text:
Registering to Apply
Updated 5/29/15
1. Introduction
2. Overarching
3. Scenarios
4. Tap Resources
5. Agenda-less
6. Moving Ahead
7. Unfolding
8. Next Step
Apply for a Fulbright and watch yourself
through the process.
There are two main types of Fulbrights: Research or Teaching.
Each has its own separate Smith Registration form and Fulbright also has slightly different online application paths for Research or Teaching.
Study the Fulbright Registration Instructions before completing either the Research Registration form or the Teaching Registration form.
Fulbright calls Research fellowships: Full Grants, among other names.
Although Research Fulbrights can be solely for research, they can also be for other projects (such as Study – even for a degree) in addition to, or instead of, or including research.
(But every country's offerings are different, so what each country offers must be understood.)
At Smith we use the word Research because most Fulbrights in this category are for research mainly.
The word "project" means whatever you propose to do for your fellowship, be it research, study, teaching, interning, entrepreneurship, volunteering, etc.
The project is the core of your grant proposal or fellowship application.
If you are undecided whether you want to apply for a Research Fulbright or a Teaching Fulbright, complete one Registration form for each.
Often the Teaching "project" is more accurately called an Assignment and you are indeed assigned to some school to teach English.
Again, if you are undecided and are still weighing options, you may:
List more than one host country within a Registration form.
List more than one idea within a Research Registration form.
Often to begin, students will have a few ideas, countries or directions, and will want to discuss, with the FPA, which route is best – for a number of reasons from various angles.
Such discussions take place before or after a Registration is submitted to the FPA or while it is being completed, whatever the applicant's needs.
Ultimately you may apply to one country only for either Research or Teaching.
In figuring what to do (research, study, teaching, etc.) where (which country), you usually:
1. Either already have a project idea (such as researching, studying or teaching) and need to find a country to do it in, depending on whether you have the necessary host-country language level.
2. Or you have a country or region you want to go to and then have to find or come up with a project to do there.
If you know where you want to go, it is assumed you more or less already have a solid handle on the language.
Language is key because in order to be able to carry out what you propose, you will need the commensurate command of the language by the end of September in your senior year.
But for some projects, such as Teaching or Study, in some countries, no non-English language ability is required.
Every country has different rules depending on what you propose to do there.
On the other hand, making an attempt to learn the dominant host-country language signals that you take a genuine interest in their country from their perspective, that you do not expect them always to have to speak to you in your language in their own country when the opposite should apply as a matter of respect.
While English might be the professional lingua franca among the intelligentsia in the workplace, such as in India or Finland say, even they will often speak in their own mother or native tongue, which is predominantly Hindi or Finnish.
Fulbright wants you, in addition to your project, to reach out into the broader community to engage more diverse people and, the farther you go, the more you will encounter those who do not speak English at a level that allows you to have meaningful conversations and cultural exchange.
There are plenty language-learning resources within the Five Colleges, especially at UMass, as well as self-taught programs such as Rosetta Stone that comes recommended, as does the more versatile
A list of other online language learning resources can be found at the following document:
Online Language Learning Resources
Another avenue to learn a language is through a free exchange such as via
Regardless of what the country guidelines state, Fulbright will require that you have at least a "hospitality" level in the host-country language irrespective of whether you need it for your project.
This means that you must have a Foreign Language Evaluation (FLE) late September and score at least on the bottom rung of ability.
If the language is not taught in the U.S. or near where you live or could go, then you will need to show that you nevertheless made some effort to learn it.
This is where the resources cited above can come in handy.
Maybe you will not be able to score meaningfully on the FLE but you will be able to report your efforts on another form called the Language Background Report that is required for all countries where English is not the first and official language.
Another common scenario (with variations on the theme, such as a desire to connect with ancestral roots) is thus: On junior year abroad, you fall in love with your host country or another country you visit, or get bitten by the travel bug and hunger for more overseas experience.
So say you want to return to France but find your profile does not quite match what Fulbright France seeks in a Fellow.
Now you have to decide: Do I absolutely and only want to return to France and, if the Fulbright won't get me there, I will have to find another way of returning there?
Or: Is it a Fulbright Fellowship that I aspire to more because this is a program in whose mission I wish to be part (not to mention the benefits flowing from the honor of having been a Fulbright Fellow)?
In which case, another country must be found.
Alternately, you are interested in, say, Teaching English in certain countries because you want to improve your foreign language skills (e.g. Spanish) but, when you measure your "teaching" profile against the competition odds, your chances look slim.
You don't have the remotest inclination to do research, so do say yourself:
Teaching abroad for a year after graduation is more important to me than improving my Spanish, so I will apply to an easier country.
I really want to master Spanish in a Spanish-speaking country, so if the opportunities Fulbright offers are not suitable, I will find another way.
Smith will encourage you to apply only if we believe you have a decent chance of winning.
Because we value your time (and that which professors generously contribute) we do not lead you up the garden path.
We are invested in your success.
The other key is your background or track record because you need the training, education or experience that will have equipped you with the skills to be able to carry out your proposed project, such as knowing how to conduct research.
How to come up with a project idea?
Here are a few ways:
Consult professors and other specialists across campus and beyond:
Design Your Project
Networking is key, so contact Smith Fulbrighter Alumnae, who have gone out before you to numerous countries, via FAB: Fellows Advice Bureau
Smith faculty members are the most valuable resource you have on campus, who are here because they like teaching and advising college students.
Studies show that students who consult one-on-one with professors find these to be their most beneficial experiences in college.
Literature searches of a topic concept are, for Research Fulbrights, almost essential to ensure that what you propose has not been done before.
When you review the research that has already been done, you get ideas for research topics you had not thought of.
You see what is missing, the gaps, what more could be covered to extend some research already done, or tackle another angle.
Then you email the Fulbright Commission in the host country to see if they would be receptive to your idea and also to check that it has not already been done by another recent Fulbrighter.
But do not email them until you are completely clear yourself and, with the help of professors, have written a tight description of your research concept.
The Fulbright Commission email addresses are usually found at the end of the country summary on the I.I.E. website and or on the host country's Fulbright website.
The following section also applies to Teaching applicants albeit less directly.
In the end, it amounts to choosing the right country for who you are so that your stay there will be happy and fruitful.
The wisdom of "When in Rome, do as the Romans do" is unavoidable, so if a country is strongly conservative and you are strongly progressive, maybe you are not prepared to bend enough to fit in and be accepted.
In that case, perhaps a more open-minded country accepting of differences would be more suitable, or choosing a more liberal city in that country over a more rural location where conservatism runs high and tolerance low.
Access to medical support services and medications may also be a reason to choose a city above a remote town, besides meeting your particular social needs, and other people like yourself.
There's a delicate balance between remaining who you are and adapting to local customs.
To be a successful diplomat, your own sense of self has to be secure enough that you do not need to project it onto others especially when they might be shocked or offended.
Research topics should not concern your private life or be personal, such as self-identity quests to discover one's roots, because the Fulbright is not about you personally but rather about matters of interest to the host country – and about you representing America diplomatically over there.
Nor should topics be motivated by an agenda to impress your views on the host country or save oppressed people there.
In other words, nothing personal, political, sexual or religious except perhaps historically or other scholarly approach within a recognized discipline of the host country.
It's not about you but about your host country that you go to learn.
You don't go to show or tell them.
You go to understand them.
Activism and advocacy are out.
Objective, detached or professional scholarship is in.
We don't interfere, we observe and record.
We talk to lots and lots of different people, making friends, acquaintances and contacts all over.
We exchange ideas and ideals.
The idea of the Fulbright is for you to go to another country where you get to know their people and they you.
This is not some small minority group or refugees from another country, but the mainstream culture of their country with which they want you to interact.
A developing country is concerned with feeding its people, keeping them healthy and productive, and giving them an education.
The luxuries of developed countries, such as more personalized freedoms of choice, especially as socio-political issues, are not yet on the radar of their hierarchy of needs.
Tune into the host country and understand life from their perspective.
Developing this sensitivity is at the heart of the Fulbright and it begins when choosing a research topic.
If you want a consultation with the FPA, email EST times you can call him in the following few hours and days: he usually works 7 days 9 to 9.
And or submit the beginnings of a Registration, which comprises a tutorial survey form, plus your resume and transcript pasted in.
Your suitability will be assessed from the Registration materials and, if admitted to our Fellowships Program, you will be directed to application support guides and assigned to a faculty mentor who will tutor you regarding your grant proposal.
In the end, it boils down to one simple act of taking the first step and proceeding one step at a time.
Hours, days, weeks, even months can be spent crunching the merits and demerits of applying for a Fulbright when instead concrete answers could have been obtained by simply starting a Registration.
Another factor that stops students who could have applied – and won – is some erroneous assumption that she is not qualified when in fact she was.
One common misconception is that you cannot return to the country where you went for Study Abroad.
You can!
Assume you are eligible unless you have ascertained for sure that you are not.
Don't rely on answers from those who don't really know for sure, especially about the many nebulous considerations that can cloud clarity.
Do NOT be intimidated or discouraged by the Registration forms.
It is a step-by-step system, an unfolding through which you will learn much about yourself.
It will help you define your goals, even "find yourself," as many students have reported.
Answer only those questions you can at this stage – which is all about process.
The FPA will keep giving you feedback until you arrive at a concept that is feasible.
All you need to do in the beginning to get started is to take one first step and fill in whatever information you can to show your interest.
Keep answers short especially to begin because they can always be elaborated on later only as need be.
Everything else you need shall be provided as you progress through the stages.
By the time you have drafted a few versions of the Registration, you will already have a solid foundation for your entire Fulbright application.
What you enter on the Registration is NOT set in stone as it is a work-in-progress that can, and quite likely will, be changed as you complete the form and consult the FPA, or changed even after completing your Registration once you find out more about the best direction to take with a project.
Email the FPA your Registration now for feedback on the feasibility of your project concept and the viability of your candidacy.
Or simply your musings as you wonder out aloud . . . in writing: Fingertips to keyboard!
Go to Registration Instructions.


