text:
In Which We Regularly Play Ping-Pong With The Princess Masako
by LENA DUNHAM
I awake the next morning feeling like I need a blood transfusion. Our guide Shiori arrives at noon, chipper as ever and ready to take us to the airport where we'll board the plane home. She hands me a gift. "From Kazu. To remember last night."
A pleather nurse's cap.
My goodbye with Shiori is bittersweet — we have truly become friends, despite the uncrossable cultural chasm, a chasm evidenced by the fact that she is shocked by frank discussions of sex but was not at all surprised by what we witnessed last night at the S&M bar in the Rappongi district. "I love you," she says, handing me a bag of "bean sweets." I promise to send her the ugg boots she so desperately wants.
"Remember to e-mail Tada," she says. The sleeve of her raincoat is still dotted with red wax from a candle wielded by an obese dominatrix. "The gift he gave you was very expensive. He says you promised to take him to all the clubs of New York."
Did I? I don't remember that. I guess, like so many of my Japanese exchanges, it was lost in translation.
Ground Control To Major Mom
We've come to Japan because my mother is having a small retrospective of her photographs at a gallery in Tokyo.
Traveling with my mother has its challenges. She's adorable, a real gem, but she won't shut up and she generates little bits of trash and she is very nervous about Japanese customs — for instance, her guidebook tells her that the Japanese don't like public nose blowing, which she adores, and that's been a real source of anxiety.
On the 14 hour plane ride she watched Lost In Translation on her in-flight entertainment system. Good movie, but it is now a near-constant point of reference, and likely will be for the entirety of our time in Tokyo. After all, she was quick to note that I am a recent grad with hair vaguely the color of Scar Jo's, traveling with a working photographer. Only my shutterbug partner-in-crime is not Giovanni Ribisi. She gave birth to me.
When we land at Narita Airport twenty tiny men in scrubs and gloves and white rubber rain boots come aboard wearing masks, and announce they're going to take our temperatures as a precaution against the spread of swine flu. They have syringes in their fanny packs and I actually get very scared.
We are greeted in the airport by Shiori, a young representative from the gallery where my mother's work is being shown.
"I will be your guide," she says. Our friend Matthew warned us not to bond with any gallery girls because "you'll never lose them" but I like her. She insists on carrying my suitcase even though she weighs about seventy-three pounds and has hands like paper cranes. The taxicab's seats wear a cloak of white lace. The driver dons matching gloves and takes your Yen (thousands of them!) on a small silver tray.
I once saw a movie in which Toni Collette has hot sex with a Japanese businessman who then dies. She spends the next hour lugging his lifeless body through the Australian outback and crying.
Judging by the medical mod squad and this cab driver's stiff posture, I can't imagine a passionate affair with a native man. A few minutes after we check into the hotel the maid comes into our room to turn down the beds. Panicked, my mom stuffs her dirty underpants into my purse to keep up appearances.
Japanese American Princess
Shiori, helpful gallery girl extraordinaire, has a rival in my new friend, manga artist Miyu. Although thirty-one, Miyu looks approximately fourteen and wears an Anne-of-Green-Gables-inspired hat that only Audrey Hepburn or Audrey Tatou could pull off outside of Japan. She makes beautiful comics about coming of age. She gives me her books, but I cannot read them.
Miyu brings me to 7-11. In the US, 7-11 is just a burial ground for coke slurpeez and microwaveable pizza. Here in Japan, it purveys complex sushi rolls, tempting noodle bowls and delicate pastries with thousands of flaky layers (the label on the yummiest reads "A Taste of The Bread").
Yellowish Fever
I know I said I could never imagine a Japanese affair, but I've changed my mind. Kazu, the art handler hanging my mom's show, is gorgeous like the strong, sexy, dreadlocked Mongol in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (causing my sister to email the instruction: "Yeah, girl. crouch that tiger, hide that dragon. P.S. That's a Chinese movie").
I'm Big In Japan
I get drunk fast on sake. I haven't eaten meat in ten years but this beverage tastes fleshy somehow. I can't stomach much of what is brought to the table at a seven course meal with uber-friend Shiori and Tomio, mom's squat art dealer.
Toshi brings along a well-known Japanese painter who informs me that he comes at his art from a very "passionable" place. I learn that he is also very passionable about Buffalo Springfield, Burt Reynolds ("to most, he is sexiest man") and the Jack Black vehicle Nacho Libre.
He would like a friend in New York, as his only friends are Yo La Tengo and they are always on tour. Poor guy.
After the Party is the After-Party
At 3 a.m. I hear my sleepless mother sighing.
She is sipping chardonnay by the computer. I tell her to take an Ambien and I fall back asleep. Big mistake. Girlfriend takes an Ambien. And she follows it up with a healthy Ambien-inspired nosh session that encompasses two mini-bottles of vino, a tube of Pringles, a box of Ritz Bits, a smattering of mixed nuts. Then there's a mug of sake and a salmon-flecked rice ball. The contents of the mini-bar have been eradicated. When I awake at 9 a.m. she is snoring peacefully, surrounded by wrappers.
To See What There Is To See
We spend the afternoon wandering through the Shibuya neighborhood, which is like if Soho and Times Square had a baby and then moved to the moon to raise it. It is also where many of Lost in Translation's most memorable visuals were captured: filmed, I'm told, from the window of the mega-Starbucks at Shibuya crossing. I'm beginning to resent Sophia Coppola's subtly fascistic dictatorship over our travel experience.
Every linguistic foible, every longing glance out a cab window at dusk — if my mother doesn't say it, then I feel it. We are in someone's else's movie.
There are so many businessmen and business-ladies in Shibuya, all over Tokyo really. A sea of briefcases! Japanese people look so young — fourteen year olds in ill-fitting suits. What kind of business could they all be doing? When they cross the street it looks like a music video, or the cover of Abbey Road. They are so orderly and leave a foot of space between themselves and the next office escapee.
The White Man Cometh
We attend an opening at the Hara museum, all art by hip young collectives, and I develop my second Japanese crush, on a mophead in a t-shirt that says "Hustler: Hardcore since '74."
Being the only Caucasian in a room, you almost feel invisible because you are so visible. When you're in Mexico or someplace, at least they want your paper dollars. But here, we are uncouth, smelly, hairy. We have swine-flu. Our currency is inferior and our history is short. Yet the Japanese also love Sid Vicious, cowboys, birthday cakes, bagels.
It's such a confusing dynamic.
Memoirs of a Geisha
It's a complex process to even get near the hotel pool, one that involves a mandatory shower and a key that you strap to your thigh. But I am immediately thwarted when I see a sign announcing that no tattooed persons may enter the water. My mother is not content to either follow or ignore this rule, so she presents me to the locker room attendant, pointing to my arm and announcing/asking "THIS IS OK!?"
The sweet-faced girl looks vexed, turns a bit red, pulls out a roll of medical tape and proceeds to cover up all my tattoos — even the one my lower back, which she claims to find "kawaii" (cute). I do twenty laps and shed all the tape in the water, mummy-style.
Night On Earth
My mother's opening is considered a smashing success, although attendance is estimated at approximately twenty.
She is interviewed by a Japanese TV crew while I spend a long time talking with a bald Canadian man named Todd who says he is a "thought-leader entrepreneur at the forefront of the meeting between business and education." Todd says it's good to move to Japan because you can get famous more quickly. For instance, he regularly plays ping-pong with the princess Masako, and attends her wine tastings.
At the post-opening dinner, I drink a bit too much sake and have to take a genteel vomit break. When I return from the bathroom, all red and shiny, Shiori is waiting with a knowing grin. She is seated near my crush Kazu, who looks like Heath Ledger and James Iha merged and then put on a ruffled blue blazer. I have been informed that he loves to get high and was waiting for signs of drug use, but it turns out he "doesn't need no drugs, just a trance music." Shiori is looking at him, then back at me, over and over.
"What?" I demand.
"You must go talk to Kazu to learn he is a PUHVERT. I think he's the gay, but he very nice guy. Go sit behind him to learn why he the PUHVERT."
"But I don't speak Japanese, so I don't know what he's saying. Is it about sex?"
"NO, NO!" She blushes. "He very nice guy. Go sit behind him. He the PUHVERT, though. At the clubs he go crazy. You think he's the gay?" I am thoroughly confused and ready to let this whole exchange slide. But outside, after dinner, Kazu motions me over to him.
Quietly, he speaks. "Late this week, we go to the club?"
"Sure" I say. "Are you going out tonight?"
"We cannot," he tells me. "You are wearing wrong shoes. So we will go Thursday together to the club."
"OK. Great." I smile.
Shiori hurries over. "Did he talk to you? Now you see how forward he is!" It is surreal to get into a taxicab with your slightly tipsy mother and look out the window to see fifteen smiling Japanese people in leatherette formalwear waving goodbye joyfully from a street corner. They all bow in unison, over and over, until you are out of view.
An American Werewolf in Japan
My mother wants to go for a drink with Shiori on the 57th floor of the Park Hyatt hotel, where Lost in Translation was filmed.
I really do like that movie, just as much as the next recently-teenaged girl, and I'm not sure why my mother using it as a constant reference point makes me so crazy. There are several Hyatts near this Hyatt and we spend almost an hour riding up and down the elevator of the wrong one, wandering the darkened halls of its conference center, before we realize our mistake.
When we finally arrive we enjoy an uncharacteristic martini, listening to the smooth sounds of the resident jazz band. "In the movie it's a band called Sausalito and Bill Murray sleeps with the woman. Remember?" mom asks.
