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"AA" stands for "Alcoholics Anonymous," but I guess that could mean just about anything. Alcoholics and Assholes? On April 1st Atmopshere and SKIBOWL held a rail jam of that name on its world famous rope tow. After it rained every day in March in Oregon, the sun somehow made its way out on this perfect Friday, and all the Alcoholic Assholes showed up for it. "April Fools!"
No seriously, the event was a great success. And how could it not be? The rope tow is world famous and SKIBOWL set up some good lookin' features with down bars and well, you'll see in the edit. They even played pretty decent music all day. Awards were given out for huck your meat, best trick, and riders choice. All the sponsors hooked it up with real sweet gear. So kick back, grab your self a brew and watch this sweet edit with really good music and the best cuts you've ever seen in your life. Keep the fires outta Govy and get ready for April…. fools!! –Chef Ryan Falk
Thanks to all the event sponsors: Atmosphere, SKIBOWL, Thirsty Convoy, Rome, Yobeat, Hobo, Illusive, Rollic, Windells, DSImagery, Shred NW Magazine, POW, and the US Forest Service
Photo gallery courtesy of DS Imagery.
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could the ollie on to that down bar be any smaller
Zeach Nationals
Nice Cut Fleck
easily the best resort in America/ the world
At first, I was semi-impressed by this edit. There were a lot of zeaches in the beginning. But then Project Pat started playing, and this became an awesome edit with some decent riding.
event looked sick. some of the riding was a little suspect though.
The clown at 2:30 needs to throw another couple swivels on that.
whats all the hoo-ha about a world famous rope tow? that thing looked slow as hell!
these oregon kids actually think they're better than anyone else thats not from their state too.
Some drink and some falls… all and all just a drunken haze. not to much but just enough.
not even a swivel back three. i would have won this contest with a burton curl over those stairs probly.
Big shout to all who came out and of course the skibowl park crew and cat drivers.
Check atmosphere-clothing.com for more random shit about boarding with your drinking.
nice swivels…bro
ahhh, skibowl. when the snow levels are low and its puking on hood…it's the place to be
looked fun as hell to me
That was sick, looked like mad fun.
very amazing


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Big Boulder's back for 2013 and better than ever.
The leaders in social data: Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Foursquare, Automattic, Disqus and many more are descending on Boulder again this summer to talk about the future of their platforms. Last year was a huge success and the expectations this year are even higher. We have a line-up that will deliver!
We'll go deep into Asia and Latin America with speakers from China, Brazil and Japan, including the CEO of LINE, one of the fastest growing social networks on the planet. We'll hear about non-traditional applications of Social Data with discussions on Finance, Government, Academic Research and Data Science. And to help us make sense of it all, we'll have industry analysts discussing their views of the future. See the agenda and speakers pages for all the details.
In addition to all the great topics covered in the sessions, we've left plenty of time for networking with others in Social Data, including sunset cocktails with views of the Flatirons, a bicycle pub crawl, and since this is Boulder after all, morning yoga and hiking.
Big Boulder is an invite-only event for the leaders in the social data ecosystem. Space is filling up quickly so if you're still thinking about it, sign up now before we hit capacity. Interested in coming but haven't been invited? First check out our blog post about social data vs. social media. If you're all about social data, email email@example.com for information.

subset: commoncrawl


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It's inevitable that the South Korean movie machine would eventually get around to contributing to the shaping-history time travel movie genre, this time in the form of rookie writer/director Min Joon-ki's "Heaven's Soldiers." As films in the genre usually goes, contemporary characters wind up somewhere in the past, where they happen upon a critical juncture in history alongside one or two significant figures of the time. The protagonists soon discover that the truth doesn't quite jibe with history, and are forced to lend a hand in fulfilling that history. It's a tried-and-true formula, and the best example might be "Star Trek: First Contact" (aka the third best "Star Trek" movie, ever).
The subject of revision in "Heaven's Soldiers" is Lee Soon-shin, a name that holds little meaning outside the Korean peninsula, but is arguably the most well-known (if not most respected) figure in Korean history. Lee was a savvy tactician who beat back the Japanese invaders at the end of the 16th century, employing a perfect combination of skill and luck. Presently, an obscenely large statue of the man stands in Seoul , and his likeness appears on numerous denominations of South Korean currency.
But "Heaven's Soldiers" gets fanciful on us even before the time hopping starts. According to the movie, by 2005 the North and South Korean governments have secretly joined forces to create a nuclear warhead, and when the leaders of both nations decide to hand over the nuke to the American military, North Korean officer Kang Min-gil (Kim Seung-woo) goes rogue and hides away with the nuke along with nuclear physicist Kim Su-yeon (Kong Hyu-jin, "Volcano High"). It's up to South Korean Navy Officer Park Jeong-wu (Hwang Jung-min, "A Bittersweet Life") and a team of commandos to retrieve the scientist and the warhead, but during a heated firefight, the nuke, the scientist, and both groups of soldiers are swept up in the wake of a passing comet (don't ask) and dumped into the late 1500s — right in the middle of a battle between Korean peasants and marauding Chinese barbarians.
Not surprisingly, the soldiers handily dispatch the barbarians with their modern weaponry, and are thus dubbed "Heaven's Soldiers" by the startled onlookers. It's not long before the unwitting time travelers run afoul of a brazen thief who turns out to be no other than the legendary Lee Soon-shin (Park Joong-hoon), looking very un-legendary at the moment. To their horror, the travelers discover that the real Lee is a selfish, thieving layabout more concern with the money in his purse than the future of his country. It's up to hero worshipper Park to mentor his personal hero onto the greater things written about him in history. Meanwhile, Kang and his men task themselves with retrieving the warhead, as scientist Kim tries to figure out how they're all going to get back home.
Being that "Heaven's Soldiers" is very much a Korean film, it is of course schizophrenic in tone, swinging across great distances of broad comedy and intense melodrama and back again. This results in the filmmakers milking their admittedly derivative concept for the full spectrum of emotions. It's a good thing, too, since the "everything but the kitchen sink" approach of "Heaven's Soldiers" is what makes it a unique and mostly entertaining movie in the first place.
Even before the time-travel element is introduced, "Heaven's Soldiers" walks in the realm of the fantastic with its suggestion that both Koreas would cooperate to develop a nuclear weapon in secret. Keep in mind that just five years ago "JSA" stirred up a ridiculous amount of controversy when it offered a story featuring fraternization between enemy soldiers along the DMZ. Taking that into consideration, time travel via near-earth comet fly-by would seems almost mundane, at least from a South Korean perspective.
"Heaven's Soldiers" indulges in the expected fish-out-of-water gags when the soldiers first arrive in the past, but there are also humorous asides about life in the 16th century. But more unique to the setting is director Min's sly dig at the current state of affairs on the Korean peninsula. In particular, the fact that the North and South soldiers insist on maintaining their separate nationalistic ways, leading to pointed scenes where the characters create and enforce a miniature DMZ-esque barrier in front of the dilapidated forest hovel that serves as their base of operations. In fact, it's the film's numerous subtle jabs at modern life and politics that sets "Heaven's Soldiers" apart from other films with a similar premise.
Expectedly, "Heaven's Soldiers" takes a decidedly dark turn at roughly the halfway mark, embarking on a detour to Melodramaramaland with gusto. The plotline about the Chinese barbarians which had been sitting at the peripheral edges finally comes to the fore when the invaders embark on a blood vendetta against our displaced heroes. The result is a fairly jarring segue into a period war film as Lee finds his strengths as an emerging leader and our time-displaced soldiers set aside their differences for the Cause (and that's definitely deserving of a capital "C") while all traces of comedy evaporates from the story.
Despite its flaws, "Heaven's Soldiers" holds up well as a whole. As in the case of the recent "A Bittersweet Life," "Heaven's Soldiers" writer/director Min Joon-ki is well aware he's not reinventing the wheel, and as a result plays with audience expectations at every opportunity. It's probably no accident that the time travelers land in the time of the revered Lee Sun-shin, considering the political shakeups the Korean Peninsula has undergone since the end of World War II. If anything, "Heaven's Solders" serves as a calling card to a simpler time, before demilitarized zones and foreign influences split the country. Ultimately, this is where "Heaven's Soldiers" shines — it starts off as a routine time-travel story, only to finish up as a nationalistic male-empowerment/brotherhood movie.
Joon-ki Min (director) / Joon-ki Min (screenplay)
CAST: Jeong-min Hwang …. Park Jung-woo
Seung-woo Kim …. Kang Min-gil
Soo-hyun Kim
Hyo-jin Kong …. Kim Su-yeon
Joong-Hoon Park …. Admiral Yi Sun-shin


