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The Chautauqua Foundation, Inc. exists to support the Chautauqua Institution through the preservation, the appropriate use, and the growth of endowment funds.
From 1933 to 1936, the future of Chautauqua Institution was at significant risk. As the United States' economy entered and remained in a great depression, visitors and gate revenues decreased at CHQ. Carrying significant debt from the expansion of program and facilities throughout the 1920's, CHQ faced forfeiture on its loans. CHQ entered receivership in December of 1933. Under the leadership of Samuel Hazlett and a number of other leading Chautauquans, the Chautauqua Reorganization Corporation, an independent corporation which sought to acquire all claims against the Institution, undertook an active fund raising effort.
Hazlett's efforts were ultimately successful and by the end of the 1936 season, the debt had been retired and CHQ was released from receivership. Those who had been central to CHQ's recovery agreed in early 1937, to create the Chautauqua Foundation, another separate organization. As opposed to the Reorganization Corporation's charge to retire debt, the Foundation would seek to build a permanent set of assets that could be used to support the future work of the Institution. In May of 1937, the Foundation was incorporated and in August of that summer, the first annual meeting of the membership was held. The members elected Walter Roberts President.
Accumulation of assets within the Foundation proved difficult initially. The Foundation did not hold $1,000,000 of endowment principal until 1958. It took another thirteen years to reach $2,000,000.
The assets of the Foundation began to grow more rapidly throughout the 1980's as CHQ undertook a series of comprehensive campaigns which asked for endowment and began to highlight the opportunities of giving through bequests and charitable life income trusts.
In 1991, the Foundation and Institution agreed that the Foundation would become responsible for all fund raising and the development staff and operations were transferred to the Foundation. In 2001, Thomas M. Becker became the first full-time chief executive officer of the Foundation. Prior to that time, the volunteer chairman of the Board of Directors served as President of the Foundation.


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Following the successful Victoria delegation to the Commonwealth Games Federation in 1988, the XV Games were held in Canada for the fourth time. The end of apartheid in the early part of the decade also heralded the return of South Africa to the Commonwealth Games and ensured that the era of threatened boycotts was over. Both the opening and closing ceremonies were held at Victoria�s Centennial Stadium, which had undergone a superb refit in honour of the Games.
Sixty-three nations sent 2,557 athletes and 914 officials as the Commonwealth Games burgeoned at Victoria. Once again, Australia headed the medals table whilst the hosts, Canada, pushed England into third place. Nigeria marked its arrival as a Commonwealth sporting force by picking up more gold medals than both New Zealand and India. Hong Kong said farewell to the Games with the territory becoming a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China in 1997.
Ten sports were featured at the Victoria Games � athletics, aquatics (diving, swimming & synchronised swimming), badminton, boxing, cycling, gymnastics, lawn bowls, shooting, weightlifting and wrestling.

subset: commoncrawl


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Cruise ends with jail for fugitive
U.S. Marshals caught up with one of 'Canada's most wanted' as he disembarked from the Carnival Inspiration on monday.
According to Canadian officials, Steven Mark Anthony Requena assaulted a woman in Canada by placing a scalpel to her throat and threatening to kill her if she did not comply with his demands.
Requena had been considered a fugitive since he fled Canada after the alleged crime, which took place back in 2007.
But when the Department of Homeland Security ran a routine check of the passenger manifest for the Carnival Inspiration, Requena's name turned up. Authorities were waiting for Requena when the Inspiration returned to port.
He faces several charges, and probably won't cruise again.
Source: www.cruise.co.uk


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Robert W. Lightfoot, MD
This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access.
To the Editor: The recent report by Ramsey and colleagues (1) on the predictive validity of American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) certification represents the culmination of a prodigious and innovative work that superbly substantiates the validity of the board examinations in internal medicine. It is somewhat disturbing that the only variables correlating well with the ABIM examination score were the ability to score well on a written examination given subsequently and the likelihood of being ranked highly by professional associates.
One variable which has been receiving increased attention from program directors lately is the location of the medical school
Lightfoot RW. Foreign Medical Graduates and Board Certification. Ann Intern Med. 1989;111:345. doi: https://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-111-4-345
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© 2019
Published: Ann Intern Med. 1989;111(4):345.
Copyright © 2019 American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.
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You Obsess Over Every Word. And You Should.
This post is primarily for my writer friends (God bless them and make their books sell like ice on the 4th of July), but anyone, in any endeavor, will hear a familiar echo, I suspect. For the sports-phobic, hang in … Continue reading
Posted in encouragement, Sheer Cussedness, Writing Tagged #NoQS, #pitchslam, #pitmad, #SFFPit, Brandon Mull, Comerica Park, Detroit Tigers, JK Rowling, MLB, Orem Owlz, Salt Lake Bees, Shallee McArthur 1 Comment


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Craig fishing report at Kingfisher lodge is that fishing has remained very good in almost all areas fished. Boats are spread out if weather is permitting and King salmon, silver salmon and legal sized halibut, ling cod, red snapper are in abundance. Limits for coho salmon are being caught at very good time ratio's as well as king salmon, although the king salmon limits might not all be met. Today a group of 12 on 2 boats had their silver limits by 10 am or so which is 72 fish as well as 5 king salmon. Nebraska folks are very happy but don't like the roll the ocean had to offer.Tagged alaska, alaska family vacation, alaska fishing reports, craig sportfishing report, halibut, kingfisher lodge, prince of wales, report, sport fishing report, sportfishing
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Official Press Release
Artist Mark Brooks considers Marvel Comics the pinnacle for most up-and-coming comic book artist hopefuls. "So who wouldn't be stoked for an opportunity like this?" asks Brooks after the news that the House of Ideas had signed him to an exclusive 3-year contract. "I couldn't be more excited to make Marvel my new home!"
Brooks has been working hard in recent years, building up an amazing portfolio of professional comics work. His recent projects include Amazing Fantasy, Marvel Age Spider-Man, and Cable and Deadpool, which allowed him to work with one of his favorite creators, legendary writer Fabian Niceiza.
"I'd say I've learned more in the last year than I had in all the years working free-lance for all the other companies," says Brooks. "From the first day I started Marvel Age Spider-Man, Marvel has treated me great as well as helping me grow as an artist."
Marvel Publisher Dan Buckley smiles. "Marvel Comics loves nothing more than to nurture new creators and see them succeed. Mark Brooks is a perfect example of this."
"We're pretty proud of Mark," adds Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada, "He's gonna go far!"
Upcoming work for the amazing artist includes a 4-issue arc of Amazing Spider-Man with Mike Deodato, and some work for Marvel's new "Age of Apocalypse" event. Brooks has another special ongoing project - providing the covers for the ultra-hot new series Arana: Heart of the Spider.


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"He went from reading books to reading pitches."
Wrap your brain around that enigma from last night's game and once you've passed out from frustration and irritation, I'll explain it to you.
The annoying Joe Buck, who besides doing Baseball, NFL, and NFL Pre-game shows also finds time for those lame Holiday Inn commericals, told the story on why Nate Robertson wears glasses on the field. Basically, he tried to wear contacts but they made his eyes too watery. So the guy made his major league debut wearing his reading glasses.
Then Tim "babbling buffoon" McCarver goes for the grand slam.
"From reading books to reading pitches."
You're a moron. Earlier this season he said "Fundamentals are a fundamental part of a baseball." Once I wiped the blood out of my ears and got out of the fetal position, I cried and cursed Tim McCarver. Lines like that cause the death of brain cells.
Why is this clown still calling games? He must have pictures of Selig. I'd hope so anyway. Otherwise, someone enjoys torturing the baseball loving public.
Here are plenty of pearls of wisdom from this windbag.
I'll watch the game tonight, but with the mute on the tv and I'll deal with the 5 second delay from the XM.
Take that Tim.
Filed under: MLB, smite list | 1 Comment »


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Financial Updates
IRS Closes Valuation Loopholes
The IRS has issued new proposed regulations for valuations of business interests under Section 2704 of the tax code. These long-awaited regulations are designed to close several loopholes for federal estate and gift purposes.
Section 2704 and its accompanying regulations govern the tax treatment of transfers of business interests. Currently, lapses of voting or liquidation rights are treated as transfers in excess of the fair market value (FMV) of all interests held by the transferring taxpayer after the lapse. A "liquidation right" is the right to compel the business entity to acquire all or part of the taxpayer's equity interest. The lapse of such a right generally occurs when the right is restricted or eliminated. This is referred to as an "applicable restriction."
However, under an exception in the existing regulations, a lapse generally isn't subject to this rule if the right isn't restricted or eliminated. In effect, this means that a lifetime transfer of a minority interest by the majority owner taxpayer is not treated as a lapse, even though the transfer results in the loss of the liquidation right.
Accordingly, a deathbed transfer may reduce the valuation of a business interest, because the "applicable restriction" is disregarded.
The IRS is cracking down on this technique. It maintains that such transfers have "minimal economic effects," but result in valuations lower than the value of the interest in the hands of the taxpayer prior to death or the heirs immediately after death. Also, it believes the Section 2704 regs have been rendered ineffective by state law changes, court cases and estate planning techniques avoiding Section 2704.
The proposed regulations include the following provisions:
- The exception should not apply when the transfer resulting in the loss of power occurs on the taxpayer's deathbed. Therefore, transfers occurring within three years of death that cause a lapse in the liquidation right will be treated as transfers occurring upon death.
- The proposed regs remove the exception that limits the definition of an "applicable restriction." If an applicable restriction is disregarded, the FMV of the transferred interest will be determined under general valuation principles.
- The proposed regs add a new class of restrictions for family-controlled entities that would be disregarded under Section 2704. Exceptions for applicable restrictions would continue to apply to this new class.
- The regs clarify that Section 2704 applies to most business entities, including corporations, partnerships and limited liability companies (LLCs).
These new rules will become effective when final regulations are issued. If the valuation of your business interest may be affected, contact your professional advisor immediately.
© 2019. All Rights Reserved.
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Experimenting Implementers
Experimenting Implementers provide a moderate amount of funding as well as complementary business and technical research towards the experimental development and deployment of an Internet of Rules in their respective contexts.
Experimenting Implementers make a CAD$10,000 annual contribution, and they also arrange for an equivalent in-kind commitment to joint research and development.
As tentative members of Xalgorithms Alliance, Experimenting Implementers collaborate to explore the potential of algorithmic commerce in which buyers and sellers can trade goods and services at prices and on terms they understand and agree to, and wherein anyone can publish algorithms to the Internet in a open standard way.
Experimenting Implementers can be invited by the Board to attend or speak at meetings of members, but they do not vote, and generally do not receive notice of or attend such meetings.
Experimenting Implementers making outstanding contributions to the mission may be invited to participate on the Board of Directors of the not-for-profit Xalgorithms Foundation.