text:
It is possible to make a bootable WIN7 into a USB flash disc.
Could I boot WIN7 from SD memory card?
i.e, when pressing F9 to change my BIOS to boot from USB, does it include also the SD memory slot?
How-To Geek Forums / Windows 7
(Solved) - Could I boot WIN7 from SD memory card?(9 posts)
It is possible to make a bootable WIN7 into a USB flash disc.
I hope this is well understood. The link that Matt posted allows you to move the installation .iso to a USB stick from where you then can install the system (I have done that as per the instructions of that same link and it works). This is handy if you want install on a Netbook that does not have an optical reader. What is does NOT do is to install the system on the USB from where you can subsequently run it - like you can e.g. with Fedora.
Maximum pc has an article in this year's November issue that explains the usb install with pictures also.
Topic Closed
This topic has been closed to new replies.

subset: commoncrawl


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Detailed Information
- This guide is designed to help you understand your opponent, and how to best deal with them as well as what gear is best suited for the job.
- 1 Spy on an opponent beforehand
- 2 Judging an opponents strength
- 3 Educational Benefits
- 4 Attack strategy-What weapons you should use
- 5 Defense Strategy-What weapon should I equip when not attacking?
- 6 Any specific weapons I should be using?
- 7 How do I beat opponents much stronger than myself?
- 8 What Weapons should I use to get my Finishing Hits merits?
- 9 Additional notes:
- 10 Related Links
Spy on an opponent beforehand
This is obviously a convenience, you can always try to judge their strength based on their accolades instead. You can hire people to spy on your opponents at the Trading Post or trade chat. You can also gain the ability to spy on an opponent via the Army job special as well as the company special from a three star Law Firm or five star Television Network.
Judging an opponents strength
- Several factors are needed to AID in judging an opponents strength, note that the result wont always be in your favor, but it's simply the best way I know of in this order.
- How many (and what type of) drugs do they use? How many xanax in particular, each xanax is potentially 250 energy worth of training(This usually shows how long they have been in a PI/Pampered if they have one, so property can still be an important factor).
- How many crimes do they have compared to you (are they decent crimes?) This shows how active they are, and how often they spend their nerve reflects how often they spend their Energy.
- What property do they live in?
- How much HP do they have? Do they seem so close to you in strength that this could play a factor? It's rare but one of the final factors.
- How many refills have they used? Again this is another 150E per refill.
- The final and most minor factor is how active an attacker are they? The more hits they have made the more E they have not spent training. Are they an anti-druggie? That means they spent even more for those hits.
- This is not 100% of course, but with it you can generally figure out if you can beat your opponent or not.
Educational Benefits
- This section deals with the slightly less obvious educations that add a utilized tactical advantage rather than generic stat boost and includes how to use that to your advantage.
- BIO3420 (this is the final Biology education, so it may not be first on your list) It allows you to equip the stat boosters melatonin, epinephrine, and serotonin.
- When to utilize this education: When you have a spy on an opponent, your speed is high enough where you can hit them, but they have a lot of hit points or defense compared to your strength and you need that damage boost. You will want to use the one that boosts strength, other stat boosters are reported to have negligible effects for the turn they cost for the loss of an HEG. A trick you can also use is to attack a weaker opponent, use a booster and then quickly attack your main target while still under the influence.
- CBT2125 (this is the combat course that increases shotgun accuracy 5%)
- Why is it so important? Because the weapon Jackhammer is a high damage high accuracy shotgun, this adds more accuracy and it is the best offline weapon that costs less than 1 billion+. Due to limited rounds it's best to bring a backup secondary/melee weapon of course.
- BIO3420 (this is the final Biology education, so it may not be first on your list) It allows you to equip the stat boosters melatonin, epinephrine, and serotonin.
Attack strategy-What weapons you should use
- What weapons you should use is actually based on your stats in comparison to your opponents, I cannot stress that enough, too many times have I heard it's based on your stats which is simply not true. The stats you want to consider are your speed, and their dexterity, then you pick the weapon best suited for the job, does your speed overpower their dexterity? If so you should definitely be using a high damage weapon. Is their dexterity looking like it might be a problem? If so, you should be equipping more accurate weapons.
- As far as a generic equipment setup goes for attacking, if you have an accurate melee weapon equipped, you should have high damage primary/secondary weapons. If you have a high damage melee, two accurate guns, why? Because one has unlimited ammo, there's no point in even using the others if they're all the same, so you want as much ammo in the other as possible if you go that route. As far as temporary weapons go the best instant damage one is the HEG, the best short term disable is the Flashbang.
- What should I do if I can't/don't want to spy them? If you don't know their stats, you should use a generic weapon setup, probably with accurate for the melee (like a macana) just in case. First you throw your HEG, this is a way to judge their dex compared to your speed? Did you hit them? If so, start unloading your high dmg weaponry if the HEG hit you may be good to go with these too, if it missed you most definitely need to go straight to the accurate weapon. If you're using a flashbang simply try your less accurate first then more accurate weapon if you miss.
Defense Strategy-What weapon should I equip when not attacking?
- Go to the Attack Preferences tab on your Preferences page.
- You'll generally want to set stealth on and temporary weapons to re-equip after a fight if you can afford it. For defense you'll only want temporary weapons that do damage if you chose to use them as attackers can wait out the negative effects of items like flashbangs.
- You'll want to use a Jackhammer as a primary, no secondary, and a macana as a melee weapon.
- Set Primary to 100 so it almost always fires until out of ammunition with reload off. Then set your Macana to 10. Essentially this mimics your attack setup, you unload a higher damage less accurate weapon. Since it runs out in usually 2 shots, sometimes 3 with the right educations if you're missing you'll switch to Macana. If not they're already dead or close and you finish them with the Macana.
- Why Jackhammer over dual weapons? Again you want it to run out of ammo on defense and there are masteries to increase damage/accuracy of guns.
- Set Primary to 100 so it almost always fires until out of ammunition with reload off. Then set your Macana to 10. Essentially this mimics your attack setup, you unload a higher damage less accurate weapon. Since it runs out in usually 2 shots, sometimes 3 with the right educations if you're missing you'll switch to Macana. If not they're already dead or close and you finish them with the Macana.
Any specific weapons I should be using?
- There are many decent cheaper weapons, and some insanely good expensive ones. If you're asking this I'll assume you can't afford more than a Mace which costs $8,000,000. I'm aware of the Armalite being a good weapon, but it is on par/very very close to the Enfield SA-80's stats which only costs 250k as opposed to 20m (plus Enfield has more ammo). That being said, again it depends on your opponents dexterity as opposed to yours, so we'll have two categories here, weapons for if your speed overpowers their dexterity, and weapons for if your speed does NOT overpower their dexterity, to varying degrees of course which I'll leave it up to you to learn/judge IE the Minigun and Jackhammer can both be considered damage weapons but one has more damage less accuracy etc. Don't be stupid, look at the stats and figure it out. Now onto the list, and do keep in mind ammo limitations of certain guns, such as the jackhammer. I will not list items that cost more and have worse stats than cheaper variants. If you're a new player looking for any good weapon at all, buy a macana, it's all you'll ever need and can always get more stuff later, it's the best cheap weapon at 100k or so.
|If your speed overpowers their dexterity
|- Minigun
- Jackhammer
- Swiss Army SG 550
|$3,000,000 in Mexico
$5,000,000 in Switzerland
$7,500,000 in Switzerland (less accuracy more ammo than Jackhammer)
|- Dual 96G Berettas
- Flame Thrower
|$150,000 in Mexico
$3,000,000 in Argentina (note:1 ammo)
$55,000 in Japan
|- Guandao
- Mace
|$200,000 China
$8,000,000 United Kingdom (same but more dmg than Guandao)
|$20,000 in Hawaii
|If your speed does NOT overpower their dexterity
|- XM8 Rifle
- Enfield SA-80
|$12,500 at big Al's (not great but temporary til you can replace it)
$250,000 in the United Kingdom (good accuracy and decent damage)
- Qsz-92
|$975 at Big Al's
$90,000 in China (more dmg less accurate than USP)
$55,000 in Japan (More accurate and equal damage to QSZ)
|- Ice Pick
- Macana
- Nunchuckas
|$20,000 in Canada
$100,000 in Argentina (bit more dmg than pick)
$400,000 in Japan (same stats as Macana)
|$20,000 in Hawaii
- It should be noted this is not a "use these weapons list" simply a generic guide, there are plenty of other weapons almost as good, as good, and some that are better but more expensive, diversity is the spice, so look around on your own, a pair of high heels for example is a great novelty attack weapon that also has great accuracy and decent damage! Word of the day is, have some fun, buy a lead pipe and whack a noob!
How do I beat opponents much stronger than myself?
- If you're at war and notice an enemy lose, then morph out now is your chance, equip a pillow (10m in Hawaii) and attack as long as they're on 1hp (watch out it regens at the 15 min marks IE :00 :15 :30 :45. If you use a pillow you will have a very good chance of hitting even if they have much higher stats, you also generally do more than 0 damage, meaning you can actually beat players with way higher stats by using a pillow when they have 1hp, so be alert, and use a pillow! Also note that although extremely accurate they are not 100% as the accuracy has been greatly nerfed, though it's still probably the best choice for a 1hp enemy with higher stats. Also note that people have been renaming their companies to stuff like 1/138900 (for example) so make sure it's the players HP not their company name!
What Weapons should I use to get my Finishing Hits merits?
|Weapons for finishing hit merits
|Heavy artillery
|- Minigun
|High dmg low accuracy, if you have bad speed, try newbs.
|Machine guns
|Only MG in the game.
|- Enfield SA-80
|Cheap, accurate, good damage.
|Sub machine guns
|Cheap, accurate, good damage
|- Jackhammer
|High damage, Accurate.
|- Qsz-92
|good damage, Accurate.
|Temporary weapons
|Extreme damage and accuracy.
|Piercing weapons
|- Macana
|Accurate, cheap, decent damage.
|Slashing weapons
|- Kodachi Swords
|Accurate, cheap, decent damage.
|Clubbed Weapons
|- Nunchuckas
|Accurate, semi-cheap, decent damage.
|- Taser
- Chainsaw
- Additional note
|Accurate, low damage, cheap.
high damage, cheap, extremely inaccurate.
These are the only two Machinery weapons in the game.
Additional notes:
This is a guide written for the guides section of the wiki rather than a generic page, if you wish to edit beyond adding minor stuff, like linking, or if you have any suggestions, comments or criticism please contact Beerstein 1322136 in torn, thanks. Hopefully this saves some people from typing it out all the time in the questions forum.