That red-haired vixen isn't here tonight. It's a Vanessa Williams look-alike crooning Cole Porter. It's very interesting to hear Shiori discuss concepts such as "honor" "respectability" and "modesty." Her former colleague (a word she pronounces cawl-eee-gew) had an affair with Kazu, art handler crush, and it was a great dishonor, not only for that woman's husband but for everyone who knew either cheater.
Once Shiori was in a club chaperoning a visiting German artist and he kissed a Japanese girl who then fainted. I ask why and Shiori says "because he pulled all the energies from her."
Oodles of Noodles
Manga-artist Miyu giggles constantly, as if any question ("where this street is located?" or "what is that root vegetable called?") is the most embarrassing thing that has ever befallen her. She often knocks on nearby pieces of wood for luck. She has, I hear, published three books, two of which are bestsellers. She lives in a tiny cottage that once belonged to her now-hospitalized grandmother. She dresses like Daisy Buchanan and claims never to have googled herself. She has no idea how many books she has sold. She makes it all look so effortless.
Speaking of effort, I've stopped trying to imitate Japanese manners and now I consume "A Taste Of The Bread" right in the streets, cream on my face, ravenous. Eating in the street is considered very rude here, but I spotted a commuter munching a sandwich in the subway so the jig is up.
Too Much Hospitality
Sometimes, when you've been in Japan for ten days, you start to get a little funny. First, you'll stop noticing the preventive flu masks around you. A businessman will stand out in a crowd because of his Bon Jovi-esque haircut and not because he is wearing a mask over his face.
You will start bowing to people who hold open a door or sell you a honeydew yogurt or inform you that there are fish flakes on some crackers you're not sure you want. You will flash a peace sign and assume a pigeon toed stance whenever someone aims a camera at you.
You have adopted/adapted all these traits, yet you're also low-grade tired all the time. From trying to avoid beef broth. From making sure to remember that L's sound like R's and vice versa. From the outrageously reliable Japanese friends you have made — they are always early and always offering to pick things up for you at the convenience store and always buying you sweet treats that you claim not to want, but that they know you will eat because you're an American with as many stomachs as a cow. It's enough to make you miss the enervated flakes you surround yourself with in New York City.
No One Can Take A Joke
I spend the afternoon with Nanako, a teeny art critic in a deconstructed blazer and Harry Potter glasses. I'm stunned by this culture of hospitality —everyone we meet offers a tour, some tea, a red bean cake — so I jokingly tell Nanako that if my life in the US doesn't deliver I will just move to Tokyo and act on Japanese soap operas. Todd the Canadian thought-leader says everything is easier here. But Nanako is stern. "You'll never get respect that way, or long term satisfaction."
They Might Be Giants
I go to Harajuku Street hoping to spot G. Stefani's muses but am informed that the look is out of fashion. What's cool now is dressing like a secretary — cardigans, pearls, practical pumps. At Uniqlo they don't sell jeans in a size bigger than 27. There's a boutique with a window-full of baby-colored mini-dresses. They'd make nice pillows in the Real World Malibu Barbie house, but they won't suit me. The salesgirl doesn't agree and insists I try on three.
None fit because I am not a Japanese woman and my stomach(s) need some room. I am developing a rash, sweating, can't bear to explain myself so I buy a silver mesh tank top with bells on it. The armholes are far too tight. Returning to the hotel, grumpy and huge, I yell at my mother when she makes the Lost in Translation reference that breaks the camel's back.
Are You There, God? I'm In Tokyo
I'm going to a club with Kazu. What do I wear? How do I dance? If he did kiss me, which he won't (will he!?) then would he want to use tongues? I haven't seen a single dog here, and the streets are so shiny and clean. People have different house slippers designated for every room, so I really can't imagine the use of tongue. Germy. But this is also the country that spawned bukkake, tentacle-rape porn, and Sailor Moon.
I'm starting to understand my resistance to Lost In Translation references. Firstly, it sort of makes me feel like one of those women who visits New York and takes the Sex & The City bus tour. Secondly, as a filmmaker I like to believe that anything I do might be grist for some future movie-mill, but a twenty-something blondish girl wandering Tokyo is someone's private property.
What Happens in Rappongi Stays In Rappongi
We begin my final night at the opening of Tada, a hot commodity in contemporary Japanese ceramics. He's considered sort of an enfant terrible in the ceramics world, and he further cultivates this image by wearing a turban and pounds of silver rings.
"Tada is very sexy, no?" Shiori asks. "A cool kind of big deal artist!" She insists that we stand very near him and just sort of slump and smile.
Afterwards, we are guests at the seated-on-tatami mats dinner to celebrate Tada.
Kazu, is there, wearing a frilly collar that makes him look like a sad clown as re-imagined by Commes Des Garcons. But his body is so long and sinewy, and his ponytail so well done, that I take it in stride. Although neither of us smokes, my mother and I bum cigarettes off a table-mate and someone calls us "naughty women."
Tada and I speak a bit with the aid of a translator (a giggling red-faced Shiori). Outside, it's pouring rain. We are all handed clear plastic umbrellas, and it's beautiful when everyone stands together and chats and there is this sort of anti-rain ceiling covered in droplets and illuminated by Tokyo's myriad neon signs. I tell my mother that if I were to make a film set in Tokyo, I'd want to capture this clear-umbrella phenomenon, but guess who already committed this savvy detail to celluloid? Sofia Coppola, that's who.
Kazu announces it's time to hit the clubs, so I bid mom farewell and wander through the wet streets with Yasu, a disarmingly chatty guy with Buddy Holly glasses and a messy bun. Tada rolls deep with a bad-ass ceramicist dude-crew, and Yasu is the standout. He is wearing a raging bull t-shirt and attended an American University as an exchange student, where he "majored in smoking." He tells me all about his wife, who is at home because she's eight months pregnant.
We arrive at Club UNIT, the pulsing crowd full of Japanese hipsters in suspenders and fedoras. The DJ's are German youth who have clearly moved to Tokyo to be worshipped as gods of fun and style.
Their plan is working. Club-goers bum rush the booth, fighting to get near. The DJs, in turn, take digital photos of their disciples. Kazu and Tada insist on buying me drinks and, more unexpectedly, carrying my purse.
When I protest, they tell Shiori to tell me that "We will show you how a Japanese man is. You are a princess." They think I am a loose girl from the land that birthed reality TV and Cheetos. Shiori says Kazu has a "thing" where he only "has the sex with girls who have never had the sex. He thinks any other way is dirty."
Tada asks my age. I say "23, last week." He's excited. "HOPPY BIRSDAY!"
Suddenly I am faced with a huge bottle of Dom Perignon and a bald man who just keeps pouring it while Tada yells "HOPPY BIRSDAY," again and again. He hands me a pewter mini-vase of his own creation and says "my gift of you." New Order comes on. I let my hair down and dance. Kazu lets his hair down too and tries to waltz. I roll with it. He delivers a long monologue to Shiori, who looks at me and laughs. "What!?" I demand. "He says you are sexy." I'm flattered, considering I'm roughly the size of ninety-one Shioris lined up in a row. S. Coppola really did nail the phenomenon of a Japanese utterance that sounds like an epic and translates into nothing more than a sentence fragment. Recall the scene of Bill Murray being screamed at for minutes by a rockstar director, who has really just asked him to tilt his head slightly.
Now it's time to head to the bar. "A special bar" Shiori says. "A bar for the sadistics." We take a cab to "Fetish Bar." As fetish bars go, this one seems pretty weak. It's about the size of Puffy's Tavern, the bar down the block from me in Manhattan that sees fifteen customers on a good night. Cocktail waitresses wear leather thongs and carry dinky, sub-par whips. One of them is very fat, an oddity in Japan. A sort of big pun den mother, I hear her demand that an ornery client "shut a fuck up." Tada immediately asks that I put on one of the sexy outfits hanging by our banquette. I demur for almost an hour. Shiori sets in. "Why not? This will be the fun. Just a nurse one." I say no. Again and again I say no. I watch Yasu get tied up and "whipped" by our cocktail waitress and I keep saying no.
I allow her to burn my arm with a candle, don't flinch, and I still say no.
"But you are such a sexual person," Yasu informs me. No.
"Can I kiss you?" he asks. "I will not tell my wife because I am my own man of pleasure." No.
"Do you think we're so fucked and inside of ourselves because we are Japanese? We cannot get loose?"
"I don't know," I say. This is making me sad.
So they keep asking about the vinyl nurse's uniform, and I keep drinking. And finally it's just, like, why not? This is the only part of my Tokyo experience Scarlett Johansson can't touch, and anyway, interesting people need to have stories like this.
Shiori and I step into the bathroom, where we stand with a middle-aged salary man wearing only shrunken trousers, his hairless chest covered in red wax. She zips the "dress" on and we emerge. A waitress shouts "KAWAII!" Tada says " LIKE BRITNEY SPEARS!" A random guy in a French maid's apron says, "You so sexy, RENA."
Yasu is awfully wasted and squeezes my butt cheek so hard under the table that I cry out in pain: "NO." For all this talk of honor, there is a surprisingly huge problem with unsolicited ass-grabbing in Tokyo. During rush hour they designate a ladies-only car on the subway.
Yasu goes to another part of the bar and allows the waitress to spread his ass cheeks open and pour hot wax inside.
When his penis comes out, he says "It's not so big — Japanese size! But it can get bigger. Sometime." I am ready to go home. At which point things suddenly get formal.
"It was honor," Tada says, bowing.
"Please you enjoyed Japan," Kazu says.
"Such a nice girl," Yasu slurs.
In the cab back to the hotel, I think that I am starring in a movie about a girl who has just experienced something foreign.
Lena Dunham is a filmmaker from New York City. You can find her website here and she twitters here. Photographs by the author.


