It's a once-in-a-millennium occurrence. We're the pioneers.''
Hall says he and his peers ''still can't decide if something's going to go viral or not'', like his successful sports-drink campaign did.
''All we can do is produce the best content we can and, if it's relevant to society and it's intriguing, entertaining and informing, it may get a life of it's own,'' he says.
''The reality is, anyone who claims they're an expert in this area is lying. There's no set prescriptive formula for it. If you find one, I'll buy it off you.''


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Johannesburg photographer and stylist Vanessa Lewis is about as cool as a mom can get. So when it came time to plan her daughter Nina's third birthday celebration with the requested Bambi theme, it wasn't going to be your typical Disney-esque party. While little Nina likes the movie version, it's really the original Bambi story, written by Felix Salten in the 1920s, that she loves. So Vanessa used that classic version for inspiration for this amazing magical forest party, full of creative, hip deer details.
"I had so much fun creating personalized bunting with Nina's little face with antlers, cutting Bambis out of wrapping paper and sticking them to plates and cups, and creating the forest table with holes for branches," Vanessa says. Keep clicking for all the inspiration details, and get ready to look at Bambi in a whole new, lovely light!
Source: Vanessa Lewis


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Food Network Kitchens Forecast: Top Trends for 2011by Jonathan Milder in News, December 29th, 2010
The Food Network Kitchens offer for your perusal eleven trends that will define the coming year in food. Check back here tomorrow for another installment, and then visit Cooking Channel's Devour for the rest of the list.
And if reading about these trends makes you hungry, you're in luck. This year they've distilled (or rather mashed up) the predictions into emblematic recipes, thus giving you an opportunity unique among year-end forecasts: The chance to eat the predictions! Up first: Southeast Asian Black Kale Tacos (with a bit of Pork Belly). If these recipes are any indication, the year 2011 is going to be a delicious one. Bon appétit! Now for today's two trends…
Tacos, Authentic to Eccentric
In 2011 chefs will do for tacos what they've spent the last several years doing for burgers, hot dogs, pizza, and sandwiches: that is, raising the quality of ingredients, and lavishing high-end technique and creativity on a popular food. Get ready for celeb-chef taquerias, wild fusion taquerias (look for many more Asian/Mexican mashups), locavore-friendly taquerias, hyper-authentic regional Mexican taquerias and many, many more.
Get in on the trend:
Southeast Asian Black Kale Tacos (with a bit of Pork Belly)
Bobby's Yucatan Chicken Puffy Tacos with Peanut-Red Chili BBQ Sauce
Guy's Koi Fish Tacos
Slow-Cooker Pork Tacos
Grilled Sweet Potato Tacos
Bellying Up to the Noodle Bar
The ramen craze has serious staying power, and we see it as merely the tip of an Asian noodle iceberg we'll be seeing a lot more of in 2011. With the UK noodle chain Wagamama planning a major U.S. expansion next year and the folks behind Chipotle busy developing an Asian fast casual concept (read: noodle bar?), Asian noodles are fast going mainstream America. Look out Mac and Cheese.
Get in on the trend:
Alton's Ramen Shrimp Pouch
Asian Pork with Noodles
Mushroom Ramen
Asian Noodles in Broth with Vegetables and Tofu
Vietnamese Noodle Soup
Check back in with the FN Dish tomorrow and visit Cooking Channel's Devour for more trends to watch in 2011.


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Cape Town - Metrorail's fare increase in the Western Cape is going ahead despite Cosatu's threat to strike, the rail company said on Wednesday.
"Metrorail has always been open about its need to increase its revenue through ticket sales," regional manager Richard Walker said.
"The cost of operating the business has soared due to the increase in the cost of energy, personnel, maintenance material, safety-critical and statutory compliance which account for the bulk of the region's expenses."
According to Metrorail's website the price of train tickets would increase on July 1.
"The cost of single tickets increases by 50 cents, return tickets by R1. Weekly ticket increases range between R3 and R7 while monthly tickets increase between R7 and R30," it said in a statement on its website.
The Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) in the Western Cape urged Metrorail to delay increasing its fares until its services had improved.
Earlier, the trade union federation said it intended to strike to pressure Metrorail not to increase its fares.
"Cosatu has referred the date for the proposed action to Nedlac in terms of section 77 of the Labour Relations Act, for authorisation which will ensure this is a protected strike and covers members and non-members of the federation," provincial secretary Tony Ehrenreich said.
Walker said it would take around 20 years to finalise Prasa's modernisation programme.
Prasa rail's five point operational efficiency plan focused on immediate, short and longer term improvements.
"The fare increase will support the region's most immediate goal to introduce visible and short-term improvements, many of which are already under way," he said.
"Cosatu's call for Metrorail to not increase fares... is unsubstantiated and not an economical fact since the increases are calculated with workers' livelihoods in mind."
The Prasa board approved the increase in line with the Consumer Price Index.