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Six weeks post liposuction but same body fat percentage: Is this normal?
I had a combination of ultrasound and power assisted liposuction on my tummy and flanks six weeks back. I am 5'1" and weighed113 lbs with 24% body fat... READ MORE
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It only takes a minute to get started. Fill out our uncomplicated sign up form and login to the site.
This step is discretionary but will drastically raise your chances of receiving views from other daters on the site. Write about yourself, your interests and attach a nice photograph of yourself.
Utilise our website's cutting-edge search to uncover members who match your criteria. Or just scan through listings and uncover singles that interest you.
Identified someone who looks right? Drop them a line or just a wink and see if anything happens. With a little luck you'll be on your way to an amazing adventure.
And start dating


text:
Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu called on the Palestinians to continue direct peace negotiations despite an end to the ban on West Bank settlement construction. In a statement moments after the end of the 10-month partial freeze, the Israeli leader asked Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas to continue seeking a "historic" deal.
Earlier, Abbas warned that peace talks would be a "waste of time" unless the freeze was extended.
It is expected that the construction of dozens of housing units will resumed on Monday.
Meanwhile, Washington renewed calls for Israel to maintain the construction freeze, saying its position on the issue remained unchanged. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke with Netanyahu and also with Tony Blair, the representative of the Middle East Quartet (the EU, Russia, the UN and US), as the end of the construction freeze neared, a spokesman said
[1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGrAj5tf3xs
[2] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTMVsxtFgIk
[3] http://www.albawaba.com
[4] http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/09/25/jewish-settlers-west-bank-prepare-end-building-freeze-races-rescue-talks/
[5] http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1910975,00.html
[6] http://mideast.foreignpolicy.com/


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By: Ali Levy
October 24, 2012
Merchandising ideas for the retailer
Tips from merchandising guru, Ali Levy, email@example.com
They say every picture tells a story. The same can be said for well executed mannequins.
Mannequins have the ability to transport us to places for a moment in time (unlike products on a website that are one dimensional.) Pass by one window and you are suddenly schussed off to the slopes of some fabulous ski destination vacation. Inside the store upon spotting another grouping of well-placed mannequins, you imagine yourself relaxing after a long day on the hill – by the fire in a cozy sweater or fleece reading a good book or playing backgammon – or treating tired feet to some luxurious fuzzy slippers that you simply must have NOW! The key to merchandising is creating "the story" – the over-used and not used enough term for showing customers how to use a product the proper way in the proper environment – whether they need that product or not. This includes but isn't limited to multiple layering options and accessories that encourage impulse purchases.
There are, however, do's and don'ts when it comes to mannequin selection and presentation. The one display item you should truly invest in is mannequins. Sturdy, functional and easy to change – these are all things to look for. There are plastic and cloth models. Cloth forms are nice because you can style clothing using t-pins. Plastic are handy because they provide a rigid frame for clothing. But they don't come cheap. You can easily drop up to $600 on a mannequin with arms and legs and a hat attachment. Truthfully mannequins with limbs show clothing better but you can get away with torsos though if your budget is more like $100 by stuffing them with tissue paper. Below are some examples and tips on creating your perfectly merchandised mannequin story.
Source list: below are some of my top picks for good quality and wide selection in styles and pricing.
ozmannequins.com (site is currently under construction but you can contact them via email at firstname.lastname@example.com)
Of course you can search eBay for deals and any local stores going out of business and selling their wares. Mannequins can really help grow your business. Every picture tells a story and investing in mannequins will help you tell them to your valued customers; time after time and season after season.
You need to be careful how you style mannequins. I saw this one and thought "wow – that man has really wide hips!" and would be turned off by the entire display. Keep proportions in check with an average sized male. Most mannequins – depending on manufacturer will take a medium or 32″ or 34" waist. Any bigger and you can clip them in the back but risk having extra fabric make the proportions look off.
Read entire article here.


text: Princess Jada has company this week plus cheerleading camp in the afternoons. You would think @ midnight the girls would be knocked out..Well not this bunch! Here they are wide awake and playing dolls and when they seen me with the camera they decided they wanted to take pictures. LOL Gotta love summer!


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World Soccer Winning Eleven 8 International
Review by X A N S H I N
"The Beautiful Game!"
Pro Evolution Soccer 4 is the latest edition of the greatest football (soccer) series ever made. The Pro Evo games have always beaten their rivals purely on the gameplay. Where the FIFA series focuses on licensing issues and getting things to look as realistic as possible, the Pro Evolution Soccer focuses on getting the game to play as realistically as possible. Can the fourth installment live up to the high standards of the previous three games?
This is where, as mentioned in the introduction, the Pro Evolution Soccer games have been superior to their rivals in the past, and this installment is no different. The game is easy to pick up, and play, but takes a lot of skill to really master. Passing is very simple, but can be made complicated once you master it. One touch passing is simple. Dribbling is realistic and shooting success depends entirely on the skill of the player, again much like in real life. This is one of the main criticisms of the FIFA games, as pretty much anyone can score spectacular long-rang shots in it, whereas that's not the case in Pro Evolution Soccer 4. There are some criticisms of the gameplay however. The referees are very inconsistant with their decisions, which although realistic, is very frustrating. Another point is sometimes when the ball is in the air, defenders will get drawn towards it, even if you tell them to back off. This can get annoying because it gives the attacking side an advantage. The biggest gripe I have with the gameplay is the goalkeepers. They do not really play like goalkeepers. For a start, they find it much easier to save close range shots than they do long range shots. Even poorly hit long range shots sometimes find their way in, while at close range the keepers are incredible. There also seems to be no advantage in bringing the keeper out to narrow the angle, in fact it seems you're better off keeping him on his line in a one-on-one situation. They will also sometimes punch crosses under no pressure what-so-ever, which is very annoying. I mean, yes it happens sometimes in real life, but when was the last time you saw Gigi Buffon punch a cross out when not under pressure. Keepers also parry a lot of shots that they could easily hold, meaning the giving away of unnecessary corners, or worse, a rebound to an opposing striker. Still, overall it's far better than any other football game.
Rating: 8
As previously mentioned, this is where the series falls short of the FIFA titles. This time round though the graphics are improved. Still nothing mind-blowing, but in general player likeness is good (just look as Jose Antonio Reyes, Wayne Rooney, Thierry Henry and Shevchenko) and the graphics are much more polished than in previous installments. Stadium likeness is also good although there aren't very many stadiums. The pitches in each stadium differ which is a nice touch.
Rating: 8
This is the games biggest downside. The commentary on this game is downright awful. Commentary is provided for us by Peter Brackley and Trevor Brooking. The commentary on previous versions has always been bad, but this is probably the worst of them all. Not only do they talk the same sort of irrelevant nonsense that they did on the other games, they make huge mistakes. For example, I'm doing a Masters League as Arsenal, and I've already got the league won. I'm playing against the team second in the league, and the commentators come out with "This is the sort of game which decides who stays up and who gets relegated!" Another example; I am 3-0 up at half time and during the interval, the commentator says "We haven't had much action that half, let's hope the second half brings us some goals". This sort of thing is pretty much inexcusable.
Rating: 5
Replay Value:
This is the games strongest point. Chances are if you buy this game, you will not stop playing it. The great part is that the game is so diverse, you can play the Masters League, you cna play exhibition matches, you can do free training, you can go through the pre-set training challenges, enter cup competitions and so on. The game plays best in exhibition against another human. If you've got no one else to play the game with then the game can become boring a bit more quickly. Personally, I bought the game the day after it came out, and I'm still playing it now in February 2005, quite regularly.
Rating: 10
So, should you rent or buy this? Well it depends really. If you are a football fan, then I'd suggest you buy it at once. If you've got other people who would be willing to play the game with you, then I'd suggest you buy it at once. If you're not really a football fan, and you aren't going to be playing it with other human players, I'd suggest you rent it first, but chances are you'll still enjoy it.
Overall Rating: 8/10
Reviewer's Rating: 4.0 - Great
Originally Posted: 02/16/05
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FAITH MATTERS: Grand Forks church to host kids' Easter party
Grand Forks church to host kids' Easter party
Living Word Family Church, 5200 Gateway Drive, Grand Forks, is holding a special children's party from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Easter Sunday.
During the adult worship service, the church invites children ages 3 through 5th grade to participate in age-appropriate Bible teachings with fun crafts, games and snacks.
Info: (701) 746-6111.
Grand Forks church to host ex-TV contestant
St. Michael's Catholic Church, 524 Fifth Ave. N., Grand Forks, is hosting Leah Darrow at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Darrow is a former America's Next Top Model contestant who continued to feel an emptiness inside despite her success, said the church. She now travels the world giving talks on living a meaningful Christian life.
Info: (701) 772-2282.
Grand Forks church to hold lecture, workshops
UND Christus Rex Lutheran Campus Center, 3012 University Ave., Grand Forks, is hosting "Re-Thinking How Christianity Began" April 25 to 26. Presented by scholars from the Jesus Seminar, it will look at the emergence of Christianity in the first and second centuries.
The event starts with a lecture titled "Violence, Belonging and the Beginnings of Christianity" from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Friday and continues with workshopsSaturday. The first workshop from 9:30 a.m. to noon will cover how traditional views of Christian beginnings need to be re-thought based on recent scholarship, while the second workshop from 1:30 to 4 p.m. will use the poem "The Thunder: Perfect Mind" to explore what new views of Christian origins might mean in the 21st century.
The lecture is $20, while the workshops are $30 each, or attendees can preregister for all events for $60 by April 11. All events are free for UND students.
Info: (701) 775-5581. Register: (503) 375-5323, www.westarinstitute.org.
Grafton church to serve klub dinner
Grafton (N.D.) Lutheran Church, 143 W. Fifth St., is holding a potato klub, or dumpling, dinner with ham, sauerkraut and desserts from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. April 25. The meal is $10 for adults, $5 for children 4 to 8 and free for children 3 and younger.
Info: (701) 352-2638.
WELCA to hold Pekin convention
The Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America are holding a Carrington Cluster Convention starting at 9 a.m. April 26 at Sheyenne Lutheran Church, 10651 23rd St. N.E., Pekin, N.D.
Info: (701) 296-4569.
Grand Forks church to hold mission fundraiser
University Lutheran Church is holding a mission trip fundraiser from 5 to 8 p.m. April 26 at the East Grand Forks Eagles Club, 227 10th St. N.W.
The event will include a spaghetti dinner, silent auction and family fun to benefit the church's mission trip to Ecuador.
Info: (701) 775-4745.
Warsaw maternity home to celebrate 10th anniversary
St. Gianna's Maternity Home, Warsaw, N.D., is continuing its year-long 10th anniversary celebration with a spring banquet at 6 p.m. April 28 at the Ramada Plaza Suites, 1635 42nd St. S., Fargo.
The keynote speaker will be Monsignor Thomas Richner, rector of the Cathedral of Holy Spirit in Bismarck. There is no charge for the event, but attendees are asked to reserve a seat by contacting Joan Schanilec at (701) 360-2499 or email@example.com.
East Grand Forks talk to focus on family tragedy
Our Savior's Lutheran Church, 1515 Fifth Ave. N.W., East Grand Forks, will host speaker Marshall Olson at 7 p.m. April 30.
Olson will present "Coincidence or is God talking to me?," which the church calls a Christian message about a family's journey after the death of their son Brock in a 1997 car accident.
Info: (218) 773-8449.
Share news about community religious and church events by email@example.com; include "Faith News" in the subject heading. Please be sure to include an address.