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Photographers in Pokolbin, NSW
The most popular Photographers near Pokolbin, NSW, 2320
The most popular Photographers near Pokolbin, NSW, 2320
By Appointment, Pokolbin, NSW, 2320
Elegant to Edgy, Vineyards, Beach, Rural. Concept, Design, Creativity to Delivery. Beautiful moments captured forever. Based in the beautiful Hunter Valley (Wine Country), Popcorn Photography combines raw emotion with stunning visual effects to create masterpieces already enjoyed by thousands of people. Whilst we specialise in Pokolbin and the surrounding Vineyard areas, we service the entire Hunter Valley, Newcastle, Port Stephens, the Central Coast as well as Australia wide and international coverage. We offer a lovely range of packages which are flexible or you can design your own. We are relaxed, fresh and will never take stiff, uptight, traditional poses, we love what we do and want you to have fun with us. It's your day, sing, dance, run around and play. We are experienced, passionate about capturing your laughter, tears, romance and are truly dedicated to making your day everything you want it to be. As members of AIPP & WIPM you are assured of hiring Photographers with the utmost attention to detail, quality and professionalism. Adding to that, we know that you don't get a second chance at Wedding Photography, so you will always have (2) Photographers. This ensures that nothing is missed and all your moments are captured, two perspectives are taken and it also greatly reduces the risk of any technical mishaps. Popcorn Photography are proud to provide you with our exquisite range of handcrafted albums produced by a master craftsmen. Each album is individually made to your specification from a range of finishes that are breathtaking. We work with you every step of the way to create your fantasy album with our beautiful images. Your album will flow seamlessly telling your entire story from your wedding day. Your album will be an heirloom to be treasured and enjoyed by generations to come. Our award winning images appear in national magazines, books, brochures, calendars, posters, websites and a range of other literature. Please visit our website and download our packages, drop us an email or pick up the phone as we want to help in making your day magical.more
View St, Cessnock, NSW, 2325
Hunter Valley wedding Photographers Newland Pro Photography are dedicated to documenting the elegance, beauty and excitement of your big day.more
Po Box 213, Cessnock, NSW, 2325
5/101 Vincent St, Cessnock, NSW, 2325
1 Chapman St, Cessnock, NSW, 2325
Po Box 24, Greta, NSW, 2334
1646 Wollombi Rd, Cedar Creek, NSW, 2325
Harrison's Photography is based in the Hunter Valley and specialises in wedding photography and short course in digital photography.more
1646 Wollombi Rd, Millfield, NSW, 2325
38 Campbell St, Ellalong, NSW, 2325
By Appointment, Burwood East, VIC, 3151
Newborn, Baby, and Family Portrait Photography Services to the Melbourne area. I believe photography to be an art, and endeavour to make every image unique.more
7 Florence St, Kurri Kurri, NSW, 2327
By Appointment, Elderslie, NSW, 2570
At Macarthur Photography and Video we specialise in capturing beautiful, vivid images of your dream day, whilst still offering value for money. You can expect punctual, friendly and professional service from our team of leading photographers.more
114 Regiment Rd, Rutherford, NSW, 2320
266 Roughit Lane, Singleton, NSW, 2330
By Appointment, Telarah, NSW, 2320
We offer photography for weddings, portraits, christenings, birthday celebrations or any other special occasions. Our vision is to make you special occasion one to remember at a price to fit within your budget. For all your photography needs please contact us by phone or email so that we can arrange to discuss your special event and how we might be able to assist you.more
127 Avery St, Rutherford, NSW, 2300
Unit 542, Oakhampton Rd, Aberglasslyn, NSW, 2320
Savvy Photograph specialises in photography and wedding photography in Newcastle, Central Coast and Hunter Valley.more
By Appointment, Maitland, NSW, 2320
Sunny 16 Photography photographs weddings, portraits, and commercial work in and around the Hunter Valley, Maitland, Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, the Central Coast, and the Great Lakes area.more
15A Harriett St, Singleton, NSW, 2330
Po Box 797, Maitland, NSW, 2320
Po Box 797, Maitland, NSW, 2320
Po Box 797, Maitland, NSW, 2320
Shops 9 & 10 Town Square, Singleton, NSW, 2330
222 High St, Maitland, NSW, 2320
96 John St, Singleton, NSW, 2330
86 John St, Singleton, NSW, 2330
317 High St, Maitland, NSW, 2320
Where life becomes art.
Singleton Town Square John St, Singleton, NSW, 2330
Banks St, East Maitland, NSW, 2323
Michelle-Leigh Photography is made up of Michelle Wilks and Leighsa Cox. Two experienced photographers who share a passion in producing fun, natural and creative wedding and portrait photographs. (We also have a few fabulous assistants!) Capturing special moments in peoples lives is amazing. To see the look on a new mum's face when she sees those newborn photos, or a bride and groom reliving their wedding day in front of you. That is what it is all about! We create works of art for you to share and keep for decades to come. We both love what we do! And love to share our passion with you.more
92 Melbourne St, Maitland, NSW, 2320
92 Melbourne St, Maitland, NSW, 2320
90-92 Melbourne St, East Maitland, NSW, 2323
25 Monterey Rd, Hunterview, NSW, 2330
93 Lawes St, East Maitland, NSW, 2323
2 Elm Cl, Largs, NSW, 2320
23 Byng St, Tenambit, NSW, 2323
2A Lester Cl, Wattle Ponds, NSW, 2330
Claire Collyer Photography... Capturing life's precious moments!more
24 Carrington St, West Wallsend, NSW, 2286
24 Carrington St, West Wallsend, NSW, 2286
By Appointment, Beresfield, NSW, 2322
Lifetime Experience in Photography, Nikon D810 Professional Digital full-frame 35mm DSLR FX-format camera (7360x4912) with 14 interchangeable Lenses, what can get all your images you want or needed.more
2/86 Thomas Coke Dr, Thornton, NSW, 2322
35 Northville Dr, Barnsley, NSW, 2278
By Appointment, Cameron Park, NSW, 2285
Landscape, Seascape and Panoramic Prints For Sale.
By Appointment, Cameron Park, NSW, 2285
Kiall Frost Real Estate Photography is owned and operated by Kiall Frost, a local Newcastle based photographer and provides high quality property and architecture photography in Newcastle and surrounding areas. Services that are provided include: Photography for Web, Brochures and Advertising, Floor Plans and Agent Profile Photos. Businesses that can benefit from these services include: Real Estate Agents, Marketing Companies, Retirement Villages, Developers, Pool Designers and builders, Interior Designers, Advertising Companies, Home Builders, Display Homes, Kitchen Companies, Council and Government sectors or the Commercial and Corporate sector. Areas covered start as far south as Catherine Hill Bay, Caves Beach, Swansea, Lake Macquarie, Newcastle, Stockton and all the way up to Anna Bay, Shoal Bay and all of Port Stephens. We also cover areas out to the Hunter Valley, Maitland, Morpeth, Cessnock, Kurri Kurri, Pokolbin, and the Hunter Valley Vineyards. Kiall also specialises in Landscape, Seascape and Panoramic Photography.more
21 Christie Rd, Tarro, NSW, 2322
3 Campana Ave, Edgeworth, NSW, 2285
25 Rosamond St, Maryland, NSW, 2287
48 Rose St, Blackalls Park, NSW, 2283
21 Michael St, Blackalls Park, NSW, 2283
89 Main Rd, Boolaroo, NSW, 2284


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Fixed income is ideal for risk-averse investors who are seeking diversification to counterbalance equities in a multi-asset portfolio. Individuals who are in or nearing retirement and want a guaranteed way to produce a stable flow of income often turn to fixed income as a solution as well. Firms in our coverage group offer unique views on fixed income, often tracking how key influencers such as interest rates and inflation affect investor decisions. This report seeks to highlight the timeliest content available on fixed income, covering material published between January 2015 to October 2016. Firms were assigned grades based on the breadth and depth of resources to help advisors stay in tune with pertinent developments in the fixed income market.
Our review examines 19 of our 20 coverage group firms, with Eaton Vance excluded for offering no substantial content. We found that firms use HTML articles, PDFs and commentaries as their primary outlets for discussing topics surrounding fixed income. Thirty-six percent of firms release recurring monthly or quarterly articles to update advisors on fixed income trends. Fidelity offers an analyzer that helps advisors track how market shifts influence the bond market, while iShares offers a tool that lets them create a hypothetical portfolio using ETF bonds. In terms of multimedia content, 73% of firms offer videos while other mediums such as webcasts and audio are less common.