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Reviewed by 4 customers
Comments about PBS Secrets of the Dead: Sinking Atlantis DVD:
Rumor and hypotheses about the life and mysterious disappearance of this advanced seafaring people abound. Recent archaeology reveals a society who populated Crete and multiple Adriatic islands.
A violent volcanic eruption and subsequent tsunami obliterated them in approximately 1600 B.C. The Island of Santorini was the heart of their culture as well as the locus of the cataclysm which left a 3 mile wide crater. You have to see this program!
Comments about PBS Secrets of the Dead: Sinking Atlantis DVD:
This video hit a nerve, as I can not begin to understand how something so horrible took Crete and the people into the sea. Sandy showed his emotions as to how he felt, and I could understand it as well. When you do research some times, you find things you wished you hadn't, and it does become all to real for you, as I have done. It can over come a person sometimes, and you have to let go. Great work on this video!
Comments about PBS Secrets of the Dead: Sinking Atlantis DVD:
I too have been following the work of scientists who try to explain what happened to the ancient Minoan civilization. I first felll in love with their art when I saw pictures in Scientific American many years ago and later in Atens in the museum; then the same civilaization was uncovered and documented on Santorini (Thera). There was a link sugested between the gigantic volcanic eruption that destroyed Thera and the decline of Crete. But the ash could not fully explain the destruction. Now we see that huge, multiple tzunamies followed the eruption to heights that destroyed the cities on the most important coast. The Myceneans then finisherd off this extraordinary culture. I was close to tears as the scientists expressed what they surely felt for the people living through and dying in these catastrophes. I am adding this DVD to my collection of work on the Minoans.
Comments about PBS Secrets of the Dead: Sinking Atlantis DVD:
The topic of this DVD captivated me just from seeing the promo. I couldn't wait to see the whole show.
I hadn't seen anything on this topic that was new or recent in the last 20 years or so. I was very, very glad to have this.
The great thing is that you can stop and write things down if they interest you, or you can go back to portions of the story in order to make sure you got the facts right.
I certainly recommend this fine, fine production.
Bonnie Long
Lynnwood, Washington


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Your gift to help a hardworking entrepreneur will double in impact thanks to a generous World Vision partner.
Micah is from Kenya. He has 1 child. He needs a loan of $375 to purchase more soft drink stock and pay license fees.
Micah is from Kenya. He has 1 child. He needs a loan of $375 to purchase more soft drink stock and pay license fees.
Micah Mukanda is a father of one child, he lives with his family in Kawangware, a rural part of Kenya. Micah has been working hard at his soft drink business within his local community, to help earn a living for his family. At this time, Micah lacks the funds needed to sustain his soft drink business.
With a loan from World Vision, Micah will be able to purchase more soft drink stock for his business and pay his licensing fees, in order to continue to operate his business. He'll also be able to expand his business and increase his income. With the additonal income, Micah will be able to provide for all of his family's daily needs.
In areas where the poor live alongside the more affluent, businesses in the service sector can be very successful. Services include flower cultivation, tailoring/sewing, transportation, repair work, beauty salons and barber shops, and restaurants. Loans are needed to begin, expand, or sustain business with tools and supplies. Loans given to entrepreneurs in the service sector account for around 7% of our loans.
Riruta is in the Nairobi area of Kenya. The climate is moderate and the differences between seasons is minimal. It is a lower income area where the income is earned from industrial labor, construction, household chores, small scale trading and vocation work such as carpentry, masonry, and tailoring. More than 65,000 people live in Riruta.
Rural Kenyans generally live with their extended family in a cluster of huts, which provides shelter and symbolizes the closeness of the people living there. Family members typically share work responsibilities and resources as they support themselves through farming.
Children are considered a valuable resource. A large family means more hands to help on the farm and ensures parents will be taken care of in their old age. Education is provided by the Kenyan government for children up to age 8, however, nearly 1.7 million children do not attend school because of failing economic and social systems.
World Vision focuses on education, immunizations, HIV and AIDS prevention education, food security, and sanitation.
Thank you for supporting a small business loan for Micah Mukanda to expand his retail and services business. After receiving the loan from World Vision, he invested the $375 to purchase more soft drink stock and pay license fees. Micah has been repaying his loan on time with his new profits. He makes weekly payments of $15.
In addition to repaying his loan, Micah is using additional income to purchase food for the family, buy supplies in bulk and expand the current business. Micah's child continues to study in school.
Micah says the loan helped him to pay license fees for his business (manditory for complying with the Law) and purchase drinks. In addition, he says "God bless you as you continue with the noble mission."
Thank you for supporting Micah and World Vision Micro!
Thank you for supporting Micah Mukanda's retail and services business through World Vision Micro. Micah invested his small business loan of $375 to purchase more soft drink stock and pay license fees. He has made weekly payments of $15 and has now fully repaid his loan.
With the profits from his business, Micah decided to buy supplies in bulk, expand the current business and paid for the license of the business. Micah's goal for the future is to earn enough so that he can expand the current business and take out another loan.
Micah's 1 child remains in school. Because of your donation, Micah is able to provide a better future for his 1 child. He is thankful for the loan.
Thank you for providing Micah with hope and a future. These funds are now being recycled to support another hardworking entrepreneur in the same community.


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Brooke Mueller to Cops: 'I Want My Kids Away From Charlie'
Brooke Mueller must've just finished hitch-hiking home from Miami after Charlie booted her off his party plane last week because she's now on a frantic mission to get her twin sons out of Charlie Sheen's house where they're apparently being raised by their new porn star mommies in an F18 hangar. TMZ reports:
Brooke went to the Beverly Hills Police Department a short time ago to ask for help in getting the kids, but she was told Charlie doesn't live in Bev Hills so she was at the wrong police department.
Mike Walters from TMZ was at Charlie's house yesterday and saw the twins there. We're told the twins are living with Charlie full-time … sources connected with Charlie say he's worried about her sobriety.
We're told Brooke was supposed to spend two hours with the kids today.
Charlie Sheen is worried about her sobriety? Wow, that's rich. Granted, Brooke Mueller more than likely relapsed last week, it was only after she stayed at his house while waiting for the mansion he promised her to be ready. Regardless, she could have gone on an eight-day meth bender and it'd still be her versus Captain Win in family court.
JUDGE: Mr. Sheen, why do you think your sons should stay with you?
CHARLIE: So they can witness winning in its purest form, man. I'm like a special dad who shows them how to survive things that would explode your face in front of your children if you even thought them for one tiny second. I operate on a level so bitchin', my alien mind sees into the future, recognizes my sons as winners and then shifts into another time dimension to put tiger blood in their bottles with fucking moonbeam sandwiches. If they just stick to that plan, I won't have to violently love them because there's no in-between. It's drink the fucking blood or be a nobody baby shitting yourself because I don't do diapers. That's how I became "The Wedge" with these two goddesses here. I pay them for sex, but they're also wiping asses and winning.
JUDGE: …. I want to tell the bailiff to shoot you, but I'm afraid the bullets would bounce right off your chest and ricochet around the courtroom.
CHARLIE: They would.
(Okay, he might do alright.)
UPDATE: And Charlie Sheen is pursuing full custody of the kids now. Oh, good.
Photos: Getty