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BY TERRY Terrybly Densiliss Sun Glow
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Free agent centre Derek Roy is available. But is he any better than Mark Arcobello?
Craig Button blasts Roy, but the veteran centre would provide competition at Oilers camp …
Here's what former NHL GM Craig Button had to say about the Edmonton Oilers depth at centre heading into the 2014-15 season: "I don't see them as anywhere near good enough."
But Button, speaking with Bob Stauffer of the Oilers on Friday, added he didn't think unrestricted free agent Derek Roy was the answer for Edmonton, Roy being one of the last available UFA options, along with veteran centre Steve Ott.
"He can't play," Button said of Roy. "He can't skate, he can't play, he's not big enough, he's been injured. Basically, he's not good enough. Wouldn't touch him.
"Up until about three years ago he was a very good, strong player but he ended up getting injured and the game got quicker and faster and to me he's just not able to play at the pace and in the Western Conference. Small centreman that can't skate, I'm not interested."
Stauffer then asked the key question: if the Oilers would be better off with "unproven" Mark Arcobello as opposed to Roy.
Said Button: "I think so much of the time teams, and everybody is guilty of it … you start to go 'I know what that guy can do, I'm not so sure about the unproven guy.' "
But Button said teams need to take into account the well-known limitations of an experienced player, such as Roy.
"I'd rather go with an unproven guy that skates better, competes, hasn't been injured. Players have an expiration date, I get that. And they have a period of time leading up to the expiration date. That's just the nature of pro sports and that's never going to change. But I'm not prepared to go and take players who are at that point and don't fit what your needs are just because they have experience."
My take
Let's compare Arcobello and Roy by the numbers.
Mark Arcobello is 5-feet, 8-inches, 163 pounds. Roy is 5-feet, 9-inches, 184 points. Advantage Roy.
Arcobello will be 25 this year, heading into his prime, Roy 31, heading out. Advantage Arcobello.
Arcobello played 15:04 per game in 41 games with a weak Oilers team. Roy played 13:37 on a strong Blues team. No advantage.
Arcobello won 51 per cent of his faceoffs. Roy won 47 per cent. Advantage Arcobello.
Arcobello had 18 points in 41 games, 1.82 points per 60 of five-on-five play. Roy had 37 points in 75 games, 1.55 points per 60 minutes of five-on-five play. Advantage Arcobello.
Mark Arcobello was part of a group of Oilers, most often with Andrew Ference, Jeff Petry, David Perron, Justin Schultz, Anton Belov, Nick Schultz and Jordan Eberle, that had 46 shots for, 54 shots against per 100 even strength shots. Roy was part of a group of Blues, most often with Chris Stewart, Brenden Morrow, Roman Polak, Kevin Shattenkirk, Jay Bouwmeester and Alex Pietrangelo, that was 53 for, 47 against.
Roy was with a better group of players, we can gather than from this shots on net data. But I'm not at all convinced that the St. Louis group would have done any worse with Arcobello as their centre, not Roy. No advantage.
Roy has played 666 regular season NHL games and 49 playoff games, but since a major injury in 2010-11, he's not been the same. He used to get 0.8 to 1.0 points per game. Now he gets 0.5 to 0.6 points per game. Arcobello had 28 points in 15 AHL games to end last season, after doing a credible job as the Oilers second line centre in the first six weeks of the season, filling in for Sam Gagner. His level of play in that second line role was about as good in terms of two-way hockey as anything Sam Gagner every provided for the Oilers. Gagner is a better attacker than Arcobello, but Arcobello is a smarter positional defender.
Arcobello is younger and about the same size as Roy. He scored at a higher rate and won a higher percentage of faceoffs than did Roy last year. Most of all, though, Arcobello is trending up while Roy is trending down.
Arcobello is the better bet, and Button is right to say so.
At the same time, is Roy really done as an NHLer? He doesn't look like a good bet to play decent hockey as the second-line centre for the Oilers, but he should still be an option for the third or fourth line, and to compete in training camp with Arcobello and Anton Lander for a spot.
The Oilers need more competition at centre and if GM Craig MacTavish can't find someone better by September, Roy can provide that competition. On a low dollar, one-year deal, he might assist the Oilers.
Links to NHL Rinks
Willis: Oilers must consider trading Justin Schultz
McCurdy: Petry and Schultz and their arbitration status
Staples: Jeff Petry leaked goals against last year, but he's still a keeper. Here is why…


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403 Forbidden error – index.php 000 permission
I just checked what was a perfectly healthy website (at least last week it was ok). Today I am getting this error –
You don't have permission to access /index.php on this server.
Additionally, a 403 Forbidden error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.
I looked at my site and found that the index.php is 000 in permission. Tried to change it using file manager to 644 but I cannot change permissions. In the CPanel File Manager, it seems I am able to change permission to 644 but when I move around to another directory, and come back to the main WP directory, I see the index.php is back at 000 permission.
My .htaccess file reads like this (I have WP-Padlock installed)
<Files 403.shtml> order allow,deny allow from all </Files> deny from 18.104.22.168/32 deny from 220.127.116.11/31 deny from 220.127.116.11/30 deny from 188.8.131.52/29 deny from 126.96.36.199/28 deny from 126.96.36.199/27 deny from 220.127.116.11/26 deny from 22.214.171.124/26 deny from 184.108.40.206/27 deny from 22.214.171.124/28 deny from 126.96.36.199/29 deny from 126.96.36.199/30 deny from 184.108.40.206/31 deny from 188.8.131.52/32 # BEGIN WordPress <IfModule mod_rewrite.c> RewriteEngine On RewriteBase / RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L] RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d RewriteRule . /index.php [L] </IfModule> # END WordPress
The IP addresses (probably from a hacking attempt) do not match my ip address nor my hosting ip address.
Just previous to this issue, I upgraded to 3.2.1 and my left side navigation bar went out. I followed the procedure and got the left nav bar issue fixed.
Luckily, I am able to get in the wp-admin. I started turning plugins on and off but no success so far.
Anybody else having this problem? Please advise…
- The topic '403 Forbidden error – index.php 000 permission' is closed to new replies.


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F team news.Foundation picked up a new AM. Hand rail master Tony Silva. Not Da Silva, just straight up Silva. Hes new and kicking arse! Watch for him in and the rest of the F Galm boys in Foundations Tragic Hysteria tour on 411 #49.
In other F AM news, Mike Rusczyk has a mini interview coming up in the next Slap, issue # December. Mike Rusczyk is also in line for knee surgery, he has some torn up shit in there. Plus, Mike just accepted sponsorship for Speed Metal bearings, look for the 2 page ad in mags now.
The F in Europe article will be in Transwolrd issue # January. Look for the escapades of Daniel Shimizu, Mike Rusczyk and Justin Roy as they unleash their homicidal activities on the streets of Europe. I heard the stories and they sound like fun.
Justin Strubing and Daniel Shimizu are cruising out to Spain for the Barcelona contest. If your on that side of the globe, go check em and let em know you care. After the contest theyll be on a filming mission for the new and highly anticipated Emerica video.
Now go skate!


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Jeka Stojanovic Closeup III
Jeka Stojanovic Closeup
This is a photo of Jeka Stojanovic at the GreaTaste "GUESS Jeans" Meetup.
Caitty Lux - Portrait I
Caitty Lux - Film Noir II
Deyana And Roberta Have Wings
Deyana Glamour II B&W
An angled artistic shot of Deyana Teeyl
Roberta Glamour I
Lions Gate B&W Tower
On Jan 11, 2015 I went on my first photo-walk with the Van City Free Capture Photography Meetup group. We were aiming to capture a sunrise but instead we ended up getting a lot of fog which made for some great photo opportunities. This is a picture of the main tower of the Lions Gate Bridge. You can see the rest of the images from this photo-walk here https://500px.com/xwiechers/sets/lionsgatebridge
Granville Bridge from Granville Island
View of the Granville Bridge as seen from Granville Island at night
Seawall from Lions Gate Bridge
Valentine's Day 2015
This is the image that I created for Valentine's Day for my wife
Kate Mazurok #2
Model: Kate Mazurok. MUA: Myranda Warren
Yana Dimitrova #2
Model Yana Dimitrova. Make-Up Artist Meghan Judge.
Yana Dimitrova
This is a photograph of Model Yana Dimitrova. Make-Up Artist was Meghan Judge. This was part of a photo shoot with the Metro Vancouver Photography Workshop
The Charm - Yana Dimitrova & Alexandra Osan
I love the pose that these two models did and how the wrist charm caught the light almost matching the charm of Yana =) . Model (sitting) Yana Dimitrova. Her Make-Up Artist was Meghan Judge. And Model (standing) Alexandra Osan. Her Make-Up Artist was Alina Reeves
Alexandra Osan
This is a photograph of Model Alexandra Osan. Make-Up Artist was Alina Reeves. This was part of a photo shoot with the Metro Vancouver Photography Workshop
Kate Mazurok
Model: Kate Mazurok. MUA: Ana Maria
Bell Building Vancouver
Downtown Vancouver
Vancouver BC buildings in the downtown core Burrard and Georgia st. This image is an HDR of three images. The angle was wide so I corrected to straighten it up. The fog of that day created a great atmosphere but the traffic on the street was ruining the shot. So I blended the image with a vertical motion blur to remove the distraction of the street
Vancouver Fountain of the Pioneers
Sacred Heart Church - Johnstown, Nova Scotia
Sacred Heart Church in Johnstown, Nova Scotia. The Church sits on top of a hill overlooking the Bras d'Or Lake. It first opened it's doors to its Christian community on November 8,1891
Jesus - God's Greatest Gift to the World
This is a combination of two images. A sunset in my hometown and a crucifix that I took a picture of in Nova Scotia
Sunset At Vancouver II
This is just a fun combination of two of my other pictures. One is the Sunset at Vancouver and the other one is the Seagulls with the moon as a background.
Vancouver Fire and Ice
Gentian Speedwell
Gentian Speedwell (Veronica gentianoides) - Plantain Family - Plantaginaceae. Native to Southwestern Asia & Caucasus. Perennial
Leftover Leaves
Leftover Leaves at the end of autumn
Van Dusen Gardens Bridge
Mystical Forest
Hunted Park
Graveyard Tree
Mystical Glowing Flower
Four Seasons Forest
Mystical Sundial
Sundial from Van Dusen Gardens turned into a medieval mystical image. This sundial was in a plain garden, the pedestal was green and the sundial was a bit boring. So I decided to have some fun with it.
911 vs 9.11
Good vs Evil. It is amazing how the same sequence of numbers can have such a different meaning. In one of them a symbol of assistance, hope and safety while the other one terror, sadness, and fear.
PEI Lawn Chair
I Command You to Rise
I saw these kids playing by the fountain. The fountain would drop in pressure and rise again. They were pretending to command the water to rise.
Waterfalls III
Chinese Pagoda
Gold Leaf on Stone
Low to the Ground Road
Low angle view of road on sunset. Image shows the grit of the road right at the divisor yellow line
Earth Zipper
Old Tractor
Meditation Garden II
Purple Pine with Stars
Closeup of a pine tree branch with water dew drops left behind by a heavy fog. The water drops have reflections of the pine tree and have a jewel-like sun burstColor changed to purple.
Frosty Bench
Mount St. Helens
I was with my family visiting Mount St. Helens. I was amazed at the destructive power of the mountain's famous eruption of May 18, 1980. But more impressive was seeing how nature was rebuilding the environment around the destruction. I thought the shot exemplified nature's ability to rebuild itself. I liked how the log led my eyes to the mountain as if it was pointing out the culprit of such devastation while the new flowers next to it were the focal point of the shot.
Gentian Speedwell II
Garden Steps with Railing
Garden steps in one of the trails at Van Dusen Gardens. image focuses on four steps inviting the viewer to walk on them. There is a natural handrail made out of a tree trunk. The steps are made of stone and have a very low profile. the steps are surrounded by greenery
Water Lily
Moon and Seagulls
In the original photo the image of the moon was too small. So I replaced it in the same location with an image of the moon from NASA. Other than that the shot is as captured.
Red Fruit Blue Tree
Playground on Mars
Photo taken on a foggy night. The background is a soccer field floded with fog. Changed the tone to a copper tone.
VanDusen Gardens Trees
VanDusen Gardens Trees. The trees had no leaves but the branches created a snow-fall-like of colours. I love the mood of the shot. I used a cartoon effect to make it more painterly-like
Tree B&W Copper Toned
Rusted Chains Securing Water Tank
Vertical Chain showing 5 links. The chain has been weathered and it contains rust. The chain has been captured up-close. The chain is securing a water tank that also has rust in it.
Meditation Garden Entrance Sign
Landscape I Van Dusen Gardens
Grouse Mountain Tree Trunk on Spotlight
Peaceful scene of two chopped tree trunks. The sunglight is coming through some of the low level cloud or myst acting as a spotlight for the scene. Tree trunks are surrounded by a forest
Duck - Van Dusen Gardens
Flower on Cool Blue
Tree trunk or log laying low formed a frame for a new flower growin next to the chopped log. the mist created a perfect background for the image. The sun light penetrated the mist or fog to produce a spotlight effect
Grizzly Bear B&W
Van Dusen Totem Pole II
Weeping Katsura Tree
Starry Night Trees
Ladner Pier with Fog II
Purple & Yellow Flower Spotlight
Totem Pole Eye
Water Droplet in Branch
Water droplet accumulated in branch after a heavy fog. The droplet reflects its surroundings. The sun light breaks through the fog and casts some rays on the branch and water droplet
Whistler Sunset I
Light Cactus
Ladner Barn
Peak to Peak Gondola
Whistler Peak to Peak Gondola. Color changed to orange
Faith In So Many Words
Autum Road
Flying Eagle
Van Dusen Gardens Panorama
White Flower
Bleached Colours Flower
Cherry Blossoms
Eye of the Wind
Eye of the Wind. 1.5 megawatt wind turbine of Leitwind LTW77-1500 type with 65 metres hub height and 76.8 metres rotor diameter at the peak of the Grouse Mountain resort in Vancouver British Columbia. The design was recognised in the 2011 Consulting Engineers of British Columbia "Awards for Engineering Excellence"
VanDusen Festival of Lights - Squid
Mountains and Beach
Fisherman's Memorial II
Terry Marie
Fantasy Moon I
This is a composition of three images that I took separately
Rick at Tower Beach
Went on a Meetup with a group of photographers to take pictures at Tower Beach in Vancouver, British Columbia. As I turned around I saw Rick taking a shot from the rock and took the shot. I usually don't take pictures of other photographers as it is a bit of a cliche but in this case I really liked the composition.
Canadian Forces Snow Birds
Canadian Forces Snow Birds celebrating 45 years of aerial excellence. The 431 Demonstration Squadron have performed at every Abbotsford International Airshow since their inception and will have flown over 2,500 performances by the end of this season.
Spiked Speedwell?
Does anyone know the name of this plant. I took a picture of it at the Bloedel Floral Conservatory but forgot to get the name of the plant. It looks like a Spiked Speedwell. Can someone that knows verify this?