text:
I have a Custom Post Type called "Report." It has some custom fields, including the name of the place where the post has been written.
I would like that when a user saves (or updates) the post from the admin interface, if he did not fill the place name, the system will fill in automatically on the basis of latitude/longitude (using reverse geocoding).
Which hook should I use?

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Kim Dotcom apologises for Mega bugs
Megaupload founder and alleged online piracy kingpin Kim Dotcom apologised for teething problems with his new file-sharing service Tuesday, saying massive global interest had swamped the website.
The mega.co.nz site, a replacement for the outlawed Megaupload, was launched on Sunday, with New Zealand-based Dotcom staging a lavish party at his Auckland mansion, a year after his arrest in the world's biggest online piracy case.
Dotcom said the site, which he claimed on Sunday attracted one million visitors and more than 500,000 registered users in its first 14 hours, was proving so popular that it was experiencing technical difficulties.
"The massive global PR around the #Mega launch is simply too big to handle for our start-up. I apologize for poor service quality," he tweeted.
The 39-year-old German national said his team was working around the clock to resolve the issues and the service would be running normally within 48 hours, declining to give an update on user numbers.
"If I would tell you how many signups we had since the launch you wouldn't believe it. I can't believe it. So, I won't tell you," he said.
Dotcom hopes the new venture will rival the success of Megaupload, which boasted 50 million visitors daily and accounted for four percent of Internet traffic before it was shut down following his arrest last January.
Free on bail as US authorities seek his extradition on a range of charges including money laundering, racketeering and copyright theft, Dotcom has said he needs to relaunch his Internet empire to help pay his legal bills.
US authorities allege Megaupload sites netted more than $175 million in criminal proceeds and cost copyright owners more than $500 million by offering pirated copies of movies, TV shows, music and other content.
Dotcom denies the charges, which carry jail terms of up to 20 years. His extradition hearing is due to be heard in August.
The new website offers cloud storage with state-of-the-art encryption to ensure only users, not the site administrators, know what they are uploading.
That would theoretically stop authorities from accusing administrators of knowingly aiding online piracy, the central allegation facing Dotcom in the Megaupload case.
Explore further
(c) 2013 AFP


text:
Recommended By
Personnel Office
David W. Benson, President
Issue Date
Tuesday, May 30, 1989
Current Issue Date
Tuesday, August 18, 1998
Effective Date
Tuesday, May 30, 1989
Contact Office
Personnel Office
Policy number
It is the goal of Sonoma State University to maintain a drug-free workplace. To that end, and in compliance with the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 (Public Laws 100-440 and 100-690), the University has adopted the following policies:
- The unlawful manufacture, distribution, dispensing, possession, or use of controlled substances is prohibited in the workplace.
- Employees who violate this prohibition (paragraph 1) are subject to corrective or disciplinary action as deemed appropriate, up to and including termination.
- As an on-going condition of employment, employees are required to abide by this prohibition (paragraph 1); and to notify the campus Personnel Office of any criminal drug statute conviction they receive for a violation occurring in the workplace. Notification must be provided no later than five days after such a conviction.
- If an employee receives such a conviction (paragraph 3), the University shall:
- take appropriate personnel action against the employee, up to and including termination; or
- require the employee to participate satisfactorily in an approved drug-abuse assistance or rehabilitation program.
- The University regularly offers drug-awareness programs and activities for employees, including new-employee orientations, articles in campus publications, training and development courses, and lectures and workshops. In addition, through the Personnel Office the University makes available to employees information about drug counseling, rehabilitation, and employee assistance programs.
Updated August 18, 1998 by firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
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text:
Friday, February 5, 2010
Family and Friends Newsletter Friday 5 February 2010
Back to work on the Sudie Norman family.
What do you in your genealogy program do when a divorced couple has remarried? I cannot find an option for this on Reunion so I just put it in the "Memo" field next to the first marriage. (This must be "Genealogy Program Marriage Entry Workaround Week" – see Geder.Genealogy and Elyse's Genealogy Blog).
Sandy of Cemetery Divas is out having ankle surgery. Prayers and best wishes for as speedy and painless a recovery as possible.
At T.K.'s Before My Time I found a reference to Dana Huff's blog, Our Family History. It has a Texas connection, so I have added it to the Texas Team.
This has been mentioned on other recaps, but you must read Chery's story of her search for her father at Nordic Blue.
Read Tipper's interview of Appalachian author Peggy Poe Stern and then link to the excerpt from Peggy's book Heaven High and Hell Deep over at Blind Pig and the Acorn. You'll be hooked!
Nest Pic Challenge – Can You Tell We Can't Wait for Spring?
Over at Linda's Flipside and Carol's Reflections from the Fence. They have some great pictures of nests in trees. Well, ladies, here's my contribution.
OK, it's not very spectacular. But notice the home décor, i.e., the plastic ribbons hanging down. I have seen chickadees hovering near this nest, but I don't think it is a chickadees' nest. Speaking of which, here is what I hope to lure the chickadees to nest in this spring (it was a Christmas present):
Off-Topic: Beware of Crash Blossoms!
First there were Phantonyms, now there are Crash Blossoms! "Crash Blossoms" is the name now given to a phenomenon that owes its existence to the practice of compressing headlines into the fewst number of words possible, so that the little words that could prevent ambiguities are eliminated. In his latest "On Language" column for the NY Times, Ben Zimmer describes the evolution of the neologism for this phenomenon and how this name caught on. The original headline was "Violinist Linked to JAL Crash Blossoms." I'll cite one more such headline – "British Left Waffles on Falklands" – to whet your appetite for more and recommend that you read the full article here.
Meanwhile, here in Northern Virginia, it is snowing. And snowing. And snowing….
6 comments:
- AnonymousFebruary 5, 2010 at 4:47 PM
Not sure if this is what you are looking for. I also use Reunion, if you click on the yellow "+" sign above the person you are looking to add a second spouse to, a box pops up with different options, such as add another spouse.
As for the marriage record portion, you can mark a couple as divorced so that the second spouse makes sense.
I hope this is what you are looking for and is helpful.
Thanks, Terri. I am actually trying to find out how to show that the same couple has married, divorced, and then married one another once again (and, as it happens, divorced again); I should have made that clear.ReplyDelete
OK, your nest photo is terrific! Amazing stuff those birds! Quite the builders. I read once of a lady that had collected the nests around her yard, and found the hair of her daughters in them. How cool is that??ReplyDelete
Have you tried adding another marriage from within. Open their screen to your edit portion and say, add marriage?? in RM3, if I say add marriage as a fact, it will ask me which hubby, since I only have one, it allows me to add a second date/fact. My son and his wife actually were married 2 times, almost 9 months apart, and I have both dates in RM.
Thanks, Carol, I am going to try that. I am fascinated by all the stuff birds put in their nests. The "ribbons" made me laugh because it looked as though the birds had made a deliberate attempt to "beautify" their nest.ReplyDelete
I am thinking you have been a very busy lady since you got back. When do you find time to read and write and research. I struggle to read some and occasionally write. This is a wonderful post, and full of varied interest.ReplyDelete
Frances - Well, there's not much extra time, but some of the posts I either "write in my head" or scribble down on paper in the off moment so that I can post them when I have a chance. Genealogy, including this blog, is my primary hobby, so when I'm not at work, cleaning house, etc., it fills a lot of my "spare" time.ReplyDelete


text:
Futsal Football - FIFA Street
Korea takes on Houston Dynamo in this gameplay movie of FIFA Street's Futsal mode.
Korea takes on Houston Dynamo in this gameplay movie of FIFA Street's Futsal mode.
Argentina and Chicago Fire duke it out in this gameplay movie of FIFA Street's Panna mode.
FIFA Street is back but is a newfound sense of realism enough for it to take home the trophy? Find out in our video review.
Take a look at this gameplay movie of Last Man Standing mode in FIFA Street.
Check out some silky panna action in this FIFA Street gameplay movie.
Check out some five-a-side action in this gameplay movie of FIFA Street.
Check out this four-a-side match between Team Panda and Asskick Angels.
This week enjoy the Journey, be horrified by Silent Hill: Downpour, and kick some ball in FIFA Street.
GameSpot AU community manager James Kozanecki tells you what games are coming out in Australia in the week beginning March 12, 2012!
FIFA Street includes a World Tour story mode where you can create yourself and your squad in-game, upgrade attributes, and unlock some of the 50 new skill moves and authentic ...
Barclays Premier League gains some street cred in this trailer for FIFA Street.
We take a look at how humble beginnings blossom into a full-fledged franchise in FIFA Street.
Bayern and PSG compete in this gameplay video for FIFA Street.
Check out this FIFA Street gameplay video featuring Toronto and the Whitecaps.
France and Germany battle it out in this FIFA Street gameplay video.
Learn what the panna and air beats tricks are in this Street School video for FIFA Street.
Spain and Argentina are featured in this FIFA Street gameplay video.
Here's a FIFA Street gameplay video featuring Barcelona against Madrid.
Learn all the latest tricks in this Street School video for FIFA Street.
FIFA Street line producer Sid Misra gives us a preview of the venues in the game.
Check out some tips and tricks on ball control in this Street School video for FIFA Street.
Learn how to juggle in this Street School video for FIFA Street.
Take a look at Last Man Standing, a fun and fast new gameplay mode from the upcoming FIFA Street.
Take a look at this fun and fast new gameplay mode from the upcoming FIFA Street.
It's neck-and-neck as Portugal and Australia head into the final round of a Last Man Standing bout, but who will win ultimate glory?
Check out some of the new tricks you'll be able to master in FIFA Street.
Here's a FIFA Street developer video that focuses on game modes.
FIFA Street creative director Gary Paterson talks about FIFA Street taking a new direction in the first of a series of producer interviews.
This FIFA Street trailer showcases the different playing styles in the game.
Johnny gets on his soapbox and takes a look at the state of intellectual property in the games industry. Warning: contains silliness.
Check out a trailer showcasing the Adidas all-stars that are featured in the FIFA Street preorder offer
Lionel Messi will be on the cover of FIFA Street, due out in early 2012!
We kick around some ideas with line producer Sid Misra about the evolution of FIFA Street.
Messi, the new face of EA Sports FIFA, shows you how it's done in the announcement trailer for FIFA Street.
Its the Polygons vs. the Skins in this five-a-side game of footy for FIFA Street.
Gary Paterson of EA Sports reveals the first few details of FIFA Street at Gamescom 2011.
EA shows off its best and brightest games in Cologne, Germany, for Gamescom 2011.
Check out this first-look Gamescom trailer for FIFA Street.
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text: Mercy Medical Center is a university affiliated Roman Catholic hospital, sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy. It is located in downtown Baltimore. In 2010 it opened the 20-story Mary Catherine Bunting Center. The second phase of its $41.5 million expansion project was completed in 2012 with the opening of the Family Childbirth and Children's Center.