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A NEW stroke psychology service has been launched in the town to help people struggling with emotional problems and depression after a stroke.
Run by Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Trust in association with Warrington Clinical Commissioning Group, staff from the new service will be based at Orford Jubilee Neighbourhood Hub but will work in health centres and homes across the borough.
Dr Carol Sampson, from Bridgewater said: "It is estimated that 14,600 in the north west suffer a stroke each year and currently over 157,000 people are living with the effects of a stroke.
"The new service will give people in the borough access to the essential psychological care and advice they need after a stroke which can prevent further issues developing and ultimately improve their quality of life."
Speak to your GP or the Stroke Association to be referred to the service or visit bridgewater.nhs.uk to find out more.


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Watch New K-Mart Ship My Trousers Commercial [VIDEO]
Subscribe to Big Frog 104 on
First came 'Ship My Pants.' Then it 'Big Gas Savings' and 'Show Your Joe.' Now K-mart is letting customers know they can ship their trousers. In time for the holidays, the cast of Scrooge is excited to 'Ship My Trousers.'
Does anyone use the word 'trousers' anymore. Regardless, the commercial is still funny.
Which K-Mart ad is your favorite. My vote goes to 'Show Your Joe.' It's funny and filled with hot guys. It's hard to top that.


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Looking at the following stock chart of NRG would lead someone to believe that NRG has been doing quite well for itself this year, and they have. Shares have gone up close to 50% this year and are recently trading at $24 per share.
Unfortunately, this chart would not show the virtually side-ways movement this stock has been traveling in for the past four years. Because of such lackluster results, many would turn to management for an indication of bad leadership but, its hard to blame anyone as hard working as current CEO David Crane.
In the past four years, David Crane, has managed to:
1. Dodge a takeover on the grounds that the business was being valued substantially below its intrinsic value.
2. Lead NRG on a project to build a nuclear power plant in Texas, a project that was ultimately failed to receive needed government backing.
3. Purchased Reliant Energy, a major source of its current profits.
4. Increased solar energy production.
5. Repurchased massive amounts of shares at depressed prices.
6. Acquired GenOn Energy, nearly doubling NRG's prior generation capacity.
What else does a guy need to do?
It seems to me, the one kink in Mr. Crane's armor has been extremely low natural gas prices. But, who can blame him for that?
As usual, recently reported earnings continued to shower investors with good news:
-Full Year 2012 adjusted EBITDA of $1.9 billion, up 5%.
-$898 million in free cash flow before projects, up 9%.
-Plan to increase dividend by 33% to $0.48 per share annually (close to 2% per year).
Bottom Line:
Frustrating share prices over the last four years may have investors ready to leave. Unfortunately, selling out of positions is hard to justify as NRG continues to deliver solid numbers and increased shareholder values. I guess I will be sitting on my shares for a while, continuing to think JUST ONE TIME stock market, JUST ONE TIME!
Disclaimer: The author is not a registered investment advisor and does not provide specific investment advice. Data is sourced from Yahoo Finance and company reports. This information is for informational purposes only. As always, please do not invest more than you can afford to lose!
Disclosure: I am long NRG. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.


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THE creators of a sensory garden for four young men with autism in York are appealing for help in finding materials.
United Response, a charity which supports people with learning disabilities, mental health needs or physical disabilities to live in the community, hopes to create the garden at its home in Huntington Road.
Dean Theaker said it is appealing for any materials which may be useful in creating the garden for the men, who are aged from 18 to 26. He thanked Jewsons and Bretts Paving for the paving slabs they had already donated.
He said: "The young lads are crying out for a sensory garden. They like to go in the garden and a sensory garden would be really beneficial for them."
Anyone with materials which may be of use should phone 07876 502274.


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I have the intellect and rationalism to be pragmatic but...
I cannot help but be idealistic.
Listen to a Beethoven Concerto,
See a painting by Monet,
Climb a mountain,
Or see a sunset over the ocean
And tell me that there is not extreme beauty in the world.
I am also from New England (MA and proud). This has bearing.
I also love to go on quests. Join me.
Directions, and if not: asking
Picking out a tune
Knowing what beer you'll like
Making lists...
Movies: Jurassic Park; Indiana Jones (Last Crusade's my favorite); James Bond; Robin Hood: Men in Tights; Black Swan; What About Bob?; The Brave Little Toaster
Shows: Breaking Bad; Game of Thrones; True Detective; Survivor (yes it's still on); South Park; House Hunters; Top Gear; Top Chef
Music: I grew up on and love classical; esp. Beethoven, Saint-Saens, Mozart, Debussy, and John Williams
But I also love Alt-J, Simon and Garfunkel (Paul Simon solo is awesome too), Radiohead, Weezer, The Beatles, The Stones, Led Zeppelin, Queen, Los Amigos Invisibles, Rodrigo y Gabriella, Red Hot Chili Peppers...
I also love a great song, no matter who made it.
Food: If it tastes good I eat it... especially lobster and oysters.
Good Beer
Ice cream
Boat shoes
Disneyland Season Pass