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2007-2014 Suzuki SX4 Road Race Anti Sway Bar - Rear
[Rear Anti Sway Bar SX4]
I installed the rear sway bar a couple months after purchasing my SX4 and the improvement in cornering was immediately apparent. Easy installation with a few basic hand tools. Money well spent as the ratio of gains vs dollars is high.
Date Added: 05/11/2009 by TIM SEELEY


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Grammy award winning Harlem producer Omen is best known for his work with the likes of Mya, DTP frontman, Ludacris, Dipset affiliate Vado and more recently for his work on Young Money's superstar Drake. Omen leant both his pen and his super production skills to Drizzy's Thank Me Later song "Shut It Down. After the success of Black Hero Theme Musik (which boasted features from Teedra Moses, Smoke DZA, Diggy Simmons and more), Omen is getting ready to release the sequel. He chops it up with stupidDOPE.com about his thoughts on the industry and on what' coming next *it's another HUGE one*
You have worked with some of the biggest names in the music industry and have won a Grammy but you also regularly put out dope projects with indie artists. Is it important to you to nurture fresh talent? Yeah. 'Cause I feel you always have to stay at the ground level to remain relevant and keep the sound fresh with the Generation. There's a artist born like every 15 minutes.
Of all of the projects you've worked on, which one stands out for you the most? I have a few notable ones, but I'd have to say the Black Hero Theme Musik Project because it was done how I envisioned…while other projects you'll prolly just get a beat or two on it I think taking on a whole project is what it's all about in becoming great as a producer.
What was the inspiration behind "Black Hero Theme Musik"? The Blaxploitation Sound of the 70s always inspired me and I felt Hip Hop as of recent has a lot of trap music out, so we wanted to give it something fresh but nostalgic.
"A Negro Spiritual" was pretty powerful and a little underrated in my opinion. Do you think people fully understood the message behind it? Some got the message but many may have overlooked it. I think it's always good to reflect on Black History and see how today there is still a Slave mentality as well as Racism. I wanted to give the listeners a history lesson but also make the record fun enough where it doesn't sound too preachy.
You have definitely worked hard and genuinely made a name for yourself. How do you feel about producers who get way too much "help" with their production and far too much credit off the back of somebody else's work? Well, some producers definitely put their name on projects that they only put 5% of effort into and some evenly share the credit due to fairness. At the end of the day it's politics, so producers coming up have to know their value, and trust who they feel gives them a fair share of a song.
Your collabs with fellow Harlemite Vado are always tight. Have you been heavily involved in his upcoming album? Yeah. Vado is fam. I really don't know if I'm on the next project. Prolly will reach out to him though, we haven't been on the radar lately but definitely it's about due.
Are there any artists out there who you'd like to hear on one of your beats? Yeah. I definitely wanna get a Jay-Z record or even Nas. I mean, I think as a producer working in the game, your goals should be to connect and possibly collaborate with those who inspired you or you came up listening to. Also a lot of new artist. I'm always down to collab with like a Kendrick Lamar or Ab-Soul and on the R&B/Pop end – Miguel or Rihanna. You know gotta keep the sound diverse.
Would you (if you haven't already), turned any artists down who wanted to work with you? If you have, why? Don't really turn down artists much because I'm full of Ideas and I like the challenge. But it also depends on the artist and the benefits of working. Some artists cut checks and some artistsmay want something on the strength. So that's where you have to decide which road to take. Me personally, [I] prefer budgets *laughs*But if I believe in a certain artist I'm gonna help as much as I can to get them out there.
Who are your top 5 producers of all time and why? (You can include yourself in the list) Well definitely myself. And I'd have to say DJ Premier, Dr Dre, RZA, Kanye West. Oh and old school – producers too like Gamble and Huff and Curtis Mayfield. [They] always inspire me when I get in a creative block.
Favourite pair of sneakers you own: Not really a 'sneaker head' but the Crimson Foamposites are special cause the style is dope… but also because I'm a Knicks Fan the orange and blue colors speak to me.
What can we expect next from Omen? Well, Black Hero Theme Musik 2 is in the works now. So we'll be at it again with that soulful sound and pretty much the same core of artists as BHTM 1 (but expect some surprises on this next one on the features end). Also there are some other notable projects in the works I can't speak on, but look out soon. I'd like to give hints but y'all will Thank Me Later.
Is there anything else you'd like to add? Appreciate the look and definitely wanna big ups Audio BLK who been rockin' with this EMO movement from day one also Incredible Stro and other producers I have the opportunity of working with and vibing with. I guess keep up with the twitter @Producedbyomen and let's keep this Hip Hop movement strong. Oh, and I'm definitely keeping my ear to the streets for artists for the next Black Hero Theme Musik.


text: I apologize if this has been posted, did a search and saw nothing. http://www.orionleathercompany.com/default.asp Anyone had experience with these? They make belts similar to Tanner Goods and Corter. $30 for a natural leather belt was a great looking deal so I bought one. I'll let yall know how it is when I get it.


text:
Reviews - Viewpoint Guest House4
11 Constitution Hill Road, ,, Poole, BH14 0QB
Customer Reviews
Our reviews are from genuine LateRooms.com customers. We verify that the customer has stayed before leaving a review.
94% would recommend it to a friend
Customer service
Food quality
Room quality
Great place
Great place friendly owners.
Not to gar away from the town center about 20 minutes walk. Room lovely 4 poster bed and clean. Nice double shower. The surprise we had the room with the balconey. Would stay here again. Oh and you have to try the fresh cooked Breakfast, no cheep sausages or bacon like you would get other places. Choice of full fry, scrambled egg salmon and asparagus and other things. If you want a healthy option plenty of fresh local fruits the list goes on
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Lovely guest house
Enjoyed our stay here.
Looked like any other house from the outside and then once in the room it was fantastic, with very powerful shower, excellent food and Heather the land lady who was very helpful.
Tea coffee and water in the room with large TV, fan, kettle,fridge. large comfy bed and easy off street parking. If I need to stay in Poole again then I will be booking this place again before looking anywhere else.
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midweek stay
Brilliant place stayed there before always friendly great breakfast.
Will stay again.
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Very welcoming
Lovely room, nice and clean, friendly host, great selection at breakfast nice and fresh, would happily stay again worth every penny.
Lovely stay and great breakfast
We stayed here for two nights.
The room was large and clean with a lovely bathroom and four poster bed. It was a short walk to some lovely restaurants. We paid a very good price. There was a large selction for breakfast.
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Viewpoint Guest House
Great value for money.
Lovely room with four-poster bed. Very clean & tidy. Really nice breakfast with plenty of it. Friendly owner.
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Great hotel
Lovely people,fantastic room and superb breakfast.
Viewpoint Guest House
Very friendly on arrival and throughout stay.
Happy to go the extra mile. Room large and clean. Good parking. Room was very quiet even though situation on a main road. Large tv in room but unfortunately needed a better receiver as it had difficult in picking up channels. Would recommended this B&B and definitely stay again.
Read More Less
4 poster bed in a smallish room, bit overpowering but comfy enough.
Location on roundabout so quite noisy. Street lights shone through blinds, blackout blinds would be better. Nice large shower and room to dry yourself. Nice to have fresh milk and a mini fridge. Delicious breakfast with lots of choice.
Read More Less