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Comparison of Intravitreal Ranibizumab and Macular Laser Photocoagulation for ME Following Branch Retinal Vein Occlusion (BRVO)
The recruitment status of this study is unknown. The completion date has passed and the status has not been verified in more than two years.
Verified August 2010 by Seoul Retina Investigator Group.
Recruitment status was: Recruiting
Recruitment status was: Recruiting
Seoul Retina Investigator Group
Samsung Medical Center
Kyungpook National University
Information provided by:
Seoul Retina Investigator Group
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
First received: August 25, 2010
Last updated: NA
Last verified: August 2010
History: No changes posted
- Full Text View
- Tabular View
- No Study Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
This study is designed to evaluate the efficacy of intravitreal Ranibizumab in comparison with macular laser photocoagulation as treatments for macular edema secondary to branch retinal vein occlusion.
Characteristics of this study is as below
- Multicenter, randomized clinical trial. (intravitreal Ranibizumab 0.5mg injection vs. macular laser photocoagulation)
- After 48 weeks follow up, functional change(visual acuity)and anatomical change (central retinal thickness) would be evaluated
|Branch Retinal Vein Occlusion
|Drug: Ranibizumab Procedure: macular laser photocoagulation
|Phase 3
|Study Type:
|Study Design:
|Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Double (Participant, Investigator)
Primary Purpose: Treatment
|Official Title:
|A Randomized Trial Comparing Intravitreal Ranibizumab and Macular Laser Photocoagulation for the Treatment of Macular Edema Following Branch Retinal Vein Occlusion
Resource links provided by NLM:
MedlinePlus related topics: Edema
Drug Information available for: RanibizumabU.S. FDA Resources
Further study details as provided by Seoul Retina Investigator Group:
Primary Outcome Measures:
- Best Corrected Visual Acuity (ETDRS letters) [ Time Frame: 48 weeks ]
Secondary Outcome Measures:
- Retinal Thickening [ Time Frame: 48 weeks ]Optical Coherence Tomography measured central retinal thickness
|Estimated Enrollment:
|Study Start Date:
|January 2009
|Estimated Study Completion Date:
|August 2011
|Primary Completion Date:
|August 2010 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)
|Assigned Interventions
Experimental: IVRI
IVRI : intravitreal ranibizumab (0.5mg) injection
Drug: Ranibizumab
Ranibizumab 0.5mg Ranibizumab will be administered to patients as multiple intravitreal injections.
Active Comparator: Laser
Laser : macular laser photocoagulation
Procedure: macular laser photocoagulation
Treatment may include both focal and grid therapy using the laser and contact lens of the investigator's choice.
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|18 Years to 80 Years (Adult, Senior)
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Inclusion Criteria:
- Symptom duration < 6 Months, > 4 weeks
- Visual acuity - less than 20/40 (73 letters) more than 20/400 (19 letters) in ETDRS chart
- OCT - center involved retinal thickening : > 250 micrometers
- clear media
- well controlled hypertension (<140/90mmHg) and diabetes (6.5<HbA1c<9.5)
- willing to return for all scheduled visits
Exclusion Criteria:
- uveitis,NVG, exudative AMD, diabetic retinopathy, Irvine-Gass syndrome, OIS
- any malignancy
- previous treatment history - laser photocoagulation, intravitreal injection with any drug, vitrectomy
- vitreomacular traction or epiretinal membrane
- intraocular surgery in the study eye within 6 months
- uncontrolled glaucoma ( > 30mmHg with anti-glaucoma medications)
- optic neuropathy, amblyopia
- A condition that in the opinion of the investigator would preclude a patient's participation in the study
Contacts and Locations
Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the Contacts provided below. For general information, see Learn About Clinical Studies.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01189526
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01189526
|Contact: Song Ee Chung, M.D.
|Contact: Yun Taek Kim, M.D.
|Korea, Republic of
|Samsung Medical Center
|Seoul, Korea, Republic of, 135-710
|Contact: Song Ee Chung, M.D. firstname.lastname@example.com
|Sub-Investigator: Song Ee Chung, M.D.
|Sub-Investigator: Yun Taek Kim, M.D.
Sponsors and Collaborators
Seoul Retina Investigator Group
Samsung Medical Center
Kyungpook National University
|Principal Investigator:
|Se Woong Kang, M.D.
|Department of Ophthalmology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine
|Principal Investigator:
|Jae Pil Shin, M.D.
|Department of Ophthalmology, Kyungpook National University
More Information
Keywords provided by Seoul Retina Investigator Group:
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on September 20, 2017
|Responsible Party:
|Se Woong Kan, M.D. and Jae Pil Shin, M.D., Samsung Medical Center and Kyungpook National University
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|NCT01189526 History of Changes
|Other Study ID Numbers:
|Study First Received:
|August 25, 2010
|Last Updated:
|August 25, 2010
Keywords provided by Seoul Retina Investigator Group:
Branch retinal vein occlusion
macular edema
intravitreal injection
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
Retinal Vein Occlusion
Retinal Diseases
Eye Diseases
Venous Thrombosis
Embolism and Thrombosis
Vascular Diseases
Cardiovascular Diseases
Immunologic Factors
Physiological Effects of Drugs
Angiogenesis Inhibitors
Angiogenesis Modulating Agents
Growth Substances
Growth Inhibitors
Antineoplastic Agents
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on September 20, 2017


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Actress Jodie Foster has tied the knot! People has confirmed that Foster and photographer Alexandra Hedison married over the weekend after almost a year of dating.
The 51-year-old actress delivered what many consider her public coming-out speech during her acceptance speech for the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement award at the 2013 Golden Globes, saying, "This is not going to be a big coming out speech tonight because I already did my coming out about a thousand years ago back in the stone age."


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If we got an invite to the Elle Women in Music Awards, we'd wear our classiest, most glamourous, most beautiful dress. Hey, we'd even dry clean it for the occasion.
But when you're a celebrity the rules are different. Sometimes you decide to sod the classy dress, and bring out the one that is TOTALLY SEE THROUGH and shows your boobs, just because you're a celebrity and you can.
And that's the plan Melody Thornton (another Pussycat Doll who isn't Nicole) went with last night.
Melody wore the nude (in more ways than one) dress to the event, which was held at Avalon in Hollywood last night.
She was joined by a host of other glamorous ladies, including Nicole Scherzinger - looking hot in a backless dress - and Jessie J - who performed wearing a skintight catsuit. She also did this with a microphone, which made us laugh a lot.
Ellie Goulding also performed, and in case there was too much oestrogen kicking around, will.i.am came along.