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A YOUNG mum is set to plunge to earth in memory of her friend's baby boy.
Elly Jade Allington, aged 20, of Colomendy, Denbigh, will make a tandem skydive jump in London to raise money for Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool.
It is a cause that is close to her heart. The son of her close friend Tammy Thomson, Oliver-James Thomson Fernley, died at the hospital aged just four days in August 2012.
Elly, a receptionist at Gwyrch Medical Centre, said: "Oliver-James spent time of his short but extremely precious life at Alder Hey's Intensive Care Unit. Thankfully the staff were able to give his parents a few days to bond and unfortunately say goodbye to their gorgeous son.
"Oliver-James had a heart defect which could have been fixed with corrective surgery but as he was born prematurely this cause further problems and he unfortunately lost his life."
Elly, who has a two-year-old son, Louis, was keen to do something to remember Oliver-James and raising money for the hospital will also benefit countless families in the future.
She said: "Having a son myself this really hit home for me and I wanted to do something to help other families in a similar situation at the hospital.
"I wanted to do something that would really challenge me and even though it will be difficult it is nothing in comparison to what most children at the hospital have to deal with.
"This is the first time I have done something like this and I am really nervous, but if we can raise as much as possible then it will be worth it."
Oliver James' parents Tammy Thomson and John-Paul Fernley, formerly of Ruthin, are thrilled that Elly is going to be raising money in memory of their son.
Visiting Elly, Tammy said: "It is fantastic that Elly is doing this and I cannot thank her enough for her fundraising efforts so far.
"I am very proud to call her a friend and hope everybody gets behind her to raise as much money as possible."
The fundraising amount currently stands at more than £150 and Elly hopes to raise considerably more in the last month before the jump.
Elly added: "I set a target of £500 to begin with and it already looks like I am going to surpass that so I am delighted.
"I would like to thank everybody who has donated so far and hope to get plenty more donations by the time I take the jump."
To sponsor Elly visit www.justgiving.com/Elly-Allington.
See full story in the Free Press


text: MADISON, Wis. ( Stockpickr) -- There isn't a day that goes by on Wall Street when certain stocks trading for $10 a share or less don't experience massive spikes higher. Traders savvy enough to follow the low-priced names and trade them with discipline and sound risk management are banking ridiculous coin on a regular basis.Just take a look at some of the hot movers in the under-$10 complex from Wednesday, including OCZ Technology ( OCZ), which skyrocketed higher by 26%; Park City Group ( PCYG), which soared by 21.8%; Recovery Energy ( RECV), which surged by 18.6%; and Ecotality ( ECTY), which ripped to the upside by 14.6%. You don't even have to catch the entire move in lower-priced stocks such as these to make outsized returns when trading. >>This Rally Is in Make-or-Break Mode: 5 Must-See Charts One low-priced stock that recently skyrocketed higher was biotechnology and drugs player Acura Pharmaceuticals ( ACUR), which I highlighted in April 5's " 5 Stocks Poised for Breakouts" at around $2.20 a share. I mentioned in that piece that shares of ACUR had recently formed a double bottom chart pattern at $1.95 to $2 a share. The stock was just starting to trend back above a key downtrend line that had been acting as resistance for over the last month. That move was quickly pushing shares of ACUR within range of triggering a major breakout trade that could send shares soaring higher. Guess what happened? Shares of ACUR triggered that breakout on April 17 with heavy upside volume. The stock exploded to the upside and tagged an intraday high of $3.78 a share, which represented a monster gain of over 60%. If you had bought the stock on weakness or strength to anticipate that breakout, then you banked some serious coin on a day when the overall market was getting hammered. The best part about this move is that ACUR never violated its double bottom area at $2 to $1.95 a share, prior to the explosive breakout. >>5 Stocks With Big Insider Buying Low-priced stocks are something that I tweet about on a regular basis. I frequently flag high-probability setups, breakout candidates and low-priced stocks that are acting technically bullish. I like to hunt for low-priced stocks that are showing bullish price and volume trends, since that increases the probability of those stocks heading higher. These setups often produce monster moves higher in very short time frames. I'm not as eager to recommend investing long-term in stocks that trade less than $10 a share because these names can be very speculative, and the odds for picking the long-term winners aren't great. But I definitely love to trade stocks that are priced below $10. I like to view them as a trading vehicle with lots of volatility and lots of upside when the trade is timed right. >>5 Hated Earnings Stocks That Deserve Your Love When I trade under-$10 names, I do it almost entirely based off of the charts and technical analysis. I also like to find under-$10 names with a catalyst, but that's secondary to the chart and volume patterns. With that in mind, here's a look at several under-$10 stocks that look poised to potentially trade higher from current levels. >>4 Turnaround Stocks With Major Upside


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Styles Tattoo Blogs
gallery picture tattoo, funny tattoos, tattoo popular, art paint tattoos
Owner: ivangbastian
Listed in: Lifestyle
Other Tags: tattoos, funny tattoos, tattoo popular, picture tattoo, sexy tattoos
Flower Tattoos, Skull Tattoos, Tribal Tattoos And Much More Design Tattoos What Others Which Will We.. See, styles tattoos tribal gallery
Owner: jerok
Listed in: Lifestyle
Other Tags: styles tattoos tribal gallery
Tattoos and tattoo pictures of: Dragons, Angels, Stars. Tattoo conventions and tattoo parlor.. listings. Many tattoo flash designs, both real tattoos and fake tattoos
Owner: gokman
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Other Tags: designs tattoo, perfect tattoo
Angel Tattoo, girl Tattoo, tattoo style, Kitty Tattoo, Dragon Tattoo, star Tattoo, Butterfly Tattoo,.. Celtic Tattoo, Foot rosary Tattoo, Cross Tattoo, Horoscope Tattoo, Gemini Tattoo, Fairy Tattoo,.. Flower Tattoo, Heart rose Tattoo.
Owner: gokman
Listed in: Arts
Other Tags: Flower Tattoo, Fairy Tattoo, Heart rose Tattoo., Celtic Tattoo