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12 February 2015
Following 14 hours of overnight talks, Angela Merkel, Francois Hollande, Petro Poroshenko and Vladimir Putin agreed on a draft document titled "Set of measures to implement the Minsk Agreements". The text refers to the agreements, signed between representatives of Russia and Ukraine in September 2014, but which have not been implemented in full.
The document is a mixture of the least controversial positions held by Ukraine and Russia and includes most of the provisions included in the previous, September agreement. This document will have to be signed by the member of the Trilateral Contact Group: OSCE representative Heidi Tagliavini, Ukraine's representative (and second president) Leonid Kuchma and Russian Ambassador to Ukraine Mikhail Zurabov, as well as two private persons Zakharchenko and Plotnitsky without any mention of their DNR/LNR "affiliation".
Summary of the text:
The scanned pages of the document in Russian have made it to the Internet (can be viewed here). I will now briefly outline its 13 provisions (in bold) with my short commentary (in plain text).
1. Ceasefire in the "some areas" of Lugansk and Donetsk region as of 00.00 on 15 February 2015. This provision alone appears very vague but should be understood in the context of the next point.
2. Withdrawal of heavy artillery systems from a demilitarized zone 50/70/140 killometers wide (depending on the type of systems: Grads, Uragans etc). The withdrawal should start after the second day of ceasefire and be completed after 2 weeks. The biggest problem of this provision is that different reference lines are defined for Ukraine and Russian militants, which is sure to cause controversy and potentially tensions on the ground.
3. Monitoring and verification of the ceasefire regime should be carried out by the OSCE. The means mentioned (UAVs, radiolocation systems etc) are unlikely to be deployed quickly, there's no mention of the addition staff to be deployed in the conflict zone or of their competences.
4. Within 30 days, Ukrainian parliament should adopt a regulation, which will specify the exact territories where a "special regime of local government" (September agreement) will be applicable.
5. Amnesty for "persons involved in events in some areas of Donetsk and Lugansk regions" by implementing a separate law. This provision is phrased in a very vague way, without specifying how it should be implemented on the executive level: for example, doesn't mention pending criminal cases.
6. Release and exchange of "all hostages" and "illegally held persons" based on the "all-for-all" principle. Again, phrased in a very vague manner, so it is not immediately clear whether, for example, Nadiya Savchenko (a Ukrainian POW held under detention in Moscow) is subject to the provision. There is also no mention on which institution or authority will coordinate the exchange of prisoners of war.
7. Safe delivery and distribution of humanitarian aid. Doesn't specify the "clearance" mechanism for the delivery of the humanitarian aid, hence Russia will keep on claiming its "convoys" are humanitarian aid.
8. "Determining modalities of the full restoration of social-economic ties" with Ukraine, including "social transfers" (pensions etc). Ukraine "will restore the management of its segment" (of the banking system) and the "international mechanism for facilitating such transfers might be created". Although this provision presents no clear commitment on Ukraine's part to restore in full the social payments and subsidies, it provides no alternative means of financing, so it is bound to remain a huge point of contention.
9. "Restoring full control over the state border by the Ukrainian government in the whole conflict zone" is supposed to start after the local elections are held (under the Ukrainian law) and to finish by the end of 2015. This provision, however, is conditional on a number of concessions listed in point 11, each of which could potentially give the militants and Russian forces a reason to block the transition of control over the border.
10. Withdrawal of "all foreign armed groups, military equipment and mercenaries" under the OSCE supervision. The provision is weak on monitoring mechanism and provides no clear deadline.
11. "Constitutional reform" in Ukraine with the adoption of a new constitution by 2015. This constitution should be based on decentralization and take account of peculiarities of "some areas" of Donbas. This "special status" is supposed to be enshrined in Ukraine's legislation through a number of conditions: e.g, "language self-determination", "economic cooperation with Russia". Some of those conditions, however, seek to legitimize the current political control of the occupied regions by the militants. For example, "creation of militia units by local authorities" seems to grant pro-Russian militants an official status even despite the requirement of "withdrawing foreign armed groups".
12. Local elections in the occupied regions will be planned within the Trilateral Contact Group and will be held under the monitoring of the OSCE ODIHR. The question of whether the election can be considered free and fair before the militant groups and Russian forces are withdrawn (given point 9) is still an open one.
13. Working groups to be set up in the Trilateral Contact Group to implement this agreement.
To conclude, I have to mention a nice yet disconcerting term used in this document. The "comprehensive political settlement" is described as the adoption of the new constitution and passing of the laws on the "special regime", but it is likely to be invoked to pile up new demands by the pro-Russian militants and Russia, regardless of whether they are mentioned or not. This may well mean that a Minsk-3 is upon us in half a year.


text:
Not what you are looking for? Ask the experts!
Restoring files from Norton 360 Back-up
I am attempting to restore my files. The problem is that when I press to start the process, it is showing some 38,000 files.
It is asking me over-write each one! How do I get it to just re-instate my back-up without the over- write request on each file?
In addition, at this stage the program will not allow me to close it down, the only way I can shut the process off is to use Ctrl, Alt, delete.
A further problem has now emerged, an error message,8504,104.
Advice would be greatly appreciated.
Re: Restoring files from Norton 360 Back-up
are you trying to restore the files from the online backup storage space, or from a local drive?
For the 8504,104 error the best solution is a reinstall with the Norton Removal Tool:
1. If you use the feature, please backup your Identity Safe data (Settings -> Identity Protection -> Backup)
2. Download latest Norton 360 installer:
- www.norton.com/n360s_5 Standard with 2GB Online Storage
- www.norton.com/n360p_5 Premier with 25GB Online Storage
- www.norton.com/n360sne_5 Standard Netbook Edition with 2GB Online Storage
- www.norton.com/n360pne_5 Premier Netbook Edition with 25GB Online Storage
- for other languages than English please go to the Norton Update Center: www.norton.com/nuc
3. Download Norton Removal Tool: www.norton.com/nrt
4. Disconnect from internet
5. Remove the old Norton 360 version from Start Menu or from Control Panel -> Add or Remove programs
6. Reboot
7. Run the Norton Removal Tool, reboot (repeat it 2-3 times)
8. Install Norton 360 version 5 with the downloaded installer
9. Reconnect to the internet
10. Activate Norton 360 version 5 with the same key you have for the older version
11. Run Live Update until you get no new updates
12. Restore your Identity Safe data (Settings ->Identity Protection -> Restore)
You can check how the Norton Removal Tool works in this video.
Let us know the results.
Re: Restoring files from Norton 360 Back-up
After the reinstall copy the ARestore.exe and the ARestore.loc file from the c:\program files\norton 360\engine\188.8.131.52\ folder to the root folder of the HDD where your backups are stored, and double click on it. It should detect all the previous backup sets you made.
Let us know the results.
Re: Restoring files from Norton 360 Back-up
wgg1848 wrote:
For example, I use ACDSee Photo Manager, all the folders have reappeared within that programme, complete with the names but the folders are empty. Can I just move all the pictures back into those folders?
Yes, you can move those file back.


text:
Good Friday on you, dear readers.
The Penguins are wrapping their final training-camp session at Consol Energy Center. There is a chill in the air. Seriously, it's freezing in here.
Some quick hits:
♦ There are 23 players left in camp. Rosters must be trimmed to 23 by 5 p.m. Friday. Draw your own conclusions.
= Great stuff here from Josh Yohe on the power of 25 for great NHL players:
♦ Shameless self promotion:
Catch this blog author on the WPXI pregame show before the Penguins-Flyers tilt on NBC on Saturday (3 p.m).
Also, Sunday marks my debut as Root Sports Pittsburgh around-the-NHL reporter for select Penguins games. Looking forward to working with Rob King, Dan Potash, Paul Steigerwald and Bob Errey – not to mention all those fine behind-the-scenes folks.
♦ Speaking of root, the Black & Gold scrimmage drew a 6.67 rating Wednesday night.
That beat all local prime-time programming.
About 200,100 people watched the scrimmage, according to Nielsen Media Research.
"Amazing fans," said Root Sports Pittsburgh GM Shawn McClintock.
Remember, Penguins ratings were tops last year, locally, for any NHL or NBA team.
♦ And, finally…
Josh and Some Guy preview the Penguins' season: http://bcove.me/l5mt88gr


text:
LAWRENCEVILLE - The Gwinnett County School Board unanimously approved a one time salary adjustment for full-time, benefited employees at their May 15th meeting.
The salary adjustment will be made in one lump sum on the educator's June paychecks. Depending on their daily rate of pay, employees will receive a minimum payment of $200 and maximum of $913.
"The Gwinnett County Board of Education and I wish to express our appreciation to our employees, who have felt the brunt of challenging budgets for the past five years," says CEO and Superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks. "They have experienced 10 furlough days in recent years, rising insurance costs, and a particularly challenging winter, but they never lessened their commitment to our students. We want to thank them for going above and beyond, every day, to support student achievement. Our employees are the reason Gwinnett County Public Schools is successful."
In addition, because of its conservative approach to budgeting the district can fund the $9 million salary adjustment without decreasing the year-end fund balance that was budgeted to carry the district into the next fiscal year.