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Missed an episode?
Maxxie and Anwar
The sixth form history class go to Russia on a study trip,where their bus breaks down and their drug-smuggling exploit goes awry. Anwar disapproves of Maxxie's homosexuality but,after Anwar has tried to smuggle local girl Ankar into their hostel and Maxxie has helped him against Ankar's outraged husband,comes to respect him. However,following a stand-off and police intervention teacher Tom is forced to pay money to placate the locals – which turns out to be a scam to fleece naive visitors.
"It's religion, Anwar. It's just stuff. You don't have to believe in it."
Plot Summary.
OK, if you can tell me what the hell went on in this episode you will get a prize*. Basic gist: The group go to Russia on a school trip. Why? Um.. not sure.
Crazy shit happens. Why? Um.. not sure.
Chris and Angie snog and then some. Why? Um.. not sure.
Sid sticks drugs up his bum.
Maxxie is adorable and gay.
Anwar is sex mad and Muslim.
Oh and Tony gets off with Maxxie and Michelle hears them. UH OH.
But seriously…. Wtf?
Maxxie & Anwar.
Jo-Anwar would probably be my favourite character if he didn't witter on about sex ALL THE TIME. I mean, it is funny for like a second but then wears thin really quickly. But when he's funny, he's absolutely hysterical. "I don't have a turban." I wish they had done more with Anwar, he's comedy gold but I think it would have been really interesting to delve more into his family/religion. Though I did like it that we saw more to him than just 'horny Muslim'… more please.
"It's just that they look so disappointed when I'm not a terrorist."
Maxxie sounds like a farmer.
Anna-I love his accent – he's the only proper west country bumpkin from these lot. I guess Sid has a bit of a farmer undertone too.
J-I like how Maxxie gets angry when Anwar is a twat. It's kind of disappointing this episode because the two characters I want to know more about get their own episode and then it's like… RUSSIANS AND BOOBS AND CRAZY THINGS. I think they missed a trick on this one.
A-It's very strange – it's like they touch on quite an important subject (religion vs. sexuality) but just bottle it completely.
J– I know. There is only one thing that actually happens in this that ends up being important (Chris and Angie) but that could have easily happened in Bristol.
A-Maxxie just looks adorable in that opening scene when he's waking up on the plane. I just want to buy a little dog basket for him so he can curl up and I can watch him sleep. Sorry, this sound weird and creepy. but he is so CUTE.
Anwar is a bit of an odd character. I love him, he is very funny, but it's a strange direction they take him in here. If you compare him with Chris – both start out as comedy sidekicks, sort of, but then they turn that on its head with Chris, and with Anwar they only really scratch the surface of his character. Which is a bit disappointing. but i guess our brains would explode if every character was a complex and issue ridden as Tony.
J-Haha, I know, exactly! I get a nosebleed if I think too hard about whether I like Tony or not.
A-And surely the whole gay thing would have become an issue before this, depending on how long they've been close friends. Or maybe not. I dunno.
I love Maxxie in this episode. When he is sad, it just breaks my heart. He such an innocent. Who draws pictures of massive dicks. But we don't really learn a massive amount his character that we don't know already.
And I only just noticed how ridiculously long Anwar's arms are. he'd be very useful to have around in a situation that might require someone with very long arms. Cat stuck up a tree, or something.
A-But, really, it was all very ridiculous. Funny, but ridiculous.
M-This episode was sooooo ridiculous. Does this whole episode turn out to be a dream, like in the Cosby Show episode where the men were pregnant?
A-How do I not remember this episode??? Surely it should be burned on my memory
J– I have never seen an episode of the Cosby Show…. O.O
M– I know you guys love Anwar, but I really don't feel like I know him at all. He just seems like your average horny teenager, who happens to be Muslim, but there doesn't seem to be much else there. Or if there is, I haven't seen it yet. There's a little glimpse at the end of the episode, but not enough to make me feel like I know him as a character or even that I need to see more of him.
J– The second series is a bit more deeper re: Anwar… but it's pretty much 'what you see is what you get' with him.
M-You get more with Maxxie because you can see his heart breaking and him struggling to be accepted by his best friend. It didn't help that last week's Sid episode was SO good.
Question: how can a class afford a trip to Russia?! We know Chris doesn't have money. Did the school pay for it?
A-This is a good question. I think in real non-Skins life, there's no way Chris would have gotten a free trip to Russia.
J-They might have some kind of funding for some kids but yeah, like Anna said… Chris wouldn't have been able to afford it. Especially because they're still minors and they'd probably have had to have a permission slip from their parents and um… well… Poor Chris :) . And anyway, isn't Sid still grounded? Jeez, this episode.
Other Characters.
J– I love Posh Kenneth so much. I don't know why but he just cracks me up. "Spoil sport" "Ay what's poppin' baby love?"
Tony makes my skin crawl in this episode with the way he treats Maxxie. Normally when characters are dick heads you can kind of understand where they're coming from but I'm completely lost with Tony's thought processes in this one.
I don't know why but I really love Jal and Michelle in this episode. It's nice to see them in a bit of a different scenario. You know, getting drunk with Russian policemen.
Why does Michelle always wear spangly tops? Eeeeesh.
A -Tony is hideous here. Just when you think he couldn't get any worse in the last ep and then he just goes and does this. Because he is bored. But I liked how he was reading 'Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit' LOL
My favourite line of the ep when Maxxie says to him – 'you're not taking up canoeing here'
Sid – GUTS OF STEEL
Noticeable lack of Cassie in this episode :) She was missed.
M-Tony is… how do you even begin to talk about Tony? He's either a genius or a future serial killer, like the charming ones who can easily lure women. I loved Maxxie's reaction to him though. He wasn't uncomfortable or impressed or whatever, he was just over him. I think if more people treated Tony the way Maxxie does, Tony would just melt or disintegrate or whatever happens to evil geniuses.
Who sticks pills up their bum?!?! SOD, YOU SIDDING IDIOT.
The teacher was so perfectly gross and pervy and disgusting in this ep. Both of them! Chris was so sweet to what's-her-face. And ugh, the science teacher doing squat thrusts lolol. I saw WAY too much of that man's body.
I liked Jal and Michelle having fun this ep. You get why they're friends even though they're total opposites.
J– Yes, exactly. Even though I think Michelle takes the piss when it comes to Jal, they're always there for each other… eventually.
M-I also really liked when Sid is looking at Maxxie's drawing of Cassie and goes "She looks pretty" and Maxxie says "She IS pretty." <3
J– Sidiot. LOOK UP.
Talking Points.
Russian stereotypes.
A-I think if I was was Russian i might be a little bit annoyed with this episode. Although I noticed Maxxie's comment when Anwar was about to be 'frisked' at the airport and he makes some remark about them stereotyping – do you reckon this was a bit of an in joke about the whole episode?
J-I don't even know where to begin with the Russian stereotypes in this episode. I mean…. gah. I always find myself wondering what people think of Europeans and whether people take us seriously and then I think of Eurovision and I realise we don't have leg to stand on.
What about those Russian grannies, guys?
A-EVERYBODY PARTY! *pulls cakes out of oven*
Neil Diamond T-Shirts.
Actually, I think this style choice is up there with the flag jacket
M-HA! Neil Diamond isn't as cool as Mega Dog.
Washing with wet wipes.
J-Oh hey, every festival I've ever been to. ;)
A-And copious amounts of deodorant
M-At least it was cold there so they didn't sweat too much.
Getting drunk with Russian Officials.
J-Oh hey, every festival I've ever been to.
A-I know this sounds a bit parenty, and I know most things in Skins are well dodgy, but, getting pissed with a load of strange army blokes in strange country when you're 16/17 – there's a strong chance this might not end well, no? Ok, parenty bit over.
M-When I first saw the soldiers pop up, I thought they'd arrest Michelle for prostitution or make it a Taken situation. A Liam Neeson cameo would've taken this show to the next level.
J– I love how we managed to mention Liam Neeson in every episode. NEESON.
A-I saw that for the first time the other week. I love how, after shooting all those people AND an Arab sheik, he still manages to get through customs and back to the States without anyone raising an eyebrow.
J– Sunday Morning Skins eyebrow mention #1 EYEBROWS. #eyebrows
School Trips.
J-I literally could write a whole blog post on all the crazy school trips I've gone on in my life. I went to Cologne in high school where I nearly fell down the stairs of the clock tower. And then we went to Italy in college and I spent most of Florence with sunburn looking for a chemist and then I got serenaded and our tour guide was just so creepy and kept taking us to the sketchiest restaurants. And then our hotel in Florence was haunted (actually haunted. There was this crib and a doll in it and SCRATCH MARKS ON THE WALL).
A-Did you put on your Yvette Fielding mascara and get out your night-vision cam Jo?
J-Oh my god, no I didn't. I really should have. Found the nearest Scouser to be possessed and I would have been unstoppable. I might write a letter to Yvette and tell her she needs to go to that hotel and I will go with her and my dream of being in a ghost hunting gang will be realised. HURRAH….
And then, I almost got trench foot in Venice because it had been absolutely sheeting it down. Then we just got drunk on Baileys in an Irish bar in Rome. I'm desperate to go again though… as a real person, not a student.
A-I never got to go on any school trips in high school. Gutted. But did goes to Wales in last year of primary. We got sent out in pairs to do an orienteering exercise, and we got lost and they had to send out a search party. Would they send 11 year olds out into the Welsh countryside armed with only a compass these days? Probably not.
J-We did something like that in primary school too! We went to this tiny Pennine village and my geography teacher fell into the river when she went to get the orange (we use citrus fruit to measure the speed of rivers up North) and it was the most hilarious thing in the entire world. There's nothing more beautiful than a teacher falling into a river… except, maybe, a teacher falling into a river at sunset.. or something.
A-We were given oranges in our lunch boxes and then everyone proceeded to throw them at sheep. As you do. We all got a jolly good telling off.
Another thing I just remembered about this school trip – when we arrived at the farm in the coach, the first thing we saw was this horse with a massive boner trying to mount another horse in the field right by the entrance. Cue lots of flustered teachers trying to divert our attention away from the horses having sexy times.
J– Pahahaha.
M-Were those school trips free? I went to Washington DC and Mexico but we had to pay extra for those, so not every student went. Mexico was also open to students who took Spanish with Senor Fernandez.
J-We had to pay for Italy but we stayed in the most basic of hovels and basically lived on pasta and bread and fear of being sold to rich business men to torture us with hacksaws.
Parents, Teachers and Other Ridiculous People.
J-Chris and Angie- NO. Angie is just a train wreck, she annoys me so much. I don't like how Chris is with Angie, he becomes really… blargh. Also, I'm sure I've seen Angie's boobs more than I've seen me own.
A-Why would she wear a nightie like that if she was sharing a room with Tom? Attention seeking hussy, that is why. But, and Jo, you will hate me for this, I did kind of like how they made their first kiss quite sweet, in comparison with the rest of their 'exchanges'
M-That first kiss was SO sweet!
J– Oh you two, you're such GIRLS. NO NO NO.
Also, Tom is the creepiest teacher in the world. Who does that? Imagine sharing a room with him and his hairy shoulders. Squat thrusts. Vomvomvom.
A-This was one of my favourite bits in the whole ep! Couldn't stop laughing. But poor Chris.
M-I was alternately grossed out and applauding him for going there. You thrust with your bad self. Also, and Jo, you will definitely hate me for saying this, doesn't he kind of remind you of Neville Chamberlain's ugly, creepy older brother?
J- Neville Chamberlain… as in…. the British Prime Minister? o.O
*an hour later*
Ooooh…. You mean Neville Longbottom?
*8 hours later*
Seriously… still laughing at this.
LOLOL. This is getting to 'Lech Walesa is a Polish man' levels. I love how we're so high brow on this blog with our European KNOWLEDGE.
I do love teachers on school trips though, how they're like kind of real people… but they're not.
A-I love pervy Tom – I've just written the word EXPLORE in my notes. LOL
And even though the story line with the Russian girl was a bit piss poor, that bit when Anwar is talking about Maxxie after she finds the drawing of them, and she says 'he'll be there for you when the rain starts to fall' – and even though this is a terrible lyric, it sounded oddly moving when she said it. Very weird.
M-OMG all of Anka's Friends lines were cracking my shit up. It was such a ridiculous addition to an already ridiculous plot. When her husband charges in with the rifle and she was all "We were on a break…" bahahaha.
J-Could you BE any harder?
Skins as YA.
J-I want to recommend a book but I fear it may be a spoiler…. but it's basically about being gay but it's more brothers than friends. And they don't really have a problem with it. So basically, it's that nothing like this episode.
The only school trip I can think of in a YA book off the top of my head is The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman. But again. EXTREMELY DIFFERENT.
A-The only school trip within YA I can think of is in Saving Francesca, or did I imagine this – it's been a while since I read it. It always comes back to double M :)
J– When do they go on a school trip in SF? I want to go on a school trip with Double M.
A-I'm sure there's loads of thriller type YA where something goes horribly wrong on a school trip, but that relates to this episode in no way whatsoever. So I'll shut up now.
M-The only thing I could think of was a Baby Sitter's Club book lololol. But honestly, I can't imagine an American YA book/show going near like 75% of what happens in Skins. Kids doing drugs — okay. Kids doing drugs and sticking it up their ass on a school trip — never. Kids being gay — cool. Straight boys trying to go down on a gay boy while in Russia — ha.
Show Us Some Skin.
Maxxie's Hair Update.
A-Shit. But he's still cute
M-Agreed. He looks so cute in a hat.
Twat Count.
M-Twat Count: 1 (Aww Chris. Defending his dishonorable teacher's honor)
What is Chris Wearing?
J-Look at those fucking orange pants.
A-RETURN OF THE FLAG (jacket)
Flannery Cameo of The Week– LOLOLOL.
A-I also like how he added a chain mail design jacket to the mix. Footballer's wives chic. But he pulls it off.
J-I wish he'd pull it off and pour vodka on it and then burn it….
"Seriously, WTF?!" of the Week?
Everything in this episode…
Battle of the Bobble Hats.
J-Sid's bobble hat. Yay or Nay? I wish he'd just put the drugs in his bobble hat and not up his bum.
A–I just have to mention Jal's bobble hat when they first arrive at the hostel/prison. I just couldn't bear to look at it – it was annoying me so much. I just wanted to reach into the telly and jam in on her head straight. How did it stay on at that angle? Why would you even wear it at that angle? How did it stay on? Surely it was supposed to be cold and it was defeating the whole point of wearing a bobble hat??????????????? HAT RAGE
M–Bobble hat! → Britishism. That makes it sound so adorable. I call it a skully.
Round Up.
Um… we got nothing. You?
Until next time…
*Haha, no… I'm totally kidding. You won't get a prize. Soz.