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I'm at the ENERGY STAR train-the-trainer training in Raleigh for the
next two days. This is the second of 4 such events that are scheduled
for the first half of this month to get the Version 3 Partner training
curriculum delivered to HERS training providers. Actually, it's turning into another part of the feedback loop, and the delivery of the curriculum is now delayed.
In case you aren't aware,…
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text:
Gooood Morning!
Oh friends, I have something amazing for you today! My friend Callie is here to guest post for you, and I think you're going to love her! Callie was one of the first bloggers that I met shortly after the birth of Eat Spin Run Repeat back in 2010. She's had some pretty unique adventures so far in her life, one of which included traveling to Japan. As you may remember, one of my goals for April is to try my hand at making sushi. As soon as Callie told me that she wanted to do a DIY sushi tutorial for her guest post, I was super excited. Prepare to feast your eyes on some GORGEOUS photos!
Hello! My name is Callie and I blog over at Callieflower Kitchen. Angela was nice enough to ask me to guest post for her while she was away on her trip, so here I am!
Several years ago I had the opportunity to travel to Japan on exchange, and in the year that I was there, I completely fell in love with all Japanese food. A common Japanese favourite is sushi, and my host family was nice enough to teach me how to make it on my own at home. A lot of people think that making your own sushi is really hard, but it's very simple once you get the hang of how to roll, and it's much easier on your wallet than pricey trips to sushi restaurants.
Along with a rolling mat, you just need cooked short-grain rice,
Sushi seasoning (5 tbsp per two cups of cooked rice), dried seaweed sheets,
And the fillings. In this case, I'm using crab, avocado and cucumber to make a california roll, but there are plenty of other fillings that work just as well. Salmon, tuna, shrimp, mango, pickled radish, sweet egg, even beef… feel free to get creative!
Begin with a sheet of seaweed on top of the rolling mat, with a piece of saran wrap between. There is a rough side and a smooth side to the seaweed – make sure the rough side is facing up, it will make the rolling easier later. The saran wrap is optional, but it helps keep the mat from getting rice stuck between the slats.
Get about 3/4 cups of rice, or enough to make a layer approximately 1 cm thick.
Spread the rice out evenly, covering all the way to the side edges. Leave a 1/2 inch strip bare on the side closest to you, and approximately 2 inches bare on the other side.
Add the fillings to the centre of the rice. There's no specific order, but I like to put the avocado on the bottom so it's less messy.
Now it's time for the rolling!
Begin by lifting the mat and pulling it up and over the fillings, holding back the fillings with your fingers.
Gently part the seaweed from the mat and saran wrap, and firmly squeeze it against the fillings, continuing to roll away from you. The tighter you keep the roll, the better it will stay together later!
Continue peeling the mat and saran wrap away as you roll, until you reach the end.
The end of the roll might not stick together immediately, but you can dip your fingers in a little bit of warm water and wet it slightly, which will keep it in a nice shape.
And you end up with a perfect roll!
To make the pieces as even as possible, cut the roll in half, the line up the two pieces and cut in half again, and then once more so you have 8 pieces. If the knife sticks while you're cutting, try wetting it and keeping as much starch off it as possible.
And there you have a perfect plate of sushi!
It's good just as is, but I'm a huge fan of spicy mayo. This mayo has become really popular at sushi restaurants lately, but it's super simple to make: just a mix of Japanese mayonnaise and sriracha! There's not even a specific ratio, just add enough sriracha to make it spicy enough for you. Japanese mayonnaise is slightly different that North American mayonnaise (it uses egg yolks and malt/apple vinegars instead of whole eggs and white vinegar), but it can easily be found in most Asian supermarkets.
Although mixing is typical, drizzling both on separately makes for an extra pretty dinner.
Making your own sushi can seem a little intimidating, but it's something everyone can do. I hope you all get a chance to try it in the future!
WOW! Is that not the tidiest looking plate of sushi you've ever seen??? Callie, thanks so much for such thorough instructions. You make all of this look so easy! Friends, are you guys craving these now? I certainly am! You'll hear more about my own sushi making adventures soon, but for now, tell me…
- What's your favourite kind of sushi?
- What's one type of cuisine you'd like to learn to cook for yourself?


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A Ltd Company made a loan of 30k to a new start up Ltd company back in 2007.
Eventually the new venture company failed still owing the 30k.
The lending company has now sold its freehold factory and there is a gain arising of 50k subject to CT.Can the loss on the irrecoverable loan now be offset against the gain on the factory.?
Thanks for any help
Please login or register to join the discussion.
corp tax
If you write off the loan in the accounts you need to determine whether it is an allowable write off of a loan for corp tax.
Very briefly need to see if is a trading loan or not.
Loan relationships v Loans to traders
The loan relationship provisions "trump" the relief for loans to traders set out in S.253 TCGA 1992 (because S.253(3) says so).
This would appear to be a non-trade loan relationship, so if the companies aren't connected and recovery of the loan is unlikely, you can recognise an impairment loss and (assuming their are no NTLR credits) create a NTLRD that can either be set against the current or previous year's total profits (including chargeable gains) or carried forward and set against non-trade sources (which I'm fairly certain also includes chargeable gains).


text:
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text:
Get your sweaters out of the closet. Stock up on Jell-O pudding. Bill Cosby is coming to town.
The legendary comedian plays the Tivoli Theatre Sunday, April 14 at 7 p.m. as part of his current national tour to promote his latest book, "I Didn't Ask to Be Born, But I'm Glad I Was."
Though to younger generations Cosby exists in cultural references to Jell-O Jigglers and Pudding Pops and unique sweaters of all colors and designs, he has played a vital role in easing racial barriers with humor and witty observations.
He was the first black actor to co-star on a television series "I Spy," the NBC show about a tennis journeyman and his trainer who were actually spies for the Pentagon. From 1965 to 1968, Cosby played trainer Alexander Scott to Robert Culp's professional athlete Kelly Robinson.
Cosby also beat out his co-star to win the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series three years running.
The height of the beloved entertainer's influence on modern television came with "The Cosby Show." The sitcom, which ran from 1984 to 1992, was lauded as "an encouraging sign of maturity in matters of race" by Time magazine, and the Huxtables became an indelible part of popular culture.
Cosby, 75, has been a prolific artist throughout his five-decade career: He's written 12 books, released 21 comedy albums and 15 music albums; created television shows such as "Little Bill" and "Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids"; and received 13 honorary degrees.
His newest book offers a collection of his laugh-out-loud and insightful thoughts on the human condition and the things that occupy his life now, including grandchildren and musings on game show contestants.
Tickets for the April concert go on sale Friday, Feb. 1 at 10 a.m. and will range from $48 to $65.50.