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SBB 235-3 Hard Floor Brush
- Tough synthetic bristles
- 12" wide, 2.5" tall
- Notched front bristles
- Bottom wheels
Manufacturer Info
Weight : 2.0000lbs
Customer Review
- Wow!! What amazing service, Review by Michael
This company really knows how to take care of its customers! I mistakenly ordered the wrong part for my Miele canister. They were very helpful getting the right part figured out, and I know have a like-new vacuum with the right power head! Thank you! (Posted on 8/25/2014)


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Much of the discussion about the iPhone and iPad in business focuses on larger enterprise companies and organizations. While the devices are clearly have a lot to offer in the big business arena, the iPhone and iPad are also excellent tools for smaller companies. The versatility of iOS devices, the iPad in particular, lets small business owners perform many crucial tasks like tracking expenses, generating invoices, and planning new projects quickly and easily from a single device. The App Store is full of apps that can help launch, manage, and grow a business of any size. Many business apps useful to small business are fairly well-known. Square's mobile payment system (and PayPal's competing solutions) get a fair amount of coverage in mainstream and tech media stories, for example. There are, however, many great apps for small business users in the App Store that don't get that kind of publicity.
Muy buenos Tips para aumentar la productividad del iPad en los Pequenos negocios.


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ant36 on Family Tree Circles
view: full | list
Journals and Posts
Bogged Down
My first attempt at doing a family tree and I pick a doozy,my wifes family.
For a long time King Island,Tasmania,Australia,family they know surprisingly little of their roots.
On my wifes mothers side,they know of grandparents and great grand parents,but they stop at a gentleman by the name of WILLIAM HICKMOTT,who was the assistant lighthouse keeper at Cape Wickham,King Island,Tasmania,all I know is that he was born somewhere in England in 1840 and died on King Island in 1925,I know he married,and had children,one of his daughters married a shipwreck survivor,who lived with them after he was wrecked,a 13 year old boy who went by the name of H.J Grave(harry-henry?),who claimed to have been born in GEELONG,VICTORIA,AUSTRALIA,in 1861,but research in the libraries genealogical database for a birth proved fruitless.
Even took out a trial subscription at ancestry.com,found a couple of Hickmotts that were born at the right time but it won't let me have the details until I pay them 40 US dollars,the buggers already got me for 20US bucks! now they want more for another section,THIS IS SO BLOODY FRUSTRATING!!
I realise things cost money of course,but I don't have this kind of money,I got a bloody mortgage and 3 little tackers,
OH well,guess I'll slog on the hard way,maybe I'll luck out.
update soon
- Displaying 1-1 of 1 Journals
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I first noticed the work of W. David Shaw when I stumbled upon a small series of spots he did for an automotive article in the December 1956 issue of Collier's magazine. I wasn't around to experience the 1950's first hand - but for this child of the 70's, Shaw's style somehow really epitomizes that 1950's 'look'.
I know now that that's too broad an observation... but I do sincerely feel that there's something here that deserves closer examination. W. David Shaw's work reminds me of a certain kind of imagery I saw in the background paintings of old cartoons and the ink styles of old comic books, magazines, newspapers and textbooks when I was growing up.
It reflects that space-age, jet-propelled modernism seen in 1950's diner signage and automobile tailfins...
So just who was this W. David Shaw?
Did he originate or somehow perfect this distinctive, iconically 1950's style? He was not included in Walt Reed's Illustrator in America book - and everyone I contacted who might know only vaguely recalled his name or work -- if at all. My research lead to a mention of an article in the October 1955 issue of American Artist magazine.... an issue that proved to be maddeningly elusive... until this past weekend, when my friend, Jaleen Grove, made a special trip to the New York Public Library to shoot the pages for me in their bound volumes collection.
Yay, Jaleen!
Right away we learn that, by the mid-1950's, W. David Shaw was very busy indeed. Author Ernest W. Watson reports that Shaw is so sought-after that he has not had to solicit work in 5 years.
On the morning of Watson's visit to Shaw's downtown New York studio (on the 10th floor of a building on 48th Street, across from the Waldorf-Astoria) Shaw is rapidly executing a small ink drawing.
He explains to Watson that when he gets a small rush job such as the one he is completing, he calls the messenger service, sits down with his drawing board propped against his knees and the edge of a table, and by the time the messenger arrives he is usually done.
Watson describes how Shaw's studio is so spare it verges on barren. A few essential pieces of office furniture, some art materials in "a taboret of his own design", nothing on the walls but a poster and one framed watercolour, and a folding chair "brought out for chance visitors."
If an artist's surroundings reflect his personal style or philosophy (and how could they not?) it sounds like W. David Shaw's studio was a sort of physical manifestation of his drawing style: modern and unencumbered by slavish detail or clutter, focusing only on the essentials.
With only this brief description and these few examples as our introduction, I hope you find the work of W. David Shaw as intriguing as I do. This week, we'll learn a little more about the man and his work.
My W. David Shaw Flickr set.
Celebrating illustration, design, cartoon and comic art of the mid-20th century.
Monday, November 17, 2008
W. David Shaw: The Epitome of 50's Style
2 comments:
I have liked his work for a long time and have thought of him as the great spot artist. I know he did more full page illustrations but the way he did spots was copied more than others.ReplyDelete
He had a way of drawing impossibly perfect lines in wonderfully simplified art.
I will be glad to know more about
this excellent artist.
Hi Leif - crazy week, I finally have time to check up... It's great to see this posted now. I sure wish libraries had special lighting booths and copy stands for shooting stuff! Shaw's work really sings in the details. His rapid linework reminds me of Russell Patterson's facility with brush and pen.ReplyDelete
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I planted tomatoes, lettuce, pole beans, pumpkins and loads of coleus, ranunculus and sunflowers. I am going to get some other things started in the next week and move things in and out of some cold frames I have in my brain.
Plant Growing Cart
Brandywine Tomatoes
I did a little research on this tomato and discovered that it is one of the tastiest, but also one of the most mysterious. Apparently an Ohio man inherited some seeds from a lady whose family had grown them for almost 80 years, and he is credited as the one who preserved this variety. But there are many varieties of tomatoes that call themselves "Brandywines" and some are excellent and some are not. I hope I have the excellent ones! (duh)
I am looking forward to (my) still-warm-from-the sun, garden-fresh, sliced tomatoes with hot, buttered sweet corn. I might toss in a Wisconsin bratwurst to make it a complete summerfest.
A Rose is a Rose
Julie King and Ruth both had the same idea for a name, and I felt like the name Rose was a great fit for this Black Minorcan hen. Julie, if you read this, I am planning on sending you some sort of prize, (if you are interested in receiving some sort of prize, email me with your address!!).


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Aug 20, 19 04:39 PM
Reggae artist Sean Paul and Wife Jinx Welcome Baby Girl - Jamaican international dancehall deejay Sean Paul and his wife Jodi Henriques (Jinx), have welcomed a new baby to their family.
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Reggae artist Tia released video for Reggae Music Sweet - Upcoming female Reggae St. Croix Virgin Islands recording artist Tia is back with the video to her latest single "Reggae Music Sweet".
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D Major That's What Loves About Lyrics - Sleepness nights stressfull days joy and pain with a little heartache it's Major all this things come with love me and my baby we have our problems but we alwa…


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Ryder Cup Vice Captain Paul McGinley returned to form in spectacular style to set the clubhouse target midway through the second round of the Czech Open at Prosper Golf Resort.
On a leaderboard overwhelmed by Irish green – they occupied four of the top five positions – it was McGinley who held the clubhouse lead following a one under par 71.
The 44 year old – whose last win came six years ago – registered three birdies in windy conditions but two bogeys in his last three holes prevented a more significant lead.
"Anything under par today is a pretty good score," said McGinley, who shot to fame when he holed the winning put in The 2002 Ryder Cup.
"Some golf courses lend themselves to playing in the wind, but this one probably doesn't. There's lot of elevation changes and a lot of water, plus we didn't really get any help from the wind, because it seemed to be blowing across us most of the time.
"So it was a tough day, and to break par was good going. I'm disappointed with the two bogeys towards the end, especially on the eighth hole, because I hit a poor drive, made a good recovery, but then failed to get up and down from a relatively easy position."
Of those to have completed their rounds, Scotland's David Drysdale and England's Sam Walker were the nearest challengers – they both shot rounds of 72 to remain on three and two under par respectively.
Drysdale said: "It was a bit of a mixed bag, really. I played the front nine really well, but then made a daft three-putt on the ninth. Then on the back nine, I was a wee bit all over the place, to be honest. There are a few fairly demanding tee shots on that nine, and with the cross-winds it made life even tougher. It was obviously a disappointing finish, although I actually made a decent connection out of the rough with my approach, but it caught a branch and ran into the water.
"The back nine should be a bit easier, because it's slightly shorter and you're a bit more sheltered from the wind. But the tee shot on the 15th is terrifying. I thought the wind was coming in off the right, but it seemed to switch after I hit it, and the ball started drifting to the right. Luckily enough it pitched just on the front edge, but it messed with my head a bit."
McGinley's compatriot Peter Lawrie, who led overnight after a flawless six under par 66, bogeyed two of his first four to drop back to four under.
They were joined by Damien McGrane, who was one over after five, while Shane Lowry birdied the second to claim the outright lead on five under.
Lowry bogeyed the fourth to join the group on four under, with McGrane and Italy's Lorenzo Gagli moving to the head of affairs on five under after seven and five holes respectively.
Play was suspended at 1434 local time due to a thunderstorm, with almost an hour and a half lost before play resumed.
McGrane moved to six under with birdies at the long tenth and par four 12th, and he was joined by Mikael Lundberg when the Swede birdied the 13th and 15th.
England's Oliver Fisher, who only made one cut in his first 21 starts before finishing 35th in Sweden and 45th in Ireland last month, moved into a share of third with Lawrie, Lowry and Gagli.
|Player name
|FISHER, Oliver
|LUNDBERG, Mikael
|ZANOTTI, Fabrizio
|BOYD, Gary
|GAGLI, Lorenzo
|WEBSTER, Steve