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When we were putting together the story on the Bohman Special last week, Geoff Hacker provided us these two ads for C. Bohman & Son, the coachbuilder responsible for the Bohman Special. The first one, above, shows the other sports car that Bohman built at about the same time, the Maserati Speci ... Read more
We saw one of these yacht-paneled convertibles at Glenmoor last year and can attest that seeing so much Di-Noc anywhere but on a station wagon is enough to keep people scratching their heads for hours on end. This particular yacht-paneled 1968 Mercury Park Lane convertible for sale on Hemmings.com ... Read more
To commemorate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, we had to look no farther than this 1970 Chrysler New Yorker four-door hardtop for sale on Hemmings.com to find a grandpa-fresh example of a car that roamed the highways on the very first Earth Day. It's big, plush, dented up, equipped with a ... Read more
Note: I write up driving impressions of virtually every car I photograph, within a couple of days of the drive, so everything is fresh in my memory. Occasionally, because of the constraints of format (ie, buyer's guide) the prepared text doesn't run. Now, thanks to the joys of the blogo ... Read more


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Concept 17 A gene is made of DNA.
Cross pure-bred pea plants to identify dominant flower color.
HI! Avery and his group used S-strain DNA to transform rough-coat (R) strain to the smooth-coat (S) strain. You do a similar experiment except you use R DNA instead of S DNA. What happens? Would the R strain be transformed to the S strain? DNA is DNA, transformation will take place. (No, R to S transformation requires a special donor DNA.) R strain DNA will transform R to S, but at a much lower frequency. (No, R strain DNA cannot transform R to S.) R strain DNA can't transform R to S. (That is correct) R strain DNA will transform R to S, but the new S will not be infectious. (No, there is no "new" S in this case.) The R strain is missing the gene that makes the sugar coat needed for virulence. So adding DNA from the R strain will not transform R to S. When Avery and his group isolated DNA, they noticed that the DNA solution was very viscous, thick, and stringy. When they incubated the DNA solution with DNase, the viscosity disappeared. The same result occurs if the DNA sample is vortexed. If you do an Avery transformation experiment using S-strain DNA that has been vortexed for a long time, it loses its transformation ability. Why? Vortexing breaks the DNA into small pieces. The genes are no longer intact. (That is correct) Vortexing mixes the DNA, and makes new DNA that doesn't have the transforming ability. (No, vortexing merley breaks up the DNA, it does not make new DNA.) It's not DNA after all that causes transformation. (No, DNA is the transforming principle.) Vortexing breaks the DNA backbone. As a result, large DNA molecules are broken into short pieces. It is unlikely that any of these short DNA pieces are long enough to contain an entire gene. You figure out a way to break the S strain's DNA molecule exactly in half, then separate the two halves. You then use each half in a transformation experiment. Half#2 doesn't have the gene that transforms R to S. (That is correct.) Half#1 has all the genes, Half#2 is junk DNA. (No, you don't know that Half#2 is junk DNA. You only know that it doesn't have the transforming ability.) Half#1 worked this time, in another experiment Half#2 will work. (No, if Half#2 can't transform, it doesn't matter how many times you try.) Half#1 transforms the R strain to S. This means that the gene for transformation is somewhere on that piece of DNA. Half#2 can't transform because it doesn't have the gene.


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In HeartMate, Robin D. Owens swept us away to the planet Celta, where psychic talents are the key to life - and love. Midwest Book Review predicted that listeners "will want Ms. Owens to return to Celta for more tales." And the prophesy has come true - with Heart Thief....
Ruis Elder never asked for his unusual trait - the ability to neutralize others' psychic talents. Because of it, he has always been hated in his own homeland, destined to roam the harsh planet alone. But trouble finds him in front of the ruling Council - and face-to-face with the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. There's only one problem: Ailim is on the opposite side of the bench....
Ailim has never before felt such passion coursing through her as she feels in Ruis' presence. And she never thought she would - at least not with a man so far beneath her station, a man who does not even have psychic powers. But even on the planet Celta, love is blind to such details. Separately, Ailim and Ruis must forgo their old lives. But together, they can take on the world....
©2003 Robin D. Owens (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
There are no listener reviews for this title yet.
"Can't wait for the rest of the series!"
Yes! The narrator captures the different voices perfectly! Ruis is very cultivated, T'Ash is very abrupt, Samba is very playful and Zanth is annoying.
"Love, love, love this series of books!"
Yes, such a good read or listen.
Really good performance.
Can't wait to get the next book!
"Much better narration than Heart Mate"
Yes. This is a much beloved series and am looking forward to the next in the series.
Heart Mate, because it is the first in the series
I sincerely hope they release all the books in the series
"Null Heartmates."
While I liked this book, it took a while for anything to really happen. The first part was Ruis arrest and then it was a slow budding romance. While good I tend to like a bit more to my stories. The second half was better but the ending was a bit confusing as an audio, a lot of the characters names sound similar and I had to rewind a bit to figure out what was happening. I like all the animals/fams in the book. I also like the world building and am going to try another book sometime in the future, this series is just not one I want to listen to the books back to back. Narrator does a better job in this book than in Heartmate.
"Yea for Robin D Owens"
So glad Robin's books are finally on audio. Love ALL her writings. The narration is good but would be just that much better with a male and female narrating
"The story is fantastic"
No, unfortunately. The print version (kindle version) was more enjoyable but only because of the readers creation of odd accents.
SPOILER ALERT:When the ship showed its affection for Ruis.
I think the narrator could have read the story and still kept it interesting and have the different characters recognizable without giving each of them a separate accent.
II really enjoy everything I have read by Robin D. Owens. I like that her characters are not perfect. They have struggles, they make mistakes, and often learn from their mistakes and grow as people even when they are no longer the main characters. I love the fams (family pets who can talk and more). I enjoy a science fiction/fantasy story. The reader has a nice voice and is listenable. However, I found it distracting that he changed accents for most of the characters. He read it so that family members in the same household and people in the same city of the same station and class spoke with different accents from each other. Yes, it is possible for people in a family to speak with different accents. However it is less likely that every family would have a different accent. That being said I enjoyed the story enough that I will listen again despite the odd accents. hope to see a lot more by Robin D. Owens at audible.
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How does Rachel McAdams get over a break up? She turns to her notebook! Rachel and her boyfriend of two years Michael Sheen split last month, reportedly because the long-distance relationship wasn't working out. And fans of The Notebook would probably like to see her get back together with her former co-star and boyfriend, Ryan Gosling. Now, Ryan is reportedly helping Rachel get over her breakup. And an insider says that is not sitting well with Ryan's current squeeze, Eva Mendes, his co-star in the new movie The Place Beyond the Pines.
|Eva Mendes Mad Rachel McAdams is Calling Ryan Gosling?
Source:GrabNetworks (c). All Rights Reserved