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Immigration staff are to stage a one-day strike in the bitter dispute over public sector pensions, threatening huge disruption at airports including Heathrow, which is already being hit by massive delays.
The Immigration Services Union (ISU), which represents 4,500 Border Agency staff, said its members will walk out next Thursday, May 10, at ports and airports across the UK and abroad.
The union said it was in dispute with the Government over plans to increase the retirement age for public servants, linking it to the state retirement age.
The Government is already dealing with complaints about long queues at Heathrow and is planning to draft in 80 extra staff.
The ISU said it believed managers would be used to cover for its members during next week's strike, which is being held on the day tens of thousands of civil servants, lecturers, health staff, Ministry of Defence employees and members of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary also take industrial action.
"The Government will run some kind of skeleton service. If the airlines advise people not to travel on that day things might be quiet," said a union spokesman. "We want a fixed retirement age of 65 for immigration staff."
Immigration minister Damian Green has admitted the Border Force needs to change the way it operates and said the extra staff would start work this month.
But Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union, warned: "Drafting in staff from other areas of an already overstretched agency is like putting a sticking plaster on a serious injury, it will do nothing to stop the inevitable from happening."
Labour said some 1,500 Border Force staff were being cut as the management of Britain's borders drifted "from one shambles to another". Shadow immigration minister Chris Bryant said: "This Government's usual level of incompetence is not good enough when it comes to our borders."
Mr Green said: "This strike is completely unnecessary and we believe the public will find it unacceptable if unions push ahead. The security of the UK border is of the utmost importance and we will use tried and tested contingency plans to ensure we minimise any disruption caused by planned union action."


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This article is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).
Dental caries and dental plaque are among the most common diseases worldwide, and are caused by a mixture of microorganisms and food debris. Specific types of acid-producing bacteria, especially
Dental caries is one of the most common and costly diseases in the world, and although rarely life threatening it is a major problem for health service providers. In order to decrease the prevalence of caries, an improved understanding of the role of the microorganisms in dental diseases is needed [
The oral microbiota functions as a part of the host defense by acting as a barrier, e.g., by competition for essential nutrients and creation of unfavorable conditions to exogenous organisms that may be pathogenic to the host. Over 700 bacterial taxa have been found in the oral cavity, however they are not all present in the same mouth [
Three steps are involved in the formation of dental plaque; First salivary molecules are adsorbed to the enamel as soon as a tooth has been cleaned. Hence the enamel is coated with a complex mixture of components that include glycoproteins, acidic proline-rich proteins, mucins, bacterial cell debris, exoproducts, and sialic acid. The second step is bacterial interaction with this acquired pellicle via several specific cell-to-surface interactions [
An increase in dietary carbohydrates, particularly sucrose, results in additional acid production that may exceed both the capacity of the saliva to remove acid end-products and the neutralizing power of the salivary/plaque buffer system, and results in more frequent acidification of the plaque [
Any carbohydrate that dental plaque bacteria can utilize as an energy source contributes more or less to the virulence of the microbiota and thus has a cariogenic potential. Sucrose is not only rapidly fermented to acidic end products, but it is also the only dietary carbohydrate that can be transformed into EPS in the plaque. Thus, it is considered to be the most cariogenic carbohydrate in the human diet [
How EPSs affect the progress of dental caries has been described as follows [
The control of plaque can be achieved by mechanical oral hygiene procedures, but in many cases that is not enough. Thus, addition of antiplaque or antimicrobial agents to dental health care products has been of value. The main mechanisms by which plaque can be controlled by the use of chemotherapeutic agents are: to reduce the overall rate of accumulation of new plaque, to reduce or remove existing plaque, to inhibit only the growth of those species implicated in disease, and to inhibit the production of e.g., EPSs [
Xylitol is a sugar alcohol or polyol that is naturally present in the human metabolism, and can thus be safely used in dental products or as a food ingredient [
As bacterial adhesion is essential for creating a pro-cariogenic micro-environment, it is important to investigate the adherence of bacteria. Common surfaces that are used in adhesion testing are hydroxyapatite (HA), dentine, microtiter wells, glass surfaces, ceramic surfaces, bovine enamel and human teeth. Quantification of adhered microbes can be done by radiolabeling, optical density or culturing after release of adhered microbes, DNA or protein quantity, attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy or confocal scanning laser microscopy.
Haukioja and co-workers described the use of hydroxyapatite beads, coated with bovine serum albumin (BSA) or human saliva, and human saliva coated microtiter wells [
The so-called Zürich Biofilm Model aims to create a six strain plaque biofilm on hydroxyapatite disks. The bacteria are grown for 64.5 hours and human saliva is replaced every 24 hours. The model can be used to assess anti-plaque agents [
A microbial-based caries model where human teeth are fixed on a rotating mount within a reaction chamber has been described [
Another plaque model called the multiple artificial mouth (MAM) system has also been described [
The Enteromix® caries simulator is a continuous flow system that consists of a chamber system of 16 bottles with a continuous flow of artificial saliva that simulates the oral cavity. HA discs are included in the system to mimic the teeth and to offer adhesive surfaces for
Attachment of
With the
The principle cause of dental caries is well understood; the consumption of easily fermentable carbohydrates (in practice usually sucrose) stimulates the growth of oral microbes, most notably
Caries models have been developed to provide a practical and ethical manner to investigate cariogenicity in defined environments. They have proven to be of great importance in evaluating bacterial growth and metabolism, more advanced systems being able to predict also pathogenicity. Simple
In conclusion, dental caries is one of the most common and costly diseases in the world. Thus, strategies to reduce the risk for dental caries are important. The strategies usually involve decreasing the growth or activity of
Esa Wainio is gratefully acknowledged for the SEM pictures.