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Inspired by Late Bloomers from designer Kim Diehl
Quilt Tester: Laura Boehnke
1/2 yard dark gold print (star blocks)
1-5/8 yards total assorted red prints (star and hourglass blocks, flower and circle appliqués, outer border)
1-1/2 yards total assorted black prints (star and hourglass blocks, flower center appliqués, outer border)
1-1/3 yards total assorted green prints (hourglass blocks, stem and leaf appliqués, outer border)
1 yard total assorted gold prints (hourglass blocks, circle appliqués, outer border)
1-1/8 yards black floral (inner border, binding)
1-1/8 yards light gold tone-on-tone (inner border)
4-1/8 yards backing fabric
74" square batting
Lightweight fusible web
Finished quilt: 65-1/2" square
Finished blocks: 9" square
Quantities are for 44/45"-wide, 100% cotton fabrics.
Measurements include 1/4" seam allowances. Sew with right sides together unless otherwise stated.


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Biking postsSunday August 25, 2013
Running More Reds in Noodge City
On the bikeride to work the other day, stopped at a red light at 1st and Denny, a dude in a truck to the left motioned me over. Initially I thought he was going to ask for directions but no.
Dude: Can I ask you something? Why do you feel you can go through that red light back there?
Me: You ever drive on the freeway?
Dude [unsure]: Yeah?
Me: You ever go over the speed limit?
Dude: OK, but ...
Me: Same thing.
He didn't think it was. I did. We talked over each other until the light turned green and we went our separate ways.
I've written before why I think running a red for a bike and speeding on the freeway for a car is similar. You can read it here.
The irony is where we had the above conversation. Stopped at a red light.
Biking in Seattle More Dangerous than in New York City, Expert Says
This was on the front page of The Seattle Times today under the headline, "Worse than Manhattan? Bike expert rattled by ride through city."
John Pucher, a Rutgers professor, bike-safety expert, and author of the book, "City Cycling," visited Seattle and took a ride down 2nd Avenue, which I ride every day, and which has its own bike lane. Kinda sorta. Like all bike lanes, it's there for bikes until someone bigger and more impatient wants it. Which often happens on 2nd.
In the article, Times reporter Mike Lindbloom describes Pucher's trip down 2nd:
Close encounters of the wrong kind greeted him down the southbound slope: a woman texting while her SUV drifted toward him; a FedEx delivery truck blocking; cars headed toward Interstate 5 turning in front of him at intersections; a black sedan whose driver abruptly stopped to parallel park.
Then he quotes Pucher:
"I'd say it's as bad as a major avenue on Manhattan," Pucher said. "I think it's maybe even worse, because I think here, there's more left and right turns, there's more doors that are being opened, more cars that are trying to park."
For Seattle, Pucher recommends cycle tracks (bike lanes separated by curbs, parked cars, whatever), and greenways (being developed in neighborhoods). He doesn't think much of sharrows (the bike symbol painted on the street as a reminder to drivers to share the road, but which looks like a flattened cyclist). I agree on all counts. I've even written about 2nd Avenue and its lousy turns a few times myself.
Here's another key graf from Lindbloom that doesn't make the Emerald City in the Evergreen State look very green:
In 1990, about 1.5 percent of Seattleites bicycled to work or school, compared with 1.1 percent in Portland. By 2011, Seattle had climbed slowly to 3.7 percent, while Portland zoomed to a 6.8 percent commute share for cycling, census surveys show. "I hope this is a wake-up call to Seattle" to build safe routes now and not in a decade, he said.
Overall, the article made me feel two ways: 1) vindicated, since we have an outside source corroborating what I've long said; and 2) tough, since I bike that shit every day. OK, three ways: it made me sad, too, about my city. We were progressive once.
Running Reds in Noodge City
Yesterday, biking to work, I was stopped at a red light on 5th and Pine when I saw no more traffic coming down 5th and ran the light. Halfway across, a middle-aged pedestrian, on the other side, caught my eye and said the following, drawing out the word in an odd, admonishing fashion:
I burst out laughing.
It was partly the way he said it. If the dude had had a sense of humor, he would've meant it ironically, or with a wink, but there wasn't a trace of humor in his voice or stance. There was just a tsk tsk.
Among strangers, this is the dominant form of communication in Seattle. Newcomers talk of "the Seattle chill," and how no one talks to anyone; but Seattle is also Noodge City, full of those ready to shake an admonishing finger about things that have no real consequence. I get admonished for running reds half a dozen times a year.
To all of these people I say the following: Do you ever break the speed limit? Of course you do. Who doesn't? You'd be a fool not to. In fact, it would be dangerous not to. Driving 50? Or 45? On the freeway? Are you crazy? You're a hazard.
And the reasons we break the speed limit on the freeway are the same reasons cyclists, or at least this cyclist, runs reds in downtown Seattle: 1) it rarely results in a ticket, just as, driving 5 mph over the speed limit rarely results in a ticket; 2) it's faster, and we all want to get where we're going sooner; and 3) it's safer. On the freeway, you want to go at the same pace as most drivers. On a bicycle at a stoplight, you want to build some distance, and speed, between you and all of those impatient cars behind you.
In a sense, we do it for you. You're welcome.
How I Nearly Died on the Way to Work Yesterday
SEATTLE — It was raining pretty hard for my morning bike ride yesterday morning, and I was soaked by the time I got close to work. I live in First Hill and the office is in lower Queen Anne, so I tend to weave through downtown, over to 1st Avenue North, take a left by Key Arena and then a right onto 1st Avenue West for half a block. At which point, halfway down the two-lane road, I take a left into a parking lot, which leads to the bike racks below our office building.
(Aside: Only in Seattle would you have, on either side of a major street, two 1st Avenues labeled "North" and "West," even though they run parallel to each other. Shouldn't it be "North" and "South"? Or "East" and "West"?)
The turn onto 1st Avenue West is always a drag. It's a four-way stop, and there are almost always cars, generally impatient, heading up 1st Avenue West. I'm coming down a slight hill, then have to turn over a rough patch of road, and then go up a slight hill. More, I need to own the lane, rather than ride on the right-hand side of it, since I'm about to turn left into the parking lot. Doing this, I assume I'm pissing off cars behind me. I assume they're wondering, "Why is this asshole taking up the middle of our lane? Why isn't he off to the right so I can get past him?" By that point, hopefully, I've taken my left into the parking lot, they go, "Oh," and all is good.
Yesterday morning, as I was about to make that final left, the car behind me—a pickup truck, it turned out, perpetuating my stereotype of pickup-truck drivers—gunned its engines and flew past me in the left lane, just as I was about to turn into that lane to get into the parking lot. If I wasn't paying attention, I would've been flattened.
I cursed a blue streak but the guy drove away. He was late, after all. He had important business, after all.
On the way home, I saw another pickup truck fly through a red light on Denny. Like five seconds after it had turned red. I think he just wasn't paying attention.
Anyway, another day. Still here.
This is the way I think I'll end
This is the way I think I'll end
This is the way I think I'll end
Not with a whimper but a splat
Posted at 07:27 AM on Mar 21, 2013 in category Biking | Permalink
Dave Eggers' Review of Grant Peterson's 'Just Ride': Annotated
The following review of Grant Petersen's book, "Just Ride: A Radically Practical Guide to Riding Your Bike," by Dave Eggers, was published in The New York Times Book Review last Sunday. I objected when I read it then. Today, a Facebook friend posted it favorably. My objections now.
Many a weekend bicycle rider has had the same unsettling experience: You ask a friend to ride with you along some scenic, low-impact route. You show up wearing shorts, Sambas and a T-shirt, and he shows up dressed for an Olympic time trial. Sambas? On his torso is a very tight shirt slashed with a half-dozen garish colors and logos irrelevant to him. His helmet, decorated with flames or stripes or both, is equipped with a rearview mirror. A rubber straw dangles around his neck like a fur stole, through which he can drink fluids from a container on his back. And then there are the spandex leg-enclosures. These have patches of yellow on either flank, giving the impression that your friend is wearing chaps. Yellow-and-black spandex chaps.
All this for a 10-mile ride on a bike path. Now that's one well-dressed straw man. (But I agree on the spandex chaps.)
If you can identify with the more casually dressed biker described above (what if you identify with neither?), or if you want to go biking but have been scared away by the sport's cult of gear and equipment (or traffic?), then your bible has been written. Grant Petersen's "Just Ride" is a wonderfully sane, down to earth and frequently funny guide to riding, maintaining, fixing and enjoying your bicycle. That so much common sense will be considered revelatory, even revolutionary, is a testament to how loony the bike world has become.
Petersen opens with this salvo: "My main goal with this book is to point out what I see as bike racing's bad influence on bicycles, equipment and attitudes, and then undo it." And he goes on to prove, conclusively, that most of what ails the world of cycling comes from nonprofessional riders pretending, or being bullied into pretending, that they're professionals. The solution, he says, is to emulate kids and other "Unracers" — people who bike for fun and not profit. What if you bike for transportation? What if you bike commute? Is that dealt with at all? Aren't bike commuters, like, 90 percent of the cyclists most people see? (Or, more often, don't see.)
The accepted orthodoxies are upended, one after another. Petersen is skeptical of special biking shoes. I felt the same until I ruined too many tennis shoes biking in the Seattle rain. Bike shoes are much more rain resistant. He is pro-kickstand, pro-mud-flap. Definitely pro-kickstand. Where did that go? Bring it back! He thinks a wide, comfortable saddle is O.K. Who doesn't? He doesn't see why anyone needs more than eight gears. Well, he's a professional. Biking up some of Seattle's hills at the end of a long day, at the end of a long week, I don't mind having those extra low gears. He thinks fragile carbon-fiber bikes and super-narrow tires are impractical for just about everyone ("Getting paid to ride them is the only good reason I can think of to ride that kind of bike"). I guess. I have a hybrid. He has nuanced thoughts on helmets (he wears his at night but not during the day) and reminds us that biking is "lousy all-around exercise" and shouldn't be considered a stand-alone regimen. I didn't wear a helmet until I took a header against a car's bumper in '94. Now I wear one all the time. Then again, I bike in traffic. But most satisfying is his takedown of the tight-shirt, spandex-shorts phenomenon. Does that include tight cotton shirts? Is it the tightness or the fabric of the shirt that we're objecting to here? I'm confused.
"In its need for special clothing," he writes, "bicycle riding is less like scuba diving and more like a pickup basketball game." A regular cotton T-shirt and a pair of shorts will ventilate better, he says, and if you're not trying to shave seconds off a world record, the microscopic aerodynamic advantages of tight synthetic clothing just don't apply to you. Again, I'm not a fan of spandex shorts--especially on guys. But shirts? You know how long it takes a cotton shirt to dry after biking with a backpack on a hot day? Too often I'd bike to work in the morning in a cotton T and by evening it was still damp. Ick.
Coming from just anyone, this kind of thinking wouldn't carry much weight. But Petersen raced for six years, then worked at Bridgestone, Japan's largest bike maker, as a designer and marketer. When the company closed its American office, he opened his own shop, Rivendell Bicycle Works, in Walnut Creek, Calif. It would seem, then, that Petersen, as the ultimate insider, would be the first guy to push expensive racing gear on every would-be enthusiast to walk into his shop. And yet!
But with this book, he's trying to bring biking back to a state of moderation and rationality. If you like the gear, he's fine with that, and if you don't agree with all his advice, no problem. But he makes the case that at its core, biking should be a simple, democratic, sometimes ludicrously enjoyable means of getting around. It should be. But what prevents that, more than cyclists who over-gear and somehow "shame" the rest of us, is this: traffic. It's that we've designed a society for automobiles rather than for cyclists and pedestrians. What keeps most people in their cars, I've found, is people in their cars.
"No matter how much your bike costs," he says, "unless you use it to make a living (or unless you commute?) , it is a toy, and it should be fun." I use my bike to commute. It's fun. But it's not a toy.
Amen. Ride safe.
Posted at 02:21 PM on Jul 31, 2012 in category Biking | Permalink
Twitter: @ErikLundegaardTweets by @ErikLundegaard
Opening Day 2019: Your Active Leaders
2019 Reviews
The Fall of the American Empire (2018)
Robin Hood of El Dorado (1936)
The Whole Town's Talking (1935)
Oil for the Lamps of China (1935)
The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
Something to Sing About (1937)
Recommended Movies
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri