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© 2002-2017
Encyclopaedia Metallum
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Portal. I'm a bit of a geek, so the first time I heard the name, I thought we were talking about the game by Valve. Turns out that the band is not only equally good, but twice as mind-bending. I get sick of using the same old metaphors for sound, so here's some fresh ones: The guitars are a colony of marching ants devouring a corpse. A swarm of locusts. Cancer multiplying from within. There's an underground, burrowing quality to it. This is what the Shai Hulud hears as it travels through the sand.
Portal have been cultivating this infestation of terrifying, atmospheric death metal for many years and over the course of several albums. But Vexovoid has taken a few liberties that help it stand out. For one, and this seems to be to the chagrin of some of the die-hards, there is an increased allowance for actual structure. Don't get me wrong, to the average listener this is still going to sound like Poltergeist static with voice-over by Pinhead. But those who stick around for repeat listens will notice a sense of order.
"Kilter" throws in a touch of recurring groove, while "Awryeon" harnesses the contortions of strangled treble to create memorable moments that actually stick. These disturbed melodies drew me in, but what kept me coming back was the doomy outro and pounding drums. And that..."sound"...at the end is completely alien. Then there's of course the insatiable beats and spiraling tremolo of "Curtain." Blastbeats seem to come through an otherworldly fog while accented bass notes murder djent in a blood ritual. The Poe-inspired music video is the perfect accompaniment for this twisted fantasy.
If you can take a break from the cataclysmic stampede of snare and toms, the absolutely ominous ambient break at the close of "Plasm" is as close to a reprieve as you're likely to get. But the most unique track is undoubtedly "Orbmophia," which sounds like the swarm finally manages to burst forth, sprout wings, and scatter across the room into a series of bug zappers. The song ultimately leads into a fairly traditional Meshuggah sounding riff that was equally unexpected.
All said and done, Portal probably took me the longest of these groups to get into, but once it clicked, it was over. I was meat. Vexovoid just happens to represent my tenderizer of choice. If you enjoyed this album, definitely go back and explore their discography. There's plenty of mayhem to be had.
Review courtesy of Metal Trenches (metaltrenches.com)
I've been meaning to review my personal favourite Portal album for some time, as I feel they warrant a bit of special praise for simply sounding unlike pretty much anyone else out there. Although they aren't the first band to employ some of their most prominent characteristics, it is the way in which they blend them into a cohesive hole that makes them sound (almost) unique. I was dissuaded from covering their strongest material after chancing upon a review which caused me to consider again their most recent work Vexovoid - for me the weakest full length they've released. As much as I enjoy them for their obsidian black, often unsettling and theatrical avant-death, this might just be the sound of a band who have run out of anything new to express. Perhaps style is beginning to outweigh substance.
Don't get me wrong, this is not a bad record. In fact I still rate this most deficient of their works as one of the stand-out metal records of the year. That is because I have always enjoyed the tangled yet technical riffing, the portentous deathly bellowing of the Curator, and the segues into bleakly organic industrial-ambiance. Nonetheless too many of the tracks lack any kind of memorable quality, often consisting of mid-range hammering tempos that run out of momentum and fade out. Opener Kilter sets the scene for much of Vexovoid, exhibiting a more linear, straightforward aspect to the overall composition than earlier works. Overall the sense of tumult and eruption that are hallmarks of their best material was lacking.
Some of the memorable moments include the abject plod of Curtain, in which the closing invocation of 'Excedere Vita' plays straight into the Curator's penchant for necro-sermonising. Plasm manages some of those queasy, hair-raising tempo changes and ubiquitous string bends that worked so well on the likes of Vessel of Balon (from 2003's Seepia), before running out of steam somewhat and being subsumed by clouds of billowing bottom end. As mentioned their aptitude with these ambient segues is one of the strengths of Portal. Compare the way they weave perfectly within the overall sonic aesthetic, to the individually enjoyable but context-less ethno-acoustic tracks on the new Necros Christos release. During Awryeon, the Curator attempts some travesty of melody, which is subtly creepy and out of place. It's a technique which I think could serve them well in the future - introducing fleeting moments of almost-melody, which could be integrated into the otherwise pitch-black aesthetic and add some extra nuance.
As much as I enjoy their schtick, I think Portal need to be careful with how they approach future works, because there seems to be a danger of them churning out watered down versions of earlier material just as there is with most bands out there. I'd be happy to hear them try longer pieces; soundscapes melded with the whirlwinds of dissonant riffing they do so well. Tracks which make greater use of dynamics, other than just start-slow down-fade away. And if they can't find a way to invigorate their stygian stew with some new outer-dimensional potency they should call it a day. At their best one of the most original and interesting of modern death metal groups, they deserve better than a slow dwindling.
For being promoted as "crazy and unorthodox", Portal's music is fairly easy to make out despite their "chaotic and dissonant" approach to death metal (these techniques were covered by Immolation and Gorguts throughout the 90's). String bends, dissonance, strange chords - nothing new here but the performance is technically competent. This band understands on some levels how to make death metal riffs (even if they are played unconventionally) and how to sound death metal. The problem is they just don't know how to write death metal songs.
The whole album exists in one fixed emotional state throughout: setting up an atmosphere of "dragging you into the depths", but it feels like a 34 minute crescendo building up momentum for a revelation that never comes. Some thudding rhythmic pauses are thrown in, suggesting a build-up, but it seems wasted: appearing like a fast droning build-up to a lazily conceived build-up to... nothing again. This is like the musical equivalent to sitting still: there is occasional yawning, breathing, blinking... but it's the same old thing over and over again. Interesting "Lovecraft-esque" horror lyrics and concept (imagery as well), but it doesn't match the music since it has no narrative development - just words over what averages out into a monotonous hum. Despite competency, I never want to listen to this again because there is no payoff, no reason given to make you want to listen to it again despite their mastery in aesthetic (chaotic/dark riffs with horror lyrics and image). As a result, just another highly stylized but vapid media product. Avoid.
Australian band Portal have made quite a name for themselves. Their sense of identity is a one deliberately shrouded in mystique, their lyrical content deals with the Lovecraftian mythos, and former members belonged to the excellent progressive death metal band Stargazer.
Not unlike said countrymen, yet differing in sound and style, Portal are renowned for being something of an eccentricity within contemporary death metal.
Whilst the framework of the genre is a discernible influence to trained ears, there is a strong sense of otherness, a quite genuine will to create something that breaks new ground without having to sound more accessible and pass itself off as being 'different'.
The influence of bands such as Immolation, similar to their musical technique on 'Close To A World Below' and 'Unholy Cult' is traceable, and there are various techniques and modes in the guitar playing that resemble what can be heard on 'Obscura' and 'From Wisdom To Hate' by Gorguts.
This is coupled by a murky, surreal and blurry aesthetic, one that renders the atonal mass as bizarre and hard to discern on first listening, something that makes 'Vexovoid' more applicable as ritualistic, ambient music.
This being the first time having heard this band, it's hard to not draw a parallel to recent works by Antediluvian and Mitochondrion, both of whom appear to have taken some form of influence from Portal in terms of their obscure, metaphysical approach to composition.
Sharing at least something in common with Havohej or some of Krieg's early work, 'Vexovoid' combines technical proficiency with a noisy, desconstructionist layout, for which it can at least be said, pushes boundaries and paves forward a future vision of death metal.
Objectively speaking, this is fascinating work. Subjectively whilst not accessible, Portal will most certainly be a band that will be remembered in years to come as an act ahead of their time.
Compared to when we last heard some emissions from Portal's gaping wormhole orifice in the fabric of Metal music back in 2009 chaotic and experimental Death Metal is now much bigger business- and that means competition for Portal. For most of their decade plus deep-mining of abyssal bounds of Death Metal's atmosphere and Lovecraftian horror themes Portal have has next to no contemporaries, but with the recent rise of the likes of Antediluvian and Mitochondrian what they do is now increasingly commonplace, even in danger of becoming ordinary. Portal's best bet for keeping their place at the forefront of Death Metal experimental obcenity is to do what they've always done, and this is evolve and mutate with each release. Unfortunately though Vexovoid feels more like a consolidation of past exploits, bordering at times on being a resting on laurels.
Straight off the bat with "Kilter" this album is noticeably less chaotic and more direct than where they were a decade ago on Seepia. Their unmistakeable atmosphere is still intact- that feeling of stumbling blindly along a corridor lined with swarming tentacles and slime-covered vines- but this is not quite as inpenetratably dense as Outre'. There is noticeable similarities in the atmosphere, but musically it has more in common than 2009's Swarth. "Plasm" demostrates the 50/50 mixture between these two albums that is on display here mixing challenging disrhythms with an abyssal low humming feedback and screeching tremelo-picked guitars to spine-tingling effect. It is fairly good, but simply drawing on ideas well-tread on their last two albums feels like a bit of a cop-out.
If this is your first meeting with this band, or you can disassociate your previous experiences of Portal, then this a pretty decent album- but for those who have become to desensitized to this sort of chaotic churning parts of this album will sound lazy and phoned in. "Orbmophia" stands out for its really caustic and vibe, and some melodic tremelo-picking that lulls the listener into a false sense of security that gets quickly shattered. "Awryeon" though, some droning elements aside, verges close to bog standard Gorguts-style Tech Death. It's not bad, but it's not what Portal do best either, and "Oblotten" with its uninspired and inconsequential song ideas that go nowhere is emblematic of the album as a whole. Overall it is far from bad, but it is easily the weakest of Portal's albums. [7/10]
From WAR ON ALL FRONTS A.D. 2013 zine- www.facebook.com/waronallfronts
Portal have always failed to have an ideal sound as far as I'm concerned. I know some could say their super flat, obscured and clunky productions help the band's abstract and convoluted musical ideas create an even more otherworldly and deranged atmosphere, but I disagree. For me, I've always felt their sounds have been more of a sign of the band being unwilling to back the atmospheric qualities of their music to speak for itself. Maybe they were scared of being considered wanky, or being too complex to be efficiently evil, but I've always had the impression they've hidden behind their production jobs a fair bit, needlessly hiding the immense qualities of their actual songs behind basic "ugliness". Seepia was just plain old cheap, and as such stands out as the most easily dissected riff feast they've composed, but underneath the super flat and lifeless sound of Outre there was some hugely inventive, deranged riffwork, and behind the hilariously clunky and out of tune mix of Swarth were quite possibly their most intricate compositions. With their fourth full length, Profound Lore seemed to have actually convinced them to have a sound which does justice to their devastating live set up... so they went and wrote this. Talk about a wasted opportunity.
What they've got here is, tonally speaking at least, mostly inline with what Swarth was going for, but without the laughably out of whack percussion and broken sounding mix. It really sounds outright good! The notes are easily enough made out but still deep and churning, the drums actually pack a punch, the vocals are prominent and demand attention without getting in the way, and the general density of the music gets a pretty good level of rib shaking magnitude at higher volumes. It's not their perfect sound, the second Abyssal album has that, but it's enough to get the point across; Portal can play, Portal write songs with dimension and care, Portal have depth.
But for whatever reason, they wrote this music to match that sound. They've taken their first production which could actually show off what great riff writers they can be and how adventurous their fretboard wanderings really are, but made the strange choice to write their darkest, most atmospheric opus yet. As such it doesn't work in either regard. Vexovoid plays out like a confirmation letter to everyone who wrote off their previous albums as pointless, stupid noise using awful productions to seem strange and artistic. They've stripped out most of the technicality, the rapid transitions, most of those glorious bwwaaaaaaahhhhh and fwaaaaaaahhhh runs up the neck of the guitar that have been their biggest appeal since "Glumurphonel". All they've left in tact is mostly forgettable and in line with hundreds of other bands.
Most of the time this is aggressively uninteresting, with most of the riffs being mid paced churns on a single note with some slightly bizarre drum work, then progressing onto other escalating or descending notes. These songs don't have the same excitement and life to them to what they used to do in the past, they're plainly aimed at being atmospheric above all else, and to me, I don't think it works in the cleaner setting. This sort of sound was their chance to show of how good the music they create is, and hope that the ominous mood would still make the transition into being reasonably clean and lively, but the music they've offered up, ironically, kinda needs some kind of broken or atypical production to make it interesting. Slow churning, cavernous death metal has been done to death, and no amount of Poe inspired video clips is going to make "Curtain" feel remotely interesting musically.
I try to avoid reviewing things for what they're not too much, but really that's all there is to do here; they've stripped out so much that what's missing is more interesting to talk about than what's been given. This really doesn't carry any of that strangeness which the band thrived on, other than a little bit of drumming and guitar work discordance it's all pretty straight forward. And with the production as reasonable as it is, all the facelessness of the music is plain to see. Almost all the album plays out like the fairly tame opening two tracks off Outre without the dramatic bursts of energy and aggression, or the muddy and secretive sound. Nothing interesting happens with the riffs, nothing interesting happens in the songs, it's just boring. Hell, half the members put out an album for Grave Upheaval during the year, so you'd think they'd have used up all their "Portal except not dynamic and riffy" ideas, but nope, there are plenty to spare right here.
With all that said, I couldn't call this awful. The sound is still pretty nice and full, they do the churning evil thing well enough, and the Curator really does sound imposing here. It's not a bad sound, it's just an uninteresting one which has been done many times before and done much better, made a little bit worse by the fact the band had always shown a lot more than just this baseline darkness. There are a few moments here and there which hint at what might have been. "Plasm" has some of those nice bwwwaaaaaahhhhh's, "Awryeon" is noodly as at least 40% of the album should have been, and "Kilter" lives up to it's name and gets off kilter enough to actually be perplexing, but these moments are rare among the masses of mediocre nothingness.
This has gotten a fair amount of buzz for some reason, but I don't really see why. This is really their most user friendly effort, and most of the real twisted, inhuman stuff isn't present, it's just pretty bog standard atmospheric death with some slightly clunkier drums. I couldn't recommend this as a very good dissonant death metal album, hell, I'd almost have to say it's the one of the worst out there, and it doesn't function as a very good churning OSDM album. If you want super dirty, simplistic rolling death metal by Portal, listen to Grave Upheaval, this is just a disappointment which serves no purpose to the band's identity or music in general. Too clean to be atmospheric, too musically withdrawn to be appeal on surface value.
The last time I reviewed a Portal album I used a really pretentious metaphor about how the album was an engine or something of the sort, but this time I'm just going to cut to the chase because frankly this album isn't good enough to warrant my writing something like that. This is easily altogether the weakest Portal album to date - it's improved in a few aspects but when evaluated as a whole it's definitely lacking the "oomph" that made the band's first three full-lengths so amazing. It's still good, but pretty much only because it's still intrinsically Portal; the songs as a whole are pretty inexcusable by the band's standards.
Vexovoid isn't pushing much new ground for Portal; in fact it's essentially a 50/50 mix of Outre' and Swarth. The production is dense and heavy like it was on the former (though not exactly brickwalled like Outre' was, either; the general consensus on this seems to be that the added clarity to the drums on this album is a positive aspect, but honestly, I personally miss the skullfucking density of the band's second album), and a few of the rhythmless, percussionless droning sections are borrowed from Outre', but the actual riffs are a bit more overtly technical as opposed to almost entirely atmospheric, which makes me want to liken it to Swarth.
The main positive development in the riffs is that a lot of the dissonant chords give off a much heavier sense of dread and horror - on this album Portal use a lot of abrupt, screeching sections among their riffs that have more potential to build tension than anything else the band have ever used before. Unfortunately, they never seem to properly follow up on them with quality hooks - this album is memorable but the actual riffs just aren't very good, if that makes any sense. A lot of them just sort of sit around, playing noodle riffs that sound like outtakes from Swarth, but those are really just about the best that Vexovoid has to offer. Quite a few of them are just flat-out annoying - some are phoned-in, uninspired dissonance that doesn't really exist for any other reason, and then you know that one riff at the 0:30 mark of "Kilter" with the jittery high note that keeps popping up amidst a sea of low, twangy, suspiciously djenty tremolo notes? It drives me off the fucking wall, and there are several more of those grating super-downtuned tremolo riffs sitting around the album where you'd least expect them. Likewise, improvement with the vocals is a double-edged sword in that the actual tone of vocals sounds amazing this time around (they're much hissier and more vitriolic than they've ever been) but the vocal lines aren't very good in terms of rhythm - they don't work off the rhythm of the riffs and just sort of float over them, like a Lovecraftian version of a Jehovah's Witness standing at your doorway aimlessly rambling over the music.
The real problem with all of this is that it just feels so fucking lazy by Portal standards. I'm not sure if it's actually possible to "phone in" something that sounds like it came from the 198th trans-omnipotent dimension, but it seems these guys did just that with Vexovoid. At this point, the riffs aren't as stellar as they have been on past endeavors and they really just kind of feel like Stereotypical Portal Riffs™ that I could get for a dime-a-dozen from a handful of other bands. When this was first released, I was complaining because I wanted something entirely new from the band, and I realize now that that's rather silly, but is it really too much to ask that the riffs are merely just as good as the albums before this one? I know, the band have been busy with other projects like Grave Upheaval and Impetuous Ritual, but they still had a grand total of four years to come up with, say, 25 quality riffs for an album that had to follow up on one of the best albums of the 21st century, and they wrote, like, maybe two of those and then stuffed the rest of the album with filler. Furthermore, the riffs just don't go anywhere. I understand Portal are hardly the most linear or ordinary band, but I think even the band's detractors will admit that the stuff on previous albums was pretty damn song-oriented. Vexovoid has me asking myself "okay, where the fuck is this supposed to be going?" way more times than any album should, and it's even worse that I never get a proper answer to that question. Portal will pull out one of the droning Outre' riffs, but it doesn't ever build up to a crushing climax or a destructive technical assault on your face. They stack mediocre riffs up in a way that makes you think the album is heading for some sort of world-shattering god-tier meta-riff, but in that hypothetical riff's place is another mediocre riff. The songwriting is solid, but it's like they took all the perfect riffs out of perfect song structures and replaced them with the sort of shit I'd come up with while jamming on my own guitar and saying to myself "gee I'm gonna try to sound like Portal now lololol".
The atmosphere is still undeniably Portal, that much has remained intact. It's potent shit in such a regard. But Vexovoid doesn't stand up well beyond the most superficial of observations, and so I don't feel comfortable with describing it with anything more enthusiastic than "good". It's good. If you want more Portal, then here it is. But I'm not going to be so kind to a second album's worth of material this unrefined and lazy, and I hope that you won't, either.
Since their 2007 release, Outre, which blew experimental death metal at the time out of the water, is a band that has bordered on infamy within that given sub-genre. While trying to compare their most recent release, Vexovoid, with something like Outre is at best generous and at worse absurd, I am dismayed to see how many listeners have already dismissed Vexovoid as something less than stellar. Portal's style hasn't changed much in the last years, this much is true, but then (to compare them to one of their influences) Immolation's style hasn't changed all that much either, yet they keep their momentum going with each release. My point is that the initial 'shock and awe' that was Outre has since faded and what we have now is merely an outstanding experimental technical death metal band from Australia. Portal is untouchable no more.
That said, I fervently believe that Swarth was their weakest release and that Vexovoid far surpasses it in how the record flows. As far as musical experimentation, one is no longer surprised listening to a Portal release, and sadly for some, Vexovoid is yet another repetition in the grand choir. Yet for its apparent mediocrity, there is an energy to Vexovoid that was, to me, simply lost in Swarth. Sure, few can sparsely forget pieces like "Larvae" or "Writhen", but they seemed out of place. On Vexovoid, in contrast, each track flows harmoniously from one to the other. One cannot help but feel as if the entire record is possessed of a singular spirit in tortured yearning, similar to Outre in a way. The atmosphere is much more 'paced' than before and it allows the listener to catch up. I wouldn't say this is a weakness, but on the contrary, is a sound of a band's music maturing, taken and evolved further and may yet yield something again as mindblowing as Outre or perhaps something else entirely.
All in all, this isn't Portal's creme le crop, but it isn't far afield. In itself, the album is a great listen. It leaves in me great hunger for what may come from Portal in the future.
It seems that there is no middle ground when it comes to the slimy, tentacled musical horrorshow known as Australia's Portal. From the moment they arrived on the horizon (or through a gaping hole in the fabric of time and space if you want to beat some other well-used metaphors to death), they provoked the metal hordes into either a puzzled awe or outright hatred, usually centered around technicalities such as "tremolo picking" (how dare they!?). Therein lies the quandary of any artist that defies and redefines the limits of a particular genre- rarely are they appreciated at the time of their inception, especially when there's no comfortable reference point. Portal do not design their perverse musical architecture be experienced once and judged; they may be an acquired taste, but the supremely inventive songwriting and playing only become more evident with repeated listens. Hacks these people are not.
Which brings us to their latest offering, "Vexovoid".
Without hesitation and bucking the current trend of an elaborate first track intro, the album erupts with 'Kilter'. What is most immediately apparent is the production; not clean by any means, but slightly less filthy than previous recordings. What is also apparent is that 'Vexovoid' is not 'Swarth: the sequel', if that's what you were expecting. There is more of an immediacy to the song structures with less slow, creepy build-ups and more slow, creepy fade outs. The Curator's strangled, slit-throat gurglings add to the overall dread and controlled chaos and his role as both invocator and proclaimer is intact and as hateful as ever (following along with the lyrics is highly recommended, along with access to a good thesaurus).
By the third song, 'Curtain' (arguably the centerpiece of the maelstrom) your cerebral cortex is already pudding. It begins with three ominous drumbeats and fades out to a lurching, almost martial finale: one can almost picture The Curator raising his arms up while bellowing a declaration of endless madness and destruction.
As the songs progress, so does the sense of watching a movie that is rapidly spiraling to its unhappy conclusion. The songs' endings become increasingly drawn out, unraveling into alien feedback and ambient (but nowhere near soothing) drones until the final song, an instrumental that ends with a deceptively simple bass melody.
My only complaint is the relative length of the album, clocking in well below the 40 minute mark. Not that this really matters as the compactness of the songs only make them more potent and jarring. 'Vexovoid' displays the developing coalescence of Portal's sound. If the prior albums were the sound of anticipation of the arrival of whatever they were conjuring to seep from the stars, this clearly states 'they're heeere'.
No subgenre can fully claim Portal. The listener can spot influences, but mostly the band just creates experimental, offputting, vaguely metallic weirdness. When I first heard their music on 2007's Outré, I was astounded by how creepy and strange it was. The guitars sounded like ominous swarms of insects, the vocals were effortlessly demonic, and the drums sounded like they were being played by the lanky, murderous clock-monster on its cover. The songwriting was almost an afterthought, since the sounds were so novel. After hearing innumerable repetitions of the same styles of metal, the record was a breath of fresh air.
The two albums Portal has released since Outré, Swarth and Vexovoid, follow a similar blueprint and sound just as spooky and evil, but don't do much to distinguish themselves from that fascinating record. Apart from the minor differences in production, the songs could be swapped among the three albums and I wouldn't notice. Vexovoid isn't necessarily a better or worse album than any of Portal's other releases; I'm just beginning to think that one Portal album is all I need in my collection. Unlike bands like Blut aus Nord or Fuck the Facts, whose experimental tendencies lead them on wild trips into unexpected territories, Portal more or less continues to layer swarmy guitars, clunky drumming, and diabolical whisper/growls into songs that begin and end without creating a lasting impression. I understand that it's not Portal's intent to create catchy, hummable music, but listening to all of Vexovoid, even at its relatively brief 35-minute run time, is tough.
If Vexovoid had been my first exposure to the band, it may very well have ended up being my favorite of their albums instead of Outré, so I don't mean to label it as inessential to the metal world. But to me, it seems like Portal has again rewritten the same record. They are a unique and exciting band (and, for Christ's sake, see them live if you get the chance) and I hope their next record finds them exploring some new sounds and focusing more on memorable compositions than pure atmosphere.
At what point does music move to far past its logical extremes ? This is a question that may be answerable solely by the one and only Australian twisted geniuses better known as Portal. Vexovoid is the 4th release by the band that has made music a psychological weapon of mass mental deterioration.
In the past the band has been able to conjure up images of twisted imagery through it's self imploding suffocating atmosphere and unconventional song structures, uncatchy music which often made you and I question what the hell was happening. None of of really got the answer, not a satisfactory one anyway. It's a question that no one can answer, except maybe the band itself.
So has anything changed for the band ? In a nutshell, umm.. No. So, is it still the same ? Well, almost. The band still has that suffocating atmosphere, inherent brutality, but they sound a bit calmer from the previous releases maybe. A bit calmer may not be suitable for this band, a bit less chaotic will be more apt. The band still sound like Immolation, Deathspell Omega and Gorguts put in a blender and the resultant music is being played backwards. The band still relies a lot on atmosphere, and by atmosphere I don't mean the kind of 'piano ambient spacey' atmosphere that new age crap extreme bands use so as to portray a feeling of depth and emotion, but a skullfucking, suffocating, raging I dont give a fuck relentless atmosphere, that the band has used continously to it's advantage in the past and continues to do so. They still don't care about philistinian things like melody and harmony.
Vexovoid takes no time to get started, almost immediately throwing the listener down into a pit of nothingness. From the first track to the last moment of music here, there is a nearly unrelenting wave of harsh, abrasive sounds, with little- if any- respite to speak of. That being said, the effect of this sound is undeniable. The band has this brilliant habit of being able to make this Lovecraftian type unimaginable horror and convert into music and lay it down in front of you almost daring you to take a bite off of it.
Portal is nothing like anything you have heard before. This is metal for the weird. This is metal which is not for the weak hearted. This is metal, as it was supposed to be, an art, an expression of oneself without caring about the listener. This is not metal which cares about the convention which is considered the norm. This is not metal that cares about production. Really, if after creating an image like this if you think that this is a band that caters to the needs to people who will bitch about production or not being enjoyable or fun or catchy, and if really that is what you expect you are way out of line.
This is chaos that you will like. You may not know why, but you will still like it.
Grim, Bleak, Frightening, Awesome.