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CHILDREN across Bromley Cross got into the swing of summer — and Wimbledon — with free tennis lessons at their schools.
All five primary schools in Bromley Cross were visited by tennis coaches from Bolton Arena for lessons, organised by community group Egerton Park Improvement Committee (EPIC).
And the youngsters will be able to put their new-found skills to the test at a family open day at Egerton Park tomorrow (Sunday) as part of the Great British Tennis Weekend.
Amy Towen, vice chairman of EPIC, said: "The feedback so far from the sessions has been great, the children have really enjoyed it and they have been really excited about it.
"It's about giving the kids the chance to enjoy tennis, have fun and make the sport accessible for them — the younger children were given big rackets and big balls so they are able to play a game and have a go."
Children from Eagley Infants, Eagley Juniors, St John the Evangelist, Egerton Primary and Walmsley Primary of all ages were given coaching in time for the start of Wimbledon.
Bromley Cross councillor David Greenhalgh, also a member of EPIC, added: "I'm absolutely delighted all the schools are taking part in this wonderful initiative."
The tennis open day takes place between noon and 4pm at Egerton Park this Sunday with sessions for infants, juniors, adults and families.
There will also be the opportunity to sign up for further tennis lessons at the park.
For more information and to book onto a session on Sunday, visit greatbritishtennisweekend.com


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Not music to my ears
Over the years, the topic of allowing music to be played in the shop has come up again and again.
This Business About Woodworking
Woodshop News Blog
Over the years, the topic of allowing music to be played in the shop has come up again and again.
The consensus is that the economy has pretty much recovered from the Great Recession, and I am seeing many signs that this is true.
I keep hearing about how many people are still out of work. I need people to work. Seems like it should be a good fit.
I was taken to task in replies to my last post for discussing issues that were not confined to woodworking but that could be applied to many (or any) businesses.
Since most of the people working in shops and on construction sites (from my perspective in California) are of Spanish speaking decent, the immigration issue is one that affects employers deeply.
We all know that skills must be acquired. No one is born with them. It's a learning process.
My take on the recent election is that people have become exhausted with the apparent inability of government to actually accomplish anything.
The recent election has got me thinking about the need for strong leadership, It's obvious that the country is desperate for strong leaders who can pull the warring factions together.
There is an old saying that if you build a better mousetrap, the world will beat a path to your door. In reality, nothing could be farther from the truth.
Well, it's done. My father-in-law's funeral turned out to be the best crappy day of my life.


text: Cut through template plastic and seal the ends of ribbons and trims with ease with the Clover Mini Iron II hot knife adapter tip. The razor-sharp blade heats up along with the iron for precise and clean cuts. 'Adapter Hot Knife Tip' by Clover. Includes 2 blades. For use with the Clover Mini Iron II.


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Newman's Own� All Natural Alfredo Pasta Sauce.
Water, Cream, Parmesan Cheese Blend (Granular and Parmesan Cheese [Pasteurized Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes], Water, Salt, Lactic Acid, Citric Acid), Cornstarch, Egg Yolks, contains 2% or less of: Sherry Cooking Wine, Butter, Salt, Romano Cheese Blend (Granular and Romano Cheese [Pasteurized Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes], Water, Whey, Salt), Soybean Oil, Sugar, Garlic*, Spice, Enzyme, Gum Arabic, Guar Gum, Natural Flavor. *Dried.
Refrigerate after opening.
Always refer to the actual package for the most accurate information


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CodePlexProject Hosting for Open Source Software
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POMONA - Work to convert 20 barn and stable buildings on the grounds of Fairplex into a business center and self-storage facility could begin some time in 2012, the head of the Los Angeles County Fair Association said this week.
Fairplex officials will take steps to carry out the project that will be completed in three phases, said James Henwood, president and chief executive officer of the Los Angeles County Fair Association.
"Now we can move forward," he said Tuesday. "We think this project is a quality project."
The project calls for converting 20 barn and stable building on the Fairplex campus into a 208,721 square foot business center that would accommodate a mix of office, medical, educational, retail, restaurant, and light manufacturing uses.
The project would also include converting some of the buildings into a 94,200 square foot self-storage facility.
Pomona Planning Commissioners approved the project in October 2010 but representatives for Fairplex and for Public Storage Inc, filed appeals soon after.
Fairplex officials asked that a Planning Commission condition limiting the amount of space a tenant in the business center could use for warehousing be changed or eliminated.
Public Storage Inc. questioned the adequacy of an initial study for the project and asked a full environmental impact study be completed.
City Council members voted in November 2010 to hold an appeal hearing and after several postponements the council heard the matter this week.
City Council members voted 5-0 to uphold the Planning Commission's decision on both matters. Council members Danielle Soto and Steve Atchley were absent.
During the hearing lawyers for Public Storage said an analysis carried out by LSA Associates Inc, the city's environmental consultant on the project, was inadequate and failed to answer questions regarding the project.
Attorney Francis Park said the project would have significant impact on land use and should require an environmental impact study.
Park and other representatives of Public Storage said the project would increase traffic in the area, is inconsistent with the city's general plan, would have potential impacts on historic resources and would also bring a self-storage facility when there is no indication there is a need for one.
If the city failed to order a full environmental study then Public Storage would sue Fairplex and the city, Park said.
"I'm here to reiterate we will litigate," said Jim Fitzpatrick, a senior vice president with Public Storage.
Mona De Leon with the consulting firm LSA said the project did not require an environmental impact study because the project would not impact the environment and would have little impact on cultural resources.
No significant traffic impacts are expected to result from the project after reviewing what could be the most intensive potential uses in the business center - medical uses and a trade school, said David Shender, an engineer who worked on a traffic analysis for the project.
Traffic will be monitored and once it becomes necessary a traffic signal in the area of Gate 12 on White Avenue, which would be an entrance to the business park, would be installed, Shender said.
Councilwoman Cristina Carrizosa asked who would be responsible for putting in the signal.
Community Development Director Mark Lazzaretto said the responsibility would be Fairplex's and it was a condition for the approval of the project.
The signal must be added by the third phase of the project, he said.
Some council members including Councilwoman Paula Lantz and Councilman Freddie Rodriguez had concerns about what they said was a broad potential mix of uses at the business park.
Henwood said during the meeting the business center could accommodate various uses such as light industrial and office uses but in early discussions with brokers Fairplex officials learned the center could attract medical uses and educational tenants including tenants who would operate medical and technical training programs.
Carrizosa asked if Fairplex would focus more on educational and medical uses but Henwood said what he and others would like to have is a mix of uses.
Lantz said Public Storage's opposition to the project appeared to stem from a concern over competition not the environmental impacts of the project.
"They clearly don't want this to go forward because they don't want the competing business," she said.
Henwood said Tuesday as originally envisioned the business park would have a mix of uses including office, light industrial, restaurants and other potential tenants have shown interest in the development.
Educational institutions including a flight school, technology education programs, medical education programs and medical offices, have shown interest in leasing space, he said.
In the current economic environment it's difficult to say who exactly would move into the center, Henwood said.
Fairplex can show potential tenants renderings of the converted structures "but until we have the buildings they're not going to come," he said.
In the end Fairplex will accomodate tenants whose work is the most compatible with the activities taking place on the campus, Henwood said.
Reach Monica via email or call her at 909-483-9336.