text:
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The Loud Librarian @LoudLibrarian72
Another great day @Follettlearning #FollettInstitute in El Dorado Hills, CA day 3 is all about promotion, advocacy & Makerspace 101 https://t.co/lL7SsdLPfw5:40 PM - 8 Nov 19
Most Recent Tweets
Klaudia Janek
My high school student had good things to say about @peterhreynolds https://t.co/2tIzWDYrCC #follettwebinar #CelebrateBooks2019 @wendy4books @roberta_starck @janetmurray1 @FollettLearning https://t.
Klaudia Janek
Ohhhhh....we agree on this one too: https://t.co/Io5VQtioaa #follettwebinar #CelebrateBooks2019 @wendy4books @roberta_starck @janetmurray1 @FollettLearning https://t.co/oGonghcSgB
Klaudia Janek
Me. Waiting for the YMA winners... #follettwebinar #CelebrateBooks2019 @wendy4books @roberta_starck @janetmurray1 @FollettLearning https://t.co/2oJKhCa7HP
BV LibraryMedia
@bvlibraries Some of you may be interested in this webinar. #literacy #bestbooks https://t.co/Y4XEQGa1QP
Harvey Smith
With Tx proclamation 2020 looming for HS #ELAR , there has been a lot of talk about using #Classroom #Libraries as a supplement to, or in lieu of a traditional textbook. Stop by @FollettLearning, boot
The Loud Librarian
Spacing out on how to share your #classroombookaday books? We're giving away 15 space themed #classroombookaday bulletin board kits to help you get started. Enter today! https://t.co/96TYzd1krp #clas
Follett Classroom
Spacing on how to share your #classroombookaday books? We're giving away 15 space-themed #classroombookaday bulletin board kits to help you get started. Learn more, and enter today! https://t.co/JgubR
Shannon Miller
New post... 6 Collections By @FollettLearning Destiny for the Holidays and New Year! https://t.co/YcHrCXwsrZ #futurereadylibs #tlchat #iowatl #edchat #vanmeter #edtech #ISTElib #holidays #collectio
Glacier Ridge Reads
Last night to visit our Follett Book Fair. @follettlearning glacierridgepta @GlacierRidgeD47 @ Glacier Ridge Elementary School https://t.co/vAHajNHRiX
Love, love, love unpacking new books! @FollettLearning https://t.co/ftT96OCJI1
Follett Classroom
Last day of #NCTE2019! Make sure to come by the Follett booth if you are attending, we'd love to see you! And we want to hear from you - what's your must-have book for the classroom? https://t.co/ZfyZ
Shannon Miller
Thanks for sharing... I'll add this to the @FollettLearning Destiny Collection I started with the Best Books of 2019. 😊 https://t.co/NeNgDOlF0q https://t.co/WUGHySOlkf
The Loud Librarian
Friends in the Central Texas & Hill Country region, there's a Follett Institute happening in your area in January. Come see me and connect with other librarians. Check out what @FollettLearning h
Lori Quintana
Have you genrefied your library? @FollettLearning will process & place your genre labels for FREE! Huge timesaver for this busy #schoollibrarian!! Now my Ss can open their boxes of new books &
Kim Keith
Passed with flying colors! Fabulous #istelib course, learned a lot. Thanks to @FollettLearning for the tuition assistance. @istelib https://t.co/KoUpEYe8wJ
Shannon Miller
The Best Books of 2019 Collection By @FollettLearning Destiny Is Here! With all of the 2019 Best Book lists popping up, it is time to start bringing them together so I created this Collection for us
Klaudia Janek
Try something new today. Check out this book display in the library. @ International Academy https://t.co/MvwFj2evyR
See how much value your library returns to its community with this library funding map https://t.co/HuqYwEZNCH
Designathon Works South Africa
The kids are getting ready to start the #DesignThinking session working on solutions for #ClimateChange and #Food Later we'll connect to other cities around the world. #GlobalChildrensDesignathon h
Findley Oaks Media Center