text:
Community Forums › Forums › Design Tips and Tricks › Agency-Pro background color flash
Tagged: agency pro, backstretch.js, color fade
This topic contains 15 replies, has 7 voices, and was last updated by lmai 2 years, 7 months ago.
November 4, 2013 at 1:51 pm #70900
What is the CSS rule for the jQuery color fade effect in Agency Pro? In the demo it is the yellow fading color each time you visit a page. I don't have it working in a site I'm building out, link below. I've found what I think are the jQuery files for it, in agency-pro > js directories of the website, but it isn't clear to me which CSS, if any, is setting the color for the color fade.http://thekennedybook.com/marketingdev/November 4, 2013 at 2:58 pm #70913
I think you can change that color using the Background settings.
Go to Appearance > Background > Display Options > Background color.
November 4, 2013 at 3:10 pm #70921
I just changed that to the color of the green island in the bg, cleared cache and it didn't do anything. The island is a .png with no background.
The body is the current blue.
The current blue bg has updated Agency-Pro's Blue theme CSS. Not sure if that would have anything do with it.November 4, 2013 at 3:13 pm #70923
Tested it locally and it works for me.
November 4, 2013 at 3:37 pm #70928
Tested mine or a version of yours locally?November 4, 2013 at 3:51 pm #70932
I went to Go to Appearance > Background > Display Options > Background color and changed it to red and nothing happens.November 5, 2013 at 4:15 am #71022
I changed line 148 (background-color) of my styles.css and that worked for me.
body { background-color: #d7c603; color: #666; font-family: 'EB Garamond', serif; font-size: 16px; font-size: 1.6rem; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.625; }
If your not using the default color, look for the respective body color and change accordingly. For example for blue look around line 1665 - body.agency-pro-blue { background-color: #0cc4c6; }
Hope this helps.
Web Design, Development & Consultancy
Being The Best He Can Be! | http://www.paul-smart.co.ukNovember 25, 2013 at 5:07 pm #75593
Ok thanks. My issue turned out to be that I was using a background color of the same refresh color.February 14, 2014 at 12:52 am #90245
Hey just following this link because I've been having a similar issue with this theme. Can either of you help me out?
I've updated the background to go 'white' instead of the specific green color I had edited for links and such (from Agency Pro Green I specified the green I wanted to use) but now all the buttons on my site have gone to yellow and I can't understand why!
What I want is the refresh to be white but all the links and hovers to stay the green I had specified. Right now all my links are green but if you click over any "buttons" they turn yellow. You can see this if you go down to the contact portion of my home page and hover on the contact button "I'm here to help" .
And then the weirdest thing ever...I changed the background so all the refresh to goes to white (with the hovers turning yellow, ouch) but this one page http://lvafitness.com/integrity-coaching/
turns to black before white. WHHAT???
This is so bizarre I can't figure it out!
Thanks in advance if you can help me out! Lisa-February 14, 2014 at 9:32 am #90299
It also depends on the background image you have. I see that you have different background images coming in for different pages. Basically, if you want the same background refresh delay appearance you have to have the same image appearing site-wide. The image is delaying and then fading in.
//jQuery(document).ready(function($) {
Here, in this example, I have a background-color set by the theme's Green theme color (I customized the bg from what the theme had it set at by default, and changed the color of the green to be the green that I want). Then, I have the Island (a .png with transparent background) coming in. So, the blue is a CSS background-color, and the image is backstretch jQuery but has a transparent background.
The background-color selector for the 'theme color' you choose in Genesis Settings is located in that area of the CSS where that color's CSS is found. If you choose no theme color and leave it default, then it defaults to I think the body tag, but if you choose a theme color then the background-color becomes the theme colors background which is found in THAT color's CSS. This is where it can get additionally confusing. As you can see below, I customized the bg to be that blue. When you're changing the theme color in Genesis Settings you're changing the body class for the background color. So if you're going to the body tag instead of body.agency-pro-my-theme-color-choice then it could get confusing.
body.agency-pro-green {
background-color: #B9E5FA;
February 19, 2014 at 6:40 am #91119
Hi Benjeeno or others,
Any idea, how to remove this background-color transition completely?
KennethFebruary 19, 2014 at 9:03 am #91138
Try removing backstretch-set.js from the js directory.February 20, 2014 at 3:01 am #91348
Nope, I tried to set the value to zero in backstretch-set.js and even removed it, but that didn't work (result was a solid colored background).
My door is open for other suggestions (-;August 29, 2014 at 4:40 pm #121756
Did you find an answer for this? I'm not a fan of the transition "flash" either.August 29, 2014 at 4:51 pm #121757
Never mind, I found the other discussion...here is the link in case someone else had the same question.
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.


text:
Political hunting season begins
So the silly season is over and the hunting season is officially open. And as you might expect, the prime target is the Prime Minister.
The pundits have spent much of the climatically disrupted holiday period brooding about what has become encapsulated as The Gillard Problem, and now they are preparing to deliver the verdicts. This column is being written before the ABC's Four Corners delivers its salvo, but there have been enough sighting shots to give a pretty fair idea of the general nature of the pursuit.
Tony Abbott rather set the tone in his description of Julia Gillard's delivery as "wooden"; this summed up a general feeling that she was hopelessly upstaged by the Queensland Premier Anna Bligh, who stole the show when nature went mad in the special effects department. David Williamson elaborated: Gillard simply did not have the dramatic skills needed to play the part of prime minister. By this he appeared to mean that she was unable to convincingly fake sincerity, which the playwright implied was the be all and end all of statesmanship.
In the Sydney Morning Herald Lenore Taylor went further: the real problem was not just the lead goose Gillard, but the whole Labor gaggle, which had lost the moral authority to govern. Phillip Adams called the Government gutless and gormless. Mark Latham said Gillard lacked empathy and didn't like children. Others, predictably, focused on her personal staff, her accent and her dress sense. It was all good healthy blood sport, but somehow it missed the kill.
If it was really just a matter of presentation – of a few acting and elocution lessons, a fashion makeover, some fresh advisers and a bit of counselling in ethical emoting, surely the party machine, which specialises in such superficialities, would have fixed things long ago. It seems to me that the problem is both more profound and more simple: Julia Gillard is just not up to the job.
It used to be called the Peter Principle - the process by which individuals, particularly in corporate and public life, are frequently promoted to one level beyond their actual competence. And it is especially common in politics, because there are no established criteria or precedents by which one can predict just who will make a successful leader. Politics, is, as Robert Louis Stephenson remarked, the only profession for which no previous experience or training is deemed necessary, and this is because no one knows what will work and what won't.
History is littered with examples of politicians who rose through the ranks without a slip, had dazzling careers as senior ministers, but failed when they finally got their party's leadership. Harold Holt, John Gorton, Bill Snedden, Bill Hayden, Andrew Peacock, Kim Beazley - all should have made it, but none did. Billy McMahon, Alexander Downer and Mark Latham were simply mistakes born of desperation, and perhaps Peter Costello was wiser than we suspected in never having the self-belief to try. And now there is Julia Gillard.
In her time in the opposition shadow cabinet, and in her two and a half years as a senior minister and Kevin Rudd's deputy, she seemed to have it all: a fierce work ethic, boundless self confidence, fire in the belly and the respect of her colleagues, both friends and foes. It was inevitable she would eventually get the top job, and although the circumstances by which she did so were ugly, there was every reason to think she would hack it.
But with hindsight, there was always something lacking - that elusive quality known as vision. It was probably unfair of Lindsay Tanner to describe her as a pure opportunist, but she has never given the impression that she had an overall grand plan, the ability to deal with the complex, long term, changes. Gillard says education is her passion, and she was a serious and dedicated minister in that portfolio - and perhaps that is where she should have stopped. Since becoming prime minister, she has constantly struggled to find her feet where major policy is concerned.
Climate change, the mining tax and tax reform in general, the Murray Darling, and now, according to some reports, even hospital reform, have all been consigned to the too-hard basket. For all Rudd's arrogance and narcissism, he was prepared to tackle the big issues; Gillard, it seems, is not.
Admittedly, times have been tough and the problems of minority government novel and distracting, but that is all the more reason to produce a real sense of purpose and direction. Gillard has not done so, and it has affected not just her own standing with the public, but those of all around her. Even with the departure of Lindsay Tanner and John Faulkner, the front bench remains strong - certainly a lot stronger than its opposition counterparts.
But in the absence of genuine leadership it appears to be dithering. With the exception of the indefatigable Treasurer, Wayne Swan, ministers have barely been visible during the break. And once this sort of malaise sets in, it tends to be self perpetuating, particularly in the media; everything that happens is seen as an attempt at salvage, as an act of desperation or the cynical application of spin.
The situation is not yet irrevocable, but it is becoming very dire. The verdict on Gillard may well be premature; six months is not much time for her to establish herself, especially considering the unexpected events which have disrupted her anticipated rest and recuperation during the holiday period. She could yet emerge triumphant.
And it should never be forgotten that she has one big thing going for her: Tony Abbott. His reaction to the floods was always cynical and mean-spirited, but even then no-one could have foreseen that he would ask his supporters to send money for a campaign against the cup-of-coffee levy to rebuild Queensland's roads. With enemies like that, who needs friends?
Mungo Wentworth MacCallum is a political journalist and commentator.
Topics: government-and-politics, federal-government
First posted