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While parents and students in the Clarke County School District rushed around last week grabbing last-minute supplies, Aretina Sheats was driving around in an empty yellow bus, stopping to pick up invisible children.
It's the same route Sheats has been driving for three years, but there always are minor changes - new kids move onto her route, and kindergartners head off to school for the first time. She doesn't want to skip a new stop and potentially leave a child behind today, the first day of school for Clarke County students.
"It takes the first week for them to adjust to it, and then they're OK," Sheats said of young children learning to ride the bus.
All 157 bus drivers working for the Clarke County School District made dry runs of their routes Thursday, practicing to pick up the 9,000 or so students who will ride the bus this year.
"I look forward to seeing the kids," said Sheats, a school bus driver for five years. "We're the first ones they see on their way to school in the morning and the last ones they see on the way home. We set their mood for the day."
Sheats loves her job - even when she's got 70 loud and hyperactive elementary-schoolers aboard.
"It takes a special person to be a bus driver," said Cathy Benson, director of transportation for the school system.
It's not only about driving the bus; it's also about making sure children know where they're supposed to be, that they get on the bus and get to school safely.
"Our main goal for the first two weeks of school is making sure we get all the kids on the bus," Benson said.
Then drivers and route planners will start fine-tuning the routes and bus stops according to parents' comments and what happens on the route after the first few weeks of school, once they can see how well the routes and bus stops work in practice.
Bus routes haven't changed drastically since last year, when the Clarke County School District instituted school attendance zones, but some route details and the stop locations have been tweaked, Benson said.
The system's new attendance policy requires students to go to schools closest to their homes instead of allowing them to pick their choice of schools.
That change cut the number of routes needed and slashed the transportation costs by about $500,000, she said.
The school district also changed its bus stop policy.
In the past, buses would stop at every child's house; now, they stop periodically about every 1/3 of a mile to pick up their charges, Benson said.
The school system didn't send out letters to parents this year with bus route information like they did last year, but they did post information at open houses last week at each of the schools.
Parents who have questions about their child's bus route can find more information at www.clarke.k12.ga.us/ busroutes or by calling the transportation office at (706) 546-7721, extension 77100.
Officials have set up a call center to field parents' questions during the first week of school.
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GREEN BAY, Wis. – Undoubtedly, you have heard coach Mike McCarthy and general manager Ted Thompson say numerous times over the years that the Green Bay Packers are a "draft-and-develop" team. Digging through the ESPN.com archives, one need only go back to last December to find a reference by McCarthy to that philosophy. It's buried deep in a story about kicker Mason Crosby's struggles last season, but it's there.
Lately, you may have heard McCarthy amend that to include undrafted rookie free-agent players, of which they kept three in their final cuts.
It would appear the Packers have taken that philosophy to the extreme this year.
In writing about the Detroit Lions' roster makeup earlier on Sunday, my colleague Kevin Seifert used the Packers for comparative purposes and noted that of the 53 players who survived Saturday's roster cuts, 51 of them had never taken a regular-season snap for another NFL team.
The only two players who had were fullback John Kuhn, who played in nine games for Pittsburgh in 2006; and defensive tackle Ryan Pickett, who played five seasons for St. Louis before signing with the Packers as a free agent in 2006.
For the purposes of putting that into context, let's look at the rest of the NFC North. On Minnesota's initial 53-man roster, 14 had previous regular-season experience with at least one other NFL team. Chicago had 20, while the Lions featured 24.
It helps explain why the Packers' roster, as it stood on Saturday night, was the fifth-youngest in the NFL, per ESPN's Mike Sando.
"I wasn't aware of that, and it's never something we talk about," Thompson said on Sunday. "I don't think it's ever been brought up. It's just how it works out."
Thompson loves to reply on phrases such as, "it's just how it works out," some of form of which he uttered twice on Sunday.
But Thompson is the one who makes it work out that way. And his philosophy came through when he was asked why he kept tight ends Brandon Bostick and Andrew Quarless instead of Matthew Mulligan, the only free agent with any significant NFL experience (50 games with the New York Jets and St. Louis) that he signed this offseason.
"In Matthew's defense, we have more body [of] work with those guys because they've been here practicing and playing over the course of the last couple of years," Thompson said.