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Walmart's in serious hot water because its executives allegedly paid $24 million in bribes to Mexican government officials to facilitate store openings.
A former Morgan Stanley executive has just pleaded guilty to bribing Chinese officials.
Both cases may run afoul of a once-obscure U.S. law called the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which makes it illegal to bribe officials of foreign governments.
According to the New York Times, the law was enacted in the 1970s, after Watergate, but wasn't used much until recently. Now government prosecutors are alleging criminal violations of it left and right.
So this begs the question...
Why does the U.S. have a law against bribing foreign government officials?
After all, in some countries, like China, giving "gifts" to business partners is just the way business gets done.
So why should giving gifts to Chinese business partners be illegal in the United States?
SEE ALSO: You'll Feel Differently About George Zimmerman And The Trayvon Martin Shooting After You Read This


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I did the voice overs for this video! Lots of good comments. Hopefully we will get to make a bunch more!
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ENG 310 Studies in Literary Genres: Science Fiction
In this course we will consider the development and variety of science fiction literature, particularly as it has reflected concurrent societal anxieties. We will begin with early classics, such as H.G. Well's The Time Machine and Ray Bradbury's R is for Rocket, as well as works from more contemporary authors such as Phillip K. Dick, Ursula LeGuin, Harlan Ellison, and Dan Simmons. Since any study of science fiction is incomplete without films, readings will be coordinated with public screenings of important science fiction films. This course is offered in the spring semester. (Not offered 2005-2006)
Credits: 1


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Customized TV Listings are available here: www.latimes.com/tvtimes
Click here to download TV listings for the week of April 20 - 26, 2014 in PDF format
Orphan Black Tatiana Maslany stars as Sarah Manning, and her numerous clones in this science-fiction series returning for a new season. Kristian Bruun and Jordan Gavaris also star. 9 p.m. BBC America
The Real History of Science Fiction This new series delves into our fascination with sci-fi. Participants include William Shatner, Nathan Fillion, Richard Dreyfuss Chris Carter ("The X-Files") and more. 10 p.m. BBC America
Billy Crystal 700 Sundays In his Broadway show, the comic discusses childhood memories, the unexpected death of his father, and becoming a comedian. 9 p.m. HBO
The Ten Commandments Moses (Charlton Heston) discovers his Hebrew heritage, hears God's call, and engages in a bitter battle with the Pharaoh Ramses (Yul Brynner) to free the Jews from slavery, leading them to the Promised Land in director Cecil B. DeMille's 1956 epic. 7 p.m. ABC
The Way, Way Back This 2013 comedy-drama centers around a youngster (Liam James) who feels out of place while vacationing on Cape Cod with his mother and her boyfriend (Toni Collette, Steve Carell). Sam Rockwell, Allison Janney and AnnaSophia Robb also star. 7:15 p.m. HBO
A Day Late and a Dollar Short The matriarch (Whoopi Goldberg) of a dysfunctional family is told by her doctor that her next asthma attack could be fatal. Ving Rhames, Lyriq Bent, Mekhi Phifer, Anika Noni Rose and Kimberly Elise also star in this new TV drama. 8 and 10 p.m. Lifetime
A Lesson in Romance A workaholic mom (Kristy Swanson) follows her kids (Paul Butcher, Allie Gonino) and her husband (Scott Grimes) to college in this new comedy-drama. 9 p.m. Hallmark
Good Morning America (N) 7 a.m. KABC
McLaughlin Group (N) 6:30 p.m. KCET
Today The 15th anniversary of the Columbine shootings. (N) 6 a.m. KNBC
Good Morning America (N) 6 a.m. KABC
State of the Union With Candy Crowley Politics: Stu Rothenberg; Mo Elleithee; Sean Spicer. Veteran suicides: Tom Tarantino; Sen. John Walsh (D-Mont.). Running the Boston Marathon: Lukman Faily, Iraqi Ambassador to the U.S. Search for missing jetliner: Kim Beazley, Australian Ambassador to the U.S. (N) 6 and 9 a.m. CNN
CBS News Sunday Morning Benedictines of Mary Queen of Apostles; Mo Willems; Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.); Greg Kinnear. (N) 7 a.m. KCBS
Fareed Zakaria GPS Michael Porter. Author Simon Schama ("The Story of the Jews"). (N) 7 and 10 a.m. CNN
Meet the Press Ukraine crisis: Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Ukrainian Prime Minister. Ukraine crisis: Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.); Sen. Christopher S. Murphy (D-Conn.). Midterm elections: Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.). President Obama's position on gay marriage: Author Jo Becker ("Forcing the Spring"). Panel: Chuck Todd; David Brooks; Radhika Jones; David Shribman. (N) 8 a.m. KNBC; 11 a.m. MSNBC
This Week Boston Marathon security: Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas); Ray Kelly. Former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens ("Six Amendments"). Religion: Rev. Franklin Graham; Dr. Russell Moore; Ralph Reed; Cokie Roberts. Panel: Donna Brazile; S.E. Cupp; Bill Kristol; Jeff Zeleny. (N) 8 a.m. KABC
Fox News Sunday Easter: Cardinal Donald Wuerl. Ukraine crisis: Sergey Kislyak, Russian Ambassador to the U.S. George Washington's distillery: Curtis Viebranz. Panel: George Will; Rana Foroohar; Robert Costa; former Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.). (N) 8 a.m. KTTV; 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. FNC
Reliable Sources Pulitzer Prize: Glenn Greenwald. Resignation from CBS News: Sharyl Attkisson. U.S. and Russian propaganda: Jamie Rubin. Supreme Court streaming video case: Chet Kanojia, Aereo. (N) 8 a.m. CNN
MediaBuzz Bart Gellman; Sharyl Attkisson. Panel: Lauren Ashburn; Jim Pinkerton; Kelli Goff. (N) 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. FNC
Face the Nation Religion: Cardinal Timothy Dolan. Security at Boston Marathon: Gov. Deval Patrick (D-Mass.). Panel: Michael Duffy; David Ignatius; Peggy Noonan; John Dickerson. (N) 8:30 a.m. KCBS
60 Minutes The Robin Hood Foundation; superior autobiographical memory. (N) 7 p.m. KCBS


text: admin 18 November 2007 Miscellaneous Blog Review 421 admin 18 November 2007 Miscellaneous 79 blog-review-421 The idea that you should have to label the ingredients of a product seems simple enough. But it takes a bureaucrat to insist that you cannot list what isn't in it . Strange to think of a storm as being something that can tell you how much better things are getting but Cyclone Sidr seems to be exactly one of those storms . A new blog devoted solely to examples of how much better things are getting . A report from the development front lines. Netsmith rejects the idea that accountancy is interesting (he studied it, he knows) but agrees that it is vitally important . Peter Simple invented Rent-a-Mob as satire: how soon the real world catches up with such flights and fancies . Things really are changing at the BBC. Apparently they're going to justify the licence fee by employing the Yazzmonster less often. And finally , the Tube announcements you'd actually like to hear.