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Highlights of my online reading and viewing so far this year:
All-Female Orchestra From Afghanistan Is A Force For Change
I love the clip of them practicing Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" in that story above; more of it can be heard in this video below:
In the above concert, watch the blistering 2-minute solo from 1:07:05 to 1:09:05
On the epidemic of unprepared college students:
"Our schools create a fog when it comes to academic preparation for college success. Concerned more with inclusiveness, validation, and graduation than with college preparedness, administrators encourage teachers to, for instance, consider pupil effort in their grading, and push students to take advanced courses for which they have the ambition but not the readiness. Those in charge have their reasons, which mostly turn out to safeguard the interests of adults and their institutions, even as they wreak havoc with the next generation. None of this is acknowledged, however, save by a handful of would-be illuminators, for the education system has generally persuaded itself that this fog is better for kids than clarity would be.
"And the colleges themselves are complicit in this fraud, often for similar reasons. They admit students who they know are not adequately prepared to take on credit-bearing courses, and then require them to complete remedial classes to catch up. Most students who are required to take these 'developmental' courses never make it to classes that earn credit, and in time they leave school with nothing but debt and disillusion.
The always amazing Anthony Esolen on how politics is ruining literature, education, and culture itself in schools:
If a young person comes to believe that education is to be valued as preparation for political action—if his English teachers choose novels not for their beauty and their insight into the human condition, but for their usefulness in advancing a political cause; if his history teachers encourage not that forbearance that tends to forgive the faults of those who have come before us or who lived under conditions whereof we have no experience, but rather an easy and self-confident judgment of their moral darkness because they were not like us in all things; if his art teachers foster contempt for the patient and heart-breaking quest for precision, and substitute for it indulgence in what is supposedly "edgy" but is merely tiresome and politically tendentious—then I fear that he will be, strictly speaking, ineducable, a monolith of manufactured stolidity….
You are discussing with another student Augustine's tribute to his mother, Monica. It may be the first literary tribute to an ordinary woman—not a queen, not an object of erotic desire—in the history of the world. The student is upset. She has been taught that the lot of women from time immemorial was simply and unrelievedly oppressive, and she is disappointed to find something that does not fit the political template….
A student tells you that he is weary of learning about American culture in school. You say that you do not actually believe that his teachers have imparted much of that culture to him, or of what used to be a culture. You are thinking of the seaside observations of Winslow Homer and the plaintive love songs of Stephen Foster and the startling progressions of John Coltrane. You are thinking of Pickett and his men making their desperate charge at Gettysburg. You hear the plain and honest blank verse rhythms of Robert Frost: "I can't think Si ever hurt anyone," says the farmer of the hired man who has come back like a stray dog and who has, unbeknownst to him, just breathed his last. You are thinking of Protestants singing "Nearer, My God, to Thee" in four-part harmony; of John Greenleaf Whittier whistling along a country walk, and George Washington Carver patiently grinding peanut skins in a pestle. Henry Adams, John Ford, Herman Melville, Billy Sunday, Billie Holliday—how much of what is quintessentially American has he really encountered? But before you can ask a question probing more deeply into culture, he rolls his eyes and shuts the conversation down. Such is the certainty that the correct political position confers.
[I've had similar Kafka-esque experiences. It's all too sad. Read the whole thing!]
Speaking of… "Anthony Esolen's Clarion Call to Restore Culture, Faith, and Sanity"
The necessary remedy for such cant and for the political paradigms and correctness that bolster it is a total rejection of their terms and conditions—a rejection that Esolen boldly models. We must learn anew to read and speak, to sing and work and dance and pray, and to build and cherish beautiful things. If Esolen's envisaged culture strikes us as quaint, as something only even desirable before the Industrial Revolution or the invention of the television, so much the worse for us.
Yup. This. [source]
The kids can't write (or reason)
Nationwide 8 percent of teachers leave their jobs every year—twice as many as professionals in other fields—and the annual teacher attrition rate is even higher in Michigan at 10 percent, according to a 2016 study by the Learning Policy Institute titled "A coming crisis in teaching? Teacher supply, demand, and shortages in the U.S."
"Reducing attrition by half could virtually eliminate shortages," the study's authors concluded.
Retirements account for less than one-third of teachers who leave the classroom every year, the study noted. Job dissatisfaction was most often cited as a very important or extremely important reason for quitting.
That means serious initiatives to keep educators in the classroom require listening to teachers.
As a first-year high school English teacher in a financially struggling district, "James"—who requested anonymity—would tell policymakers to stop overloading already overworked teachers with mandates to document every action and data point to prove they're doing their jobs.
Daily lesson plans with written student learning objectives linked to every standard being taught—submitted online. Student data folders containing records of every assignment, assessment, and letter grade for every student—updated weekly. Teacher growth plans with written objectives and strategies for improvement—submitted online. Most never get used or looked at again.
Time spent jumping through "accountability" hoops piles on top of the real work: designing engaging lessons, developing lesson materials, helping students during breaks and after school, and long hours of grading.
32 90's Songs Written by Poets
Ask a Librarian: What's the Strangest Thing You've Found in a Library Book?
It's Not You, It's Structural Injustice
21 Hilarious Life Hacks That Are Ridiculously Bad
48 Incredibly Short, Clean Jokes That Are Actually Funny.
Poem: "Temporarily eternal," by George David Clark
YES! This is how I see it, too! "In praise of literary conservatives:"
"The world is what it is." It still sounds like the name of a Bond film but VS Naipaul's bone-dry start to A Bend in the River eats at Barack Obama. America's outgoing president told the chief book critic of The New York Times last week that he fights against the bleakness of the sentiment — and often falters.
Conservatism never had a motto, the way some creeds implore workers to unite or rally people to the abstractions of liberté, égalité and the other one. But Naipaul's six monosyllables, which give way to an even colder shrug at men "who allow themselves to become nothing", could serve.
A dark view of humans, a certain resignation to the imperfectibility of things, is what marks literature out from the idealistic arts….
For more than a century, anglophone literature has thrown up masters who look slightly askance at the modern world and its sensibilities. It is not a political conservatism, as such. Many of them would not identify with the organised right or vote that way. It is emphatically not a taste for free-markets and the social flux they bring. It is something more like a sceptical habit of mind and a preference for dismal truths over well-meaning lies (which is what political correctness often amounts to). The catalogue ranges from leftish writers who flirt with apostasy (think Ian McEwan, whose protagonist in Saturday at least entertains the case for the Iraq war) to those maestros of reaction, DH Lawrence and TS Eliot.
Why writers, of all artists? Perhaps learning the canon, as most of them do formally or autodidactically, instils a belief in such a thing as a distinct western culture that deserves protection. But there are literature students who fall for fly-by-night ideologies.
Or it might be the work itself. Novels try to capture eternal human truths — to ground them in the specific. Augie March is "Chicago born" but he is also every questing young man from an unpromising background. To do this, a writer must believe that human nature is universal and more or less unchangeable. Most non-conservative schemes — social-democracy, the wilder edges of identity politics — are efforts to refine or deny that nature through bureaucratic tinkering.
Poem: "The Lesser Light," by Kevin Cutrer
Poem: "Anniversary," by Marjorie Maddox
Poem: "Stones," by Rob Griffith
The Ultimate Terrifying Nevada Road Trip Is Right Here – And You'll Want To Do It
Seamus Heaney's Advice to the Young
50 Ways Happier, Healthier, And More Successful People Live On Their Own Terms Great list!
Creepy Wikipedia Pages That Really Make Us Squirm
Married life perfectly summed up in tweets (39 Photos)
The Embarrassments of Chronocentrism
The notion that social change is driven by some sort of linear evolution of consciousness, in which people necessarily become "more conscious" (that is to say, conform more closely to the ideology of the contemporary American left) over time, has no room for gay-bashing Progressives and Jacksonian Democrats whose concept of democracy included a strict color bar. The difficulty, of course, is that history is full of Progressives, Jacksonian Democrats, and countless other political movements that can't be shoehorned into the Procrustean bed of today's political ideologies.
I could add other examples—how many people remember, for example, that environmental protection was a cause of the far right until the 1960s?—but I think the point has been made. People in the past didn't divide up the political causes of their time into the same categories left-wing activists like to use today. It's practically de rigueur for left-wing activists these days to insist that people in the past ought to have seen things in today's terms rather than the terms of their own time, but that insistence just displays a bad case of chronocentrism.
This Thing All Things Devours:
The natural differences between peoples and cultures are an obvious target for this process; hence the condemnation, sandblasting and dynamiting of "whiteness" that have been a central focus of academia and the media for some time now. Also lined up for the grinding wheel is masculinity — a frightful thing that, it seems, only appears in nature in a highly "toxic" form.
Like entropy, secular Progressivism has no limiting principle; this is because it is built upon a universal skepsis, an axiomatic and radical doubt, that dissolves any foundation it tries to stand on, leaving it in perpetual free-fall. By its very nature it can never come to rest, can never find a solid bottom. If, as it plummets into the abyss, it snags on a branch, it will simply saw it off.
Conservative poetry: an interview and an example — great stuff!
Surprise! Yet another global warming hoax: 100% Of US Warming Is Due To NOAA Data Tampering — no apparent skepticism or reflection from the left
Brilliant! The Great and Spacious Building as modern demography:
There are no good pictures of the Great and Spacious building where you can see the bottom of it. I think nobody knows how to draw a building that has no base. Maybe they should make it look like a population pyramid. A society without kids is pretty much the same as a building without a foundation.
On children and perpetuating civilization:
1. Get your act together, get an income.
2. Make a good family.
3. Get your kids to do steps 1-3….
Any institution that isn't reproducing itself with children is sick.
Any sick institution that is blase about its sickness is dying.
Some observations:
Yes, America is dying.
Reproduction means literally having kids. But not just that. It means raising them to carry on. It means step 3. This is where even some Mormon families fail. They think because they themselves are virtuous, their kids will automatically end up all right.
Some dying institutions die quietly. Other dying institutions are cancers. They try to take their host down with them. I've been thinking about vertical transmission of culture versus horizontal transmission of culture. Vertical transmission is having kids and raising them. Horizontal transmission is sharing from one person to another, religious conversion for example–or propaganda from media and academic organs. It seems to me that horizontal transmission is good only if it comes from a healthy core, from a group that is also engaged in vertical transmission. Just as loving others and self-sacrifice is good only if the person loves themself, trying to convert people to your point of view is good only if your point of view isn't sick. Isn't a cancer.
Is it a coincidence that the Great and Spacious Building is all about horizontal transmission and has no foundation, whereas Lehi's first thought after taking the fruit was to get his family to come and share it with him?
(Elder Cook of the 12 had some related thoughts on Facebook)
The genius who runs Slate Star Codex has one of the most depressing essays I've read in years, about cost disease:
So, to summarize: in the past fifty years, education costs have doubled, college costs have dectupled, health insurance costs have dectupled, subway costs have at least dectupled, and housing costs have increased by about fifty percent. US health care costs about four times as much as equivalent health care in other First World countries; US subways cost about eight times as much as equivalent subways in other First World countries.
I worry that people don't appreciate how weird this is. I didn't appreciate it for a long time. I guess I just figured that Grandpa used to talk about how back in his day movie tickets only cost a nickel; that was just the way of the world. But all of the numbers above are inflation-adjusted. These things have dectupled in cost even after you adjust for movies costing a nickel in Grandpa's day. They have really, genuinely dectupled in cost, no economic trickery involved.
Intellectuals for Trump — fascinating if not worrying. Deeply written and respectful, and honest–I love Mark Bauerlein, but winced at his obvious discomfort at the end of this article.
What do you do if a red state moves to you?
HATE MACHINE: How Liberals Became the Very Fascists They Always Warned Us About (and the similar A primer on the hatred of climate skeptics – one woman saw the light and is no longer a leftist)
From the enormously wonderful Junior Ganymede blog:
My daughter likes to climb up on our fireplace hearth. We never use the fireplace, and the hearth is only a foot high, but there is a piece of wood trim at the front that she tries to use as a balance beam, and I am constantly scolding her to get off of it. It can support her weight temporarily, but it wasn't made to support her weight, so it's starting to loosen.
Our disintegrating norms of politeness and comity are like that wood trim. They look nice, and they can withstand a fair amount of stress without breaking. But they simply were not made to support all the weight we now put on them. When the upper caste seeks to extinguish the religion of the majority, when it seeks to replace the masses with other masses more to its liking, that's not something we can fix by putting a little love in our hearts. Winsomeness will not save us.
Gender theory: individualism gone stark, raving mad
What explains this desperate impulse to deny the self-evident facts of biology, even to the point of ignoring discoveries that our sexual differences extend right down to the cellular level and do not exist merely in our reproductive organs?
McCarthy's answer is novel and, if it is right, alarming. She points out a sexual body only makes sense in relations of dependence and interaction: mother-father-child and man-woman. We are all children who owe our existence to a man and a woman and our bodies speak the language of dependency and community.
And in the long term, how can democracy as we know it survive? Democracy is more than just the arithmetic of 50%+1. It is a political culture which assumes that people take responsibility for each other, first within families, then within society. A political order based on gender theory which repudiates social bonds, fosters extreme individualism and teaches that the "other is hell" will be a very strange kind of democracy indeed.
10 Ways The Transgender Push Mirrors The Lobotomy Craze
Ross Douthat, another new Thoreau: Resist the Internet
Used within reasonable limits, of course, these devices also offer us new graces. But we are not using them within reasonable limits. They are the masters; we are not. They are built to addict us, as the social psychologist Adam Alter's new book "Irresistible" points out — and to madden us, distract us, arouse us and deceive us. We primp and perform for them as for a lover; we surrender our privacy to their demands; we wait on tenterhooks for every "like." The smartphone is in the saddle, and it rides mankind.
When literature does not "penetrate concrete reality" it can't affect us. Books that cannot penetrate us are kin to those unreadable Novel of the Year contenders. What we should be seeking are novels that can read us, that scandalize us, and cause us to trip, fall, and, thus, learn.…
The majority of Christians in America read many more self-help and Christian living books than literature.
But if we look at the example of the Son of God himself, we don't see him speaking on how to make friends and influence people or seven methods of effective discipleship. Rather, he made his ministry about telling stories and living as the hero of a true story. Christ is the Word. The Bible is a story. If Christians are not reading stories, they are neglecting one of the charges of the gospel.…
It means we should choose stories that seek to capture the grit and reality of the incarnation and thus demand imitation.
Poem: "The still pilgrim considers a hard teaching," by Angela Alaimo O'Donnell
Poem: "Augustine Chanting"
What's missing in the teaching of Islam
Jewish Insight to Improve a Mormon's Sabbath
Elder Oaks Tells Graduates to "Push Back" Against World's Evils
I Studied More Than 2,200 Scriptures about the Savior in Six Weeks: Here Is a Little of What I Learned
By President Russell M. Nelson