text:
Embed Gallery
Alabama is the gem of the South. Sure, North Carolina might say the same, and of course Texas would have something to say about this (and you don't want to mess with Texas), but there is something undeniably charming, comfortable, and downright American about the Heart of Dixie.
This is a place where the official nut is the pecan (pronounced pee-khan for those of you who aren't from around here), Alabama workers built the first U.S. rocket to go to the moon, and this state was the birthplace of baseball player, Willie Mays—and what could be more American than that?
This charm, this Southern something that residents have known about for years—and in today's post, we are going to explore just which Alabama places are the best, and what that something is that makes them so special. Without further ado, here are the 10 best places in Alabama, starting with our winner, Auburn:
1. City of Auburn
2. City of Madison
3. City of Pelham
4. City of Florence
5. City of Calera
6. City of Enterprise
7. City of Chelsea
8. City of Mountain Brook
9. City of Albertville
10. City of Alabaster
To find out how we got this order and just what makes each of these places so undeniably charming, so very Alabama, keep on reading, because in the following paragraphs we're going on a virtual tour of the Heart of Dixie.
How We Conducted Our Study
Whether we're looking for the nerdiest cities in America, the best small cities, or just the best places in the state, we always need certain measurable criteria to make our lists. Today, we used the following seven things, subdivided into a total of 13 checkpoints.
- Total Amenities
- Quality of Life (cost of living, median home price, median rent, median household income, teacher per student ratio)
- Total Crimes
- Tax Rates (sales tax, income tax)
- Unemployment
- Commute Time
- Weather (temperature, air quality)
With these criteria in mind, we looked at the U.S. Census data for places in Alabama with a population of more than 5,000 people, which came to 102 locales. Each place was ranked from one to 102 in the criteria, with one being the best possible score. From there, the individual rankings were averaged into an overall Big Deal Score—the lowest score being our winner, Auburn.
To see where each of our top 50 places in Alabama ranked, scroll down to the end of the post.
For now, though, let's check out these 10 best places, starting with our winner. Congratulations, Auburn!
1. Auburn
Auburn is known for many things—it is the home of Auburn University, it is one of the fastest growing cities in Alabama, and it even boasts the nickname "The Loveliest Village on the Plains." But this Lee County city made our list for a whole different set of positive traits.
With an average commute time of just 18 minutes, residents in Auburn seem to spend the least amount of time in the car out of any of our top 10. They also have a low student-to-teacher ratio of 14:1, giving these lucky students the attention in the classroom they need.
Though Auburn's cost of living score of 98 certainly didn't win it any points in our ranking, it more than made up for this with its high median household value of $205,600, its low sales tax of 8 percent (compared to, say, 10 percent in Lincoln), and its total number of amenities—456 businesses.
2. Madison
This Madison County city ranked well in our study for its low number of crimes—just 2,329 per 100,000 residents, its high median household income of $85,945—111 percent higher than the rest of the state, and its high median home values of $224,200. In fact, Madison's overall score for quality of life was pretty high due to income, home values, a low sales tax of 8 percent, and nearly 630 businesses.
3. Pelham
This suburb of Birmingham in Shelby County came in as one of the safest places in our overall list, with a crime rate 49 percent lower than the rest of the state. It also ranked high for its quality of life in general, due to its high median income of $67,622, and its high median home values and rent prices of $167,000 and $902, respectively, indicating a strong desire to live in the area.
Where Pelham really shined, though, was in its low unemployment rate of just 5.4 percent, making it one of the five most employed places in Alabama. Of course, the commute time is 28 minutes, which is higher than the state average.
4. Florence
When most people hear the name Florence, luxury and beauty come to mind. Of course they're usually thinking of the one in Italy—but those images wouldn't be too far off for this city in Lauderdale County. Florence is considered the economic hub of northwestern Alabama, and is known for events like the W.C. Handy Music Festival in the summer and the Renaissance Fair in the fall.
Perhaps now, though, it will also be known as one of the most pleasant places in Alabama, due to its average summer temperature of 78 and air quality score of 36 out of 100—one of the best in the state. Perhaps this clean air is partly due to the low average commute time of just 19 minutes, or the 340 businesses nearby, cutting back on residents' time spent in the car.
5. Calera
Here is a fun fact about Calera. In the 2000 census, the population was a mere 3,158, but since then, it has nearly quadrupled, making it one of the fastest growing cities in all of Alabama. According to our analysis, there are plenty of reasons for that. Calera is a wonderful place for families, with a student-to-teacher ratio of 13 to 1 and one of the lowest crime rates in the state, of just 1,387 crimes per 100,000 people. That's 64 percent lower than the rest of the state.
Calera also ranked as one of the lowest both for its sales tax of just 8 percent, and its unemployment rate of 5.4 percent. And while Calera's cost of living score of 83 (where 100 is the national average) is No. 77 like it is in Childersburg or Opp; it is still a lot better than the 116 of Mountain Brook, and is one of the two least expensive on our top 10.
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6. Enterprise
Enterprise, Alabama may be well known for its Boll Weevil Monument in the city's center—said to be the only statue built in honor of an insect in the world—but in our study, it is better known as one of the greatest cities in the state, mostly because of its low unemployment rate of 6.2 percent, short average commute time of 20 minutes, and sales tax of just 8 percent.
Enterprise also scored some points for a cost of living score of 84, making it the third most affordable city in our top 10, after Florence and Calera.
7. Chelsea
Located in Shelby County, Chelsea is the fastest growing city in the area—and for good reason. According to our analysis, Chelsea is one of the safest places in the state, and easily the safest in our top 10, with a crime rate 82 percent lower than the state average.
Sure, residents in Chelsea may have a longer commute time—on average it is about 33 minutes—but at least they can probably afford the fuel, with a median household income of $84,868. Chelsea also has some of the highest home values and rent prices in the state, plus one of the lowest unemployment rates, at just 5.4 percent, giving them a high overall score for quality of life.
8. Mountain Brook
As briefly mentioned before, Mountain Brook easily has the highest cost of living, not just in our top 10, but on our entire list, with a score of 116. But as residents of this Birmingham suburb know, you get what you pay for—and here in Mountain Brook, you're certainly paying for quality of life.
Mountain Brook has one of the lowest crime rates on our overall list, at just 1,804 crimes per 100,000 people. This city also has one of the lowest student-to-teacher ratios on our list, of just 13:1, and one of the highest scores for its total number of 1,735 amenities in the area, making this a wonderful area for families (and dining out, of course.)
The median home value in Mountain Brook is the highest in the state at $566,500; but considering the area's median household income of $130,721, this price tag doesn't seem all that high anymore, does it?
9. Albertville
Located in Marshall County, our No. 9 city, Albertville, scored well in our study for a number of reasons, but mostly for its perfect weather, with an average summer temperature of just 77 degrees and an air quality score of 38 out of 100.
Albertville also had one of the lowest unemployment rates on our overall list, with a rate of just 7.4 percent, and scored well in its taxes rank, with a sales tax of 8 percent and the relatively low median income of $35,843 in combination with the state income tax of 5 percent.
Sure, residents here may not make the over $100,000 that they do in Mountain Brook—but they are also not paying nearly as much; not in income tax, median home prices, or cost of living overall (where Albertville scored an 85, Mountain Brook scored a 116.)
10. Alabaster
In recent years, Alabaster has been ranked as one of Money Magazine's 100 Best Places to Live—and it is no wonder why. This suburb of Birmingham in Shelby County scored well across the board, but particularly aced it in education, with a student to teacher ratio of just 13:1.
Residents here also make a median household income of $67,346—the 11th highest on our entire list, and pay a median rent price of $889—the 14th highest on our list. That may not sound like a great deal for residents, but it is certainly a strong indicator of high in demand real estate.
Another great indicator of the high quality of life here is the low unemployment rate of just 5.4 percent and the sales tax of just 8 percent.
Alabama, You Have our Hearts
Alabama may be known as the Heart of Dixie, but after this ranking, this southern state has captured our hearts as well. From the idyllic and quaint to the luxuries of Mountain Brook, Alabama has a certain charm for everyone's fancy. So congratulations to these top 10 places in this gem of a state—especially to those in Auburn, the best city in Alabama.
Like This Post? You'll Definitely Love These:
- 25 Questions People Always Ask When You're From Alabama
- 30 Things People From Alabama Are Tired Of Explaining
- 30 Things You Never Thought You'd Miss After Leaving Alabama


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BONN (Oct. 12)
Karl Carstens, president of the Germen Bundestag (Parliament) has warned against a revival of anti-Semitic tendencies in the country. Addressing a meeting of the German Soldiers' Association, Carstens said recent anti-Jewish incidents at a Munich army academy were damaging to the reputations of both the Federal Republic and its army. But Carstens stressed that the army had done its utmost to represent an "uncompromisingly democratic" standpoint.
Defense Ministry sources have, meanwhile, confirmed (following an investigation) press reports that young officers at the Munich academy engaged in a symbolic "Jew burning" while singing Nazi songs. The officers did not–as previously reported–write "Jude" on scraps of paper and cardboard which were tossed into a fire. But they did shout "throw another Jew in" as they fed the fire.
The Ministry has also confirmed further anti Semitic incidents in the army this year. A lieutenant who distributed anti-Semitic posters and stickers in Hamburg was dismissed from the army. Another officer had been imprisoned for six months and stripped of his rank for engaging in "incitement against a certain group" (volksverhetzung).


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Posted by ESC on June 09, 2011 at 22:07
Today I had four British visitors to my West Virginia Talk Web site -- http://wva.homestead.com/WVaTalk.html -- looking for the meaning and origin of "I don't boil my cabbage twice." I wonder what's up with that. Was the phrase used on a television program?