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I was lucky enough to spend this past Father's Day with two amazing dads - stepdad Chris Vittles, and father-in-law Douggy Vittles.
And let me tell you - what a day it was. It involved milkshakes and go karts and arcade games and mechanical bull riding.... just to name a few.
But my own dad was on a trip to Las Vegas, as Candi Vittles was participating in her second annual World Series of Poker event (yay!).
So while I know it's a little late for a Father's Day post, I figure I should get a pass since my celebration with Pappy Vittles will be a bit late as well.
Not to mention the fact that my internet has been broken at home since Friday morning, and I am actually posting this at work. (Shhh...)
So... let's just pretend it's last Sunday. Isn't time travel fun?
So now that it's Father's Day again, my first order of business is to wish my dad a very happy day - he is truly one in a million, and I'd hardly be the person I am today if it wasn't for him.
Like... I might gamble, or forget to be careful, or not take my vitamins.
I might be bashful at the dinner table and starve.
I might forget to "do the right thing," or "go easy" (whatever that means.)
Heck, I might not even sleep tight, or worse - let The Zipperumpazoos bite!
Now as I've already explained, my father does the cooking at his house - and what usually comes with that territory is the grocery shopping.
(Like, as much as I would love to pass on the dreaded grocery duties to Mr. Vittles, it would be silly to have him buying the food when I'm the one planning and executing the meals.)
But before grocery shopping became the chore it is today, I used to love accompanying my dad to the store.
This was for a couple of reasons.
One was the obvious: father-daughter bonding time. Yep, always was Daddy's Little Girl!
And there was a ritual - first, the reading of circular flyers, as well as the clipping and organizing of coupons before departure. Then the excursion itself, followed by the post-trip celebration of how much money we saved.
But to be honest, the "bonding" during shop time was few & far between, leading to my second reason for taking these trips with him - to get a laugh.
My dad was so focused on the products and the prices- on getting not only the right thing but the best deal - that I could literally tell him I was abducted by aliens the night before and his only response would be "Uh huh."
Not to mention, we always had a running joke that you could look in his cabinet at any given time and find at least 5-6 cans of baked beans. Random, but I guess this was an item frequently on sale- and Lord knows the Vittles family cannot resist a good sale!
So he would buy a can or two, and before you knew it, he had enough baked beans stockpiled to survive for a week in a blizzard.
Well. You know what they say.
The nut doesn't fall far from the tree.
First of all, the Celebration of Savings is alive & well in my household and can take one of two forms - either "Guess How Much I Saved On The Bill" (most grocery stores are kind enough to print this on the receipt for your enjoyment):
....or the equally popular "Guess How Little I Paid For This Normally Expensive Item".
(I'm not sure which game Mr. Vittles likes more. Probably neither.)
Secondly, as I am pretty jam-packed into our apartment kitchen, I tend to have things stored in odd places. Well, between three different cabinets, I recently discovered my own stockpiling of 7 cans of diced tomatoes.
Which would have actually been nine cans, if I hadn't just made a double batch of black bean enchiladas for Mr. Vittles and my brothers-in-law.
Yikes. Apparently... Pappy V's baked bean is my diced tomato.
Just goes to show that we all forget to "go easy" every now and again!
And FYI - your parents' OCD is not quite as funny when you're looking in the mirror.
But oh well. The more diced tomatoes I have on hand the more black bean enchiladas I can make!
Love you, Dad :)
Spicy Black Bean Enchiladas
- 1 T. olive oil
- 1/2 medium onion, diced
- 2 t. garlic
- 1 15.5 oz. can black beans, undrained
- 1 10.5 oz. can diced tomatoes with chiles (Rotel)
- 1 t. chili powder (I like to use chipotle chili powder to give them a smokey flavor, but regular is fine)
- 1/2 t. cumin
- 1 T. fresh cilantro, finely chopped
- 1/4 t. dried oregano
- 1 C. cooked rice
- 1/2 C. enchilada sauce or your favorite salsa
- 8 flour tortillas
- 3/4 C. cheddar, jack or any kind of Mexican shredded cheese
Reduce heat to med-low and simmer gently until thickened, about 7-8 minutes. Add rice and stir until heated through, 1-2 minutes more. Remove skillet from heat and allow to cool slightly.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees, and coat a 9x13 baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
In 10-15 second increments, heat flour tortillas in microwave (this makes them more pliable). Spoon 1/3 C. of bean & rice mixture down the center of each tortilla, then fold in the sides and roll to form an enchilada.
Place each enchilada in baking dish, seam side down, and spoon sauce/enchilada over the top. Cover pan tightly with foil and bake 15 minutes.
Remove from oven, uncover, and top with cheese. Bake an additional 7 minutes, or until cheese is melted to your liking.
Recipe Source Unknown
**I remember finding a recipe somewhere online, and I adapted it into the above - but I never wrote the source down. If you recognize this recipe, leave me a comment or email me and I will be happy to give credit!


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It is not uncommon for people with ME/CFS, especially with the more severe cases, to have suicidal thoughts or feelings. This is entirely understandable and nothing to be ashamed of. In a sense, it represents the inner child's desperate wish to escape from a seemingly impossible situation. When suicidal thoughts or feelings arise, the most helpful thing you can do is express them. Preferably, there is another person with whom you can share this, but if not, at least write about these feelings in a journal. The simple act of putting these feelings into words, while not completely eliminating the feelings, will bring about some relief.
Through such expression, some of the emotional charge will be released and it will be easier to put the feelings into perspective as the transitory symptom that they are. This is a time when interpersonal support is especially important. Ask for physical contact and the moral support you need from those who care about you. If suicidal feelings or ideas persist, then you should talk them over with a professional therapist who is informed about ME/CFS. Beyond that you may need to consult your physician to consider medication to help you through this crisis.
Two former PWC's offer some valuable insights. According to Laurel, "I thought about suicide. I was getting a divorce, and everything was going wrong--my health, my business, my finances--and I didn't think I'd ever get well. I thought, `What good is life if I can't provide for myself? Even if someone takes care of me, why lie around in a body like this, sick, lonely, and unable to think of a way out?' I didn't try it, but suicide was very attractive to me. The most positive step I took was to open up to my friend about it. We talked on the phone several times a week, and we invited Godin to participate in a healing process. This was the beginning of my recovery."
And Linda tells us, "If you survive something like Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and don't commit suicide, you have a greater inner strength than you ever had. It was like a trial by fire. That's what I experienced."
If you can remind yourself that the suicidal thoughts or feelings are transitory and symptomatic of the illness, this will help you get through those times when you are in the bottom of the pits and can't see any way out. Also, talking about your feelings with a confidant or loved one can help immeasurably.


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Farm to table seems to be all the rage in North Carolina right now, as well it should. There�s nothing quite like a tomato fresh out of the garden when you still can feel the warmth of the sun on the fruit, or sweet corn so tender it barely needs to be cooked.
That�s more likely backyard garden to table. But you get the idea � give us a strawberry grown locally any day over one from Florida or California.
And then there�s ocean direct to table. More and more local restaurants are finding sources for fresh-caught N.C. seafood or locally raised meat that never sees its way into a processing plant.
In other words, there�s lots of goodness in the farms and waters of North Carolina.
Native vegetables. Native seafood. There�s another piece to this picture as well.
Native plants.
As folks are thinking about spring landscape gardening, why not go local? You will be pleasantly surprised at the variety of flora that is native to North Carolina. You might also be surprised at what plants are not native and downright invasive.
The advantage to native plants is that they are acclimated to our climate and have also built some good resistance to the types of insects and diseases that can turn a gardener�s green thumbs-up to a wilted or rotted thumbs-down.
One of the biggest advantages, of course, is the need for water. Placed in our heat, some plants require far more water than they might get during our periodic summer dry spells.
The plants also bring a fresh look to a landscape that has been filled for years with some of the old standbys.
That�s not to say go out and dig up your yard. But why not plan this year to add a couple of native plants to the landscape and see the results.
Native landscaping and drought-tolerant plants have been on the radar of our local extension agents and master gardeners for a while. They can be a great resource (in Gaston County call 704-922-0301) and will be thrilled that you are giving it a try.
There are many helpful websites as well and some area nurseries that specialize in natives.
A version of this editorial first appeared in the Wilmington Star News, a Halifax Media Group newspaper.


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MSU Mankato to offer nursing program on Iron Range
Minnesota State University, Mankato, will start offering online courses this spring to help nursing students on the Iron Range complete their four-year registered nurse degrees at home.
Hibbing Community College offers a two-year nursing program, but the closest four-year program to the Range is at St. Scholastica in Duluth.
The idea behind the MSU Iron Range Nursing Program is to provide a convenient way for nurses to complete their degrees closer to home, Kristine Retherford, dean of Minnesota State's health and nursing college, told The Free Press for a story published Sunday. However, anyone may take the courses, not just Hibbing Community College students.
The Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board will cover faculty salaries for the online program, which will allow students to complete their bachelor's degrees in as few as three semesters if they've completed their general education courses.
"They will be the same exact courses (as are taught in Mankato) with an emphasis on family and societal health and, in particular, rural settings," Retherford said.
The school also plans to offer online courses for masters' and doctor of nursing programs aimed at registered nurses in the area starting this fall.
MSU already had a presence on the Iron Range through a similar partnership with its engineering program.
Information from: The Free Press


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Grace United Methodist Church
Monday, August 26, 2019
To serve and unite those we touch with the Grace of God
Administrative Board Meeting
Date: Monday, February 18, 2019
Time: 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Location: Grace UMC Fellowship Hall
Administrative Board Meeting
The Administrative Board is the governing body of Grace UMC. All members are welcome to attend the meeting.
The Administrative Board meets the 3rd Monday of each month at 7:00 PM in the Fellowship Hall.
Do you have a great idea for a new program. Do you want to sing a special hymn? Do you want to think a Sunday School room should be painted? This is the group to bring your ideas to. Congregational input welcome.
Grace United Methodist Church
15309 Maple Island Road, Burnsville, MN 55306
Phone: 952-435-5696