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CEI staff are working with KDHE to promote trauma-informed policies and practices within the Public Health System in Kansas in order to improve Medicaid service delivery. We do this by providing training and technical support to public health professionals and their partners, including local health departments, Federally Qualified Health Centers, and Safety-Net Clinics.
CEI staff are engaging youth and families who receive behavioral health services, community mental health centers, and other community partners to enhance trauma-informed cultures for service level staff, organizations, and the behavioral health system itself. This work is supported by a System of Care cooperative agreement with the Kansas Department for Aging and Disabilities Services funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. As a trauma-informed approach is one of the principles of the System of Care concept, CEI is also tasked with helping shape and facilitate the adoption and implementation of trauma-informed policies to help sustain systemic change over time.
(Coming soon)
Understanding the impacts of trauma and building individual and community resiliency are a critical part of creating strong, healthy communities for the people who live, learn, work and play within them. CEI is supporting the Finney County community in their efforts to become more trauma-informed by developing a cross-sector cadre of "Master Trainers" who will be responsible for educating community residents and partners about ACEs and their impacts on health and well-being. The project includes a two-day Master Training of Trainers and 8-9 month Community of Practice to support the trainers' ongoing professional development.


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SCENE IT: STAR WARS Coming To a Galaxy Near You
SCENE IT: STAR WARS Coming in 2012
Screenlife's Scene It DVD/Board Game trivia hybrid franchise celebrates its tenth anniversary in 2012. To celebrate, they've finally teamed with the biggest franchise of all for their big Fall 2012 release: Scene It: Star Wars. The game, along with a major new feature, is being officially announced at Toy Fair 2012 in New York City next week, and a press release teased the set early.The latest in a series of trivia games supported by an interactive DVD that has reached into film franchises like Harry Potter and Twilight, Scene It: Star Wars will cover all six of the live-action films, currently being re-released in 3D in theaters, starting with Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace on February 10, 2012. New puzzle types are joining the new game, including a behind-the-scenes feature called "Jedi Archives." These, instead of using the traditional movie scenes, will use storyboards, production stills, and concept art to support the trivia; this is a game designed for true Star Wars fans. "Imperial Listening Post" will have players identifying the iconic Star Wars sound effects, and "Holonet Disruptions" will present clues as holographic projections, making the player the "only hope" for solving trivia questions. While the game will come with the trademark DVD full of trivia questions and puzzles, for the first time no DVD will be necessary to play one of their boxed games. A new streaming option will be available for laptops, tablets, and web-connected TVs, even including "bonus content not found on the disc." In addition to Scene It: Star Wars, Screenlife is also releasing Scene It: Movie Night in Fall 2012. The new edition of their more general set features "the biggest blockbusters of the past 20 years," says the press release. Movies from Wayne's World to Cloverfield to Bridesmaids were mentioned specifically, and the new streaming option will also be included with Movie Night.
Twitter activity Tweets by @Newsarama