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Men may come and go, but as women, it�s your girlfriends who tend to stand the test of time.
Through happy or unhappy marriages and tragedies, they�re the ones there with advice, Kleenex and sometimes a stiff drink.
Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten not only zero in on the effects a Southern wedding have on those who are actually in the wedding, but what the wedding planner goes through as well in the Paramount Acting Company�s latest production, �Always a Bridesmaid.�
The show is heartwarming and hilarious, much like the hit play �Dixie Swim Club,� but with less seriousness.
Definitely well-cast by director David Anthony Wright, these women personify the characters. Although Bethany Briggs Baker�s Monette is a bit of a departure from other roles she�s performed, she shines. As the successful owner of the largest country music bar in Virginia, Monette likes the finer things in life, and although her track record hasn�t been in the best in love, her best friends Libby Ruth (Jane McLelland), Charlie (Sally Fox) and Deedra (Julie Hanford Lewfew) stand behind her. Libby Ruth�s daughter Kari (Ashley Phipps) serves as the show�s narrator, of sorts, swirling a glass of champagne and introducing snippets from the women�s past weddings. Another constant in the show is the wedding planner Sedalia (Pat Shumate) who refuses to let the brides� nerves or �what-ifs� ruin her successful business.
The four women made a vow at their senior high school prom, in which none of them had dates, that they would be bridesmaids in each other�s weddings, no matter what. Their 40-year friendship plays out on stage and like a clip from �The Carol Burnett Show,� there are plenty of outrageous costumes. Costumer Jeannie Proctor definitely got a workout on this one. From a slip to a Marie Antoinette costume and a French maid outfit, well, these women bravely wear them all.
While Jones/Hope/Wooten�s shows typically feature women in the roles, and will most definitely attract women and their groups of friends, men will enjoy the fact that they know these women. They�re either married to them or they have daughters like them.
Phipps is adorable as Kari; think a blend of Hollywood actresses Julia Roberts and Kyra Sedgwick. She�s amazing to watch and believable in this role. Sally Fox, who starred in �Dixie Swim Club� as well, seems to have known exactly what Jones/Hope/Wooten wanted in this character � she�s spot-on.
These women not only play friends on stage, but the fact they are friendly off-stage as well definitely carries over into their performances.
Summer is ending, but the fun doesn�t have to end. �Always a Bridesmaid� is a feel-good show that will leave you smiling hours after it�s over. Although there�s some adult material, it�s appropriate for teens and up.
It�s being performed at the Paramount Theater, 128 E. Front St., Burlington, for one weekend only � 8 p.m. today through Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for students, seniors and groups of 10 or more and $11 for groups of 20 or more and can be purchased between noon and 3 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and one hour prior to showtime. Credit card reservations can be made by calling (336) 222-TIXS.


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JERUSALEM (Aug. 1)
The Israel Government today gave its reply to an 11-point note presented to her by the Western Powers with regard to border security. The reply was handed to the American, British and French diplomatic representatives in Israel.
It is understood that Israel accepted all the technical proposals suggested by the "Big Three, "including the erection of a fence along the Arab-Israel frontiers. However, doubt was expressed by Israel whether these measures will check Arab infiltration into Israel territory.
On the other hand, the Israel Government rejected the demand to extend wider powers to United Nations observers. The Government does not oppose any suggestion to increase the number of such observers, but is against their using of helicopters and it opposes giving them more rights than they have at present.
The Israel Government expressed willingness to permit Arab refugees to pass from the Egyptian-held Gaza strip to the Hebron area however, it insists that such passage must be not under the supervision of United Nations observers but under Israeli control. It was specified that this should not be considered a permanent arrangement, but an arrangement limited to unification of families only.
The reply of the Israel Government concludes by welcoming the initiative taken by the Western Powers to reduce the tension on the Arab-Israel borders. However, it stresses the view that the best way to put an end to such tension is through direct Arab Jewish negotiations.
Meanwhile it was announced today that several Israeli policeman were injured this week-end when Jordanian forces opened fire on a border patrol near Khirat Ibtan, north of Tulkarm in the "triangle" area of Central Israel.


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BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Jefferson County voters will see 16 local races, and possibly a 17th, on the Nov. 6 ballot, mostly contests for judgeships in the county's Birmingham and Bessemer divisions.
Judicial and court-clerk candidates are seeking six-year terms, while the remaining seats carry four-year terms. Although the county is divided politically east and west into the Birmingham division and Bessemer Cutoff, voting will be countywide for all seats regardless of where the postition is located.
Circuit Judge Houston Brown, a Democrat, had Republican opposition in his re-election bid for Place 11. But Chuck Hunter was removed by the Alabama Republican Party as its nominee for Place 11 in connection with Hunter's arrest on state and federal charges. The party has not decided whether to field a new candidate for Place 11. If no Republican nominee is chosen, Brown automatically will win a new term.
Candidates are required to post monthly campaign finance disclosure forms listing fundraising and spending. Starting Oct. 5, candidates also will file weekly reports, then most candidates will file daily updates starting Oct. 29.
Most disclosures can be found via the Alabama Secretary of State's Web site or by clicking highlighted links on the candidate list below. Candidates for Probate Court judge, county treasurer and deputy treasurer file with the Probate Court in each county. Those records are not available online.
[See candidate facts for several races here.]
Deadline to register to vote for the general election is Oct. 26, according to the Alabama Secretary of State's voter guide. The deadline to apply for an absentee ballot is Nov. 1, and the deadline to hand-deliver or postmark an absentee ballot is Nov. 5, according to the voter guide. For information about overseas or military ballot voting, visit this website: http://www.sos.state.al.us/Elections/uocavavoterinstructions.aspx.
Here are the contested Jefferson County races on Nov. 6:
* Circuit judge Place 5 (criminal division, Bessemer): Teresa Petelos (I) (Rep), David Carpenter (Dem)
* Circuit judge Place 6 (civil division, Birmingham): David Faulkner (Rep), Don Blankenship (Dem).
* Circuit judge Place 7 (criminal division, Birmingham): Bill Cole (I) (Rep), Tracie Todd (Dem).
* Circuit judge Place 9 (civil division, Birmingham): Bobby Lott Jr. (Rep), Jim Hughey III (Dem).
* Circuit judge Place 11 (civil division, Birmingham): Houston Brown (I) (D), Republican candidate was disqualified and party has not decided on a replacement nominee.
* Circuit judge Place 13 (civil division, Birmingham): Peyton "Pat" Thetford (Rep), Carole Smitherman (Dem).
* Circuit Judge Place 15: (Domestic Relations, countywide): Suzanne Childers (I) (Rep), Patricia Ann Stephens (Dem).
* Circuit judge Place 18 (Family Court, Birmingham): Brian Huff (I) (Rep), Raymond Chambliss (Dem).
* Circuit judge Place 27 (criminal division, Birmingham): Jim Neill (Rep), Virginia Vinson (I) (Dem).
* District judge Place 3 (Family Court, Birmingham): W. Davis Lawley (Rep), Carnella Greene Norman (Dem).
* District Judge Place 6 (criminal division, Birmingham): Gloria Bahakel (Rep), Katrina Ross (I) (Dem).
* District judge Place 12 (Family Court, Bessemer): Jill Ganus (I) (Rep), Lorraine Williams-Pringle (Dem).
* Probate judge Place 2: Ginger McCord Barbee (Rep), Sherri Friday (I) (Dem).
* Circuit Court Clerk: Jerry Bahakel (Rep), Anne-Marie Adams (I) (Dem).
* Deputy circuit clerk (Bessemer): Benny Watson (I) (Rep), Karen Dunn Burks (Dem).
* Treasurer (Birmingham): Jennifer Champion (I) (Rep), Mike Miles (Dem).
* Deputy treasurer (Bessemer): Bobby Humphryes (Rep), Sherry McClain (D).


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'Made in Dagenham' (R)
What working women want, according to Rita O'Grady, the indefatigable Norma Rae of Nigel Cole's entertaining new film, is simple: "Rights, not privileges. It's that easy."
But the year is 1968, the boss is the mighty Ford Motor Co., and the rule of the working world is that women make less money than men. And so if you happen to be one of the 187 female machinists stitching together seat covers at Ford's factory in working-class Dagenham, England, you are not expected to register much displeasure when your status is downgraded from skilled to unskilled to save the company money. You are supposed to understand and accept that the 55,000 male workers toiling on the same grounds are going to be paid — and valued — more than you.
But this way of thinking doesn't sit well with plucky Rita (Sally Hawkins of Never Let Me Go and Mike Leigh's Happy-Go-Lucky). Spurred by a cheekily feminist supervisor (Bob Hoskins) who shrewdly sees the makings of a leader behind her bright smile, Rita agrees to accompany him to a meeting with the shop's union boss. And when the union leaders reveal themselves as all too willing to ignore the women's grievances to appease management, Rita leads her sisters out on strike, first for a day to protest the downgrade, then on an all-out walkout demanding equal pay.
Based on the real-life strike by the Dagenham machinists — some of whom appear over the closing credits — the film deftly captures the era; the details of the costumes alone are worth marveling over. But Nigel Cole (Calendar Girls) clearly indicates that while some of these women may copy the styles of Carnaby Street, they're far from frivolous. They have jobs for practical, not idealistic, reasons. Rita's genial husband Eddie (Daniel Mays), for example, also works at the Ford factory; with two kids, they need two salaries to pay the bills on their council flat. Rita's best mate Connie (Geraldine James) needs her job because her husband, psychologically damaged in World War II, can't work. The younger, single, fashion-crazy women need to pay their rent — and for their hot pants.
Cole keeps the tone mostly light (one recurring funny bit involves the women's stripping down to their bras upon entering the leaky, poorly ventilated workplace and shouting "MAN!" when a guy dares to enter). The situation grows more grim, though, when Ford runs out of seat covers and shuts down the plant, thus putting the men out of work, too. Suddenly the guys who found the women's strike amusing are furious. The lengthening strike has ill effects on Rita and Eddie's usual good rapport, too, but Rita has found her voice in this unexpected struggle for social justice, and she isn't ready to give in quietly. Made in Dagenham gamely depicts an interesting bit of history, but its real message is a matter of principle.
Cast: Sally Hawkins, Bob Hoskins, Daniel Mays, Miranda Richardson.
Director: Nigel Cole.
Writer: William Ivory.
Producer: Elizabeth Karlsen, Stephen Woolley.
A Sony Pictures Classics studios release. Running time: 113 minutes. Language, brief sexuality. Playing at: area theaters