text:
City celebrates 175 years with Tarnished Brass Band
Mon, 16 Sep 2013 03:59:12 GMT —
Keith and Marilyn Rose Smith are celebrating nearly 65 years of marriage.
â??We were neighbors,â?? Marilyn-Rose Smith said. â??We went to the same church, so we met and they had dances in the Legion Hall and we were going to the dances, and I learned to square dance for the first time, Keith taught me how and we've been happily married all these years.â??
But on Sunday, the natives of Leando, Iowa are also commemorating their hometownâ??s 175th anniversary at the Christ United Methodist Church.
â??Keithâ??s been around the world several times in the navy, and he says this is the best place in the world to live,â?? Smith said.
â??This is the third year that the Douds Historic Preservation Association has sponsored a concert in Leando by the Tarnished Brass Band, and it seems like every year or the last couple years anyway, the rain has forced us inside,â?? Jon Finney said.
Tarnished Brass Director Ken Burns says the band is a full orchestra of about 20 people including high school kids and several members who are retired.
â??Well Tarnished Brass has been together since 2005,â?? Burns said. â??When they first began, they started pulling some of their instruments out of the closets they hadn't looked at for years because there are several retired people from Van Buren County that started, and when they pulled them out they noticed that those instruments that had been in the closet for a few years were tarnished, hence the name Tarnished Brass.â??
As the music speaks for itself, the story of how Leando got its name is a bit of a mystery.
Douds and Leando are opposite of each other. Separated only by the Des Moines River, and it's always affectionately been called the twin cities.
"Leando was founded in 1838, and Douds was founded in 1866, so it's the newer of the two cities,â?? Finney said.
â??Well it used to be a pretty thriving community and still is but there were businesses and Finney Store was one of the big businesses in the town,â?? Smith said.
A newspaper article written in November 1911 states the original name of the town was Portland and was changed to Leando after the town's first postmaster's father named Leander. That change was approved by the Van Buren County Board of Supervisors on Oct. 12, 1883.