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Escapist Expo: My Favorite Game
Pages 1 2 NEXT
Everyone has that one game that they put on a pedestal. The one game that you measure all other games against. The Escapist contributors talk about their favorite games and why they will always compare new titles to the one game that provided the perfect mix of character, story, and skill challenge.
It seems Jim's cursed with microphones.
I could listen to Yahtzee and Jim talk games all day long.
Also i finally know what Susan looks like!
Loved this. It was nice hearing these guys talking about what they loved, especially after the panel of love which was talking about what they love in what they hate.
Got to say though, for a game I'm embarrassed to say that I do love, probably the Sims series. I know, I should probably just play out my own life, but I don't know what it is with the Sims. Making them do well, or causing them utter harm or death, something about that I find really addictive and interesting.
What I thought of when I saw the title.
Anyway, loved this one along with the other two. Could listen to them talking about games all day actually.
I am with Gav on FF. I don't get it. I tried, but I just don't fuckin' get it. What is supposed to be fun about Final Fantasy games?
Thanks for uploading all this panels, sucks to be 7000 km away.
My sentiments exactly.
Also, on a side note, the panel looks like last supper painting :D
Interesting Graham said FF7 was his favourite. I remember him making a joke on Checkpoint at how it didn't deserve its reputation and was actually pretty average and that the only reason it was revered so much is because it was the first time a lot of people had seen a game like that. I guess that's pretty much what he said here too. But still, it's weird to say it's his favourite when before he seemed to be not so hot about it.
I also don't think CoD is hated in the Escapist community. We generally don't like it but we won't hate someone for liking it. Every so often you get people on these forums professing their affinity for the games. They don't get shouted down, in fact it often brings up a discussion that's usually pretty civil.
Jim's summary of FFX was hilarious too. I love that man.
I would love to listen/talk with Yahtzee and Jim about games all day long, and would be more than willing to provide alcohol :D
captcha: MAKE IT SO
You're an imaginary man who needs to vanquish a whale that's also his father. How difficult to follow is that? :D
I love Final Fantasy VII for the same reason Graham does, really, because it was the first one I ever played and after growing up on Sonic the Hedgehog and Banjo-Kazooie it was really something new and different. But I also had Jim's reaction to his comment about FFIX because I think that was the highest quality Final Fantasy that's been released. It was just a masterpiece in terms of character development, story and world design, area design, soundtrack, combat, everything about it was superb. But then, I also liked VIII, X, and XII...
I love watching these panels, even with how lengthy they are the time just seems to fly by.
I know it wasn't asked of us, but my favorite game would probably be a tie between Sonic 3 and Final Fantasy IX, my 'shameful secret' would probably be Halo I guess, or Crysis 2, games I wish people would stop trying to get me to play would be... eh, I dunno, I'm not a social butterfly right now. :D
Games that I think should've been more popular - Okami for sure. Sonic Generations as well, a lot of people have written it off just because it's a modern Sonic game, but it's a really good game. And Alice: Madness Returns. It's a little bit repetitive, but I'm loving the creepy aesthetic, character designs, and how the plot is being carried out. It's a lot different from standard run-of-the-mill AAA games, and a platformer to boot.
Most hated game - To pick a pair of games that aren't just flat-out terrible because they're broken, buggy, and generally have ridiculously low production values, Final Fantasy XIII and Pokemon Black/White. And I hate them all the more because I love so many of the previous games in both franchises, which makes me feel bad about despising them so much.
Fuck yeah to Yahtzee giving a shout-out to Spec Ops The Line (currently my fave game of the year) and its similarities to Silent Hill 2 as a psycho-drama.
Most of the started playing on the ps generation that's no very long ago.
Susan actually looks pretty much how I imagined her to. Although in my imagination she had black hair.
How old are these guys? I don't think I'm much older than them...but my first game was Flimbo's Quest on the C64!
Answers were both insightful and funny for the most part. Great expo
All those things are true.
I still love that game though, I even said it in that CheckPoint episode. It's nostalgia, logic has no place here :)
Yaaaay, i missed this at the con, so glad i could see and hear their answers after all :D
I am also one of the people who liked Kane & Lynch 1.
All this talk about Final Fantasy recently has got me wondering whether I should have a stab at getting in to JRPGs again. I've never had a particularly good relationship with them, especially FF, but there's something about them that makes me feel like I should like them. I guess I should get around to finishing the few JRPGs I've found I do like before I start looking for more, namely Infinite Undiscovery and The Last Story. I'll probably not bother with the former though. I do enjoy it but it's been so long since I played it I literally have no idea what's going on with the story and I've gotten to a point where I need to do a lot of grinding to past a boss.
I was thinking about what I would say if I was on the panel too. I often feel like I want to chip in with panels and podcasts I hear. Sometimes it can be annoying when they're missing something that's so obvious to me, but I digress.
I can never pick a single favourite for anything, but I guess I would pick something like Okami, the Zelda series, or the Forza series. I can't even narrow down to a single game in each series either! I just finished Darksiders 2 today and I really loved that game, even if the end boss was a kind of disappointing cakewalk. That seems to be a trend with games recently. End bosses are relatively anti-climactic and pretty easy.
As for games I think should have been more popular I also have to mention Okami. I feel like such a scratched record saying that though. It seems pretty much everyone knows about that game now. It's gotten round thanks to word of mouth a lot recently. Hopefully that'll help it to finally get the success it deserves on PSN (Bring it to XBLA! Grrr!) even if the money for it will no longer go to the people who created it. So sad that Clover was shut down. We'll never get a true Okami 2.
If I wanted to pick something a bit less obvious I guess I would go for something like No More Heroes or Muramasa. NMH has captured my attention more than any other Suda51 game by far, and I think the IP is brilliant. It really deserved a lot of attention. I guess part of the reason it didn't do so good was because it's a Grasshopper game (they tend to be obscure) and that it was on the Wii, even if the control method was actually suited to the console. Muramasa probably didn't do great because of its platform either. It might have found more success on XBLA or PSN. The game also has pretty much zero publicity behind it and the production run was minute. I actually had to order it twice because the first place didn't actually get it stocked even though they said they would. That place wasn't a small shop either, it was Amazon! Really glad I got it though. More people should try it out.
My most hated game was Fable 2. No contest. I've talked about how much I hate that game at length many times, and I've already done a lot of talking so I won't cover that ground again. I'll just say it felt like a massive betrayal to me as a lover of the first Fable and I hated pretty much every aspect of that game. I have a very special loathing for it.
I don't really have any games I'm ashamed to like. I have games that I like that I know are technically bad, but I still enjoy their good aspects and I feel no shame in doing so. I know they're not perfect, but they still make me happy. I guess the closest thing I have to a guilty pleasure does actually fall in the same category as games I like even though they suck. SRS: Street Racing Syndicate. The game has a lot of problems but it has a charm to it that I enjoy. One aspect of the game I really don't like though is the "girlfriend" system. You do these special events to impress a girl (who is a real glamour model of some sort) and as you win them you unlock progressively provocative dance videos featuring them. That part of the game can go die in a fire. It's stupid, pandering, condescending and completely pointless. Perhaps the pointless aspect is actually a plus, because it means that you can ignore the whole thing all together and just concentrate on the rest of the game and it won't effect any other aspect of it.
I don't have any games people keep pestering me to play. I guess for a short while my friend tried to get me to try Borderlands, and I did. I was in a really crappy mood at the time so I only gave it like five minutes before giving up. I really wasn't interested. Borderlands has always seemed disinteresting to me for some reason. But seeing all this stuff about Borderlands 2 recently has kind of got me interested in it.
But why do you say Halo and Crysis are shameful? I enjoy Halo, I feel no shame. They're really good games. I've never played Crysis, but I thought that was supposed to be a pretty well respected FPS. Visually stunning and mechanically interesting.
Wow, Final Fantasy VII, the Metal Gear Solid Series, and Silent Hill 2. My own Holy Trinity of favorite games mentioned. :D
'Okami for obvious reasons'
I love you Gav.
Have my babies.
While we're on the subject of Final Fantasy, what you said about FFX really made me smile. Now I don't feel quite so alone in thinking Tidus's awkward laughter was simply awkward, not ear-piercingly horrendous. How that one scene became so infamous is beyond me, but then again a lot of things are.
Thanks for making my day! And thank you Team Hollywood for uploading these!
This is completely off-topic, but I fucking love your avatar! PRAISE "BOB"!
OT: I can't wait to get home from school and watch this!
JRPGs are a bit of a mixed bag with me. As a whole series, I've only ever really been able to get into Final Fantasy, the Tales games, and Kingdom Hearts, and I've been trying to get into Persona lately but keep getting distracted by other things. (Er, and Pokemon if you count that, I suppose.)
I think one of the biggest problems with JRPGs is that they require a large amount of time to really get into them, even when compared to more 'Western' RPGs like The Witcher or Dragon Age. It's a significant time investment, and they usually seem to lose steam about a quarter or halfway through and then it takes too long for most of them to get interesting again. And as Graham and Paul talked about in one of the other panels that's been posted on the website, some JRPGs just adopt the most asinine and archaic combat systems that require a damn PhD in Astrophysics to navigate properly (which is why I like the relative simplicity of Tales, FF, and KH).
If I didn't keep getting distracted, I'd be working on Darksiders 2. I've been trying to clear out a bit of my backlog first though, still working on Alice: Madness Returns. As far as Zelda is concerned, I've never been too interested in it. Wind Waker was amazing, and I always got stuck in the Water Temple of Ocarina, but I couldn't get anywhere in Majora's Mask and I've never really been all that interested in the rest of the franchise.
Don't lie to yourself, the only reason people around here have heard of Okami is because of Daystar. >.>
I've actually recently gotten Muramasa, because I got Odin Sphere on the PSN and wanted to check out its 'spiritual sequel'. Haven't played it much yet though, for previously stated reasons. I can agree to a point on No More Heroes, but I think that it's a relatively niche title, and I'm not sure how much better it would have fared being built from the ground up for the PS3/360. Personally, I'm not too much of a fan of the style of humor they used, but I can agree that it was a pretty solid game.
I loved Fable, but the lack of an Xbox 360 back when it was released prevented me from maintaining any interest in the series after I did get a 360.
Eh, it's more about who you bring up those titles around. A lot of people like to blame Halo for making the Health-Regening, Two-Gun Toting, Slowly-Ambling Space Marine shooter all the rage. But that franchise was one of the reasons I ended up buying an Xbox 360. And the first Crysis is generally regarded well, but I consider the second one to be better, which is apparently heresy among Crysis fans because it was 'dumbed down' for the consoles. (And I consider Crysis Warhead to be the best out of all three, but apparently only four people in the world played it so nobody ever brings it up, ever.)
Loved this panel,great work guys! :D
Jim, thank you for mentioning Metal Gear Solid. It gets so much hate aimed towards it (mostly fairly, those cutscenes are ridiculous), but it's great.
From what I've heard about the Tales series it seems like something I might like. The real time combat and the art style look really interesting, and I hear they're among the best JRPGs out there. I've never really been that familiar with Kingdom Hearts despite hearing about them a lot. The combat in them looks really cool. I can't get past all the Disney stuff though. There's only so much of that I can take. That's why FFV13 looks to me like one of the only FF titles I would ever find interesting, if it ever even comes out. That's supposed to have a very similar combat system to KH since it's made by the same people, right?
I find it strange that I've never really had a problem with the Water Temple in OoT. Inside Jabu Jabu pissed me off, but I got through the Water Temple really smoothly, apart from the underwater combat and that god damned whirlpool room. But that kind of stuff I kind of expect from a game of that age. I never really experienced the horror that most people seem to have at that point though.
And who of us round here hasn't heard of Daystar or his evangelical love for Okami? I also preach The Gospel of the White Wolf around my social circles. You also find plenty of people in the gaming media talking about it a lot. It comes up a lot in pretty much every circle of gamers who's interest in the medium goes beyond the most mainstream releases.
I think NMH could have found a broader appeal if it was given the chance. Some of the more subtle parts to it might be lost on most people, but I think there's a sizeable audience for the insane gleeful chaos of the game. Plus, you cut people up with a laser sword! Maybe the gameplay would need some more polish, but I can see it happening. As for finding a home on the PS3 or 360, I think it might be better suited to the PS3 (although of course I would love it on both). In fact it did come out on PS3. I think that had more to do with the Move controller than bringing the game to a more mainstream audience though.
I've never played Odin Sphere. I hear that it's supposed to be more of an RPG than Muramasa, even though Muramasa has some pretty large RPG elements to it. Maybe that's not really true and people just don't know how to define the games properly. From the little I've seen of the game it seems to be almost identical to Muramasa, in visual style and basic gameplay at least. I've thought about getting it but I'm unsure. I mean I've already played Muramasa, I don't want to just play another game that's exactly the same. I already have that.
Ignorance is bliss my friend.
I think this hatred towards mechanics like health regen and a two gun limit are stupid. They're not dumbing down the game or anything like that, they're purposeful design choices made deliberately to create a certain type of play.
It's true that slowing down the game was done to make it easier to play on a controller, but so what? Slower games aren't necessarily bad. And I think Halo is still a pretty fast paced game anyway. If they made it as fast as a game like Quake then you simply couldn't use a controller.
The two gun limit adds a layer of tactics in to gameplay. You have to select what guns you take to suit your play style or what hazards are coming up next. It's also done to create proper pacing in the game. A game can become really unbalanced if the designer has to build a level without knowing what weapons a player might have.
The same can also be said of the health regen. You have no idea if a player is going to have loads of health or next to none coming up to a certain point of a level. It might be completely unfair and impossible, or completely unfair and boringly easy. Although I admit the idea of healing gunshot wounds by running away and hiding in a corner for 15 seconds is pretty silly. That never annoyed me playing a game though. Is it any less realistic or immersion breaking than running around at top speed for half an hour while your internal organs are all trailing along at your feet? In those games you're exactly the same if you're on 100HP or 1HP. In games with health regen you're only really at low health when you're doing terrible and you're under a rain of gunfire. You need to react at that point. When you regenerate your health you also gather your thoughts to plan a different way of attacking. They happen together in tandem in an intuitive way.
All it really is is a different way of dealing with failure states. With static HP systems it doesn't really matter how or where you lose all your health. Once it's gone you fail and you have to start over. With a health regen system you only fail at a place where you're actually doing badly. Only at the point where you are taking too many hits and not playing smart enough. When you work out what you're doing wrong you will be able to face the next hazard without still carrying the burden of almost failing the last time. You won't be screwed over on a part where you know you should be able to win. They're simply different systems. One may be more forgiving than the other but I wouldn't call either of them "better". It doesn't make the game worse, it's simply a different design philosophy.
Yeah Susan... Yeah, he is. Nathen Drake is a sociopath. Maybe he wasn't meant to be, but that just makes him a badly written sociopath, who's a sociopath because he's badly written.
Cory, Y U NOT JOIN the band?
OT: I have around teh same age as most of them, and I find weird to see not much came from the Famicom/NES era, still, it was one of the best panels I've seen so far, I still need to see Fanboyism, and while I expect a lot of fun, this one felt like the most insightful to the media and to the members of the Escapists as well.
I don't know what it is, but something about Susan Arendt just annoys me to no end.
Watching this I am somewhat disappointed in regards to the time frame of the games they picked, but then again it just goes to show my age, having started back in the early eighties with spectrum 48 and C64s. Of course any game a person chooses is highly subjective as that game made a profound mark on you and for very personal reasons.
My choice is X-Wing by Lucasarts from 1993, the reasons are varied, but it pretty much boils down to immersion factor. Before it all the flight and space flight games I had played on computer, had a element of imagining it being in a X-Wing fighter, miming the fanfare from Star Wars, while zipping along in a spacecraft. Then to suddenly be in an X-Wing, with sampled sound effects and music from the movies, now I didn't have to mime the star wars music any longer while zipping along in MY X-Wing.
Admittedly I am a huge Star Wars fan, so that contributed to my enjoyment, but the difficulty of the game, of always being the underdog, and the over all story arch, made every mission memorable. I still remember my greatest moment of the game, which came in a mission against a Star Destroyer. This my take a little explaining first, so please bare with me, but in X-Wing, SDs are extremely hard enemies. They are impervious pretty much to any damage you can dish out and they also have 72 TIE fighters it can send against you so you and it has some 60-120 laser cannons that shoot at you, were more then 3 hits mean you are pretty much dead. Star Destroyers are mean, and you never ever attack one!
In this mission, some 50+ mission into the game, and the first ever to attack a SD directly. My flight group was tasked with taking its shields down, and I had died like 20 times trying to shoot at the designated spot that my targeting computer had given me. All the tricks I tried and had learned over the course of the game didn't help as the shields regenerated faster then me and my AI wing men could damage the shields.
Then I remembered a scene from Episode 6 "Return of the Jedi" where a X-Wing is attacking a SD. In desperation figured I may as well try it. Aiming my torpedoes manually, just like Luke did in Episode 4, I aimed them at the two towers on top of the bridge. To my amazement they were destructible and not only that, it dropped the shield of the SD! That was just blew my mind away. Discovering that what worked in the movies worked in the game just made it so much more real, I can still remember today that very moment almost 20 years later.
Today I don't think the game would have the same impact on either me or other people. The reason being the common practice of having media tie-ins is very well established. Also the Star Wars library has become huge, then it was tiny compared to today. But back then fans of the movies were starved for anything having to do with Star Wars, and back then Lucasarts was a mark of quality on any game.
I'm tired of people acting like Mass Effect 3 " edited " ending is the first game to have the ending changed < cough > Fallout 3 < cough >
I wish I could go back to the Expo again...the drive was worth it and these guys are amazing.
Related captcha:
"Game on" You bet your ass it is! *fires up console*
My favourite game is MediEvil for the PS1. A game I don't think left too much of an impression on the world, it was good enough to warrant a sequel but I don't think many people look back on it as life changing. There's so much that other action adventure game did better than MediEvil but to me it's still the best game. It might not have been the best at any one particular thing but it just brought it all together so nicely.
[I also don't think CoD is hated in the Escapist community.[/quote]Yeah I think most of the ire is aimed at the copy cats. CoD does what it's meant to do quite well. It can't be blamed for everyone else trying to ape its success.
Oh and yeah I can't judge Graham. FFVIII is my favourite and I prefer X to VII. I do sometimes get angrier at 7 than I should it's a pretty good game, but I think people criticise other FF games for things they either did just as well or better than 7. Like complaining about emo characters. Yeah Squall was a massive period but Cloud wasn't all cakes and handjobs either. I think Bartz, Tidus and Zidane are much better protagonists than Cloud or Squall.
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Back to Say YES to Greece's heritage, our heritage
Alongside the long sought after Elgin marbles, Greece has recently displayed their desire for the return of the famous Victory of Samothrace, which was taken from the Greek island in 19th century and now resides, prominently placed in the Louvre Museum. While the British and French claim that the Elgin Marbles and that the Victory of Samothrace are no longer Greek, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Akis Gerondopoulos, believes that their long ago stolen treasures should be returned to their places of origins thus accentuating Greece's rich cultural heritage.
Source: http://greece.greekreporter.com/2013/08/30/greece-wants-victory-of-samothrace-back/