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Two senators have asked the head of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for more information about the agency's effort to place stricter controls on its service contracts.
"Support service contracts at the FAA represent over $1 billion in taxpayer funds and should be scrutinized to ensure that every dollar is spent as intended and not subject to fraud, waste or abuse," said Sens. Chuck Grassley and Tom Coburn in a letter sent this week to FAA Administrator Marion Blakey.
Grassley and Coburn have been working with the Inspector General for the Department of Transportation to prompt contracting reforms at the FAA after receiving a complaint from an FAA whistleblower about contracting practices.
The text of Grassley and Coburn's letter follows here.
August 17, 2005
The Honorable Marion C. Blakey
Federal Aviation Administration
800 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20591
Dear Ms. Blakey:
As members of the United States Senate and as Chairman of the Committee on Finance and Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, and International Security, it is our duty under the Constitution to conduct oversight into the actions of Executive branch agencies and how appropriated funds are spent. Recently, we began
examining contracting practices at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) after a complaint was brought to our attention regarding allegations of possible fraud, waste, and abuse of taxpayer dollars.
In response to these allegations, we have been working closely with the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Transportation (OIG) and periodically copying your office when we have requested further reviews. During the course of our review and that of the OIG, a number of questions have arisen regarding policies, procedures, and the administration of
procurement efforts at the FAA following acquisition reform instituted nearly a decade ago.
The FAA faced a major hurdle in 1995 as it worked to modernize the nation's air traffic control system. Congress, responding to concerns about the FAA's ability to complete this modernization, provided the FAA with an exemption from existing Federal procurement laws and regulations, including the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR). The purpose of this exemption, as stated by the FAA, was to create "an acquisition system that provides for more timely and cost-effective acquisition reform." Further, the FAA stated "the focus of acquisition reform was on mission accomplishment, rather than compliance with rules and processes."
While these two goals were the original intent of procurement reform, a May 2005 report by the OIG shows that major acquisitions at the FAA are experiencing cost growth, schedule delays, and performance shortfalls. Further, in April of 2005, Inspector General Meade testified that he had "several significant concerns" regarding the use of multiple award support service contracts by the FAA. According to the OIG, these contracts faced many problems, including: a lack of clarity, a lack of centralized controls, and a lack of disparity between contractors and that of FAA employees. If these concerns are valid, the reforms that were instituted in granting the FAA an exemption from procurement laws seem to have been left on the side of the road.
It has come to our attention that, in an effort to address the concerns raised by both the OIG and our offices, you recently distributed an internal memorandum that outlined various contracting reforms and discussed the need for stricter controls over service contracts. Specifically, your memorandum outlined a number of contracting reforms. First, the FAA will now require competitive bidding on all support service contracts with a value of $1 million or more, in addition to requiring support service contract review by the Deputy Administrator. Second, the FAA's Chief Financial Officer (CFO) will provide oversight of all support service contracts and personally sign off on any contract over $10 million. Finally, you are directing the Acquisition Executive to institute mandatory training on program integrity for all FAA programs officials.
Taken as a whole these reforms present an opportunity for the FAA to exercise greater financial and managerial control over support service contracts. However, there are significant differences between "recommending" reforms and "implementing" reforms.
Support service contracts at the FAA represent over $1 billion in taxpayer funds and should be scrutinized to ensure that every dollar is spent as intended and not subject to fraud, waste or abuse. In light of the OIG's concerns, the ongoing nature of our review, and the recent memorandum distributed, we request that the FAA provide our staffs with a detailed briefing to discuss FAA acquisition reform. More specifically, please be prepared to:
(1) Discuss why the FAA failed to conduct a follow-up evaluation of FAA acquisition reform after 1999 when the FAA's own review stated "the agency is probably four years away from determining whether acquisition reform has truly been successful."
(2) Provide an update regarding multiple award support service contracts, including the number of outstanding contracts, value of these contracts, as well as the number of contractors that are currently working for the FAA under these contracts.
(3) Provide an update as to the number of employees that have voluntarily left the FAA to seek employment with contractors operating under any multiple award support service contract.
(4) Provide an update regarding the various reforms that were outlined in your memorandum dated August 11, 2005, including a detailed timeline for the implementation of these reforms.
(5) Provide an update as to the FAA's cooperation with the OIG and DCAA during the course of the audits and reviews we have requested by these entities.
We thank you in advance for your assistance in this matter and request that your staff coordinate with our offices no later than August 24, 2005 to schedule a briefing.
Charles E. Grassley
United States Senator
Chairman, Committee on Finance
Tom Coburn, M.D.
United States Senator
Chairman, Homeland Security/Government Affairs Subcommittee
on Federal Financial Management
cc: The Honorable Kenneth M. Mead
Inspector General
United States Department of Transportation
400 7th St. S.W., Room 9210
Washington, D.C. 20590
Source: http://finance.senate.gov/press/Gpress/2005/prg081805.pdf


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Arcadia, CA, US
CONCEPT: comfort = fit
comfort is when the body is at the stage of discomfort, it is still appealing to the eyes.
Forcing a shapeless cushion into a steel curve frame to create an appealing stool.
Status: Built
Location: Arcadia, CA, US
My Role: Designer
Additional Credits: Elio Upholstery, jh castro


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Then I got over it and decided I really DID want to get back on track. I've been even more grateful than usual to have Jake to help with recipes, but there are also times I have to cook for myself if I want to stick to Phase One.
A few things I've learned about cooking with a broken arm:
1- Even a small pan is heavier than you realize if you're picking it up with one hand.
2- Ingredients that need a lot of chopping or special treatment are just too much trouble.
3- If it takes something you usually avoid (like a little bacon) to get you to cook, that's ok.
Broken Arm Breakfast Casserole with Cottage Cheese, Bacon, Feta, and Green Onions
(Makes 4 servings; recipe created by Kalyn when she had a broken arm but needed a good Phase One breakfast.)
4 strips bacon or turkey bacon
1 cup low-fat cottage cheese, rinsed and drained
3 oz. (1/3 cup) crumbled Feta
1/3 cup sliced green onions
Spike Seasoning to taste (or use other all purpose seasoning mix)
fresh ground black pepper to taste
8 eggs, well beaten
Preheat oven or toaster oven to 375F/190C. Spray a very small (9"x7" or 8"x8") glass casserole dish with nonstick spray.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Nutritional Information?
More Phase One Ideas for Breakfast Casseroles:
Kale and Feta Breakfast Casserole
Roasted Green Bell Pepper and Roasted Tomato Breakfast Casserole with Feta and Oregano
Breakfast Casserole with Spinach, Leeks, Cottage Cheese and Goat Cheese
Breakfast Casserole with Mushrooms, Green Bell Peppers, and Feta
Broccoli Cheese Breakfast Casserole
Blogger Disclosure:


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You've probably heard that about 80 percent of your immune system resides in your gut, and the next study underscores this fact. It also provides yet another clue as to the kind of constant pressure your gut bacteria is under to keep your immune system humming.
The study, featured in Genome Researchiii, looked at a common set of viruses linked to gut bacteria in humans. These viruses, which feed off bacteria, are called phages, and they pose a constant threat to the health of the bacterial community living in your gut.
Phages can actually outnumber bacteria 10 to 1, which in itself is a testament to the power of your beneficial gut bacteria (and by extension your immune system) to keep disease at bay. But it also helps explain why just a few days of careless eating can sometimes make you feel a bit listless, or why chronic poor health is at such epidemic levels.
Between chemical assaults, inadequate nutrition, excessive sugar consumption and an overabundance of natural viral "co-hosts," your microflora has one heck of a job to maintain order and balance… And as soon as that balance is thrown off kilter, it will begin to reflect in your immune function.
Here, the scientists wondered how they might identify viruses that target gut microbiota; whether these viral communities differ between individuals and global populations; and how this might relate to human health and disease.
As reported by Medical News Todayiv:
"Israeli researchers decided to use coded information from a bacterial immune system to get to the bottom of these questions. They discovered a process… to identify and evaluate phages in European individual's gut microbiota, discovering that almost 80 percent of phages are shared between two or more individuals. They then compared their data to samples they took previously from American and Japanese individuals and to their surprise, they also discovered phages that exist in their European data set.
According to [senior author Rotem] Sorek, this means that people's gut microbiota are repeatedly infected with hundreds of virus' types. "These viruses can kill some of our gut bacteria. It is therefore likely that these viruses can influence human health," he said. The researchers highlight that it is of key importance to gain a better understanding of the amount of pressure that is placed on the 'good' bacteria, which is crucial to maintain health…
Scientists are now able to investigate how phage functions in the gut change over time and what impact this may have on diseases like inflammatory bowel disease, as well as finding more effective methods to treat these diseases." [Emphasis mine] …
Maintaining optimal gut flora, and 'reseeding' your gut with fermented foods and probiotics when you're taking an antibiotic, may be one of the most important steps you can take to improve your health. If you aren't eating fermented foods, you most likely need to supplement with a probiotic on a regular basis, especially if you're eating a lot of processed foods. Poor diet in general, and each course of antibiotics extols a heavy price, as it tends to wipe out the beneficial bacteria in your gut, giving pathogens free rein to proliferate unchecked.
Historically, people used to get large quantities of beneficial bacteria, i.e. probiotics, straight from their diet in the form of fermented or cultured foods, which were invented long before the advent of refrigeration and other forms of food preservation. As a result, they didn't suffer the same kinds of problems with their gut health as so many do today.
It's worth noting that each mouthful of fermented food can provide trillions of beneficial bacteria—far more than you can get from a probiotics supplement, which will typically provide you with colony-forming units in the billions. I thought this would be a good analysis, so I tested fermented vegetables produced with our probiotic starter culture to determine their probiotic potency and was astounded to discover they had 10 trillion colony-forming units of bacteria. Literally, one serving of vegetables was equal to an entire bottle of a high potency probiotic!
Fermented foods also give you a wider variety of beneficial bacteria, so all in all, it's a more cost effective alternative. Fermenting your own foods can provide even greater savings, and is actually easier than you might think. To learn more, please listen to my interview with Caroline Barringer, a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner (NTP) who has been involved with nutrition for about 20 years. She's now one of Dr. Campbell-McBride's chief training partners, helping people understand the food preparation process….
Via Mercola
"Examples of fermented foods include sauerkraut, kimchi, chutney, unpasteurized cheese, sour cream, pickles, yogurt, olives, buttermilk, kombucha, miso, tempeh and kefir. … It's easy to make fermented foods – but there are a few things a beginner should watch out for (it's easy to make a bad batch when you first start). Pick up your copy of Wild Fermentation, a book written by Sandor Ellix Katz. This author is dedicated to the discussion of fermentation and provides over 100 basic delicious recipes that are easy to make at home. www.wildfermentation.com is an excellent website that offers additional useful resources, including a fermentation support forum.
Via LiberationWellnessBlog