text:
Christine Haynes Announces New Pattern Line
Christine Haynes, a favorite SewStylish author, is launching her first pattern line.
Christine has sewn basically her whole life—it's in her blood. Her first sewing teacher was her mother who learned from her mother. She carried on their tradition and has made sewing her life. She sews and sells her ready-to-wear items in fashionable boutiques all across the nation, teaches sewing classes in three LA venues, writes constantly, and is now venturing into her first pattern line.
Her goal is to start with two simple and sweet patterns named the Chelsea Dress and the Derby Dress. The Chelsea Dress has short sleeves and a shift style body gathered to a neckline yoke. The Derby Dress is a fun summer sleeveless dress. The top and hem have one wide ruffle each and the straps are tied into sweet bows—a perfect pattern for teaching someone to sew!
Direct from the author, here is how Christine describes her design esthetic. "My designs are feminine, but not too girly, clean and modern, but not boring, and vintage inspired, without looking costumey. I like my designs to be comfortable and most of them are great for both dressing up for a date and dressing down for the beach."
Christine's patterns aren't available yet—it's all still in the works. Find out how you can help start her pattern line.
For more information about Christine check out her website, ChristineHaynes.com
Posted on in sewing, design, Christine Haynes
Comments (7)
Posted: 11:50 pm on August 24th
Posted: 11:49 pm on August 24th
Posted: 11:48 pm on August 24th
Posted: 11:48 pm on August 24th
Posted: 11:47 pm on August 24th
Chelsea Dress with long sleeves-
Chelsea Dress with short sleeves-
Derby Dress-
Derby Dress-
They will be perfect few beginning level classes!
Posted: 6:58 pm on August 22nd
Posted: 5:50 pm on August 18th
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text: Philipp Hancke said the following on 4/26/06 1:49 AM: > Matthias Wimmer schrieb: >> Hi! >> >> Is anyone able to establish an SASL-authed s2s link to jabber.org? I >> always get (jabber.org): TLS verification failed: unable to verify the >> first certificate. > Error code 21? > You need to install the Comodo Class 3 Certificate... > http://www.instantssl.com/ssl-certificate-support/cert_installation/ComodoSecurityServicesCA2018.crt > > > That changes the error code to 27, which is a problem with the > certificate, not yours. The problems seems to be that Comodo marks > 'Key Usage' as critical and the cert is not used for an 'allowed' > purpose. X509v3 Key Usage: critical Digital Signature, Key Encipherment X509v3 Basic Constraints: critical CA:FALSE X509v3 Extended Key Usage: TLS Web Server Authentication, TLS Web Client Authentication I wonder what we should have requested in here. > > Using a cacert certificate would help, they dont set 'Key Usage' to > critial :-) Is this bad? -Jonathan -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: smime.p7s Type: application/x-pkcs7-signature Size: 3252 bytes Desc: S/MIME Cryptographic Signature URL: <http://mail.jabber.org/pipermail/jadmin/attachments/20060426/193a9a1f/attachment-0001.bin>


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We have been working for a while on a new video stream. We put it on-line this afternoon and then about 2:30 (CT) Liberty laid her first egg of the season.
The new stream should be more stabile, but we may still have a few bugs to fix from time to time. The stream should be able to be viewed on most of your mobile devices. You might have to select a lower resolution depending on the speed of your service.
It should be exciting for the next few months!


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Reviews: Anonymous
- Anonymous
- England, Male, 18-24
- Novice Nomad
Very friendly staff and clean throughout. Bathroom facilities good and comfy beds, if a bit squeaky!! Not the cheapest hostel I've been to, but has to be expected during Edinburgh Fringe..! Would definitely consider staying again in the future. :-)
I am glad you enjoyed your stay with us. The prices during the fringe festival are higher and you will find other dates are very cheap and great value for money.
- Anonymous
- England, Mixed Group, 18-24
- Novice Nomad
The hostel has a good atmosphere, the rooms are comfy and the staff were quite helpful. Sometimes cleanliness in the bathrooms was an issue, but overall we got what we paid for and enjoyed our stay.
thanks for the comment, we are working on the cleanliness and we can promise you that is more better than the last time you visit.
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