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Vinmec Phu Quoc International Hospital
The Vinmec Hospital in Phu Quoc (Bệnh viện Đa khoa Quốc tế Vinmec tại Phú Quốc) is a new full service international grade (World Health Organization Standard) hospital with a total area of 19,00 square meters, six floors and 150 beds located in Ganh Dau Village. The hospital is equipped with the latest high technology medical machinery from Europe and Japan, incorporates a "clean and green" concept with spacious rooms and plenty of outdoor green space, and will employ some of Vietnam's best doctors and medical staff. The Vinmec Phu Quoc Hospital will meet the demands for reliable health care for tourists and locals alike on Phu Quoc as the island continues to grow. Vinmec Phu Quoc will celebrate its grand opening on June 19, 2015.
Medical Services & Specializations:
- General check up
- Cardiology
- Polyclinic
- Emergency
- Oncology
- Pediatrics
- Plastic surgery
- Dental
- Bone fractures
- Orthopedic
- Obstetrician
- Gynecology
- Anesthesiology
- Physical Exams
- X-rays
- Blood work
- Ultrasound
- Immunization
- Geriatric care
There will also be island ambulatory service, a full onsite pharmacy as well as a medical university.
Vinmec Hospital Layout
Vinmec Phu Quoc Hospital is monolithic. Visitors enter into the lobby of the main building at the ground floor. The first floor is the administrative area where patients will register. This registration area is both the point of entry and exit, and next to registration are desks for checkout and a pharmacy. The Hospital portion does not begin until the second floor.
On every floor of the Vinmec Hospital runs a long, wide hallway with specialty clinics and divisions branching off, generally four to six per floor. Each has its own lobby, which looks out onto the hall. Each division, clinic or specialty area at Vinmec Hospital has its own modular area with it's own independent registration and waiting area. These lobbies are considerably more aesthetically appealing and pleasant to wait in due to their smaller size, more updated furnishings and clever architectural design. At Vinmec Phu Quoc International Hospital there is a clear difference in ambiance amongst other hospitals found in Vietnam.
Location of Vinmec Phu Quoc Hospital
The Vinmec Phu Quoc Hospital is located in Ganh Dau Village next to Vinpearl Land and close to the luxurious Vinpearl Phu Quoc Resort. The hospital can be accessed directly from the main Duong Dong – Ganh Dau road, one of the major roads found on Phu Quoc Island.


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October 1, 1960 from the assembly line came the first "Zaporozhets", which received the nickname "hunchbacked" in the people.
In the second half of the 1950s, the standard of living of the population of the USSR began to grow rapidly. Against this background, the question arose about the mass production of a compact and affordable car for sale for personal use.
Moskvich-401 - by that time had become thoroughly obsolete. The next model Moskvich-402 was significantly more expensive (retail price - 15 000 rubles, appeared a few years later, the M-407 was worth 25 000 rubles).
In accordance with this, a type of a four-seat mikrolitrazhny car "dry" weight of about 600 kg and with an engine capacity of 20-25 liters was introduced. from. It should have been convenient for mass production, designed for a fairly long operation in domestic conditions and maintenance mainly by the owner.
During the same period, the available micro-cars of foreign production were actively tested. Subsequently, the Fiat 600, very highly appreciated by specialists, was taken directly after the model when designing a new model. The creators of the Soviet minicar tried to maximally "dilute" its appearance with the Italian prototype, creating for it an original stylistic design. The engine and transmission were completely domestic development.
The first samples received the designation "Moskvich-444", later the designation was changed to "Moskvich-560". Meanwhile, even then it was clear that the conveyor was fully loaded, and there were no reserves for development in the production of a minicar at the plant. Therefore, for the release of the car, it was decided to reconstruct the Kommunar plant in the city of Zaporozhye.
At the time of its appearance in 1960, Zaporozhets cost 18,000 pre-reform rubles, the first commodity cars went on sale after the monetary reform, at a price of 1,800 rubles.
According to the legend, the price was determined as the total cost of 1,000 bottles of vodka. With an average wage in the USSR in the early 1960s, this value was approximately 20: 1, that is, Zaporozhets could be bought for about 20 average wages in the country.


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Many people can not imagine the start of the day without a cup of coffee. If you belong to the coffee-making group before entering the bathroom, we have good news for you: Daily coffee drinking is good for your health.
Find your every-day coffee and read your spiritual message of the day. Enjoy!
1. "Health is the greatest gift, contentment is the greatest wealth, A trusted friend is the best relative, liberated mind is the greatest bliss." – Buddha
2. "A sacrifice to be real must cost, must hurt, and must empty ourselves. Give yourself fully to God. He will use you to accomplish great things on the condition that you believe much more in his love than in your weakness." – Mother Teresa
3. "The shortest and surest way to live with honor in the world, is to be in reality what we would appear to be; and if we observe, we shall find, that all human virtues increase and strengthen themselves by the practice of them." – Socrates
4. "Treat those who are good with goodness, and also treat those who are not good with goodness. Thus goodness is attained. Be honest to those who are honest, and be also honest to those who are not honest. Thus honesty is attained." Lao Tzu
Source: http://davoicee.com/index.php/2018/02/13/choose-your-coffee-ot-get-your-spiritual-message-of-the-day/


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Mr Ziauddin Yousafazai, Ms Malala Yousafzai's father,
accepted the Annual Award on behalf of his daugther.
June 13, 2013, Vienna, Austria. The Chairman of the Ministerial Council of the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID), HE Mr Yousef Hussain Kamal, today awarded Ms Malala Yousafzai with the 2013 OFID Annual Award for Development in appreciation of her fearless struggle to uphold the right of girls and women in the Swat Valley of Pakistan to receive an education. Presented at the 34th Annual Session of the Ministerial Council of OFID, the award was accepted by Mr Ziauddin Yousafazai on behalf of his daughter.
Ms Yousafzai, a 15-year old Pakistani national and activist for education and women's rights, is the youngest nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize in history. In 2012, she was shot for speaking out in favor of young women's right to education, but has since been recovering from her injuries. She has received numerous awards including Pakistan's National Youth Peace Prize, the Simone de Beauvoir Prize and was featured on Foreign Policy Magazine's list of top global thinkers.
Upon being informed about the award, Ms Yousafzai sent a video response to OFID in which she expressed her gratitude for being honored with such a "prestigious award." She also stated her hope that all organizations could "work together to educate girls, to teach them, to empower them" and stressed that education for all is "true development."
Accepting the award, Mr Yousafazai thanked the Chairman and said: "I, my daughter Malala, my family and my countryman are very honored to receive this prestigious award. I hope it will further strengthen - and promote - the cause of educating underprivileged people – especially education for girls, for which Malala had put her life at stake.
This award is presented in recognition of Ms Yousafzai's achievements and commitments. Furthermore, this prize seeks to encourage those core values she has fought to uphold, which parallel OFID's own: education, gender equality and human rights. OFID pledges to support Ms Yousafzai as she continues to pursue her ultimate goal: that access to education will become a reality for every child on the globe. OFID's commitment to this cause is embedded in its vision, namely to aspire to a world where Sustainable Development, centered on human capacity-building, is a reality for all.
The OFID Annual Award, which comes with a US$100,000 prize, was instituted in 2006. Past winners of the award are HUMANA People-to-People, a Zimbabwe-based NGO; Austrian NGO SOS Children's Villages; Professor Muhammad Yunus, Founder and Managing Director of the Grameen Bank, Bangladesh; Bartolina Sisa National Confederation of Peasant Indigenous Native Women of Bolivia; the Yéle Haiti Foundation; Dr. Mazen Al-Hajri, a pioneer in the field of ear, nose and throat medicine, known for his charitable work on children in Gaza; and the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and its Ex-Detainees Rehabilitation Program (EDRP).


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Minnesota, land of 10,000 lakes (although I heard the number was closer to 11,842).
One of my favorite things about Minnesota is that you don't even need to leave the city to enjoy a gorgeous lake. The Minneapolis Chain of Lakes is one of my favorite places to hang out in Minnesota in the summer. Whether it is paddle boarding on Lake Calhoun, watching the sailboats on Lake Harriet, or rollerblading around Lake of the Isles, you honestly can't go wrong. Not to mention the miles of bike paths, free public beaches, sand volleyball courts, and even a dog park (and lakeside fish tacos for lunch).
My style today is inspired by my love for these lakes and nautical stripes. Dressing casual doesn't mean you need to compromise on style.
What is something great about your home state?
Striped Tee: Target {sale}{similar}{similar} | Boyfriend Jeans: Dittos | Top Siders: Sperry {similar}{similar}{adorable} | Satchel: Anthropologie {similar style} | Necklace: Etsy
XO, Bev