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I am THRILLED to been given the blessing of being a part of their spring 2011 issue. I created an exclusive NEW PARTY design: a pink, green & white ladybug birthday party, just for Celebrate! It was photographed by the lovely and wonderful photographer, Andrea Winchenbaugh of Open Shade Studios.
The pink ladybug party feature, on pages 18-25, offers charming inspiration for a darling girl's birthday party, as well as many party tips.
In addition, check out pages 110-111 for the most ADORABLE *FREE* PRINTABLES designed just for readers of Celebrate, designed and created by my lovely friend, the most incredibly talented Kori Clark of Paper & Pigtails!!!!!!! Her work is truly darling, and I could not have been more thrilled to work with her!
Then be sure to visit page 112 for the RESOURCE GUIDE, which features all of the wonderful vendors and artists, so you can order the goodies featured in the party, to re-create the look yourself!
From my favorite Layla Grayce to The Sugar Diva, be sure to see all the amazing talented women and businesses who offer products as seen in the party feature!
And above all, there are many amazing entertaining ideas throughout the issue you won't want to miss.
Whether it is a darling yellow springtime tablescape, Easter recipes, creative ways to decorate Easter eggs, a Kentucky Derby luncheon, an Apil Fool's Day children's party, Cinco De Mayo delights and many adorable free printables for many celebration themes...pick up your copy of Celebrate today and enjoy! And stay tuned, they will be updating their site with the free printable files and more goodies from the newest issue soon!
I have found copies of the magazine at Michaels, Target, Walmart, Barnes & Noble, JoAnn Fabrics and AC Moore!
{Please note: The pink hobnail glasses seen in the feature are personally mine, I love them, purchased a long while back and unfortunately do not have any information on where to get them. I have seen similar at Home Goods and Anthropolgie}.


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6-17-11 Progressive Field
I booked Amy and I tickets on megabus.com for a bus headed to Cleveland for the Pirates-Indians series. It cost me $3 to go there, and $5 for the return fare, since I booked it a couple weeks in advance. You can't beat that.
This was my second game of the year at Progressive Field, which is way down from last year when I attended 19.
Upon entering the stadium and looking for baseballs, I found one in Heritage Park in center field. Unreachable with my arm, I used the 'Cleveland stick' to reach under the wall and snag this one.
My second ball of the day was a Travis Hafner home run that landed several rows behind me that I was able to grab before a couple of other fans.
Moments later, Hafner hit another home run that I snagged on the fly for ball #3.
A couple minutes after that, I noticed a ball land in the trees of Heritage Park. I ran over and was able to reach in and grab it without the use of any device.
In the meantime, there were a few balls in the bullpen. I ended up glove tricking one of them after at least 10 attempts at knocking the ball closer to the wall. Once the ball was close enough to the wall, I reeled it in for ball #5, and was given a round of applause by those fans who watched the whole ordeal.
When the Pirates came out to hit, one of the Buccos hit a home run that landed on the bullpen roof in center field.
I used the Cleveland stick – which reaches 6 feet (plus at least three feet of my arm length) to just barely reach it.
I gave it away to a father and son who stood closeby and watched the whole thing:
The father thanked me profusely and insisted that I take six blow pops in return for the ball.
Less than a minute after snagging ball #6, Daniel McCutchen ran past while doing sprints and flipped a ball up into the stands, right to me. I didn't even ask for it. Maybe it was my bright gold shirt. Regardless, it was my seventh of the day.
I finished batting practice in left field and was tossed #8 by Jeff Karstens. I had given up asking Jeff Karstens for balls in 2009, because he had completely ignored every request that I ever put in for a ball. I didn't even ask for this particular ball. A batter hit it off the left field wall, Jeff ran over, picked it up, looked at me, and fired it right to me.
After batting practice, I was thrown ball #9 in the Pirates bullpen by bullpen catcher Herbie Andrade.
I left right after that, despite needing just one more for double digits. Amy was waiting in the hotel, and I wanted to go out to eat with her.
We went to East 4th street, where there are a few restaurants and was seemingly the only stretch of any street in Cleveland that wasn't abandoned and boarded up.
We ate at Zocalo – a Mexican restaurant, and it was fantastic. The entrance was a little iffy, but everything else was first class.
From the chips, to the quesadillas, to the dessert that we shared. A++
From the chips, to the quesadillas, to the dessert that we shared.
After that, we walked back to the hotel room for a brief 15 minute pit stop, and then went back out to explore the city. We walked around for an hour or two, and watched the fireworks after the game from the rooftop on a parking garage downtown.
Those couple hours were by far my favorite of the entire weekend trip.
Here's today's baseballs (8 pictures because I gave one away):
Sweet spots:
Game: 9 balls (3 hit, 3 thrown, 3 device)
Season: 227 balls (87 hit, 49 thrown, 56 device, 226 found)
Games: 37 games
Average: 6.14 balls per game
Career: 1,349 balls
Attendance: 38,549


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Key Content
- UNICEF: UNICEF Angola Humanitarian Situation Report July 2019
- UNHCR: Angola: Inter-Agency Operational Update (1 – 31 May 2019)
- UNHCR: Government & UNHCR cooperation on health to affected populations: Case of Lunda Norte, Angola
Appeals & Response Plans
- UNHCR: The Democratic Republic of Congo Regional Refugee Response Plan (RRRP) January 2019 - December 2020
Useful Links
Alerts/ Disasters
Most read reports
- Govt. Angola: Ministers assess situation of Congolese refugees. 19 Aug 2019
- Govt. Angola: Over 200,000 children benefit from polio vaccine. 13 Jul 2019
- Govt. Angola: Angola supports Congolese refugees. 21 Aug 2019
- US DOS: Angola's Path Forward for Security and Economic Development: Weapons Management and Humanitarian Demining. 19 Aug 2019
- UNICEF: UNICEF Angola Humanitarian Situation Report July 2019. 7 Aug 2019
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU)
No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/20121 , and in particular Article 110 thereof,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/96 of 20 June 1996 concerning humanitarian aid1 , and in particular Article 2, Article 4 and Article 15(2) and (3) thereof,
Having regard to Council Decision 2013/755/EU of 25 November 2013 on the association of the overseas countries and territories with the European Union ('Overseas Association Decision')2 , and in particular Article 79 thereof,
On Monday 16 October 2017 the Council adopted the EU Annual Report on Human Rights And Democracy in the World in 2016.
2016 was a challenging year for human rights and democracy, with a shrinking space for civil society and complex humanitarian and political crises emerging. In this context, the European Union showed leadership and remained strongly committed to promote and protect human rights and democracy across the world.
Food security levels are generally better than a year earlier in East Africa and the Sahel, with most areas facing either IPC phase 1 'minimal' or phase 2 'stressed' conditions, thanks to favorable agro-climatic conditions in 2012.
- World cereal production in 2008 is forecast to increase 4.9 percent to a record 2 232 million tonnes, considerably up from earlier predictions after better than expected results from the major harvests gathered in the past two months.
- Based on the latest production forecast, a significant improvement in the global supply and demand balance for cereals in the 2008/09 season can be expected.
This year, three key developments have influenced WHO's emergency work: 1) the increasing demands from Member States to strengthen WHO's emergency response operations; 2) the implementation of the humanitarian reform, resulting in new responsibilities for WHO; and 3) lessons learned during recent crises.


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детский фотограф. город. инфо. школа искусств. - - кружок рисования. - - учитель (ака репетитор) детские центры, кружки и студии.Inspire your readers.
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Many people have dreams of writing a book, but very few ever do. They think it's too hard, that they don't know enough, don't have enough time, aren't smart enough or whatever other excuse they can come up with. But the truth is: you can write a book, and that book can help you make additional monthly income. There are several avenues you can take when writing a book, and there is no "best route."
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Today's laminate flooring so closely resembles wood, you'll have difficulty spotting the difference. An accolade to current manufacturing technology, laminate flooring continues to make pioneering breakthroughs. It now conveys the genuine look of hardwood or ceramic tile. An assortment of shades and finishes allows you to choose the hardwood look down to the species and now, laminate flooring is mimics hardwood even more.
Shaw Laminate Flooring Touchable Texture offers beveled, distressed, and extremely textured options to give your laminate wood flooring the appearance and feel of true hardwood, wood grain and all. Use texture to add a distinctive touch to your home or choose a distressed style to provide economical beauty.
Shaw Laminate Flooring is manufactured in layers to create enduring, affordable, attractive flooring. Four layers of material, each with its own purpose, are merged together to create laminate flooring that is tough and will last for years to come.
Shaw Laminate Flooring meets all of your needs.
Whether it's a quieter step or easy laminate flooring installation, Shaw laminate is durable, affordable, and easy to maintain.
Shaw Silent Step: An exclusive underlayment, Silent Step provides comfort and stability while offering moisture resistance and noise absorption.
VersaLock: A patented locking system speeds up installation and offers the latest technology. It even allows you to install your laminate flooring without glue or nails.
Touchable Texture: Offering a true-to-life texture, Touchable Texture is an innovation you can see as well as feel.
Go Glueless [It just seams better]Experience the pure ease of glueless laminate flooring installation with Shaw's unique VersaLock flooring system. This revolutionary product advancement enables quick installation without glue so there's no messy clean up and you can walk on it immediately.
VersaLock patented locking technologyVersaLock is a patented locking technology that reliably secures the flooring panels on all four sides without adhesive. As an added bonus, a VersaLock floor is warranted against moisture damage and can be easily taken apart and reassembled.
If laminates looked fake the last time you checked, check again.Laminate floors were in use in Europe long before they made their way into mainstream interior design in the States. Consumers can be glad they're here. They offer exceptional durability and stain resistance and are easy to maintain. And these days, designers say, they even look like wood! More...